GS004: Roll On, Pokémon!

Roll On, Pokémon! (Japanese: ドンファンのたに！, Hepburn: Donphan's Valley!) is the 4th episode of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys.

Synopsis

Ash and Brock encounter a Donphan and attempt to catch it, but a woman named Rochelle appears and tells them it is her own. Team Rocket heard of Donphan able to sniff out amberite and plan to get a Donphan and use it. However, the Donphan they receive does not search the gems very well...

Episode Plot

The heroes follow the road and see a magnificent view. Ash tells Misty and Brock to get started, as they'll arrive to Violet City soon. Suddenly, the earth shakes and a boulder falls down, making the heroes upset at that. Team Rocket are not very happy about it either, but the ground continues to shake. The cliff they were standing on gets destroyed, making Team Rocket fall down from it. Fortunately, they fell into vines, making their fall softer. Jessie claims that a little rock will not stop them, but a giant boulder falls on them.

Ash hears a noise and the gang sees a Donphan. Ash goes to catch it, but Brock claims he should catch it, as it should be trained by a breeder, since its tusks are short. Ash wants to catch it, but Brock thinks he should as he knows what is best for it. Misty tells there is no need to fight, as Donphan is leaving. Brock sends Onix, who tackles Donphan. Donphan dodges and retaliates with Roll Out. Brock calls Onix back due to Donphan's powerful attack. Ash sends Heracross, who uses Tackle on it. Donphan re-gains stability and retaliates with Roll Out, but Heracross stops it using Horn Attack, pushing Donphan to a tree. Ash thinks one more hit and he'll be able to catch it.

Suddenly, a woman arrives and treats Donphan, thinking Ash would steal it. Ash explaines that he and Brock did not thought it belonged to her, but Brock flirts with her, as she introduces herself as Rochelle. He notices an amberite pendant and tells Ash and Misty it used to be worn by the royalty. Rochelle warns them not to capture any Donphan, as they belong to her. Ash proposes a match, but she refuses, as Donphan is exausted. Ash proposes a battle tomorrow, but she left already. Ash calls Heracross back, while Brock is still under Rochelle's appearance effect. Jessie and James scout and tell there is nothing in the sight. Meowth tells them to be quiet, as they must not draw attention. Meowth knows they'll become millionairs if they find the amberite, making Jessie imagine she'd be a queen with that. Jessie and James ask where they can find that gem. Meowth recalls when they were asleep he heard two people saying that a woman found amberite having a Donphan sniffed it out. Meowth tells they need to find a Donphan.

Rochelle allows Donphan to sniff her amberite pendant to have Donphan dig it out. Suddenly, Team Rocket appear and use the bazzoka to capture it, then depart away in their balloon. Later, Jessie compliments Meowth for this plan. Meowth orders Donphan to dig, though Donphan refuses. Jessie yells at it, but James tells her it needs kindness, so he gives it some grass. Rochelle calls for her Donphan and encounters Ash, Misty and Brock. Brock flirts with her and gets his ear pulled by Misty. Rochelle tells them her Donphan got stolen. Ash asks how many people were there, so she replies there were one man, one woman and a talking Meowth. With that, the gang sees they are Team Rocket.

Donphan eats the grass and Jessie asks of it to find some amberite. Donphan does not listen to her and gets her upset, but James tells to wait a while until Donphan eats the grass. Donphan is fed and searches for the amberite and finds a spot, so Jessie and James dig it out. Brock sent Zubat, but Zubat did not make much effort in finding Donphan. Rochelle pulls out a whistle and makes a noise, causing Donphan to appear. She clarifies that they belong to her and had them train to come after she whistles, but couldn't control the one that Team Rocket took as it is the youngest. She orders ther other Donphan to find the youngest one. Team Rocket dug out too many holes and soon see Donphan being happy about something. The herd of Donphan appear and the heroes with them. Rochelle thinks Team Rocket heard Donphan can smell amberite out. To get their business conducted, Team Rocket begin the fight with the twerps.

