AG065
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Gulpin it Down
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First broadcast
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
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Gulpin it Down (Japanese: ゴクリン撃退大作戦！！ The Great Gokulin Repelling Strategy!!) is the 65th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 339th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on February 26, 2004 and in the United States on February 12, 2005.
Synopsis
Ash, May, Brock, and Max are having lunch in a park, next to a large harbor city somewhere in Hoenn between Verdanturf and Petalburg City. Brock reads from the guidebook about how they are very close to Petalburg, and Ash says through a mouthful of food how eager is he to be able to battle Norman again. Max warns Ash about how strong Norman is, while May is excited about being able to eat their mom's cooking again. As May reaches for her sandwich, a round, pea-green slug-like Pokémon slides by and inhales it with a deep "GULP" sound before she can grab it. It does the same to Max's, Brock's and Ash's sandwiches, as well as Pikachu's bowl of food, as they all look on in surprise and confusion. The Pokémon slides away a short distance, then turns around and swallows hard, spitting out Pikachu's empty bowl afterwards. The group stands up in amazement, with Ash bringing out his Pokédex to scan the creature.
The Pokédex identifies it as a Gulpin, mentioning its ability to swallow anything it's size whole, as well as its ability to digest anything it swallows. Max is upset about how it ate their entire lunch, but May thinks it's cute. The group looks up in unison when they hear an alarm; the Gulpin slides away while their attention is diverted. A female voice over a nearby loudspeaker is ordering the population of the city to make an emergency evacuation. Ash wonders where everyone is expected to be able to evacuate to.
The group walk along one of the deserted streets in the evacuated city, with May commenting on how people are able to follow orders so well. A loud scream pierces the air, and Ash turns to see where it came from. A woman in a pink uniform similar to a Pokémon Breeder's clothes is backed up against the wall, inside a building. Ash and company rush in, finding her, and ask her what's wrong. The woman points to a swarm of Gulpin which are chowing down on loaves of bread; this is a bakery, and the Gulpin are devouring the woman's entire stock. Ash orders Pikachu to attack the Gulpin, but Pikachu freezes when two of the Stomach Pokémon jump him, followed by the rest which form a dogpile on him. Ash knocks away Gulpin to try and retrieve his Pokémon, finally pulling a knocked-out Pikachu out of the pile. May cries out as several more Gulpin come pouring into the room through the air vents along the ceiling. The group, along with the woman, are soon nearly smothered by the horde of Gulpin. A sharp whistle from outside gets Brock's attention, who recognizes it as Officer Jenny's police whistle before he gets dragged down into the mob. Officer Jenny then appears in front of the bakery, commanding her Tangela to use Vine Whip to drag everyone, nearly out of breath, out from the mob. The Gulpin then slide out as one into the street, leaving the bakery behind for a new food source.
Ash thanks Jenny for rescuing them, and Jenny warns them that it is too dangerous for them to remain in the city. The bakery owner promises to leave, but May and Max tell Jenny that they need a place to rest. Jenny asks that they follow her to the local Pokémon Center. When they arrive, they find Nurse Joy manning a control panel that is monitoring the city, confirming that the evacuation was complete and that measures to remove the Gulpin from the city were about to be launched. Ash comments that he had never seen a Pokémon Center like this, and Joy tells him that it had been specially outfitted to be a center for defense against Gulpin attacks. At May's question as to what that means, an old, bespectacled, bearded man, dressed in the attire of a Pokémon Professor, enters the room and tells the group that the local Gulpin population is rising again. Jenny introduces the man as Professor Jacuzzi, a specialist on Gulpin research. She goes on to explain that Gulpin attack the town around this time every year, devouring all of the food in the city, and that this year, the defense center's goal is to rid the town of Gulpin for good. Jacuzzi points out on a map where he knows the Gulpin are headed: the city's main food storage, in the center of town. He tells the group that he has been working on something that will "stop the Gulpin right in their tracks". Jenny then picks up an alarm on the system that shows the crowd of Gulpin moving toward the city's center. She calls for the launch of the "immobilization" maneuver. Ash asks if there is some way he can help.
