What was supposed to be a relaxing day turns into trouble (and it's made double!) by Team Rocket's next attempt at stealing Pikachu. But Ash's escape is ruined by the fact that Team Rocket is sent blasting off again with Pikachu! Separated with Meowth, both Pokémon and trainer rely on their bond to get back together again.
This episode contains the following tropes:
- Art Shift: Pikachu's flashbacks use the old footage from the previous series, keeping their original art styles.
- The Bus Came Back: Ash has Snivy on his team again, while Team Rocket uses their old Bubblegum Robot from "Good 'Quil Hunting!"
- Call-Back:
- This marks yet another episode where Pikachu is separated from the main group by a Team Rocket attack, ends up with Meowth, reluctantly agrees to partner up with him to get back to everyone while Meowth is plotting to kidnap him at the right moment (and distrusting of him as a result of all the backstabbing), and shares some fruit with him.
- Meowth throws a rock at a group of Pidgey and hits a Spearow on the head, giving it a Cranial Eruption and resulting in him getting attacked. The Spearow then calls its flock to help it, forcing Meowth and Pikachu to flee. The same thing happened to Ash in the very first episode of the series, with Ash himself later encountering that same flock. For an added bonus, a Ratatta steals a piece of cheese from Ash's backpack, and he and Pikachu fall into a river (though this time an invisible Latias saves them), just like in the pilot.
- Pikachu has a conversation with the wild Caterpie on a rock in the moonlight, like he did with Ash's Caterpie during "Ash Catches a Pokémon!"
- Pikachu has flashbacks recalling various moments with Ash, including:
- His first meeting with Ash in "Pokémon, I Choose You!"
- His refusal to evolve into a Raichu in "Electric Shock Showdown!"
- Choosing to return to Ash rather than staying with a pack of wild Pikachu in "Pikachu's Goodbye!"
- Being ill as Ash tries to help him in "Get the Show on the Road!"
- Defeating Sho's Raichu in "Pika and Goliath!"
- Being mind controlled by Corless during the Team Plasma Arc in "Team Plasma's Pokémon Power Plot!"
- Chowing down a big meal with Ash's Kalos Team at the time in "Under the Pledging Tree!"
- Him and Ash enjoying the flower meadow on Treasure Island in "Partner Promises!"
- And finally, his victory over Leon in "Partners in Time!"
- Later-Installment Weirdness: Rather than reanimate the previous episodes in the current series style as the show had been doing, Pikachu's flashbacks reuse the footage from the older series like it did previously.
- Mood Whiplash: Ash and Pikachu have a heartwarming reunion, which turns into a funny moment when Pikachu zaps Ash in joy. Then it turns dire when they see they've both jumped over a cliff edge and start falling.
- Mythology Gag:
- Misty and Brock do their game counterpart's poses when they encounter the Spearow flock.
- In the English Dub, an instrumental version of "I Choose You!" from Pokémon: I Choose You! plays while Pikachu reminisces about his partner.
- Pet the Dog: Team Rocket agrees to leave Ash alone for the day after he gets Pikachu back.
- Seen It All: Misty and Brock don't have much of a reaction to how Ash and Pikachu suddenly start flying, unaware that the Latias that's been following them saved them from plummeting to their doom.
- Stock Animal Diet: The mouse-inspired Rattata appears to steal cheese from Ash's backpack. Ash then states he was saving it for the equally mouse-based- Pikachu
- True Companions: This is the focal point of the episode, where Ash and Pikachu's bond is the driving force to reunite the two together again.
