PJ008: The Sinnoh Iceberg Race!

is the 8th episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Ash and Goh are checking out some Tentacool when a Pokémon races toward them from across the sea—it's an exhausted, ravenous Piplup! They learn that its Trainer, Lauren, has been searching for it after it swam away from her in the Sinnoh region. It turns out the proud Piplup is engaged in a fierce rivalry with Lauren's other Pokémon, a Croagunk who loves being spoiled. Back in Sinnoh, Piplup challenges Croagunk to a Pokémon Iceberg Race, but Team Rocket throws the event into chaos! When Lauren finds herself in danger, the two Pokémon set aside their differences to save their Trainer—and they become good friends as a result!
==Episode plot==
Ash and Goh arrive at Vermilion City's port, where they see a group of Tentacool living in the water. Ash touches one of them on the head (which feels soft and squishy), but it gets annoyed and attacks him as a result. Goh then attempts to catch one of the Tentacool, hoping he will be able to get a strong one. He eventually finds a powerful one and throws a Poké Ball, but the Pokémon dodges it, resulting in one of the weaker ones getting caught instead. While Goh technically messed up, he is still pleased and takes pride in his newfound friend. Afterward, the boys see something in the sea coming in their direction. A Pokémon then emerges from the water, revealing it to be a disheartened and worn-out Piplup. The boys are shocked and become terrified when the Piplup passes out.
At the Cerise Laboratory, Piplup eats some Pokémon food while the boys and Professor Cerise ask about where it came from. Chloe then comes home and asks what they're doing, with Goh answering that they're simply watching the Piplup. However, they soon realize that it is out of their sight until Mimey comes in and tells everyone where it is. Going to the spot, the boys are shocked to see that the Piplup is swimming in their bathroom sink. Afterwards, Ren comes in and tells everyone to go to the institute's main room. When they do, they see a girl named Lauren on the screen. Lauren, who is Piplup's Trainer, thanks the boys for finding and saving her Pokémon. She explains that they are from the Sinnoh region, and she was worried that Piplup ran away. Professor Cerise then tells the boys to head to the Sinnoh region so they can return Piplup back to its Trainer.
When the boys arrive in the Sinnoh region, they see that a festival is going on. Goh shows Ash a poster about an event called the "Drift Ice Race", so they plan to check it out after they complete their mission. Underwater, Team Rocket follows them. They overhear their conversation and plan to capture Ash's Pikachu, along with the other Pokémon in the race. However, they quickly become exhausted by paddling their ship, as they couldn't afford to have the vehicle run on electricity.
Upon arriving at the festival, Ash looks for Lauren while Goh attempts to catch a Pokémon for the race, successfully catching a Mantyke afterwards. After Lauren arrives, she apologizes for being late, as she had dropped her glasses on her way. Lauren happily greets her Piplup and welcomes it back, but it shrugs her off. Lauren then thanks the boys for saving her Piplup before dropping her glasses again, which her Pokémon retrieves and returns to her. Turning to leave, Lauren attempts to bring Piplup back home with her, but it angrily refuses (which makes Lauren and the boys wonder why). The source of Piplup's anger is revealed shortly after when a Croagunk appears (which is then revealed to Lauren's other Pokémon). While Lauren states that her Croagunk came since it was worried about Piplup, everyone gets shocked when they see Piplup and Croagunk fighting.
The boys ask if Croagunk was responsible for Piplup's disappearance and the problem of Lauren about the incident. Lauren explains that she first met Piplup about a year ago, when she dropped her glasses in the ocean and the Pokémon returned them to her. When Lauren saw Piplup swimming in her house's pool, she decided to have it enter the Drift Ice Race, where it won the competition. While Ash is amazed about Piplup's origin, Goh asks about how Lauren met Croagunk. Lauren explains that she met Croagunk last month, where she had the same incident with her glasses. Croagunk had been living with both Lauren and Piplup since then, but the two Pokémon developed a rivalry with each other. During their rivalry, Piplup lost to Croagunk during a little swimming race, which impressed Lauren.
She praised Croagunk for its skills, which caused Piplup to be heartbroken and run away from Sinnoh. After Lauren's story is told, the boys realize that Piplup left because it lost to Croagunk, so it swam to Kanto to train and beat it in a rematch. Piplup then disappears, returning to sign up both Croagunk and itself to compete in the Drift Ice Race (where it hopes to settle score during the competition). Lauren is displeased, as she just wants them to be friends with each other. Ash and Goh decide to enter the race as well, with Ash using his Pikachu and Goh using his newly caught Mantyke. Underwater, Team Rocket hears the boys and starts preparing for their plan.
At the Drift Ice Race, the Pokémon prepare themselves for the competition. Ash and Goh cheer for their Pokémon while Lauren is worried about Piplup and Croagunk. As the race begins, Piplup, Croagunk, and an Empoleon take the lead, while the other Pokémon are left behind. Pikachu struggles to swim, but Mantyke turns around and carries Pikachu on its back. Piplup and Croagunk, both in the lead, stay neck in neck as they swim to the finishing line. However, while Piplup and Croagunk continue the race, Team Rocket appears in the middle of the event and captures some of the Pokémon with a huge net. While Ash orders Pikachu to use Iron Tail to cut the net and free the Pokémon, Team Rocket calls on their Pelipper to bring them their new capsule machine. When it does, they send out two powerful Pokémon: a Machamp and a Beartic.
Team Rocket then orders their Pokémon to attack, with Machamp throwing a chunk of ice while Beartic uses Icicle Spear on Pikachu and Mantyke. Goh tells Mantyke to dodge with Agility while Ash orders Pikachu to attack with Thunderbolt, electrocuting Team Rocket. An enraged James then tells Beartic to attack the ship with Thrash, which causes the ship to be knocked off balance. As a result, Lauren falls off the ship and is forced to hold onto the edge, her life now in danger. Piplup and Croagunk continue their race until they hear Lauren's glasses drop in the water. Putting their rivalry aside, they rush to Lauren's aid, where she is about to fall. Working together, they cut a raft off the boat, which they use to catch Lauren as she falls. Happy that her Pokémon rescued her and made amends with each other, Lauren smiles as they bring back her glasses. While the boys are happy that Lauren is safe, they still have to deal with Team Rocket.
As a result, Goh orders his Scorbunny to use Double Kick on the Beartic, which knocks it off the boat and forces it to retreat. Pikachu then finishes it with Thunderbolt, which sends Team Rocket blasting off. Unfortunately for the boys, the race is cancelled due to Team Rocket's interference. However, they cheer up when they see Lauren and her Pokémon finally making amends with each other. At the dock, the boys return to Kanto, waving Lauren and her Pokémon farewell. After they leave, Lauren and her Pokémon decide to return home. Shortly after, Lauren loses her glasses again, so both Piplup and Croagunk go to retrieve them. Ironically, a Psyduck returns Lauren's glasses back to her. She praises the Psyduck for its swimming skills, leaving both Piplup and Croagunk heartbroken. 
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Goh's Tentacool
*Goh's Mantyke
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?:" Piplup
*This is the first episode in Japan to air in the 2020s.
==Mistakes==
*During one of Lauren's flashbacks, her socks are erroneously colored the same brown as her boots.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions