Drifloon on the Wind! (Japanese: フワンテと北風の使い！, Hepburn: Drifloon and the Messenger of the North Wind!) is the 28th episode of Pocket Monsters: Diamond and Pearl, and Pokémon: Diamond and Pearl of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl.
Synopsis[]
On the way to Eterna City, our heroes visit a Pokémon Center where they meet young Paige and her big sister Marnie, the daughters of the local Nurse Joy! Ash and his pals get their first good look at Drifloon—Marnie has three, which she uses to help her deliver lunch to her father while Paige takes the gang to meet Pokémon in the surrounding forest. Paige also reveals she and Marnie have a secret friend, none other than the legendary Suicune!
Marnie's father and his Ampharos are working at the Valley Windworks Power Plant. Team Rocket tries to steal Ampharos, only to be shocked by Ampharos's Thunder. But the resulting explosion damages the Windworks, and when the lights go out at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy sets out for the Windworks to see what's wrong. Paige wants to take her Drifloon and follow; Pikachu tries to stop her, but a gust sweeps all three of them away!
Ash and his friends race to the Windworks to try and intercept them, except a looming storm blows Paige and Pikachu way off course. Ash finds them with the help of Marnie's Drifloon, but they're stuck up among the rocks and there's no way the others can reach them on foot any time soon. Marnie is determined to save her sister no matter what, so she asks Suicune to appear and help her. Suicune responds and quickly takes her to Ash and Paige, then brings everyone back to safety. With Nurse Joy's family reunited and the Windworks Power Plant fixed, our heroes can call it a day![1]
Episode plot[]
The heroes came to the Pokémon Center. When they open the doors, a pack of Gastly fly away from the Center. The wander a bit and see nobody. They came to a room and see dinner. Ash goes to get it, but a child comes and accuses him of stealing, then hits him with a broom. They explain they did not want to steal anything and Nurse Joy and another, similar kid, appear. The child with the broom calls Joy "mommy" and Brock is sad to see a ring on Nurse Joy's finger as it means she's married.
The heroes have a meal. The child apologizes for the rude treatment. They want to be just like her mom and introduce themselves as Marnie and Paige. Ash proposes to help them and Dawn and Brock agree. The heroes work for a while and are done. Paige sees dad forgot lunch, so Marnie sends Drifloon to do that. Marnie goes to accompany them and Paige wants as well, but Marnie tells she's too young. Nurse Joy tells Paige she could give the Pokémon in the forest cookies she made instead, so she accepts the task. Marnie grabs the Drifloon's hands and they fly her away. Ash goes with Marnie to give the cookies, per her request.
Paige gave the cookies to the Pokémon and tells Ash she has one more friend, but cannot say her name, as Marnie does not allow her. Still, she shows it to Ash, but sees it is not there. She tells him the friend is Suicune and they play with it a lot. Meanwhile, dad fixed a panel and Marnie arrives with his lunch. Team Rocket spy and want the Ampharos he has. Meowth thinks, with its glow, the boss' nightmares would be away. Marnie gives dad the lunch and dad thinks he should take her home, as a storm approaches. Suddenly, Ampharos gets caught. Still, since they have no money for isolation, Team Rocket gets blasted off by a Thunder. However, dad sees the wires had been damaged by the explosion.
Brock and Dawn help Nurse Joy, while Ash and Paige arrive. Suddenly, the electricity went out and Joy goes to go to the power plant, where dad works. Paige is nerved by the fact mom tells her to stay and goes away. Pikachu follows her to get her. Joy goes on her bike to the power plant and Paige got her Drifloon to fly to the power plant. However, despite Pikachu's strength to pull her down, the wind is too strong and he, along with Paige, got blown away. Dad fixed the turbines, and with Ampharos' electricity, they work again.
The heroes come to tell Paige and Pikachu got blown away. Dad calculates that the wind is blowing in the same direction - to the mountains. Marnie sends the Drifloon and tells she will go to search, but dad does not allow her, as the storm will be any moment. A wind blows and Ash quickly grabs the Drifloon, as he needs to save Pikachu and Paige. The others go in the car to get them. Paige is scared, as she, Drifloon and Pikachu are on a mountain away from others. Dad drives the car and he stops, as the huge boulders stop their path.
Ash and Drifloon came to Paige and Pikachu. He is relieved to see them and tells they should go. Ampharos uses ThunderPunch, but with no effect. Dad tells Dawn and Brock to wait while they go to search. Marnie leaves and thinks she could help. Ash, Pikachu, Drifloon and Paige found shelter in a cave. Ash tells Paige everyone is looking for them and everything will be in order. Paige runs and has her path blocked by some trees, but continues. Marnie came to the lake and calls upon Suicune for help. The rain stopped - Ash and Paige wander through the fog. They stop on a log bridge and see there is no choice but to cross.
Marnie's hope left her and wanted someone to help her. She realizes she is the one that needs to help her and goes, but senses a presence - Suicune arrived. Pikachu crossed the bridge, so Ash and Paige are the only ones remaining. The bridge breaks and they fall, but just then Suicune and Marnie get them. They thank Suicune for the rescue and hear the others. They arrive and re-unite. Marnie tells Suicune helped them, but they see it is no longer here. Everyone leaves to eat dinner. In the night, Team Rocket wanders from their last blast off. They spot Suicune and charge to get it, but as always, got blasted off.
Debuts[]
Pokémon[]
Trivia[]
- Professor Oak's lecture: Poffin
- Pokémon Senryū: かきまぜろ こがさずこぼさず ポフィンづくり kakimazero, kogasazu kobosazu, pofin zukuri "Stir it, without burning or spilling: Poffin-making."
- In TB077's Professor Oak's lecture, Professor Oak expressed interest in knowing what children of a Nurse Joy would look like.
- It was revealed that "Joy" is the nurse's family rather than given name. Marnie's full name is Marnie Francis Lynnette Joy, which is Sayaka François Joy in Japan, and Paige's full name is Paige Francis Lynnelle Joy, which is Mai François Joy in Japan). The same may also apply to Officer Jenny, as a young Officer Jenny by the name of Marble would later appear in Luxray Vision!.
- Pokettari Monsutari and music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Destiny Deoxys are used as background music.
- The episode contains many references to the plot and characters of My Neighbor Totoro, with Marnie and Paige being analogues of the movie's protagonists, Satsuki and Mei.
- Nurse Joys are revealed to keep their surname in marriage.
- The name of Paige and Marnie's father is never mentioned in the dubbed version of the episode. The only references to Karsten's name occur in the closed captioning.
- This is one of the few episodes of Pokémon the Series: Diamond & Pearl where Dawn's Piplup does not appear.
Errors[]
- While at the Valley Windworks, Karsten's laptop disappears from his hand, before reappearing in the next scene.
Dub differences[]
- In the Japanese version, the opening scene shows Ash, Brock and Dawn deciding to head to the nearby Pokémon Center. For unknown reasons, when the episode premiered in America this was replaced by a scene from later in the episode of Paige and the Drifloon getting carried away by the wind. The original opening scene was moved till after the theme song. This is the second cold opening produced by Pokémon USA, after "Leave It to Brocko!".
- There was no background music in the original opening in the dub version.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ (n.d.) . "Drifloon on the Wind! | Pokémon TV (pokemon.com)". From The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on January 30, 2024.
