DP080

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The Thief That Keeps on Thieving! (Japanese: ヤンヤンマ！ゲット作戦！！ Yanyanma! Capture Operation!!) is the 80th episode of Diamond & Pearl. It first aired in Japan on May 22, 2008 and in the United States on October 18, 2008.

The group meets Tyler who is chasing after a Yanma. They learn that he is a beginning Trainer, just having started his journey. He tells them that he has been running after the Yanma for three days, but the Pokémon constantly escapes. Ash and his friends agree to help Tyler make his first capture, and manage to corner the Yanma...

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

Synopsis

The episode begins with Ash and co. walking by a lake. Dawn admires her new ribbon and Ash is excited for his next gym battle. A Yanma flies by and lands on Dawn's head. It flies over to Ash's head and Dawn checks it on her Pokédex. Yanma flies over to Brock's head and lands briefly before flying away. A trainer named Tyler comes running and asks the gang if they'd seen a Yanma. Ash tells him it went across the lake and Tyler starts running. Ash and co. decide to follow him.

Tyler catches up with the Yanma and sends out his Piplup. Piplup uses Peck but Yanma dodges. Ash and co. arrive and the Yanma uses SonicBoom. Piplup is knocked backwards but gets up and uses Pound. Yanma dodges and uses Steel Wing. Piplup is knocked down and Yanma flies away. Tyler falls on his knees after his failure at catching the Yanma and Piplup feels the same way.

Ash and co. sit with Tyler and start talking. Tyler's Piplup and Dawn's Piplup begin playing and Tyler begins how he first saw a Yanma and wanted it. Dawn continues with her story of catching her first Pokémon, and then Ash continues on with his own. The group decides to help Tyler catch Yanma. The group look for Yanma and Ash's Staravia flies down pointing its wing to where it is. Tyler and Piplup prepare to battle. Piplup makes the first move with Bubble which Yanma dodges. Piplup goes on to use Peck which makes contact with Yanma. Piplup uses Pound and hits Yanma again. Yanma flies up and charges at Piplup with Quick Attack. Piplup charges with Peck and Yanma is sent backwards seeming unable to battle further. Tyler is ready to throw a Poké Ball, but Team Rocket comes up from the lake and performs their motto. Jessie throws a Poké Ball and captures Yanma without any effort. The group is shocked and Team Rocket leaves. Tyler is sad and falls on his knees again.

Piplup comes out of the water, not finding Team Rocket's Magikarp submarine. Tyler remains sad but Ash encourages him and telling him not to give up. Dawn and Brock exchange words with Tyler and he regains his confidence. Another Yanma flies by and everyone agrees that Tyler can catch this one.

Team Rocket are excited to see what Giovanni will do when they give him Yanma. They meet up with Team Rocket's Delibird and give it Yanma's Poké Ball. Team Rocket, in tears for their first capture, waves at an equally shocked Delibird, as it flies off.

The group is searching for the Yanma but have no luck. They set up a table and Ash shows Tyler his badges and Dawn shows him her ribbons. Tyler is impressed with them and becomes inspired to catch Yanma.

Team Rocket is sleeping and Jessie, James, and Meowth are thinking about what the boss will say, believing he'll be happy with Yanma. Meanwhile, Giovanni receives Jessie's Yanma and checks it's attacks on his laptop. One of the grunts reports that Team Rocket has recently captured a large number of Yanma, and therefore there is no need for the Yanma they've just received. Giovanni is asked what he wants to do with the Yanma...

The next day the group is ready to catch Yanma and Brock has set up Pokémon food for it. Team Rocket is freshening up and Delibird returns. It gives them Yanma back without telling them what it is. They open the box and see it's a Poké Ball. Meowth thinks Giovanni has sent them a new, powerful Pokémon which makes his, James's, and Jessie's eyes sparkle imagining the Poké Ball containing a Lucario or a Rampardos. Jessie throws the Poké Ball only to have Yanma come out. Jessie is disappointed and Meowth and James are surprised. Jessie and James start crying as they find Giovanni is too kind to them that he doesn't want to take away Yanma from them. They decide to catch another Yanma for him in return.

Meanwhile Tyler's Piplup uses Peck on another Yanma and knocks it out. Ash tells him to throw a Poké Ball. Tyler is about to, but Team Rocket steps in front of the Yanma. Jessie sends out her Yanma. and Ash sends out Chimchar. Yanma uses Steel Wing but Chimchar dodges and uses Flamethrower. Team Rocket shouts out and Meowth uses Fury Swipes on Chimchar. James sends out Carnivine which bites him on the head as usual. James throws Carnivine and Carnivine uses Bullet Seed. Yanma uses SonicBoom and Chimchar dodges both the attacks. While in midair, Chimchar uses Flame Wheel and hits both Carnivine and Yanma. Jessie is shocked but Yanma recovers and uses AncientPower. Chimchar is hit but recovers quick. Yanma glows white and begins to evolve. Jessie and Meowth are surprised and Yanma becomes a Yanmega. Dawn checks out Yanmega on her Pokédex and Yanmega uses SonicBoom. Chimchar is hit and then Yanmega shoots several more SonicBooms at Ash and co. Team Rocket is happy that they beat the twerps but the wild Yanma gets up and flies away. Team Rocket notice and recall their Pokémon. They set off after the Yanma.

