JN003

This article is about an episode of the Pokémon anime that has not been dubbed into English. As such, its coverage may contain romanized Japanese names, rather than dub names.

(Japanese: フシギソウってフシギだね？ Fushigisou, Isn't it Mysterious?) is the third episode of the new series, and the 1,088th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on December 1, 2019.

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

Plot

The alarm sounds, though neither Go or Ash are keen to get up for their first full day at the Sakuragi Institute. Mimey enters the room and wakes the boys up with his mime vacuum, before showing them to their banquet breakfast. As they tuck in, Professor Sakuragi, his daughter Koharu and her Yamper greet them. Koharu prepares Yamper's meal before leaving hurriedly for school.

Later, Ash and Go join Professor Sakuragi in his laboratory. Renji apologizes for being late, blaming the delay on his bus. Sakuragi’s other assistant, Kikuna, promptly reveals that an outbreak of Ivysaur are responsible for the chaos across Vermilion City. Go declares that this will be their first mission as research fellows, and Ash agrees. Professor Sakuragi promptly hands Ash a smartphone, and orders Go to take his out before calling out a pair of Rotom. The Rotom promptly enter Ash and Go's smartphones, transforming the devices into Rotom Phones. Meanwhile at Team Rocket HQ, Giovanni orders Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet to unleash their evil and chaos onto the world, and make Team Rocket known to the world. The quartet happily agree to the task.

Ash and Go, meanwhile, spot Officer Jenny as she directs traffic around the traveling Ivysaur hordes. Go takes the opportunity to scan the Ivysaur with his phone’s Pokédex function, but he is left wondering why the Ivysaur are in the city. Officer Jenny admits she cannot explain the Ivysaur, but reveals another problem – the Team Rocket trio. Go reveals that he has heard of the Pokémon stealing organization, but questions the validity of the reported talking Meowth. Ash replies that most people would assume so, but he knows otherwise. Officer Jenny orders the boys to be on alert as the trio have been reportedly sighted in the Vermilion vicinity.

Nearby, the crash-sound of an Ivysaur attacking a wall attracts Go and Ash’s attention. Ash steps forward to help it, but Go grabs his wrist to stop him from intervening. Ash, however, rubbishes Go’s sentiments and prepares to hoist the Ivysaur over the wall. Ivysaur instantly responds by tackling Ash to the ground, which Go notes only proves his point. Ash disagrees, causing Go to reconsider his friendship with Ash. Go instead decides to investigate for himself, much to Ash's chagrin. The boys watch as Ivysaur changes its approach, using Vine Whip to hoist itself over the wall. Ash and Go both leap into action, attempting to scale the brick wall to pursue Ivysaur. While Ash climbs up easily, Go struggles to grip on. Atop the wall Ash spots a mysterious building, which his Rotom Phone reveals is a Gym currently under construction. Meanwhile, the Ivysaur continues on its way and Go finally makes his way over the obstacle. A Sweet Scent fills the air, and Go admits that it is a sign that Ivysaur will soon evolve.

Continuing to investigate, Ash and Go spot other Ivysaur and some Bulbasaur all walking in the same direction; towards the Gym. Go soon consults his Rotom Phone for information on the under-construction Gym, which reveals that the area was once a grassland where the wild Bulbasaur and Ivysaur would bask in the sun. As they arrive at the construction site, the Pokémon are clearly disappointed. However, the beaming sun overhead spurs the Grass Pokémon into action, and they scale the scaffolding with their Vine Whips. Go tries to explain their actions, but decides to abandon his thoughts and follow Ash up to the building’s top. Go initially struggles to climb, but with the help of Ash, the pair soon reach the top. The Ivysaur’s flower opens as it absorbs the sunlight and a Sweet Scent fills the air once again. To truly understand the phenomena, he suggests they become Ivysaur. Go is stunned by the suggestion, but follows Ash’s example, which helps him to realize the pleasantness of sun baking and the passing breeze. The Ivysaur and Bulbasaur begin to glow, when a net captures and interrupts the mass-evolution phenomena.

