BW008

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Pokémon the Series: Black & White

BW009 : The Bloom Is On Axew! →

Saving Darmanitan from the Bell!

BW008   EP665 ダルマッカとヒヒダルマ！時計塔の秘密！！ Darumakka and Hihidaruma! The Secret of the Clock Tower!!

First broadcast Japan November 4, 2010 United States March 26, 2011

English themes Opening Black and White Ending

Japanese themes Opening ベストウイッシュ！ Ending 心のファンファーレ

Credits Animation Team Kato Screenplay 米村正二 Shōji Yonemura Storyboard 矢嶋哲生 Tetsuo Yajima Assistant director 矢嶋哲生 Tetsuo Yajima Animation director 小山知洋 Tomohiro Koyama Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Saving Darmanitan from the Bell! (Japanese: ダルマッカとヒヒダルマ！時計塔の秘密！！ Darumakka and Hihidaruma! The Secret of the Clock Tower!!) is the eighth episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and the 665th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on November 4, 2010 and in the United States on March 26, 2011.

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

Blurb

During a lunch break on their way to Nacrene City, Ash and friends catch a pair of Darumaka sneaking off with their food. Ash learns that these two Darumaka have always gotten along with the people of the nearby town, at least until they recently started stealing food. He decides to go after them to find out what’s going on.

Our heroes follow the two Darumaka to an old clock tower, which is slated to be torn down soon. They climb the tower and discover an exhausted Darmanitan, who’s using its psychic powers to keep the clock tower’s gigantic bell from falling and destroying the entire building. It becomes clear that the two Darumaka have been stealing food to help Darmanitan keep its strength up, but the big Pokémon is running out of energy. With everyone pitching in, the bent hook that once held the bell is quickly repaired, and Darmanitan manages to lift the heavy bell back into place, securing it safely.

After learning how Darmanitan and its Darumaka friends saved the clock tower, the townspeople decide to restore and maintain the old building, and allow the three Pokémon to live there! Happily, our heroes bid them a fond farewell, and again set their sights on Nacrene City and Ash’s next Gym Battle.

Plot

Ash, Iris and Cilan have stopping beside a river to have lunch as they make their way to Nacrene City. As there will be a full moon later that night, Iris had picked Berries in advance so she can snack on them during the night’s full moon. Meanwhile, Cilan is already cooking vegetable paella for the group, and stops Ash from eating the berries. He gives a bowl of Pokémon food to both Pikachu and Axew. As Cilan makes final preparations for his meals, a Darumaka walks past and greets them.

Ash checks his Pokédex on Darumaka. Iris, adoring Darumaka's cuteness, walks up to it and starts playing with its eyebrows. Darumaka, however, is having none of it, and Iris is blasted with Flamethrower. Cilan remarks that Darumaka are said to bring good luck. Unknown to the group, an orange paw reaches out and grabs some of the Pokémon food. As Pikachu turns around and realizes his bowl had disappeared, he thinks that Axew had eaten it and alerts Ash. However, Axew, backed by Iris, denies taking the food. As they were quarreling, the group suddenly realizes that Darumaka is fast asleep. Iris pokes Darumaka, leading it to rock back and forth on its bottom. While the group is now mesmerized by Darumaka's ability, the orange paw grabs the other bowl of Pokémon food. Pikachu turns in time to see another Darumaka running away with the food. Axew turns around thereafter, and thinking that Pikachu ate both bowls, and starts fighting with him. Ash and Iris manage to separate the Pokémon, and Pikachu explains that Darumaka took the Pokémon food. However, Cilan points out that Darumaka has been sleeping. Suddenly, another Darumaka appears, holding both bowls of Pokémon food and Iris' roasted berries. As group give chase, the sleeping Darumaka awakens instantly, uses Flamethrower between the group and its partner, before running away with its companion. Ash sends out Oshawott, and commands him to use Water Gun. With a leap off the wall, the pair of Darumaka dodge the attack, and executes two well-coordinated Flamethrowers at Oshawott. Unable to dodge the attack, Oshawott faints. The two Darumaka escape.

Ash brings Oshawott to a Pokémon Center, where he is attended to by Nurse Joy and her Audino. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is dining at a café in a town near a river. With a snap of her finger, Jessie calls for the waiter and orders a cappuccino, "and make it rocket fast". The waiter, apparently caught on to the word 'rocket', subsequently serves her 'the' cup of cappuccino, its cream taking on the shape of a bridge. With very clear intentions of what to do next, the cream is stirred into the coffee.

