EP154

← EP153 : Love, Totodile Style

Original series

EP155 : Forest Grumps →

Fowl Play!

EP154   いろちがいのヨルノズク！ゲットだぜ！！ A Differently Colored Yorunozuku! Catch It!!

First broadcast Japan June 29, 2000 United States April 28, 2001

English themes Opening Pokémon Johto Ending

Japanese themes Opening OK! Ending ポケモンはらはら²リレー

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 武上純希 Junki Takegami Storyboard 藤本義孝 Yoshitaka Fujimoto Assistant director 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Fowl Play! (Japanese: いろちがいのヨルノズク！ゲットだぜ！！ A Differently Colored Yorunozuku! Catch It!!) is the 154th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on June 29, 2000 and in the United States on April 28, 2001.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

Ash has his sights set on a rare and brightly-colored Noctowl, but this Pokémon's hypnosis leaves Ash's team unable to tell reality from illusion, much less stand up to another Pokémon in battle.

Plot

Ash, Misty, and Brock are walking through a forest when they notice bird house up in a tree. They wonder which Pokémon could go there when a Noctowl appears so they hide so it won't be scared off. Ash looks it up on his Pokédex. A man then shoos the Noctowl away by using a branch from where he is hiding on the tree saying the Noctowl isn't the one he wants. The Noctowl flies away. A rare, Shiny Noctowl then appears outside the bird house. The man has berries on a stick and moves them up at the Shiny Noctowl. It knocks them off, hits the tree so the man falls off but hangs onto a branch and the Noctowl flies away but comes back to peck the man's fingers so he falls to the floor.

The man then introduces himself as Dr. Wiseman and that he wants to catch the Shiny Noctowl but it keeps outsmarting him. Ash decides he wants to catch a Noctowl. The Shiny Noctowl is smaller than the regular Noctowl and cleverer making it even rarer which is why Dr. Wiseman wants it. Ash tries to catch the Shiny Noctowl using a Poké Ball but it kicks the Poké Ball right back at Ash. The Noctowl uses Hypnosis on Ash to think a rock is his Pikachu and it won't answer him so Pikachu can't battle the Noctowl to catch it. Ash picks up the rock but lands on his back with the rock on him, and Noctowl flies away. In Dr. Wiseman's house in the forest, he says he is only interested in catching the rarest and most unusual Pokémon. Misty says she has a rare Pokémon and Dr. Wiseman would like to see it so she calls out Psyduck. She explains the Psyduck is rare and unusual as it can't fly or swim. Dr. Wiseman is even more determined to catch the Noctowl as he hears Misty laughing which reminds him of the Noctowl mocking him. Dr. Wiseman vows he will outsmart the Noctowl as does Ash. Dr. Wiseman has a trap to catch the Noctowl.

Ash wants to see it but Dr. Wiseman doesn't let him. Ash says he won't use traps and will catch the Noctowl fair and square. Team Rocket overhears them while they are on the roof and plans to give the Noctowl to their Boss. Dr. Wiseman is seen setting his trap and they all hide in the bush. Noctowl lands on a branch so Dr. Wiseman pulls a rope which reveals a mirror next to where the Noctowl stands. Noctowl sees its reflection and uses Hypnosis on its reflection which makes the Noctowl hypnotize itself as the mirror reflects the move back. Noctowl falls out the tree after hypnotizing Dr. Wiseman who picks up a rock, believing it to be the Noctowl. Noctowl is seen wobbling away as it is still under Hypnosis. Ash asks Noctowl whether it is ok. Noctowl turns around and Brock warns Ash that Noctowl might feel threatened by him. The wind picks up and a branch hits Dr. Wiseman which makes him realize he is holding a rock. A massive regular Noctowl machine appears with Team Rocket controlling it. Meowth breaks the fourth wall by saying they are going to capture the Shiny Noctowl after the commercials. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to hit the machine but it bounces off it.

Ash calls out Totodile and Cyndaquil. Team Rocket blow up the balloons on their machine which blows Cyndaquil and Totodile away. Dr. Wiseman decides to catch the Noctowl while everyone is distracted by the wind. Team Rocket notice him running away, carrying Noctowl with him so they grab him with a mechanical Noctowl foot that comes from the machine. Dr. Wiseman is flung away as the robot catches the Noctowl. Team Rocket celebrate as they began to fly away. Ash sends out Bulbasaur and Chikorita who use Vine Whip to stop the robot Noctowl from flying away. Ash climbs a tree to get to the Shiny Noctowl. Ash jumps onto the mechanical Noctowl foot and tries to pry the foot open. Psyduck tries to use Confusion buts turns red and falls to the floor. Ash manages to loosen the mechanical foot enough so Noctowl can fly away. Ash falls through the trees and Noctowl talks to Ash's Pokémon. Cyndaquil uses Flamethrower on the robot then Totodile takes over by using Water Gun while the robot is boiling hot. The metal begins to crack. Pikachu uses a Thunderbolt in the crack formed, causing the machine to blow up and blasting Team Rocket off.

Noctowl challenges Ash to a battle. Dr. Wiseman decides it's too smart for his plans to trap it so he decides that Ash should have a turn because he cannot catch it. Ash uses Pikachu to fight the Noctowl. Thunderbolt is used first while Noctowl uses Hypnosis. Pikachu sends the Thunderbolt everywhere and even hits himself which makes him go back to normal. Noctowl swoops as Pikachu who just missed being hit by it and runs away, Noctowl close behind him. Pikachu listens to the Noctowl's wings instead of looking at it so it won't get hypnotized. Noctowl is hit by Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Ash throws a Poké Ball at Noctowl and Ash catches it.

Major events

• Ash catches a Shiny Noctowl.

For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debut

• Noctowl (Ash's)

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Dr. Wiseman

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Entei (U.S. and international), Noctowl (Ash's) (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Chikorita (Ash's)
• Cyndaquil (Ash's)
• Totodile (Ash's)
• Noctowl (Ash's, new; Shiny; debut)
• Psyduck (Misty's)

Trivia

• This episode's English title is a pun on the phrase foul play.
• Truly Shiny Pokémon debuted in this episode, though other Pokémon with different colors than the rest of their species had been shown before.
• In the games, Hypnosis puts Pokémon to sleep, but in this episode, it confuses them and makes them delusional.
• Meowth breaks the fourth wall by exclaiming, "We're going to capture that colorful Noctowl right after we get back from the next commercial!"
• This is so far the only time when a main character has managed to catch a Shiny Pokémon.
• The book Tough Enough is based on this episode.
• Fowl Play is also the name of a Mario Party 3 mini-game; coincidentally, this episode aired the week before Mario Party 3 was released in the Americas.

Errors

• When Ash throws Cyndaquil's Poké Ball, he calls for Totodile. Likewise, he calls for Cyndaquil when he throws Totodile's Lure Ball.
  • However, he calls them both at the same time, so it might just be an accident.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		抓到漂亮的貓頭夜鷹
Czech		Chytrá sova
Dutch		Een (V)uil Spelletje
European French		Prise de bec
German		Schlauer als Noctuh
Hebrew		קרב מוחות krav mochot
Hindi		फाउल प्ले Fowl Play *
Hungarian		Bölcs baglyok
Italian		Ride bene chi ride ultimo* Le regole del gioco*
Polish		Gra ptaków!
Portuguese	Brazil	Cérebro de Ave
	Portugal	Falta!
Romanian		Joacă de Copii
Spanish	Latin America	¡Un Pokémon inteligente!
	Spain	Juego sucio

← EP153 : Love, Totodile Style

Original series

EP155 : Forest Grumps →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.