GS023: Mild 'n Wooly

is the 23rd episode of of , Season 3 of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Team Rocket comes in sheep's clothing to relieve a kind Poké-shepherd of her Mareep flock. Ash and friends are eager to help, but will first have to convince the Mareep Trainer to have a little faith in herself.
==Episode plot==
The heroes have lunch in the mountains. Ash eats a sandwich, but does so quickly and chokes. Misty quickly gives him water, but that does not work, so Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to startle Ash into swallowing, which works, and Ash gulps down the sandwich. After that, they encounter a Mareep wearing a pink ribbon, who charges at them. Mareep pounces on Pikachu, who uses Thunderbolt in self-defense. Interestingly, Mareep likes to be electrocuted, as its wool gets bigger. Suddenly, more Mareep come and go after Pikachu, whose electricity makes their wool bigger. A girl comes, scolding her Mareep for ganging up on other Pokémon and using Pikachu's electricity to their advantage. One Mareep (with the pink ribbon) listens, but all the other Mareep disobey her, until the girl's mom appears, whose Raichu uses Thunderbolt to draw the Mareep to it instead of Pikachu with electricity. The woman lines them up, making the heroes amazed by them.
The woman tells the girl, Mary, to go home. At the home, the woman apologizes for the trouble, but Ash knows that it was no trouble. Brock wishes the woman was ten years younger, much to Misty's dismay. Mary tells that she didn't keep an eye on the Mareep for a second and they ran away. The woman asks her if she daydreamed about Pokémon battles, so she confirms she did. The woman warns her she needs to focus, despite the Festival going next week. The woman tells the heroes Mareep are praised for giving electricity, so Misty sees the Festival is in their honor. The judges determine much, including battles. Ash wishes to enter, but the woman tells him only the inhabitants of the valley can enter, disappointing Ash, hoping he'd get more practice for his Azalea Gym battle. Ash shows his first badge, making Mary wanting to do Pokémon battles. Mary asks her mother if she can enter the contest with battles, but her mother sternly forbids her, since she is too young and cannot handle her Mareep yet.
Hearing them both, Brock offers his and his friends' humble assistance. Ash and Misty are surprised, but the woman accepts their help. So, Pikachu and Raichu have the Mareep lined up, while Brock and Mary's mother measure the voltage of Mareep, then Ash, Misty and Mary brush Mareep. James counts the Mareep and falls asleep. Jessie has plans about getting their wool and sell it. James remembers that he had a lot of clothing made of Mareep wool, as his classmates beat him nearly every day for that. He realizes Jessie and Meowth did not have that, so goes to get the wool with them. Ash sees Mary's Mareep, Fluffy, shooting a target using Thundershock. Ash is impressed by it, while Mary tells she raised it ever since it was a child. Ash tells she should be proud with it. Mary asks of Ash to battle her Mareep using Pikachu, since she never had a battle. Since Ash and Pikachu agree, the battle starts.
Fluffy goes to tackle, but Pikachu dodges. Since Fluffy missed with Headbutt, it growls, affecting Pikachu. Fluffy continues with Swift, hitting Pikachu, then collides with him using Thundershock. Pikachu fails, so dodges Fluffy's Thundershock. Fluffy goes to use more power, but falls down. Ash sees it used all its power, so tells Mary it should rest. Mary asks Ash why'd he stop Pikachu from using Thundershock, so Ash tells Pikachu was exhausted from chasing Mareep before the battle. Mary admits she only thought of winning the battle and forgot about Fluffy. She apologizes to Fluffy, so Ash tells that though battles are important, they should think of Pokémon as well, since they think of their trainers. Mary sees Ash knows everything, but he denies, as he also makes mistakes.
At the dinner, the gang compliments Mary's mother's cooking, though she tells them they need to eat, not watch. She goes up and sees Mary is gone. She listens to Mary at the roof, who admits she is not ready for the battles at the Festival, making her smile. A storm approaches, so Mary's mother wakes the heroes up, as she needs their assistance. She tells them the Mareep could use some electricity to make their wool look bigger, absorbing the electricity. Leaving the Mareep at the edge of the cliff, they take cover and witness as Mareep get their wool bigger by a hit of a lightning. As they look at the Mareep, Team Rocket capture the Mareep, throwing the net at them, then use the robot arm to throw Pikachu in a cage. Raichu uses Thunderbolt, but gets absorbed by a panel. Raichu uses more power and blows the panel up. The balloon gets engulfed in fire, as Pikachu and Mareep escape the balloon, though Raichu is worn out.
Jessie sends Arbok and James Weezing. Mareep growl out, then use Thundershock, but Meowth uses a panel to absorb the energy. Ash goes to open Pikachu's cage, but fails. Fluffy comes and Mary tells her mom to let the other Mareep use Thundershock on Fluffy. Fluffy absorbs electricity and fires on Team Rocket, then Ash frees Pikachu, who blasts them off, while Arbok and Weezing follow them. Next day, Mary's mom gives Mary a Pokémon for the festival. The heroes watch as Mary sends Fluffy in the battle at the Festival.
==Debuts==
===Character===
*Mary
*Ellen
===Pokémon===
*Mareep
===Move===
*Growl
==Quotes==
:"Today, our heroes Ash, Misty and Brock have stopped at a beautiful spot to enjoy a brief break from their journey to the Johto League". - Narrator
:"Wow, what a view! And the weather is just perfect!" - Misty
:"Yeah. This fresh mountain air sure helps you work up an appetite". - Brock
:"Mine doesn't need any help". - Ash
:(Ash quickly regrets his words when he starts to choke on the sandwich he was eating)
:"Hey, are you all right?" - Brock
:"Quick, have some water!" - Misty
:(Despite the water, Ash is still choking on his food. Pikachu grows anxious for its Trainer's well-being, and in desperation, startles Ash, Misty, and Brock with Thundershock. This gets Ash to finally swallow his food. All three are catching their breath afterwards)
:"I guess I got... a little... choked up". - Ash
:"Funny". - Misty
:"Oh, Misty, why couldn't she be 10 years younger?" - Brock
:"Oh, boy". - Misty
==Trivia==
The "Who's that Pokémon?" in this episode is Scizor.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes featuring Competitions