Episode 69 - Pokemon: the Movie!
This time for sure, Ash is going to do some serious XP-grinding and--
Famous film director Heat Minamino/Cleavon Schpielbunk, two-timer winner of the Binnes Film Festival, is attempting to film a Pokemon movie. He's looking for a leading Pokemon actor for a romance drama, who will be playing opposite a Wigglytuff.
Unfortunately, Wigglytuff's a bit of a diva and prone to Doubleslapping anyone who catches their ire. Their intended partner ran off. So now the film is trying to recast.
Team Rocket auditions their mains and Meowth. Ash, Brock, and Misty send up Pikachu, Vulpix, and Staryu Psyduck respectively. They all strut their stuff and show off dance moves, along with some randos' Hitmonlee and Raichu. And I choke on my chicken tender when the diagetic music's pun-filled lyrics about various Pokemon names sings out, "Lucky Lucky, nice to Mewtwo!" That singer's had some experiences he's not talking about.
Everyone we care about plus Raichu makes it into the final round of casting: Testing compatibility and onscreen chemistry with Wigglytuff. The over-aggressive Rockets fail immediately and get Doubleslapped out of the casting call. Pikachu, Vulpix, and the randos also get cold feet and bow out, but Psyduck's too stupid to flee so they win by default.
Once casting's complete, the director lays out the story and filming begins. It's West Side Story but with Pokemon. Filming goes off without a hitch up until the rumble, when Team Rocket shows up for revenge. But their interference ultimately spices up the film, and the director decides to keep the footage.
Once filming wraps, Ash promises to meet one of the randos from earlier at Indigo Plateau, but laments that he still hasn't done any training.