Soon, Jenny and the group have positioned themselves at the end of a bridge leading toward the city center, with a large, armored vehicle parked behind them. They watch as the Gulpin mob comes stampeding in their direction. Once they are within sight, Jenny calls for the attack, and Jacuzzi, inside a complex control station inside the vehicle, launches a missile at the mob. The missile breaks apart in midair, revealing a device that appears to contain three massive Pokéblocks. The Professor climbs out of the vehicle to explain the giant Pokéblocks as being his own special blend, developed over several years, and are composed of all the ingredients which attract Gulpin. As the Gulpin leap to devour it, Jacuzzi activates a helicopter rotor on the device, which spins and carries the device up and away from the Gulpin. It flies off along the bridge, leading the Gulpin away from the city center.
As Jacuzzi celebrates his achievement, however, a giant mechanical hand reaches down and grabs the device, bending the rotor. The group looks up to see Team Rocket in their balloon, who recite their motto. Jenny and the others tell Team Rocket that the Pokéblocks are needed to help get rid of the Gulpin, but the thieving trio only laugh and claim that since they found it flying through the air, it rightfully belongs to them. Just then, the Gulpin attack as one, firing globs of sludge from their mouths at the balloon, quickly coating it in brown gunk and weighing it down, causing it to crash down on the opposite end of the bridge. Jessie, indignant, stands up holding the Pokéblock device over her head, while the rest of Team Rocket gets ready to fight the Gulpin. The Gulpin respond by using Stockpile, glowing purple as they do so, then launch a group Spit Up attack, firing bright purple beams at Team Rocket. The beams connect and cause an explosion, sending Team Rocket blasting off again.
Brock leaps to catch the device (with some difficulty) while Jacuzzi commends the Stockpile and Spit Up combination attack. Max stops him to point out that the Gulpin are stampeding towards Brock, who is still holding the device. Jenny calls out her Tangela, Meganium, and Parasect and orders them to use Vine Whip, Razor Leaf, and Stun Spore, respectively. The attacks knock the Gulpin mob back, but Max is worried that the Poison-types' resistance to Grass-type attacks will give them the advantage. Ash sends out his Treecko to help; the Gulpin launch several Sludge attacks at Treecko, who leaps to dodge them all. Ash commands Treecko to use Bullet Seed, which knocks the Gulpin back again. Jacuzzi then activates a rocket on the device (nearly singeing Brock, who lets go of it quickly) which sends the device flying off along the river beneath the bridge, and the Gulpin mob follows, leaping into the water to give chase. The group watches the Gulpin leave, with Ash and May feeling like the worst is over. Jenny, however, recommends that they get back to the defense center.
Later that evening, Team Rocket is wandering around the outskirts of the city, complaining of hunger. They happen upon the Pokéblock device, now stripped bare, laying on the bank of the river. In the distance, they see the mob of Gulpin headed back toward the city. Meowth recommends that they follow the Gulpin, which will most probably lead them towards a place where there is food.
That night, a second alarm goes off in the city, and lights go off across the cityscape, blanketing the entire area in darkness. At the defense center, Joy turns on the emergency power, blaming the blackout on a severed underground cable. The monitor shows something headed quickly toward the storehouse in the center of town. It turns out to be the Gulpin, traveling through the underground sewer, with Team Rocket tagging along behind. Joy sends a signal to close a number of gates in the sewer, forcing the Gulpin to take a detour and head above ground. Jenny asks Jacuzzi to use another Pokéblock device, but the Professor says that the Gulpin are too smart to fall for the same trick twice. He tells Jenny to do what she can to hold back the Gulpin. Ash and Pikachu get ready to help the Professor again.
