Ash, Misty, and Brock are walking along in the forest and reach what they
think to be the Safari Zone. They hear a loud rumbling, and see a large herd
of Tauros running in front of them. Ash wants to catch one, and tells Pikachu
to attack them. Pikachu is afraid of the huge Tauros, however, and refuses.
Ash then sends out Charmander, and tells him to use his Ember attack.
Charmander is just about to do so, when a Growlithe jumps out from nowhere
and lands on him. The Tauros have run away, and Ash has Charmander use
Flamethrower. The Growlithe uses the same attack at the same time, and both
attacks are deflected. Ash withdraws Charmander and is about to send out
Squirtle, when a girl on a Ponyta stops him. She informs them that he and his
friends are in the Big P Pokémon Ranch, and it is illegal to catch the
Pokémon in it. She introduces herself as Laura Laramie, and says that her
family owns the ranch. The Growlithe pops up, and Laura explains that he
guards the ranch, making sure no one catches the Pokémon there.
Laura shows Ash and his friends around, and they see groups
of all sorts
of Pokémon being attended to by several people. After checking his Pokédex,
Ash asks Laura why she isn't burned by Ponyta's fire mane. She replies that
Ponyta never burns anyone he trusts. Ash reaches out to pet the fire horse,
but Ponyta sets his whole hand afire. Ash quickly douses it using Squirtle,
and Laura laughs, saying that it took Ponyta a while to trust her, too. Brock
tells Misty and Ash how Pokémon breeders love Pokémon from the Big P, as
they
are always a little stronger than other Pokémon. Laura is glad people know
how much work is put into raising the Pokémon. She then invites Ash and his
friends to a party later that night, and tells them that they can stay
overnight and watch the race that is going to occur the next day. When Ash
asks what the race is about, she explains that the Big P ranch has one every
year, and the winner becomes and honorary member of the Laramie family.
Suddenly, a flock of Dodrio run by, followed by a boy on the same type of
bird. The boy brags about how he's going to win, then he rides off, following
the flock. Misty thinks that the boy is a jerk, and Laura explains that his
name is Dario, and that he's a Dodrio trainer.
That night, Ash and his friends walk with Laura through the
party.
Several people wish her luck in the race, and Ash is happy that they met such
a good breeder. Suddenly, Dario runs up, telling Laura that her herd of
Tauros are acting up. Ash and his friends go with her to the pen, and they
see some sort of sparkly thing moving around in the herd, stirring them all
up. Laura sends Growlithe out to see what's wrong, and the Tauros calm down.
The sparkling object darts in front of Ponyta, who rears up, throwing Laura
off and breaking her arm. Ash grabs Ponyta's reins and calms him down,
amazing Laura as to how well he acted. Nearby, hiding behind a silo, Dario
congratulates Team Rocket on how well they did (Meowth's charm was the
sparkling object that was stirring up the Tauros). As it turns out, he has
employed them to ensure that he will win the race and make mega money as part
of the Laramie clan.
Later that night, after Laura's arm is put into a sling,
she sadly says
how she won't be able to race. She then asks Ash to ride Ponyta in the race
for her. Ash is surprised, saying that Ponyta doesn't trust him. Laura tells
him that she knows he can do it, especially since he was able to call Ponyta
down so well earlier. Misty and Brock encourage him, and he agrees. He
reaches out to pet Ponyta, but he gets burned again. Laura scolds Ponyta, and
tells him that if he can win the race with a rider other than her, everyone
will know how truly special he is. Ponyta relents, and allows Ash to climb
onto his back.
The next day, the race is about to begin, and the racers
line up at the
starting line. There are all sorts of racers, from Pikachu on Squirtle, to a
man on an Electrode, to Brock riding Onix. Laura, sitting in the stands with
Growlithe, wishes Ash luck, and the race begins. Dario on a Dodrio pulls out
for an early lead, with the rest soon behind. As they all race through a
field, a pellet is fired at a Tauros. The Tauros bumps into a Nidorina, and
the two start to fight, knocking them out of the race. Team Rocket stands up
from where they fired the pellet, and rush to the next area, a 45 degree
uphill run. Dario still has the lead, but the rest of the pack are not far
behind, except for Squirtle, who is exhausted and slowly trudging up the
hill. On the way down, the Electrode's spherical shape makes it roll faster,
and it starts to pull ahead. Suddenly, he and his trainer fall into a hole
dug by none other than Team Rocket, and Dario again takes the lead. As Ash
and a few other riders ride by, the Electrode uses Explosion, destroying the
area, and knocking out Ponyta and two other racers, a Sandslash and a
Raticate. Pikachu approaches, and shocks Ponyta and Ash back to
consciousness. They start up again, but have a rather large distance between
them and the leader.
