Going Apricorn! (Japanese: クヌギダマとボングリのみ！うらやまのたたかい！！Kunugidama and the Bonguri Fruit! Backyard Battle!!) is the 143rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 13, 2000 and in the United States on March 10, 2001.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Ash delivers the mysterious GS Ball to a renowned Pokémon expert, but Team Rocket wreaks trouble when they attempt to harvest the Apricorns essential to local Pokéball production.
Plot
Ash, Misty, and Brock are talking with Kurt and his granddaughter, Maizie. They show him the GS Ball and he tells them he knows that it is some kind of Poké Ball. They tell Professor Oak. Professor Oak tells Ash, Misty, and Brock that Kurt makes special Poké Balls using Apricorns. Ash runs off to find Kurt who is making a Poké Ball. Ash calls out to him to request that he make him a Poké Ball, but Maizie tells him to be quiet as it is hard work making Poké Balls. After Kurt finishes the Poké Ball, Ash repeats his request. Kurt agrees and Maizie takes them to some Apricorn trees.
Ash spots some Apricorns that are growing on a tree and runs for them, but Maizie tells him they are not ready to be picked yet. At another tree, Maizie again stops Ash who has run to get its Apricorns. Pineco come from the tree. Brock runs to get one but trips over a rock and headbutts the tree, which causes the Pineco to Self-Destruct. Then, they find some pink apricorns, but run away when attacked by some Beedrill.
When they come up to their fifth tree, they fall into a hole dug by Team Rocket. Meowth lassos Pikachu with a rope; then, Jessie puts him into an electric-proof jar. They then announce that they will steal all the Apricorns with a vacuum. Ash sends out Bulbasaur and they all escape. Team Rocket falls into a hole dug by Diglett and Ash releases Pikachu from the jar.
Ash and co. finally get to collect some Apricorns. Brock spies some more Pineco to catch, but Jessie, James, and Meowth bring out a giant fan, with which they attempt to blow all the Apricorns out of the tree. Instead, all the Pineco are blown out of the tree, while Brock tries to keep them from getting hurt. Ash has Pikachu use Thunderbolt on the machine, which overloads the fan with electricity, causing it to work more. When one Pineco tries to run up the hill to Team Rocket, Brock throws a Fast Ball that Kurt gave him and catches the Pineco. Then they stop Team Rocket.
Ash, Brock, and Misty give the Apricorns to Kurt that he may make them into Poké Balls. Kurt tells Ash that the Azalea Gym would be open, so Ash sets off to the Gym.
This episode marks the final appearance of the GS Ball, which is left with Kurt. The storyline is dropped at this point and the GS Ball is never seen again outside of a flashback in Hour of the Houndour, due to a planned arc featuring Celebi being scrapped by the producers.
Like in the games, Kurt has a Wht Apricorn tree near his house.
Yet again, Misty doesn't seem to care about the Bug-type Pineco. Indeed, it is revealed in a later episode that Misty wasn't even aware that Pineco was a Bug-type.
Errors
When Ash is first shown holding his Fast Ball, the yellow part of the ball is missing the black lines through the middle that represent the hinges.
When Ash, Misty, Brock and Maizie fall off the cliff while being pursued by Beedrill, Ash falls off last, but ends up on the bottom of all of them on the ground.
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