Back outside on a deserted avenue, one of the manhole covers suddenly blows off the pavement, and the Gulpin horde quickly pour out onto the street, headed toward the large Poké Ball-shaped food storage warehouse. Ash, May, Brock, Max, and Officer Jenny stand in the way. Pikachu leaps down from Ash's shoulder, while Jenny calls out her Pokémon and orders them to attack the Gulpin. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, knocking out a number of the Poison Pokémon, but with every Gulpin that does down, it seems as though another takes its place as they press on forward. As the Gulpin inch on ever closer, Jacuzzi comes to the rescue with his armored vehicle, parking it between the group and the Gulpin.
Announcing that he is going forth with "Plan B", Jacuzzi activates a mechanism that causes a large cannon to extend upward from the vehicle, along with two satellite dishes resembling ray-guns, which he aims at the oncoming Gulpin. With a click of a button, the dishes fire pink beams at the Gulpin, which fade away and disappear. The computer inside the vehicle registers the Gulpin as they enter its database, and the Professor aims the large cannon, firing the Gulpin out one by one over a great distance. As the group gaze on in wonder, Jacuzzi introduces his invention as the Mach III Particle Cannon. Based on the power behind Gulpin's Stockpile and Spit Up attacks, the machine uses that energy to absorb the Gulpin, then spit them out at mach 3 speed. After using the Cannon to continually absorb and spit out Pokémon after Pokémon, Jacuzzi is down to one Gulpin left, standing alone in the street. However, before he can absorb it, the Cannon shuts down, the interior going dark. Jacuzzi tells the worried onlookers that the machine "froze up" due to the subatomic particles becoming unstable.
The lone Gulpin attempts to escape, but Ash sends out Treecko and has it use Bullet Seed. The Gulpin counters with Sludge. While the two Pokémon battle it out, Jacuzzi hurriedly tries to get the Cannon working again, and finally succeeds as the lights come back on. Ash orders Treecko to use Pound; just as Treecko's tail comes down on the Gulpin's head, Jacuzzi fires the particle beam, striking both Pokémon at once and absorbing them together. Inside the computer, Gulpin responds to Treecko's attack by using Spit Up, knocking Treecko away and overloading the system. The machine sends up sparks and smoke, frightening Jacuzzi as Ash and May pound on the outside of the vehicle, concerned about Treecko's safety. The system finally does itself in with a big explosion, blowing the entire vehicle to bits. When the smoke clears, Jenny finds the rest of the group among the rubble, all safe and accounted for. Jacuzzi, on top of the wreckage, points out something unusual happening in the distance as two balls of pink light rise up from the debris. They are the formerly-absorbed energies of Treecko and Gulpin, now freed from the computer and returning to physical form. However, as the energies take shape, they expand to an enormous size, finally revealing a gargantuan Treecko and Gulpin, which stare each other down as the restored city lights illuminate them from below.
May wonders out loud if the two had just evolved, which Max sincerely doubts. Brock asks the Professor what had happened, to which he explains that the Gulpin's Spit Up attack had reacted with the subatomic particles in such a way that it caused the two Pokémon's physical proportions to increase dramatically in size. As they watch, the Gulpin turns around and starts to slide away, causing damage and throwing up a dust cloud as it does so. Ash yells up at Treecko that it needs to stop the Gulpin, and Treecko responds willingly, leaping up and landing in front of the Gulpin, pressing its hands on the Gulpin's head to prevent it from moving forward. As the two giant Pokémon fight, Jenny and Joy help the remaining citizens to reach the shelters. Unable to keep Gulpin back, Treecko uses its force against it and tosses it backwards, sending it crashing into a building. In retaliation, Gulpin opens its mouth wide and fires several rounds of Sludge with a loud belching noise, causing numerous explosions to erupt all across the city. Jacuzzi looks on, wondering if it was a mistake to build the Cannon.
Treecko is knocked down, causing rubble to fall, which nearly squishes Ash. Standing up, Ash notices the lake on the edge of town. Using a loudspeaker, Ash orders Treecko to force the Gulpin close to the lake; Treecko follows through by grabbing the giant Gulpin, lifting it up over its head, and tossing it toward the lake. Sent flying, the Gulpin prepares an attack in midair.
