ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
706: A Maractus Musical!	712: Niji no Kanata e! Marakatchi de Myujikaru!	A (Stupid) Dream Come True			A little shithead tries to overcome economic reality with a musical number	Nah, not even	Small towns built around a single resource/job provider are doomed to die

Today finds an enthusiastic Ash in Driftveil City (already!?!) and desperately charging about in delight, looking for the Pokémon Centre. Cilan and Iris struggle to catch up, asking him what the hell he's doing, and he explains he doesn't want to wait any longer than necessary - he wants his Gym Battle!

As we all get up and start dancing with delight at Ash's new proactive stance, Cilan reveals to Ash that they're.... not in Driftveil City at all. Oh Ash... oh, poor stupid Ash. Apparently after crossing the drawbridge and entering a city he just assumed that he was in Driftveil, but it was just a big ol' cocktease. As he stands dejected and our dancing stops, singing and dancing DOES continue elsewhere. In a small tiled square a young boy is practising with three cactus-style Pokémon. They're Maractus, and they're dancing, though Iris insists that when it comes to dancing, SHE is the best. Is she? Only one way to find out! With....



They settle in to watch the boy train his dead-eyed cactus monsters, calling them by their names (Marra, Racca and Tussy) to use moves with precise timing to create a pretty visual effect. Unfortunately the smallest of the three - Tussy - hasn't quite got the timing right and crashes into the other two, and they all crash into the ground. The twerps come over to ask if they're okay and the boy (Toby) says they are, and he appreciates their concern. They introduce each other, and he explains they are the Maractus Trio, and they're on their way to Nimbasa City. Cilan is amazed at the coincidence, what are the odds that somebody in the little podunk town directly across the water from Nimbasa City would be planning on going to Nimbasa City!?!

He explains they're in training because they want to be part of the Pokémon Musical, and Ash reveals that this is the show that he got pulled up onto stage to take part in recently. Toby is amazed, who would have thought Ash Ketchum would easily achieve what for Toby is a lifelong dream!?! Cilan talks over Ash quickly though, wanting to enthuse about the glory that is the musical - the costumes! The dramatic dance and music, an elegant and moving curtain call! Iris sighs over Cilan revealing yet ANOTHER obsession, while Toby explains the big dream is to audition for the Pokémon Musical, but for now he is concentrating on the Pokémon Performance Competition. He points out a nearby poster; it's a local talent show for trainers to show off their Pokémon’s original performances. But he's having trouble with the big finale - Over The Rainbow - which requires a combination of agility, teamwork, Sunny Day, Petal Dance and Pin Missile to create a rainbow.

Ash thinks that sounds amazing and asks if he can help out, and Iris and Cilan eagerly agree. Presumably there are no Contests in Unova, just these performance shows and big musicals, so technically only Ash would have any experience in helping out Toby... but does he even remember what a Pokémon Contest is? He isn't concerned with that though, he's trying to figure out which of his Pokémon would have the best sense of rhythm. He gets an answer from a Pokémon with a very high opinion of itself, as out pops Oshawott to proudly declare itself the best, bopping on its Scalchop. Toby is impressed, saying Oshawott is like a little drummer, but Cilan is not to be upstaged and brings out Pansage. Toby gives it a tambourine, and Cilan asks for a nice "perky" tempo, impressed with his Pokémon for slapping away on it enthusiastically. Iris wants in on the action too and gives a tambourine to Axew which actually is rather impressive at playing a beat. Ash decides to start dancing! He, Pikachu and Oshawott do a little choreographed number, while Pansage and then Cilan begin a Cossack dance and Iris does some little ballerina moves around Axew. It's become a kind of retarded dance party and Toby enjoys watching them out spaz out for a bit before handing over musical instruments to all the Pokémon to play. Unfortunately, while they all love to play and are keeping a beat.... it's not the same beat! Each of them plays at a different tempo, eagerly and enthusiastically shaking, rattling and drumming to their own beat as the twerps try to shut them up and exert some control. Axew can't hear, he is too busy happily shaking maracas about until one slips his grip and bops right into Oshawott's head. Blaming Pansage, he snaps angrily as Pikachu tries to make peace. The other maraca slips loose of Axew's excited paw and bops Pikachu and Pansage on the head, they blame a shocked Oshawott and it all kicks off a big rumble.



