Jesse GS the II
I was frozen today!
"Pokémon: Intensity" - Season 10
Last one, I swear.
Seriously, though, this will be the final season of "Pokémon: Intensity". However, I've tried to make it fun, featuring many of my trademark callbacks to the original series. We'll begin with these first six, including the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger and the momentous 200th episode, containing a crossover that I just couldn't resist. Have fun.
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“The Mt. Pyre Handgun Massacre”
Episode 9ACP23
Original Airdate: 9/21/12
Guest Voices: Johnny Depp as Will; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Phoebe
After being arrested for Karen’s murder, Ash is held at the Lilycove Police Station to wait for his trial to commence. Fiercely interrogated by the police, Ash maintains his innocense, but the evidence all points to his guilt. He uses his one phone call to contact Misty, who assures Ash that she will try to clear him of all his charges. Pikachu and Togetic agree to offer their assistance, and they begin searching for clues. They already know that Ash is innocent, and they try to think of who would have a reason to not only kill Karen but frame Ash for doing so. They recall that Sidney had previously lost his battles with both Karen and Ash and vowed revenge for it, and file him as their top suspect. Locating him at a memorial service being held in Karen’s memory, Misty pulls him aside and questions him, but Sidney insists that he didn’t kill anyone. In fact, he had no motivation for it - his angry facade is merely a way of masking his inner insecurities and fears that he’s not as good as the other members of the Hoenn Elite Four. Having unearthed Sidney’s true sensitive self, Misty deduces that he couldn’t have been the killer after all. Meanwhile, Brock and Phoebe are just as rattled about the murder as everyone else. In Phoebe’s lodge room that night, Brock assures her that he can protect her from any other attacks from whoever the murderer might be. As Phoebe leaves the room to get more ice, she is attacked from behind by an unfamiliar hooded figure who tries to strangle her. Brock manages to come to her rescue, but the figure escapes down a hallway and mysteriously disappears. As Misty tries to figure out who else had a motive, Pikachu and Togetic try to think about who could have gotten into Karen’s room without tripping the burglar alarm. They remember how Sabrina’s Psychic Pokémon have the ability to scramble electronics, and they suspect that she may be the culprit. However, Sabrina has an airtight alibi for where she was at the time of Karen’s murder, and Misty points out that she has no motive. In addition to this, several other trainers at the retreat own Pokémon with Psychic abilities. As Karen’s burglar alarm was not tampered with, Misty deduces that it had to have been a Psychic attack that disabled it. This narrows it down to either Koga, Morty, Agatha, Will, Tate, Liza, or Phoebe, as they all own Pokémon with Psychic attacks. But Brock points out that Phoebe herself was attacked, eliminating her as a suspect. When the other Psychic trainers at the retreat begin to notice the presence of a strange hooded figure around the island who disappears almost instantly, they begin to get suspicious. Finally, Sidney is attacked on the last night of the retreat, but manages to defend himself and get a good look at his attacker’s eyes. He tells Misty that they were narrow, and seemingly hidden behind the attacker’s hair. Misty takes note of Will’s eye-obscuring hairstyle and places him atop her suspect list. No sooner does this happen than Will enters Misty’s room, congratulating her on how much effort she’s putting into her search and offering to shake her hand. Misty wonders why Will doesn’t bow like everyone else in Japan does, and notices a whitened set of fingerprints on Will’s glove - Ash’s fingerprints from when he shook Will’s hand earlier. It all suddenly clicks in Misty’s mind: Will got Ash’s prints through his handshake, then lifted them, made a duplicate glove of Ash’s hand, and placed the prints on the handgun before planting it in Ash’s room. Will realizes he’s been found out and tries to escape, but Pikachu and Togetic immobilize him, allowing Misty to tie him up and call the police. Upon Will’s arrest, he explains his motive - he has always seen himself as the most underappreciated Elite Four member, and wanted to achieve higher billing by eliminating the other trainers who specialize in his elements - Psychic, Ghost, and Dark. He arbitrarily selected Ash as his patsy, then had his Xatu deactivate Karen’s burglar alarm, allowing him to enter her room and kill her, then had Xatu teleport him into Ash’s now-empty room to plant the gun and then teleport back upstairs to the crowd of trainers. Though Will has no regrets, he is still sentenced to life in Hoenn Maximum Security Prison. Ash is finally released and thanks Misty greatly for helping to free him. Meanwhile, Phoebe decides to split up with Brock - though she is grateful for how he saved her life, she really wants someone a little more fiery...and has her eye set on Sidney.
