Japanese Title: Monster in the Sewers!?
Original Airdate: June 24th, 1999
US Airdate: May 6th, 2000
The one where... Ash and Misty head down a sewer.
Ash and company arrive in Trovitropolis, where they find themselves trapped in a sewer. There, they encounter a strange monster that kidnaps Bulbasaur. Their rescue efforts, however, are impeded by the selfish mayor, who is willing to exterminate the monster. Can Ash and company rescue Bulbasaur and the monster before the mayor's goons get to it?
Tropes
- Absurdly Spacious Sewer: Where the giant Bulbasaur was hiding. Apparently, it stretches out for 500 miles.
- Chekhov's Gun: The mayor's initial, which is used to identify the owner of the abandoned Bulbasaur.
- Damsel in Distress: Misty (alongside Bulbasaur and Togepi) is abducted by the giant Bulbasaur.
- Evil Counterpart: The mayor is one to Ash, as shown by the fact that he abandoned his own Bulbasaur as a young trainer when he wouldn't evolve, as opposed to Ash who accepts his Pokemons' decisions. Additionally, the young mayor sends his Bulbasaur to the sewer, not caring about its wellbeing, while Ash has his Bulbasaur taken from him and worries for him.
- Funny Background Event: When everyone is swept out of the mayor's house from flooding pipes, Pikachu is seen on a surfboard.
- Go On Without Me: When a party comes to fish the trio out of the sewer, Ash tells Misty and Tracy to go on up while he looks for Bulbasaur. However, Misty and Tracy refuse to let Ash stay and even tie him up in the rescue rope so he'll be pulled out.
- Guest-Star Party Member: Ash's Muk temporarily joins the group for this episode.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: The mayor has his reputation undone by the very Bulbasaur he abandoned and tried to kill, who throws him into the statue he built for himself.
- It's All About Me: Even as a kid, the mayor had this attitude, releasing his Bulbasaur into a sewer because it wouldn't evolve for him.
- Landslide Election: The mayor predicts that he'll win one of these. After the scandal with his Bulbasaur comes out, however, he's more likely to lose one.
- Mayor Pain: And how!
- Laser-Guided Karma: After abandoning and trying to kill his Bulbasaur, the Mayor of Trovitopolis gets sent flying into his statue and is likely to lose the election due to the scandal that he caused.
- Misunderstood Loner with a Heart of Gold: The "monster" is just a large Bulbasaur that the mayor abandoned, and he only kidnapped Bulbasaur, Misty, and Togepi because he was lonely.
- Mooks: The mayor has a collection of these to do his bidding, as opposed to the upstanding Officer Jenny.
- Sewer Gator: While not a gator Pokémon specifically, the Bulbasaur fits this trope, being a reptile who was abandoned in the sewers, grew to gigantic proportions, and ends up antagonizing the main cast.
- Sigil Spam: The mayor's initial is all over his city: in his office, on the hats of the SWAT Team, and even on his Bulbasaur's bell.
- Sleazy Politician: The mayor of Trovitropolis is a nasty piece of work who is willing to lock up a bunch of kids over a creature they accidentally encountered. And rather than find a humane solution to the problem, is willing to kill the creature for political gain. He grows into Corrupt Politician when he covers up all the manholes to keep the creature out. When told that the group are still in the sewer, he says he'll let them out... in a week, after re-election. Finally, rather than make peace with his still loyal Bulbasaur, he is willing to send his army after it.
- Small Name, Big Ego: The mayor puts pictures of himself all over town, and has a statue built in his honor.
- Small Role, Big Impact: Team Rocket play a smaller role in this episode than usual, as the antagonist spot is reserved by the mayor and the sewer Bulbasaur while they're lost in the sewer, but their attempt to catch Pikachu causes the conflict of the episode.
- Surfer Dude: Pikachu is seen surfing on a pink surfboard in one scene.
- The Dog Bites Back: After seeing the mayor trying to kill it, the sewer Bulbasaur gets its revenge by sending its former trainer flying.
- Villain Has a Point: As uncaring as the Mayor is, when Nurse Joy tells that Ash and his friends are down in the sewers he just sealed with concrete, the Mayor isn’t wrong when he tells her that children shouldn’t be in the sewers.
- Where's the Kaboom?: Team Rocket's explosive fails to go off.
