Japanese Title: Hinoarashi! Catch It!!
Original Airdate: March 30th, 2000
US Airdate: March 3rd, 2001
With Charizard gone and no fire Pokémon to call his own, Ash is overjoyed to come across a Cyndaquil in the wild. Before Ash captures the little Pokémon, though, he'll have to face another Trainer with similar designs.
Tropes
- Foil: Koji to Ash. They're both hot-blooded trainers, but Ash ultimately puts Cyndaquil's safety ahead of his want to capture it, only doing so to protect it from being injured, while Koji cares only for himself and what he wants, essentially seeing Cyndaquil as a prize.
- Hate Sink: Koji is pretty smug and callous, and feels entitled to drag Cyndaquil away even when it chooses Ash. Even Team Rocket, the actual villains of this episode, come off as more sympathetic due to their usual pathos.
- Karmic Jackpot: While Ash initially went to catch Cyndaquil, he decides to put the Pokémon's safety first once Team Rocket shows up. Cyndaquil takes to Ash after he helps it fight off Team Rocket.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: In a way, Koji only has himself to blame for Ash getting Cyndaquil as Ash wasn't even aware that there was wild Cyndaquil in the area until he mentioned so.
- Mecha Show: The episode crosses into this thanks to the Meowthinator which the mons are forced to battle.
- Nobody Calls Me "Chicken"!: Koji taunts Ash into a fight this way.
- Shout-Out:
- The dub title is one to Good Will Hunting.
- James at one point does Captain Ginyu's pose from Dragon Ball Z when boasting of the Meowthinator's power, before Jessie hits him to get on with the attack.
- Team Rocket calls their Humongous Mecha the Meowthinator.
- In general, the Meowthinator and the antics of Team Rocket are one giant love letter to the Mecha Genre. Amusingly, the episode introduces a trainer named Koji, sharing the name of Koji Kabuto, a protagonist from the Mazinger Z, though the two are far apart in terms of heroics.
- Sore Loser: After Ash captures Cyndaquil first, Koji challenges him to a battle over it, even though it's rightfully Ash's Pokémon now. Even after Ash wins the battle and Cyndaquil makes it clear that it chooses him, Koji tries catching Cyndaquil anyway, only to get a flamethrower for his trouble. This makes Koji leave Cyndaquil alone.
- Villains Out Shopping: In order to make money to build the Meowthinator, Team Rocket had to take demeaning side jobs, and the end of the episode they are doing another side working as construction workers.