200th EPISODE
“Skeeving Las Vegas”
Episode 9ACP24
Original Airdate: 9/28/12
Guest Voices: William Petersen as Gil Grissom; Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows; Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown; George Eads as Nick Stokes; Jorja Fox as Sarah Sidle
Flying back towards Japan, Giovanni realizes that the Rocket helicopter is almost out of fuel, and must land in order to refill it. He ends up setting the chopper down in Nevada, on the Las Vegas strip. Jessie and James take advantage of their free time by donning disguises and hitting the casinos. While they entertain themselves, Meowth takes on the guise of a short man in an overcoat and passes his time at the slot machines. Having never played the slots before, he quickly becomes hooked on the premise. Meanwhile, Jessie and James hit the casino floor themselves, and when Jessie flings an olive out of her martini, it lands on a roulette wheel and knocks the ball from its original spot, causing one man to lose all his winnings. Infuriated, the man accosts Jessie and James and demands that they pay him back for everything he just lost. Irritated, Jessie and James casually invite the man to an empty hotel room to reconcile their altercation, but when he gets there, they end up killing him instead. They dump the body down the laundry chute and forget about it. However, Giovanni is distraught to learn that they have just committed a crime inside the hotel, reminding them that Las Vegas has one of the top Crime Scene Investigation teams in America. Realizing that their evidence will give them away almost certainly, Jessie and James set off to collect as much false evidence as they can to plant in the hotel room before the CSIs arrive. When the body is discovered, the Las Vegas CSI team shows up promptly, led by the dry-witted and enigmatic Grissom. As the investigators prowl the area, Willows notices that there are scrapings of paint on the body’s clothes that match the inside of the laundry chute. Following the inside of the chute with a tiny snaking camera, Sarah notices a splotch of dried blood on the opening that leads to the eighth floor. Unbeknownst to them, Jessie and James have just left the hotel room after deftly sprinkling the floor and furniture with hairs and skin flakes that they discretely collected from numerous patrons around the casino. As Stokes and Warrick collect the evidence, they bring them back to the lab to be sampled for DNA. Having thrown the CSIs off their trail, Jessie and James prepare to leave - but first, they must pry Meowth away from the slots. In doing so, they rip off Meowth’s trench coat, and being mistaken for a strange breed of cat, he and his partners are bounced from the casino by security. They meet up with Giovanni at the airport to set off again towards Japan. Meanwhile, the CSIs have found evidence of at least thirty people being at the crime scene, but everyone they call in for questioning has an alibi. They do, however, find one pink hair and one blue hair among the numerous bits of evidence, but they can’t possibly figure out how either hair could be natural and not dyed. The bizarre amalgam of inconclusive evidence leads Willows, Sarah, Stokes, and Warrick to break down into verbally and even physically attacking one another, and Grissom wonders aloud how the heck he and his team ever figure anything out.
“Same Sex Japan”
Episode 10ACP01
Original Airdate: 10/19/12
Guest Voice: Rupert Everett as Julio
While visiting Professor Oak one day, Ash and Misty can’t help but notice that Tracey isn’t his usual self. Instead of his usual boisterous attitude, he seems depressed, and only puts a half-hearted effort into his work. When Misty asks if something is wrong, Tracey laments that in the six years since he’s come to terms with his homosexuality, he hasn’t had so much as one boyfriend. It won’t be long until he reaches his 40s, and he’s beginning to worry about whether or not he’ll ever find someone. Ash and Misty point out that he won’t find anyone if he doesn’t look, but Tracey’s schedule at Oak’s lab is too restrictive on his free time. Oak agrees to give Tracey shorter shifts and full weekends off if it’ll help. With his new hours, Tracey plans to devote his off time to finding that special someone once and for all. Unfortunately, as Tracey has never been able to find time to search for a boyfriend before, he has no experience in the area of talking to men, and can’t seem to impress any man he meets. Desperate for pointers, he turns to Misty for advice, and she helps Tracey to ease into the dating scene without coming across as too inexperienced. Her advice works wonders, as Tracey soon captures the interest of Julio, a gay man from Viridian City who is fascinated by Tracey’s knowledge of Pokémon watching. The two agree to meet again, and Tracey is ecstatic over the idea that he may finally have found the man of his dreams. The date goes off without a hitch, leaving Tracey more confident than ever. However, a week later, Tracey notices that Julio hasn’t contacted him for another date as he promised. Concerned, Tracey calls Julio to find out what was wrong, and Julio earnestly explains that things just didn’t click with him. Though Tracey is disappointed, Ash and Misty encourage him not to be thrown so easily and to continue playing the field. When Tracey returns to Viridian City, however, he makes a startling discovery - he spots Julio at an outdoor restaurant, holding hands with a woman. Crushed, Tracey mopes back to Pallet Town, distraught over the fact that one date with him has defected Julio to heterosexuality. Despite his friends’ attempts to cheer him up, Tracey is convinced that no man will ever love him. It isn’t until Professor Oak reminds Tracey of the devotion he’s shown to obtaining his goals in the past that Tracey’s confidence is rejuvenated, and he decides to call Julio himself and find out what the truth is. Julio straightens everything out by explaining that he’s actually bisexual, and was unaware that Tracey wanted to reunite with him. Agreeing to another date, Julio arrives at the lab that weekend to pick Tracey up. It is at this point that everything goes south, as Julio meets the wheelchair-bound Professor Oak and is startled to see that Tracey is Oak’s assistant. Julio reveals that he has always been strongly against Oak’s teachings and verbally assaults the poor professor until an enraged Tracey tells him to leave. Tracey apologizes to Oak, and decides that romance will undoubtedly have to wait even longer than he expected.
