EP082

← EP081 : Pallet Party Panic

Original series

EP083 : Poké Ball Peril →

A Scare in the Air

EP082   ひこうせんはふこうせん！？ Blimp Accident!?

First broadcast Japan February 4, 1999 United States January 8, 2000

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Pokémon World* Ending

Japanese themes Opening ライバル！ Ending タイプ・ワイルド

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 武上純希 Junki Takegami Storyboard 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki Assistant director 鈴木敏明 Toshiaki Suzuki Animation director 志村泉 Izumi Shimura Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

A Scare in the Air (Japanese: ひこうせんはふこうせん！？ Blimp Accident!?) is the 82nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on February 4, 1999 and in the United States on January 8, 2000.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

Ash, Brock and Misty prepare for their long journey to Valencia Island to bring back a mysterious Poké Ball for Professor Oak. After discovering that the trip will take a month to get there, Ash manages to win a free blimp ride so it will take only a day! Once on board, they realize the blimp is being powered by Team Rocket! And things only get worse from there!

Plot

As they prepare to depart for Valencia Island, Ash and his friends pick up supplies at a grocery store. Ash suggests walking to the island, but Brock's guidebook says that it will only take less than a day traveling by blimp. While the blimp arrives, two men sponsor a contest where the winner gets a prize just by showing their store receipt to them. Ash shows his receipt and wins a free trip on the blimp, leaving his friends dumbfounded. Meanwhile, Team Rocket receives an assignment from Giovanni to join the organization's Dirigible Brigade, and their duties include operating a blimp. Unbeknownst to them, it is a scheme to get rid of the trio, since Giovanni only maintained the blimp's insurance policy and not its integrity for decades.

Ash and the others reach the blimp yard and see a broken-down blimp. Two men approach them and warn that the blimp is haunted. Jessie and James, disguised as an air-hostess and pilot, respectively, push the engineers out of the way, and push the group on board. Jigglypuff appears and notices a lever that resembles a microphone. As it jumps to sing into it, it unexpectedly causes the ballast water to be released, and the blimp begins to soar into the sky. Jigglypuff finds its foot tangled in some rope and is also carried off.

Once on board, the group notices how deteriorated the blimp truly is. Meanwhile, Meowth fixes dinner while Jessie and James act as waiters. When Ash complains about the ride, Jessie and James find out from Meowth that no one is flying the blimp. The pair desperately tries to commandeer the blimp, but they fly it into a big storm. Suddenly, Misty notices that Togepi is missing. They set out to find it in the inflated portion of the blimp, where they encounter what they believe to be a ghost. However, it is actually revealed to be Jigglypuff covered in a white sheet.

Eventually, Ash and his friends meet up with Team Rocket and begin a Pokémon battle. At one point, Brock's Geodude throws James's Weezing through the blimp, causing it to rip apart. Misty finally spots Togepi on a high ledge, so Ash has Bulbasaur try to grab it with its vines. Team Rocket takes the opportunity and attempts to steal Pikachu, but their plan is thwarted when the blimp hits a pocket of turbulence, forcing them to fall out of the aircraft. Meowth makes a parachute from some of the blimp's fabric, but Jigglypuff lands on top of it and starts to sing. They fall asleep, and Meowth lets go of the fabric, causing the trio to fall into the ocean and drift away.

Ash and the others rush to take control the blimp and try to land it. Using their Pokémon as counterbalances, they are able to steer the blimp and crash-land it on Valencia Island. Now safely on land, they continue to Professor Ivy's lab to obtain the mysterious Poké Ball.

Major events

• Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket leave Kanto and travel to the Orange Archipelago, arriving on Valencia Island.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series, please see the timeline page.

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni
• Convenience store workers
• Mother and daughter
• Airport employees

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Vulpix (US and international), Daruma doll (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Squirtle (Ash's)
• Staryu (Misty's)
• Psyduck (Misty's)
• Onix (Brock's)
• Geodude (Brock's)
• Zubat (Brock's)
• Vulpix (Brock's)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Weezing (James's)
• Persian (Giovanni's)
• Jigglypuff (anime)

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture:
  • Pokémon senryū summary: Lickitung; a stretching and contracting, long tongue.
• The dub of this episode was renamed "Spirits in the Sky" after the September 11 attacks. However, this may have only been temporary, as Cartoon Network reruns keep the original dub title. It also remains unchanged on the official Pokémon website, both on the title card in the episode and the title on the website.
  • This episode's renamed dub title is a reference to the Norman Greenbaum song "Spirit in the Sky".
• Meowth's song is to the tune of "On Top of Old Smoky".
• This is the first English episode of the 2000s.
• This episode's title is formatted as A Scare In The Air on the DVD menu of Australian DVDs.
• This is the first English episode of the 21st century.

Errors

• This episode, Pallet Party Panic, and Poké Ball Peril use the Pokémon Theme instead of Pokémon World as the opening in the Kids' WB! and Cartoon Network airings, the Netflix and Pokémon TV video-on-demand, and Australian DVD releases. However, the US DVD releases use Pokémon World.
• When Jessie and James empty water from the blimp, outside camera shots of the blimp occasionally show any water being expelled.
• The blimp in this episode has a rigid metal framework, which would make it a Zeppelin, not a blimp.
• When the blimp crashes at the end, it turns to more of a yellow color.
• In the first scene, when Brock and Misty are at a convenience store, the sign outside says "convinience".

Dub edits

• Pikachu's Jukebox: Viridian City

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		飛行船是不幸船？
Czech		Hrůza ve vzduchu
Danish		Luftens vovehalse
Dutch		Angst in de Lucht
European French		Y a-t-il un pilote dans le dirigeable ?
German		Flug des Grauens
Hebrew		פחד באוויר Pakhad ba'avir
Hindi		हवाई गुबबरे मे डरावणा सफर! Havai Gubbare me Daraavna Safar! *
Hungarian		Légi riadalom
Italian		Il dirigibile fantasma
Norwegian		Luftens skrekk
Polish		Strach ma wielkie oczy*
Portuguese	Brazil	Susto no Ar
	Portugal	Um Susto no Ar
Romanian		O Sperietură în Aer
Russian		Воздушные страсти
Spanish	Latin America	Un susto en el aire
	Spain	Susto en el aire
Swedish		Ett luftskepp kommer lastat
Turkish		Gökyüzünde tehlike

← EP081 : Pallet Party Panic

Original series

EP083 : Poké Ball Peril →

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.