| Love, Totodile Style
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おどれワニノコ！あいのステップを！！
Dance, Waninoko! Dance the Steps of Love!!
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First broadcast
| Japan
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June 22, 2000
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| United States
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May 26, 2001
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English themes
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Japanese themes
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Credits
| Animation
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Team Ota
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| Screenplay
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藤田伸三 Shinzō Fujita
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| Storyboard
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椎名ひさし Hisashi Shiina
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| Assistant director
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岩崎太郎 Tarō Iwasaki
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| Animation director
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はしもとかつみ Katsumi Hashimoto
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| Additional credits
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Love, Totodile Style (Japanese: おどれワニノコ！あいのステップを！！ Dance, Waninoko! Dance the Steps of Love!!) is the 153rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on June 22, 2000 and in the United States on May 26, 2001.
Blurb
Ash's Totodile falls head over tail for a passing Azumarill, but is still unsuccessful in having its feelings requited when Team Rocket kidnap the Pokémon before Totodile's eyes.
Plot
En route to Goldenrod City, Ash and his friends stop at a lake. Misty lets out all her Pokémon so they can swim, but Psyduck has to be quickly rescued after it becomes panicked. Ash releases Totodile too; it spots some Magikarp and uses its Water Gun to toss them into the air. As everyone is having lunch, Totodile sees a female Azumarill sitting on the shore and singing. Totodile is immediately in love and runs over to dance in front of the Azumarill. She isn't impressed, however, and blasts him with a Water Gun. Azumarill then walks away, but Totodile follows her. At the table, the group sees a Golduck in the bushes. Misty wants to catch it, but Brock urges her to wait since it seems to be looking for something. Shortly after, Golduck’s Trainer, Trixie with a Pidgey on her shoulder, comes along looking upset. Brock is immediately overcome with his emotions and professes his love for Trixie, but Misty soon pulls him away. Ash apologizes for Brock’s behaviour before asking Trixie if she has lost something. Trixie replies that she is looking for her Azumarill, and as if on cue, the Azumarill appears and hides behind Trixie's legs. Totodile then comes out of the bushes and blows kisses at Azumarill, but she turns her nose up at him.
Later, they all gather at a circus tent. Trixie explains that she has always enjoyed the circus and has taught her Pokémon to do tricks. Lately, she has had trouble with Azumarill, who has been acting strangely ever since Golduck joined the troupe. Brock and Totodile later help set up for a show, then the latter picks up Azumarill and puts her in the pool, only to be blasted with her Water Gun again. Ash doesn't understand why Totodile is acting this way, and Misty tells him that he'll understand when he's older and more mature. Brock cheers Totodile on and encourages him to pursue Azumarill.
When the show starts, Trixie performs a magic act first, then Azumarill comes on and juggles colored balls with her Water Gun. Totodile gets away from Ash and jumps up onto the stage, showing off his own water tricks with fruit tossed to him by the audience. Annoyed, Azumarill storms off, while Ash climbs onstage to try to catch Totodile, but he ends up having to catch the fruit when Totodile runs after Azumarill. Brock promptly reaches a solution to the dilemma: he will teach Totodile to be successful in love. Team Rocket peer inside the circus tent and they plot to steal Azumarill and Pikachu so they can start their own traveling circus and get rich.
Later, Brock starts his lessons with Totodile. He hands Totodile a jar of his homemade Pokémon treats and suggests that Totodile give them to Azumarill. Totodile does so, but is rejected again. Suddenly, a net comes down, captures Azumarill, and drags her away. Totodile chases after Azumarill as Brock watches from the bushes. Brock's yelling alerts Ash and Misty to the situation and soon the culprits, Team Rocket break into their motto as they rise into the sky aboard their balloon. Jessie antagonizes Ash, so he orders Pikachu to use Thunderbolt. However, Meowth shoots out a net and traps Pikachu inside an electric-proof cage. A Smokescreen attack from Weezing allows Team Rocket to escape, but Totodile runs after the departing balloon. Azumarill struggles and loses the ribbon that was tied to her tail. Totodile catches it, and as Team Rocket floats away, Totodile dives into the lake and resumes the chase by water, ignoring Ash and Brock's yells to come back. They soon inform Trixie and following Misty's suggestion, they search the forest on the other side of the lake.
As Team Rocket hides in a log cabin, Jessie and James try to persuade Azumarill to do tricks for them, but she refuses. The trio quickly tire of Azumarill's diva behaviour and resort to using force, but they are stopped by a Water Gun attack from Totodile, who has found them. Meowth promptly muzzles Totodile and ties him up. Night falls and Team Rocket are sound asleep as the three Pokémon remain in their cages. Azumarill looks out the window at the moon and starts to cry, but Totodile gives her ribbon back and cheers her up by dancing.
In the morning, Team Rocket prepares to leave with the new intention of taking the Pokémon to the Boss for a reward. As they lift off in the balloon, they are spotted by Trixie's Pidgey, which pokes a hole in the balloon, and they crash. The cages fall out, and Ash gets Pikachu and Totodile back, but Team Rocket is still holding onto Azumarill. Trixie orders Golduck to use Water Gun, which defeats Weezing and Arbok. Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf slices open the cages, and Totodile uses its Water Gun to knock Team Rocket over so that Bulbasaur can retrieve Azumarill's cage with Vine Whip. Then, Pikachu's Thunderbolt sends them blasting off again.
Bulbasaur slices through the cage with its Razor Leaf attack and frees Azumarill. Brock then urges Totodile towards Azumarill, but she rushes passed him and instead embraces Golduck, much to everyone's surprise. Trixie finally concludes that Azumarill's odd behaviour was because she was actually lovesick over Golduck. Brock offers the disappointed Totodile some advice - that love is still worth fighting for. Before the group departs, Brock flirts with Trixie one last time and has to be dragged away. Ash calls to Totodile, who is sitting on the shore of the lake watching a female Quagsire. He runs to the Quagsire and dances for her, but the charm offensive fails and he gets rejected. Ash is forced to chase after Totodile with his Lure Ball, as he tries to get him to return.
Major events
- For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.
Debuts
Pokémon debuts
Characters
Humans
Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: Furret (US and international), Azumarill (Japan)
Trivia
Errors
- In the English dub, when Misty says that Totodile, who is juggling Magikarp with its Water Gun, is talented, Togepi's mouth and arms move but no sound is heard.
- When Totodile appears from the bushes, and again when Ash kneels down to it when the group first meets Trixie, his eyelids are blue, whereas they are white in the rest of the episode.
- When the group confronts Team Rocket after downing their balloon, Jessie is missing the black part of her shirt and Meowth is missing the brown tip to his tail.
- At night, when Team Rocket is sleeping, there is no shown bottom to Azumarill's cage. Later on, when Jessie is taking it into the Meowth balloon, there is one shown.
- When Ash starts running after Totodile and Quagsire, his mouth moves, but no sound comes out.
Dub edits
- Pokémon Karaokémon: Pikachu (I Choose You)
- Totodile is revealed to be male in the English dub. At the end of the episode, Totodile is seen chasing a female Quagsire and Ash says, "Looks like Totodile found himself a new girlfriend." This is not the case in the original Japanese version.
In other languages
Bulgarian
Czech
Dutch
European French
German
Hebrew
Hindi
Hungarian
Italian
Polish
Brazil
Portugal
Romanian
Latin America
Spain
