Double Team Turnover! – Pokémon Season 11, Episode 45

Plot episodeLustrous Orb stolenCyrus revealed as boss

Double Team Turnover! is the 45th episode of Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension, the eleventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 560th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 564, Bulbapedia code DP097). It first aired in Japan on 2 October 2008 and in the United States on 7 March 2009. It falls within the season’s Team Galactic strikes Celestic Town stretch (EP96–EP97).

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

Synopsis

Inside the Research Center, Ash, Dawn and Cynthia face Commanders Saturn and Mars. Cynthia’s Gastrodon sweeps aside the Grunts’ Golbat, Ash sends out Pikachu and Chimchar and Dawn sends out Piplup and Pachirisu, and Gastrodon and Garchomp repel Purugly’s Shadow Ball and Toxicroak’s Dark Pulse. Chimchar takes a Poison Jab meant for Pikachu and is badly hurt. In the chaos Team Rocket grab the Lustrous Orb, only to be caught by Officer Jenny and surrounded by Galactic Grunts, until Cyrus quietly orders Mars and Saturn to let them go. Saturn sends Golbat after the trio and slips away, and the heroes retreat to the Pokémon Center to treat Chimchar and Croagunk. Meanwhile Commander Jupiter and her Skuntank use the Spear Key to track the Lustrous Orb, and Team Rocket hide in the bombed-out Celestic Ruins until a Golbat spots them and Ash’s Staravia joins the search.

At the Pokémon Center, Cynthia explains the importance of the Adamant and Lustrous Orbs and their link to Dialga and Palkia. Ash blames himself for Chimchar’s injury, but Cynthia tells him to look ahead rather than dwell on regrets, and reveals that Chimchar once battled her under Paul’s command. Professor Carolina and Cyrus visit the ruins to inspect the damage, and a Golbat tells Cyrus where Team Rocket are hiding. Mars uses Bronzor’s Hypnosis to put the nearby police to sleep and attacks the trio with Purugly and Bronzor, until Pikachu, Staravia, Piplup and Garchomp intervene. Trapped, Team Rocket threaten to smash the Lustrous Orb, and Cyrus angrily lectures them on Sinnoh’s history and the orbs’ place in the legend of time and space, then laughs maniacally as the Golbat swarm in. In the confusion, Jupiter’s Skuntank snatches the Lustrous Orb.

That night Professor Carolina briefs Officer Jenny while Cynthia and the heroes lament the loss. Cyrus tells the friends that they fought well and that he will remember their efforts, then leaves. The next morning Cynthia departs to face a challenger for her Champion title, urging the group to carry on with their journey but stay alert for Team Galactic’s next move. At Team Galactic’s secret headquarters, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn study the Adamant Orb, Lustrous Orb and Spear Key wired into laboratory machines. Cyrus enters and scolds Saturn for his failure while Mars snickers, reveals that Ash and Dawn have seen Mesprit and Azelf, and orders Jupiter to capture the lake guardians with the help of Pokémon hunters. Mars reports that the Fuego Ironworks has completed its meteorite experiment, advancing the Red Chain project, and Cyrus, now revealed as Team Galactic’s boss, laughs as he imagines ruling with the power of Dialga and Palkia.

Major Events

• Team Galactic steal the Lustrous Orb. Jupiter debuts with her Skuntank
• Team Rocket’s attempt to grab the orb
• Cyrus is revealed to viewers as Team Galactic’s boss
• The plan to capture the lake guardians and the Red Chain experiment
• West Sea Gastrodon’s, Purugly’s and Skuntank’s TV debuts

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Gastrodon#0423 · DP097
• Purugly#0432 · DP097
• Skuntank#0435 · DP097

Trivia

• The English title plays on the basketball terms “double team” and “turnover”.
• The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This is a plot episode: it advances the Sinnoh storyline.

Changes in the English Dub

• Pokémon.com listed the episode as A Double Team Turnover
• Ash quips “Who’s that Pokémon?” at Jupiter’s Skuntank
• Japanese voices can still be heard under the English ones
• The Japanese title card uses the Ruby and Sapphire-era title-card music

Part of our Pokémon DP: Battle Dimension guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.