Episode #296 - A Corphish Out of Water
Ash is shining up his PokeBalls and giving his Pokemon a pep talk when his Corphish gets bored and begins to munch on seaweed. Tangled in the seaweed is a rope and it eats this too before Ash can stop it. May is worried that her Wurmple isn't eating. As they try to figure out what's wrong, a robot arm grabs Pikachu! It's Team Rocket in their balloon. Wurmple attaches its String Shot to the balloon and they all pull, but Corphish grabs the web with a claw and it snaps. The balloon goes flying, and Pikachu along with it.
May gets angry at Corphish but Brock says it wasn't it's fault that its claws are sharp. The kids quickly find the crashed balloon and some teamwork by Corphish and Wurmple frees Pikachu. Jessie is outraged and launches into a spiel that her Wurmple is better than May's. Suddenly both Wurmples evolve! May's becomes a Silcoon but Jessie's becomes a Cascoon which looks slightly different. Pikachu sends Team Rocket blasting off, but Corphish collapses with a high fever.
Ash realises he left his PokeBalls back at camp, and decides to hike cross-country to the Pokemon Centre. He leaves with Pikachu and carries Corphish on his shoulders. After a while he stops by a stream to cool off Corphish a bit, but gets chased away by a Shroomish.
At camp, everyone hopes that Ash is okay and talk about Corphish. It means well but needs to learn to control itself.
Meanwhile, Ash needs to cross a river to get to Dewford Town on the other side. However the water is full of Carvahna and he can't get past them. He sees a small boat and begins to row across, but the vicious Pokemon chew the boat to pieces! A nearby bridge is broken in the middle, so Ash has no choice but to wade across, carrying Pikachu and Corphish on a plank above his head. The Carvahna attack him, but his Pokemon manage to keep the Carvanha away long enough for him to reach the other side of the river.
Nurse Joy at the Pokemon Centre says Corphish will be okay, but she doesn't understand why it would eat a rope. Ash can't answer out of embarrassment.
Evening falls at the campsite, and everyone hears the sound of an Aron from down the beach. When they investigate, they find a tape recorder playing the sounds. Cages spring up from the sand and trap them all except for Taillow. Team Rocket appears and they soon see that Ash and Pikachu aren't there, and accidentally get trapped in one of their own cages! There's no way to open the cages from the inside, and the tide is coming in. In a few hours they'll be under water!
By morning Corphish is fine, and Ash is glad. Taillow arrives at the Centre with the tape machine around its neck. A recorded message from Brock explains their predicament! Nurse Joy gives him a ride back in a motorboat, and Corphish breaks the cages just in time.
Team Rocket pretends to be sorry, then attempts to catch Pikachu, only to be sent blasting off by Corphish. Everyone thanks Corphish and it excitedly pummels them with its claws.