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| Season | Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon (Season 20) · School life, Gladion & Team Skull arc (SM023–SM030) |
| Episode | Season 20, episode 28 · English episode 963 · Japanese episode 968 · Bulbapedia code SM028 |
| English title | Pulling Out the Pokémon Base Pepper! |
| Japanese title | 熱闘ポケベース！ねらえ逆転ホームラン！！ Nettō Pokebēsu! Nerae Gyakuten Hōmuran!! — “The Fierce Pokébase Match! Aim for a Home Run to Turn the Tide!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 25 May 2017 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 26 August 2017 · Disney XD |
| Screenplay | Jun’ichi Fujisaku |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Alola!! – Satoshi (Rica Matsumoto) with Pikachu (Ikue Ōtani) · Pōzu (Pose) – Taiiku Okazaki |
| English opening | Under the Alolan Sun – Jannel Candrice and The Sad Truth (featuring Ben Dixon and the Vestigial Horns) |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Scyther (US) |
| Previous episode | A Glaring Rivalry! (SM027) |
| Next episode | Lulled to La-La Land! (SM029) |
Filler / stand-alone episodePokémon Base
Pulling Out the Pokémon Base Pepper! is the 28th episode of Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon, the twentieth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 963rd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 968, Bulbapedia code SM028). It first aired in Japan on 25 May 2017 and in the United States on 26 August 2017. It falls within the season’s School life, Gladion & Team Skull stretch (EP23–EP30).
Synopsis
Pokémon Base star Oluolu gives the class a baseball lesson, and the students, with Oluolu and his Snorlax on their side, beat Team Rocket in a game played for Jessie’s pride. Ash, Rotom, Rockruff and Professor Kukui watch a Pokémon Base game on television, in which a Gyarados blasts the ball into the wall and the star player, Oluolu, hits a home run that brings both himself and Gyarados home. The next day Kukui announces a Pokémon Base lesson, with Oluolu himself as guest coach and Samson Oak along for the fun. Kiawe, Mallow and Lillie and their Pokémon face Ash, Lana and Sophocles and theirs, while the adults commentate and Oluolu explains the rules. Kiawe pitches and Ash swings and misses; when the teams switch, Pikachu pitches to Kiawe, who connects, but Sophocles makes the catch. Lana bats last and drives the ball clean out of the park, winning the game for her team.
Outside, a disguised Team Rocket walk past carrying a photo of Oluolu, and Meowth is hit by the home-run ball. Jessie spots her hero inside the school, and after Ash’s team is declared the winner, the trio burst in with a baseball-themed version of their motto. The students doubt that Jessie really just wants Oluolu’s autograph, so Oluolu suggests settling the matter with a game, and Jessie accepts. Oluolu teams up with the students, and James grumbles that this gives the other side an unfair advantage. Team Rocket’s game is shaky from the start: Jessie hits the ball and then runs the wrong way to be called out. When Mimikyu pitches with alarming force, Ash accuses Team Rocket of cheating, so they change pitchers, and Kiawe strikes out while Meowth laughs.
In the last inning Oluolu reaches home safely, but his Snorlax still has to score to win the game. The ball strikes Snorlax’s bat and James grabs it, only for Mareanie to run over and hug him affectionately. Then Oluolu reveals his secret weapon, a Z-Ring, and Snorlax’s Pulverizing Pancake sends it thundering towards home. Meowth throws the ball to Wobbuffet, who catches it and is promptly flattened by Snorlax, and Professor Kukui declares Snorlax safe and the school the winner. Jessie bursts into tears over the autograph she never got, and Oluolu kindly offers her one for a wonderful game, but Bewear scoops up Team Rocket and carries them home before she can take it. Oluolu thanks everyone for reminding him how he first fell in love with the game, and Rotom narrates the closing.
Major Events
- Pokémon Base. Oluolu coaches a Pokémon Base lesson
- The school, with Oluolu, beats Team Rocket
- Snorlax’s Pulverizing Pancake
- Team Rocket’s baseball motto
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Jun’ichi Fujisaku.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Alola story.
Changes in the English Dub
- The captions for the “Inferno Overdrive Ball”, the “Gigavolt Havoc Swing” and Pulverizing Pancake, and the students’ names, are removed
- Rotom starts the closing narration and the narrator finishes it (in Japanese Rotom narrates alone)
Part of our Pokémon the Series: Sun & Moon guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.