AG086

← AG085 : Sky High Gym Battle!

Advanced Generation series

AG087 : Crazy as a Lunatone →

Lights, Camerupt, Action!

AG086   EP360 映画はバクーダに乗って！！ The Film's Riding on Bakuuda

First broadcast Japan July 22, 2004 United States July 16, 2005

English themes Opening This Dream Ending

Japanese themes Opening チャレンジャー!! Ending いっぱいサマー!!

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 大町繁 Shigeru Ōmachi Animation director たけだゆうさく Yūsaku Takeda Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Lights, Camerupt, Action! (Japanese: 映画はバクーダに乗って！！ The Film's Riding on Bakuuda) is the 86th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 360th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on July 22, 2004 and in the United States on July 16, 2005.

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

Blurb

Ash is ready for his next badge—which means heading to Mossdeep City. To get there, Ash and friends will need to take the ferry in Lilycove City. On their way there, the kids encounter a Trainer named Elijah and his Camerupt, stuck in a river. They help get Camerupt out, and Elijah explains that he travels around, showing movies to the small towns in the area.

Traveling together, the group falls into a Team Rocket trap, and Camerupt is stolen. Corphish attacks the thieves and they get Camerupt back. While camping out in the woods, the kids reminisce about the last time each of them went to the movies, describing the movies each of them saw.

They arrive in a town, and Elijah sets up the equipment and begins to show the feature: "Plusle & Minun and the Princess Rescue". Team Rocket bust up the screening and run off with the equipment. Brock stays behind to entertain the crowd, while Elijah, Ash, May, and Max chase down the thieves. A trail of film leads the kids straight to Team Rocket, and Ash’s Grovyle takes them out.

Elijah shows the rest of the movie, and everyone enjoys it—even Team Rocket, watching from a hiding place in the bushes.

Plot

The episode opens with Ash admiring his new Feather Badge, a hard-won trophy from his battle with Winona at the Fortree City Gym. With six Badges, Ash now needs only two more to enter the Hoenn League. Ash triumphantly declares that they're heading to Gym battle number seven, before Max points out that Ash has no idea what or where that Gym is. After consulting his guide, Brock announces that they're now on their way to Mossdeep City, which they will reach by way of ferry in Lilycove City. On the way, they encounter Elijah, whose heavily burdened Camerupt has gotten stuck in the river. With the help of Ash and his friends, Camerupt is soon across the river. When Max asks what his Camerupt is carrying, Elijah reveals that he runs a portable movie theater, with all of the equipment stored on his companion's back. Since Elijah and the gang are going in the same direction, they decide to travel together.

Meanwhile, Ash is being shadowed by Team Rocket, who are looking to capture Pikachu as usual. Meowth, meanwhile, notices from up high that Camerupt is carrying movie equipment. For extremely dubious reasons, Meowth decides that Camerupt and the theater system would be perfect gifts for Giovanni. James and Jessie are less certain, but decide to go ahead with the scheme anyway. Team Rocket ambushes Ash and friends with a classic pitfall trap at the next river crossing. After cutting the motto short, they steal Camerupt and prepare to make their getaway. Ash is quick to call out his Corphish, which promptly frees Camerupt and sends Team Rocket blasting off with a BubbleBeam. With Team Rocket now temporarily indisposed, the group continues to a dangerous mountain path. While fantasizing about "May's Expedition", May herself nearly gets flattened by a boulder, which then blocks the narrow road. Unable to advance, the party camps for the night.

Over dinner, Elijah mentions that his work is very dangerous (and it's also revealed that he's unpaid!) but he does it anyway because he feels he has an obligation to those he entertains. Elijah also reveals a letter he got from a young girl, Mariah, in a town without a movie theater which has reinforced his determination to continue his dangerous unpaid job. Ash, Brock, Max, and May reminisce about movies they saw before leaving on their journey. Elijah offers to read the group the narration of the new Plusle and Minun movie (it is a silent movie for reasons that aren't explained). The group reaches the town the following morning and the group resolves to stay in the town long enough to see the movie. The villagers happily greet Elijah as they arrive, and they meet Mariah on the way into town.

