Love, Petalburg Style! – Pokémon Season 7, Episode 29

Plot episodeArrival in PetalburgNorman’s anniversary surprise

Love, Petalburg Style! is the 29th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 342nd episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 345, Bulbapedia code AG069). It first aired in Japan on 25 March 2004 and in the United States on 12 March 2005. It falls within the season’s Road to Petalburg: Lombre, Grovyle & the Balance Badge stretch (EP63–EP70).

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

Synopsis

The group finally reach Petalburg City. Ash heads to the Pokémon Center to heal his team, while May, Max and Brock go home, where they are greeted by Norman’s nervous assistant, Kenny, and an oddly subdued Caroline, who invites everyone to lunch. At the Center, Ash sees Norman leaning over the counter in close conversation with Nurse Joy before leaving with a cheerful goodbye. Over lunch May and Max brag about their journey, but when May mentions Beautifly, Caroline becomes visibly angry. Kenny steers the children out to the Gym’s greenhouse, where they happily greet Vigoroth and meet Norman’s Slakoth and Slaking. There Kenny shares a rumour: Norman has been visiting the Center to see Nurse Joy, Caroline is upset, and she has been seen packing a suitcase with a photo of the couple turned face down.

Max refuses to believe it. Ash arrives and reports what he saw at the Center, and Brock, appointing himself the original “love doctor”, leads May, Max and Kenny there while Ash stays behind to watch Norman’s Pokémon. At the Center they find Norman deep in discussion with Nurse Joy. Brock is distracted by Joy and then makes accusations that anger Kenny, who drags him outside. Caroline arrives with her suitcase and announces that she is leaving because of Norman’s behaviour, especially on their wedding anniversary. Max pleads with everyone to give his father the benefit of the doubt, and Norman, with a knowing smile, insists that it is all a misunderstanding and asks everyone to come home. Meanwhile, Team Rocket, hiding in the greenhouse, decide that Norman’s three Pokémon would make fine gifts for Giovanni.

Team Rocket attack, with Seviper’s Poison Tail hitting Pikachu and Cacnea’s Pin Missile striking Slakoth, and Seviper smashes the door and knocks everyone down. When Norman and the others return, Norman dodges an attack, but stray hits damage a mysterious machine, and a furious Norman wakes Slaking, whose Focus Punch blasts the trio away. The machine turns out to be a fireworks launcher. Nurse Joy is also a fireworks technician, and Norman had been secretly planning a Beautifly-shaped display as an anniversary surprise for Caroline. Joy repairs it in time, and that night the fireworks light up the sky; Caroline apologises for doubting him and the couple embrace. Norman then tells Ash that he will use Slakoth, Vigoroth and Slaking in tomorrow’s match. Max insists that Ash has no chance, Ash stays confident, and May remains torn over whom to support.

Major Events

• Arrival in Petalburg City
• Norman’s rumoured affair with Nurse Joy turns out to be an anniversary fireworks surprise for Caroline
• Brock meets Norman and Caroline
• Kenny debuts
• Karen Neill’s first episode as Caroline
• Slakoth and Slaking debut

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Slakoth#0287 · AG069
• Slaking#0289 · AG069

Trivia

• The English title plays on the TV series Love, American Style (the third title to borrow it, after EP153 and EP267).
• The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Hoenn storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• Norman’s blush painted out
• Norman’s suspected affair with Nurse Joy becomes a forgotten-anniversary quarrel; Brock’s advice to “leave Joy” becomes “apologize and grovel” (Dogasu’s Backpack: “pretty spineless”)
• Senri renamed Norman
• Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon is best against Combusken? Answer: Togetic

Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.