The next obstacle is a large lake with stepping stones all
across. Dodrio
quickly runs across, but Rhyhorn and Onix are forced to stop. Squirtle and
Starmie quickly make it across, with Ponyta not far behind. Dodrio reaches
the next obstacle first: a steep decline with bowls of Pokémon food to eat.
Dodrio reaches one, but the three heads start to squabble about who gets to
start first. Starmie, Squirtle, and Ponyta arrive, and start to eat, when
Dario calls to Team Rocket to do they're thing. Black smoke covers the area,
and the people sitting in the stadium can't see a thing on the monitor. As
the smoke clears on the course, Team Rocket finally makes they're presence
known and say their motto. It dawns on Ash that they were the one's who
caused Laura to break her arm, and they apologize, not meaning it, of course.
Ash has Pikachu and Squirtle attack, but they are paralyzed by Arbok's Glare
attack. Starmie is put out of commission by Weezing's Sludge attack, so it's
all up to Ash and Ponyta. Dodrio starts running down the hill, and Ash
figures out how Dario had employed Team Rocket to help him win. Misty tells
Ash to continue on, but Arbok attacks with a Poison Sting. Just as he is
about to contact, Ponyta flares up his flames, frightening Arbok. Weezing
uses his Poison Gas attack, but the flammable gas catches fire and Weezing
blows up, sending Team Rocket blasting off again.
The picture on the monitor finally comes back, and the
spectators see
that Dodrio is still in the lead. They then see a huge ball of flames rapidly
approaching. The announcer tells the audience how the race is just down to
the Ponyta and Dodrio, and Ponyta catches up to Dodrio. He is about to pass
Dario, when he has one of Dodrio's heads peck at Ponyta, making him fall back
again. Suddenly, Ponyta starts to flash, and he evolves into the fastest
Pokémon in the entire world, Rapidash. He catches up to Dodrio once again,
and beats him by a nose, literally. The crowd goes wild, and Dario accuses
Ash of cheating. He has Dodrio attack Rapidash, but he kicks Dodrio, hurling
both Pokémon and rider into the air. The crowd cheers, and Laura praises Ash,
telling him that he'll make an excellent trainer. Rapidash agrees, licking
Ash. Laura tells him to go to the Safari Zone to catch more Pokémon.
Later, Dario yells at Team Rocket, saying that they were
the reason he
lost. Jessie and James give him some suggestions as to how to win next year,
and Meowth adds that Dodrio needs a bath. Dodrio, insulted, starts to peck at
them.
--------------------
Ah yes, this is one of my favorite episodes. I've seen it a total of 13 times, so I KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! =D
Anyways, it starts off with Ash and co. entering what they think is the Safari Zone. Brock spots a herd of Tauros rampaging nearby. After checking his Poke'dex, Ash is about to call on Pikachu, but Pikachu was so scared of the Tauros herd that he just fell asleep. He sends out Charmander to weaken the Tauros for capture, but a Growlithe stops him. When Charmander uses Flamethrower on the Growlithe, it also uses Flamethrower, so neither attack made contact. Ash returns Charmander, and is about to use Squirtle, when a girl on a Ponyta catches him. Her name is Laura Laramie, and she tells Ash that he, Misty, and Brock are in the Big P Poke'mon Ranch, and capturing Poke'mon there is strictly prohibited. She explains that the Growlithe patrols the ranch, making sure that nobody catches the Poke'mon there. She then shows Ash and his friends around the ranch because Misty said that she wanted to see more of it. When Ash checks his Poke'dex about Ponyta, Misty asks why Laura isn't burned by Ponyta's fire mane, and she replies that Ponyta won't burn anyone it trusts. Ash tries to pet Ponyta, but his hand catches fire. He needs Squirtle's help. Laura invites Ash and friends to a party, and Ash accepts. A Dodrio flock appears, followed by a boy named Dario on another Dodrio. He boasts about how he's going to win, and Misty calls him a jerk. At the party, several people wish Laura luck in the race. Suddenly, Dario ( the same guy who was on the Dodrio earlier ) tells Laura that her Tauros are going crazy. She rides to the scene on Ponyta, and sure enough, the Tauros are ramming each other with their horns. Growlithe tries to stop the fighting, and succeeds. Suddenly, a shiny object shoots past Ponyta. Ponyta goes crazy, throwing Laura off. Unfortunately, that broke her arm. Team Rocket is hiding, and are trying to make sure that Dario wins. After Laura's arm is put into a sling, she says that she won't be able to race with only one working arm. But she then asks Ash if he can ride in the race. After a little encouragement from Misty and Brock, he agrees. He touches Ponyta, and gets burned...again. Misty says,"I guess Ponyta's not too cool with this..." After some convincing from Laura, Ponyta allows Ash on his back. When he climbs on, he doesn't get burned! Ponyta trusts him. In his excitement, Ash loses his balance, causing Ponyta to start running. He grabs Ponyta's tail, and holds on for dear life. What if he was like that in the actual race?
