| The Kangaskhan Kid
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ガルーラのこもりうた
Garura's Lullaby
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First broadcast
| Japan
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November 18, 1997
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| United States
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October 22, 1998
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
| Animation
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Team Ota
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| Screenplay
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武上純希 Junki Takegami
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| Storyboard
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井上修 Osamu Inoue
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| Assistant director
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井上修 Osamu Inoue
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| Animation director
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平岡正幸 Masayuki Hiraoka
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| Additional credits
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The Kangaskhan Kid (Japanese: ガルーラのこもりうた Garura's Lullaby) is the 34th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on November 18, 1997, and in the United States on October 22, 1998.
Blurb
On their way to a safari zone teeming with Pokémon, our heroes walk right into the middle of a jungle. Without knowing they are in a region in which Pokémon are protected, Ash tries to capture a Chansey and is arrested by Jenny, the safari ranger. After talking with the ranger, Ash is released, but not before he learns that there are Pokémon poachers in the area. Our heroes accompany the ranger into the forest, pursuing the poachers. Within the jungle, a young man leads a pack of Kangaskhan. His name is Tommy and no one knows the secret of his childhood.
Plot
As the group travels through what they believe to be the Safari Zone, Ash spots a Chansey and gets ready to throw a Poké Ball, but it turns out to be Ranger Jenny in a Chansey hat. She points a rifle at Ash and arrests him for Pokémon poaching. She takes the group back to the station and explains that they are in a Pokémon Preservation Area, where it is illegal to catch Pokémon. Ash tells Officer Jenny that he didn't know, so she lets them off with a warning. Almost immediately after, she sees a red dot on her radar, signaling that there are more poachers in the area.
After Ash and his friends offer their assistance, Jenny escorts the group via jeep to the signal location, where they find Team Rocket trying to capture a group of Kangaskhan. Ash looks at his Pokédex, which says the Kangaskhan charge when in danger until they feel their young are safe. Team Rocket fires a rocket, which scares all the Kangaskhan and makes them charge towards the jeep. The group manages to escape, but Team Rocket traps all of the Kangaskhan in a net. Team Rocket pulls up in a red jeep, with a box full of Poké Balls, and admire their catch. Jenny is unable to do anything, with the jeep engine now overheated because of an earlier incident. Jessie throws a Poké Ball, but it is hit by a boomerang and sent flying back at her. Suddenly, a kid begins to yell and swings in on a vine; he cuts the net with his boomerang and sets the Kangaskhan free. The boy orders the Kangaskhan to attack Team Rocket. They are quickly surrounded and receive several tail whips before the final spinning blow is dealt and they are sent blasting off. The kid jumps into the pouch of the biggest Kangaskhan, and after his command, the entire herd walks away. Ash admires the boy's ability to communicate with the Pokémon.
Suddenly, a helicopter lands and two adults come out, saying they heard a report of their missing child in the area. At Jenny's request, they all go back to the station and hear that the boy, Tommy, is living in the area. His mother explains that, five years ago, at the age of three, the family decided to take him on a globe-trotting adventure. Tommy's father decided to hold him outside the helicopter's window, and despite his wife's warning, he dropped their son into the forest below. They managed to locate Tommy's parachute, though their search for their son was in vain. Tommy's mother states that they received a photo of a boy leading some Kangaskhan, and thought that it might be their son. Jenny instantly recognizes the boy in the photo as Tomo, the same boy who rescued the Kangaskhan from Team Rocket, and reveals that she has a directory of his details with her. Ash and his friends instantly agree to assist in the search.
Later, Ash and his friends wander in the jungle, being forced to carry Tommy's parents in a palanquin. However, they drop the palanquin after noticing an abandoned, injured infant Kangaskhan, and Brock applies a Super Potion to its wounds. However, the Super Potion stings it as it is applied; as a result, Tommy hears the infant's cries and thinks Brock is hurting it. Brock and Misty manage to dodge the flying boomerang, which instead hits Ash's cheek. Tommy confronts the group, though Misty intervenes and demands an apology. When Tommy asks Misty if she is a person or Pokémon, she punches him and says that they are people. Tommy's parents run over and talk to him, thinking he will remember them. Misty asks Tommy to remember, though he has a flashback of being lulled to sleep by the Kangaskhan herds' singing. When he claims the Kangaskhan are his family, Tommy's father smacks him with a piece of wood to give him amnesia and start from scratch, but it jogged his memory, though he only remembers his mother. His father opens his shirt, hoping Tommy remembers him, but Misty smacks him with a piece of wood and drags him away. Confused and frustrated with the revelation he has two mothers, Tommy develops a headache. Just then, Jenny's radar detects more poachers, and Tommy rushes over to the Kangaskhan to help. Seeing Tommy's knee-jerk reaction to aid the Kangaskhan, his mother feels her efforts to retrieve him are hopeless, though she is reassured by her husband.
