EP185

← EP184 : All That Glitters!

Original series

EP186 : UnBEARable →

The Light Fantastic

EP185   テッポウオのそら！ Teppouo's Sky!

First broadcast Japan February 15, 2001 United States December 15, 2001

English themes Opening Born to Be a Winner Ending

Japanese themes Opening OK! Ending ぼくのベストフレンドへ

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 首藤剛志 Takeshi Shudō Storyboard 岩崎太郎 Tarō Iwasaki Assistant director 岩崎太郎 Tarō Iwasaki Animation director はしもとかつみ Katsumi Hashimoto No additional credits are available at this time.

The Light Fantastic (Japanese: テッポウオのそら！ Teppouo's Sky!) is the 185th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on February 15, 2001 and in the United States on December 15, 2001.

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

Synopsis

The episode begins with Ash and friends traveling alongside a dried up river, and while taking a rest they notice a strange light above the Remoraid Mountain. As they continue traveling, the light disappears as they arrive at the ruins of the Ancient Colossal Tree Tribe where they find Nurse Joy and a Remoraid fossil. Nurse Joy explains that there haven't been any Remoraid in the area for centuries ever since the rivers and lakes dried up as a result of the actions of the Ancient Colossal Tree Tribe's Remoraidians who cut down the surrounding forests for the sake of building a large city. Eventually after all the land's natural resources dried up, the Remoraidians had to to move away to find a new place to live, leaving the city deserted. Following this explanation, Nurse Joy then points out that recently, small flowers have been growing in the arid landscape again. After arriving at the Pokémon Center and having a drink, Nurse Joy reveals that there's an underground lake near the Pokémon Center which is filled up when water flows through the empty river bed approximately every 12 years. It is at this point that they meet Mr. Gan Gogh, an artist who visits once every 12 years to try and draw the Rainbow Lights.

Gan Gogh originally came across the Rainbow lights 24 years ago and he tried to draw them using 7 different crayons, he was unable to get it right though. So 12 later he tried using 12 crayons instead, which also was a futile attempt. However, this time he made sure to come prepared with a full arsenal of 251 crayons. Ash comments on how he saw the Rainbow Lights earlier before arriving at the Pokémon Center, which results in Gan Gogh asking Ash where he saw the lights from. When Nurse Joy subsequently maps out where the lights must come from, it is determined that their origin is as the place formerly known as Remoraid Lake. Brock then brings up a legend he heard about the Remoraid at the lake being very difficult to catch, resulting in Misty asking how can Template:Type2 Pokémon be living in an empty lake anyway. After this question is posed, Team Rocket arrive posing as archaeologists, with Meowth disguised as a Mummy. After this unexpected arrival, the lights suddenly appear in the sky again, however are gone before Gan Gogh has time to choose a crayon to start with.

Following this, Ash, Misty, Brock, Gan Gogh and Team Rocket all decide to go examine the cause of the lights over at Remoraid Lake, and along the way they notice that there is more plant life the closer they get. Finally upon arrival at the lake they discover a strange crystal-like tower, which Team Rocket decide could have potential monetary worth before discovering it's made of ice. They then decide that since there's nothing better to do, they should go back to their usual plan of stealing Pikachu, which James succeeds in doing by sneaking up from behind and grabbing him with rubber gloves. Ash is ready to battle Team Rocket, however Gan Gogh steps in first with his Venusaur. Gan Gogh's Venusaur easily defeats Jessie's Arbok, retrieves Pikachu and sends Team Rocket blasting off with a SolarBeam.

As the sun rises after the battle, water suddenly starts shooting out of the ground within the lake bed, as a group or Remoraid appear using their Water Gun and Ice Beam attacks to enlarge the ice pillar in the middle of the lake. Misty decides to attempt catching one of the Remoraid, but fails due to them suddenly swarming together as the Poké Ball can't work on more than one Pokémon at once. However, it is proven by Team Rocket who have just returned in their balloon, that Poké Balls aren't the only way to catch Pokémon by using a net instead. This also fails though, as the Remoraid all use their Water Gun to propel themselves higher, breaking a hole in the balloon and escaping from the net as Team Rocket blast off again. As the pillar of ice then starts to melt, the rainbow lights appear in the sky again due to refraction of the sun's rays through the evaporating water vapor as the rivers begin to flow again. Later, Ash comments on how Gan Gogh never got the drawing he was hoping for, however he says that the fond memories that he has of this experience are worth more than any drawing will ever be. And so, our heroes continue their journey as they leave for a new adventure.

Major events

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Remoraid

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Gan Gogh

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Sunflora

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Togepi (Misty's)
• Arbok (Jessie's)
• Venusaur (Gan Gogh's)
• Remoraid (debut)

Trivia

• The English title for this episode is taken from the phrase "Trip the light fantastic."
• Both this episode and EP187 share their names with Discworld books, in this case The Light Fantastic.

In other languages

• French: L'arc-en-ciel
• Italian: Un misterioso arcobaleno
• Latin American Spanish: ¡La luz fantástica!
• Iberian Spanish: La luz mágica

← EP184 : All That Glitters

Original series

EP186 : UnBEARable →

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