The sky glows a reddish-orange as sunset approaches. Oshawott is fully healed and Ash recalls him into his Poké Ball. Iris passes a comment on the two Darumaka, and Nurse Joy subsequently reveals that together with a Darmanitan, the two Darumaka actually lived in harmony with the residents of the town they were in. However, the three Pokémon were not seen together anymore, and the two Darumaka suddenly started stealing food for no apparent reason. Seeming to have sidetracked from the Darumaka, Iris notices a clock tower in the middle of the city. Nurse Joy explains to them that the bell of the tower had stopped ringing, and the tower would soon be demolished. Iris expresses regret when Ash's stomach started growling. Aware that they have not eaten after the Darumaka had stolen their food, the group stays at the Pokémon Center for dinner.

As there is a full moon that night, Nurse Joy tells everyone that she will be preparing dumplings for them. Delighted, Ash and the group offer to help with the preparations. However, upon reaching the kitchen, the group are greeted again by the two Darumaka, who were ready to escape with their dumplings. With much speed and agility, the two Zen Charm Pokémon jump out of the window. Ash sends out Pidove hoping to catch them, and at the same time to find out the reason behind the thefts. The two Darumaka continued jumping wildly and away from the group, and into an alley. They jumped in opposite directions and split up at a T-junction. Ash and Iris follow the Darumaka with the dumplings, while Cilan follows the other. Despite so, the two Darumaka eventually manage to evade the group, leaving them clueless as to where they had run off to. When they regather, Pidove gestures to the two Darumaka who are now sneaking into the clock tower. The group followed.

Deep into the night, the Team Rocket trio is waiting atop of a bridge. A figure materializes from the fog, cloaked as they were and carrying a briefcase. As the figure approaches them and close to Jessie, they break into small talk. Facing away from each other, Jessie briefly mentions keeping warm with 'a cup of cappuccino', a phrase that is used to establish trust with the stranger. The stranger slowly puts down the briefcase and then instructs the trio to receive instructions when they arrive at Nacrene City. As she proceeds to take her leave, the chill wind picks up, together with Team Rocket's will and determination to succeed in their next mission.

Ash and the group chases after the two Darumaka up the staircase of the clock tower. On realizing that Ash is following closely behind, the two Darumaka panic and speed up. When the group reaches the top, they find the partially moonlit room empty, until the two Darumaka are seen pressed against the top of the wall in a shadowy corner of the room. Without Ash knowing, the two quickly bounce off the wall and aims two coordinated Flamethrowers at him, to which he dodges just in time. However, in the heat of the action, the ladder at the back of the room catches fire, setting the room ablaze. Ash sends out Oshawott to extinguish the blaze. The two Darumaka once again aim their Flamethrowers at Ash. Immediately, Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, and in a clash of fire and electricity, an explosion follows. Ash commands Oshawott to attack the two Darumaka with Water Gun, sending both Darumaka flying into the air. However, the pair counters by Resting, and they make a soft landing instead. As Ash and the group inch closer to inspect, the two Darumaka suddenly wake up and leap over them. When Ash and Iris tell them they did not want to battle them, the two stare at each other blankly. Cilan adds that they were only trying to find out why the two of them were stealing food. The two Darumaka decide to trust the group, and waddle across to where the ladder once stood and point upwards. Ash understands that they both want to get to the top. With Cilan's assistance, Ash manages to climb to the top of the hole and uses Snivy’s Vine Whip to help everyone up.

Before the group proceed, Iris notices that there is a significant amount of heat generated from the floor above. The group ascends a ladder to find a Darmanitan under a large bell, its Zen Mode having being activated. Ash checks his Pokédex. Cilan explains that during Zen Mode, Darmanitan's Special Attack increases significantly, giving rise to its Psychic abilities. Its physical attacks, however, are compromised. The two Darumaka unwrap the bag with the dumplings, allowing Darmanitan to guide the dumplings to its mouth using Psychic. Ash realizes that the Darumaka are stealing food to feed the immobile Darmanitan, while Cilan notices that as long as Darmanitan is in Zen Mode and is using its Psychic abilities, it will generate a lot of heat. Iris questions why Darmanitan does not change back into its Standard Mode despite having being fed dumplings, and the two Darumaka return with the answer - a large hook. The group soon realizes that the bell Darmanitan is sitting under is actually floating. Cilan extrapolates that Darmanitan deliberately switched into Zen Mode to prevent the heavy bell from dropping to the bottom of the clock tower after the hook had broken. However, that also meant that it was not able to eat, causing the two Darumaka to steal food to feed their immobile companion. Iris applauds their efforts, causing the two Darumaka to smile.

