AG090
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Pokéblock, Stock, and Berry
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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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Pokéblock, Stock, and Berry (Japanese: ミナモシティ到着！ポロックとつばめがえし！ Arrival in Minamo City! Polocks and Turning Swallow Cut!) is the 90th episode of the Advanced Generation series, and the 364th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on August 19, 2004 and in the United States on September 3, 2005.
Synopsis
Ash and his friends finally reach Lilycove City. They'd originally intended to make a stop here because it's on the route to the Gym in Mossdeep City. Since there's a nice view of the sea, they decide to walk. Ash and Pikachu are feeling too tired to walk, though, but then they find a bench to sit on. Everyone is getting hungry and May has a pamphlet describing all the restaurants in Lilycove City. Then a poster on a nearby wall catches her eye: the town is holding a local Pokémon Contest tomorrow. May decides to enter and the gang searches for a place for May to train.
As they continue walking, Pikachu's expression changes suddenly; it becomes very excited and runs off. Ash and company chase the little Pokémon and they arrive at a berry stand that appears to have every known berry for sale (with the exception of the super-rare ones). Before they can buy any berries, they all notice a girl with a Grumpig nearby and she seems very frustrated. She is trying to haggle with the man at the berry stand. A man approaches them and offers free samples. He offers Pikachu some slices of Nomel Berries, which Pikachu happily gobbles up. Ash, hungry as usual, grabs a Nomel berry and eats it. He nearly faints from the sour berry taste. The man explains that Nomel Berries are much better for Pokémon and then he offers Ash some Mago Berries. They taste much sweeter.
Suddenly, Ash notices the young girl with a Grumpig walking by, carrying her heavy grocery bag. She is about to trip and fall, which she does, and her groceries spill out. Grumpig uses a Psychic attack and lifts the bag and all the berries off the ground, puts them back into the bag, and then lays the bag carefully on the ground. Everyone who's witnessed Grumpig's actions claps and the girl thanks them. She also wishes Grumpig the best of luck in the upcoming Contest. May introduces herself to the girl, who says that her name is Kelly, the Pokémon Coordinator. Ash does a Pokédex data check on Grumpig. Brock observes that her Grumpig is very well trained. Naturally, Team Rocket have also witnesses Grumpig's heroics and have decided to make Grumpig their next acquisition.
Later on, Kelly and Ash’s group hang out at a nearby park bench with Grumpig, who May seems to get along with quite well. Kelly shows them the Berries she bought, and how she plans to make Pokéblocks out of them for Grumpig before the Contest. Brock is certainly impressed to see such a pro Coordinator, with Pokéblocks and all. Max is wondering how many Ribbons she’s got, but then May almost scolds him to remind him that she’s there too. Good thing that on the subject of Ribbons, Kelly is interested in how many May has. As she takes out her two Ribbons, she’s greatly impressed, as she only has one. Taking it out, May really seems to like it. Suddenly, as Kelly mentions that she’s eager to win the Lilycove Ribbon, an argument breaks out. Not that its really a big deal, as Ash loves rivalry, and Max likes to see his sister standing up for herself. Meanwhile, Brock is looking at the guidebook for a place to eat, and as soon as Kelly notices, she swipes it from his hand. Before he can take it back, she says most of the places in that book are old, and she has a perfect idea for restaurant, and possibly it could help them. May’s ready to go, but Max makes some comment about her just interested in seeing her secret strategy and following her, but she yanks his ear and Brock feels his pain.
As they follow Kelly, they find themselves at what seems to be a big Pokéblock shop, based on the poster. Kelly says that this is actually her house, and her mother runs a Pokéblock shop there as well. As they go in, they find themselves face to face with shelves stacked with Pokéblocks. Kelly calls her mother down, introduces her new friends, asking to treat them to dinner. At the table, she serves them some fresh Pokéblock soup. At first, Ash is nervous after what happened with the Nomel Berry, but Kelly reminds him that some are good for people to eat, and Pokéblocks won’t do any harm, except maybe a few. But her mother knows what she’s talking about when it comes to Pokéblocks anyway. After everyone else tastes it and seems to enjoy it, he tries it too, and likes it. After the meal, Kelly has offered to teach May and the others how to make Pokéblocks. Everyone seems to be all excited and ready to give it a shot, except Ash, who just remembered something. Ever since battling Winona back at Fortree Gym, he had been meaning to find an opportunity to train with his Swellow and teach it the move Aerial Ace. While May is making Pokéblocks and training, now would be a perfect opportunity for him to do that. Time for Ash to hit the fields!