“Raiders of the Lost Heart”
Episode 10ACP02
Original Airdate: 11/2/12
At the Pewter City Gym, Brock notices a steep decline in the performance of his Rock Pokémon. Steelix, Golem, and Sudowoodo get trounced in virtually every battle they participate in. Deciding that a training session is in order, he invites Ash and Misty to the mountain ranges outside the Indigo Plateau in order to help him build his team’s experience. Ash and Misty agree, though Pikachu and Togetic object to the trip and are brought along against their will. Among the rocks, Brock is quickly distracted from his training efforts when his sparring battle with Ash extends into a nearby excavation site. Among the scientists there, Brock recognizes a familiar face - Eve, the archaeologist whom he had met in the mountains during the training period leading up to Ash’s participation in the 1999 Indigo Plateau Finals. Eve is excited to see Brock and his friends again and invites them to see her most recent discoveries. During these events, Pikachu and Togetic become bored and wander off on their own. Togetic insists on leading the impromptu expedition, but ends up getting them both completely lost. Upon realizing that the two Pokémon are missing, Ash sends Swellow and Charizard to scan the mountains from the air, while Eve and Brock agree to search on foot. During their search, Eve admits to Brock that she’s missed him in the 20 years it’s been since they last met - nobody else has shown the same interest in her work that Brock did. Though Eve and Brock begin harboring a strong attraction towards one another, their search of the mountains yields no positive results. Ash and Misty inform the local Officer Jenny that Pikachu and Togetic are lost in the mountains, and Jenny promises to do all she can to find them. Hoping that the Pokémon will turn up soon, the trainers spend the night at Eve’s excavation camp. Eve invites Brock into her tent, where they further explore their blossoming relationship with each other. Meanwhile, Pikachu tries to lead Togetic back to civilization, but the two Pokémon discover a pair of strange-looking ancient artifacts in the rocks. Though Pikachu recognizes them immediately, he barely has time to warn Togetic before she inadvertently activates the primitive Poké Balls, unleashing the ancient Alakazam and Gengar that inhabit them. Disturbed from their slumber again, the ancient Pokémon demand to know why they have been summoned. Pikachu asks if they can possibly hitch a ride back to the excavation site, and the Gengar and Alakazam grudgingly agree. The distant stomping of the Pokémon catches the attention of those at the site, including Eve and Brock, who are horrified when they find the source of the commotion heading for them. Promising to protect Eve at all costs, Brock sends forth his Steelix, Golem, and Sudowoodo to do battle with the behemoth Pokémon, not realizing that Pikachu and Togetic are atop their backs. Togetic attempts to fly above the commotion and make her presence known, but a barrage of rocks thrown by Steelix ends up knocking Pikachu off Gengar’s back and into a midair collision with Togetic, triggering Pikachu’s still-unnamed Electric/Psychic attack. The attack manages to banish the ancient Pokémon again, though it also leaves Togetic severely smoldered and irritated. Eve is grateful to Brock for attempting to save her, but she is more infatuated with finding out more about the artifacts that contain these creatures, sheepishly explaining that archaeology is still her first love. Disappointed, Brock returns home with his friends and their Pokémon, still glad that he was able to get his training done.
