EP178

← EP177 : Wings 'N' Things

Original series

EP179 : The Apple Corp! →

The Grass Route

EP178   ポポッコ！くさポケモンバトル!! Popocco! Grass Pokémon Battle!!

First broadcast Japan December 21, 2000 United States November 3, 2001

English themes Opening Born to Be a Winner Ending

Japanese themes Opening OK! Ending ぼくのベストフレンドへ

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 藤田伸三 Shinzō Fujita Storyboard 井上修 Osamu Inoue Assistant director 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura No additional credits are available at this time.

The Grass Route (Japanese: ポポッコ！くさポケモンバトル!! Popocco! Grass Pokémon Battle!!) is the 178th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on December 21, 2000 and in the United States on November 3, 2001.

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

Synopsis

Template:Incomplete synopsis En route to Ecruteak City, Ash and company are caught by the sight of a Skiploom racing by. Following after it, they encounter its trainer, Ephraim. He and his Skiploom are training for the upcoming annual Grass-Type tournament, a contest for Template:Type2 Pokémon only. Confident he can win any “local” tournament, Ash decides he and Bulbasaur will enter as well. Ephraim and his Skiploom train hard as the tournament quickly approaches. Find out who triumphs as young Ephraim and Ash face-off in the final round of the tournament!..

Major events

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Skiploom

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Ephraim
• Ephraim's parents
• Competitors in the Template:Type2 tournament

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Girafarig

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Chikorita (Ash's)
• Victreebel (James's)
• Skiploom (Ephraim's, Skippy; debut)
• Oddish
• Gloom
• Vileplume
• Paras
• Bellsprout
• Weepinbell
• Exeggutor
• Tangela
• Bellossom
• Hoppip
• Sunflora

Trivia

• This episode is listed on Pokémon.com as "The Grass Root". [1]
• The names Jessie and James go by in the tournament are Eissej and Semaj.
• Mewtwo Returns aired in Japan between this episode and the next.

Errors

• Skiploom's Leech Seed should not have affected Victreebel or Tangela, as they are Template:Type2, and are therefore immune.
• Although Skiploom can learn SolarBeam via TM22 in Generation II, Skippy using it against Bulbasaur should not have been a surprise to Ephraim since he would have to teach the move.

In other languages

• Finnish: Ylpeys vai lankeemus
• French: Dernière escale
• German. Das Pflanzen-Pokémon Turnier
• Hebrew: טורניר העשב turnir ha'esev
• Italian: Un torneo speciale
• Portuguese (Brazilian): Onde a Grama é Mais Verde
• Spanish:
  • Iberian Spanish: Campeonato de Pokémon planta
  • Latin American Spanish: ¡La ruta de hierba!

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← EP177 : Wings 'N' Things

Original series

EP179 : The Apple Corp →

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