JN003

Ivysaur's Mysterious Tower! (Japanese: フシギソウってフシギだね？ , Isn't it Mysterious?) is the third episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,088th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on December 1, 2019, in Canada on May 23, 2020, in the United Kingdom on May 25, 2020 as a sneak peek, and in the United States on June 12, 2020.
==Blurb==
Ash and Goh are embarking on their first full day as research fellows at Professor Cerise's Laboratory, and the excitement starts right away! There’s an outbreak of Ivysaur and Bulbasaur in Vermilion City, and armed with their new Rotom Phones, our heroes set out to investigate. It turns out the Pokémon are trying to reach a favorite sunbathing spot, but the land is now a construction site for a Gym. Ash and Goh follow as the Pokémon climb the Gym tower—but Team Rocket isn’t far behind! Ash, Pikachu, and the Ivysaur send the trio packing…and then our heroes watch in awe as the triumphant Ivysaur evolve into Venusaur!
==Plot==
The alarm sounds, though neither or Goh are keen to get up for their first full day at the Cerise Laboratory. Mimey enters the room and wakes the boys up with his mime vacuum, before showing them to their breakfast, where they are greeted by Professor Cerise, his daughter Chloe, and . Chloe prepares Yamper's meal before leaving for school.
Later, Ash and Goh join Professor Cerise in his laboratory. Ren apologizes for being late, blaming the delay on his bus. Cerise's other assistant Chrysa reveals that a mass outbreak of is responsible for the chaos across Vermilion City. Professor Cerise hands Ash a smartphone and orders Goh to take his out before calling out a pair of . The Rotom enter Ash and Goh's smartphones, transforming the devices into Rotom Phones. Meanwhile, at the , orders Jessie, James, , and to steal strong and rare Pokémon for the organization, and make Team Rocket known and feared across the world, promising to deliver them a new secret weapon meant to help them achieve these objectives.
Ash and Goh, meanwhile, spot Officer Jenny as she directs traffic around the traveling Ivysaur hordes. Goh takes the opportunity to scan the Ivysaur with his phone's Pokédex function, but he is left wondering why the Ivysaur are in the city. Officer Jenny admits that she cannot explain the Ivysaur, but reveals another problem – the Team Rocket trio. Goh reveals that he has heard of the Pokémon stealing organization, but questions the validity of the reported Meowth. Ash replies that most people would assume so, but he knows otherwise. Officer Jenny orders the boys to be on alert as the trio have been reportedly sighted in the Vermilion vicinity.
Nearby, the crashing sound of an Ivysaur attacking a wall attracts Goh and Ash’s attention. Ash steps forward to help it, but Goh grabs his wrist to stop him from intervening. Ash, however, rubbishes Goh’s sentiments and prepares to hoist the Ivysaur over the wall. Ivysaur instantly responds by tackling Ash to the ground, which Goh notes only proves his point. Ash disagrees, causing Goh to reconsider his friendship with Ash. Goh instead decides to investigate for himself, much to Ash's chagrin. The boys watch as Ivysaur changes its approach, using to hoist itself over the wall. Ash and Goh both leap into action, attempting to scale the brick wall to pursue Ivysaur. While Ash climbs up easily, Goh struggles to grip on. Atop the wall Ash spots a mysterious building, which his Rotom Phone reveals is a currently under construction. Meanwhile, the Ivysaur continues on its way and Goh finally makes his way over the obstacle. A fills the air, and Goh admits that it is a sign that Ivysaur will soon evolve.
Continuing to investigate, Ash and Goh spot other Ivysaur and some all walking in the same direction; towards the Gym. Goh soon consults his Rotom Phone for information on the under-construction Gym, which reveals that the area was once a grassland where the wild Bulbasaur and Ivysaur would bask in the sun. As they arrive at the construction site, the Pokémon are clearly disappointed. However, the beaming sun overhead spurs the Grass Pokémon into action, and they scale the scaffolding with their Vine Whips. Goh tries to explain their actions, but decides to abandon his thoughts and follow Ash up to the building's top. Goh initially struggles to climb, but with the help of Ash, the pair soon reach the top. The Ivysaur's flower opens as it absorbs the sunlight and a Sweet Scent fills the air once again. To truly understand the phenomena, he suggests they become Ivysaur. Goh is stunned by the suggestion, but follows Ash’s example, which helps him to realize the pleasantness of sun baking and the passing breeze. The Ivysaur and Bulbasaur begin to glow, when a net captures and interrupts the mass-evolution phenomena.
Hoisting their catch up to their balloon, the Team Rocket trio proclaim their arrival with a recital. Goh is shocked to finally come face-to-face with the evil trio and begins taking snapshots to record the talking Meowth. Ash orders the Pokémon be returned, but Team Rocket is keen to make a clean getaway. Seeing this, Ash has use to free the stolen Pokémon from the net. Determined to settle an old score, Jessie orders Meowth to land the balloon. As the Rocket trio prepare to take on Ash, a drops a coin-slot vending machine in front of them, which they realize must be the secret weapon Giovanni had promised to them. Jessie and James shove Meowth headfirst into the coin slot, using his golden charm to activate the machine. With a turn of the crank, Jessie and James receive a pair of Rocket-branded Poké Balls. Jessie and James are impressed by the Boss’s choices as they call out a and a , respectively, onto the field. Pikachu dodges Gyarados's and Tyranitar's . He replies with an , but the attack fails to hold back an oncoming and combo. Pikachu sprints into action with , striking both of his opponents in the forehead. Gyarados lashes Pikachu with an and Tyranitar's hits its mark.
