BW022: A Venipede Stampede!

is the 22nd episode of Pokémon: Black & White.
==Synopsis==
On their way to the Castelia City Gym for Ash’s next Gym battle, our heroes encounter Gym Leader Burgh, who says he can’t answer Ash’s challenge until he figures out what’s been bothering his Bug-type Pokémon. Ash and friends pitch in to help him investigate. Together, they discover a Venipede in distress, and of course Ash wants to help it!
Upon further investigation, the gang learns that the whole city is being overrun by a gigantic colony of angry Venipede! The townspeople are in a panic, and the mayor of Castelia City declares that something must be done at once. Ash’s rival Trip is also in town, and he suggests that battling the raging Venipede is the only way to stop them. Burgh counters with a plan to round them up and herd them into the city’s Central Plaza until Professor Juniper can figure out what’s going on.
Working together, the three Trainers find every last Venipede and bring them all to the plaza. Soon, Professor Juniper discovers an unusual energy emanating from the Desert Resort, just outside Castelia City! She concludes that the underground energy flow must be what disturbed the Venipede. The professor and Officer Jenny take off to find out exactly what’s happening in the desert, while Burgh stays behind to look after the Venipede—and Ash’s thoughts turn to his next Gym battle!
==Episode plot==
Team Rocket, along with Pierce and Dr. Zager, are investigating. Soon, they find the location of the meteorite, pleasing Dr. Zager for that discovery. The heroes arrive into town. Cilan remembers Castelia City is famous for its ice cones. Iris wants one, but Ash says they'll get some that after the Gym Battle. Taking a shortcut through the park, they meet up with Burgh, who senses something is wrong with Bug-type Pokémon. Burgh tells the bugs have the ability to sense something wrong, as electromagnetic waves. Iris senses something, too, and points in a direction.
However, she led them to the Castelia Cone shop, which is closed. Ash thinks she was just hungry for ice cream, annoying her. However, Pikachu feels something below. He points at a manhole, so Burgh remembers below are the sewers, which lead to the neighboring river. They climb down and encounter a Venipede stuck in a pipe. Ash goes to pull it out, but Burgh warns Ash Venipede's Poison Point ability will poison him. Ash takes Venipede out, who is angry and uses Screech. Ash calms it down, though Venipede tackles him. Ash tells it has nothing to worry about. Ash tells Cilan to take care of its wound, but passes out, as he is poisoned. A moment later, Cilan gives Ash an antidote, who is grateful, while Iris and Burgh heal Venipede. Ash thanks Burgh, who is inspired by Ash's deed. Iris gives Venipede an Oran Berry, who gladly eats.
Burgh still wonders why would Venipede get stuck. Suddenly, the heroes hear more Venipede passing by. Venipede use Screech and attack the heroes, who escape out. However, they see the Venipede got out and cause chaos to the city. Jenny comes and warns them it is not safe, though Prof. Juniper is trying to solve the problem. They run a bit and encounter Trip, who sends Lampent. With a bunch of trainers, Trip orders Flamethrower, pushing Venipede away. However, the rest attack them. As Prof. Juniper is trying to figure out why the Venipede attack, Ash warns Trip not to attack, who replies that all Kanto trainers are naive. The mayor comes, telling the Venipede have to go, as they are dangerous and can poison everyone. Burgh warns him the Venipede might attack with an even greater ferocity. Burgh advises to gather every Venipede to the central park.
The mayor allows them this, as Burgh knows they need to find their leader first. The mayor warns them he'll have to remove the Venipede if they fail. Burgh, Ash and Iris move out, while Cilan goes to get Nurse Joy's Audino, per Burgh's order. Meanwhile, Juniper's assistant gathers data about the Desert Resort, as Juniper feels something is wrong there, as the Venipede usually nest there. Burgh tells the leader is the one that can sense the danger first and foremost, and it is likely to be where it can watch over the entire colony. Iris detects a big one, so Burgh tells size is also the reason why it is the leader. Burgh tells the leader it should know the colony is in danger. Suddenly, Trip uses Lampent to attack with Flamethrower. The leader dodges and retaliates. Ash and Iris tell they have a way to calm the colony down.
