AG022

← AG021 : Which Wurmple's Which?

Advanced Generation series

AG023 : Gone Corphishin' →

A Hole Lotta Trouble

AG022   EP296 ダイゴ、ココドラ、ボスゴドラ！ Daigo, Cokodora, Bossgodora!

First broadcast Japan April 24, 2003 United States February 14, 2004

English themes Opening I Wanna Be A Hero Ending

Japanese themes Opening アドバンス・アドベンチャー Ending ポルカ・オ・ドルカ

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 十川誠志 Masashi Sogo Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

A Hole Lotta Trouble (Japanese: ダイゴ、ココドラ、ボスゴドラ！ Daigo, Cokodora, Bossgodora!) is the 22nd episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 296th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 24, 2003 and in the United States on February 14, 2004.

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

Synopsis

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Our heroes are now walking through a thick forest. They come across a large cave entrance and Max comments that they have arrived at Granite Cave. May wonders what they will find in there and Brock suggests that they go inside and check it out to see if the Elite Trainer (Steven Stone) is there. Max says that many Pokémon must live in this cave. May reminds him that in a cave this dark, he shouldn't get his hopes up. Ash then stops the conversation by telling them all to follow. They then enter the cave.

Inside the cave, Team Rocket is digging a large hole. James stops digging to take a break and complains at how hot it is, but Jessie tells him to keep digging as Pikachu and the twerps should be here soon. As they bicker, Jessie's Wobbuffet pops out. Jessie sighs and continues to dig.

Ash and co continue through the cave calling out to see if anyone is inside. Ash notices a fork in the cave and becomes confused, but Brock notices a red arrow pointing to the left. Ash calls out down the path, and they decide to try what's down there. At the end of the path, a man and his Aron are digging. The man stops to take a break and asks Aron if it found anything yet. Aron shakes its head and the man offers it some Pokémon food. It happily rushes to eat it.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket sits behind some rocks watching the hole that they dug. Jessie tells the others that the twerps are close, but James disagrees. They suddenly hear Ash call out and they hide. May rushes to the hole seeing the light above. Ash and co follow seconds later and they all tumble down it. Team Rocket rushes out and does a happy dance over their catch. Ash and co look up to see them just as the ground gives way beneath all of them. The man and his Aron hear the commotion as Ash and the others including Jessie, James and Meowth fall down a long set of paths and become separated. Max pops out of some dirt and calls for everyone. Pikachu and Meowth also pop out. Max realizes they have been separated and he tells Pikachu that they have to find the others. Meowth offers to help, but Max doesn't trust him.

But they decide to make a truce. Max and Pikachu begin to walk off, but Meowth refuses to follow Pikachu. Max tells him that they can leave him there. Pikachu and Max then walk away, but Meowth yells for them to return and rushes after them. Meanwhile, May pops out of another patch of dirt and complains on how dirty she is. Suddenly, Jessie falls down on top of her. They begin to argue when Jessie says she is going to try and get out. She stands up and tries to climb back up the hole, but it doesn't look too promising. In another part of the cave, Ash and James argue while standing shoulder high in a pile of dirt. Brock soon interrupts them and says they should try to get out of here and they can fight later. They all begin to wriggle and squirm, but they can't break free. They take a breath then try again, but still no luck.

Max, Pikachu and Meowth all continue on down the trail. Max explains to Meowth how he heard that a strong trainer from Devon Corp supposedly trains here. Pikachu suddenly smells something and Meowth motions that he also smells fresh air and he and Pikachu rush off and Max follows them.

The man and his Aron follow the path hoping to find the source of the crash. Ash, Brock, and James are on a different path. James soon begins to pout, saying it's useless and they'll be stuck here for the rest of their lives. He rushes ahead of them calling for Jessie and Meowth. Suddenly, a small ball falls from the ceiling. It opens up to reveal itself as an Aron. It steps into the light growling and Ash scans it with the Pokédex. James walks up to it apparently not very impressed. He begins to prod at it with his hand, which only angers it. The Aron calls out causing many Aron to fall from the ceiling. Ash, Brock and James freak out. The Aron lunges and Ash and the others rush off down the path screaming. The man makes it to the hole Team Rocket dug and looks down. He notices the nets Team Rocket had and says to Aron that someone must've fallen down. He tells it that they have to help them and they both leap down.

Ash and co are still running for their lives. James notices two tunnels up ahead with another above them. He rushes towards them and begins to climb in the high one, but Ash and Brock push him down and climb up first. James turns around to see the pursuing Aron and rushes up screaming. The Aron horde continues on down one of the other paths. Max, Pikachu and Meowth make it to a lush waterfall with vines streaming down in the middle of the cave. They ponder at how it could grow here, and decide to climb the vines up.

