BW139

←	BW138 : Go, Go Gogoat!

Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit!

BW139

EP796

エモンガ、ロケット団に入る！
Emonga Joins Rocket-dan!

First broadcast

Japan	September 5, 2013
United States	November 16, 2013

English themes

Opening	It's Always You and Me
Ending

Japanese themes

Opening	夏めく坂道
Ending	手をつなごう

Credits

No additional credits are available at this time.
Animation	Team Kato
Screenplay	大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Storyboard	古賀一臣 Kazuomi Koga
Assistant director	古賀一臣 Kazuomi Koga
Animation director	案浦達哉 Tatsuya Annoura

Team Rocket's Shocking Recruit! (Japanese: エモンガ、ロケット団に入る！ Emonga Joins Rocket-dan!) is the 139th episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and the 796th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 5, 2013 and in the United States on November 16, 2013.

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

Blurb

While Alexa is getting her video equipment repaired, Ash, Iris, and Cilan take some time off to have a relaxing lunch on shore. At least, that’s the plan, but the Pokémon keep getting into little squabbles over the food. Eventually Emolga unleashes its Discharge attack to zap everyone who’s annoying it, prompting a scolding from Iris.

After lunch, Iris sees Emolga and Axew playing together, and asks Emolga to keep an eye on Axew for her. But when her back is turned, Axew disturbs a Galvantula and gets zapped! Emolga tries to help, but it runs into Axew by mistake, and Axew ends up with a nasty bump on its head. When Iris sees the bump—and the lingering electricity from Galvantula’s attack—she blames Emolga, who flies off in a huff...

...only to land right in the middle of a Team Rocket strategy meeting! After a sudden battle in which Emolga takes down Woobat and Yamask, then Frillish and Amoonguss, all without breaking a sweat, Jessie adopts a new strategy and invites Emolga to become part of Team Rocket!

Iris is now worried about what happened to Emolga, and our heroes set off on a search. They find Emolga with Jessie, James, and Meowth, and the villains have gotten their hands on Axew as well. The sudden appearance of an angry Exploud gives Team Rocket cover to escape, and off they go.

Our heroes need to find Team Rocket and get to the bottom of what’s going on, so Charizard and Dragonite go off to look for the villains. Soon, a nasty battle ensues, and although Meowth overhears Emolga’s plan—it’s only pretending to join them so it can get back at Iris for the earlier misunderstanding—Team Rocket still has that angry Exploud to exploit! More battling ensues, but Team Rocket, along with Exploud, are sent blasting off again.

All this time, Axew has been trying to let Iris know what really happened with the Galvantula, and when she finally pays attention, she finds that she can understand what Axew is thinking! Iris realizes she’s made a huge mistake by accusing Emolga of something it didn’t do. After she apologizes, everything is forgiven and life gets back to normal. Cilan even speculates that Iris’s skill at understanding Axew’s thoughts could very well be another step on her path to becoming a Dragon Master!

Plot

While waiting for their next Decolore cruise ship to sail into port in the afternoon, Alexa leaves Ash and his friends while she tries to get her camcorder repaired.

With time to spare, Ash, Iris and Cilan have a relaxing picnic with all of their Pokémon. The gluttonous Oshawott eats his meal before stealing all of Pignite's meal. Pignite soon notices that his bowl is empty and punches Oshawott very hard, causing him to knock over Emolga along with her food. Emolga uses Discharge on him for spilling her food, only to be scolded by Iris for attacking a friend. Later, Scraggy was walking happily on the grass, when suddenly, he notes Emolga sitting on the boulder and eating her Pokémon food so nobody would disturb her again. Emolga is still angry, but Scraggy attempts to talk to her, although she turns away from him. He becomes angry with her for ignoring him and he attempts to use Headbutt on her, but she flies up and dodges the move. Though when she notices her food spilled all over the ground she is even more furious and uses Discharge on Scraggy, only to be told off once again.

Later, Axew and Emolga are playing together around the rock where Snivy is sitting. Iris tells Emolga to make sure Axew does not get hurt and Emolga agrees. When they both stop by a tree, a Galvantula appears and hits Axew with Electro Ball, much to Emolga's annoyance. But before something could happen, the wind causes Emolga to bump into Axew as he rolls down the hill and crashes into the same rock. As Axew cries from the pain, Iris is quick to accuse Emolga of attacking Axew. Emolga tries to explain, but Snivy smacks her down with Vine Whip. Iris demands Emolga apologize to Axew, making Emolga upset and causing her to storm off. As Ash and his friends walk away to take care of Axew, Axew sadly looks back to where Emolga flies off.

