DP103

← DP102 : Shield with a Twist!

Diamond & Pearl series

DP104 : Sleepless In Pre-Battle! →

Jumping Rocket Ship!

DP103   EP569 混戦混乱ミオシティ！ Chaotic Melee in Mio City!

First broadcast Japan November 20, 2008 United States April 25, 2009

English themes Opening We Will Be Heroes Ending

Japanese themes Opening ハイタッチ！ Ending あしたはきっと

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 山田浩之 Hiroyuki Yamada Assistant director 山田浩之 Hiroyuki Yamada Animation director 夏目久仁彦 Kunihiko Natsume Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Jumping Rocket Ship! (Japanese: 混戦混乱ミオシティ！ Chaotic Melee in Mio City!) is the 103rd episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 569th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 20, 2008, in the United Kingdom on April 16, 2009 and in the United States on April 25, 2009.

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

Blurb

Barry joins Ash and the gang as they take a blimp to Canalave City. As soon as they disembark, Team Rocket—disguised as photographers—offers to take a commemorative picture of everyone and their Pokémon. Even Barry, after some encouragement, reluctantly sends out his Empoleon. It turns out to be a Team Rocket trap, of course, but our heroes' Pokémon fight back and cause a huge explosion that sends all the Pokémon soaring out of sight. Meowth and Mime Jr. land next to Pikachu and Pachirisu, and Meowth hatches a cunning plan by pretending to be Pikachu's new ally. Ash finds Gliscor and Staravia right away, then sends them after Team Rocket's balloon. Staravia is distracted by Team Rocket's lovely Staravia decoy, but Gliscor manages to take down the balloon, forcing Jessie and James to search the city on foot.

As the search continues through the mazelike streets of Canalave City, Team Rocket and our heroes manage to find some of their Pokémon. And just in the nick of time, both Ash and Team Rocket spot Pikachu's group. But Meowth's secret plan won't work if Pikachu reunites with Ash first, so Meowth leads Pikachu in the wrong direction! Ash still finds Pikachu's group first, so Meowth and Mime Jr. ask our heroes if they can join the good guys. Meowth is tired of being abused by Jessie and James—or so he says...

As they head to the Pokémon Center, Meowth and the gang fall into a Team Rocket pit trap. Jessie and James are indignant when Barry tells them Meowth has switched sides, and a Pokémon battle breaks out! Once Ash's Buizel and Barry's Empoleon defeat Team Rocket without a second thought, Meowth realizes where his true loyalties lie. He turns on the twerps and the fight is on, but not for long. A triple attack from Buizel, Empoleon, and Piplup sends all of Team Rocket blasting into the sky! With everyone safely reunited, Barry sets off for Iron Island, while Ash sets his sights on the Canalave Gym.

Plot

The episode opens with Ash, Dawn, Brock, and Barry on a blimp headed for Canalave City. When the blimp lands and the gang exits, they see two photographers. Naturally, they want to take their picture, but Barry doesn't want to. Eventually, they make him do it. He brings out his Empoleon, and the rest of the gang bring out all of their Pokémon. When they're ready, the photographers order the Trainers to move back. When they do, they fall into a pitfall trap. The photographers' Meowth yells, "Say cheese!", then captures their Pokémon in a net. It turns out to be another scheme made by Team Rocket!

Barry orders Empoleon to use Hydro Pump, and Ash orders Chimchar to use Flamethrower. The moves collide with a Haze from Jessie's Seviper and a Bullet Seed from James' Carnivine. The result is a huge explosion that sends the Pokémon all flying in different directions.

Coincidentally, Pikachu, Pachirisu, Mime Jr., and Meowth all land in the same place, meaning that Meowth is stuck with Pikachu. He devises a plan to earn its trust and eventually capture it, along with the rest of the twerps' Pokémon. He tells Pikachu that he doesn't want to be with Team Rocket anymore, and that he wants to travel with the twerps. He makes up a story to convince Pikachu that he's telling the truth.

Meanwhile, Ash and friends are walking on a bridge, with Barry and Ash arguing back and forth. Just then, they find Staravia and Gliscor flying around, looking for Ash. At the same time, Team Rocket sees the two flying Pokémon from their balloon in the distance and they attempt to capture them. Ash orders Staravia to attack, but James launches a fake Staravia designed to look like a female. Staravia falls for the trick and chases after the fake Staravia. Ash then orders Gliscor to use X-Scissor. Jessie tells James to launch a fake Gliscor, only to find out that he didn't make one. Gliscor cuts through the balloon, sending Team Rocket blasting off to another part of the city. Croagunk is then seen passing by on a boat

Empoleon, Piplup, Happiny, and Grotle are wandering around the city looking for their Trainers. Piplup always convinces them that it knows the way out, only to find a dead end, over and over again. Grotle eventually gets so tired that it curls up & Happiny has to carry it.

