| Two Degrees of Separation!
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ピカチュウをさがせ！２０２番道路！
Find Pikachu! Route 202!
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First broadcast
| Japan
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September 28, 2006
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| United States
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April 20, 2007
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Two Degrees of Separation! (Japanese: ピカチュウをさがせ！２０２番道路！ Find Pikachu! Route 202!) is the second episode of the Diamond & Pearl series, and the 468th episode of the Pokémon anime. It aired in Japan on September 28, 2006, as part of a one-hour special along with the previous episode and the next episode, and in the USA on April 20, 2007.
Synopsis
The episode opens with Dawn riding her bike down Route 202, stopping and running down a grass field, releasing her Piplup. As they sit and watch the clouds, Dawn decides to capture her first Pokémon. A wild Buneary pops out of the grass. She knows that weakening it in battle will make it easier to capture, so she sends Piplup into battle, opening with BubbleBeam. She is psyched at calling her first attack, but Buneary jumps up to dodge. Piplup follows up with Peck, but Buneary jumps aside and uses Dizzy Punch to knock out Piplup in one shot. Dawn rushes forward to grab her Piplup, but Buneary bounces off her head and runs away. Piplup is upset at failing, but Dawn cheers it up.
Dawn rides along the path, Piplup riding in the front basket, as she maps out her plan to become a Pokémon Coordinator, starting with participating in the Jubilife Contest. Dawn spots a Burmy hanging off a branch. Piplup jumps out of the basket and attacks with BubbleBeam right away, the attack removing Burmy’s Plant Cloak and causing it to fall off the branch. Dawn applauds Piplup for succeeding, but Piplup frantically points to Burmy scrambling to put its Plant Cloak back together. Dawn fumbles for a Poké Ball, but by the time she gets it ready, Burmy has already gone. Dawn sinks to her knees in defeat as Piplup consoles her this time. Dawn mentions that she can make mistakes just like Piplup, which does not sit well with the Pokémon.
Piplup hears the bushes rustling nearby as Dawn turns to the source. A Pikachu, which belongs to Ash, stumbles out from behind the bush, collapsing with exhaustion. Although the type disadvantage is present, Piplup is willing to take a shot, firing off BubbleBeam. Despite being exhausted, Pikachu manages to use Thunderbolt to negate the attack. Piplup follows up with Peck, but Pikachu launches another Thunderbolt to overpower Piplup, sending it flying backwards into Dawn’s bike, roasting it in the same manner as Misty's and May's bikes. Pikachu scratches his head in apologetic embarrassment, as Dawn is furious at losing her bike, throwing the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball opens and tries to pull Pikachu in, but the energy field dissipates, sending the Poké Ball back to Dawn. Dawn realizes that this Pikachu already has a Trainer. Pikachu runs away, but a Seviper, Dustox, and Cacnea cut him off, surrounding the injured Pokémon. Meowth steps out, the talking ability shocking Dawn. Jessie and James step out as well with Wobbuffet and Mime Jr. in tow as they confront Dawn. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to shock Team Rocket, but the other Pokémon attack, forcing Pikachu to dodge.
As Dawn watches angrily, she notices Piplup and decides to help out, Piplup firing BubbleBeam to clear the way as they shield Pikachu. Team Rocket recites their mottos, but it has little impact on Dawn since Team Rocket has not spread to Sinnoh. Dawn knows that Pikachu does not belong to Team Rocket, Pikachu clinging to Dawn. Jessie's Seviper attacks Piplup with Wrap, binding it as Team Rocket decides to take Piplup as well as Pikachu. Piplup uses BubbleBeam on Seviper, releasing its grip. Meowth sends the three Pokémon forward, but Piplup’s BubbleBeam and Pikachu’s Thunderbolt stops them and sends Team Rocket blasting off. Dawn and the Pokémon celebrate, but Pikachu collapses with exhaustion. Dawn picks up Pikachu and they head to the Pokémon Center. At the Center, Nurse Joy treats Pikachu as Dawn explains what happened. Dawn calls her mother and informs her about her progress. Dawn admits that she could not catch a Pokémon yet. Dawn and Piplup argue about who was at fault, and Piplup attacks Dawn while her mother and her Glameow watch. After the scuffle, Dawn contacts Professor Rowan and talks about the encounter with Team Rocket. Dawn informs the professor that she wants to find Pikachu's Trainer before heading off to Jubilife City.
Meanwhile, Ash's Aipom looks around from atop a tree. Ash calls to Aipom, and she slides down, not being able to spot Pikachu. Ash and Aipom walk away to continue their search. Officer Jenny eventually finds Ash sitting off the side of the road. After telling her of the situation, Officer Jenny gives Ash a ride to Professor Rowan’s lab. When Ash meets the professor, Rowan hands over Aipom's Poké Ball before mentioning that his Pikachu is in Dawn’s possession. After hearing that, Ash and Rowan place a call to the Pokémon Center, but Nurse Joy mentions that Dawn already left to try and find Pikachu’s trainer. Ash runs out of the lab and heads to the Pokémon Center to try and catch up with Dawn.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket hikes along a road, exhausted after being beaten. James looks up as the group finds James’s second summer cottage, where he would go when the first one needed to be cleaned. They enter the cottage, finding the furniture covered and the curtains closed. James opens the curtains as the Pokémon lounge on the couch. James enters another room and finds a box holding his first bottle cap collection. Among the caps, James pulls out a Poké Ball and recounts the Pokémon he played with before. He throws the ball up, releasing the Pokémon, which is a Carnivine. The Pokémon happily bites James’s head and hugs him, much like his Victreebel. Jessie wants to eat as James calls for his servant over the phone. Team Rocket feasts on several courses as James thanks Mr. Cheeves. Mr. Cheeves then goes on to tell James that he notified his family and that they, along with Jessiebelle, are flying out the next day, much to James's horror. Later on, as the Pokémon play video games, James informs the team that they must leave the luxury before his family arrives. Meowth places a call to Giovanni as they announce their plan to set up in Sinnoh. Though Giovanni does not sound enthusiastic, he approves their plan.