Trip is not interested, so Lampent uses Shadow Ball. Ash jumps, taking the hit. The Venipede Ash saved from the pipe approaches him, so Ash tells the Venipede are nice Pokémon, so there is a reason why they are angry. They tell they need to be given a chance, at least. Trip calls Lampent back, while Cilan came with Nurse Joy and Audino. Audino uses Heal Pulse, calming down the Venipede. Burgh plays a flute, attracting the Venipede to the central plaza, asking the others to gather the remaining Venipede. Ash sends Pidove, who uses Gust to blow a few Venipede to follow Burgh. Axew uses Dragon Rage, but fails, hitting himself and Iris, though the Venipede follow Burgh. Cilan's Pansage uses Bullet Seed, scaring the Venipede off to follow Burgh. Audino uses Heal Pulse, calming down Venipede to follow the group. Pidove tries once more, but the Venipede retaliate. Trip's Tranquill uses Air Cutter, stopping the attack and forcing Venipede to join the group.
Pidove gusts more Venipede, then evolves into a Tranquill. Ash's Tranquill blows the Venipede, while Trip's Tranquill uses Aerial Ace, hitting the Venipede. Ash is pleased, but Trip looks in other direction. Juniper and her team deduce that there are two major energy sources in the Desert Resort, which are merging. Meanwhile, Giovanni is flying in his plane, wanting to see the meteorite's power for himself. Later, the heroes, Trip and Burgh, managed to gather all Venipede to the central plaza. The heroes admit the credit goes to Burgh, for he planned this all out. Trip is about to leave, telling he should go to the next Gym, as things will have to wait until Castelia Gym is opened. Ash asks Trip for a battle next time they meet, but Trip replies he'll see if he is worth battling.
On a building, Juniper comes, praising the heroes' work. Juniper shows them an energy disturbance is in the Desert Resort. However, she does not know what this mystical energy is, so she decides to go investigate. Ash suggests that he and the others go along as well to help investigate, recalling the Venipede from earlier that he provided assistance to. Burgh bids them farewell, as he stays to watch over all the Venipede. They fly off by plane into the Desert Resort, where they will soon discover the nefarious scheme behind this situation.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Venipede
*Lampent (Trip's)
*Ash's Tranquill
===Item===
*Casteliacone (statue)
===Move===
*Heal Pulse
==Trivia==
*"Who's that Pokémon?:" Venipede
*Professor Oak's Live Caster: Yamask
*Giovanni's pilot still says they've almost reached Unova, implying he would appear in the next episode, but instead Jessie, James, and Meowth are seen calling the Kanto HQ in hopes of talking to him and finding out he's too busy, giving no resolution to Giovanni's activities in Unova upon having flown there. This is because of BW023 and BW024 being banned due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, leaving a massive gap in the storyline.
**In the original broadcast and in the Hulu Japan version, the next episode preview at the end of the episode showcases the first part of the skipped two-parter that was still scheduled to air at the time. In the Korean dub and re-releases of the Japanese version such as the rental DVDs and on the Amazon Prime version, the preview showcases "Battling for the Love of Bug-Types!".
===Dub differences===
*This episode is altered in the dub to remove the two-part Team Plasma episodes out of continuity, making it appear as if Ash and the others stay behind to face off in the gym match with Professor Juniper going to the Desert Resort alone rather than going to the Desert Resort to face off against Team Rocket going against Team Plasma.
**All reruns (such as on Kids Station for example), re-releases (such as the rental DVDs and Amazon Prime), and Asian language dubs based on the Japanese version (such as the Korean dub) leave the scene with the heroes going to the Desert Resort with Professor Juniper untouched, confirming that this is merely a TPCi edit applicable only to the English dub and all dubs that are based it, rather than an edit done to the original Japanese version.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes featuring a main character's Pokémon evolving
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Trip