JN035

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Pokémon Journeys: The Series

JN036 : Making Battles in the Sand! →

Gotta Catch a What?!

JN035   EP1120 ピカチュウ、ゲットだぜ！！ Get Pikachu!!

First broadcast Japan August 30, 2020 United States December 4, 2020

English themes Opening The Journey Starts Today Ending

Japanese themes Opening １・２・３ Ending ポケモンしりとり（ミュウ→ザマゼンタVer.）

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 面出明美 Akemi Omode Storyboard 尼野浩正 Hiromasa Amano Assistant director 小柴純弥 Junya Koshiba Animation directors 酒井裕未 Hiromi Sakai 武内啓 Akira Takeuchi 野村美妃 Miki Nomura 大西雅也 Masaya Ōnishi No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Preview thread on BMGf Closed Original review thread on BMGf Dub review thread on BMGf

Gotta Catch a What?! (Japanese: ピカチュウ、ゲットだぜ！！ Get Pikachu!!) is the 35th episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,120th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on August 30, 2020 and in the United States on December 4, 2020.

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

Blurb

Goh has caught lots of Pokémon so far! But what to catch next? Admiring the camaraderie between Ash and Pikachu, he decides to catch a Pikachu of his own. Coincidentally, Professor Cerise wants our heroes to research a Pikachu outbreak, so they’re off! When they arrive, Goh catches a female Pikachu, whose friends are digging Thunder Stones out of the nearby rocks. But Team Rocket arrives, and they manage to round up not just the wild Pikachu, but Ash’s Pikachu, too! Goh’s Pikachu knows just what to do, using a Thunder Stone to evolve into Raichu to rescue its Pikachu friends—who launch a massive Thunderbolt, sending Team Rocket packing!

Plot

Goh looks over his vast collection of Pokémon, and over lunch he decides his next catch will be a Pikachu. Professor Cerise notices Goh is looking for something on his Rotom Phone. When Goh reveals that he wants to catch a Pikachu, the Professor replies that he has just gotten news of a mass outbreak of Pikachu in the mountains.

Arriving at their search site, Goh soon spots a potential Pikachu. He throws a Poké Ball, however the Pikachu leaps away. Ash then spots another one standing on a nearby ledge. Goh tries a curve throw this time, but the Pikachu uses its tail to bat the Ball directly into Goh's face. While the two Pikachu run off together, another Pikachu arrives to check on Goh. The new Pikachu happily presents him with a Pecha Berry before presenting Ash and the Pokémon with more Pecha Berries. The Pikachu sits beside Ash's Pikachu to enjoy the food, with Ash noting that this Pikachu is particularly caring. Goh notices the Pikachu's unusual tail shape, and a quick Pokédex scan reveals that the Pikachu is female. Ash prompts Goh to catch her, and he does so with a simple toss. Goh calls her out, welcoming her to his team with a gentle nuzzle. However, this leads Pikachu to incidentally zap him. Ash notes that this is how Pikachu greet others, adding that Goh will eventually get used to it.

Goh's Pikachu begins to run off, so the others follow her directly to the location of all the other Pikachu. The Team Rocket are also on the scene, hiding behind some rocks. While James is annoyed to see the twerps have arrived, Jessie remarks that now is a perfect opportunity to finally nab Ash’s Pikachu along with the others. Goh notices that Pikachu seem to be searching for something. After some digging and a few hits of Iron Tail, a Pikachu soon unearths a Thunder Stone. It then uses the Evolution stone to evolve into a Raichu. More Pikachu follow suit, and Goh deduces that the Pikachu outbreak is because they are all search for Thunder Stones to evolve. Goh's Pikachu soon digs up a Thunder Stone and approaches Ash's Pikachu with it. Pikachu, however, leaps backwards to avoid evolution. Though Goh's Pikachu proves relentless and corners Pikachu behind a large rock. Ash watches in shock as a large glow occurs and a newly-evolved Raichu appears. Though he is relieved when his Pikachu, still being chased, emerges unevolved. Goh notes that a Thunder Stone would make Pikachu stronger, to which Ash explains that his Pikachu is determined not to evolve and aims to get strong as a Pikachu. Ash politely declines Goh's Pikachu's gesture, so she hands the Thunder Stone to Goh for safekeeping. Goh realizes that his Pikachu may not want to evolve either, and Ash adds that Pokémon should only evolve when they want.