Who's that Poke'mon?: It's Ponyta!
When the racers line up at the starting line, Laura wishes Ash luck, and they're off! Dodrio takes the lead. Suddenly, a rock hits a Tauros, making him go berserk. In his craziness he bumps into Nidorina, and the two start to battle each other. They're out of the race. James of Team Rocket had used a slingshot to hit the Tauros, and says he got a bulls eye. Jessie points out that he got a bulls eye or close, because the rock didn't hit Tauros exactly on the eye. Get it? Anyways, the first real test is a steep uphil climb. Dodrio is still in the lead, but the rest of the racers are not far behind, excluding Squirtle and Pikachu, who are exhausted. On the steep downhill, the Electrode's round shape makes it roll faster, so it passes Dodrio. But not for long---it falls into a hole. As Ponyta passes the Electrode explodes, knocking out Ash and Ponyta. Luckily, Pikachu was able to shock Ash and Ponyta back to consiousness, just like he tried to in Poke'mon The First Movie. The next obstace is a lake dotted with stepping stones that the racers must use to cross the lake. Dodrio zips right across, but Rhyhorn's weight is too much for the first stone. It sinks. Onix and his rider, Brock, lose courage. The announcer says, "Too bad, folks! Rock Poke'mon can't deal with water, so Onix is outta here!" Squirtle and Starmie make it across easily because they're Water types. Even though Ponyta is a Fire type, it makes it across without fear, unlike the Rock types. The next part is a series of bowls, all filled with Poke'mon food. The Poke'mon food is not for distracting the Poke'mon, but for recharging their energy. Dodrio makes it to the first one, but its three heads fight over who gets to take the first bite. When Ponyta reaches its bowl of food, smoke covers the area, so the T.V screen loses its picture. Jessie and James appear and say their motto. Ash discovers that they were the ones who caused Laura to break her arm by making Ponyta go wild with Meowth's charm. They appologize, but they don't mean it, as you probably guessed. Arbok uses Glare, putting Squirtle and Pikachu out of commission. Starmie gets defeated by Weezing's Sludge attack. Ponyta scares Arbok by flaring up its flames. In spite of James' protest, Weezing uses Poison Gas. The gas catches fire, and Weezing explodes, sending Team Rocket blasting off again. The picture comes back, and Dodrio is still in the lead. Ponyta catches up, and just as he's about to pass, Dodrio's closest head pecks at him, making him fall behind. Dario is about to cross the finish line... better hurry if you want to win the race for Laura, Ponyta...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... ...... Ponyta evolves into Rapidash!!! Rapidash catches up to Dodrio, and he beats Dodrio by like, 1 inch. Dario is angered, and has Dodrio attack Rapidash, but then something impossibly stupid happens. Rapidash kicks Dodrio, sending Dario and him flying into the clouds. I mean, come ON! The clouds are like FIVE MILES HIGH and Dario and Dodrio combined weigh like THREE HUNDERED POUNDS!! But I guess it is a kids show after all. Laura praises Ash and Rapidash starts to lick him. She tells Ash and co. that the Safari Zone is just ahead, which was where they were headed to. The scene changes and Dario says that Team Rocket was the reason he didn't win. Meowth tells Dario to give Dodrio a bath. Dodrio is offended, and pecks at Team Rocket. To be continued... I'd give this episode a 4.9 out of 5. The only reason it doesn't get a perfect 5 is because that one part where Rapidash kicks Dodrio into the sky is ridiculously absurd. In real life, that would be about as possible as making a house blow up just by picturing the explosion in your head.
<(^_`~)>
Joseph
www.pojo.com