Hoisting their catch up to their balloon, the Team Rocket trio proclaim their arrival with a motto recital. Go is shocked to finally come face-to-face with the evil trio and begins taking snapshots to record the talking Meowth. Ash orders the Pokémon be returned, but Team Rocket are keen to make a clean getaway. Seeing this, Ash has Pikachu use Iron Tail to free the stolen Pokémon from the net. Determined to settle an old score, Jessie orders Meowth to land the balloon. As the Rocket trio prepare to take on Ash, a Pelipper delivers a coin-slot vending machine. Jessie and James shove Meowth headfirst into the coin slot, using his golden koban to activate the machine. With a turn of the crank, Jessie and James receive a pair of Rocket-branded Poké Balls. Jessie and James are impressed by the Boss’s choices as they call out a Tyranitar and Gyarados onto the field. Pikachu dodges Gyarados's Ice Fang and Tyranitar’s Fire Fang. He replies with an Electroweb, but the attack fails to hold back an oncoming Hydro Pump and Dark Pulse combo. Pikachu sprints into action with Quick Attack, striking both of his opponents in the forehead. Gyarados lashes Pikachu with an Aqua Tail and Tyranitar's Stone Edge hits its mark.

Ash rushes to Pikachu's side while Go stands there, unable to attack as he doesn't have any Pokémon. Jessie and James prepare to deal the final blow, but the Ivysaur step up and launch a combined Solar Beam onslaught. Ash thanks the Ivysaur for helping. As Tyranitar and Gyarados charge up a their Hyper Beam attacks, Ash and Pikachu step in front of the Ivysaur to protect them from the anticipated powerful attacks. Ash orders a Thunderbolt, which combats the oncoming Hyper Beams and sends Team Rocket blasting off. Experiencing Pikachu's power once again, Jessie and her teammates agree to resume their original plan – to steal Pikachu.

Go and Ash return their attentions back to the Ivysaur as they evolve into Venusaur. The newly-evolved Venusaur promptly unleash pollen into the air, causing the buds across Vermilion City to bloom into flowers. The young Bulbasaur follow suit, all evolving into Ivysaur. Go realizes that the former grassland’s notable wind is the reason why the Bulbasaur-line frequent the spot. The impressive phenomena leads Ash and Go to conclude that Pokémon are awesome. Go also admits that Ash and Pikachu are cool, but Ash doesn’t hear the compliment. The research fellows return to the Sakuragi Institute, where the Professor is impressed by the findings on Venusaur's pollen. Ash and Go conclude the day was great, with Ash simply glad to have made friends with the Venusaur. On hearing about "friends", Go asks Ash if he will be his friend. Ash admits that they are already friends. Yamper's bark interrupts, announcing Koharu's return from school. The boys chuckle among themselves as Koharu explains that she is late because had to clean up after all of the school's flowers bloomed at once. Sakuragi declares the "Ivysaur march" phenomena is no longer a mystery, while Ash and Go look forward to their next adventure.

Major events

• Renji and Kikuna are formally introduced.
• Ash receives a smartphone from Professor Sakuragi.
• Professor Sakuragi's two Rotom enter Ash and Go's smartphones, turning them into Rotom Phones.
• Go meets Team Rocket for the first time.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Rotom (Rotom Phone)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Go
• Koharu
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni
• Officer Jenny
• Professor Sakuragi
• Kikuna
• Renji
• Worker (image)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Ivysaur (Japan)

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
• Yamper (Koharu's)
• Rotom (Professor Sakuragi's; Rotom Phone; ×2; debut)
• Mr. Mime (Delia's; Mimey)
• Growlithe (Officer Jenny's)
• Gyarados (Team Rocket's)
• Tyranitar (Team Rocket's)
• Pelipper (Team Rocket's)
• Bulbasaur (multiple)
• Ivysaur (multiple)
• Venusaur (multiple)
• Machop (Worker's, image, multiple)

Trivia

• Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: Venusaur
• An illustration of this episode was drawn by Hitoshi Ariga.
• A segment called Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!! replaces the Poké Problem segment in this episode.
• The Gym under construction highly resembles the Gyms found in Pokémon GO.
  • The construction site is likely also a reference to the construction site seen in Vermilion City in the games.
• Go, Ash, Go's Rotom Phone, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.

Errors

• The Team Rocket capsule containing Poké Balls disappears for the rest of the scene after Jessie and James send out Gyarados and Tyranitar, respectively.
• In one scene near the end, Ash and Go have their backpacks on even though they aren't supposed to be at this point.

Dub edits

In other languages

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