Reciting their motto, Team Rocket make their presence known. Goh's Pikachu is unaware of the threat and gives Team Rocket some Pecha Berries. The kind gesture is not enough to change their evil hearts, and Meowth returns with a shock-proof Pikachu vacuum machine. With only a few Pikachu, including Ash's left to grab, Jessie and James summon the Rocket Prize Master. They receive a Buneary and Minccino, and despite their cute appearance, the pair of Pokémon prove tough. Jessie orders a Dizzy Punch, which Goh's Raboot blocks using a Double Kick. Ash has Pikachu use Iron Tail, but the attack is cancelled out by Minccino's Swift attack. Pikachu and Buneary both use Quick Attack and collide into each other. James calls for a Double Slap, though the attack misses Raboot and instead knocks Goh's Sobble down. After Raboot retaliates with a successful Double Kick, Goh orders the remaining Pikachu and Raichu to run away. However Jessie has her Buneary Pound them, knocking the fleeing Pokémon into the vacuum mecha. James orders a Tickle to distract the fast-approaching Raboot, who tries to use Quick Attack. Meowth zeroes in on Goh's Pikachu, only for Ash's Pikachu to knock her out of the way and get sucked up instead. With Ash's Pikachu now captured, Jessie immediately orders a retreat. Team Rocket bundles onto the mecha before launching away with their Pikachu catch.

Team Rocket soon land, taking a moment to enjoy the feeling of success. Jessie then demands for confirmation that they actually nabbed Ash’s Pikachu, however telling all of the Pikachu apart proves difficult. Jessie takes the controls and uses the mechanical claw to select a Pikachu. The Pikachu, however, is a wrong one, and delivers a vengeful shock on Team Rocket after being called flabby.

Goh's Pikachu misses her friends and is feeling particularly sad. Goh promises that they will rescue all of the Pikachu together. A sudden light coming from the kidnapped Pikachu alerts Ash and Goh to Team Rocket’s whereabouts. Another confrontation begins, with Goh's Raboot scoring a Quick Attack strike on Buneary before Sobble drenches it with a Water Gun. While Ash and Goh face off against Buneary and Minccino, Goh's Pikachu rushes to help her friends. She reaches the mecha, but she fails to break open the glass capsule with her tail. Meowth soon notices her presence and tries to vacuum her up. Pikachu resists before realizing there is a way to become stronger. She calls out to Goh, who realizes that Pikachu must want to evolve. He tosses the Thunder Stone just as Pikachu is sucked inside. Pikachu promptly evolves into a Raichu, destroying the purpose-built Pikachu capture device’s nozzle in the process. She joins forces with the other Raichu to free the nabbed Pikachu from Team Rocket's clutches. Ash's Pikachu takes the lead position, ordering the Pikachu into a tower formation. Ash issues the official command, and all the Pikachu use Thunderbolt to blast Team Rocket off.

Ash and Goh return to Cerise Laboratory, with Raichu quickly making friends and sharing Berries with the other Pokémon. The Professor and his assistants review the day's footage and thank the boys for all the new data. Raichu hands out more Berries, although her generosity is already proving overbearing for Pikachu, Sobble, and Raboot.

