Today finds the twerps in Johanna's (Dawn's mother's) house, Dawn doing the dishes assisted by Piplup while Johanna explains that Professor Oak will be doing a guest lecture as the first "event" of the Twinleaf Festival. 

Wow, what a rocking fucking festival this is going to be! As long as there isn't....



Cheap popping fireworks over the town seem to signal the start of the Festival, as Johanna and the twerps meet with Izzy and Cara at where Oak was supposed to have arrived.... but he's not there!  The twerps head off to look for him, while Mr. Sayer is trying to find his three employers after they disappeared.  He heads off to find them, and Team Rocket pop up with plans to sell shoddy merchandise as endorsed by Professor Oak.  James points out that Oak is out of their price range, but Jesse has an idea, which horrifies Meowth and soon James too as he discovers that the idea is to dress him up as Professor Oak!

He can't believe this was her plan (or that she had an Oak outfit lying around!) but he doesn't get a chance to talk his way out of it as Izzy and Cara spot him and drag him off to meet Johanna, while Jesse and Meowth hide from a furious Mr. Sayer.

Inside, FauxOak encounters Johanna and her bouffant hairdo of doom, and she stares up at him confused as James shits himself in terror that he is about to be exposed.... until Johanna beams that the video phone really ages him and he looks much younger in person!



Meanwhile, the REAL Professor Oak (who has please stood up) is checking out a marshland while his poor driver tries to fix the flat on his car.  The driver tries to call him back but Oak wants to check out the marsh for Pokémon, and heads away as the twerps run up, and Dawn reveals that the marshland is full of quicksand!

Meanwhile, James has pretty much just filled his pants with fear-turds.



The auditorium is filling up with people and Izzy, Cara and Johanna fully expect him to head out there any moment to deliver a lecture.  Jesse and Meowth are sitting in the crowd as well, wondering if James is going to go ahead with it, while James himself is trying to slip out undetected until Johanna spots him and he has to try and cover it up.

Meanwhile, Oak has been inspired by the Marshland and a Poliwhirl to recite a poem.  A rustling in the reeds gets his attention and he spots a Politoed, and leers revoltingly at it before trying to entice it over.  It snaps a finger and two Quagsire come in on either side of him like a street-gang, lift him up and carry him away on their shoulders, Oak showing a bit of his son's naive stupidity as he enjoys himself despite the obvious danger he is in.

Back at the lecture, FauxOak is again trying to escape, his legs looking useless as if fear has robbed him of all strength.  He's escorted out by Cara and Izzy as Johanna announces that the lecture will be on the Inter-relation of Pokémon and evolution stones.  Standing at the lectern, James just freezes up in terror, while Jesse and Meowth figure that if he is rumbled, it will wreck their schemes.

In the marshland, Dawn reminds Ash and Brock not to run off after Oak due to the quicksand.  They have to help though, so Piplup offers to lead them, as it is a Water-Type and should know where it is safe to move.

Guess how well that works out, Gentle Dodgers!



Buneary uses Ice-Beam to freeze the quicksand (and Piplup!) and Pikachu hammers it out (literally!) before Croagunk takes charge and leads them on.  Piplup follows after proudly, and when Croagunk stops because it detects Quicksand... Piplup keeps on going and begins sinking again.  Croagunk lifts it out with one paw and pops it back behind it, and Dawn picks it up to carry it and prevent it causing a menace again, as Croagunk makes a fantastically snide sniffing noise of contempt.

It leads them on as Dawn tells Piplup that they'll follow Croagunk from now on and it looks miserable.

Speaking of misery, James is freaking out at the lectern when he discovers that Jesse and Meowth have somehow gotten underneath the stage and suggest that he ask the crowd to give him their Pokeballs.  Realizing that this is a scheme and a chance to perform in the name of being a jerk, James' showmanship kicks into high gear and he begins delighting the crowd with his performance and asks them to hand over their Pokeballs.

Meanwhile, Croagunk is getting ready to throw down with Politoed!



Having lead them to the cave that Politoed and its Quagsire gangmembers are living in, Croagunk prevents Pikachu from attacking Politoed because it wants to deal with it by itself.  They charge each other, leaping into the air in time-honoured anime tradition, landing on opposite sides to where they started and bravely posing as the camera moves around them and everyone waits for one of them to inevitably fall..... and Croagunk makes its wonder PFFFFT of contempt again as Politoed's staunchness fades and it clutches its side in pain.  The Quagsires try to menace a disinterested Croagunk but Politoed calls them off and leads them all into the cave where they find Professor Oak trying to cheer up a miserable looking Lombre.

