New episode title(s) has/have been added to the database. Title: Poppo ya no densho Poppo!/ポッポやのでんしょポッポ！/Carrying On. Please comment below! Thanks, your friendly PM.Net AnimeBot

Characters in Episode: Current Episode Guide Info Correct? [Yes]
Ash, Brock, Pikachu, Misty, Togepi, Ash's Noctowl, Jessie, James, Meowth, Wobbuffet, Malachy, [Ken, Wingy, Flingy, Dingy, Norman, Speedy, Crasher (Pidgey)], Nurse Joy, Jessie's Arbok,

Written Biographies for Characters in Episode:

Ken (Pidgey): {{Char=Denjiro_Poppo}} was injured by a Fearow and {{Char=A-Noctowl}} rescued it. Pidgey fell out of the sky into the nearby forest. {{Char=Ash}} and friends found it on the edge of a cliff and {{Char=A-Noctowl}} went down to get it. Initially the {{Char=Denjiro_Poppo}} was afraid of Noctowl but it used Hypnosis to make it think its a Pidgey. More comfortable now, the two fly up and {{Char=Brock}} bandages its injured wing. {{Char=Misty}} noticed that its carrying something on its back and {{Char=Ash}} decided to take the Pidgey with them in case they find its trainer.

When they arrived in Ecruteak City, {{Char=Ash}} and his friends first met {{Char=Malachy}} as he ran towards them and accused them of hurting his Pidgey. He quickly apologized after he heard their explanation. {{Char=Malachy}} is good friends with his grandfather's Pidgey Ken which is why he was so quick to judge them after seeing its injuries.

{{Char=Denjiro_Poppo}} helped rescue his fellow Pidgey from Team Rocket and recovered from its injuries.

Malachy: {{Char=Malachy}} lives in Ecruteak City with his Grandpa and helps him run his Pidgey Express business. {{Char=Malachy}} wants to become a Pidgey Express man someday but he realizes that it's hard to train the Pidgey, and sometimes they get lost but that isn't a deterrent for him as he loves the Pidgey a lot.

When they arrived in Ecruteak City, {{Char=Ash}} and his friends first met {{Char=Malachy}} as he ran towards them and accused them of hurting his Pidgey. He quickly apologized after he heard their explanation. {{Char=Malachy}} is good friends with his grandfather's Pidgey Ken which is why he was so quick to judge them after seeing its injuries.

When the Pidgey went missing, {{Char=Malachy}} went up in his grandpa's mini blimp to go find them. After {{Char=Denjiro}} saw how well he did in retrieving the Pidgey, he decided that eventually {{Char=Malachy}} would be able to carry on the business.

Malachy's Grandpa: Malachy's Grandpa lives in Ecruteak City with his grandson {{Char=Malachy}}. He runs a Pidgey Express business where Pidgey fly stuff all over the area for more than 50 years. His Pidgey have been trained by him to send packages and newspapers to the islands nearby that don't have regular ferry service. Everybody calls him the 'Pidgey Express man' because he was the one who came up with the idea of carrier Pidgey.

He has dedicated his life to his business and on stormy nights, he didn't sleep until the very last Pidgey returned safely from making its delivery. He would also stay with his Pidgey in their coop when they got lonely and scared and sat with them until they fell asleep. He also missed his son's got marriage and his grandson's birth was born. He's regretted missing a lot of things in his life and he doesn't want his grandson {{Char=Malachy}} to miss those same things.

Since he has spent enough time with his Pidgey's he's able to tell what all of their chirps mean. He also has a mini blimp that he uses to show his Pidgey the routes over and over again until they are familiar with them. He has a lot of Pidgey's but a few of them are named and they are: {{Char=Denjiro_Poppo}}, Wingy, Flingy, Dingy, Norman, Speedy, Crasher.

He explained to {{Char=Ash}} and friends that when he retires he planned to close the Pidgey Express business as well as he cannot compete with airplanes and e-mail. After Malachy's grandfather saw how well he did in retrieving the Pidgey, he decided that eventually {{Char=Malachy}} would be able to carry on the business.

