TB026: Pokémon Scent-sation!

is the 26th episode of of , Season 1 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
The party arrives in Celadon City, a perfectly pleasant town full of large department stores, condominiums, and fancy arcades. Brock and Misty are mesmerized, listening to a pretty young girl in a miniskirt, selling perfume. Appalled by the price of the perfume, Ash is kicked out of the department store, and heads for the Pokémon gym alone, but he is denied entrance to the Celadon Gym. The perfume that Ash criticized in the department store is produced in this gym. Brock and Misty enter the gym and befriend those who inhabit it, but Ash must go to some outrageous lengths in order to even set foot in the gym let alone prove himself worthy of battle against its Master.
==Episode plot==
Finally arriving in in Celadon City, a sweet scent permeates the air, capturing Brock entirely, drawing him to a perfume store. Ash, chasing after, tries to drag him along. However, when he can't find Misty and Pikachu, it is revealed that they're inside the shop, hoping to purchase some. Ash believes this is a waste of time and money, telling Misty to forget about it. This draws the ire of everyone in the store, including his friends. 
This has some unintended effects, as Ash is then banned from the Celadon City Pokémon Gym for his talk about the perfume at the store, which was actually produced there at the Gym. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is sneaking into the gym to steal the perfume secret formula. This results in them getting knocked out by the stench of a Gloom. They then also are removed from the Gym and banned, being made an example of by being tied up and hung from a tree. However, Ash stumbles upon them, and Team Rocket convinces him to help them down. 
And in exchange, they promise to help him into the Gym. Team Rocket makes good on their deal and disguises him as a girl. Despite everything, the disguise works. Team Rocket goes off to steal the secret formula after enrolling Ash in the Gym's classes. As Ash travels through the gym, he finds the leader, Erika, with other Trainers, including Misty and Brock. 
Erika tells them a story about how she met Gloom when she was younger, and how it inspired her to become a Grass-Type trainer. However, as they speak, Pikachu recognizes Ash and goes up to cuddle with Ash. Ash tries to shoo him away, but an angry Pikachu shocks Ash, causing his disguise to fail. He drops the act and challenges Erika to a duel. They have a 3 vs. 3 battle, with Ash starting out with Bulbasaur, then using Charmander, and finally Pikachu after the two make up for earlier when Pikachu took Erika's side after Ash insulted her perfume. As this happens, Team Rocket appears, having taken the secret formula. 
However, as they plan to use a bomb, Meowth realizes that it is still attached to him, and they're sent blasting off. This causes a fire, and while Ash and Misty are using their Water-type Pokémon to put the fire out, Erika realizes that her Gloom is missing. She goes to run in, but is stopped when Ash does so instead. He finds the Gloom and holds his breath to avoid smelling in its' stench when it releases it to repulse him out of self-defense. As he runs with it, his breath fails him and he breathes in, realizing there is no stench now as Gloom feels safe in his arms, now knowing Ash is a friend because he saves it from the fire. 
After rescuing the Pokémon, Erika offers him a Rainbow Badge for his hard work. He apologizes for letting Team Rocket in, and feels bad that they stole the secret formula. Erika brushes it off and tells him that all they stole was a single ingredient, Gloom's Smell. Elsewhere, Team Rocket discover this the hard way after opening the vial and sniffing it, passing out soon after.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Erika
===Pokémon===
*Gloom (Erika's)
*Victreebel
*Vileplume
*Grimer (picture)
*Exeggcute
*Tangela (Erika's)
*Omanyte (picture)
===Move===
*Skull Bash
*Constrict
===Item===
*Rainbow Badge
==Quotes==
:"Augh! My nose is on fire!" - Meowth
:"Meowth, you don't have a nose." - Jessie
:"Huh? AHHH! My nose! The stink must've dissolved it off my face. Hm? Oh, I forgot, the cartoonist never gave me a nose." - Meowth
:"(Clears throat, while sounding like a girl) I'll show those meanies!" - Ash
:"Meowth! Where did you put that blast ball?!" - James
:"Near us so I wouldn't lose it." - Meowth
:"At least we managed to steal this, their secret perfume formula." - Jessie
:"But Team Rocket stole your perfume formula." - Ash
:"(giggles) No they didn't. The bottle they stole was one of our perfume's ingredients: Essence of Gloom." - Erika
:"Gym Rules, no thieves allowed." - Lead picnicker
:"I accept your challenge! It’s my duty under the league rules!" - Erika
:"I never should have listened to Team Rocket." - Ash (angry at himself)
==Trivia==
*When Team Rocket was attacked by Gloom, Meowth broke the fourth wall by saying that the artist designed him without a nose.
*This episode was banned in South Korea, due to Team Rocket's use of bombs, and possibly due to featuring Japanese culture.
*This is the first episode where Ash dresses up as a girl.
*Though in the games Erika was the fourth Gym Leader to be challenged, in the anime she is the fifth. In addition, the Rainbow Badge Ash earned is the fifth he got, though in the games it is the fourth.
*In the scene after Team Rocket open the bottle, the place we're they hiding resemble Open Lot from Doraemon series.
*"Who's that Pokémon?": Gloom (JA and EN)
===Mistakes===
*During the scene where the girls are trying to use hoses to put out the fire, in the upper right corner it looks like the people are missing the gym and watering the grass. They may be do this to avoid the fire from spreading to other buildings.
*The purple-haired assistant is voiced by Veronica Taylor at the start of the episode, but changes to Rachael Lillis during the gym battle (this applies only to English version).
*When Erika finishes telling the story about Omanyte, a miniature Victreebel is seen next to Gloom and Tangela in the respect that it is only slightly taller than the two of them.
*The pigtail-haired assistant was last seen capturing Pokémon in the burning gym. After that, she disappeared for unknown reasons.
===Dub differences===
*In the Japanese version Meowth doesn't break the fourth wall. Instead, he says that he never had a nose to begin with.
*The bombs are called "blaster balls".
==Gallery ==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a badge
Category:Episodes featuring Gym Battles
Category:Episodes focusing on Team Rocket