Ash rushes to Pikachu's side while Goh stands there, unable to attack as he doesn't have any Pokémon. Jessie and James prepare to deal the final blow, but the Ivysaur step up and launch a combined onslaught. Ash thanks the Ivysaur for helping. As Tyranitar and Gyarados charge up a their attacks, Ash and Pikachu step in front of the Ivysaur to protect them from the anticipated powerful attacks. Ash orders a , which combats the oncoming Hyper Beams and sends Team Rocket blasting off. Experiencing Pikachu's power once again, the trio agrees to resume their original plan to steal Ash's Pikachu.
Goh and Ash return their attentions back to the Ivysaur as they evolve into . The newly-evolved Venusaur promptly unleash pollen into the air, causing the buds across Vermilion City to bloom into flowers. The young Bulbasaur follow suit, all evolving into Ivysaur. Goh realizes that the former grassland’s notable wind is the reason why the Bulbasaur evolutionary line frequent the spot. The impressive phenomena leads Ash and Goh to conclude that Pokémon are awesome. Goh also admits that Ash and Pikachu are cool, but Ash doesn’t hear the compliment. The research fellows return to the Cerise Laboratory, where the Professor is impressed by the findings on Venusaur's pollen. Ash and Goh conclude the day was great, with Ash simply glad to have made friends with the Venusaur. On hearing about "friends", Goh asks Ash if he will be his friend. Ash admits that they are already friends. Yamper's bark interrupts, announcing Chloe’s return from school. The boys chuckle among themselves as Chloe explains that she is late because she had to clean up after all of the school's flowers bloomed at once. Cerise declares the "Ivysaur march" phenomena is no longer a mystery, while Ash and Goh look forward to their next adventure.
==Major events==
* Ren and Chrysa are formally introduced.
* receives a smartphone from Professor Cerise.
* Professor Cerise's two enter Ash and Goh's smartphones, turning them into Rotom Phones.
* Goh meets for the first time.
* Jessie and James are provided with the Rocket Prize Master, a vending machine for Team Rocket-trained rental Pokémon.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
* (Rotom Phone)
* Pelipper (Team Rocket)
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* 
* Chloe
* Officer Jenny
* Professor Cerise
* Chrysa
* Ren
* (image)
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone; ×2; debut)
* ('s; Mimey)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ('s; multiple; image)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (multiple; evolve)
* (multiple; some evolve; some newly evolved)
* (multiple; newly evolved)
* 
* (×4)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* An of this episode was drawn by Hitoshi Ariga.Tweet by @anipoke_PR on Nov 7, 2019
* A segment called Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!! replaces the Poké Problem segment in this episode.
* This episode marks the first time that a main male character has received a Pokédex other than .
* The Gym under construction highly resembles the s found in Pokémon GO.
** The construction site is likely also a reference to the construction site seen in Vermilion City in the .
* This episode's English dub title is likely a reference to Bulbasaur's Mysterious Garden, which also featured an Evolution ritual involving a group of line members.
* Tara Jayne returns to voicing characters in the English dub.
* This is the first episode where Emily Jenness voices Officer Jenny. She previously voiced her in the twenty-first and the twenty-second movie.
* This is one of the few instances of referring to by name instead of as "Boss".
* Goh, Ash, Goh's Rotom Phone, and narrate the preview for the next episode.
* Despite the mechanic having existed since Generation II, just over 20 years prior, this is the first time that mass outbreaks have been featured in the , although one was briefly mentioned in The Dunsparce Deception.
===Errors===
* When Ash and Goh are looking away from each other, the Poké Ball design on Goh's outfit partially disappears.
* When Ash and Goh say that they are right behind the Ivysaur, the hole in Ash's shirt is the same color as the shirt.
* When Ash and Goh are climbing a wall, Ash's visor is colored red like the rest of his hat instead of white.
* When Goh tells Ash to hop onto him, his mouth does not move.
* In one scene of Ash and Goh climbing the tower, the straps on Goh's bag are the same color as his shirt.
* When the Ivysaur start using for a second time, the inside of an Ivysaur's ear is colored green instead of black.
* When an Ivysaur begins to evolve, its nostrils are missing. This error will occur in every episode that recaps this scene.
* The Rocket Prize Master disappears for the rest of the scene after Jessie and James send out and , respectively.
* In one scene near the end, Ash and Goh have their bags on, even though they aren't supposed to have them on at this point.
* In the dub, when Ash and Goh see , only Ash can be heard.
JN003 error.png|Ash's shirt error
JN003 error 2.png|Ash's miscolored hat
JN003 error 3.png|Ivysaur's miscolored ear
===Dub edits===
* In the English dub, Professor Cerise contrasts the mysteries surrounding Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur with their status as first partner Pokémon to Kanto trainers. In the Japanese version, Professor Cerise says Bulbasaur, Ivysaur, and Venusaur's mysteries are true to their names (since in Japanese, they all contain the word "fushigi", or "mysterious").
* In the English dub, Jessie says the Rocket Prize Master looks like a gumball machine. In the Japanese version, she instead compares it to a , a type of capsule-toy vending machine.
* The Japanese texts depicting Gyarados and Tyranitar's categories and names are edited out.
==References==
==In other languages==
003
Category:Episodes written by Shōji Yonemura
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Kaori Higuchi
Category:Episodes by one-time directors
Category:Episodes animated by Etsuhito Mori
Category:Episodes animated by Hideaki Matsuoka
Category:Episodes by one-time animation directors
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
de:Der geheimnisvolle Turm der Bisaknosp!
es:EP1092
fr:LV003
it:EP003
ja:新無印編第3話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第3集