A Trainer and Child Reunion! – Pokémon Season 11, Episode 47

Filler / stand-alone episodeAaron debuts

A Trainer and Child Reunion! is the 47th episode of Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension, the eleventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 562nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 566, Bulbapedia code DP099). It first aired in Japan on 23 October 2008 and in the United States on 28 March 2009. It falls within the season’s Grotle, Barry, the Relic Badge & Canalave stretch (EP98–EP104).

The first US episode after the North American release of Pokémon Platinum.

Synopsis · Major Events · Trivia · Dub Changes · All episodes

Synopsis

Reaching a town, the group find a crowd gathered for a public training session by Aaron, a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four, whom Dawn recognises from a magazine. His Drapion hits the bullseye of distant targets five times with Pin Missile, his Vespiquen slices thrown plates with Slash, Drapion destroys the remaining targets with a rapid series of Hyper Beams, and Vespiquen finishes with Gust. Officer Jenny reveals that Aaron will soon battle Cynthia for the Champion title, and Ash and Dawn realise he is the challenger Cynthia mentioned. Team Rocket, watching, decide to steal Aaron’s Bug-types. At the autograph session afterwards, Aaron learns that the friends know Cynthia and invites them to his private training centre by a lake, where Ash trains on an exercise bike while Aaron’s Pokémon relax. Dawn notices a photograph of a young Aaron with a Wurmple.

Team Rocket coat a tree in honey to lure Vespiquen but net a Munchlax instead, and the commotion brings a swarm of Beedrill down on them. Aaron begins to tell the story of the Wurmple that once helped him down from a tall tree and became his best friend, but Team Rocket’s balloon vacuums up Pikachu, Piplup, Aaron’s Skorupi, Drapion and Vespiquen, and Seviper’s Haze blinds Aaron as he leaps for the balloon. The captured Pokémon attack from inside the tank and the balloon crashes in the forest. Aaron confesses that as a boy he blamed Wurmple for a lost battle and drove it away, a regret that inspired him to master Bug-types. At the crash site, Carnivine’s Bullet Seed hurts Vespiquen and Seviper’s Poison Tail strikes Drapion, and the suction recaptures Pikachu, Piplup and Skorupi; Pikachu and Piplup cling to branches but lose their grip.

Then a wild Beautifly destroys the machine with Solar Beam, and Aaron realises that it is his old Wurmple, which has evolved after training to become stronger. Beautifly clears Seviper’s Haze with Whirlwind, Drapion’s Hyper Beam defeats Seviper and Vespiquen’s Slash sends Carnivine crashing into James, and a combined Solar Beam, Bubble Beam and Thunderbolt blasts Team Rocket away. Beautifly rejoins Aaron’s team, healing a rift that had lasted since his childhood. The friends thank Aaron, who wishes Ash luck in his upcoming rematch with Fantina as he prepares for his own battle with Cynthia. Aaron’s autograph shows his name in its Japanese romanisation, Ryo, left unchanged in the dub, and for the first time Brock’s Croagunk is seen letting itself out of its Poké Ball before using Poison Jab. The episode was the first to air in the United States after the release of Pokémon Platinum.

Major Events

• The Elite Four’s Aaron debuts with Drapion, Vespiquen and Skorupi
• Team Rocket’s suction balloon
• Aaron is reunited with his childhood Wurmple, now a Beautifly
• The first US episode after Pokémon Platinum
• Skorupi’s TV debut

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Skorupi#0451 · DP099

Captures and evolutions

• Wurmple → Beautifly#0267 · Aaron · evolved in the wild after he drove it away

Trivia

• The English title plays on Paul Simon’s “Mother and Child Reunion”.
• The screenplay is by Shinzō Fujita.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Sinnoh story.

Changes in the English Dub

• Aaron’s autograph still reads “Ryou”

Part of our Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.