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| Season | Pokémon: Advanced Challenge (Season 7) · Littleroot to Rubello: Oak, Bulbasaur & the R1 Contest arc (AG071–AG078) |
| Episode | Season 7, episode 34 · English episode 347 · Japanese episode 350 · Bulbapedia code AG074 |
| English title | Hokey Poké Balls! |
| Japanese title | フシギダネとフシギダネ！モンスターボールを取り返せ！！ Fushigidane to Fushigidane! Monsutā Bōru o Torikaese!! — “Fushigidane and Fushigidane! Regaining the Monster Balls!!” |
| First aired (Japan) | 29 April 2004 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 16 April 2005 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Masashi Sogo |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Challenger!! – Rica Matsumoto · Smile (second version) – Toshiko Ezaki |
| English opening | This Dream – David Rolfe |
| Pokémon Trainer’s Choice | Which Pokémon is best against Meditite? — Combusken (the segment’s answer is wrong, and Nuzleaf’s name appeared under Beautifly’s picture) |
| Previous episode | Grass Hysteria! (AG073) |
| Next episode | Whiscash and Ash (AG075) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeAsh’s Bulbasaur visits
Hokey Poké Balls! is the 34th episode of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge, the seventh season of the Pokémon anime, and the 347th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 350, Bulbapedia code AG074). It first aired in Japan on 29 April 2004 and in the United States on 16 April 2005. It falls within the season’s Littleroot to Rubello: Oak, Bulbasaur & the R1 Contest stretch (EP71–EP78).
Synopsis
In a busy town, May lets her new Bulbasaur out to see the sights, but the curious Pokémon wanders towards a fruit stall and then climbs into a flower truck that drives off with it. Ash and Brock catch up, stop the driver and return it to May. At the Pokémon Center, Team Rocket, disguised as repairmen, have rigged the Pokémon transporter so that any Poké Balls sent through it end up in their hands. Ash calls Professor Oak, and the two Bulbasaur hit it off instantly over the video link, so Ash asks Oak to send his own Bulbasaur so they can meet properly. The transfer seems to work, but the Poké Ball that arrives is empty. Max suspects the repairmen, and Nurse Joy agrees once the real repair crew turns up at the door.
Outside, Team Rocket are collecting the stolen Poké Balls as they come through, and they flee in their balloon, using rocket boosters to dodge Taillow, Beautifly and even Pikachu’s Thunderbolt. The engines then fail and the balloon drifts away, but a Poké Ball falls out on the way. May’s Bulbasaur catches it, and out pops Ash’s Bulbasaur. The two greet each other with a high-five of vines and join the search while Taillow and Beautifly scout from the air. A hole in James’s sack leaves a trail of Poké Balls, and with help from a wild Shroomish and Nuzleaf the group track the villains to a cabin. James lowers steel walls around it, but Ash spots an open window and the others climb onto the roof to reach the stolen balls.
Team Rocket fight back by releasing other Trainers’ stolen Pokémon, a Golbat and a Primeape, but the two Bulbasaur grab the sack with their vines and swat James, Brock recalls the stolen Pokémon, and Pikachu’s Iron Tail smashes through the wall to drive the trio outside. Seviper and Cacnea knock out May’s Bulbasaur and overpower its Razor Leaf, but Ash’s Bulbasaur blocks Pin Missile with Vine Whip. Together the two Bulbasaur push the villains back and seize the sack before Pikachu’s Thunderbolt blasts Team Rocket away. The group return the Poké Balls to their owners. Then Professor Oak calls: the Grass- and Water-types at the lab are feuding again, and he needs Ash’s Bulbasaur back to keep the peace. Ash sends it home, and May’s Bulbasaur, having learned from its senior, seems more confident as the journey continues.
Major Events
- Team Rocket rig a Pokémon Center transporter
- Ash’s Bulbasaur visits from Professor Oak’s lab, the first time he calls up a pre-Hoenn Pokémon, and is sent back
Trivia
- The English title plays on the hokey pokey.
- The screenplay is by Masashi Sogo.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Hoenn story.
Changes in the English Dub
- Primeape’s punch hidden behind an impact star
- The dub title card misformats “Pokéballs”
- Pokémon Trainer’s Choice (dub only, in place of Who’s That Pokémon?): which Pokémon is best against Meditite? Answer: Combusken (a wrong answer, and Nuzleaf’s name appeared under the picture of Beautifly)
Part of our Pokémon: Advanced Challenge guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.