Back at the lab, Rowan manages to contact Dawn, identifying Pikachu’s trainer and that he is heading in her direction. Dawn and the Pokémon head back to Route 202 to cross paths with Ash. Dawn mentions that it would be faster with her bike, Pikachu scratching his head in guilt. Meanwhile, Ash and Aipom run along the path as a truck pulls up, Brock stepping out of the cabin and meeting up with Ash. Brock introduces Ash to the driver Claudina. Brock recounts on how he met her in Pewter City and that they have been on the road. He plans to go back with her, believing he has a shot, but Claudina answers her phone, upsetting Brock when he finds out it's her boyfriend on the line and that she has to leave. Claudina pulls away, leaving Brock upset. Brock puts it aside to partner up with Ash once again. At that point, Brock notices Pikachu is missing.
As they walk, Ash brings Brock up to speed on what happened, Brock astounded that Team Rocket has not given up. Ash checks the map for the Pokémon Center that Dawn was at. Aipom swings through the trees and crashes into a wild Starly, starting a fight. Ash wants to stop the fight, but Brock notices the Pokémon, prompting Ash to check his Pokédex. Ash pulls a Poké Ball out, intent on capturing the Normal/Flying type Pokémon. Aipom backs off to launch a Swift attack. It lands, but Starly uses Whirlwind to blow the smoke away. Aipom prepares a Focus Punch, but Starly uses Quick Attack to knock Aipom down before following up with Wing Attack, smacking Aipom several times. Aipom manages to land the Focus Punch, harming Starly enough so Ash can throw the Poké Ball. Starly goes in and the ball rattles before locking, the capture a success. Ash holds up Starly's Poké Ball in success, but suddenly feels upset that Pikachu was not around to see it. Brock reminds Ash that he caught Starly to help find Pikachu, so he brings Starly back out and they continue searching. Meanwhile Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup also continue their search for Ash while another trainer was watching Ash's capture, remarking that if it was that easy he wouldn't even bother...
Major events
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
* No official credit was given for this character.
Pokémon
Trivia
- Meowth says that they have been chasing Pikachu for as long as Dawn has been alive. This is a reference to the fact that the Pokémon anime had been airing for almost ten years at the point that this episode had aired (being nearly exactly ten years* between the first Japanese airing of Team Rocket's debut and the English dub of this episode), the same as Dawn's age. However if this is taken literally, Dawn as a character had only been envisioned at most a few years previously, meaning that her age in that context would be around three or four years old at the most.
- Giovanni's second seiyū, 三宅健太 Kenta Miyake, debuted in this episode. (His previous seiyū, Hirotaka Suzuoki, passed away on August 6, 2006.)
- Music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is used as background music.
- The eyecatch featured Ash wearing his Advanced Generation clothes with Dawn.
- Professor Oak's lecture: Sinnoh Pokédex
- Pokémon senryū: こまったら ひらいてみよう ポケモンずかん Komattara hiraite miyō, Pokémon zukan. "When troubled, let's open the Pokédex."
- From this episode until Once There Were Greenfields Jessie and James both have three Pokémon each, the first and only time that James has three Pokémon with him at once in the entire series.
- In the English dub, the title card music comes from seasons one through eight when 4Kids still dubbed Pokémon.
- This episode's dub title is referring to the phenomenon Six degrees of separation.
- Pikachu destroys Dawn's bike in this episode, much as it destroyed the bikes of May and Misty before they decided to travel with Ash.
- This is the third time that Ash and one of his rivals have a Pokémon of the same type of species, the first being both Ash and Gary owning a Krabby. The second time was Ash and Tyson each having a Sceptile, though not at the same time.
Errors
- Despite Professor Oak calling the Sinnoh region an island in Home is Where the Start Is, Brock somehow manages to get all the way there via a truck.
- However, it is still possible that Brock rode the truck while it was on a sea vessel.
- In one scene toward the end, Jessie's left eyelashes turn the same color as her skin.
- Jessie apparently forgot who Jessiebelle was, despite not only having encountered her face to face, but also having to shout defensively whenever Meowth mentioned that Jessiebelle looks just like Jessie.
- The background during Dawn's video calls to Rowan are the same despite them both being in different locations.
- The problem is in the second call, as it looks like the inside the Pokémon Center when it is actually outdoors.
Dub edits
- When the first three episodes aired together on April 20, 2007, they were made into a TV movie, cutting several parts out. All of these were restored when the episodes aired separately in reruns.
- When Dawn lets her Piplup out so she can talk to it, the episode title is cut out.
- After Ash finds out where to find Dawn, the transition scene of Professor Rowan sighing, and Team Rocket walking is cut out.
- While searching for Ash's Pikachu by air using his Starly, the remaining part is cut out, moving on to the next episode.
- Ash caught a Starly that knows Gust. In the games, Starly cannot learn this move. In the English dub, this move was changed to Whirlwind, a move that Starly can learn.
In other languages
Czech
Dutch
Finnish
European French
German
Italian
Korean
Polish
Brazil
Portugal
Russian
Latin America
Spain