“The Contest Years of Our Lives”
Episode 10ACP03
Original Airdate: 11/9/12
Still in therapy with Dr. Umemiya, May begins to wonder what she wants to do with her life. As the years have gone by, she has never gotten a steady job. Umemiya suggests that she should find something that she’s good at, but May can’t think of what her area of expertise might be. It isn’t until she goes home and looks at her ribbon case that she realizes her one true passion in life has always been participating in Pokémon Contests. With the Kanto contest circuit having disbanded several years ago due to lack of interest, May decides to return to the Hoenn region. She and Max move out of their Saffron City apartment and take the next ferry back to Littleroot Town. Norman and Caroline are surprised to see their kids show up at their Petalburg City home, where May announces that she’s coming out of retirement to do the entire Hoenn contest circuit all over again. Setting off to register at the newly constructed Coordinator’s Center outside Rustboro City, May notices several familiar faces on the Wall of Fame - many of the coordinators she had previously met on her first pass through the circuit are still in the game. May registers again and eagerly anticipates participating in her first contest since 2006, but her spirits plummet when she sees an all-too familiar face enter the lobby - Harley has just re-registered as well. Upon learning that his old rival is now going to be competing with him again, Harley reassures May that he will not make her coordinating experience pleasant this time around. Back at Petalburg City, Norman informs Max that he’s been thinking about retiring as the Petalburg Gym Leader, and wants to pass the gym on to him. Max is enthralled, but the fact remains that, in spite of how much he looked forward to it as a young boy, he never actually became a trainer. With neither the time nor the skill to participate in the Hoenn Gym Challenge, Max decides to take the intellectual route and study the intricate workings of Pokémon training in order to be worthy of taking his father’s place. Meanwhile, May is warming up for her first contest in Slateport City, in which she decides to utilize her most experienced contest participants, Beautifly and Delcatty. When the contest commences, May proves to the audience that she has not lost a step in the 13 years she’s been away from coordinating. Moving up the ranks, May is shocked to find that her final appeal will be against Harley. Enduring Harley’s relentless trash talking, May manages to outperform her rival nearly to the point of winning. Infuriated, Harley loses his composure and prepares to take a lunge at May, but in doing so, steps outside his designated area of the arena and is disqualified for interfering with the appeals procedure. May accepts her first 2019 Hoenn Contest Ribbon with humility and confidence. Back in Petalburg, Max shows his father what he’s learned about training but fails to defeat him in a practice battle due to his lack of physical experience. Norman assures Max that he won’t be retiring for quite some time.
“3rd Schlock from the 'Son”
Episode 10ACP04
Original Airdate: 11/16/12
Guest Voice: Antonio Banderas as Meowth-In-Boots
Ash begins to experience a lull at the Viridian City Gym. Often, entire days go by without anyone challenging him. Just when Ash considers going home early one day, he receives a visit from his old Hoenn League rival Morrison, now in the last leg of the Kanto Gym Challenge. Ash is grateful to see Morrison again after 13 years and willingly accepts his challenge, pitting Pikachu against Morrison’s Metagross. In the middle of the battle, Ash is greeted with another familiar challenger - Tyson, who is also hoping for a chance to win an Earth Badge. Tyson willingly waits his turn while Pikachu and Metagross duke it out. Ultimately, Ash prevails, and informs Morrison that he can come back another day and challenge him again. Morrison exits, but he secretly spies on Tyson’s battle through the gym window. Tyson pits his boot-wearing Meowth against Ash’s best Pokémon, succeeding in knocking out everything Ash sends forward. Ash congratulates Tyson on a battle well fought and rewards him with his Earth Badge. Morrison is bewildered as to how Tyson’s Meowth could possibly be stronger than his own Metagross. The next day, Morrison returns to the gym, but rather than requesting a rematch, he wants Ash to help him train. Ash is surprised to see his once-confident rival now in need of his help, but explains that he can’t - the League Rules require Gym Leaders to be impartial to their challengers. However, Ash does explain that Misty is a retired gym leader and can probably help him out. That night, Ash invites Morrison to his home, where Misty agrees to teach him the best ways to approach his final battle. Togetic, however, doesn’t like any of Morrison’s Pokémon and decides to stay out of the proceedings. However, she does take notice of Morrison’s supply of giant onigiri, and having grown tired of Ash and Misty’s cooking, she desperately wants one for herself. Morrison can’t give her his secret recipe for them, so she decides to make them herself from scratch. Finally, Morrison is confident that he can win against Ash, but the rematch goes just as poorly as it did before. Morrison, still desperate for his Earth Badge, decides to consult Tyson instead. Tyson is busy training for the upcoming Indigo Conference and gladly takes on Morrison as an opponent, and the battle ultimately ends up pitting Tyson’s Metagross against Morrison’s Metagross. Regardless, Tyson is the victor. Now furious over the fact that he can’t seem to win against anyone, the competitive Morrison accuses Tyson of having cheated in order to get his Earth Badge. The two trainers fight until Tyson’s Meowth tells them how to settle things once and for all. Each trainer has a rematch with Ash - Tyson goes first and wins again, but he is followed by Morrison’s long-awaited victory. With his new Earth Badge, Morrison is confident about his approaching participation in the Indigo Conference, even though Ash secretly confides in Tyson that he let Morrison win just to get him to shut up. Back at home, Togetic finally completes her homemade giant onigiri, but nobody wants to try them. Togetic decides to keep them all for herself, and gloats about having nailed Morrison’s recipe perfectly, despite her own winces and stomach pains over how poorly she’s made them.
