ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
782: The Pirates of Decolore!	788: Dekorora Shoto no Kaizoku O!	Pokémon Piracy (sorry Google search users!)			The twerps hunt down some Pirate Pokémon	Stymied, splashed and sent on super-fast!	You should feel bad about trying not to die of starvation!

Today finds the twerps enjoying the glorious weather on their free, all-expenses-paid cruise, commenting that getting to live this life of luxury without having to pay for anything is a pretty sweet deal that everybody should get in on. Porter, who has to work for his goddamn money, agrees that cruise-life is pretty cruisey (see what I did there?) while bringing them juice because they can't even do THAT for themselves. As they enjoy their unearned luxury though, they're watched from the water by a Croconaw and Octillery. It's time for the twerps to suffer for their opulence, as the 99% strike at last!



The Pokémon play with a ball, accidentally bouncing it off of Pignite's head. He runs after it to collect it and finds himself face to face with Octillery which has clambered up the side of the ship. It zips past him and lowers a rope over the side, where Croconaw and an Azumarill grab it and are lifted up to the deck.

While they're boarding, Team Rocket are hoarding. Having snuck onto the ship, they've found their way to food storage and they begin stacking up the food for their own use. It's a far cry from their usual grandiose strategies but people have got to eat, after all! They move their ill-gotten gains on a trolley towards the door... and walk directly into the Pokémon who have boarded the ship. Meowth translates, the Pokémon want to know who they are, and Meowth asks them the same question. In response they attack, blasting Team Rocket against the food shelves and stealing their stolen food. They zoom down the corridors, passing Pikachu and Snivy, and an alarm sounds that gets the attention of the twerps and Porter. He explains that the alarm means thieves have gotten on board, and thieves at sea can only mean one thing... pirates!

Pikachu and Snivy take off, figuring the Pokémon they just saw are the pirates in question, followed by the twerps and Porter who are too dim to figure out that the Pokémon with the trolley packed with food are the ones who set off the alarm. Other members of the crew are smarter though, running down the corridor demanding that the Pokémon stop. They take off, the twerps having to leap aside to get clear, but when they realise the crew are catching up they turn and fight, attacking them and escaping in the confusion. Reaching the top deck, they prepare to throw it all overboard but are confronted by Team Rocket, furious at having their stolen goods stolen from them. The Pirate Pokémon attack, and when Jesse tries to call out her own Pokémon to fight back, Azumarill leaps into action, a little grin on its face before knocking the Trio overboard. They toss their food over the side where it is collected on a raft pushed by a Ducklett, and prepare to follow it when the twerps arrive. They tell the Pirate Pokémon that stealing the food that the twerps didn't have to pay for is wrong, but get blasted at for their troubles. The Pirate Pokémon make their escape, Croconaw providing the momentum to push their raft away and escape with a small proportion of the heavily stocked and easily replenished storehouse of the cruise ship.... surely this is the greatest crime in the history of humanity!

And then along came Oshawott!

Popping out of his Pokéball, he happily waves hello to the twerps who ask him if he thinks he can catch up to the pirates. All Oshawott knows is that everybody is paying attention to him, so he happily agrees and dives into the water, swimming after the pirates. Leaping bravely onto their raft, they stare at him as he poses proudly... and realises that they're all MUCH bigger than him... so he changes his stance and waves a happy hello to them instead! They all collapse in exasperation, the Octillery blasts him in the face with ink so Oshawott.... somehow remotely activates his Pokéball and returns to it!

That's not even possible!

The Pirate Pokémon continue on their way, but Ash is determined they won't get to steal that food he didn't pay for, so he goes into overkill mode and summons... MOTHERFUCKING CHARIZARD!

He sends his fire-death machine after the Pirates, while Jesse and James have struggled to their nearby submarine to catch their breath. Realising that Meowth is nowhere to be seen, they assume he went after the pirate raft as opposed to drowning cold and alone, and decide to head after it as well.

The pirate raft continues along, Meowth clinging to the side, smart enough to have caught up to the raft but not confront them while outnumbered like Oshawott did. He vows his revenge, nobody gets in the way of him and a full stomach!

