AG176

← AG175 : Going for Choke!

Advanced Generation series

AG177 : Grating Spaces! →

The Ole' Berate and Switch!

AG176   EP450 ロケット団解散！？それぞれの道！ Rocket-dan Dissolution!? Respective Roads!

First broadcast Japan May 11, 2006 United States December 4, 2006

English themes Opening Battle Frontier Ending

Japanese themes Opening スパート！ Ending 私、負けない！～ハルカのテーマ～

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 入好さとる Satoru Iriyoshi Assistant director ながはまのりひこ Norihiko Nagahama Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

Screenshots on Filb.de Early reports originally listed 秦義人 Yoshito Hata as the director and 船津弘美 Hiromi Funatsu as animation director along with Izumi Shimura.

The Ole' Berate and Switch! (Japanese: ロケット団解散！？それぞれの道！ Rocket-dan Dissolution!? Respective Roads!) is the 176th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 450th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on May 11, 2006 and in the United States on December 4, 2006.

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

Blurb

Team Rocket decides to go their separate ways after yet another foiled Pikachu kidnap attempt. Elsewhere, our heroes come across a one-day Pokémon Battle Tournament secretly run by Butch and Cassidy, who are having their own problems getting along. Ash signs up, unaware that while he's battling, Cassidy is preparing to swipe the competitors' Pokémon! Cassidy runs into Jessie and James, and decides to make James her new team. As for Jessie, she fast-talks her way into a partnership with Butch.

Max has spotted the villains at work, however, and as Ash is celebrating a victory, he runs to tell everyone what's really happening. Our heroes go to rescue the Poké Balls and encounter Cassidy and James, James unsuccessfully trying to pretend that he's Butch. Corphish cools off Cassidy's Houndour and Team Rocket's scam is revealed to the tournament competitors, leading to a showdown with Team Rocket minions.

Jessie and Butch try to make a stealthy getaway, but Ash spots them and Pikachu puts a stop to their thievery. Meanwhile, Meowth is trying to steal a few Poké Balls for himself when it bumps into Jessie and James. They remember the good times they had together, and decide to reunite once more. So when Ash sends them blasting off, they blast off as friends—at least for now! The other Trainers are reunited with their Poké Balls, and now it's time for our heroes to head for the Pewter Gym.

Plot

The episode opens to Jessie, James and Meowth of the sinister Team Rocket, who have just nabbed Pikachu and running in hot pursuit. Eventually, they reach a fork, and while James frantically chooses the correct path, Jessie and Meowth accidentally lean on the cage, freeing Pikachu. After being blasted off by Pikachu's Thunderbolt, the trio gets into an argument. They then come to an agreement and decide to go their separate ways.

Meanwhile, Ash and his friends are heading for Pewter City. As they pass through Sable City, they notice a one-day only Pokémon Tournament being held in the town. Thinking about his upcoming battle with Pyramid King Brandon, Ash decides to enter the tournament. However, what they don't know is that the tournament is a plan concocted by Butch and Cassidy to steal Pokémon. While Butch convinces the Trainers to sign up, Cassidy is disguised as Nurse Joy.

Ash's first battle is against a Pokémon Trainer named Howie. Ash sends out his Corphish to battle Howie's Pinsir. Howie has Pinsir start off with a Vice Grip, but Corphish quickly counters the attack. Ash tells Corphish to use Crabhammer, but Howie has Pinsir counter with Guillotine. Outside the arena, Jessie, James and Meowth enter the building. Jessie notices the tournament is happening and decides to steal the Pokémon. James and Mime Jr. come across the building and get the same reaction Jessie had. Meowth also comes up, and decides to see what it's about, not interested in stealing Pokémon.

Back inside the arena, Pinsir knocks Corphish hard with Seismic Toss, and is about to administer the finishing blow with Guillotine, but Ash tells Corphish to use Harden and a Crabhammer to finish it off. This move allows Ash and Corphish to win the first battle.

Meanwhile, James and Mime Jr. are wandering around the arena. They encounter Jessie, and both of them look away from each other in disgust. Later, they meet up with Cassidy, who is still dressed up as Nurse Joy. She tells the Rocket trio about the plan she and Butch have. She also reveals that she and Butch have been invited to surprise parties for Giovanni and Dr. Namba. Cassidy convinces James to help her out with the plan.

Continuing with the battles, Ash and Corphish face off against another Trainer and his Marowak. Corphish is about to hit Marowak with Crabhammer, but Marowak counters with its thick bone. Marowak uses Bonemerang. Corphish ducks, but the attack comes back and hits the Pokémon.

In one of the hallways of the arena, Butch is busy carrying a bag full of stolen Poké Balls until he encounters Jessie. Jessie then notices the Poké Ball haul Cassidy told her about and starts to sweet-talk Butch.

Back with the battles, Ash has Corphish use Vice Grip, but Marowak counters and is about to nail Corphish with Bone Club. Corphish counters and is about to use Crabhammer.

While in the hallways of the arena, a sad Meowth is thinking about Jessie and James and how much he misses them. He finds a bag of biscuits lying on the ground. He then begins to reminisce about all the times he, Jessie and James had a single bite of food and how they would always split the food into three pieces, whether it was bread, a hunk of cheese, one and a half crackers and even a rice cake.

Meanwhile, Munchlax has run off after one of the battles. Max gets Munchlax under control and peeks into the room where Cassidy and Butch kept the stolen Poké Balls. James and Cassidy are putting the Poké Balls in several boxes. Max then realizes Team Rocket's evil plan, and is shocked to discover James's alignment with Butch and Cassidy. Max heads back to the stadium to tell Ash.

