EP261

← EP260 : A Crowning Achievement

Original series

EP262 : You're a Star, Larvitar! →

Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid

EP261   ナナコとエレキッド！ Nanako and Elekid!

First broadcast Japan August 15, 2002 United States August 30, 2003

English themes Opening Believe in Me Ending

Japanese themes Opening Ready Go! Ending ポケッターリ・モンスターリ

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 誌村宏明 Hiroaki Shimura Assistant director 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de

Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid (Japanese: ナナコとエレキッド！ Nanako and Elekid!) is the 261st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on August 15, 2002, and in the United States on August 30, 2003.

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

Blurb

A troublesome Elekid begins harassing Larvitar only moments before Team Rocket swoops in and captures both rare Pokémon in a high-tensile steel net. As Ash and friends give chase, they bump into their old friend, Casey, who is looking for her Elekid, a Pokémon she had recently acquired to help her in cheering for her favorite baseball team, the Electabuzz. Ash and Casey manage to rescue their kidnapped Pokémon from Team Rocket's clutches, but in the process lose track of Elekid and Larvitar once again. As Jessie and James move on, they bump into the same Magikarp salesman that has troubled James on many previous occasions. That notwithstanding, James is talked into trading his Victreebel for one of this salesman's Weepinbell. All parties converge as Ash and Casey find their Pokémon at the same time as Team Rocket. In the heat of battle, James's Weepinbell evolves into a Victreebel. This isn't enough to turn the tide of battle, however, and Team Rocket is defeated. Upset by its hapless defeat, James abandons his second Victreebel of the day.

Plot

As Ash and his friends stop for lunch, a wild Elekid emerges from the shrubbery and promptly eats some of Larvitar's food. It prepares to attack the group, though Pikachu responds with his own Electric attack. Ash tries to stop the conflict from escalating but gets shocked as a result. Elekid turns its attention to Larvitar and begins patting it on the back, though Larvitar doesn't seem to be enjoying the attention. Unexpectedly, Team Rocket swoops in and nets both Elekid and Larvitar for themselves. Ash calls out Bayleef, but her Razor Leaf attack fails to cut up the capture net. James orders his Weezing, and its Smokescreen helps the Rocket trio escape in their Meowth balloon. However, Elekid manages to break both Larvitar and itself free from Team Rocket, and the two begin wandering around the forest together.

As they search for Larvitar, Ash and his friends run into Casey and see that her Bayleef has evolved into a Meganium. They learn that Casey is after the same Elekid that they saw earlier, so she joins them in their search. During their walk, Elekid overhears Larvitar's stomach grumbling. It promptly fetches some apples from a nearby tree and hands one to Larvitar. As Larvitar goes to nibble gently, Elekid shows it how to take a real bite. The small gesture instantly makes Larvitar feel at ease. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is standing from a tree branch and looking for any signs of their lost catches with a set of binoculars. James is feeling reluctant about all the effort for the little Pokémon, and Meowth’s boss fantasy encourages him to continue searching. Meowth suddenly spots the duo, and soon enough Team Rocket recaptures their escapees with another drop net. Elekid tries an Electric attack to free itself, but the strategy fails as the net is engineered to withstand electricity. Larvitar resorts to Screeching, and the ear-splitting noise alerts Ash and his friends to Team Rocket’s latest attempt. Casey has her Meganium to slice the net with a Razor Leaf. Jessie is infuriated and demands answers from James, who reveals that he swapped out the Razor Leaf-proof net for an electric-proof one. Brock orders out his Forretress, and its Rapid Spin bursts Team Rocket's balloon and sends the evil trio blasting off. Ash and his friends rush to find Larvitar and Elekid, though they instead find the net entangled on a precarious cliff. The group decides to venture into the forest below to search for the missing pair.

After being blasted off, the Rocket trio crash lands onto the Magikarp salesman, who promptly begins his usual sales pitch. James, remembering his losses to the salesman's earlier scams, demands a refund, but the salesman offers to trade them a Weepinbell that knows Sweet Scent as a substitute. Jessie and Meowth agree to this deal. The trio considers their options; they decide against Meowth because he is "the brains" and Weezing due to its Smokescreen, while Jessie refuses to part with Wobbuffet due to its Counter attacks proving useful, as well as Arbok because she had it for so long. Through this process of elimination, the others force James to trade away his prized Victreebel because of its annoying habit of latching onto James’s head. Jessie makes the trade with the Magikarp salesman's portable trade machine. The dodgy salesman informs them that he won’t accept a trade-back before quickly fleeing.

While James mourns the loss of his beloved Pokémon, his new Weepinbell uses Sweet Scent, which attracts not only Elekid and Larvitar but also Casey's Meganium and Ash's Pikachu. Following their Pokémon, Ash and his friends are able to catch up with Team Rocket and prevent them from escaping. Team Rocket challenges them to a battle over Larvitar and Elekid. After knocking Phanpy down with a Vine Whip, Weepinbell evolves into Victreebel and promptly eats Jessie. With the delay, Brock has his Forretress use Rapid Spin to free Larvitar and Elekid from the net. Jessie finally emerges from Victreebel's grasp and she orders Arbok to send it flying, much to James's dismay. Casey orders her Meganium to use Solar Beam, sending Team Rocket blasting off once again. Meanwhile, the Magikarp salesman kicks away James's old Victreebel after it tries to eat him. It meets up with the second Victreebel in mid-air, and the two fall in love and happily bounce off into the forest together.