Last one, I swear.
Seriously, though, this will be the final season of "Pokémon: Intensity". However, I've tried to make it fun, featuring many of my trademark callbacks to the original series. We'll begin with these first six, including the conclusion of last season's cliffhanger and the momentous 200th episode, containing a crossover that I just couldn't resist. Have fun.
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“The Mt. Pyre Handgun Massacre”
Episode 9ACP23
Original Airdate: 9/21/12
Guest Voices: Johnny Depp as Will; Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Phoebe
After being arrested for Karen’s murder, Ash is held at the Lilycove Police Station to wait for his trial to commence. Fiercely interrogated by the police, Ash maintains his innocense, but the evidence all points to his guilt. He uses his one phone call to contact Misty, who assures Ash that she will try to clear him of all his charges. Pikachu and Togetic agree to offer their assistance, and they begin searching for clues. They already know that Ash is innocent, and they try to think of who would have a reason to not only kill Karen but frame Ash for doing so. They recall that Sidney had previously lost his battles with both Karen and Ash and vowed revenge for it, and file him as their top suspect. Locating him at a memorial service being held in Karen’s memory, Misty pulls him aside and questions him, but Sidney insists that he didn’t kill anyone. In fact, he had no motivation for it - his angry facade is merely a way of masking his inner insecurities and fears that he’s not as good as the other members of the Hoenn Elite Four. Having unearthed Sidney’s true sensitive self, Misty deduces that he couldn’t have been the killer after all. Meanwhile, Brock and Phoebe are just as rattled about the murder as everyone else. In Phoebe’s lodge room that night, Brock assures her that he can protect her from any other attacks from whoever the murderer might be. As Phoebe leaves the room to get more ice, she is attacked from behind by an unfamiliar hooded figure who tries to strangle her. Brock manages to come to her rescue, but the figure escapes down a hallway and mysteriously disappears. As Misty tries to figure out who else had a motive, Pikachu and Togetic try to think about who could have gotten into Karen’s room without tripping the burglar alarm. They remember how Sabrina’s Psychic Pokémon have the ability to scramble electronics, and they suspect that she may be the culprit. However, Sabrina has an airtight alibi for where she was at the time of Karen’s murder, and Misty points out that she has no motive. In addition to this, several other trainers at the retreat own Pokémon with Psychic abilities. As Karen’s burglar alarm was not tampered with, Misty deduces that it had to have been a Psychic attack that disabled it. This narrows it down to either Koga, Morty, Agatha, Will, Tate, Liza, or Phoebe, as they all own Pokémon with Psychic attacks. But Brock points out that Phoebe herself was attacked, eliminating her as a suspect. When the other Psychic trainers at the retreat begin to notice the presence of a strange hooded figure around the island who disappears almost instantly, they begin to get suspicious. Finally, Sidney is attacked on the last night of the retreat, but manages to defend himself and get a good look at his attacker’s eyes. He tells Misty that they were narrow, and seemingly hidden behind the attacker’s hair. Misty takes note of Will’s eye-obscuring hairstyle and places him atop her suspect list. No sooner does this happen than Will enters Misty’s room, congratulating her on how much effort she’s putting into her search and offering to shake her hand. Misty wonders why Will doesn’t bow like everyone else in Japan does, and notices a whitened set of fingerprints on Will’s glove - Ash’s fingerprints from when he shook Will’s hand earlier. It all suddenly clicks in Misty’s mind: Will got Ash’s prints through his handshake, then lifted them, made a duplicate glove of Ash’s hand, and placed the prints on the handgun before planting it in Ash’s room. Will realizes he’s been found out and tries to escape, but Pikachu and Togetic immobilize him, allowing Misty to tie him up and call the police. Upon Will’s arrest, he explains his motive - he has always seen himself as the most underappreciated Elite Four member, and wanted to achieve higher billing by eliminating the other trainers who specialize in his elements - Psychic, Ghost, and Dark. He arbitrarily selected Ash as his patsy, then had his Xatu deactivate Karen’s burglar alarm, allowing him to enter her room and kill her, then had Xatu teleport him into Ash’s now-empty room to plant the gun and then teleport back upstairs to the crowd of trainers. Though Will has no regrets, he is still sentenced to life in Hoenn Maximum Security Prison. Ash is finally released and thanks Misty greatly for helping to free him. Meanwhile, Phoebe decides to split up with Brock - though she is grateful for how he saved her life, she really wants someone a little more fiery...and has her eye set on Sidney.