Back with the battles, Corphish has just knocked out Marowak with Crabhammer. Ash and Corphish are celebrating another victory until Max interrupts them. He tells them about Team Rocket's evil plan to steal the Trainers' Poké Balls. Ash and his friends then head to the room to confront James and Cassidy. While confronting James and Cassidy, James and Cassidy say the Team Rocket motto, but Cassidy goofs up the finishing line. Then, Cassidy calls out her Houndour. Ash tells Corphish to use BubbleBeam and follow it up with Vice Grip. Before Corphish can hit Houndour, the Dark Pokémon uses Flamethrower. Corphish slams into one of the boxes where Team Rocket has kept the stolen Poké Balls. Tons of Poké Balls spill out of the boxes and flood the floors of the stadium.

Ash tells the Trainers about what Team Rocket is up to and tells them to get their Poké Balls back. The tournament officials tear off their disguises, revealing themselves to be a horde of Team Rocket Grunts. The Rocket Grunts bring their Pokémon forth, as do the other Trainers, not willing to give up their Pokémon without a fight.

Ash and the other Trainers are furious with Team Rocket wanting to steal the memories they've stored in the Poké Balls and Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt. As the battle continues, Jessie and Butch are about to leave with a box full of stolen Poké Balls, but they are noticed by Ash, who has Swellow tackle them. After being caught, Jessie and Butch recite the motto, but Butch goofs it up. Butch, after being annoyed by Ash calling him "Paunch", sends out Raticate. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on Jessie, Butch and Raticate, sending them flying.

Elsewhere in the arena, Meowth is collecting some Poké Balls. James and Mime Jr. and Jessie are doing the same. When all three Rockets grab the same Poké Ball, another argument ensues, but Meowth stops the argument by showing them the biscuit he found earlier. This reminds Jessie and James of their friendship. All three Rockets are about to split the biscuit apart. Before they could eat it, a Trainer with his Rhydon sends Jessie, James and Meowth flying. After this happens, the Rocket Grunts flee the building.

Back inside, Ash and his friends are cleaning up the mess of Poké Balls, until they notice Cassidy and Butch escaping with the box. As they chase Cassidy and Butch, the Rocket Duo falls into a hole. They get out and continue to run. Before they can board their helicopter, they fall into another hole, along with the helicopter. Ash tells Pikachu to use Thunderbolt and Cassidy and Butch are sent flying.

Jessie, James and Meowth are floating in their Meowth Balloon, carrying shovels. It turns out they were the ones who dug up the holes which almost stopped Cassidy and Butch. Jessie, James and Meowth, after reciting their motto, are about to make their getaway with the Poké Balls, until Corphish pops open a hole with it BubbleBeam attack, sending Team Rocket blasting off again.

Back at the stadium, Ash and co. watch as the Trainers reclaim their Poké Balls. While in the woods, Jessie, James and Meowth are about to share a biscuit in a campfire. Jessie gets the biggest piece. This angers her two friends, and they fight over the size of the biscuit.

Major events

• May and Max meet Butch and Cassidy for the first time.
• Team Rocket break up and Jessie and James temporarily join with Butch and Cassidy, respectively.

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

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Butch
• Cassidy
• Professor Oak (flashback)
• Dr. Namba (on the phone)
• Howie
• Oriba
• Announcer (Team Rocket)
• Referee (Team Rocket)
• Pokémon Trainers
• Team Rocket Grunts

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Mime Jr. (James's)
• Swellow (Ash's)
• Corphish (Ash's)
• Torchic (May's; flashback)
• Munchlax (May's)
• Raticate (Cassidy's)
• Houndour (Cassidy's)
• Pinsir (Howie's)
• Marowak (Oriba's)
• Zubat (Team Rocket Grunt's)
• Venomoth (Team Rocket Grunt's)
• Doduo (Team Rocket Grunt's)
• Skarmory (Team Rocket Grunt's)
• Pidgeotto (Trainer's)
• Ponyta (Trainer's)
• Rhydon (Trainer's)
• Ledian (Trainer's)
• Hitmontop (Trainer's)

Trivia

• This episode marks the return of Ikue Ohtani from maternity leave.
• Pokémon Symphonic Medley, ニャースのうた Meowth's Song and 前向きロケット団！ Face Forward Team Rocket! are used as background music.
• This episode is unique because there were three Team Rocket mottos (by Jessie and Butch, Cassidy and James and the usual trio at the end) and three blast-offs (the trio in the beginning of the episode, Cassidy and Butch and the trio again in the end).
• This is the second time Ash and company lead a horde of Pokémon Trainers in a counterattack against Team Rocket's evil plans (the massive battle between a horde of Pokémon Trainers vs. Team Rocket Grunts). The first time was in Battle Aboard the St. Anne.
• The title is based on the phrase "bait and switch".
• Two later episodes, Noodles! Roamin' Off! and The Path That Leads to Goodbye!, shares a similar plot line.

Errors

• At the beginning when Pikachu escapes from Team Rocket's cage, a split second before he lands on the ground, his shadow appears in mid-air.
• After Cassidy takes James away to work with her, Jessie is left standing alone with a fire extinguisher that was never in the hallway before.

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		火箭隊解散！？各自的道路！
Danish		Et godt gammelt fupnummer!
Dutch		De Goede Oude Wisseltruc
Finnish		Uudet allianssit
European French		Imposture
German		Einmal ein Team - Immer ein Team!
Hebrew		מחליפים צוות
Italian		Cambio di alleanze
Brazilian Portuguese		O grande assalto
Spanish	Latin America	El mismo viejo equipo.
	Spain	Reproches e intercambios
Swedish		Ut med språket!

← AG175 : Going for Choke!

Advanced Generation series

AG177 : Grating Spaces! →

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