PJ064: Absol Absolved!

is the 16th episode of , and of .
==Synopsis==
Ash and Goh return to Hoenn to help their friend Hodge, who explains that Lavaridge Town’s hot springs have dried up. Hodge’s uncle suspects it’s Absol’s fault, but Ash and Goh know that’s just a superstition. When they climb Mt. Chimney to investigate, they find the landscape has been frozen! It turns out some Glalie have been protecting a Snorunt by covering everything with ice, and Absol’s only been trying to warn everyone before the trapped steam causes an eruption! With Absol’s help, our heroes manage to safely release the steam and restore the hot springs, and Absol is so grateful, it decides to become Goh’s newest Pokémon!
==Episode plot==
At the Cerise Laboratory, Ash and Goh inform Professor Cerise that they received a request from Hodge, a boy that Ash and Goh previous battled in the Flute Cup in the Hoenn region. The request sent to them was to investigate why the water in Hodge's uncle's hot spring was drying up. The townspeople believe that Absol, a Pokémon responsible for disasters in the past, is the reason for their lack of hot water. Goh speculates that there may be another reason for the shortage and he wants to find out what the real reason is, so Professor Cerise allows the two boys to head to the Hoenn region to investigate.
The boys arrive in Lavaridge Town and are greeted by Hodge and his Hariyama, with Hodge noticing Goh now has a Grookey as his partner Pokémon. He attempts to shake Grookey's hand to greet it, but falls forward off his Hariyama as Grookey simply grabs his hand. As Ash, Goh and Hodge head to the hot spring, they notice that the town seems empty and most of the stores are closed, far from the bustling tourist spot it usually was. Before they arrive at the spring, Hodge shows Ash and Goh a stone tablet depicting etched drawings of an Absol and natural disasters happening around it. Hodge states the tablet serves as a reminder to a similar incident involving the hot spring many years ago. The three continue to wonder if the hot spring drying up truly is the work of Absol, or if there may be another reason.
As the three head towards the hot spring, they are surprised to find the people inside holding various objects to ward off the Pokémon such as a net and a broom. Hodge asks his uncle what he is doing, to which he replies that he and the people he gathered will subdue Absol and make sure it does not cause the city any more trouble ever again. He then notices Ash and Goh have come to investigate. The boys attempt to reason with the man, saying there is a chance Absol may not be the culprit, to which he gives them time to investigate. If they don't find the real culprit within two hours, the group will go to capture Absol themselves.
Ash, Goh, and Hodge head out to investigate and look for clues. Ash and Goh head off to climb Mt. Chimney and are suddenly confronted by an Absol. As Grookey stares off with the Absol, it suddenly uses Razor Wind and sends Grookey tumbling back to Goh. Absol continues to use Razor Wind, causing the boys and their Pokémon to scatter to the trees. The Razor Wind attack simply cuts through the trees, causing them to fall down and causing Goh's Grookey to faint as Goh returns Grookey to its Poké Ball. As the cut trees block the boy's path, they decide to take another route and continue climbing. As they continue trekking up, they come across one of the hot spring's pipes and decide to follow it, eventually coming across an oddly snowy area. The boys figure out that something must be happening underground with the pipes freezing up, but they are unsure of how they will be able to get underground. Goh sends out his Trapinch as it begins to dig underground, eventually emerging due to the cold as Goh calls it back. As Goh investigates the cold dirt, the two suddenly feel a chilling wind pass by them as a wild Glalie approaches them from a nearby cave. The Glalie suddenly uses Powder Snow to attack, but Ash tells Pikachu to use Electroweb. Glalie returns by rapidly using Powder Snow which makes the boys hide behind some rocks. Ash, Goh and Pikachu decide to hide behind the rocks and quietly follow Glalie.
As Glalie heads off to another ice cave, Ash and Goh watch as Glalie calls for two other Glalie and a single Snorunt. Goh identifies Snorunt with his Rotom Phone before speculating that Snorunt got lost in the mountain and was being cared for by the Glalie, thus making them defensive and freezing the pipes of the hot spring. Goh decides he wants to catch one of the Pokémon before Absol shows up once again, attacking the boys with Slash, though they are able to move out of the way of the attack in time. The boys and Absol stare off before Absol scurries off with Goh wondering why Absol continues to attack them, feeling bad for the Disaster Pokémon. Goh calls Hodge on his Rotom Phone to inform him that Glalie were responsible for the hot spring clogging, though he requests that Hodge take a closer look at the stone tablet to find more information.
As the boys continue to trek up Mt. Chimney, Goh receives a call from Hodge on his Rotom Phone. Hodge discovers that there is more to Absol than previously thought, as it was actually attempting to help the townspeople. The tablet was depicting Absol causing a volcano to erupt so that rocks would stop clogging the volcano and the hot temperatures would melt the ice that froze the hot spring pipes over 300 years ago, causing hot water to flow through the pipes. The two then notice a large eruption of steam come from Mt. Chimney and decide to continue and investigate. Once inside of the mountain, they find a giant rock blocking the volcano. Goh sends out Cinderace to use Pyro Ball while Pikachu uses Thunderbolt. The two are only able to damage the rock a little, though Absol quickly shows up and uses Razor Wind to help the Pokémon. The three Pokémon continue to attack the rock until Absol lunges forward to headbutt the rock, shattering the stone into pieces as steam erupts from the mountain. To save Absol, Goh quickly throws a Poké Ball and successfully catches Absol. Cinderace kicks the Poké Ball to Goh before he sends out Absol, thanking it and allowing it to run free. However, Absol decides to stay with Goh, nudging the Poké Ball out of his hand and returning itself to the Poké Ball.
The boys head back to the hot spring and bathe in them with their Pokémon and Hodge, with the waters restoring Grookey back to good health. Hodge thanks the boys for investigating and unclogging the pipes, relieved that Absol was not the culprit after all. Goh and Ash wonder what happened to Hodge's uncle and, they find him dousing himself with ice water made by the Glalie as apology for the misunderstanding. They assure him that all is forgiven and bring him into the spring to warm up.
==Debuts==
===Pokémon===
*Goh's Absol
==Trivia==
*Who's That Pokémon?: Absol
==Gallery==
==References==
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes featuring Champions