Ash and Iris try to pull them apart and Toby suggests to Cilan that he take care of the music. Cilan operates Toby's boombox and sets a beat for the Maractus to keep to, practising Over The Rainbow again. They start by using Round, and then proceed exactly as they had before, with the twerps for some reason deciding that everything is working perfectly "finally" despite the fact that Toby was fully capable of getting this far before. Indeed, exactly the same issue fucks them over again as Tussy fails to jump the right height and they all crash down exactly as they had before. Toby tells it that it needs to jump at just the right height to pull off the stunt, and Iris has a great idea - Emolga!

Bringing out the happy, cheeky little squirrel, it impresses them with its easy jumping skills. Oddly serious, Emolga gives instructions to Tussy that appear to consist of,"Just jump really high and retain your balance." She demonstrates by leaping up, doing a backflip and landing on Iris' head, and Tussy tries the same and succeeds in a delivering a pretty impressive spin-kick to Toby's face. Emolga crossly snaps at it to get its shit together and just jump higher, and Tussy seems to get pissed at this tiny little squirrel with fucking skin-flaps to act as wings telling the heavier, ground-based cactus how to jump. But it takes the message to heart and... does it! With a backflip, Tussy easily clears and then lands on Toby's head. He's delighted, Emolga's training really paid off!



All she did was literally tell Tussy to jump higher and better!

They're delighted, but when they try to practise Tussy jumping onto the other two Maractus' arms at ground level, Tussy can't hold its balance and they all crash again. Iris says Toby needs to get them all in synch, and Ash has the perfect solution... have a Pokémon battle!

Iris wants to know what this has to do with working in synch, and Cilan is delighted with Ash, declaring it's a great idea since to win a triple battle all three Pokémon must be working in perfect unison. Ash - who probably only suggested the battle because he was bored and this is all he ever wants to do - compliments Cilan on the great idea, apparently forgetting already that it was HIS idea. Iris is a bit concerned though, has Ash ever had a Triple Battle before? "Of course I haven't!" declares Ash, incredibly proud of the statement, as is Pikachu which raises his chin in conjunction with Ash, both of them beaming smugly at their lack of experience.

After a WHO'S THAT POKEMON!?! in which we get to find out what a Maractus looks like (for God's sake...), the battle is on! It's Toby's three Maractus vs. Ash's Snivy, Pikachu and Tepig. Cilan is judging, Iris is spectating, and the battle opens with a Thunderbolt. As one the Maractus dodge and blast Ash's Pokémon with Round, but Snivy comes back with Leaf Storm. Three Pin Missiles blast the Leaf Storm out of the air, and then Marra and Racca use Petal Dance to block Tepig's Flamethrower. They twist in the air with Pin Missile which causes the attacks to disconcertingly spin about on their way in, but Snivy is able to block them all with flailing tendrils of Vine Whip, protecting the astonished Pikachu and Tepig.

Toby tells Tussy to remember how it trained to jump, and this time it successfully leaps up high and lands safely on Marra and Racca's arms. But then it looks down from how high up they are and freaks out, and they all crash to the ground. Cilan quickly calls off the battle as they check on the Pokémon, and Toby figures out what Tussy's problem is - Vertigo! Since this a terrifying debilitating psychological condition that requires huge amounts of therapy to overcome.... Toby declares fuck it, they'll still take part in the Performance Contest and just hope for the best!

So the Competition is on! A female MC welcomes everyone in a small outdoor theatre that seats roughly 500 people. Money is saved on voice actors by playing the theme song over the top of her introduction, and Toby points out the stage to the twerps and the people in the crowd who are all there to have a great time together - including children, adults, couples and old people with nothing else to do in their lives. He explains that his dream is to perform in front of a large crowd like this in his home town. This shocks Cilan who gasps that this is quite a dream (what?) and asks for clarification. Toby explains he comes from a small mining town in the middle of nowhere where there isn't much to do. His happiest memory is of gathering with practically the whole town to watch a local Pokémon Stage show, and seeing a rainbow in the sky above it. As the years went on and the mines closed, more and more people moved away and the stage show shut down. He remembers standing in front of the now falling apart stage before leaving as well, and thinking that the last time that everybody in the town was together was in front of that stage.

So off he went into the forest, and found the three Maractus dancing and singing with each other underneath a huge rainbow. He suddenly decided that if he could make the three of them into huge stars and then put on a big show in his shitty little podunk town all the people would come back and be unemployed there again.

