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| Season | Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series (Season 24) · Spring at the lab & into the Ultra Class arc (JN061–JN067) |
| Episode | Season 24, episode 13 · English episode 1141 · Japanese episode 1147 · Bulbapedia code JN061 |
| English title | Searching for Service with a Smile! |
| Japanese title | まるっとおまかせ！プラスルマイナン便利屋さん！！ Marutto Omakase! Purasuru Mainan Benriya-san!! — “Leave Everything to Us! Prasle Minun Handymen!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 9 April 2021 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 21 January 2022 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Jun’ichi Fujisaku |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Karaage Sisters · Pokémon Shiritori (Mew → Zamazenta Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | Journey to Your Heart – Haven Paschall |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Minun (US) · Minun (Japan) |
| Previous episode | Beyond Chivalry… Aiming to be a Leek Master! (JN060) |
| Next episode | Not Too Close for Comfort! (JN062) |
Filler / stand-alone episodePlusle and Minun All Service
Searching for Service with a Smile! is the 13th episode of Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series, the twenty-fourth season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1141st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1147, Bulbapedia code JN061). It first aired in Japan on 9 April 2021 and in the United States on 21 January 2022. It falls within the season’s Spring at the lab & into the Ultra Class stretch (EP61–EP67).
The first episode of Netflix’s Part 2 (JN061–JN075), released in the US on Friday 21 January 2022; Teletoon had premiered it in Canada on 4 September 2021, followed by POP in the UK on 17 September 2021 and e.tv in South Africa on 26 October 2021. The quarterly releases announced for the season slipped: whats-on-netflix had expected this part in December 2021.
Synopsis
Ash and Goh help the nervous handywoman Multa run her business for a day after her partner Devi is injured, ending with a daring rescue of a herd of Tauros stolen by Team Rocket. When the bathroom taps at the Cerise Laboratory start leaking, Professor Cerise calls in Devi and Multa of Plusle and Minun All Service, a handyman company named after their Pokémon mascots. They fix the leaks quickly, but on the way out Devi trips on the laboratory’s entrance stairs and is taken to hospital. Multa’s Plusle stays cheerful, but Devi’s Minun is furious with her. When a call comes in for a new job, Ash and Goh offer to help, and after some hesitation Multa accepts. Their first assignment is brushing the coats of a wealthy man’s Tauros herd, which goes smoothly. Next they head into the pitch-dark Rock Tunnel to find a Trainer’s lost Tauros; Goh’s Grookey startles it into a rampage, but the Trainer is happily reunited with his Pokémon.
In a park, meanwhile, Team Rocket are plotting to steal the wealthy man’s Tauros when a drinking fountain breaks and gushes water over Jessie. Overhearing Multa talk about her work, the disguised trio ask for her help, and although she is nervous at first, she calms herself and fixes the fountain with Ash and Goh’s assistance. Minun remains grumpy with her all the same. When the rich man calls asking them to look after his Tauros within the hour, Multa hands the disguised trio one of her company’s leaflets, and Jessie gets an idea. An hour later, Multa and the boys learn that the man has already handed his herd to another team of handymen. They track the workers down and find Team Rocket in disguise. Exposed, the trio recite their motto and run, but they step onto loose planks over an open manhole, and Meowth and the bag of Poké Balls plunge in; several Tauros burst out and pin Meowth down.
Taking a deep breath, Multa takes charge of the rescue. Ash and Goh lower the winch cable from her car into the manhole, James is put to work operating the winch, and Multa climbs down to harness the Tauros one by one. As the last Tauros is lifted, the winch’s battery dies, and it falls back, leaving Multa and Meowth dangling from its harness. Seeing Multa in danger, Minun finally joins Plusle in cheering her on, and the two rush to recharge the car battery with Discharge, but their power is not enough until Pikachu boosts them with Thunderbolt. The winch roars back to life and hauls Multa, Meowth and the last Tauros to safety. Team Rocket try to slip away, but the angry Tauros kick them into the sky. That evening Multa, Ash and Goh visit Devi in hospital, and he is delighted to hear how well Multa led the team and looks forward to working with her again.
Major Events
- Plusle and Minun All Service. Ash and Goh help the handywoman Multa while her partner Devi is in hospital
- A herd of Tauros stolen by Team Rocket is rescued from a manhole
- Planned for 26 March 2021 in Japan but aired on 9 April
Trivia
- The English title plays on the phrase “service with a smile”, for the handymen of Plusle and Minun All Service.
- The screenplay is by Jun’ichi Fujisaku.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto, Galar & beyond story.
Part of our Pokémon Master Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.