As Emolga glides through the air, she loses her balance and falls to where Team Rocket is. Emolga challenges Jessie and James to a battle. First, James sends out Yamask and Jessie sends out Woobat. Emolga uses Attract on Yamask and Woobat, successfully infatuating both of them. She knocks them both out with a Discharge-Hidden Power combo. Next James sends out Amoonguss and Jessie sends out Frillish. Since Frillish is female, Attract doesn't work, but Emolga still manages to win using her Discharge-Hidden Power combo. Seeing Emolga’s strength, Team Rocket suggests she'd be a great addition to their team. Emolga begins to imagine Iris distraught at the sight of her with Team Rocket and decides to join up with the trio for a little fun.

Elsewhere, Axew has fully recovered thanks to Cilan's Super Potion. Iris was wondering what's up with Axew, causing Axew to wander off. She realizes that Emolga hasn't come back yet and Ash agrees. Ash recalls all of his Pokémon, except Snivy who wanted to stay out because she's worried about Axew. As Snivy follows Axew, Iris and Cilan also return their Pokémon.

While Iris is wondering about where Emolga is, Team Rocket shows up and recites their motto, with Emolga joining in. Everyone is shocked that Emolga joined up with Team Rocket. But before Ash and his friends can act, James takes out Yamask and distracts everyone using Haze. Emolga pulls Axew out of the smoke, as Snivy stops her with Vine Whip. Iris asks Emolga why she is doing this but Emolga turns away. Snivy and Emolga start arguing. Meowth is a little shocked by the exchange, and assures his teammates that they would rather not know. Snivy attacks Emolga with Vine Whip. Emolga counters with Hidden Power but Snivy dodges. Emolga uses another Hidden Power, but this time Snivy deflects it with Leaf Blade. The deflected attack flies into a nearby cave, disturbing a wild Exploud. The irritated Exploud confronts the warring parties, launching a Flamethrower. Ash looks it up in the Pokédex but as he finishes, Exploud unleashes another Flamethrower at Ash who manages to dodge in time before using Thunder Punch to chase them away. Using this as a perfect opportunity, Team Rocket has Emolga carry Axew into their balloon. Before Iris can get her Pokémon back, Exploud attacks again with Hyper Beam and the group runs away.

Ash wonders what was wrong with the Exploud. Iris states that she just wants to know why Emolga joined Team Rocket and expresses her anger along with Snivy. Cilan reassures Iris that he doesn't believe Emolga actually joined up with Team Rocket. Iris notes she only told Emolga to apologize, and Ash suggests that maybe it could be the reason Emolga joined Team Rocket. Cilan states that maybe Emolga wasn't responsible for what happened to Axew and that Iris could've messed up, and this worries Iris greatly.

The attention turns back to Team Rocket where Axew is protesting to Emolga trying to get her to come back with the group, but she refuses. While Axew is distraught, Emolga pets Axew and informs him she's not really joining up with Team Rocket, and she's only doing this until Iris figures out what really happened. Unbeknownst to Emolga, Meowth was listening in on the conversation and informs his teammates that Emolga was only pretending to join Team Rocket and deliberately mess up their next mission to grab Iris’s full attention. James tries to give his teammates an idea of how they could get back at Emolga, but he is extremely terrified when Jessie and Meowth turn to him in an auspicious haze of fury. James shows them to a cave where Exploud is sleeping once again, and everyone is soon on the same page.

Meanwhile, Ash's Charizard and Iris's Dragonite return from their aerial search, so the group rush over there. They immediately spot Axew standing on a rock looking sad and worried. Pikachu runs ahead, but in his haste, he falls into a pitfall trap and is netted by Team Rocket. Jessie and James recite the first two lines of the motto before Meowth stops them, ordering that they get a move on. After Pikachu's Thunderbolt has no effect on the net, Jessie and James call out Woobat and Yamask, and Jessie states they also have Emolga helping them. Axew calls out to Iris, and Iris calls back extremely worried for him. She suddenly senses a strong emotional connection with Axew, which allows her to understand his cries. Iris realized that it wasn't Emolga's fault after all and she was only trying to protect Axew after he got attacked by the Galvantula. Iris calls out to Emolga and apologizes for her mistake, Emolga accepts the apology. Meowth notes that now Emolga's going to go back to her friends with Axew and Pikachu.