The rest of the group find a giant robot Kangaskhan manned by Team Rocket. Jessie uses a radio speaker to pretend to be injured, persuading the other Kangaskhan to go help it. The Kangaskhan leader attempts to stop its clan, aware that something is amiss, but they ignore it and are lured in. James fires tranquilizer darts from the robot's mouth, causing the Kangaskhan to fall asleep. Tommy arrives to find most of the herd are fast asleep and responds by throwing his boomerang, though his effort is ineffective. Team Rocket turn their attention to him, launching a Rocket Punch, though Tommy dodges it. At that moment, the others arrive, and Ash calls out his Pokémon. Bulbasaur uses Vine Whip and Squirtle uses Skull Bash, but neither of them work against the robot. Team Rocket powers up for an attack, but the Kangaskhan break free. Pikachu and Charmander use Thunder Shock and Flamethrower, respectively. When Tommy throws his boomerang, it hits the robot's fuel cap and the gasoline pours out, while Charmander's fire sets it ablaze. Though the robot is on fire, it doesn't slow down and begins charging towards Jenny's jeep as she attempts to flee. Suddenly, Tommy's parents ram their helicopter into the robot in a kamikaze attack, causing it to explode. Team Rocket is sent blasting off again.
Everyone, including Tommy, fears his parents are dead and he begins to cry, but they suddenly emerge from the twisted debris, wearing similar clothes as Tommy. They reveal that they will join Tommy and his herd, much to Tommy's delight, and the family embraces each other. The next day, Ash and his friends continue on their journey, but they are worried about Tommy and his family's future. However, the Kangaskhan herd reappear on a ridge; Tommy, his parents, and the infant Kangaskhan, in the leader's pouch, wave goodbye, confirming Brock's reassurances and optimism.
Major events
- For a list of all major events in the animated series, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: Kangaskhan
Trivia
- The character of Tommy may be based on that of Tarzan or Mowgli. As his father is based on the Tensai Bakabon character Bakabon's Papa, it's possible that the spirals on Tommy's cheeks are a reference to the character Bakabon from the same anime.
- The events of this episode are later referenced in the beginning of Pikachu's Goodbye.
- Officer Jenny aims a rifle directly at Ash in this episode and James shoots tranquilizers into Pokémon with a tranquilizer gun, yet a similar occurrence with firearms in the next episode resulted in it being banned outside of Japan.
- This episode marks the second time Jessie is hit in the face with a Poké Ball, the first being in The Tower of Terror.
- This episode marks the first use of a mecha by Team Rocket, excluding their recurring vehicles such as the Meowth balloon and Gyarados submarine.
- During a scene where Tommy flashes back on his early childhood and recalls an evening scene with the Kangaskhan herd, the original Japanese audio was left in. The lullaby sung by the Kangaskhan through their Japanese name, Garura, can be heard.
- When the Polish dub was released on Netflix on March 31, 2020, the episode was fully re-dubbed, retaining only the intro, the Kanto Pokérap, and the ending credits from the first dub.
- The jeeps that Officer Jenny and Team Rocket drive resemble a Willy's Jeep and a Jeep Wrangler, respectively.
- Tommy's father's appearance and mannerisms are a reference to the popular anime character Bakabon's Papa from Tensai Bakabon. This is especially evident when he closes the episode with a variation on Bakabon's Papa's well-known catchphrase: kore de ii no da.
Errors
- During the scene where Tangela walks by Ash and his friends, Ash's Japanese voice can be heard.
Dub edits
- Kanto Pokérap: Day 4
- When Ash and his friends first encounter Tommy, the gag of Misty telling Tommy to apologize was changed for the dubbed English version. In the original Japanese version, Tommy becomes focused on Misty's breasts, which the camera zooms in on. When she notices him staring and asks "What?", Tommy asks if he can nurse on her breasts. Misty gets very angry and hits him, saying, "How did that end up being your answer?!" For the dubbed English version, the shot of Misty's breasts was cut, and he asks, "You people or Pokémon?" She gets very angry, hits him, and declares "I'm a person, you creep!" However, the zooming sound effect can still be heard.
- Similarly, a scene with Tommy's father was also edited. Shortly after Tommy regains his memories, he says "Hey Tommy, remember Papa?" while opening his shirt, only for Misty to whack him on the head, feeling that Tommy has enough issues as it is. In the Japanese version, Tommy's father was actually asking whether Tommy remembers being breastfed, which explains why he was opening up his shirt, and Misty, still feeling sore about the breast reference, knocks him out.
- While operating the robot Kangaskhan, James pulls a rope with a sign "Power Up!!" on it. Later, he pulls another rope, but the sign on it is blank when it should say "Super Punch".
In other languages
Arabic
Czech
Danish
Dutch
Finnish
Canada
Europe
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Italian
Korean
Norwegian
Polish
Brazil
Portugal
Romanian
Russian
Latin America
Spain
Swedish
Turkish