The movie starts later that night, with Elijah narrating (the movie is a slapstick comedy about the kidnap and rescue of a Kirlia princess). However, the movie is cut short by the intervention of Team Rocket, who appear from behind the screen, once again bent on stealing the movie equipment. Jessie calls out Seviper to use Haze and in the subsequent confusion steal the projector. Leaving Brock and Lombre to entertain the crowd, Ash, May, Max, and Elijah dart off to find Team Rocket. Finding a trail of film that Team Rocket dropped, they soon trace Team Rocket. Grovyle quickly sends Team Rocket flying and gets back the projector, and relieves Brock (who's been singing the only song he knows over and over again). The show goes on (and it's revealed Pikachu is a star), with even Team Rocket sneaking in to watch!

Major events

• Ash decides to head for the Gym in Mossdeep City via Lilycove City.

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

TV episode debuts

• Armaldo

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Elijah
• Mariah
• Red (cameo)
• Gary Oak (flashback)
• Professor Oak (flashback)
• Delia (flashback)
• Brock's siblings (flashback)
• Norman (flashback)
• Caroline (flashback)
• Giovanni (fantasy)

Pokémon

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

Pokémon Trainer's Choice: Sandshrew

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Chimecho (James's)
• Grovyle (Ash's)
• Corphish (Ash's)
• Torkoal (Ash's)
• Bulbasaur (May's)
• Lombre (Brock's)
• Seviper (Jessie's)
• Camerupt (Elijah's)
• Pikachu (Red's; cameo)
• Clefairy (Red's; cameo)

Other Pokémon that appear on films

• Pikachu
• Meowth (giant)
• Armaldo (debut)
• Kirlia
• Machoke
• Snorlax
• Sentret
• Pichu
• Natu
• Xatu
• Bellossom
• Marill
• Azumarill
• Hoppip
• Sunflora
• Teddiursa
• Ursaring
• Remoraid
• Marshtomp (can become giant)
• Wurmple
• Shroomish
• Exploud
• Plusle
• Minun
• Gulpin

Trivia

Red, his Clefairy, and his Pikachu appearing in one of Ash's favorite films

• This episode features a brief appearance of characters from the Pokémon Pocket Monsters manga series, which is the only time characters from a manga series have appeared in the anime.
• The title of this episode is similar to an earlier episode and both episodes focus on movies.
• The movie May described, about a luxurious spaceship with a Natu and Xatu in love who are separated because of an ice asteroid, is a parody of the movie Titanic while the ship as displayed in the film is similar in design to the titular spaceship from Space Battleship Yamato.
• The movie Max described, about a giant Meowth destroying a city and battling against Pichu fighter pilots and a giant Marshtomp is based upon the Japanese television show Ultraman.
• The movie they watched at the end, about a Princess Kirlia being taken by an Exploud and being rescued by Plusle and Minun, is similar to the story of Super Mario Bros., which could be a reason why the movie is silent.
• In Ash's flashback, Gary, Ash's mother, and Professor Oak are visible in the audience. This marks Gary's first appearance in the Hoenn saga.
• The Pichu Brothers make a cameo appearance in a flashback showing a scene from Camp Pikachu.
• Brock once again performs his song and dance when asked to delay a crowd, like an earlier episode.

Errors

• The Azumarill in the last movie that Brock saw had the voice of an Azurill.
• When Team Rocket got blasted off earlier, James's Chimecho was heard despite it being in its Poké Ball. But after getting blasted away again by Ash's Grovyle, Jessie's Seviper disappears and Wobbuffet was seen even though it was in its Poké Ball.

Dub edits

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

• Question: Trainers, which one of these Pokémon evolves into Sandslash?
• Choices: Kadabra, Sandshrew, Kecleon
• Answer: OK, Trainers! If you chose Sandshrew, you were right!

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		噴火駝載著電影來！
Dutch		Licht, Camerupt, actie!
Finnish		Elokuvien ystävät
European French		Les pokémon font leur cinéma
German		Projektor an und Action!
Hebrew		החיים הם סרטhakhayim hem seret
Italian		Cinema per tutti!
Portuguese	Brazil	Luzes, Camerupt, Ação!
	Portugal	Luzes, Camerupt, Acção!
Spanish	Latin America	¡Luces, Camerupt, Acción!
	Spain	Luces, Camerupt, ¡Acción!
Swedish		Filmavbrott

← AG085 : Sky High Gym Battle!

Advanced Generation series

AG087 : Crazy as a Lunatone →

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