DP072

← DP071 : Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 1

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP073 : Crossing Paths →

Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 2

DP072   EP538 ポケモンレンジャー！波導のリオル！！(後編) Pokémon Ranger! The Wave-Guiding Riolu!! (Part 2)

First broadcast Japan March 20, 2008 United States November 8, 2008

English themes Opening We Will Be Heroes Ending

Japanese themes Opening Together Ending 風のメッセージ

Credits Animation Team Iguchi Screenplay 藤田伸三 Shinzō Fujita Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 岩根雅明 Masaaki Iwane Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de

Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 2 (Japanese: ポケモンレンジャー！波導のリオル！！(後編) Pokémon Ranger! The Wave-Guiding Riolu!! (Part 2)) is the 72nd episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 538th episode of the Pokémon anime. It aired in Japan in a one-hour special on March 20, 2008, the day that Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia was released. It and DP071 were released on DVD in Japan on June 20, 2008. It aired in the United States on November 8, 2008.

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

Blurb

Pokémon Hunter J has trapped Ash and a kidnapped Riolu in the heart of a blazing forest fire so she can capture Riolu for her client—and Ash is unable to stop her from seizing Riolu and flying away! In another part of the forest, Top Ranger Kellyn recruits some Blastoise to quench the flames, but Ash must rely on Chimchar's Dig to keep him safe. As soon as the coast is clear, Ash sneaks onboard Hunter J's ship and confronts her in person, only to discover that she already knew he was there. Hunter J then ejects Ash from the ship in mid-air, but a timely rescue by Kellyn and Staraptor keeps the show from coming to a premature end.

As Ash and his friends consider their next move, Ash realizes he can use his Aura connection with Riolu to sense its location. Everyone saddles up on some Dodrio and sets off in pursuit, hoping to intercept Hunter J before she can hand off Riolu to her client. They reach Hunter J's rendezvous point, but they're too late: the client has already gotten Riolu, and he leaps on a Fearow and takes off with his prize! While Dawn, Brock, Officer Jenny, and Solana hold off the client's troops, Kellyn and Ash spur on their Dodrio in pursuit.

Kellyn's Dodrio leaps onto Fearow to bring it down, yet it still doesn't convince the client to give up Riolu. He flees into a cave and blocks the path behind him, not realizing that Kellyn can recruit a Donphan to clear the way and Ash can use Aura to find Riolu. The client is finally cornered and knocked out by Pikachu's Volt Tackle, his men are subdued and put in custody. As for Pokémon Hunter J, she escapes to hunt another day, but Riolu is safely headed home to the Paradise Kingdom. So for now, Ash and his friends are happy with a job well done as they continue down the road to Pastoria City!

Plot

Faced with a raging fire and Hunter J flying overhead, Ash orders Buizel use Water Gun to douse the flames, allowing him and Riolu to escape. However J intervenes, freezing Riolu with her laser. Ash picks up the wooden Riolu figurine before he is blasted away by Salamence's Hyper Beam. Hunter J proceeds to retrieve Riolu, storing it aboard one of her land vehicles. Meanwhile, Dawn and Brock help all the wild Pokémon escape the raging forest fires, and Pokémon Ranger Kellyn enlists three Blastoise to use Rain Dance to put out the flames.

Ash escapes J’s clutches and flees to higher ground with the help of Chimchar's Dig. He soon spots J’s airship and sneaks on board. Meanwhile, Hunter J takes a call from her client, who is glad to hear she succeeded in capturing Riolu for him. After verifying that Riolu is in fact real, he agrees to pay J and signs off. Ash rushes into the control bridge, demanding the return of Riolu. J responds by sending out her Drapion which proceeds to grab Ash with its pincers. Hunter J reveals that she was well aware of Ash's intrusion, but wanted to punish him. Pikachu leaps onto Drapion, causing it to flail. Ash follows by kicking Drapion and freeing himself of its crushing grip. J smirks as she opens an ejection hatch below the pair's feet, sending them freefalling. Luckily Kellyn arrives and snatches them to safety using a Staraptor. Ash is disappointed that he failed to rescue Riolu and that J got away. Back on the ground, Kellyn learns from Solana that J's client also escaped.

With J's ship hidden and with no other leads it is left to Ash's unique sense of Aura and Kellyn's abilities as a Ranger to help them find it. Ash and his friends ride Dodrio to get to the rendezvous point, where the client picks up Riolu. After delivering Riolu, J and her troupes leave the client to battle Ash and company on his own. Ash uses Staravia to slash the tires on the truck so the client can't escape. Instead, the client summons his Fearow and flies away with Riolu in hand. Solana and Officer Jenny arrive, offering to take care of the remaining henchmen; Brock and Dawn also join in. The tides of battle quickly change when Solana enlists the assistance of a Trapinch to trap the henchmen and their powerful Pokémon in a Rock Tomb.

Meanwhile, Kellyn and Ash pursue the client using their Dodrio. Kellyn has his Dodrio run across a steep cliff face before leaping atop Fearow and delivering a Fury Attack to hinder the getaway. The client quickly recovers and rushes into a nearby cave with Riolu in hand. He calls on his Aggron to block the cave with Rock Smash. Kellyn sees a Donphan and uses his Capture Styler to have it use Rollout. They knock down the barrier, only to find the tunnels all covered up with more rocks. Ash uses Riolu's Aura connection before using Donphan's Rollout to clear the tunnel on the farthest left leading to the client and Riolu. The client is furious to see that Ash and Kellyn located him. He orders his Aggron to attack, but Donphan counters with Horn Attack. Aggron is sent backwards and knocks over its Trainer, who loses possession of Riolu's case. Ash rushes over and frees Riolu from its glass case. Aggron retaliates with a Hyper Beam, but Riolu strikes back with an Aura Sphere. Using Pikachu's Volt Tackle, Ash is able to knock Aggron out, which pins the client to the ground. Kellyn confronts the client, telling him the jig is up. Meanwhile, Officer Jenny, with the help of Brock and Dawn, have since tied up all the henchmen.