Suddenly, Darmanitan starts intensively glowing red, prompting Ash and his friends to take action, as it would burn right through the floor. Throwing a Poké Ball each, Ash and Cilan send out Tepig and Pansage respectively. When the hook is thrown into the air, Tepig sprays it with Ember, but nothing significant happens. Immediately, Darmanitan starts emitting fire and the two Darumaka offer to help out. Once again, Pansage throws the hook into the air, and Tepig used Ember. This time, however, combined with the Flamethrowers of the two Darumaka, the iron hook glows red-hot. Pansage, under Cilan's orders, used Bullet Seed and shapes the hook into the shape of an 'S'. Ash promptly sends out Oshawott. With Water Gun, Oshawott cools the hook, and it drops onto the floor. Pikachu inspects the hook and picks it up, satisfied. Next they need to get the hang the hook up, and in response, Darmanitan uses Psychic on Ash, Pikachu and the hook, allowing them to hang the hook. Just before Ash can grab the bell handle, Darmanitan deactivates its Zen Mode, and Ash, Pikachu and the bell fall right into the hands of Darmanitan. With a great upward thrust, the bell now in mid-air, Darmanitan performs a series of leaps to the top of the bar, and grabs the bell before it could drop any further. Ash, followed by Pikachu, jumps off the bell and subsequently thanks Darmanitan. Darmanitan winks, and then places the bell back into the hook. With a triumphant leap off the bar, Darmanitan re-joins the Darumaka. They approach the group, grateful for what they have done for them. Ash advises the two Darumaka not to steal any more food, and they reply with a sheepish grin.

Ash and the group are now headed to Nacrene City. As they walk towards onto a bridge, Nurse Joy stops them and informs them that the clock tower will not be demolished, only repaired. To their delight, Nurse Joy also informs them that the Darmanitan and the two Darumaka have made the clock tower their home. Cilan is thrilled at the thought of Pokémon and people living in harmony. The group spots Darmanitan and the two Darumaka standing at the top of the clock tower, smiling and waving at them. The group bids the three Pokémon a final goodbye, before setting off for the Gym in Nacrene City.

Major events

• The Team Rocket trio receives a mysterious item and is told to head to Nacrene City.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Darumaka
• Darmanitan

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Iris
• Cilan
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Mysterious woman
• Waiters
• Citizens
• Customers

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Darmanitan

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Axew (Iris's)
• Pidove (Ash's)
• Oshawott (Ash's)
• Tepig (Ash's)
• Snivy (Ash's)
• Pansage (Cilan's)
• Audino (Nurse Joy's)
• Darumaka (×2; debut)
• Darmanitan (debut)

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Pokémon Center
• Ash and Iris narrate the preview for the next episode.
• The episode's English dub title is most likely a reference to the saying "saved by the bell". Another episode was also titled after this phrase.
• This is the first episode to feature a Hidden Ability.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		火紅不倒翁與達摩狒狒！鐘塔的秘密！！
Croatian		Spašavanje Darmanitana od zvona!
Danish		Darmanitan reddes fra klokken!
Dutch		Darmanitan redt de klok, wie redt hem?
Finnish		Darmanitanille kellot soivat!
European French		Darumacho, le sauveur sauvé !
German		Rettung auf den letzten Glockenschlag!
Greek		Σώζοντας το Νταρμάνιταν Απο την Καμπάνα!
Hindi		Darmanitan की बेल से सुरक्षा! Darmanitan ki Bell se Suraksha!
Indonesian		Darumaka dan Darmanitan! Rahasia Menara Jam!!
Italian		Il salvataggio di Darmanitan!
Korean		달막화와 불비달마! 시계탑의 비밀!!
Norwegian		Redder Darmanitan fra klokken!
Polish		Na ratunek Darmanitanowi!
Portuguese	Brazil	Salvando Darmanitan do sino!
	Portugal	Darmanitan e o Sino da Aldeia!
Russian		Спасение Дарманитана и колокола!
Spanish	Latin America	¡Salvando a Darmanitan de la Campana !
	Spain	¡Darmanitan, salvador de la campana!
Swedish		Darmanitan räddas från klockan!
Thai		ดารุมักกะ กับ ฮิฮิดารูมา! ของปริศนากับหอนาฬิกา!!
Turkish		Darmanitan'ı Son Dakikada Kurtarmak!

← BW007 : Snivy Plays Hard to Catch!

Pokémon the Series: Black & White

BW009 : The Bloom Is On Axew! →

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