Tie One On! – Pokémon Season 5, Episode 58

EP268 Tie One On! – Pokémon Master Quest screenshot
Season Pokémon: Master Quest (Season 5) · The Johto League Silver Conference arc (EP265–EP272)
Episode Season 5, episode 58 · English episode 267 · Japanese episode 270 · Bulbapedia code EP268
English title Tie One On!
Japanese title メガニウムVSフシギダネ! くさタイプのいじ!
Meganiumu Tai Fushigidane! Kusa Taipu no Iji! — “Meganium vs. Fushigidane! Spirit of the Grass Types!”
First aired (Japan) 3 October 2002 · TV Tokyo
First aired (US) 19 September 2003 · Kids’ WB
Screenplay Shōji Yonemura
Opening / ending (Japan) Ready Go! – Naomi Tamura · Pokettāri Monsutāri – Kana
English opening Believe in Me – David Rolfe
Who’s That Pokémon? Azumarill (US) · Meganium (Japan)
Previous episode Love, Pokémon Style (EP267)
Next episode The Ties That Bind (EP269)

Plot episodeAsh draws with Jackson

Tie One On! is the 58th episode of Pokémon: Master Quest, the fifth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 267th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 270, Bulbapedia code EP268). It first aired in Japan on 3 October 2002 and in the United States on 19 September 2003. It falls within the season’s The Johto League Silver Conference stretch (EP265–EP272).

Aired on Friday 19 September 2003 as part of a second weekday premiere week; Kids’ WB counted the episodes from EP263 onward as the start of Season 6, though they still carried the Master Quest title card.

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

Synopsis

Tie One On! (EP268) – Pokémon anime still
Tie One On! Screenshot: Pokémon anime, EP268 “Tie One On!” · via Bulbapedia

Macy battles Jackson next and wins. Next it is Ash against Jackson. Jackson puts up a tough fight, but Bulbasaur and his meganium, despite the difference in development, are too evenly matched and stubborn. They both fight until they collapse ending the match in a tie, so Ash is the one of the three to move on to the semi-finals. Macy is there, and vows to root for Ash all the way to the championship. Gary has a different outcome in mind as he will be Ash’s next opponent in the finals.

Trivia 1: The magneton paralyzing Pikachu with Thunder Wave should not have happened. Electric pokémon are immune to paralysis by electric attacks.

Trivia 2: This episode is the last Macy is ever heard from again. However, in the next four episodes, true to her word, she can be seen in the crowd watching Ash battle. After that, she has never been seen again.

Major Events

  • Ash–Jackson draw (Bulbasaur vs Meganium)
  • Ash, Gary, Harrison reach Victory Tournament

Trivia

  • The English title plays on the idiom "to tie one on" (and the tied match).
  • The screenplay is by Shōji Yonemura.
  • This is a plot episode: it advances the Johto storyline.
  • The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Meganium in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Azumarill in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.

Changes in the English Dub

  • Two Vine Whip hits cut
  • Jackson’s references to Jimmy and Marina replaced with family (one dub line says “Yoshi” and “Dani”, apparently planned dub names) (EP268)

Part of our Pokémon: Master Quest guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.