Team Rocket is looking for Yanma and excited about Jessie's new Yanmega. It annoys her, however, when it comes out of its Poké Ball and lands on her head. James checks a card to see what new Pokémon they've obtained. They convinced that it was Giovanni to teach Yanma AncientPower to evolve it. They decide to capture thousands of Yanma with the help of Yanmega for him in return. Brock sets out the Pokémon food again and another Yanma takes the bait. Tyler's Piplup starts the battle with Pound and hits Yanma. Team Rocket appears and Ash sends out Buizel. Jessie has Yanmega use AncientPower, but Buizel dodges and uses Aqua Jet. Yanmega gets hit then Buizel continues with a SonicBoom. Yanmega is thrown backwards and Ash finishes it off with Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Team Rocket is sent blasting off and out of sight.

Meanwhile, Yanma is eating the Pokémon food and Tyler's Piplup uses Bubble. Yanma dodges and uses Steel Wing. Piplup dodges and Yanma goes over the lake. Piplup goes into the lake and swims to gain on Yanma. When it catches up, Piplup uses Peck and hits Yanma. Yanma responds with SonicBoom but Piplup goes back in the lake dodging it. Piplup comes back out of the lake and uses Bubble which hits Yanma directly. Piplup does one more Peck and Yanma falls. Tyler throws a Poké Ball but Yanma pops out. However, Tyler doesn't give up and Piplup uses Peck once more. Tyler throws the Poké Ball again and captures Yanma. Tyler does a pose like Ash and Dawn whenever they catch a Pokémon. Tyler's Piplup dances as Dawn's Piplup congratulates it. Tyler thanks Ash and co. for all their help. The day is near over, and Tyler is about to separate from Ash and his friends. The group exchanges words, Brock gives Tyler some of his Pokémon food, and Tyler leaves. Ash and co. continue on to Pastoria City...

Major events

• Jessie captures a Yanma
• Jessie's Yanma evolves into a Yanmega

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Yanmega
• Jessie's Yanmega

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Brock
• Dawn
• Jessie
• James
• Tyler
• Giovanni
• Team Rocket grunts (Two; one voiced by Kiyotaka Furushima)

Pokémon

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Caterpie (Ash's) (flashback)
• Chimchar (Ash's)
• Buizel (Ash's)
• Piplup (Dawn's)
• Buneary (Dawn's) (flashback)
• Yanma (Jessie's) (newly caught; evolves)
• Yanmega (Jessie's) (newly evolved)
• Carnivine (James's)
• Delibird (Team Rocket)
• Persian (Giovanni's)
• Piplup (Tyler's, nicknamed Pippy Seiyū: こおろぎさとみ Satomi Kōrogi)
• Yanma (Tyler's) (newly caught)

Trivia

• This episode has a similar premise to the episode Wings n' Things, though in that episode the younger Trainer wanted to recapture Yanma.
• This is one of the very few episodes in which Team Rocket successfully capture a Pokémon for Giovanni, although he sends it back to them. However, Yanma was a wild Pokémon at the time of capture, so it hadn't been stolen.
• Jessie capturing Yanma after someone else weakened it echoes how she captured her Shellder (although in that case, it was James and his Weezing that weakened the Pokémon).
• Yanma is captured and evolves in this episode. The only other main character's Pokémon to do this is Ash's Caterpie, who is referred by Ash in this episode. Ash's Primeape also evolved in its debut episode, though in that case, it evolved prior to being captured.
• Two background tracks from Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea are used as music for this episode.
• This episode is one of the few episodes since its trade in which Jessie's Wobbuffet does not appear.
• During the second encounter with Team Rocket, Face Forward Team Rocket! was played.
• This episode contains flashbacks to Ash Catches a Pokémon and Setting the World on its Buneary, the first captures of Ash and Dawn. Brock's first capture, which happened in Clefairy and the Moon Stone, is not recalled, possibly because he didn't start traveling as a rookie and the capture was never seen on-screen in the first place.

• This was one of the few times Meowth fought alongside Jessie's and James's Pokémon, using Fury Swipes on Ash's Chimchar. Meowth normally fights alone or with Jessie and James.
• Instead of Professor Oak's Pokémon lecture, the end of the episode featured a memorial to Jirachi: Wish Maker. This is part of a countdown to Giratina and the Sky's Bouquet: Shaymin.
• This episode marks the first time one of the main character's previous Pokémon got a design change from its original appearance to the updated Sugimori art (Ash's Caterpie's mouth is green, as Caterpie have in the official art from Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen, while Caterpie's mouth was yellow in the original episode).
• The dub title is loosely based on the phrase "the gift that keeps on giving".
• This is one of the rare episodes where the TO BE CONTINUED... sign appears on the top-right corner of the screen.
• Pippy's name is similar to Clefairy's Japanese name, except Clefairy's Japanese name is spelled with an "I" instead of a "Y" (Pippi).
• Ed Paul (who went under the name of Ted Lewis under 4Kids) reprises his role as Giovanni, making him the first returning voice actor to regain one of his roles since the dubbing of the show switched from 4Kids to PUSA.

Dub edits

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