I hope Marra or Racca are handling the finances.

They head towards the forest to get in some more practise, apparently the Performance isn't starting just yet and that was just some lady singing earlier or something. Anyway, once again the three Maractus try the move, but while Tussy is able to get up onto the arms, its vertigo instantly kicks back in. Toby yells from the safety of the ground for Tussy to use willpower to get over its paralyzing, bowel-loosening fear but it can't and crashes to the ground. Toby is furious, yelling at it to "just get over it" because his shitty, dead and abandoned town is "relying" on his stupid, pointless and retarded dream to "save" it. Cilan tries to laugh off the cruel and insensitive treatment and tell Toby to calm down, but he's still furious and in terror Tussy turns and runs off into the forest.

They rush in after it, and Toby hears the MC call the start of the Competition. He tells the twerps to go wait by the stage in case Tussy went there somehow, he'll continue on into the forest. Ash says he'll go with him, while Cilan and Iris head back to the top of the seating and run around across the top in a panic, ignoring the performances going on below.

Toby and Ash spot Tussy in the forest and Toby calls out to it, but it runs away in a panic and slams straight into a Scolipede, which has apparently replaced Ursaring and Beedrill as the "thing that lives in the forest and hates you" Pokémon for the season. Toby rushes up to protect Tussy, telling the thing that has access to a variety of amazing powers to run away and live this scrawny, non-powered little boy to defend it from the giant killer caterpillar monster. Scolipede lunges at Toby, but Tussy leaps to his defence, crashing into its head and proving that it DOES have courage after all!



Wait, hang on, no. It always had courage, it just suffers from vertigo is all and this won't change that.

It holds on as Scolipede swings its head about trying to dislodge the face-humper, and Ash has Pikachu use Electro-Ball at its feet. Toby has it leap clear as the blast hits, and Tussy lands perfectly on the leaping Marra and Racca's arms. They rush away from Scolipede, Toby shouting back an apology for bothering it as they go. Once a safe distance away, Toby thanks Tussy for saving him, and points out that it did it without letting its fear of heights get in the way - it seems all it needs to get over vertigo is to be in terror for its life! He says now they can do Over The Rainbow... then stops and apologises for being a selfish little shit earlier.

Back at the Performance Contest, the last contestant has taken part and the MC is asking if there is anybody else. Hoping to buy some time, Iris rushes down and does her little dance as Axew gleefully taps away at the tambourine. She finishes up closes her eyes nervously, hoping she has bought enough time.... but it's entirely silent in the seats. Why? She opens her eyes and sees why clearly enough, because something utterly unexpected and unprecedented has happened! Something so incredible and amazing and out of the ordinary that every single person in the seats has turned to stare in wonder at what they're seeing.... this amazing experience, this thing beyond the pale, this astonishing new fact they must try to somehow fit into the understanding of how the world works.



Some kids they don't know are standing at the top of the aisle! O_O

Ash shouts out that they made it in case Iris didn't figure it out, and Iris bows to the crowd and gets off the stage. Toby comes down and asks the MC if they can take part, and he announces that it's time for the final act of their show.

What if some other loser kid shows up at the last second!?!

Cilan starts the boombox and the performance kicks off, all of them shaking their maracas and dancing in place. Marra and Racca leap into the air and use a spinning Petal Dance and Pin Missile, and Toby calls on Tussy to do its part. Tussy turns to stare at Toby who offers his encouragement without screaming this time, and it listens and leaps high, landing perfectly and holding its balance. Toby calls for Sunny Day and it finally happens, the Over The Rainbow move he has long envisaged is pulled off to perfection.



Not surprisingly, the only performance that was actually a performance instead of a single gimmicky use of a Pokémon’s powers wins. Toby has the good grace to pretend to be surprised by his victory, and hugs his Maractus happily - he did it! He won a completely free to enter performance contest held to help people waste time on a Saturday afternoon!

As the sun sets he says his goodbyes to the twerps, telling them that they're heading to Nimbasa City to hold their audition for the Pokémon Musical. If they're successful, he will eventually start his own show and bring it back to his small little nothing town, and that will bring the people back and return life to his home. A rainbow in the sky seems to be a good omen, and they part ways feeling like his dreams really will come true, almost as easily as Tussy got over its vertigo! Of course, seeing a rainbow in the sky really fails to answer an important question.

How the hell is a musical stageshow going to re-open emptied out mines?

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