Piplup and Pikachu approach it and Lombre turns away from them despite its "playful trickster" Pokedex reading.  But Brock's Lombre wasn't exactly a playful trickster either.... until it turned into a Gay Pineapple Duck! And maybe this is what Politoed wants, as Oak suggests that it sensed Oak was carrying a Water Stone.  He gives it to Politoed which approaches Lombre, a physical manifestation of coming right the fuck out of the closet!



Yes Virginia, there is a Campy Claus!

Lombre evolves into Ludicolo, the Gay Pineapple Duck leaping about in delight at becoming a big fat party animal.  It swings Politoed around in delight, dancing happily and picking up Piplup and Pikachu to spin them right round baby right round, look like a record baby right round round round!

Dawn is delighted to hear another poem from Professor Oak, but then her Poketch reminds them of the time and they have to drag Oak away to get to his lecture.  Leaving the coming out party behind them, they head to the theatre where FauxOak's scheme has gotten him a whole bunch of Pokeballs (Jesse commenting from beneath the stage about how much she loves a big pile of balls!) at just the wrong time, as Professor Oak shows up.



James is freaking out again, and Jesse and Meowth know that they're screwed and replace the trapdoor on the stage and get the fuck out of there.  James, realising that he's stuck in an impossible situation, tries to bluff himself out by insisting he IS the real Professor Oak.  As the two get ready to throw down, a nerdy kid asks if either of them can help him with his troublesome Tyranitar.  He calls the huge Pokémon out onto the stage, where it glares menacingly over the crowd.

The problem you have, Weedy kid, is that you're a weedy little jerk and your Pokémon has no respect for you, go to the gym!

FauxOak approaches Tyranitar insisting that as the real deal, he doesn't need any luck to deal with Tyranitar.... and gets slammed in the gut for his troubles!



Smashed through the roof and blasting off again, Jesse and Meowth run outside and watch him disappear into the sky - at least THEY got off relatively scott-free.

The real Oak approaches Tyranitar and looks it in the eyes, telling them that he is going to "join his heart" with Tyranitar.

You get arrested for that in EVERY state, you know.... well, except maybe Tennessee.

But he seems to sense what is wrong and tells Tyranitar that this must hurt, then drops to his knees (HEY HEY!) and has it lift a leg and place one huge foot directly in front of his face before he pulls out a prick.

Okay even in Tennessee that shit ain't going to fly!

A prick that is a thorn, of course! Because apparently Weedy Kid didn't think to take his Pokémon to see Nurse Joy.

Tyranitar is overjoyed and nuzzles up against Oak, and Weedy Kid runs up beside it as Johanna asks the crowd to give him a warm welcome and finally he can present his lecture.  Hilariously, the twerps don't stick around to listen, heading out of the auditorium to sit down and take a breather, Brock noticing that when you're famous, it seems like people will try to imitate you.

Take that, Yugi-Oh!

Meanwhile, Jesse and Meowth have found James hanging upside down in a tree, his wig come off but his outfit still on.  They get him down and then Mr. Sayer finally finds them, and in a fantastic Clark Kent moment, Jesse slips James' sunglasses on so that Sayer won't notice his Professor Oak outfit and put two and two together.  Sayer demands they get back to work, because the Twinleaf Festival has well and truly begun now!

LOL, Professor Oak was so randomly spazzy in this episode. All that "joining hearts" talk and just wandering off into some ratty swamp... not to mention that you could see the thorn in the foot thing coming from a mile away!

Dodgemaster Tim wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 11:54am:


Actually, I think that might be his Japanese voice, either left in by mistake or because of its sheer awesomeness.

Quote:


No I definitely got a "West Side Story" street gang vibe from them, it was fantastic.

Oh Oak. Where was that "join your heart" thing when Bayleef was headbutting you in the groin?

oh jeez weedy kid why didn't you just ask your tyranitar what the problem was? I'm sure it would of been pointing to it's foot with its tiny arms for quite somewhile til it gave up and realised it's trainer was an idiot.

Alley wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 7:39pm:


As noted before, the DP stuff has taken the bane of Johto's run - filler episodes - and turned them into funny, entertaining episodes that always feel like they were worth watching even if nothing much in terms of the over-arching "plot" of the series has happened.  It's almost like they're trying to redo all the Johto episodes but make them worth watching!

That "PFFT" sound is the "keh" sound I've mentioned many times before.
I think I once noted when they first started keeping that sound in the dub.

Amai Liang wrote on Jan 10^th, 2010 at 12:06pm:

It has been kept in previous episodes. Not sure when they started keep it.

I want me some Quagsire henchmen :3

I just remembered Oak and James have the same voice actor.

It's not uncommon when voice actors 'talk to themselves' but having a person voice a character pretending to be another character who they also voice. It must be very fun.