Japanese Title: Papa is an idol!? False Gym Leader!
Original Airdate: March 18, 2004
U.S. Airdate: March 5, 2005
As Ash and his friends near close to Petalburg City for Ash's 5th gym battle with Norman on the way they stop by North Petalburg City. Surprisingly enough Norman is quite a celebrity here and the people in this city can't get enough of him or his kids. Meanwhile Team Rocket now broke hatch a scheme to take advantage of the the town's obsession with Norman by disguising themselves as Norman's family. Will Ash and May be able to expose the impostors and finally return to Petalburg City?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Comically Missing the Point: The townspeople thank Pikachu for saving the day, but continue to criticize Ash's skills as a trainer despite Pikachu's exceptional abilities being the result of Ash's training.
- Hard Truth Aesop: Ash ends the episode accepting that he can't win the obsessive townspeople over. Unlike so many other antagonistic characters Ash has befriended, some people will continue to be stubborn jerks, no matter what you do.
- Hypocritical Humor: The North Petalberg residents are extremely devout fans of Norman and May, but can't recognise the difference between them and a disguised Team Rocket. To punctuate this, even the twerps think the imitation is crummy.
- Jerkass Has a Point: While it doesn't really excuse their behavior towards Ash later in the episode, the first time the people of North Petalburg dismiss him, he is trying to show off his own badges and accomplishments. While impressive in their own right, they have nothing to do with those done by May and Max, i.e. the children of their idol, so to the townspeople, Ash just comes off as a bit of a braggart.
- Loony Fan: Oh yeah. The people of North Petalburg are so obsessed with Norman, they're willing to harass anyone who would want to do a Gym battle with him.
- Moving the Goalposts: The residents of Petalburg constantly put Ash down and challenge him to battles to prove he has what it takes to fight Norman. No matter how many of them he beats, the next one still thinks he has to prove himself. Even taking down five Pokémon at once with one attack isn't enough.
- Nobody's That Dumb: Played with, Team Rocket use an especially poor disguise to pose as May and Max's family (Jessie and James make a reasonable substitute for Norman and Caroline, but Meowth and Wobbuffet blatantly look nothing like their human kids). The twerps and even Team Rocket themselves lampshade this was pretty shabby even by their standards, though the residents of North Petalberg, to punctuate how especially dumb and bull-headed they are, fall for it hook, line and sinker.
- Only Sane Man: Ash, Brock, and Max fill this in this episode filled with bad decisions. Even though Team Rocket fooled the townspeople, they should have only impersonated Caroline and Norman for if it wasn't for the townspeople holding the Idiot Ball, they would of saw through it instantly. May while not dumb has Skewed Priorities and would much rather show off than head to Petalburg City.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: While Team Rocket before at least tried to put effort in their disguises, here they have Meowth and Wobbufett act as Norman's kids despite looking not even close to them. They even lampshade this was a pretty sloppy translation. The townsfolk, having just met the real siblings, bother to get a close up look of the two....and conclude they are definitely them.
- Sure, Let's Go with That: When all their attempts at taking Ash down fail, the townsfolk are willing to accept May torching Ash by accident as a "defeat".
- Take That!: The whole episode feels like a jab at over-competitive fanbases, who here are portrayed as extremely antagonistic and dim-witted Loony Fans who harass anyone who challenges their favorite player and refuse to accept any outcome besides the one they want. They even manage to be among the very few one-shot Jerkasses that Ash fails to redeem.
- Ungrateful Bastard: The townspeople to Ash after he saves their money, gets rid of the imposters, and saves May's Torchic. While they do thank Pikachu, Ash gets nothing as they continue to say he's a mediocre trainer.
