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| Season | Pokémon Journeys: The Series (Season 23) · Rivals & setbacks arc (JN031–JN041) |
| Episode | Season 23, episode 41 · English episode 1121 · Japanese episode 1127 · Bulbapedia code JN041 |
| English title | Pikachu Translation Check… / Up to Your Neck! |
| Japanese title | ピカチュウ アテレコ大作戦！／半分、ヌマクロー。 Pikachū Atereko Daisakusen! / Hanbun, Numakurō. — “The Great Pikachu Dubbing Operation! / Half a Numacraw.” |
| First aired (Japan) | 16 October 2020 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 5 March 2021 · Netflix |
| Screenplay | Deko Akao |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Wan, Tsū, Surī (One, Two, Three) – Nishikawa-kun and Kirishō · Pokémon Shiritori (Mew → Zamazenta Ver.) – Pokémon Music Club |
| English opening | The Journey Starts Today – Walk off the Earth |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Marshtomp (US) · Marshtomp (Japan) |
| Previous episode | A Crackling Raid Battle! (JN040) |
| Next episode | Sword and Shield, Slumbering Weald! (JN042) |
Filler / stand-alone episodeTwo storiesTeam Rocket dub Pikachu
Pikachu Translation Check… / Up to Your Neck! is the 41st episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, the twenty-third season of the Pokémon anime, and the 1121st episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 1127, Bulbapedia code JN041). It first aired in Japan on 16 October 2020 and in the United States on 5 March 2021. It falls within the season’s Rivals & setbacks stretch (EP31–EP41).
Synopsis
In two short stories, Team Rocket try to translate Pikachu’s speech themselves while Meowth is sick in bed, and Ash and Goh try every trick they can think of to free a wild Marshtomp stuck fast in dried mud. In their Vermilion City base, James is stacking Poké Balls to beat his record when Meowth appears in a mask, having caught a cold. Jessie and James tuck him in and fuss over him, though he suspects they only want to slack off, and he collapses while trying to tell them the one thing Team Rocket is missing. Bored, Jessie and James have Wobbuffet play drone footage of Ash’s Pikachu and launch “Operation Get Pikachu For Sure”: since they have always relied on Meowth to translate, they will dub Pikachu’s lines themselves. Meowth, overhearing, admits the plan is not bad but worries that they will no longer need him.
Jessie gives Pikachu a snooty, arrogant voice, which James says makes it sound far too pompous; his own friendlier version, ending every sentence with “Pi,” sparks an argument. Zooming in on a clip of a Team Rocket blast-off, James studies the sparkle in Pikachu’s eyes and concludes that it is kindly saying goodbye, and the two burst into tears, declaring their love for Pikachu. Meowth stays silent, unsure whether to tell them what Pikachu actually said. Once he is well again, the trio call the Rocket Prize Master, but its two balls contain only a leaflet listing the titles of the day’s two stories, and the trio realise that one of them describes the segment they have just been in.
In the second story, Ash and Goh walk through a forest after days of storms and find a wild Marshtomp stuck firmly in the hardened ground. Goh’s Rotom Phone explains that Marshtomp need moisture to keep their skin from drying out; Ash’s stick cannot break the soil, and Goh’s Poké Ball fails because the Pokémon is anchored in place. The other Marshtomp watching nearby are too timid to help with Water Gun, Goh’s Sobble panics and camouflages itself, and a bucket relay with leaves is slow and ends with Ash spilling the first load. A passing Ludicolo seems the answer, but the absent-minded Pokémon uses Sunny Day instead of Rain Dance, making the sun even hotter. After staring at the helpless Marshtomp for a while, it finally dances and claps up a Rain Dance; the rain soaks the ground, the Marshtomp pulls itself free, and Ludicolo spins it around as all the Marshtomp join the dance. The next day the boys return to find every Marshtomp buried in the ground again and Ludicolo nowhere in sight.
Major Events
- Two stories. Team Rocket dub Pikachu’s lines while Meowth is sick in bed
- Ash and Goh free a Marshtomp stuck in dried mud with the help of a Ludicolo’s Rain Dance
- Goh fails to catch the Marshtomp
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Deko Akao.
- This is a stand-alone episode: it can be skipped without losing the thread of the Kanto, Galar & beyond story.
Changes in the English Dub
- The opening and first title card, which in Japanese sit between the two stories, are moved near the start
Part of our Pokémon Journeys: The Series guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.