Before Axew and Emolga can escape, Meowth traps them inside a cage. With a few buttons on a remote, and a cage opens up and the Exploud from earlier is revealed. It lashes Emolga and Axew first with Thunder Punch and then with Flamethrower. Iris is extremely concerned for her Pokémon, but her Dragonite’s attacks don't do any damage to the cage. Back inside the cage, Exploud uses Thunder Punch on Axew, but Emolga steps in front and she takes the blow for Axew. Ash commands Charizard to use Wing Attack on the cage, but the attack fails and Charizard is pushed back as well. Frightfully, Exploud drops Axew into its jaws. Emolga launches a Hidden Power at her opponent, though it is Axew's Dragon Rage from inside Exploud that releases him. Iris and Emolga both let out sighs of relief and then Ash states he and Snivy need to help Pikachu. Not letting this happen, Jessie and James order their Pokémon to attack with Air Slash and Shadow Ball, but Snivy evades and strikes them down with a series of Vine Whips. A forcible Leaf Storm pushes them back, allowing Snivy to free Pikachu from the net with Leaf Blade. However, Jessie reminds them they still have Exploud to contend with. Exploud fires off several Hyper Beams in the cage, while Dragonite uses Dragon Rush which finally frees Axew and Emolga. The Exploud also escapes by using Thunder Punch to break out and continues to pursue Axew and Emolga in a rage. Ash commands Charizard to use Dragon Tail, and Iris commands Dragonite to use Dragon Rush. Both attacks are direct hit and the Exploud is pushed back so hard that it pops Team Rocket's balloon. As Team Rocket blasts off, Exploud is sent flying as well and uses a Thunder Punch to knock the trio away.

Afterward, Iris apologizes to Emolga once more for not realizing the incident earlier wasn't her fault and also thanks her for helping Axew out. Emolga nods her head and forgives Iris. Snivy walks over and apologizes to Emolga as well, settling their old score as well. Emolga immediately returns to playing with Axew again. Iris admits she has a long way to go before she will be able to truly understand her Pokémon, and Cilan comments that she will learn as she continues her journey with them. The group later reunited with Alexa onboard their departing ship. Iris fills Alexa in on everything she missed and revealed that she felt to understand everything Axew thought. Cilan comments that she may be one step closer to becoming a Dragon Master, which really excites Iris and Axew.

Major events

Iris's Emolga temporarily joins Team Rocket.

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?: Exploud

Trivia

Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Fraxure
Shiritsu Ebisu Chūgaku are removed from the ending, which reverts to the original version.
Jessie's Woobat and James's Yamask are confirmed to be male in this episode.
This is the first time Jessie and James are seen using all of their Unova Pokémon in the same episode, as well as the only instance of them doing so in Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
Iris once again uses her ability to hear the heart of a Dragon-type when she finds out how Axew got hurt. The first time she did this was in Iris and the Rogue Dragonite!.
The operation X and Y that Jessie and James are talking about may be a reference to the next series Pokémon the Series: XY
This episode shares similarities with A Scare to Remember!:
- Similar Japanese titles.
- An Electric Pokémon belonging to a main character temporarily joining Team Rocket (though unlike Pikachu, Emolga didn't suffer from amnesia, and Emolga was only pretending to join them.).
- The aforementioned Pokémon joining in reciting Team Rocket's motto.
- Fourth-to-last episodes of their respective seasons.
Cilan narrates the preview for the next episode.
Pikachu shows off his talent for impressions again in this episode when he briefly imitates Axew.

Errors

When Alexa is telling Ash and his friends that the next ship will arrive this afternoon, part of her jeans has more shadow coloring in the right side.
When Woobat and Yamask are hit by Attract, the pink and black colors of Woobat's nose are swapped.
During Emolga and Snivy's argument, the white and yellow colors of Emolga's ears are swapped.

Alexa's jeans error
Woobat's nose colors are swapped after getting hit by Attract
Emolga's ears colors are swapped

Dub edits

In other languages

Language		Title
Chinese	Cantonese	導電飛鼠，加入火箭兵團
Chinese	Mandarin	導電飛鼠加入火箭隊！？
Danish		Team Rockets chokerende rekruttering!
Dutch		Emolga sluit zich aan bij Team Rocket!
Finnish		Rakettiryhmän shokkivärväys!
European French		Emolga rejoint la Team Rocket !
Greek		Το Απροσδόκητο Μέλος της Ομάδας Πύραυλος!
Italian		Emolga si unisce al Team Rocket!
Korean		에몽가! 로켓단에 들어가다!!
Norwegian		Team rockets sjokkerende rekruttering!
Polish		Zaskakująca rekrutacja w Zespole R!
Brazilian Portuguese		Recruta Chocante da Equipe Rocket!
Russian		Новый шокирующий член Команды Р! * Новый член Команды Р! *
Spanish	Latin America	¡El electrizante recluta del Equipo Rocket!
Spanish	Spain	¡Sorprendente Unión al Team Rocket!
Swedish		Team rockets chockerande rekrytering!
Thai		เอมอนกาเข้าแก๊งร็อกเก็ต!