In the other room, May watches as a couple Pokémon Trainers drop their berries in the Berry Blender, push a button, and wait for a few seconds. Kelly’s mother explains how Pokéblocks are made by blending Berries, and the type of Pokéblock is based on the type of berries blended. Brock decides to stay and watch the Pokéblocks being made while Max decides to go check on Ash.
Meanwhile, Ash has Swellow fly up in the air and soon after, has it dive down towards the stick hanging from the tree that Ash set as a target for his Aerial Ace. As it dives, it loses control and lands on the ground headfirst with a thud, getting its beak caught in the ground. Just then, Max comes by, worried about Swellow, and how Ash seems to have no luck. Swellow looks tired, so Ash and Max decide to call it a day and head back, just when an old man appears, chuckling at them. Ash asks who he is, and as he introduces himself as Vladimir the Attacker, and he saw Ash try and teach Swellow Aerial Ace. Just then, Ash and Max get down on their knees (Swellow gets on its talons), as Ash begs to help teach his Swellow Aerial Ace, as he has been interested ever since the Fortree Gym. Vladimir gladly accepts, but it will take a lot of work and practice.
Vladimir takes Ash and Max to his training field, where he will demonstrate it with his Pidgeotto, who happens to be his best candidate for Aerial Ace. The field seems to have a few targets, as well as a low beam. Ash and Max watch as Vladimir sends Pidgeotto up into the air, commanding an Aerial Ace attack. As it picks up speed, it moves toward the ground, as Vladimir explains that he noticed Swellow’s main problem was that it failed to angle before it hit the ground. Ash watches as it straightens out with top speed, flying under the bar successfully without hitting the ground. Somehow, Swellow is going to have to learn to do the same. As Pidgeotto passes under the bar flying near the ground, it slowly starts to speed up and rise again, just like an airplane taking off on the runway. Soon after it’s several feet up in the air, it reaches one of the targets, successfully breaking it.
After adjusting the bar to a perfect height for a beginner like Swellow, Ash lets out Swellow to try Aerial Ace. Seeing as the bar is pretty high, Swellow easily passes under and hits a target. Of course, that was way too high for a proper Aerial Ace, just a practice. However, slowly, they move the bar lower and lower each time, Swellow succeeding to Aerial Ace limbo under it every time. Eventually it reaches two feet, which is the proper Aerial Ace distance from the ground. As Swellow tries this one, it loses control and lands with a thud. Looks like Swellow needs a bit more practice.
As May chops up her Berries, she dumps them in a blender and pushes a button. Kelly’s mother explains how each button may have a different effect, and the number field signifies the Pokéblock level. After it finishes, it stops at level 27, and out come some Liteblue Pokéblocks! Kelly then congratulates May, taking a taste; it tastes alright to her, but funny. May takes a taste, and makes a disgusted face. Kelly laughs and says those are only for Pokémon, and then takes out a book all on Pokéblocks which is how she remembers this stuff. May then is worried that possibly she should have let her see that before blending.
Outside, May gives her four Pokémon a dose of her homemade Pokéblocks (Beautifly gets it as Pokéblock juice). Unfortunately for her, they all seem to not be fond of it, except Beautifly maybe a little. May sighs in disappointment, but Kelly says that this doesn't necessarily mean she’ll have no hope for the Contest. Kelly mentions that she sometimes feeds her Grumpig Pokéblocks it disliked, but they still helped. Their taste in Pokéblocks doesn’t necessarily represent the goodness of the effect. Some Pokémon don’t like Bitter Pokéblocks, but sometimes that’s the only way to raise their intelligence. Kelly doesn’t always feed her Grumpig Pokéblocks it likes, but they still make a great Coordination team. After all, her Grumpig is used to occasionally eating ones it dislikes. With that, they’ll manage to win enough Ribbons to participate in the Grand Festival. May hesitantly wishes her luck, but rivals are rivals, and she intends to win this one. May then passes on the message to her Pokémon that although the Pokéblocks may not be their favorite, they should eat them, because it will help when one may enter the Contest tomorrow. Kelly wishes May luck, getting ready to go home.
