DP023: Faced with Steelix Determination!

is the 23rd episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Team Rocket's latest misguided Pokémon-snatching scheme digs them into a deep hole, deep enough that they accidentally bury their shovels in the head of a very irritated Steelix! Steelix goes on a rampage and Team Rocket runs away, bumping into Ash and his friends in the middle of their mission to help a lost Bidoof find its home. Steelix hits Team Rocket with an attack that blasts Meowth into the midst of Ash and the gang, while Jessie and James are off on their own.
Ash's group runs for a nearby waterfall, escaping into a rocky pass that Steelix can't fit into. On the other side is the lost Bidoof's home village, but all the Bidoof are trapped there because they're afraid of Steelix. Jessie and James join the stranded group but decide to hide while Meowth and our heroes try to calm Steelix and save the village.
Building stronger walls to keep Steelix out is only a temporary solution—they need to get the shovels out of Steelix's head! Meowth lures Steelix to another narrow pass where the others are waiting, and even though Team Rocket is sent flying by yet another Hyper Beam, everyone else works together to get two shovels out. The last shovel is still stuck, but once the Bidoof team up, they get it out and stop Steelix from charging into a waterfall. Reminded once again of the power of teamwork, Ash and his friends can leave their new Bidoof friends and head for their next destination.
==Episode plot==
Team Rocket is digging a hole. James and Jessie think they will not get their enemies as they want to eat. Meowth tells them they need Pikachu for cash to eat. They dig more and have their shovels stuck. The ground shakes and Steelix emerges. Meowth sees the shovels got stuck on its head. Steelix is angry and chases them. As the heroes wander, they spot a Bidoof and see it has a wound on its head. Brock goes to treat it, but it is shy. Pikachu convinces it has nothing to be afraid of and gets treated. They do know Bidoof should be near water, so it seems it got lost. Brock sees on his map there is a waterfall nearby and go to get Bidoof to there.
Suddenly, they hear Team Rocket. The Steelix emerges and the heroes see the shovels on its head. Steelix attacks, so everyone runs. The heroes and Bidoof go on a left road. Steelix uses Hyper Beam on Team Rocket and Meowth gets blasted off to where the heroes went to. Jessie and James are relieved that Steelix went away, but see Meowth's gone. The heroes are chased and run in an opening. They go through and see Steelix cannot pass. They see the Bidoof Village and everyone joins them. Brock wonders why nobody went to search for Bidoof, so Meowth translates Steelix is the reason they are afraid to go.
Meowth translates that Steelix will somehow get through the opening. They see that Steelix is already attacking. They hear Jessie and James searching for Meowth and get catapulted to the Bidoof Village from Steelix's Hyper Beam. They reunite with Meowth and are told that Bidoof are in danger due to their shovels. Jessie and James are angered that they are confronted they started with the situation. Jessie and James go inside a Bidoof house and will stay there until Steelix stops attacking. Meowth also goes, but Dawn stops him, as they need his assistance. Steelix attacks even fiercer, as it wants to pay back what it was done to it.
While the Bidoof go to plug the hole, Dawn's Piplup uses BubbleBeam to attack Steelix. Jessie and James see the hard work, but tell Ash they are too hungry to help as well. Piplup got exhausted and Dawn recalls it back. Steelix is even more angry and smashes a part of the opening, then uses Hyper Beam to attack. Steelix attacks the wooden logs and they begin to break. Dawn tells Ash and Brock by pulling the shovels up from Steelix's head might calm it down. To lure it in an hole to get the shovels, the heroes think Meowth would make a good decoy.
Steelix smashed the logs and goes after Meowth. The latter jumps across the hole, but Ash's Staravia helped him. Steelix fell in the hole, so Ash, Brock and Dawn go on it to get the shovels. Meowth is furious and, with Jessie and James, taunts Steelix. The latter wakes up and uses Hyper Beam to blast them off. It uses repeats its attack and smashes everything around. Staravia uses Aerial Ace and gets one of the shovels out of Steelix's head. Staravia goes to get another, but gets hit by Steelix's tail. The latter charges after the former, but Ash was able to call it back, while Pikachu uses Iron Tail to get another shovel out.
Suddenly, Steelix smashes its head and Pikachu falls down, undamaged. Steelix continues to attack everything. The Bidoof that Brock treated earlier convinces the Village Leader and they all go on Steelix's head to try to get the last shovel out. Steelix is heading for the waterfall, so Ash sends Turtwig, who uses Razor Leaf to get Steelix's attention. The latter gets stopped, but retaliates with Hyper Beam. The Bidoof, after some time, manage to get the shovel out. Steelix regains its control and leaves the village. The heroes leave as well, to go to Floaroma Town.
==Trivia==
*Music from Jirachi: Wish Maker, Destiny Deoxys and an alternate cut of Spurt! are used as background music.
*Professor Oak's lecture: Jessie's Seviper
*Pokémon senryū: あかいキバ　わわるとアブネー　ハブネーク Akai kiba / Wawaru to abunē / Habunēku "The red fangs, it's dangerous to touch them; Habunake."
===Mistakes===
In the Portuguese dub, in the rock wall scene, Steelix was called Bidoof.
==Gallery==
==References==