Nurse Joy (Wayaway Island): In the episode Carrying On, {{Char=Joy}} contacted {{Char=Denjiro}} to inform him that she was getting worried about the carrier Pidgey as the medicine she was awaiting still hasn't arrived. After {{Char=Ash}} and his friends along with {{Char=Malachy}} retrieved the Pidgey from Team Rocket, they broght the medicine to {{Char=Joy}} who was glad that she could now use it to heal all the sick and injured Pokémon back to health.

Pokémon in Episode: Current Episode Guide Info Correct? [No]
Fearow, Pidgey, Caterpie, Poliwag, Bellsprout, Geodude, Grimer, Lickitung, Scyther, Ekans, Charizard (Illusion)

Characters Pokémon Attacks used in Episode - Timecode (mm:ss):
- Ash's Noctowl - Hyponsis - 1:42, 2:30, 15:25
- Ash's Noctowl - Gust - 13:37 (Not commanded only shown)
- Ken (Pidgey) - Gust - 13:37 (Not commanded only shown)
- Jessie's Arbok - Poison Sting - 15:13, 15:25
- Ash's Pikachu - Thunderbolt - 17:22

Episode Location: Ecruteak City / Wayaway Island

Episode Highlights:
- Ash and his friends finally arrive in Ecruteak City.
- They rescue a Pidgey from an attacking Fearow.
- They rescue all the Pidgey from Team Rocket who captured them all in order to use them for their own carrier business.

Eyecatch info:
- English dub - Who's that Pokémon? Mewtwo - This Pokémon was created in a lab by Team Rocket scientist!
- Japanese - Dare da - Poppo - {{Char=Denjiro_Poppo}}

Number of Times Team Rocket Blasted off in the episode: 1, Pidgey pop the balloon.

Team Rocket Balloon Enhancements: Pidgey retrieval system with Nimble Nimbus Instant Cloud Cover Machine - The Pidgey retrieval system consists of a remote controlled vaccum that sucks up the Pidgey into a bag below the Team Rocket balloon. The system also included a metal box with exhaust pipes that would create clouds to completely cover the entire balloon. Unfortunately the Nimble Nimbus Instant Cloud Cover Machine had a side effect that made it hard to breathe and caused Team Rocket to choke.
- Imageboard Thread with Balloon Enhancements Images: http://www.pocketmonsters.net/imageboard/thread/2350

Did Team Rocket use a Mecha in the episode?: No

Did Team Rocket use a motto variation in the episode?: No

Episode Extras:
- Okido Lab - Arbok
- Okido Senryu - アーボック みすめてーびれて　へびにらみ


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Ash and his friends continue their journey to Ecruteak City when suddenly a strange sound suddenly directs their attention skyward. A wild Fearow is chasing a Pidgey as it tries its hardest not to get hit by its pecking beak. Ash sends out his Noctowl to help the Pidgey. It used Hypnosis on the Fearow and scared it away after it thought it was a Charizard using Flamethrower. Suddenly, the Pidgey falls out of the sky into the nearby forest.

Ash and friends find it on the edge of a cliff and Ash's Noctowl goes down to get it. Initially the Pidgey is afraid of Noctowl but it once again uses Hypnosis to make it think its a Pidgey. The two fly up and Brock bandages its injured wing. Misty then notices that its carrying something on its back and Ash decides to take the Pidgey with them in case they find its trainer.

Finally they've arrived in Ecruteak City and Brock suggests they go to the Pokémon Center to see if anyone there knows who the Pidgey's trainer is. Misty then looks up in the sky and notices that there are a lot of Pidgey flying in the sky. Ash also notices that they are all carrying something as well. A boy comes yelling down the street and then acuses Brock and his friends of injuring his Pidgey Ken. Brock then explains the situation with the Fearow attacking it and how they bandaged it up.

