"They can search the entire universe, but they'll never find a Pokémon as rare as you…"
— Giovanni
Japanese Title: Barrierd from the Pokémon Circus
Original Airdate: September 24th, 1998
US Airdate: September 27th, 1999
The one where... Ash dresses up as a Mr. Mime.
On their way back to Pallet Town, Ash, Brock and Misty encounter a Mr. Mime. Ash disguises himself as a Mr. Mime in an attempt to help a circus performer capture it to replace her uncooperative one. As always, Team Rocket is intent on stealing this rare Pokémon for themselves—will they catch the right one?
Tropes
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: "I'm not a Mr. Mime! I just play one on TV."
- Deadpan Snarker: Ash has a lot of snarky comments in this episode.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty : Stella's preferred training method is yelling at her Pokémon and whipping them. When Ash subs for her Mr. Mime and gets such treatment, he remarks it's no surprise said Mr. Mime refused to cooperate with her anymore.
- Enemy Mime: Mr. Mime isn't very cooperative.
- Harmless Villain: Team Rocket seems to have reached this status in the eyes of Ash, Misty, Brock, and even Ash's own mother, who is nonchalant about them kidnapping her son when he's dressed up as Mr. Mime because she's confident that once they realize that it's just Ash in a costume, they'll let him go without much trouble. In fact, Ash manages to get out, casually walk out after unmasking himself, and steal their balloon with ease.
- Hilariously enough, this is also the episode that they bring out a freaking realistic tank!
- Mistaken for an Imposter: Delia thinks Mr. Mime is Ash in costume.
- Tyop on the Cover: The title is misspelled on the title card: "It's Mr. Mimie Time". Ash says the title correctly, though.
- Your Mime Makes It Real: Mr. Mime's "invisible wall" boxes in Team Rocket for real.
