PJ041: Pikachu Translation Check… / Up to Your Neck!

and are the 41st episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Meowth has a cold, so Jessie and James decide to practice their Pikachu translation skills by watching a video of Pikachu and guessing what it says! Jessie goes first, portraying Pikachu as a snob; James offers a friendlier version. They agree that Pikachu loves them, but Meowth’s not about to reveal the truth… Then, Ash and Goh find a Marshtomp buried in hard, dry ground! Realizing that it had been playing in the mud when the ground dried out, our heroes decide to help as its friends look on. After some failed attempts, a Ludicolo appears; it uses Rain Dance to soften the ground…but then Marshtomp’s friends get stuck, too!
==Episode plot==
At Team Rocket's secret base, James is stacking multiple Poké Balls on top of each other, carefully balancing them. Jessie is impressed by James' skill, though she remarks that the talent is completely worthless. This comment eventually leads to James, Wobbuffet, and the Poké Ball stack falling to the ground. Meowth then walks in on the group with a face mask, stating that he has caught a bad cold. They suggest that Meowth gets some rest as James carries over a blanket to cover Meowth. Jessie asks Meowth if he wants something to eat which eventually leads into Jessie and James listing off various delicious foods to eat themselves rather than for Meowth. Meowth begins to think that just because he is sick, the rest of the group intends on taking a break, which Jessie retorts with saying that they are thinking about Meowth getting well. Meowth than reveals that Team Rocket is missing something important much to the other's surprise. They ask Meowth what it could be, though Meowth passes out and falls to the floor before he can answer.
Pikachu Translation Check…
Jessie and James cover Meowth with another blanket, leaving him to rest on a couch. The three think about what they should do before Wobbuffet pulls out a drone, connecting a cable to their television set and turning it on, revealing various clips of Ash's Pikachu recorded with the drone's camera. The team then realizes that they could better understand Pikachu by watching over the footage and dubbing it over with their own voices and thoughts of what Pikachu is saying. Meowth overhears the ruckus, worrying that the team doesn't need him to translate Pikachu's talk after he did so during their past schemes. Jessie attempts to shake Meowth awake in order for him to review their efforts, but Meowth becomes angered instead and passes out again. Wobbuffet starts the clips of Pikachu as Jessie dubs them over but James swiftly stops her, noting that she made Pikachu sound haughty and snobbish. The two get into an argument before Jessie tells James to have a go at dubbing the footage. As James is watching a clip of Pikachu, Jessie quickly stops him and criticizes him for adding "Pi" throughout Pikachu's words. James states that the "Pi" section of Pikachu's name sounds the cutest, so he added it to Pikachu's dialogue. James also suggests that they instead analyze the footage first, so Wobbuffet pulls up a clip featuring Pikachu up close. The group is surprised by the clip showing them blasting off into the sky at first, but the clip quickly goes to Pikachu smiling and saying its name. Wobbuffet rewinds the footage as Jessie and James see that Pikachu's expression was happy and loving. James dubs over the clip, thinking that Pikachu was actually bidding Team Rocket a humble goodbye. This leads to James, Jessie, and Wobbuffet bursting into tears at the supposed caring words from Pikachu, though Meowth struggles to tell the team of what Pikachu really said, eventually also shedding a tear.
Eventually, Meowth is cured of his cold and Team Rocket calls for the Rocket Prize Master. Jessie and James insert Meowth's coin into the machine and two Poké Balls are dispensed. They throw the balls, expecting Pokémon to be inside to determine the next scene, but inside are only two information cards that slowly float down. James reads off the title "Up to Your Neck" while Jessie reads "Pikachu Translation Check" leaving everyone surprised as the title is that of the translation activity they just did.
Up to Your Neck!
Ash and Goh are walking through the forest, noticing how nice the day is. Upon making it to a clearing, they are surprised to see a Marshtomp stuck inside of dried ground. Goh pulls out his Pokédex, learning that Marshtomp frolic in mud to prevent their skin from becoming dry. During this, Ash pokes the ground with a stick while Pikachu hits the ground with its tail, though this is ineffective in freeing Marshtomp. Goh also attempts to pull Marshtomp up from the hardened ground, but its skin is too slippery to grasp onto. Goh attempts to catch the Marshtomp to free it, lightly dropping a Poké Ball on its head, but the capture is a fail as it is unable to go into the Poké Ball.
The boys attempt to come up with a plan to free Marshtomp but then spot a group of other Marshtomp watching them in the distance. Ash suggests that they use Water Gun to free the stuck Pokémon but they quickly back up as Ash draws closer to them. Goh suggests that Sobble should use its own Water Gun attack to wet the ground, so Sobble walks up to the stuck Marshtomp and prepares itself, but eventually backs up due to pressure and camouflages itself to disappear. Goh attempts to use a large leaf to carry water to the Marshtomp, passing it over to Raboot and Pikachu as they carefully carry it to one another, but Ash trips over a rock and spills the water before he can get to Marshtomp. Ash suggests that they fill their mouths with water and carry it to the Marshtomp, though this tactic also proves ineffective.
The boys return to the stuck Marshtomp, scaring away the others that crowded around it. Marshtomp is shown to be growing weak and uncomfortable, worrying the boys. Suddenly, a wild Ludicolo passes by, getting everyone's attention. Pikachu leads the Ludicolo over to the Marshtomp as Ash and Goh ask for it to use Rain Dance. The Ludicolo does not seem to understand the two, only tilting its head in confusion. Suddenly, Ludicolo seems to understand what the boys are saying and begins to dance, however, it instead uses Sunny Day which cracks and hardens the ground even more. Goh continues to tell Ludicolo to use Rain Dance, though Ludicolo is still confused by the command. It walks over and stares at the trapped Marshtomp, suddenly understanding the situation and finally using Rain Dance. The rain turns the hardened ground into mud, allowing the Marshtomp to wiggle out as Ludicolo pulls it free and swings it around happily.
As the sun sets, Ash and Goh wave goodbye to Ludicolo and the Marshtomp who all seem happy dancing with Ludicolo. Ash and Goh then return to the same spot on another sunny day, surprised that they find all of the Marshtomp now stuck inside of the hardened ground.
==Trivia==
*"Who's That Pokémon?": Marshtomp
*"After the story": 
*Instead of having Pikachu in the beginning title card, Wobbuffet is used for the first part, whilst Meowth is used for the second part.
*The first segment marks the first time Goh does not appear in a segment of Pokémon Journeys.
*One, Two, Three and the first title card were only shown after the first part, halfway into the episode.
**The second title card was shown after the opening.
*James mentions Ash by name, being one of the rare occasions they actually use a protagonist's name.
**The Team Rocket trio break the fourth wall when the Rocket Prize Master gives them the titles of both parts of the episode, and realized that the A part has ended.
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes focusing on Pikachu
Category:Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
Category:Episodes focusing on Meowth
Category:Episodes featuring Champions