Major events

• Goh tries to catch a Pikachu, failing twice before succeeding.
• Goh's Pikachu finds and gives him a Thunder Stone.
• Goh uses his Thunder Stone to evolve his Pikachu into Raichu.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Goh's Pikachu/Raichu

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Goh
• Jessie
• James
• Professor Oak
• Professor Cerise
• Chrysa
• Ren

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Pikachu (female)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Scorbunny (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Raboot (Goh's)
• Mr. Mime (Ash's; Mimey)
• Dragonite (Ash's)
• Gengar (Ash's)
• Caterpie (Goh's)
• Metapod (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Venomoth (Goh's)
• Paras (Goh's)
• Parasect (Goh's)
• Butterfree (Goh's)
• Pinsir (Goh's)
• Weedle (Goh's)
• Kakuna (Goh's)
• Beedrill (Goh's)
• Venonat (Goh's)
• Scyther (Goh's)
• Taillow (Goh's)
• Wurmple (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Cascoon (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Dustox (Goh's; ×3)
• Tentacool (Goh's)
• Mantyke (Goh's)
• Sentret (Goh's)
• Stantler (Goh's)
• Misdreavus (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Dewgong (Goh's)
• Skwovet (Goh's)
• Darmanitan (Goh's; Standard Mode)
• Sandile (Goh's)
• Golurk (Goh's; giant; image on Pokédex)
• Cubone (Goh's)
• Spearow (Goh's)
• Rattata (Goh's)
• Pidgey (Goh's)
• Nidoran♀ (Goh's)
• Nidoran♂ (Goh's)
• Oddish (Goh's)
• Poliwag (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Grimer (Goh's)
• Ekans (Goh's)
• Farfetch'd (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Exeggcute (Goh's)
• Goldeen (Goh's)
• Magikarp (Goh's; giant)
• Binacle (Goh's)
• Flabébé (Goh's; ×5; all forms)
• Scatterbug (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Phantump (Goh's)
• Fletchling (Goh's)
• Sobble (Goh's)
• Wingull (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Ariados (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Pineco (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Heracross (Goh's)
• Hitmonchan (Goh's; image on Pokédex)
• Pikachu (Goh's; new; evolves)
• Raichu (Goh's; newly evolved)
• Yamper (Professor Cerise's)
• Rotom (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone)
• Pelipper (Team Rocket)
• Buneary (Team Rocket's)
• Minccino (Team Rocket's)
• Pikachu (multiple; some evolve)
• Raichu (multiple; newly evolved)

Trivia

• Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: Raichu
• This marks the first time a female Raichu with a visible gender difference has appeared in the anime.
• Ash, Goh, and Pikachu read out the title card for this episode.
• This is the first time a main character's Pokémon has evolved via Evolution stone since Once in a Mawile, 741 episodes earlier.
  • This is also the first time a main character's Pokémon has evolved in the same episode it was caught since The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!, 574 episodes earlier.
• The episode's English dub title is a reference to the Pokémon franchise's slogan "Gotta catch 'em all!".
• In the Brazilian Portuguese dub, after Goh's Pikachu gives some Pecha Berries to Team Rocket, Goh says "Não se misture com essa gentalha", a reference to the Mexican series El Chavo del Ocho.
• Ash, Goh, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

• When the Pikachu are getting out of Team Rocket's van, the mechanical claw inside it is missing.
• In the English dub, during the scenes where the Pokémon seen in Cerise Park are enjoying the Berries, Parasect's mouth moves, but no sound comes out.

Dub edits

• The Japanese texts depicting Buneary and Minccino's categories and names are edited out.

In other languages

Language		Title
Finnish		Omakseni saan minkä?
European French		Tu veux attraper quoi ?!
German		Schnapp dir ein... was?!
Hebrew		!?חייב לתפוס... מה
Italian		Vuoi acchiappare cosa?!
Polish		Czy już masz... kogo?
Brazilian Portuguese		Temos que pegar o quê?
Latin American Spanish		¿Hay que atrapar un qué?

← JN034 : Solitary and Menacing!

Pokémon Journeys: The Series

JN036 : Making Battles in the Sand! →

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