EP048

Holy Matrimony! No picture currently available.

EP048   ガーディとコジロウ Gardie and Kojiro

First broadcast Japan June 11, 1998 United States March 13, 1999

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター Ending ポケットにファンタジー

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 武上純希 Junki Takegami Storyboard 日高政光 Masamitsu Hidaka Assistant director 小川浩司 Kōji Ogawa Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

Holy Matrimony! (Japanese: ガーディとコジロウ Gardie and Kojiro) is episode 48 of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on June 11, 1998 and in USA on March 13, 1999.

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

Synopsis

Ash, Pikachu, Misty, and Brock are merrily walking across the countryside until they come across a poster of a young boy who bears a great resemblance to James of Team Rocket. Just then, a limousine shows up, and an old man asks the trio if they've seen the boy. Ash answers yes if it was James. Shortly after the old man takes the trio with him in the limo, Jessie, James, and Meowth also show up and look at the poster. Jessie and Meowth are convinced that the boy in the poster is James, but he denies it. Nevertheless, Team Rocket follow Ash and friends in the same direction.

The old man, who is revealed to be James' butler, tells Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu all about how James is a millionaire, yet ran away from his home at a young age, as well as show them a huge doghouse that belongs to James' favourite Pokémon, Growlie, as well as a gigantic mansion. Team Rocket have also arrived, yet James isn't very keen.

Once inside the mansion, the butler tells our heroes that James' parents died earlier that morning, and unless he marries his fiancée in 24 hours, all of James' money will go to charity.

As the gang wonder how to find him, Team Rocket fall off the roof, with Jessie and Meowth beating on James because he refuses to get married. Ash tells them to stop, and Brock agrees that it's James' decision on whether he wants to get married or not. James then tells everyone a story of when he died on a cold night with Growlie howling sadly. Everyone else is left crying, except Misty, who yells that the story is false because James is right here. James then makes a run for it, but Jessie and Meowth lasso him back.

A few minutes later, James is wearing a blue suit, and Jessie and Meowth are wearing invisible costumes. They knock on the door, and the butler is pleased to see his master home again. He then takes James up to the room where his "deceased" parents rest in peace. But then, laughing can be heard from inside the coffins - and out jump James' parents, alive! James knew that they pull off a trick like this, and he tries to escape, but gets captured immediately. Ash and friends realize that this was all part of a big plan to get James to come home and get married.

Upstairs, James is really frightened to see his future wife, Jessiebelle, who seems to be a dead ringer for Jessie. Then, they head down into the basement, where James's parents tell him that he needs to be taught a lesson for running away from home, as well as tell Jessie and Meowth that they saw them all the time and only pretended to not notice. After having fun cracking her whip at her future husband, Jessiebelle sicks her Pokémon, Vileplume, on James, knocking him out, along with everyone else (except his parents), with Stun Spore. Jessiebelle then vows to force James to become a gentleman even if it kills both of them.

Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu, Jessie, and Meowth are then thrown out of the mansion, then hear a pounding on the doghouse door, which is burst open to reveal Growlie, as he rescues James from Jessiebelle and Vileplume.

James, Growlie, and the others hide in the doghouse. Jessie is disgusted by Jessiebelle's behaviour, and James explains that Jessiebelle is the real reason why he left home. Ever since the announcement of their engagement, Jessiebelle kept following James everywhere he went. A flashback shows a young James running out of his house with a young Jessiebelle, carrying an Oddish, far behind. As the flashback ends, James admits that if he marries Jessiebelle, it will be the worst mistake of his life. Growlie is the only real friend James has on this stuffy estate. Suddenly, Jessiebelle and Vileplume burst through the wall, sending Jessie and Meowth flying, and a battle is on. Vileplume tries do another Stun Spore, but Growlie and Pikachu shoot a combination of Ember and a Thundershock right back at it, causing Jessiebelle and Vileplume to run away in fear.

Jessiebelle knocks James' parents into a pond of Magikarp, leaving them convinced that she's too good for their son. From the bushes, James says goodbye to Growlie and asks it to look after his parents, because James would rather live the free low-life with Team Rocket instead of the upper-crust lifestyle. Growlie howls sadly as James heads off.

Meanwhile, Jessie and Meowth are sad, because they think James got married to Jessiebelle. But then, they hear a familiar voice that says "Prepare for trouble." It is James, flying in the Meowth balloon, and he brings Jessie aboard and they vow to continue their own lifestyle. As Jessie and James look into each other's eyes, Meowth yells that they forgot him.

Finally, Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu are being chased by Jessiebelle, who's demanding that they help her find James.

Major events

Debuts

• Jessiebelle
• Growlie
• James's parents

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• James's parents
• Jessiebelle

Pokémon

Who’s That Pokémon?: Vileplume

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Growlithe (James'; nicknamed "Growlie")
• Oddish (Jessiebelle's; flashback)
• Vileplume (Jessiebelle's)
• Magikarp

Trivia

James's faux flashback appears to be based upon Fyodor Dostoevsky's short story, "The Little Orphan." James (as a small child) is dressed like a street urchin, and dies in front of a painting of a choir of angels on a cold winter night. James recalls that "the boy departed this world" and that "he was found frozen solid."

In "The Little Orphan," a young poor boy freezes to death in the cold on Christmas Eve. He wakes up in heaven to find himself surrounded by all the other forgotten children, looking up at the splendor of Jesus' Christmas tree.

In other languages

• French: Un sacré mariage

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