PJ048: A Close Call… Practically!

is the 48th of , and final episode of of .
==Synopsis==
While Ash and Goh eat delectable treats (thanks to Greedent’s eating contest victory), Team Rocket plans to steal Pikachu by switching it with a lookalike called “Practically Pikachu.” When they appear to succeed and make their getaway via bicycle, Lucario and Cinderace chase after them! In response, Meowth shoots a bouncy glue at the two Pokémon, and they end up stuck together. Although this presents real challenges, Lucario and Cinderace figure out a way to work together and send Team Rocket flying. But when they return to Ash and Goh, the two Pokémon are shocked—the real Pikachu had been safely by Ash’s side all along!
==Episode plot==
Arriving in Unova, Ash and Goh call out Lucario and Cinderace from their Poké Ball. Goh shows Cinderace and Lucario the prize he won from the eating contest as his partner is excited to eat various sweets while the Aura Pokémon is not all that interested. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has arrived in Unova in hopes of catching Pikachu again as there taking advantage of Ash and Goh touring the various sweets. Meowth shows Jessie and James his newest invention to do just that as he invented a robot version of Pikachu. Also, Meowth tells Jessie and James that he calls his robot partially Pikachu, which surprises them.
Hearing this, Jessie and James realized that partially Pikachu can be replaced with Ash's then he wouldn't notice the differences. However, partially Pikachu said "Hika" instead of "Pika", as Meowth explains to Jessie and James that he tried to get it to say it right but couldn't. James realized that's why Meowth named his robot partially Pikachu because of the flaw. Before they can put their plan into motion, Team Rocket hears Ash and Goh at their stand for ice cream as they happily give it to them. Hearing that they're going to still be in the area, Team Rocket plans to replace Pikachu with their robot while Ash and Goh are busy eating their sweets.
Goh offers to get one for Cinderace as it happily accepts his offer and Ash offers the same thing for Lucario but it declined than walked away. While Ash and Goh are eating, Cinderace offers some of its ice cream to Lucario but it politely declines its offer. However, Cinderace got some of its ice cream on Lucario as it gets mad with it and it ends up getting mad with it for slapping its sweet out of its hand. After Ash left to go wash his hands from his ice cream, Team Rocket made their move in their attempt to take Pikachu. However, Goh screams as it caused Pikachu to notice the robot of him.
Thinking it's a wild one, Pikachu decides to play with the robot then shares his stick with it. Due to playing together and acting the same, Team Rocket couldn't tell which one is which as Meowth uses something sticky to kidnap one of the Pikachu. Seeing Team Rocket take Pikachu, Lucario and Cinderace attempts to stop them then rescue their friend. but they stuck them with the same sticky stuff they used on the Mouse Pokémon. However, little did Team Rocket, Cinderace and Lucario know, Pikachu is still with Ash and Goh as they grabbed the robot instead of the real one. While looking for another place to try and eat, Goh notices Cinderace and Lucario absences as they wonder where they went.
Due to the sticky stuff on their hands, Cinderace and Lucario are having a hard time keeping up with Team Rocket then got sent flying when they collided with a pole. Despite the situation, Cinderace and Lucario were able to take Pikachu back from Team Rocket, much to their shock. Meanwhile, Ash and Goh have found another piece of food to try as they along with Pikachu are enjoying. Goh wonders where Cinderace and Lucario are as he's starting to worry about them. Cinderace and Lucario are running away from Team Rocket but they hit a dead end. However, Cinderace and Lucario start arguing again because of sticky stuff on them as Jessie notices that they have issues.
Meowth tried to use the same sticky stuff on them again but Cinderace got away from it then it and Lucario were sent flaying again, much to the shock of Team Rocket. After being sent flying from one thing to the next, Cinderace and Lucario collided with Team Rocket as they all are sent flying together. Meanwhile, Ash and Goh are eating another piece of food for them to try. Goh wonders where Cinderace and Lucario went to while Ash thinks that they ate some much food that can't move anymore, which makes himself laugh. After landing, Cinderace and Lucario are prepared to battle Team Rocket as they bring out their Prize Master then get their Pokémon to use against them.
However, due to sticky stuff on them, Cinderace and Lucario can't battle well as they start to argue again because of it. Although, Cinderace had an idea to use their situation to their advantage as it tells Lucario its plan and it agrees to go along with it. Through Cinderace's plan, it and Lucario were able to battle then got the stuff off of their hands, which shocks Team Rocket. Cinderace and Lucario use their signature moves to send Team Rocket blasting off again but see that Pikachu is gone. While blasting off, Team Rocket sees that Wobbuffet got Pikachu but discover that they had the robot all along then continue to the skies.
Returning to their Trainers, Cinderace and Lucario are rushing to tell Ash and Goh that Team Rocket stole Pikachu. However, Cinderace and Lucario discover that Pikachu has been with Ash and Goh the whole time, much to their shock and exhaustion. Goh gives Cinderace a bag full of sweets as it greatly appreciates its best friend and happily eats some. Lucario wipes some of the cream off of Cinderace's face. It then tried to offer some to Lucario, but it gets mad with Cinderace again for messing up its fur. Cinderace runs away from a frustrated Lucario while Ash and Goh see that they're great friends with each other, even though they're chasing each other. 
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?": Cinderace
*"After the story": 
*This marks the second time that a Pokémon is stuck to another Pokémon (not counting a Pokémon stuck to a human), the first being Pikachu and Meowth, which was shown in "Bound For Trouble", 1031 episodes ago.
*In the Latin American Spanish dubbing, this is the last episode where Diana Pérez voices her long-running role as Jessie before her death on April 27, 2021 from a kidney failure at the age of 51. She is replaced by Rebeca Gómez in the next episode and onward.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character attempts to release a Pokémon
Category:Episodes focusing on Pikachu
Category:Episodes featuring Champions