Before Kelly takes a step, suddenly a huge claw from nowhere grabs Grumpig! While Grumpig tries to squirm free, May has Combusken jump up and use Sky Uppercut on the balloon, knocking Team Rocket down and freeing Grumpig. To save Grumpig from suffering an injury, Bulbasaur grabs it with Vine Whip, placing it safely on the ground. Finally, Beautifly uses Silver Wind to blast Team Rocket off yet again. Kelly thanks them, and notes that she was most impressed with Combusken’s Sky Uppercut. This gives May a bright idea. Because Skitty and Beautifly have already gotten a chance to be winners, and Bulbasaur needs some more time after what happened at Rustboro, she’s going to use Combusken. After all, it was her first Pokémon; it’s pretty strong now.
Team Rocket land in a dumpster and as they scramble out, it tips over. Amid the garbage is a notice regarding tomorrow's Pokémon Contest. Jessie asks to borrow James's Chimecho and she flatters him by saying how impressed she was with the way he handled her Dustox in the PokéRinger. The day of the Contest has come, and while Vivian makes her announcements and introduces the three judges, Ash and co. wait for May, but Ash is still eager to train with Swellow a bit more. After all, there is a screen outside, so he and Swellow can watch her from there while they train. Brock and Max don’t seem to mind, so he gets up and heads outside. James prays that Jessie will handle Chimecho well. May is in the waiting room, shooting the breeze with Kelly as they patiently wait for their turn. Jessie, in the corner, introduces herself to Chimecho. Being who she is, she’s rather harsh on it, as it cowers in fear.
In the showcase rounds, May is the first up. Ash and Swellow pause their training and pay attention. As she lets Combusken out to the stage, Vivian introduces it, as she starts off with a Fire Spin. As Combusken lets out the Fire Spin, Vivian is about to comment about it, but it seems to spread through the whole stage, scaring even her! As the attack seems to engulf the entire auditorium, the fate of the contest seems to be up in the air.
Major events
- May and Jessie enter the Lilycove City Pokémon Contest.
- Ash and company learn how Pokéblocks are made.
- Ash starts teaching Swellow to use Aerial Ace.
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
TV episode debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Pokémon Trainer's Choice: Makuhita
- Pikachu (Ash's)
- Meowth (Team Rocket)
- Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
- Chimecho (James's)
- Swellow (Ash's)
- Combusken (May's)
- Beautifly (May's)
- Skitty (May's)
- Bulbasaur (May's)
- Pidgeotto (Vladimir's)
- Grumpig (Kelly's; debut)
- Poliwhirl
- Flaaffy
- Gardevoir
- Volbeat
- Swablu
Trivia
- The dub title is a reference to the phrase "Lock, stock, and barrel."
- James references Jessiebelle when Jessie asks if James noticed the Grumpig. James responds, "If you mean it looks like my ex-fiance then yes."
- Though Vladimir acts as a Move tutor in the anime, in the games, Lilycove City has a Move deleter
Errors
- As the gang walks up to the berry stand towards the beginning of the episode, the vendor is being heard to be yelling the names of real-life berries: strawberries, blueberries. etc. What can be seen in the stall however, are only Pokémon berries such as Pecha and Rawst berries.
Dub edits
In other languages
| Language | Title | |
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| Mandarin Chinese | 抵達水靜市！能量方塊與迴轉攻！ | |
 Finnish
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Puuta heinää ja muutama Pokéherkku | |
 European French
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Pokéblocks et recette de choc! | |
 German
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Vladimir, der Angreifer! | |
 Hebrew
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אוכל של אלופיםokhel shel alufim | |
 Italian
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Il negozio di PokéMelle | |
| Portuguese |  Brazil
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As Pokébarras |
 Portugal
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Pokéblocos, Provisões e Bagas | |
| Spanish |  Latin America
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¡Pokéblocks y moras! |
 Spain
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Pokécubos, recetas y bayas | |
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This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation. |