On the cruise ship, Iris cleans the gunk out of Oshawott's eyes and tells him not to be upset, there wasn't anything he could have done. Porter admits there have been plenty of reports of Pirate Pokémon operating in the area that they just kind of failed to actually let any of the passengers know about. They've reported the theft to Officer Jenny on the next island though, and the twerps are determined to help her track down the Pirate Pokémon once Charizard lets them know where they are. They can't understand why the Pirate Pokémon would be stealing food (because they're hungry) but if they can figure it out (they're hungry) then maybe they can find a way to make them stop (by feeding them).

They dock and Porter and the twerps give details to Officer Jenny, including what type of Pokémon were involved - helped by Pikachu's impersonation of the Azumarill! Jenny takes notes and says this is the usual gang of pirates, who have stolen a fisherman's boat, food from beachgoers and fruit from a farmer. Because of the number of Decolore Islands Jenny has been unable to locate their hideout, leaving them free to continue to be able to eat!

So where is their hideout? It appears to be on the back half of an island with a resort town on the other side! The Pirate Pokémon begin unloading into a cave, watched by Meowth who ponders how to reveal the location to Jesse and James. Unfortunately for him, he's spotted by Ducklett who calls the others out, and has to face the music. He tries to be diplomatic, asking if they can't just talk this out, but they're having none of it. Octillery jumps on him, wrapping him up in his tentacles and leaving Meowth to have to squeeze himself out into an oddly phallic shape before sighing that he's a little tied up at the moment. All this is observed by Charizard as well, however, who could take all of them in a fight easily but knows he needs to head back and inform Ash of the location.

Cilan is impressed by Officer Jenny's cruiser, with the Officer herself seeming to take Cilan's interest as flattering. She is explaining the cruiser is a must-have for traversing the various islands when Charizard lands to let the twerps know he has found the pirate hangout. Jenny has no choice but to bring the twerps with her (it's Ash's Charizard after all) on the cruiser, motoring along behind Charizard as he leads the way. Cilan notes all the scuba-gear as she explains her police force acts as the coastguard as well, and is surprised when she sees the island that Charizard is taking them towards. It's a well-known resort island that appears on all the maps, how can THIS be the Pirate Pokémon’s hideout? Cilan suggests that they're hiding in plain sight, and Jenny says this is why she was never able to find them.... but maybe it's because she wasn't really looking all that hard? After all, a very dim 10 year old boy just tracked them down in less than an afternoon!

At the hideaway, Meowth is trying to convince the Pirate Pokémon that they're all on the same side. He tries to impress them with the reveal that he is part of Team Rocket, but they've never heard of it, which just infuriates him. Going into a little rant he insists that Team Rocket is a super-secret organization that is going to rule the world, then corrects himself, insisting that they ALREADY rule the world! The Pirate Pokémon are unimpressed though, and still don't consider Meowth a kindred spirit. They have other problems though, as first Meowth and then they spot Officer Jenny's Cruiser.

Meowth takes off first and the Pirate Pokémon prepare to do the same but are forced to halt by the sheer power of Officer Jenny's voice when she declares they're under arrest (does she have adorable little handcuffs for them?). The twerps demand to know why they did it anyway (they were hungry!), since people and Pokémon should get on well together. Furious, the Pokémon angrily shout their own names at them, which of course none of them are able to understand... but Meowth can!

He insists they not worry about how HE got there, acting as translator and explaining that the Pokémon were abandoned by their trainers. Each of them remember their cruel and callous trainers - some of them angry that the Pokémon didn't evolve, others that they DID, and still another pissed off that Ducklett wouldn't stop "smiling"! They were clearly some pretty shitty goddamn useless ass trainers, but the Pokémon were left devastated by their abandonment. Left to fend for themselves, they found each other and banded together, and starving from a lack of food, they started to steal food.

I told you they were hungry!

Meowth feels sympathetic, saying it gets him "right in the gut" since he's been hungry in the past as well. The twerps are horrified at the idea of their trainers being so callous, but they insist that not all trainers are that way. Pignite agrees, translated by Meowth, he knows what it is like to be abandoned by a trainer but he also knows that this doesn't make all humans/trainers bad people. Snivy speaks up too, reminding everybody that SHE abandoned her trainer, having no patience for such a loser, causing Ash to sweatdrop a little and try to downplay the whole,"Pokémon have equal footing in their relationship with trainers" angle!

