Ash goes outside his house to see a group of people from his neighborhood
about to go somewhere. His mother tells him that they are all going to
Seafoam Island. Misty and Brock wave to him from the line, and tell him
that
they were invited as well. Ash starts to go with them, but his mom grabs
him
by the collar, telling him that he has training to do. They all leave,
leaving Ash alone with Mr. Mime. Ash gets bored, and heads over to
Professor
Oak's lab. He sees the professor clutching his head, and asks him what's
up.
He tells Ash that he's being trying to figure out the mystery behind
Slowpoke's evolution into Slowbro. He tells Ash that the Pokédex doesn't
have
the answer to the mystery, but then gets an idea. He tells Ash that a
Professor Westwood, the programmer of the Pokédex, might have the answer.
As
he lives on Seafoam island, Ash sets off.
Upon reaching the island, he sees Brock and Misty
windsurfing and waves
to them. They're both surprised to see him there, and Misty falls off her
board. A few minutes later, Brock and Misty walk with Ash to Professor
Westwood's lab. He lets them inside and shows them around. He tells them
that
he is the fifth of a long line of Westwoods, and asks them to call him
just
that: Westwood the 5th. He looks at Togepi, and raves over how he's never
seen one like him. He tells them that he only has information on rare Pokémon
that he's made himself. He is, in fact, working on a fictional account at
the
moment, and apologizes to his forefathers. He then explains to Ash and his
friends that he's trying to figure out the mystery behind Slowpoke. Ash
says
that Professor Oak couldn't figure that out either, and Westwood tells
them
that he needs to come up with a theory for the Symposium: a group of
Pokologists.
They go outside, and Westwood starts to fish. Ash asks
him why he's doing
this, and he explains that Slowpoke is one of the few Pokémon that fish.
Ash
uses his Pokédex, which refers to Slowpoke as a Dopey Pokémon. Westwood
tells
them that, while dopey may not be very nice, it pretty much fits
Slowpoke's
mental capacity. Misty asks Slowpoke if he's going to defend himself, but
he
just stares out to sea. Misty notes that the expression on his face looks
familiar and, as if on cue, Psyduck pops out of his Pokéball. Psyduck
approaches Slowpoke, and they start to talk, sort of. A Krabby comes out
of
the water, and pinches Slowpoke's tail. He doesn't react, and Krabby does
the
same to Psyduck. It takes a few seconds, but Psyduck eventually yells out
in
pain. Slowpoke lifts his tail, as he's caught a Magikarp. Westwood invites
them back inside for some lunch.
Meanwhile, down the beach a ways, the Team Rocket Boss
relaxes outside
his mansion, while Persian licks from a saucer of milk. A little ways
away,
Meowth starts to tear up as he looks at the wonderful treatment Persian is
getting. Jessie and James are nearby, digging in the sand. James complains
about how the Boss has been making them do things like swab his yacht and
dig
for clams. He looks out at the people having fun on the ocean, and starts
clawing at the sand in anger. Suddenly, he hits something and pulls it
out.
It's a Shellder, and James attacks it with Weezing, but Weezing is knocked
away. Shellder then uses Ice Beam, just missing Weezing. Weezing nails
Shellder with a Haze attack, and James readies a Pokéball. Jessie steps
in,
however, catching Shellder himself. Their boss calls them over, and tells
them how upset he is with their constant failures. He tells them to break
into Professor Westwood's laboratory, and steal the Pokémon there. They
hurriedly leave.
Back at the laboratory, Misty asks Westwood what
exactly the mysteries
behind Slowpoke's evolution are. He tells them that before a Shellder
clamps
onto a Slowpoke's tail, it has a hinged shell. Afterwards, Shellder gets a
spiral shell. He imagines being a world-famous scientist, and Ash and his
friends stare at him. Suddenly, they hear the sound of a motorboat, and
look
to the ocean to see a parasailer flying around. The rope detaches, and the
parasailers float over to the lab, crashing onto the deck. They thrash
about
underneath the tarp for a few seconds, and Westwood asks what's going on.
At
this, Team Rocket does their motto, tearing off the parachute. They hand
Westwood a piece of paper, and he reads off three mock Pokédex entries
for
Jessie, James, and Meowth. Misty crumples up the paper, and Westwood
starts
to write about the talking Meowth. It dawns on him that Team Rocket is
here
for no good, and dashes into the lab. Team Rocket informs him that all
they
want is his Pokémon, but he says that Slowpoke is the only one he has.
Slowpoke walks in, Team Rocket looks at him. Meowth tells Westwood that
they'll just evolve Slowbro with Jessie's Shellder, and take him to their
boss. Westwood picks up Slowpoke, and dashes outside. He trips, however,
and
Slowpoke falls to the ground. Jessie sends out Shellder, who chases the
now
quite fast Slowpoke around in circles.
Misty prepares to send out Starmie, but Psyduck jumps
out instead.
Shellder clamps down onto Psyduck's tail, who, after a few seconds, runs
around in pain. James sends out Weezing, who starts bouncing on Psyduck's
head. Jessie throws Shellder at Slowpoke, but he ducks and Shellder clamps
onto Psyduck's head. Psyduck yells in pain for a moment, then stops. His
eyes
start to glow, and Brock points out that Psyduck only uses his special
attacks once his headache gets really bad. Psyduck paralyzes Team Rocket
with
a Disable attack, then floats all of them into the air, including Shellder,
with Confusion. Westwood starts to write in his little notebook, when
Psyduck
suddenly stops. Team Rocket fall to the sand, and Shellder bounces off
Psyduck's head. Westwood tells Slowpoke to thank Psyduck, but he slips on
Shellder's shell, and Shellder clamps onto his tail. Slowpoke evolves into
Slowbro, and Westwood tells Ash and his friends that he is the first
researcher to see this happen. Team Rocket runs up to take Slowbro away,
and
Westwood tells him to attack them. He tells Ash and his friends that
Slowbro
knows a powerful move called Mega Punch, and commands Slowbro to use it.
Unfortunately, Slowbro appears to be suffering from his own attack of
Amnesia, and doesn't remember it. Slowbro remembers, just in the nick of
time, and punches Team Rocket over the horizon.
Westwood starts to furiously writing in his notebook
again, and tells Ash
and his friends that he's figured out the mystery. He tells them that it's
"mutually beneficial," meaning it's helpful for both Pokémon.
He tells them
that a Shellder's weight helps balance Slowbro's body out, giving it the
ability to use it's upper appendages. Shellder can now travel on land
since
he's clamped onto Slowbro's tail.
Later, Ash and his friends leave the lab, and Misty
tells Ash that he
wasted a whole day of training. Ash tells her, however, that this was
training. Misty notices that Psyduck is looking dejected, and asks him
what's
wrong. Ash figures that it's because he wanted to say goodbye to Slowbro,
and
they go back. They sit and wait as the two Pokémon talk to each other.
Judging by the amount of things they're saying, they're going to be
waiting a
while.
- Review by Trasil