200th EPISODE
“Skeeving Las Vegas”
Episode 9ACP24
Original Airdate: 9/28/12
Guest Voices: William Petersen as Gil Grissom; Marg Helgenberger as Catherine Willows; Gary Dourdan as Warrick Brown; George Eads as Nick Stokes; Jorja Fox as Sarah Sidle
Flying back towards Japan, Giovanni realizes that the Rocket helicopter is almost out of fuel, and must land in order to refill it. He ends up setting the chopper down in Nevada, on the Las Vegas strip. Jessie and James take advantage of their free time by donning disguises and hitting the casinos. While they entertain themselves, Meowth takes on the guise of a short man in an overcoat and passes his time at the slot machines. Having never played the slots before, he quickly becomes hooked on the premise. Meanwhile, Jessie and James hit the casino floor themselves, and when Jessie flings an olive out of her martini, it lands on a roulette wheel and knocks the ball from its original spot, causing one man to lose all his winnings. Infuriated, the man accosts Jessie and James and demands that they pay him back for everything he just lost. Irritated, Jessie and James casually invite the man to an empty hotel room to reconcile their altercation, but when he gets there, they end up killing him instead. They dump the body down the laundry chute and forget about it. However, Giovanni is distraught to learn that they have just committed a crime inside the hotel, reminding them that Las Vegas has one of the top Crime Scene Investigation teams in America. Realizing that their evidence will give them away almost certainly, Jessie and James set off to collect as much false evidence as they can to plant in the hotel room before the CSIs arrive. When the body is discovered, the Las Vegas CSI team shows up promptly, led by the dry-witted and enigmatic Grissom. As the investigators prowl the area, Willows notices that there are scrapings of paint on the body’s clothes that match the inside of the laundry chute. Following the inside of the chute with a tiny snaking camera, Sarah notices a splotch of dried blood on the opening that leads to the eighth floor. Unbeknownst to them, Jessie and James have just left the hotel room after deftly sprinkling the floor and furniture with hairs and skin flakes that they discretely collected from numerous patrons around the casino. As Stokes and Warrick collect the evidence, they bring them back to the lab to be sampled for DNA. Having thrown the CSIs off their trail, Jessie and James prepare to leave - but first, they must pry Meowth away from the slots. In doing so, they rip off Meowth’s trench coat, and being mistaken for a strange breed of cat, he and his partners are bounced from the casino by security. They meet up with Giovanni at the airport to set off again towards Japan. Meanwhile, the CSIs have found evidence of at least thirty people being at the crime scene, but everyone they call in for questioning has an alibi. They do, however, find one pink hair and one blue hair among the numerous bits of evidence, but they can’t possibly figure out how either hair could be natural and not dyed. The bizarre amalgam of inconclusive evidence leads Willows, Sarah, Stokes, and Warrick to break down into verbally and even physically attacking one another, and Grissom wonders aloud how the heck he and his team ever figure anything out.
“Same Sex Japan”
Episode 10ACP01
Original Airdate: 10/19/12
Guest Voice: Rupert Everett as Julio
While visiting Professor Oak one day, Ash and Misty can’t help but notice that Tracey isn’t his usual self. Instead of his usual boisterous attitude, he seems depressed, and only puts a half-hearted effort into his work. When Misty asks if something is wrong, Tracey laments that in the six years since he’s come to terms with his homosexuality, he hasn’t had so much as one boyfriend. It won’t be long until he reaches his 40s, and he’s beginning to worry about whether or not he’ll ever find someone. Ash and Misty point out that he won’t find anyone if he doesn’t look, but Tracey’s schedule at Oak’s lab is too restrictive on his free time. Oak agrees to give Tracey shorter shifts and full weekends off if it’ll help. With his new hours, Tracey plans to devote his off time to finding that special someone once and for all. Unfortunately, as Tracey has never been able to find time to search for a boyfriend before, he has no experience in the area of talking to men, and can’t seem to impress any man he meets. Desperate for pointers, he turns to Misty for advice, and she helps Tracey to ease into the dating scene without coming across as too inexperienced. Her advice works wonders, as Tracey soon captures the interest of Julio, a gay man from Viridian City who is fascinated by Tracey’s knowledge of Pokémon watching. The two agree to meet again, and Tracey is ecstatic over the idea that he may finally have found the man of his dreams. The date goes off without a hitch, leaving Tracey more confident than ever. However, a week later, Tracey notices that Julio hasn’t contacted him for another date as he promised. Concerned, Tracey calls Julio to find out what was wrong, and Julio earnestly explains that things just didn’t click with him. Though Tracey is disappointed, Ash and Misty encourage him not to be thrown so easily and to continue playing the field. When Tracey returns to Viridian City, however, he makes a startling discovery - he spots Julio at an outdoor restaurant, holding hands with a woman. Crushed, Tracey mopes back to Pallet Town, distraught over the fact that one date with him has defected Julio to heterosexuality. Despite his friends’ attempts to cheer him up, Tracey is convinced that no man will ever love him. It isn’t until Professor Oak reminds Tracey of the devotion he’s shown to obtaining his goals in the past that Tracey’s confidence is rejuvenated, and he decides to call Julio himself and find out what the truth is. Julio straightens everything out by explaining that he’s actually bisexual, and was unaware that Tracey wanted to reunite with him. Agreeing to another date, Julio arrives at the lab that weekend to pick Tracey up. It is at this point that everything goes south, as Julio meets the wheelchair-bound Professor Oak and is startled to see that Tracey is Oak’s assistant. Julio reveals that he has always been strongly against Oak’s teachings and verbally assaults the poor professor until an enraged Tracey tells him to leave. Tracey apologizes to Oak, and decides that romance will undoubtedly have to wait even longer than he expected.