Croconaw is pissed off that Snivy is calling them out for being such sad sacks. Translated by Meowth, the two challenge each other to a fight, Meowth essentially arguing with and goading himself as he translates what each of the other are saying. If Snivy wins, then the Pirate Pokémon will stop stealing (and starve to death?), while if they win... well, I'm not exactly sure what will happen then... does Officer Jenny no longer arrest them for theft?

But while Jenny is unsure of all this, Ash thinks solving a complex issue with a fight is a great idea! So she agrees to ref a 2-on-2 battle of Croconaw and Azumarill vs. Snivy and Pignite, and the battle kicks off immediately with Croconaw taking a shot at their two opponents, who barely dodge in time. The action is fast, and there's a decided disadvantage to Ash who for once can't hear the orders being given by his opponent. Snivy and Pignite are mostly on the defensive, Pignite taking a shot of Water Gun hard to the chest. Iris is concerned, Pignite is weak against water moves, but when Pignite leaps up ready to keep fighting, Cilan reminds her that spirit counts as well.

I'm sure somebody watching this episode threw a fucking tantrum when this happened, because it doesn't fit in with the mostly ignored "rules" of the games or something.

Pignite and Snivy finally go on the offensive, slapping the two Pirates with Vine Whip and chasing them with Flamethrower. Snivy trips Azumarill with Vine Whip and Pignite blasts them both with flamethrower. Croconaw helps Azumarill back up and goes on a bit of a mental rampage, smashing Iron Tail at both of them to back them off. But Snivy can attack from range and uses Leaf Storm effectively, backing them off before Pignite finishes things off with Fire Pledge. Croconaw and Azumarill are knocked out, Pignite and Snivy are the winners, and the pirate careers of the Pokémon are over!

Defeated, they sit sadly on the beach as the twerps remind them of their promise and Jenny insists that they give up their life of crime and starve to death. But then new voices get their attention (and Meowth's glee). The Pokémon may have given their word, but Team Rocket never did!

"Prepare for trouble, the idea is huge!"
"And make it double, I'm nobody's stooge!"
"To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite the people within our nation!"
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"
"To extend our reach to the stars above!"
"It's Jesse!"
"And James!"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight and fight!"
"Meowth, dat's right!"

Ash sighs that they should give it up, but Meowth (rejoining his buddies happily) says that Team Rocket never will. Jesse and James have an offer for the pirates, join them and continue their careers in evil. Furious, Iris insists they butt out and Jesse retorts with a simple,"No!" before bringing out Woobat to fight. James calls on Yamask, and they blast attacks at the group on the beach, who have to doge aside.

Unfortunately for Team Rocket, they hadn't considered the fact that they've encountered the twerps plenty of times in the past and this simple attack isn't going to scare them off. Ash orders a Leaf Storm/Fire Pledge one-two punch, and to their great surprise Team Rocket find themselves blasting off, Jesse exclaiming that it was far too quick, before they all cry out that they're blasting off too soon!

Iris tells the Pirates they'll end up like Team Rocket if they keep doing bad things, an idea which horrifies the Pirate Pokémon - nobody wants to end up like Team Rocket! Just then stormclouds roll in and the sea becomes disrupted, and Jenny warns that this is a regular occurrence. Suddenly, like something out of the contrived mind of an alcoholic writer for a cartoon, they spot an inflatable raft with three terrified Darumaka inside of it. The waters are too choppy to use the cruiser to rescue them, and only a group of abandoned Pokémon looking for redemption would be able to save them now... if only such a thing existed!

Wait a moment! It does!

The Pirate Pokémon prevent Ash from sending in Oshawott, insisting that they will handle things. They leap into the water and swim to the Darumaka, guiding them to shore, even saving them from falling into the water when a particularly powerful wave kicks them into the air.

With the Darumaka saved, once the storm dies down Jenny takes everybody to the resort town, where the Darumaka are reunited with their two young trainers. Ash tells them that the Pirate Pokémon were responsible for the rescue, leaving them somewhat embarrassed but grateful. Jenny has an idea, why don't they join up and assist the Decolore Coast Guard? They seem keen on the idea (better than starving to death!) and agree good-naturedly to the idea that they must apologise to everybody who they stole food from. They agree, and soon the twerps are departing on their cruise ship, waving goodbye to the pirates who have learned a valuable lesson - apparently you should feel bad about stealing food in order not to die!

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