Go Go Ludicolo! – Pokémon Season 7, Episode 27

Filler / stand-alone episodeCorphish’s jealousyLudicolo TV debut

Go Go Ludicolo! is the 27th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 340th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 343, Bulbapedia code AG067). It first aired in Japan on 11 March 2004 and in the United States on 26 February 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

With Petalburg City just over the mountain, the group take a break and Ash lets out all his Pokémon to choose a team for his battle with Norman, whose line-up he cannot remember beyond Vigoroth. Max refuses to give anything away, and May admits that she wants her father to win without wanting Ash to lose. Everyone welcomes the newly evolved Grovyle except Corphish, which is uneasy about the attention it gets. When Taillow finds a fruit tree, Corphish crushes the fruit with its pincers, damages more with Bubble Beam and rams the trunk, while Grovyle slices fruit down cleanly with Leaf Blade and is praised for it. Then Team Rocket trap Ash’s Pokémon in an electricity-proof net. Corphish cannot cut it, but Grovyle’s Leaf Blade frees everyone and blasts the trio away, deepening Corphish’s envy.

As Brock serves sandwiches to ease the tension, a Ludicolo dances in with its bongo-playing Trainer, Poncho, who proposes a wager: if he wins he takes the sandwiches, and if he loses he will buy everyone cheeseburgers. Ash accepts as a warm-up, and when Grovyle steps forward Corphish protests, so Ash sends Corphish in. Guided by Poncho’s rhythm, Ludicolo dodges Corphish’s attacks, uses Protect and surrounds it with Double Team. Corphish fails to find the real one, takes a Focus Punch and is knocked out by Hyper Beam, and Poncho cheerfully thanks them for lunch and leaves. May and Max point out that Ash and Corphish were out of sync and underestimated their opponent, and the group realise they have been overlooking Corphish while praising Grovyle. Upset, Corphish runs off alone into the forest.

Following the sound of bongos, Corphish finds Poncho and Ludicolo and demands a rematch, but Team Rocket, who want Ludicolo for Giovanni, trap the pair in a net. Unable to tear it, Corphish punches the Meowth balloon until it deflates and crashes. Ash’s group arrive to find Poncho, Ludicolo and Corphish unharmed, and Ash lets Corphish handle Cacnea and Seviper alone: Harden blocks Pin Missile, and Crabhammer and Bubble Beam send Team Rocket flying. Over Brock’s stew, Poncho apologises for taking the sandwiches and suggests Corphish just had an off day, and Ash challenges him to another match, this time with Torkoal. Iron Defense blocks Ludicolo’s Focus Punch, and when Double Team fills the field Ash stays calm, sweeping through all the copies with one Flamethrower that scorches the real Ludicolo. His friends note how much better he has become at managing his team.

Major Events

• Corphish grows jealous of Grovyle and loses to Poncho’s bongo-led Ludicolo
• Torkoal wins the rematch
• Ludicolo’s TV debut

Pokémon making their anime debut

• Ludicolo#0272 · AG067

Trivia

• The English title plays on the cheer "go, go!" and Ludicolo’s dance.
• The screenplay is by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi.
• This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Hoenn story.

Changes in the English Dub

• Omurice becomes cheeseburgers
• Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon evolves into Altaria? Answer: Swablu

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