Japanese Title: Masara Town! Setting Off on a New Journey!
Original Airdate: January 28st, 1999
US Airdate: December 4th, 1999
The one where... Pidgeot won't be coming back for a loooooooooooong time.
After battling in the Pokémon League Tournament, Ash and his friends return to Pallet Town for a hero's welcome. Team Rocket, as usual, ruins the party with another bumbling attempt to steal Pikachu. Professor Oak makes a request for Ash, Brock and Misty to go on another journey to bring back a mysterious looking Pokéball for him. On their way, Ash is in for another surprise when his Pidgeotto evolves into a Pidgeot just in time to save the day!
Tropes
- Ash Face: Charizard roasts Ash with a fireball to show that, no, saving Pikachu does not mean it has decided to obey him after all.
- Blazing Inferno Hellfire Sauce: Team Rocket's scheme in this episode is to distract Ash with super spicy food.
- The Bus Came Back: The Spearow that nearly killed Ash in the very first episode returns as a Fearow, and is now terrorizing a flock of Pidgey and Pidgeotto.
- Curbstomp Battle: Fearow decimates Pidgeotto in their initial battle. Reversed around when the latter evolves into Pidgeot.
- A Day in the Limelight: For Pidgeotto, who evolves into Pidgeot and helps defeat the Spearow.
- Chased Off into the Sunset: Team Rocket are chased off by the flock of Spearow at the end of the episode.
- Create Your Own Villain: Turns out Ash and Pikachu's near-lethal encounter with that Spearow back in the Pilot set off a chain of events that not only caused it to evolve into a Fearrow, but left it with a serious grudge against the pair.
- Determinator: Pidgeotto refuses to stay down after being roughed up by Fearow, even when Ash insists against it. It's implied it evolved into Pidgeot from this willpower.
- Evil Counterpart: The Fearow for the newly evolved Pidgeot.
- False Reassurance: Ash offers to join up with Team Rocket to get the Spearow out of everyone's hair. His method? Send them out of the tree so the Spearow chase them instead. In Ash's defense, they'd pulled some low moves on him in their earlier attack.
- Godzilla Threshold: With Pikachu about to be taken away by Team Rocket, Ash has no choice but to release Charizard. He gets mixed results.
- It's All About Me: Charizard only goes after Team Rocket because they destroyed a fruit stand he really wanted to try, and then goes on a rampage throughout the town.
- It's Personal: The Fearow's really got it out for Ash and Pikachu after their near-lethal encounter back in the Pilot.
- It's Quiet… Too Quiet: Before the Spearow attack.
- Jerkass:
- Much like its previous appearance, the Fearow seems to attack Ash and Pikachu out of spite.
- Charizard once again. Here, however, it even refuses to rescue Pikachu.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite its initial refusal, Charizard does catch Pikachu in the air after it blasts Team Rocket off.
- Karmic Butt-Monkey: Team Rocket ends up at the mercy of the flock of angry Fearow, with Ash resorting to kicking them out of the tree to serve as a distraction. After the cruel stunt that they pulled by stealing Pikachu and destroying Ash's party from above, which included Pidgeotto getting inflicted with Poison Sting, they totally had it coming.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: Team Rocket, after having escaped with Pikachu, decides to bombard the party from above destroying the food. Made worse when Ash's Pidgeotto is taken out by poison, forcing Ash to pull out Charizard.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: Fearow finally backs off when confronted by the entire flock of Pidgey/Pidgeotto led by Pidgeot.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Say all you want about their status as villains, but Team Rocket really had it coming after what they pulled here.
- Lost Food Grievance: Charizard, more interested in the food, gets royally pissed when the table of food he craves is destroyed, and deflects the bombs back in Team Rocket's direction, blasting them off and freeing Pikachu.
- Made of Iron: Fearow endures repeated attacks by Pidgeotto, who then evolved into Pidgeot, and electric shocks from Pikachu, but still keeps going: It only stops when confronted by the entire flock it bullied.
- Mythology Gag: The Jerkass Spearow of the first episode evolving may be a reference to the manga adaptation where it was indeed a Fearow that led the other Spearow. Ash even tries to catch it, as he managed to in the manga.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: The Pidgey and Pidgeotto flock, once Ash's Pidgeotto evolves into Pidgeot.
- Oh, Crap!: Team Rocket understandably has this reaction when Charizard gets angry and flies after them.
- Fearow briefly gets this when Pikachu lands on its back and gets ready to use an electric attack on it (again).
- Pay Evil unto Evil: Ash knocking Team Rocket out of the tree that they and he were stuck in together and leaving them at the Spearows' mercy would seem selfish and cruel...if Team Rocket hadn't bombed the crap out of Ash' homecoming party earlier in the episode, and thus Ash warranted a little payback.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Not again. They're not even really disguised, and Ash can't tell that they're cooking food at his party. Maybe he simply can't picture them doing even a facsimile of honest work.
- Pet the Dog: While Charizard is disobedent, it DOES still go out of its way to save Pikachu from the fall after blowing up Team Rocket's balloon.
- Put on a Bus: Pidgeot was sent away by Ash to look after the flock until he got back from the Orange Islands: Ash still hasn't returned for it, though he did mention Pidgeot and his desire to meet up with it again during his battle with Falkner, suggesting that the omission is not from Ash (and the writers) being complete jerks about it. As of the final episode of Journeys, Ash reunites with Pidgeot who returns to his team!
- Redemption Rejection: Ash tries to capture Fearow, but it swats the ball away.
- Tennis Boss: When Team Rocket's bombs destroy a table of food, a beyond pissed Charizard takes off after them and uses its wings to smack their bombs back at their balloon, blasting them off.
- Undying Loyalty: Pidgeotto for Ash, in contrast to Charizard. When Ash apologizes for letting it be hit by Arbok's Poison Sting, it trills that it has no hard feelings and nuzzles against its trainer in affection.
- Villain Ball: Had they settled on escaping with Pikachu, Team Rocket might have made a clean getaway. Bombarding Ash's party, however, has the effect of destroying the food that Charizard had its eyes set on, earning the latter's wrath, leading to Charizard volleying their bombs back, sending them flying off, leading to their predicament with the Spearow flock.
- Villainous Valor: Even though Pidgeot proved more powerful than Fearow, not to mention Pikachu injuring it further with its (particularly painful for Fearow) electric attacks, Fearow refuses to back down and continues fighting them. It does however fly away when the other Pidgeotto and Pidgey decide to join the fight.
- We Need a Distraction: Ash recruits Team Rocket (unwillingly) to send the Spearow their way.