Ash and friends find Sudowoodo, Buneary, Swinub, Ambipom, Buizel, and Chimchar. Barry is disappointed that Empoleon isn't with them. Meanwhile, Jessie and James are still searching for Meowth and Mime Jr. At first, Meowth is happy to see them, but he remembers the story he told Pikachu, who becomes very suspicious. Meowth suddenly runs off with Pikachu, Mime Jr., and Pachirisu. Just then, Ash and friends round the corner, only to find Team Rocket. They start fighting, then go off in separate directions.

Meanwhile, Staravia is in the forest with the fake female Staravia, but then it suddenly falls into a nearby stream. Staravia looks around, confused, wondering where the "Staravia" went.

Soon afterward, the gang finds Piplup's group, then Pikachu's group. Meowth tells the twerps the story he told Pikachu. At first, they don't believe him, but they are eventually convinced. Ash and friends find Team Rocket in another part of the city, and Barry tells Jessie and James that Meowth's days with Team Rocket are over. Ash orders Buizel to use Water Gun, Dawn tells Piplup to use BubbleBeam, and Barry commands Empoleon to use Hydro Pump.

Meowth starts remembering all of the times and the blastoffs that Team Rocket has been through. He suddenly attacks Empoleon with Fury Swipes, and decides that his heart will always be with Team Rocket. Team Rocket is sent blasting off yet again. Strangely, Meowth is happy.

Brock suddenly remembers that Croagunk wasn't found. Then, he sees a pretty woman and does his usual romantic advances. Then Croagunk jabs him, as usual, causing him to find it. The episode closes with Barry heading off to Iron Island to train.

Major events

• Ash and his friends arrive in Canalave City.
• Barry leaves the group to train at Iron Island.

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

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Barry
• Lady
• Girl on TV (Meowth's fantasy)
• Crowd (Meowth's fantasy)
• Gondolier
• Boat driver

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Staravia (Ash's)
• Grotle (Ash's)
• Chimchar (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Gliscor (Ash's)
• Buneary (Dawn's)
• Pachirisu (Dawn's)
• Ambipom (Dawn's)
• Swinub (Dawn's)
• Sudowoodo (Brock's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Happiny (Brock's)
• Seviper (Jessie's)
• Dustox (Jessie's, flashback)
• Carnivine (James's)
• Empoleon (Barry's)

Trivia

• The dub version of this episode first aired in the UK on April 16, 2009 along with Shield with a Twist!.
• Music from Celebi: Voice of the Forest, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea are used as background music.
• Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Examination: Altaria
• This episode implies that Ash's Staravia is male as it falls in love with a robot that is designed to resemble a female Staravia (including a smaller dot on its forehead).
  • Pokémon.com's online preview for this episode included a line exclaiming "Staraptor finds romance!" Although this could be an error, it spoils an event that happens 15 episodes later.
• The title card music for the English dub has changed.
• Jessie makes a reference to A Maze-ing Race!.
• The DVD release of this episode incorrectly lists its title as Jumping Rock Ship!.
• The episode's English title is based on the phrase "jumping ship".
• This is a rare occurrence where Jessie gives Wobbuffet affection.

Errors

• When the move Teeter Dance was used, everyone should have been affected. However, Seviper and Empoleon were not.
• In one of the boat scenes, Croagunk's Japanese voice can be heard.
• When Pikachu and Pachirisu find Ash and friends Piplup is on Dawn's head. Then when the camera angle changes to a front view Piplup isn't on her head anymore.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		混戰混亂的水脈市！！
Czech		Odchod z Rakeťáckého týmu
Danish		Team Rocket-afhopper
Dutch		Verlaat het Rocket Schip!
Finnish		Katso Meowth loikkaa!
European French		Miaouss joue un double jeu !
German		Wer suchet der findet!
Italian		Team Rocket, addio?
Korean		나옹, 밥이냐 의리냐! 그것이 문제로다
Norwegian		Hopper av Rocket-skipet!
Polish		Zamieszanie w wielkim mieście!
Portuguese	Brazil	Separados até o fim!
	Portugal	Perdidos e Achados!
Romanian		În Balonul Echipei Racheta
Russian		Прыжок с корабля «Ракета»
Spanish	Latin America	¡Cambiándose de Equipo!
	Spain	¡Abandono en el Team Rocket!
Swedish		Hoppa av Rocket-skeppet!

← DP102 : Shield with a Twist!

Diamond & Pearl series

DP104 : Sleepless In Pre-Battle! →

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