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| Season | Pokémon: Master Quest (Season 5) · Ecruteak, the Egg & the Lake of Rage arc (EP226–EP236) |
| Episode | Season 5, episode 17 · English episode 226 · Japanese episode 228 · Bulbapedia code EP226 |
| English title | Espeon, Not Included |
| Japanese title | エーフィとサクラ! エンジュシティふたたび!! Ēfi to Sakura! Enju Shitei Futatabi!! — “Eifie and Sakura! Enju City Once Again!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 November 2001 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 24 September 2002 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mezase Pokémon Master (Whiteberry version) – Whiteberry · Maemuki Rocket-dan! (Face Forward Team Rocket!) – Team Rocket |
| English opening | Believe in Me – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Drowzee (US) · Espeon (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Bulbasaur… the Ambassador! (EP225) |
| Next episode | For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll! (EP227) |
Plot episodeEspeon debutAired early in the US
Espeon, Not Included is the 17th episode of Pokémon: Master Quest, the fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 226th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 228, Bulbapedia code EP226). It first aired in Japan on 29 November 2001 and in the United States on 24 September 2002. It falls within the season’s Ecruteak, the Egg & the Lake of Rage stretch (EP226–EP236).
Premiered out of story order as part of Kids’ WB’s weekday premiere week, on Tuesday 24 September 2002 — a week after the season opener and months ahead of the episodes around it.
Synopsis
Ash and company arrive at Ecruteak City, and are greeted by Sakura and her newly evolved espeon. Team Rocket poses as dance instructors to catch all of the known eeveelutions of the time. Although they did not realize that the youngest sister is not part of the dance troupe. So it becomes up to Sakura, with a slight assist from Misty and Corsola, to rescue her sisters’ pokémon. This results in Sakura being treated as an equal by her sisters.
Major Events
- Sakura’s Espeon debut
- Misty beats Sakura
- Banned in S. Korea
Pokémon making their anime debut
Espeon#0196 · EP226
Captures and evolutions
- Eevee → Espeon#0196 · Sakura · off-screen
Trivia
- The English title plays on the toy-box warning "batteries not included".
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Espeon in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Drowzee in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Changes in the English Dub
- Food renamed (dango → “kebabs” EP226
Part of our Pokémon: Master Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.