BW039: A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition!

is the 39th episode of Pokémon: Black & White.
==Synopsis==
Our heroes run into their friend Bianca once again! She’s in a hurry to get to a fishing competition nearby. She’s never fished before, but Cilan certainly has...he calls himself a Fishing Connoisseur! He decides to compete, and all of our heroes join him.
Meanwhile, it’s revealed that the competition has been secretly taken over by none other than Team Rocket! They plan to steal all the Water-type Pokémon the competitors catch and give the best of them to the Boss.
As Cilan wrestles in a huge Basculin and Bianca frantically attempts to catch an even bigger Frillish, Team Rocket changes the plan: they decide to make their escape with all the Fishing Poké Balls while the competitors are distracted! Our heroes catch on to their plot and a serious battle ensues. Jessie, James, and Meowth make their escape after discovering that the Pokémon they planned to steal have been rescued, thanks to Bianca’s new Frillish!
And so, with the competition canceled due to Team Rocket’s tomfoolery, our heroes bid Bianca a warm farewell, and their journey to Nimbasa City continues!
==Episode plot==
The gang arrives to a town where Cilan checks the map - Nimbasa City is not far away. Ash is happy knowing his Gym battle will come soon. Suddenly, Ash is knocked into a nearby river by Bianca. Ash floats on the river, being watched by a Pokémon. Bianca apologizes to Ash and shows them a poster she saw. It is the fishing competition, making Cilan excited for the event. Bianca admits it is great she can do what she wants away from home. Ash admits he should enter, too, as he also participated in the fishing contests. Iris thinks he can't catch as many as she can. However, Cilan gets too excited, thinking they don't know how tough the contest is, determined to win it, being a fishing connoisseur. They all go to the tent where they should register.
Team Rocket, in disguise, oversee the contest. They consider themselves lucky, as they can take a lot of Water-type Pokémon and give them to the boss. James gives the twerps the papers they should register on to get started. The heroes see the prize, a golden fishing stick. Ash wants to use it, but Iris thinks he is a kid, as he can't use the prize for the contest. Bianca chooses a fishing stick, but Cilan thinks it is a wrong one, so he chooses a different one for her, as she is a beginner to fishing, while Cilan obtained his own rod for this contest. They go out and see the area for the fishing and the one to battle the fished Pokémon. Bianca swings her rod, but the hook attaches to Ash. Cilan detaches the hook, as Bianca does not know much about fishing. Cilan gives Ash, Iris and Bianca tips how to catch the water Pokémon. After a while, Cilan fishes one out and sends it on the other side where he can catch it.
It is a Basculin, so Cilan tosses it to the battleground and sends Pansage to battle. Pansage gets attacked by Water Gun and bitten, followed by Aqua Tail. Pansage uses Bullet Seed, then swims and gets on shore just before Basculin attacks. Basculin bangs its head on a platform (with Pansage's Solar Beam hurting it more), so Cilan captures it using the fishing ball. Ash and Bianca see Cilan is good, for he caught a Water Pokémon already. Iris tries to capture one, but it takes a long time before she decides to capture it with her own hands like she usually does. However, James gives her a yellow card and says that contestants are only allowed to capture Pokémon using the fishing rod. Cilan gives the Basculin to Jessie to analyze, but is surprised when she won't weigh his captured Pokémon. Jessie assures him they'll weigh it at the end of the contest. She takes the box in the back room, while Meowth tells her and James he has an escape plan. As Ash fishes, Iris joins him. Bianca throws the hook and gets a bite.
Ash, Iris and Cilan go to help her. The Pokémon is Frillish, who holds Ash in a tight hug.
Iris and Cilan go to help Ash, but get hugged as well. As a last resort, Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to drive Frillish away, even if he hurt the heroes. Team Rocket see the fuss, so they grab the Poké Balls and go. However, the boat goes away as the Frillish pushed it. Team Rocket yell at Frillish, but the contestants are behind them, hearing them. The heroes notice the bag with the Poké Balls, so Team Rocket undisguise themselves as their plan got foiled. Jessie sends Woobat and James his Yamask. Cilan is insulted by Team Rocket's thieving plan, sending his Pansage and Ash Pikachu. Pansage uses Bullet Seed and Pikachu Thunderbolt, though Yamask uses the mask to protect. Pikachu uses Iron Tail on Yamask and Pansage bites Woobat. Team Rocket notice that Frillish opened all the Poké Balls they stole, including Cilan's Basculin. Yamask uses Haze for distraction and Team Rocket retreat in jetpacks, promising to capture Pikachu.
The tent crashes, so Cilan goes to find the golden fishing stick. However, it is an old repainted stick and now broken. Ash still wants to challenge the Nimbasa City's Gym leader, so Bianca runs to get as soon as possible to challenge the Gym leader before Ash does. The heroes go on their own way.
==Debutes==
===Pokémon===
*Basculin (Cilan's) (blue)
*Basculin (red; explanation)
==Trivia==
*Professor Oak's Pokémon Xtransceiver: Scraggy
*Who's That Pokémon?: Basculin
*Like the "Hook, Line, and Stinker" episode, a fishing contest was featured. The main characters, Misty and Cilan, caught a heavy Water Pokémon, but were later released.
*This episode was originally supposed to air on April 7, 2011, but was delayed due to the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami and the fact that the episode takes place in a city surrounded by water which is comparable to the tsunami effects. When the episode eventually aired, the references to it taking place in Castelia City were removed, a scene of Bianca departing was inserted, and the ending theme was changed from Fanfare of the Heart to Can You Name All the Pokémon? BW. Also, the title was altered from to just .
*This marks Team Rocket's return to disguising themselves and setting up a stand to catch Pokémon.
===Mistakes===
*The gang was surprised to see James using his Yamask in battle, despite seeing it prior to this episode. This is due to the episode being aired on a different date than its originally intended order.
**This was changed in the dub to make it look like Bianca was the only one who was surprised, and wanted to know what a Yamask was.
*In the Professor Oak segment, when the card is shown mentioning Scraggy's name, Pokémon category, and height and weight information, the thing on its head is yellow instead of the usual red. The clips that follow however have it red.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Cilan
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character releases or gives away a Pokémon