After the group reunites with Elekid and Larvitar, Casey battles Elekid with her Meganium. Elekid uses its Thunder Punch attack to fend off Meganium's Razor Leaves. Meganium Tackles Elekid before landing a direct Solar Beam on it. Elekid falls backwards and Casey pitches a Poké Ball at her target. Elekid enters the Ball, and after a few sways, Elekid is officially caught. As Casey holds up her newly caught Pokémon, Larvitar is feeling sad. Casey assures Larvitar that she will look after Elekid, which instantly cheers up the young Pokémon. Later, Casey declares that her new Elekid will help her earn more Badges. She sends Ash and his friends on their way with the theme song she uses to cheer on her favorite baseball team, the Electabuzz. However, the spirited gesture leaves the group overwhelmed.

Major events

James's two Victreebel meeting each other

• Ash and his friends meet up with Casey again.
• Casey's Bayleef is revealed to have evolved into a Meganium.
• James is forced to trade his Victreebel for the Magikarp salesman's Weepinbell.
• James's Weepinbell evolves into a new Victreebel.
• Jessie blasts away James's new Victreebel.
• The Magikarp salesman releases his Victreebel.
• James's two Victreebel meet and fall in love.
• Casey catches an Elekid.
• Casey is revealed to have earned four Badges.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Main series and English dub debuts

• Meganium (Casey's)

Main series debuts

• Elekid

Characters

Humans

Pocket Monster TV

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni (fantasy)
• Casey
• Magikarp salesman
• Team Rocket Grunts (fantasy)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Hypno (US and international), Elekid (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Bayleef (Ash's)
• Phanpy (Ash's)
• Larvitar (Ash's; unofficial)
• Forretress (Brock's)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Weezing (James's)
• Magikarp (James's; flashback)
• Weepinbell (James's; flashback)
• Victreebel (James's; traded to Magikarp salesman; released)
• Victreebel (James's; newly evolved; released)
• Meganium (Casey's)
• Elekid (Casey's; new)
• Magikarp (Magikarp salesman's)
• Weepinbell (Magikarp salesman's; traded to James; evolves)

Transition to digital animation

This is the first digitally animated episode of the animated series, although a previous episode did feature some digitally animated shots, and digital animation was extensively used for the first time in the opening OK! and its corresponding English opening, Pokémon Johto, since Don't Touch That 'dile, 144 episodes prior. Even though this episode is digitally animated, the flashbacks of James's first Victreebel as a Weepinbell and his interaction with his Weepinbell at a hot tub and inside a double decker bed, which had never been shown in the animated series before, were still animated on cels. The same goes for the flashback of James receiving a Magikarp from the Magikarp salesman and the flashback of James discovering his Victreebel at a Breeding Center. Jessie's hair is also permanently changed from crimson to dark magenta from this episode onwards.

Trivia

• The episode's English dub title is a play on Humphrey Bogart's line "Here's looking at you, kid" from the 1942 romantic drama film Casablanca.
• Before the opening theme begins (before the title card in the Japanese version), the partially visible Elekid is positioned in a way that resembles what was drawn by Tracey in Misty Meets Her Match.
• Although Weepinbell evolves into Victreebel through the use of a Leaf Stone, James's second Weepinbell evolves without one.
• This is the last episode from Pokémon the Series where one of James's Pokémon has evolved under his ownership.
• This is one of the few episodes from Pokémon the Series: Gold and Silver where Team Rocket does not recite their motto in any form.
• When Casey sings her song at the end, it is the first version of the Electabuzz song instead of the second one she sang at the Bug-Catching Contest.
  • Also, Casey catches Elekid exactly one hundred episodes after she was last seen obtaining a Pokémon in the aftermath of that competition.
• Music from Pikachu's Vacation and The Power of One can be heard in this episode.
• In the Japanese version, soon after Misty mentions that Casey is still an Electabuzz fan, Casey says "Hot Blooded Director 77", which is a reference to the Hanshin Tigers' (which the Electabuzz is based on) director at the time, Senichi Hoshino's, special program, called "Senichi Hoshino's Hot Blooded Transcendent Night".

Errors

• The Pokémon.com blurb for this episode refers to Casey as already having acquired Elekid; however, Casey does not actually capture Elekid until the final moments of this episode.
• Jessie says that James said the net is made out of special steel, thought it was actually Meowth that said it.
• When Brock sends out Forretress, its Poké Ball is a normal Poké Ball instead of the Fast Ball it was caught in.
• In the flashback, James says, "You good for nothing carp!" However, in the actual episode, he said, "You good for nothing fish!"
• In one scene, Bayleef speaks, but her mouth doesn't move.
• In the English dub, the Pokédex says that Elekid is the evolved form of Electabuzz. Elekid actually evolves into Electabuzz.

In other languages

Language		Title
Bulgarian		Твой ред е, Елекид
Mandarin Chinese		奈奈與電擊怪
Dutch		Alle Ogen op Elekid
European French		Le doux parfum de l'amitié
German		Elekid ist weg!
Hebrew		הגנה חשמליתhagana khashmalit
Hindi		Casey ने पकड़ा Elekid को! Casey ne pakda Elekid ko! *
Italian		Un Pokémon da catturare
Polish		Popatrz na siebie, Elekid
Portuguese	Brazil	A Amizade de Elekid
	Portugal	O Campeonato das suas Vidas
Spanish	Latin America	¡Te estoy viendo Elekid!
	Spain	Mi objetivo es Elekid

← EP260 : A Crowning Achievement

Original series

EP262 : You're a Star, Larvitar! →

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