The boy then explains that the Pidgey isn't his but instead it's his grandpa's carrier Pidgey. He explained that the Pidgey fly stuff all over the area for more than 50 years as his grandpa's been sending packages and newspapers to the islands nearby that don't have regular ferry service. Everybody here calls his grandpa the Pidgey Express man because he was the one who came up with the idea of carrier Pidgey.

Malachy introduced himself to Ash and his friends and they introduced themselves to Malachy. Nearby, a camera appears from the sewers as Team Rocket had been watching Malachy and hearing his explaination about the carrier Pidgey's. They realize that they are a great source of money and all they need to do is steal them and they are in business. James gets out his net and is prepared to go get Ken but Jessie quickly stops him and tells him that one Pidgey is pointless and that they need to get them all instead.

Malachy takes Ash and his friends to the Pidgey express building where he lives. They then visit the Pidgey coop where his grandpa was instructing his Pidgey where to go. After Malachy explained what happened to Ken, Malachy's grandpa invited Ash and his friends for some refreshments. His grandpa then explained the process of training his Pidgey. He also explained to Ash and friends that when he retires he planned to close the Pidgey Express business as well as he cannot compete with airplanes and e-mail.

Ash and friends went back to the Pidgey coop where Malachy was cleaning up. Nurse Joy then contacted Malachy's grandfather to inform him that she was getting worried about the carrier Pidgey as the medicine she was awaiting still hasn't arrived. He also got concerned as it had been three hours and his Pidgey haven't delivered their packages yet. Malachy decided he'd go find them in the blimp and Ash and his friends came along. Malachy told his grandpa to stay there incase the Pidgey came back but his grandpa worried about his safety.

Ash sent out his Noctowl to go find the missing Pidgey and Ash instructed Malachy to follow Noctowl. Team Rocket had spent the day collecting the carrier Pidgey with their Pidgey retrieval system. While collecting the Pidgey, Meowth spotted Ash and his friends. The Pidgey retrieval system consists of a remote controlled vaccum that sucks up the Pidgey into a bag below the Team Rocket balloon. The system also included a metal box with exhaust pipes that would create clouds to completely cover the entire balloon. Brock tried looking for the Pidgey but didn't notice anything unusual. Noctowl and Ken both could sense the Pidgey nearby but with the Team Rocket balloon looking like a cloud, Brock still couldn't find anything.

Ken and Noctowl went to a cloud and then used gust on it to reveal Team Rocket and their balloon. Team Rocket do their motto while coughing throughout it. Jessie sends out her Arbok but its appears in midair and then begins to fall but they catch it by the tail before it gets too far away. It then uses Poison Sting as Team Rocket holds on to it. Noctowl uses Hyponsis on Team Rocket who then falls asleep and starts drifting away. Ken and Noctowl start pulling at the bag and manage to rip some holes in it so the Pidgey could all escape. With all the Pidgey out of the bag, all the Pidgey are mad and Team Rocket tries to get away but Pikachu uses Thunderbolt on them as all the Pidgey poke at the balloon in order to pop it. Team Rocket blasts off again.

Ash and his friends go with the Pidgey on Wayaway Island and give the medicine to Nurse Joy. They then return to the Pidgey Express. After Malachy's grandfather saw how well he did in retrieving the Pidgey, he decided that eventually Malachy would be able to carry on the business. Ash and his friends waved goodbye and wished Malachy good luck.

Episode notes and dub edits have been added to the edits section:
http://www.pocketmonsters.net/episodes/166#Edits

This entire episode was essentially a huge love letter to actor Ken Takakura, though the references got mostly lost in the dubbing process (not that the average non-Japanese viewer would've picked them up anyway). Theres a lot of lines that are just outright changed for seemingly no reason, though the dub generally did a good job replacing the various puns on smoke and clouds with ones that work in English.

Yup, can't say I got any of the references to Ken Takakura, since I don't even know who that actor is.

This is one of the few episodes I remember from back when I used to watch the French dub, years ago.