“Raiders of the Lost Heart”
Episode 10ACP02
Original Airdate: 11/2/12
At the Pewter City Gym, Brock notices a steep decline in the performance of his Rock Pokémon. Steelix, Golem, and Sudowoodo get trounced in virtually every battle they participate in. Deciding that a training session is in order, he invites Ash and Misty to the mountain ranges outside the Indigo Plateau in order to help him build his team’s experience. Ash and Misty agree, though Pikachu and Togetic object to the trip and are brought along against their will. Among the rocks, Brock is quickly distracted from his training efforts when his sparring battle with Ash extends into a nearby excavation site. Among the scientists there, Brock recognizes a familiar face - Eve, the archaeologist whom he had met in the mountains during the training period leading up to Ash’s participation in the 1999 Indigo Plateau Finals. Eve is excited to see Brock and his friends again and invites them to see her most recent discoveries. During these events, Pikachu and Togetic become bored and wander off on their own. Togetic insists on leading the impromptu expedition, but ends up getting them both completely lost. Upon realizing that the two Pokémon are missing, Ash sends Swellow and Charizard to scan the mountains from the air, while Eve and Brock agree to search on foot. During their search, Eve admits to Brock that she’s missed him in the 20 years it’s been since they last met - nobody else has shown the same interest in her work that Brock did. Though Eve and Brock begin harboring a strong attraction towards one another, their search of the mountains yields no positive results. Ash and Misty inform the local Officer Jenny that Pikachu and Togetic are lost in the mountains, and Jenny promises to do all she can to find them. Hoping that the Pokémon will turn up soon, the trainers spend the night at Eve’s excavation camp. Eve invites Brock into her tent, where they further explore their blossoming relationship with each other. Meanwhile, Pikachu tries to lead Togetic back to civilization, but the two Pokémon discover a pair of strange-looking ancient artifacts in the rocks. Though Pikachu recognizes them immediately, he barely has time to warn Togetic before she inadvertently activates the primitive Poké Balls, unleashing the ancient Alakazam and Gengar that inhabit them. Disturbed from their slumber again, the ancient Pokémon demand to know why they have been summoned. Pikachu asks if they can possibly hitch a ride back to the excavation site, and the Gengar and Alakazam grudgingly agree. The distant stomping of the Pokémon catches the attention of those at the site, including Eve and Brock, who are horrified when they find the source of the commotion heading for them. Promising to protect Eve at all costs, Brock sends forth his Steelix, Golem, and Sudowoodo to do battle with the behemoth Pokémon, not realizing that Pikachu and Togetic are atop their backs. Togetic attempts to fly above the commotion and make her presence known, but a barrage of rocks thrown by Steelix ends up knocking Pikachu off Gengar’s back and into a midair collision with Togetic, triggering Pikachu’s still-unnamed Electric/Psychic attack. The attack manages to banish the ancient Pokémon again, though it also leaves Togetic severely smoldered and irritated. Eve is grateful to Brock for attempting to save her, but she is more infatuated with finding out more about the artifacts that contain these creatures, sheepishly explaining that archaeology is still her first love. Disappointed, Brock returns home with his friends and their Pokémon, still glad that he was able to get his training done.