Down below, Team Rocket is making a break for it with a load of food that they had just pilfered from the storehouse. A massive shadow passes over them, and they stop to look up; just then, the Gulpin fires its Spit Up attack, striking Team Rocket with the beam. Team Rocket ends up blasting off again for a second time, dropping their sacks as they are sent flying.
The Gulpin splashes down, and Treecko jumps in after it, getting ambushed as the Gulpin suddenly surfaces right in front of it and knocks it down. Treecko manages to get back up, and the two have a second staring match as the group watches from a rescue boat. They notice Treecko breathing heavily and realize that it must be getting very tired. Max cries out as the Gulpin uses Stockpile to prepare for another Spit Up attack, and Treecko leaps as the beam tears through the water where he was standing before, busting a hole in the concrete wall. Treecko starts to glow in midair as the effects of the Cannon's malfunction wear off, and he lands on the boat near the group, back to normal size and panting in exhaustion. Joy comments on how the intensity of the battle Treecko just fought had "brought him down to size", while Ash brings out Treecko's Poké Ball and recalls him to take a rest.
The recovered Gulpin, on the other hand, is still massive, and is heading back into the city. Jacuzzi admits defeat, having used up every available resource. But then, May suggests that they try to capture it with a Poké Ball, saying that no matter how big it is, it should still fit inside a ball since it is still a Pokémon. Jacuzzi steps forth and tosses a Poké Ball at the Gulpin, and it goes inside, only to come right back out. However, Joy offers Jacuzzi a Heavy Ball, which he tosses, and is able to successfully capture the Gulpin.
As morning comes around, Brock asks Jacuzzi whether or not the Gulpin would have turned back to normal as a result of being captured. Assured that it should be back to its normal size, Jacuzzi calls out the Gulpin, only to find that it is still giant. Jenny screams at Jacuzzi to recall the Gulpin, and he does so. Jacuzzi assures them that with his 50 years worth of Gulpin knowledge, he should be able to find some way to return the Gulpin to its normal state. Assured of this, the group looks on as the sun rises.
Major events
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Pokémon Trainer's Choice: Treecko
- Pikachu (Ash's)
- Meowth (Team Rocket)
- Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
- Treecko (Ash's)
- Tangela (Officer Jenny's)
- Parasect (Officer Jenny's)
- Meganium (Officer Jenny's)
- Gulpin (Professor Jacuzzi's; giant; new)
- Gulpin (multiple; debut)
Trivia
- This is the first episode of the Pokémon anime in which a Trainer's Pokémon becomes enlarged, though this is not the first time a super-sized Pokémon is shown.
- The episode is reminiscent of the Godzilla franchise. Ten months after this episode aired, the 50th anniversary film Godzilla: Final Wars was released in Japanese theaters.
- This is the last episode where Megan Hollingshead provides the voice of Officer Jenny.
- This title is a pun of the phrase, "gulping it down."
- A Heavy Ball is used in this episode. This Poké Ball variant was not available in Hoenn, and did not become available in the games again until Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver.
- Although Trainer's Choice states that Treecko would be the best choice to battle Larvitar, Carvanha is also the best choice as Template:Type2 moves are super effective against Larvitar being a Rock/Template:Type2. Technically, both Treecko and Carvanha would be the correct choices, however Larvitar's ground-type attacks are "not very effective" against Treecko.
Errors
Dub edits
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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| Mandarin Chinese | 擊退溶食獸大作戰！ | |
 Finnish
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Gulpinien iso nälkä | |
 European French
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L'invasion des Gloupti | |
 German
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Riesenschlucker Schluppuck | |
 Hebrew
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פלישת הגלפינים plishat haGulpinim | |
 Italian
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Piccoli invasori | |
| Portuguese |  Brazil
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Os Gulpins |
 Portugal
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Gulpin Comilão | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
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¡Gulpin al ataque! |
 Spain
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Gulpin el tragón | |
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