James sends Victreebel (who bites James) and Jessie Arbok, while Brock sends Onix. Victreebel goes to wrap Onix, but gets binded by it. However, Victreebel's Sleep Powder causes it to go to sleep. Ash sends Heracross and Misty Poliwag. Poliwag uses DoubleSlap on Victreebel, then uses Bubble, defeating it and causes it to fall on James and Meowth. Heracross tackles Arbok, making it fall on Jessie. Heracross uses Horn Attack to toss them into the balloon, with Pikachu's Thunderbolt making the gap in the balloon to blast them off. Rochelle is glad to have Donphan back and tells she is impressed by Pikachu, making Brock depressed. Ash and Misty wonder why Donphan couldn't find amberite. Rochelle tells them Donphan need to be trained first, making Ash and Misty glad Team Rocket did not find any gems. Rochelle offers a demonstration, to which the heroes agree to.

Somewhere, Rochelle gives Donphan her amberite, which it smells. Donphan smells around, then tackles a boulder. A piece of a rock falls down, shattering into a gem. She tells she sells the amberite for people around this area. She asks Ash what can she do for rescuing Donphan. Ash thinks it would be best to have a battle as a training for the Johto League and chooses the Donphan with the big tusks to battle with, so Rochelle accepts his wish. Ash sends Heracross, who gets tackled. Heracross uses Endure, then tosses Donphan away. Donphan rolls out and while Heracross dodges, it manages to hit itself by the next Roll Out. This causes Heracross to lick the tree sap, although Ash asks it is no time to stop for a snack, making Misty think Ash never said that before. Donphan tackles Heracross, who stops the attack. Heracross throws it, so Donphan uses Roll Out, tackling Heracross.

Ash sees they need some training, but sees they almost managed to defeat Donphan. Rochelle admits they could've, remarking their bond. Misty and Brock know Ash has to wait and train for Heracross to become stronger. Later, Rochelle bids farewell to the heroes.

Debuts

Human

Rochelle

Pokémon

Donphan

Move

• Endure
• Rollout

Trivia

• The air date between the Japanese and English versions of this episode were exactly one year apart.
• The "Who's that Pokémon?" in this episode is HootHoot.

Mistakes

• Brock's Zubat was depicted with the backs of its wings being the same in appearance as the insides of its wings. It may be worth noting that although the back of Zubat's wings are different in appearance to its wing insides, Golbat's wings are not so.
• Rochelle called both Ash and Misty by name before learning them.

Dub edits

• Brock calls Ash selfish, and that he should think about what's best for Donphan, which Ash retorts that he's what's best for Donphan. Originally, Brock mentions that Ash already got Heracross and Brock should have the honor of capturing Donphan, which Ash responds with his wanting to capture it, since he saw it first.
• The substance that Donphan were tasked to look for was actually Agate, not Amberite.
• Rochelle's reasons for why Ash and his friends shouldn't try to capture the Donphan was slightly different. The dub implies that the entire lot of Donphan belonged to her and her alone, while the original makes it clear that they belong to other Trainers besides herself.
• Meowth's statement about where he heard about Amberite/Agate was "at a rest stop in the mountains" in the dub and an Odango shop in the original.
• Jessie refers to the Japanese idiom Hidari Uchiwa, with James commenting about Jessie's fan being on her right hand, not her left. The dub replaces it with James asking about the fan and Jessie retorting about the hot air.
• Brock mentioned in the dub that Rochelle must have been pretty impressed by them, with her congratulating Pikachu more specifically. In the original version, Brock was actually expressing his happiness that the Donphan were safe, and that Rochelle was thanking Ash and his friends in general.
• The dub omits the fact that Rochelle is using her Donphan to help her fellow artisans get Agate/Amberite for their sculptures in their village.
• Ash originally asks if Heracross was all right, and Rochelle states that she thinks she won.

Gallery

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