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| Season | Pokémon: Johto League Champions (Season 4) · Westward with Todd: Snowtop Mountain & Articuno arc (EP184–EP191) |
| Episode | Season 4, episode 34 · English episode 191 · Japanese episode 193 · Bulbapedia code EP191 |
| English title | The Dunsparce Deception |
| Japanese title | ノコッチはのこっちない!? Nokotchi wa no Kotchinai!? — “There Aren’t Any Nokocchi Here!?” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 March 2001 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 23 February 2002 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | OK! – Rica Matsumoto · Boku no Best Friend e (To My Best Friend) – Hiromi Iwasaki |
| English opening | Born to Be a Winner – David Rolfe |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Mew (US) · Dunsparce (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Stolen Stones! (EP190) |
| Next episode | The Wayward Wobbuffet (EP192) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeDunsparce debutLast OK! opening
The Dunsparce Deception is the 34th episode of Pokémon: Johto League Champions, the fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 191st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 193, Bulbapedia code EP191). It first aired in Japan on 29 March 2001 and in the United States on 23 February 2002. It falls within the season’s Westward with Todd: Snowtop Mountain & Articuno stretch (EP184–EP191).
Synopsis
A boy who missed his town’s Dunsparce swarm finally catches one after Team Rocket swindle every child’s Dunsparce with a fake Moltres trade. Bucky, armed only with a Caterpie, is the one kid in town without a Dunsparce, and he loses an obstacle race to his friends when Caterpie tumbles down the steps. Ash’s group turn out their whole team to help search, and Pikachu coaxes a wild Dunsparce out of the ground, only for it to burrow away again.
Pirate-costumed Team Rocket (a dry-cleaning mix-up) net Ash’s Pokémon, but Cyndaquil’s Flamethrower burns through the steel mesh and Poliwhirl’s Water Gun downs the balloon; Meowth lands clutching the very Dunsparce Bucky wanted. Realising that one Dunsparce is dull but dozens would impress Giovanni, the trio stage a laughable “3-D Virtual Pokémon Show” and trade the children fake Moltres Poké Balls for their Pokémon.
The gang find the kids in tears and track down the thieves. Wobbuffet’s Mirror Coat deflects Totodile’s and Poliwhirl’s Water Guns until it is caught napping, Victreebel chomps James, and when Arbok blocks the Dunsparce from returning, the children have them Screech, paralyse it with Glare and blast the trio away with a combined Take Down. Bucky’s Caterpie then wears the wild Dunsparce down with String Shot and Tackle, and his Poké Ball finally clicks shut.
Major Events
- Dunsparce debut
- Bucky catches a Dunsparce
- Last OK! opening, last To My Best Friend ending and last original Japanese eyecatch and title card
- The dub’s Who’s That Pokémon? features Mew, the first Mythical Pokémon to appear in it
Pokémon making their anime debut
Dunsparce#0206 · EP191
Captures and evolutions
- Dunsparce#0206 · Bucky
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Johto story.
- The Who’s That Pokémon? segment features Dunsparce in Japan, where it almost always matched the episode, but Mew in the US, where 4Kids picked the Pokémon at random.
Part of our Pokémon: Johto League Champions guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.