A Shadow of a Drought - Recap

In the last episode, Ash captured a Cyndaquil, and his hopes burned brightly. Now it is the sun's turn as Ash and co. walk on the road in the scorching heat. Brock notices that all the plants are shriveled up from the intense heat. Ash says that he will shrivel up too if he doesn't get water. Misty finally gets an idea. She sends out Staryu and tells it to use Water Gun on them. Staryu shoots out water in the air, and sprinkles of water fall on Misty, Brock, and Pikachu. Ash sends out Squirtle who shoots water directly in Ash's face.

Team Rocket is also dragging along in the heat. Jessie and James state that they would do anything for some water. Meowth takes out the cantene and drinks some water from it. Jessie and James want some water too. Meowth gives Jessie the cantene, but there's nothing left in it. Jessie is about to kick Meowth when James and Meowth see a well. All three of them run towards the well. Jessie thinks Meowth should do the honor of pumping the lever. Jessie and James are ready to drink from the well. Meowth begins pumping and out of the pump comes sand and dirt. The well has ran dry. James states that there has to be water somewhere in the desert. Meowth pulls out his divine rods. Meowth explains that they can use the rods to search for an underground spring. Jessie and James follows Meowth with their shovels. Meowth finds a spot, and Jessie and James begin digging. Moments later, Jessie and James grow tired from digging. Meowth, prepared as usual, takes a remote and pushes a button. A gigantic Diglett robot emerges from the ground. Team Rocket goes inside the robot, and they begin to dig underground using their robot.

The robot falls and crashes into an opening. Team Rocket gets out of their robot. James uses his flashlight to locate a pool of water. Team Rocket runs towards the water, and they take a long drink from it. Suddenly, a bunch of red eyes begin to glow. Team Rocket is now scared, and they stand very still. James points his flashlight at a pair of eyes, and he finds out that they are only Slowpoke. Meowth finds a sign and signals Jessie and James to come over. Jessie reads the sign out loud. They find out that the Slowpoke have the power to make it rain during droughts by yawning. Because the nearby town probably needs water, Team Rocket decides to capture the Slowpoke and charge the town to make it rain. Team Rocket tries to capture the Slowpoke with their bare hands, but the Slowpoke are very slippery.

Ash and co. walk on a bridge. They notice that the riverbed is all dried up. Brock points to a nearby town which happens to be Azalea Town. Ash wants to go to the gym first so that he can win another badge, but Misty thinks they should deliver the GS Ball first. Both of them fight over what they want to do first until Brock interrupts them. Brock reads a sign that says the Pokémon gym is closed until further notice due to the drought. Ash sighs and decides to deliver the GS Ball first.

Ash and co. walk into town. They keep on seeing the same signs that having drawings of a Slowpoke all over town. They also notice lots of Slowpoke laying around in town. Ash wonders what all the Slowpoke are doing in town. He accidently steps on one of the Slowpoke. The Slowpoke doesn't feel the pain, and Ash and co. continue walking through town. Then they hear one of the Slowpoke behind them. It's the same Slowpoke that Ash stepped on. Misty realizes that Slowpoke must've just realized that its tail was in pain. Suddenly, a bunch of townspeople crowd around Ash and co. They are angry because Ash hurt a Slowpoke. Ash and co. run away, and the townspeople chase after them.

Ash and co. wonder what they should do. They see a Slowpoke from behind a bush calling them over. The Slowpoke talks and tells Ash to put Slowpoke costumes on. Ash and co. hears the townspeople coming towards them, so they decide to put the Slowpoke costumes on. Now that Ash and co. look like the Slowpoke, the townspeople can't find them. Thinking that they scared Ash and co. off, the townspeople walk away. Ash and co. thanks the man for saving them. The man tells Ash and co. that the townspeople treat the Slowpoke like gold, which is why they were angry at Ash and co. The man tells them a story about how a Slowpoke saved Azalea Town from a drought many years ago. That's why the Slowpoke in Azalea Town are treated with great respect. The man then realizes that he has to do something important and he runs off.

The man runs inside the Slowpoke Well. He sees the Slowpoke getting attacked by Team Rocket. The man accidently hurts his back when he tries to save the Slowpoke. Team Rocket notices the man, but they think he's a Slowpoke, so they attack him. Meanwhile, Ash and co. begin searching for Kurt. They ask a girl if she knows where Kurt lives. The girl points to the house right next to them. Ash rings the doorbell, but no one answers. The girl tells them that Kurt went to the Slowpoke Well because he heard a funny noise coming from it. The girl says that she is Kurt's granddaughter.

Ash and co. find an entrance to the Slowpoke Well, and they walk inside. They find the same man in the Slowpoke costume laying on the ground. He tells them that a robot is capturing the Slowpoke. Ash and co. see the robot. Team Rocket has just thrown a net over some of the Slowpoke, and then they say their motto. Then Meowth presses a button, and three more nets shoot out, capturing more Slowpoke. The man wonders what Team Rocket will do with the Slowpoke. Team Rocket tells him that they plan on stealing the Slowpoke, then they plan on selling rain to the townspeople. The man tries to get up, but his back still hurts. He tells Ash to save the Slowpoke.

Ash slides down the hill. He orders Pikachu to use Thundershock. Before Pikachu can use the attack, James tells Ash that the ground is all wet, and that the electric attack may shock all the Slowpoke. Ash tells Pikachu to stop the attack. Then Ash sends out Heracross. He tells Heracross to stop the robot. The robot heads straight for Heracross. Heracross picks up the robot and tosses it in the air. The robot fires a missile towards Heracross. Heracross gets hit by the missile, so Ash returns Heracross back into its Pokéball. Now that Team Rocket has all the Slowpoke they need, they dig another hole to escape.

Suddenly, one of the Slowpoke speak. The rest of the Slowpoke begin moving towards the outside. The Slowpoke slowly move towards the top of a cliff. When the Slowpoke get there, they all yawn. Storm clouds begin to form, and rain pours down from the sky. All the townspeople are happy that it's finally raining. The Slowpoke Well gets flooded with water. The water flows down the hole that Team Rocket dug, and Team Rocket gets washed away by the water. The rain soon stops. Team Rocket is blown out of the cave. They land back outside right in front of Ash and co. and the Slowpoke. Pikachu uses its Thunder attack, and Team Rocket blasts off again.

The Slowpoke that Team Rocket captured soon join the Slowpoke on the cliff. Brock wonders if the Slowpoke really made it rain. Ash and Misty think they did. Kurt says that the world of Pokémon is full of mysteries. All of Azalea Town is back to normal. The man thanks Ash and co. for helping the town be restored. Misty tells the man that they are looking for someone named Kurt. The man takes off his costume and tells them that he is Kurt. This is a definite surprise to Ash and co.



Share this article with your friends