Meanwhile, Jessie and May are having no luck. Jessie is still trying to squirm up the hole but May just sits there. She tells Jessie to hurry but she begins to scream saying May should help. May gets up telling her all she had to do was ask, and she begins to shove Jessie up the hole. Jessie emerges on another floor of the cave but she becomes stuck in the hole. She screams for May to push harder but it is no use. Suddenly, a Loudred falls from the floor above and dances around Jessie's head. Jessie freaks out and the Pokémon stomps her head and runs off. Jessie collapses and falls back down the hole. May asks what happened when they suddenly hear a voice from above.

The man and his Aron rush on hoping to find them. Meanwhile, Max, Pikachu and Meowth are climbing the vines. Meowth stops to take a break and begins to start a conversation with Max. Max wonders how Meowth can talk. Meowth begins to explain about how he learned to talk but Pikachu and Max ignore it and continue climbing. A pebble hits Meowth and he realizes they are leaving without him. He yells for them to hold on, and climbs as fast as he can.

Ash and co press on when they suddenly come to the same red arrow as before. They all become excited and rush down the path, only to fall into the same hole as before and tumble back down. The man and his Aron come back to the hole and hear them fall. Max continues on when Pikachu smells something again and they head towards it. Jessie and May are now exhausted as they walk down the path. May suddenly notices light at the end of the tunnel and they both run towards it, only to find the light was coming from above the same hole from before. They fall in screaming while Ash, Brock and James are chased by the Aron horde again.

Jessie and May fall down on top of them and they all begin to run from the horde. Max and the Pokémon rushes towards the screaming. They approach a dark part of the tunnel and the man and his Aron emerges. He asks them if they were the ones who fell down the hole. Max says that they were and adds that his other friends did too and Meowth explains that he too has friends missing. The man introduces himself as Steven Stone, son of Mr. Stone: the president of Devon Corporation and explains that the wild Aron in this cave are not very friendly, so they should find the others quickly. They rush down the tunnel and come to a hole. Max wonders how they will get across. Steven tells them to listen and they all look down to see Ash and co running below them. Max calls to them and they all look up. Steven tells them to meet him at the waterfall and the group continues to run.

Pikachu, Meowth and Max then grab onto Steven and they leap across the hole. Ash and co make it to the waterfall and turn to see the Aron horde approaching. Steven appears above them and tells them to just stay put. The Aron horde gets very close and they all begin to brace themselves for the worst, but suddenly, the horde is stopped dead in their tracks. Ash and co open their eyes to see them all leaving. Steven jumps down as Ash and co stare confusedly. Team Rocket now takes this chance to steal Pikachu. They say their motto and Ash warns Steven that Team Rocket is no good, and he should watch out. Jessie releases Seviper and James calls out Cacnea, which gives him a nice hug. Steven tells them to stop. He tells them that he can't allow them to steal Pokémon, and releases his Aggron. Ash scans it with the Pokédex. Aggron uses Hyper Beam and Team Rocket is blasted off sky high. Ash is in awe at the immense power of his Aggron.

Suddenly, Aron motions to Steven that he found something. Steven rushes up to find a fire stone. Ash and co are impressed and Steven explains that he's been digging for days looking for one. Steven agrees to lead them out of the cave. Outside, Steven boards a small boat with Aron and tells Ash and co that he must go. They thank him for his help as he gives Ash some encouraging advice. He then sets off as Ash and co wave goodbye. Now Ash is more determined then ever to train hard so he may one day match up to Steven and Aggron. They watch Steven go as the sun sets over the ocean.

Major events

• Ash and his friends meet Steven, the Hoenn League Champion.

Debuts

• Steven Stone

Pokémon debuts

• Aron
• Aggron
• Loudred

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• May
• Brock
• Max
• Jessie
• James
• Steven Stone

Pokémon

Who’s That Pokémon?: Vigoroth

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Seviper (Jessie's)
• Cacnea (James's)
• Aron (Steven Stone's; pack; debut)
• Aggron (Steven Stone's; debut)
• Meowth (nicknamed Meowzie; flashback)
• Loudred (debut)

Trivia

• The English title for this episode is a pun of the phrase "a whole lot of trouble."
• Vigoroth's image for Who’s That Pokémon? has its footprint included in the space between its left arm and its left leg.

In other languages

• French: Un trou peut en cacher un autre
• German: Höhlen-Ärger
• Hebrew: בורות ובעיות borot vebe'ayot
• Italian: La grotta
• Portuguese:
  • Brazilian Portuguese: Um Buraco Cheio de Problemas
  • Iberian Portuguese: Muito Sarilho!
• Spanish:
  • Iberian Spanish: Un problema con muchos agujeros
  • Latin American Spanish: ¡Problemas en la cueva!

← AG021 : Which Wurmple's Which?

Advanced Generation series

AG023 : Gone Corphishin' →

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