Later, J receives her latest mission. However Team Rocket are determined to get the revenge on the Pokémon hunter. J ignores the trio's motto and drives her airship directly into their Meowth balloon, which explodes as a result and sends Team Rocket blasting off. By evening, Officer Jenny leaves with a van full of criminals and Riolu is happily reunited with its rightful Trainer. Kellyn thanks Ash and his friends for the help and declares mission complete. Riolu's Trainer also offers his gratitude and Ash remembers that he still has the little figure that Riolu owns. He gives it back to Riolu and steps back only to get caught in its Aura communication, as Riolu thanks him for returning its prized possession back.

Major events

• J steals the special Riolu.
• Ash saves Riolu from J and the man J is working for.

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

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Dawn
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Kellyn
• Solana
• Officer Jenny
• J
• J's henchmen
• J's client
• J's client's henchmen
• Riolu's Trainer
• Operators

Pokémon

Japanese DVD art

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Staravia (Ash's)
• Chimchar (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Buneary (Dawn's)
• Pachirisu (Dawn's)
• Ambipom (Dawn's)
• Croagunk (Brock's)
• Salamence (J's)
• Drapion (J's)
• Growlithe (Officer Jenny's)
• Fearow (client's)
• Aggron (client's)
• Golem (client's henchmen's)
• Rhyhorn (client's henchmen's)
• Tyranitar (client's henchmen's)
• Graveler (client's henchmen's)
• Nidoking (client's henchmen's)
• Riolu (Aura Sphere Riolu)
• Dodrio (×4)
• Blastoise (×3)
• Rattata (×6)
• Pidgey (×2)
• Swablu (×2)
• Doduo (×2)
• Budew (×5)
• Spearow (×2)
• Oddish (×14)
• Butterfree (×2)
• Vibrava
• Yanma
• Mankey
• Bellsprout (×4)
• Skiploom
• Nidorino
• Nidoran♀ (×4)
• Nidoran♂ (×2)
• Gloom
• Sandshrew (×2)
• Sunkern (×6)
• Staraptor
• Donphan
• Trapinch

Trivia

• Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia: Capture Styler
• Due to Ash's sensitivity to Aura, which was first introduced in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, he is able to sense Riolu from far distances, making the movie at least partially canon.
• Solana's uniform is different from the one she had in her past appearances. The one she wears in this episode is based on Kate's from Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia.
• Solana's Plusle does not appear in the episode.
• This is one of the few episodes in Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl where the English dub retains all of the Japanese version's music.
• Dawn's Pachirisu uses Discharge, despite the four Pokémon it was up against (Rhyhorn, Nidoking, Graveler, and Golem) being part Ground-type, and therefore immune to Electric attacks.
• Jessie makes the comment that Team Rocket should "Climb every mountain. Ford every stream." This phrase is from The Sound of Music.
• Music from Pokémon 4Ever, Destiny Deoxys, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea is used as background music.
• This episode marks one of the extremely rare instances that Ash intentionally hurts a Pokémon, as he kicks J's Drapion in the face in order to escape from its claws.
• This episode and the previous one were adapted into the book The Lost Riolu.
• This episode marks the final appearance of Solana in the anime.

Errors

• Part of Ash's hair disappears when he is talking to Riolu's caretaker.
• In one scene, a wild Doduo only has one head.
• J's pockets are miscolored in some scenes.

• 

  Ash's missing hair

• 

  The Doduo with one head

In other languages

Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		神奇寶貝保育家！波導的利歐路！！(後篇)
Czech		Pokémonový Ranger a unesený Riolu, druhá část
Danish		Pokémon Rangeren Og den Bortførte Riolu! Del 2
Dutch		Pokémon Ranger En De Ontvoering Van Riolu! Deel 2
Finnish		Pokémon Ranger ja kaapattu Riolu! Osa 2
European French		Pokémon Ranger : L'enlèvement de Riolu! Partie 2
German		Pokémon Ranger: Die Entführung von Riolu - Teil 2
Italian		Pokémon Ranger e il rapimento di Riolu (seconda parte)
Korean		포켓몬레인저! 리오르를 구하라! (제2부)
Norwegian		Pokemon (sic) Ranger og den kidnappede Riolu! Del 2
Polish		Pokémon Ranger i porwany Riolu. Część 2
Portuguese	Brazil	O Patrulheiro Pokémon e o Riolu sequestrado! Segunda Parte
	Portugal	O Ranger Pokémon e o Riolu Raptado! 2ª Parte
Russian		Покемон-рейнджер и похищение Риолу. Часть II
Spanish	Latin America	¡El Policia Pokémon y el rapto de Riolu! Segunda Parte
	Spain	¡Pokémon Ranger, el Secuestro de Riolu! Segunda Parte
Swedish		Pokemon Rangern och den kidnappade Riolu! Del 1

← DP071 : Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 1

Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl

DP073 : Crossing Paths →

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