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EP019

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← EP018 : Beauty and the Beach
Original series
EP020 : The Ghost of Maiden's Peak →
Tentacool & Tentacruel
EP019.png
  EP019  
メノクラゲドククラゲ
Menokurage Dokukurage
First broadcast
Japan August 5, 1997
United States October 1, 1998
English themes
Opening Pokémon Theme
Ending
Japanese themes
Opening めざせポケモンマスター
Ending ひゃくごじゅういち
Credits
Animation Team Ota
Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka
Storyboard 横田和 Kazu Yokota
Assistant director 大町繁 Shigeru Ōmachi
Animation director 武田優作 Yūsaku Takeda
Additional credits

Tentacool & Tentacruel (Japanese: メノクラゲドククラゲ Menokurage Dokukurage) is the 19th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on August 5, 1997 and in the United States on October 1, 1998.

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Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
201

Blurb

Our heroes arrive at Hutber Port, where a ferryboat line runs to the mainland. There they meet a cousin of the old man's competitor from Acapulco who, having recently acquired a great deal of money, is trying to construct a huge luxury hotel, turning a coral reef area into a tremendous resort. This section of coral reef, however, is very important to the Tentacool and Horsea that live there. When a huge school of Tentacool interferes with the construction of the hotel, the cousin and a group of young people organize a campaign to drive them away, offering a reward of $10,000 to anyone who can repel the Tentacool. Naturally this draws the attention of Team Rocket who attempt to get rid of the Tentacool by spreading a mixture of super secret stun sauce over the ocean. Their plan backfires, however, transforming the Tentacool into a gigantic Tentacruel which begins a fierce counterattack against the humans. In order to defeat this reign of terror, Ash, Misty, Brock and their Pokémon are drawn into a battle that will require more than just strong combative skill.

Plot

Misty spots an injured Horsea in the water as she, Ash, and Brock wait for the next boat to the mainland. The Horsea seems to be communicating a warning, painting an image with its ink, but Misty doesn't understand it and tries to capture it. Before she captures the Horsea, however, there's an explosion and a boat is destroyed. Misty immediately sends her Water-type Pokémon - Staryu, Starmie, and Goldeen - to rescue the sailors that have been flung into the ocean. Brock grabs a nearby boat and heads out to assist in the rescue effort. The sailors are paralyzed and mumble about what caused their ship to explode.

Later, Ash and his friends meet Nastina, who is the spitting image of Brutella from the previous episode. She explains her plans of building an exclusive hotel on the ocean (literally, perched on a coral reef) for wealthy tourists. However, her building plans are upsetting the local Tentacool and Tentacruel, who've been attacking her construction site. She wants the Pokémon exterminated and offers a million dollar reward, which Ash and Brock are eager to accept. Misty angrily rejects Nastina's offer. She then explains her love of Water Pokémon to Ash and Brock, who don't quite understand her. Nastina then makes a public announcement offering the million dollars to anyone who exterminates the Tentacool and Tentacruel. The gang are nearly run over by the town's citizens, rushing to the beach to carry out Nastina's orders.

Team Rocket, who are always nearby, offer to help Nastina. They plan on using their "Super Secret Stun Sauce" on the Pokémon and then selling them at a fish market for more money. However, their boat is soon surrounded by thousands of angry Tentacool, one of whom blasts the stun sauce with a ray gun-type attack and destroys the boat. The sauce lands on that same Tentacool, but instead of being stunned, it evolves into a Tentacruel hundreds of times the normal size of the breed, and promptly begins a citywide rampage. Meowth is captured by the large Tentacruel and is used as its mouthpiece. It explains that it's destroying the city in much the same way Nastina has been destroying its home in the coral reef. The Horsea that Misty saw earlier pleads with the Tentacruel to stop, but is swatted away by a tentacle. Ash, Misty and Brock thus send out their Pokémon to stop the Tentacruel.

The Tentacruel doesn't understand why the Pokémon would fight on the side of the humans, but then Misty stops it in its tracks. She's managed to get to the roof of a building and pleads with it to stop its rampage. She tells the Tentacruel that the humans now understand that what they were doing was wrong, and that the hotel won't be built on the coral reef. Tentacruel replies that if their homes are attacked again they will not stop the destruction, then tosses Meowth into a Ferris Wheel in the previously destroyed amusement park, which then collapses and causes Meowth to reawaken. Tentacruel then slowly goes into the ocean, followed by the Tentacool. Nastina attempts once again to destroy the Tentacruel, but has her face blotched by Horsea's ink before being whacked into the air by the Tentacruel's tentacle. As Brutella from the previous episode rebuilds her restaurant, Nastina crash-lands into her, re-destroying the restaurant in the process.

