So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d – Pokémon Season 1, Episode 49

Filler / stand-alone episodeFillerFarfetch’d debut

So Near, Yet So Farfetch’d is the 49th episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 49th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 51, Bulbapedia code EP049). It first aired in Japan on 18 June 1998 and in the United States on 20 March 1999. It falls within the season’s The comeback, Charizard & the Egg stretch (EP39–EP51).

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

Synopsis

Ash and his friends have been on the road for quite a while now, so they decide to take a little break in a beautiful Meadow. Ash and Brock discuss the rumour that a Farfetch’d has been seen nearby before going to get some water from a spring, leaving Misty looking after their stuff, a few moments after they leave Misty see’s Farfetch’d marching toward he who puts on quite a show.

Misty decides to try and capture Farfetch’d in the absence of Ash and Brock but it starts to run off, Misty gives chase and Farfetch’d seems to be taunting her, leading her deeper into the woods. Misty runs straight into someone, he apologises to her and then runs off. Upon reaching the group again Misty explains that she went after Farfetch’d, much to the disgust of Ash and Brock who suspect she’d been sneaking around trying to do so the whole time, she then finds the contents of her bags had been exchanged for rocks, obviously by the guy she ran into!

The trainer and Farfetch’d are walking in the woods celebrating that they stole all of Misty’s Pokemon, and they return to their camp in the woods where they have a cache of goods and Pokemon stashed that they stole from other trainers. They see Team Rocket in the distance and decide to try a similar trick, the trainer asks Team Rocket if they want to trade for his Farfetch’d and also offers to sell Misty’s Pokemon. Keith (the owner of Farfetch’d) then leads Team Rocket to a boat on a river and asks them to watch over his PokéBalls and his Farfetch’d while he goes to get something that he forgot. Team Rocket steal the boat, the bag and Farfetch’d and start escaping down the river, but then the boat Keith rigged starts to take on water quickly, Farfetch’d laughs and then flies away leaving Team Rocket to sink, their own Pokéballs float out of their pockets and Farfetch’d arrives to steal Arbok and Weezing and beat Meowth with it’s leek before laughing and running off again.

Keith and Farfetch’d celebrate yet another succesful heist, meanwhile Misty and co are telling Officer Jenny that she must have lost her bag in an accident, but she tells them it’s no accident and that the kid and his Farfetch’d have been doing it a lot, but she can’t track them down. It’s revealed that Keith found Farfetch’d injured and nursed him back to health, shortly after that they started stealing, but it’s also revealed that he wishes there was another way that they could get by, but that they are too weak to battle. Psyduck does its usual trick and comes out of it’s Pokéball without being told to do so and wanders off into the forest, Team Rocket are searching for Keith out for revenge, Ash and co along with Officer Jenny are also searching when Psyduck finds them. Misty tries to get info from Psyduck on which way to go, but doesn’t get a lot of sense. Keith and Farfetch’d pack up their camp and are about to start walking away when Team Rocket land in their balloon, Keith offers them their own Pokemon back, but they want more, so Keith offers them all of them and his apologies. Team Rocket fly off in their balloon with their haul of Pokéballs, as Keith’s waving them off Ash and co find Keith and Farfetch’d who are now under arrest. Officer Jenny suggests a Pokemon battle to teach him how hard raising Pokemon is, Keith insists Farfetch’d is too weak but Farfetch’d wants to fight. Farfetch’d takes a beating from Bulbasaurs vine whip but then uses its agility and Leek attacks and manages to win. Keith sees that Farfetch’d actually has attacks and powers and says if he knew he wouldn’t have ever used it to steal. Psyduck is the only Pokemon Misty has and it steps up to battle, Farfetch’d hits Psyduck on the head over and over, resulting in Psyduck beating Farfetch’d with a powerful psychic attack.

Meanwhile Team Rocket open the Pokéballs, to find that it was all Voltorb and start throwing them out of the balloons, exploding by Keith, Ash and co + Officer Jenny. Keith admits it was wrong to steal, and to not believe in Farfetch’d, he returns all the stolen goods and Pokemon, no one presses charges against Keith as everyone got their stuff back, and he and Farfetch’d set out on their own Pokemon journey.

Major Events

• Debut: Farfetch’d. Last episode with Nicholas James Tate as the Pokédex. Jessie’s Lickitung mentioned before its (rescheduled) capture.

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Farfetch’d#0083 · EP049

Trivia

• The English title plays on "so near, yet so far".
• The screenplay is by Atsuhiro Tomioka.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto story.

Changes in the English Dub

• “baaka” note → tongue-out face
• Jenny’s Farfetch’d sign translated
• Fourth-wall line: “he tricked us two times in one episode”
• Dub ending: the Kanto Pokérap (Thursday segment)

Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.