“The Contest Years of Our Lives”
Episode 10ACP03
Original Airdate: 11/9/12
Still in therapy with Dr. Umemiya, May begins to wonder what she wants to do with her life. As the years have gone by, she has never gotten a steady job. Umemiya suggests that she should find something that she’s good at, but May can’t think of what her area of expertise might be. It isn’t until she goes home and looks at her ribbon case that she realizes her one true passion in life has always been participating in Pokémon Contests. With the Kanto contest circuit having disbanded several years ago due to lack of interest, May decides to return to the Hoenn region. She and Max move out of their Saffron City apartment and take the next ferry back to Littleroot Town. Norman and Caroline are surprised to see their kids show up at their Petalburg City home, where May announces that she’s coming out of retirement to do the entire Hoenn contest circuit all over again. Setting off to register at the newly constructed Coordinator’s Center outside Rustboro City, May notices several familiar faces on the Wall of Fame - many of the coordinators she had previously met on her first pass through the circuit are still in the game. May registers again and eagerly anticipates participating in her first contest since 2006, but her spirits plummet when she sees an all-too familiar face enter the lobby - Harley has just re-registered as well. Upon learning that his old rival is now going to be competing with him again, Harley reassures May that he will not make her coordinating experience pleasant this time around. Back at Petalburg City, Norman informs Max that he’s been thinking about retiring as the Petalburg Gym Leader, and wants to pass the gym on to him. Max is enthralled, but the fact remains that, in spite of how much he looked forward to it as a young boy, he never actually became a trainer. With neither the time nor the skill to participate in the Hoenn Gym Challenge, Max decides to take the intellectual route and study the intricate workings of Pokémon training in order to be worthy of taking his father’s place. Meanwhile, May is warming up for her first contest in Slateport City, in which she decides to utilize her most experienced contest participants, Beautifly and Delcatty. When the contest commences, May proves to the audience that she has not lost a step in the 13 years she’s been away from coordinating. Moving up the ranks, May is shocked to find that her final appeal will be against Harley. Enduring Harley’s relentless trash talking, May manages to outperform her rival nearly to the point of winning. Infuriated, Harley loses his composure and prepares to take a lunge at May, but in doing so, steps outside his designated area of the arena and is disqualified for interfering with the appeals procedure. May accepts her first 2019 Hoenn Contest Ribbon with humility and confidence. Back in Petalburg, Max shows his father what he’s learned about training but fails to defeat him in a practice battle due to his lack of physical experience. Norman assures Max that he won’t be retiring for quite some time.
“3rd Schlock from the 'Son”
Episode 10ACP04
Original Airdate: 11/16/12
Guest Voice: Antonio Banderas as Meowth-In-Boots
Ash begins to experience a lull at the Viridian City Gym. Often, entire days go by without anyone challenging him. Just when Ash considers going home early one day, he receives a visit from his old Hoenn League rival Morrison, now in the last leg of the Kanto Gym Challenge. Ash is grateful to see Morrison again after 13 years and willingly accepts his challenge, pitting Pikachu against Morrison’s Metagross. In the middle of the battle, Ash is greeted with another familiar challenger - Tyson, who is also hoping for a chance to win an Earth Badge. Tyson willingly waits his turn while Pikachu and Metagross duke it out. Ultimately, Ash prevails, and informs Morrison that he can come back another day and challenge him again. Morrison exits, but he secretly spies on Tyson’s battle through the gym window. Tyson pits his boot-wearing Meowth against Ash’s best Pokémon, succeeding in knocking out everything Ash sends forward. Ash congratulates Tyson on a battle well fought and rewards him with his Earth Badge. Morrison is bewildered as to how Tyson’s Meowth could possibly be stronger than his own Metagross. The next day, Morrison returns to the gym, but rather than requesting a rematch, he wants Ash to help him train. Ash is surprised to see his once-confident rival now in need of his help, but explains that he can’t - the League Rules require Gym Leaders to be impartial to their challengers. However, Ash does explain that Misty is a retired gym leader and can probably help him out. That night, Ash invites Morrison to his home, where Misty agrees to teach him the best ways to approach his final battle. Togetic, however, doesn’t like any of Morrison’s Pokémon and decides to stay out of the proceedings. However, she does take notice of Morrison’s supply of giant onigiri, and having grown tired of Ash and Misty’s cooking, she desperately wants one for herself. Morrison can’t give her his secret recipe for them, so she decides to make them herself from scratch. Finally, Morrison is confident that he can win against Ash, but the rematch goes just as poorly as it did before. Morrison, still desperate for his Earth Badge, decides to consult Tyson instead. Tyson is busy training for the upcoming Indigo Conference and gladly takes on Morrison as an opponent, and the battle ultimately ends up pitting Tyson’s Metagross against Morrison’s Metagross. Regardless, Tyson is the victor. Now furious over the fact that he can’t seem to win against anyone, the competitive Morrison accuses Tyson of having cheated in order to get his Earth Badge. The two trainers fight until Tyson’s Meowth tells them how to settle things once and for all. Each trainer has a rematch with Ash - Tyson goes first and wins again, but he is followed by Morrison’s long-awaited victory. With his new Earth Badge, Morrison is confident about his approaching participation in the Indigo Conference, even though Ash secretly confides in Tyson that he let Morrison win just to get him to shut up. Back at home, Togetic finally completes her homemade giant onigiri, but nobody wants to try them. Togetic decides to keep them all for herself, and gloats about having nailed Morrison’s recipe perfectly, despite her own winces and stomach pains over how poorly she’s made them.