Ash, Misty and Brock finally board a boat to the mainland. The Horsea decides to be a new member of Misty's team and so, Misty captures it. While the adventure doesn't diminish Misty's love of Tentacool, she declares that "Horsea's the cutest Pokémon of all!" and does Ash's victory pose, which annoys him. The sun sets on Team Rocket in a bucket attached to the ship, wearily plotting for next time.

Major events

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

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Horsea

Temporary banning

This episode was banned for a few years following the September 11th terrorist attacks. Kids' WB! refused to air this episode due to the destruction of buildings. However, it was once again aired when Cartoon Network began airing the series. It was also included with the release of the Pokémon: Indigo League DVD pack. Incidentally, a major contributor to the banning of this episode was Tentacruel's destruction of a skyscraper, but the scene remained shown in the opening sequence.

Trivia

  • Actual fish can be seen in the aquarium in Nastina's vision. This is one of the few occasions real animals are seen onscreen.
  • This episode marks the first time that a Pokémon communicates through Meowth's translations.
  • There is a noticeable similarity between the scene where Tentacruel speaks through Meowth, and a scene from the 1996 movie Independence Day, in which a captive alien speaks through the body of a scientist. In both cases, a voiceless creature covered in tentacles telepathically speaks through another being in order to make its objectives known to humans.
  • This is one of the few episodes where Zubat does not keep its Japanese voice.
  • This is the first episode with Yūsaku Takeda as animation director.
  • This is the first episode where Pikachu rides another one of Ash's Pokémon.
  • The book Return of the Squirtle Squad is partially based on this episode.

Errors

Zubat carrying Squirtle
  • Ash's gloves disappear when he cries out in joy after being presented with the incentives offered by Nastina.
  • In the shot where Team Rocket is being held by Tentacruel, the Tentacool beneath it are miscolored as light brown.
  • During one scene of both the Tentacool speaking through Meowth and the multiple Tentacool destroying the city, Tentacruel can be seen without Meowth in its tentacle.
  • Brock states that it was Tentacruel using Team Rocket as a puppet. However, while Tentacruel was holding Meowth, it was actually a Tentacool that was controlling him.
  • In the scene when the Tentacool attached to Meowth states that the horde will return if their homes are attacked again, the Tentacool is gone.
  • Brock's Zubat is shown to be capable of carrying Ash's Squirtle while flying, despite not having any visible way of doing so. This same scene is the last episode footage of the Pokémon Theme.
  • A frame error is present in the scene where the fish are swimming in the aquarium tank. One fish is layered outside of the tank, swimming through the glass as if it was still inside of it.

Dub edits

  • Due to Beauty and the Beach being "skipped" over in the dub, certain things have been changed.
    • The scene involving Nastina's appearance was rewritten. The scene where she tells Ash about her new resort is changed completely. Originally, Ash apologizes to Nastina for wrecking the restaurant (referencing what happened in the prior episode), but she gets upset at Ash for being mistaken for Brutella.
    • James and Jessie's meeting with Nastina was also rewritten. In the original version, Jessie and James asked if she was Brutella from "Aopulco", and she fires the cannon as she was offended at being mistaken for her. In the dub, Jessie and James say "Look at that hair!" and "Disaster!", respectively, and Nastina shoots the cannon at them, telling them that she doesn't need their beauty tips.
    • Moe's restaurant's sign was erased in the dub.
  • Most of the Japanese characters (save for シーフード seafood) are removed from the dub.
  • The sign on Team Rocket's barrel was changed to a Tentacool under a "not allowed" sign.
  • The lettering for the Tentacool stand is translated to Tentacool on the top (and replaced with three Tentacool on the bottom) and two Rs on the left and right side.
  • The scene where Ash tells Misty not to try to protect the Tentacool because of an incoming tidal wave was changed from the Japanese version, which had Ash calling Misty an idiot.

In other languages



← EP018 : Beauty and the Beach
Original series
EP020 : The Ghost of Maiden's Peak →
Project Anime logo.png This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.
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