Russ Barenberg

After earning the Thunder Badge, Ash and his friends walk across a bridge and spot a luxury liner in the distance. The group take a closer look at the ship and they want to get on board, but Brock mentions that they cannot afford it, so they walk away sullen. However, Jessie and James, in disguise as ganguro girls, give them tickets to get on board to participate in a Pokémon Trainer party on board the St. Anne. While Ash and his friends look for the luxury liner, Jessie and James head to a nearby lighthouse to meet up with Meowth. Meowth opens up a call with the boss and Meowth notices a Persian hugging up to the boss; it has replaced Meowth due to the group’s constant failure. Team Rocket reveal their plan: the party is a ruse to allow Team Rocket to steal the attending Trainers' Pokémon. Ash and his friends board the ship and head into the main ballroom, noticing all the people, Pokémon, and merchandise. Ash notices a battle between a Starmie and a Raticate. Raticate uses Super Fang to break Starmie's jewel, giving Raticate the win. Ash decides to step forward to challenge the Raticate’s Trainer, sending Butterfree out. Raticate attacks with Jump Kick, but Butterfree counters with Tackle. Raticate uses Hyper Fang, but Butterfree uses Stun Spore to paralyze it. Ash prepares to finish the duel, but the Gentleman recalls his Raticate and declares it a draw, even though Ash was actually winning. Meanwhile, James walks by the vendors. A salesman calls him over and convinces him to buy a Magikarp, tricking him into thinking that the Pokémon is worth a lot of money. The ship sails out of Vermilion City as Ash and his friends chow down. The Gentleman comes up to Ash and commends his Butterfree. He proposes a trade between his Raticate and Ash's Butterfree. Ash asks Brock if he should go through with it, but Brock is too attracted to the woman next to him to respond, so Ash agrees to go ahead with the trade. They go to a trade machine and execute the trade; Ash acquires Raticate while the man gets Butterfree. Meanwhile, Jessie and Meowth are extremely displeased at James's being conned into buying a worthless Pokémon such as Magikarp. Misty finds Ash looking out at sea, having second thoughts about the trade, and unsure if Butterfree will be well taken care of. He mentions that, as the trade was happening, he remembered the experiences he had shared with Butterfree. Team Rocket's plan goes into motion, the ballroom being locked down and Team Rocket Grunts confronting the Trainers. The grunts use vacuums to capture the Trainers' Poké Balls. When one of the grunts walks up to Ash and demands his Pokémon, Ash orders Pikachu to attack the thugs with ThunderShock. He spurs the other Trainers to fight back, and everyone sends out their Pokémon. Ash’s Pikachu, Charmander, and Bulbasaur, together with Brock's Geodude, join the other Pokémon in stopping the Team Rocket thugs. Ash notices a Butterfree swarm attacking with Stun Spore and decides to summon his Butterfree. However, the Poké Ball reveals his Raticate as Misty reminds him that he traded Butterfree away. As he watches, Ash deeply misses his Butterfree, remembering his experiences with it and wanting it back. Ash sends out Pidgeotto to join others in a group Gust attack. Pikachu group uses Thunderbolt to send Team Rocket flying off the ship and foiling the attack. However, during the battle the ship has sailed directly into a storm. Strong waves begin to batter the ship. James drops the Poké Ball holding Magikarp, and runs after it. Meanwhile, Ash finds the Gentleman, and requests that the trade be reversed. The man agrees, and they begin to execute a reverse trade. The captain tries to calm the passengers, assuring them that the ship is unsinkable, but, after another wave crashes against the ship, he goes down in a lifeboat. The passengers quickly begin scrambling onto the other lifeboats to evacuate. Misty and Brock find Ash finishing the trade. Ash grabs his Poké Ball, but another wave causes him to drop it. Ash runs after it as his friends follow. By this time, most of the passengers have gotten safely off the ship. As Ash grabs Butterfree’s Poké Ball, the ship rocks again, throwing him and his friends into another room, and knocking them out. Likewise, just as James grabs Magikarp’s Poké Ball, another wave sends Team Rocket flying against a wall; they too are knocked unconscious. The ship capsizes, and goes down. The captain, watching from his life boat, assumes that everyone is safe, not realizing that Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket are still on board.

• published: 05 Oct 2016
• views: 1602