EP273

Gotta Catch Ya Later! (Japanese: サヨナラ…そして、たびだち！ Goodbye...and Then, Setting Off!) is the 273rd episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on November 7, 2002, and in the United States on October 18, 2003. 
==Blurb==
With the Johto League Silver Conference behind them, Ash, Brock and Misty head back to Viridian City to relax. Their vacation is cut short when Misty receives an urgent call beckoning her back to Cerulean City to run the gym while her sisters cruise the world. Brock, too, realizes that has things he has to do. After a teary goodbye, Ash returns home to Pallet Town—but soon grows restless for adventure. When his former rival Gary takes off on a new journey, leaving behind all of his Pokémon except Blastoise, Ash starts thinking about his next journey. Maybe it's time to check out the Hoenn region after all.
==Plot==
With the Silver Conference and Johto behind them, and are heading towards Pallet Town when they decide to make a stop in Viridian City. There, Ash deposits his Poké Balls at the local Pokémon Center and asks Nurse Joy if she remembers him. She reveals that she is the new Nurse Joy, but that she has heard about him. She tells that she has received an urgent call from Cerulean City.
 
Getting to a phone, Misty finds out the call is from her sisters, who are going on a trip around the world. As a result, they need Misty to take over the Gym while they are away. Misty objects to this, but Ash assures her that it is only temporary. Nurse Joy surprises Misty with her bike, which had been fixed by the previous Nurse Joy. Seeing the bike causes Misty to remember how her journey with Ash began when he took the bike and ended up destroying it. Ash comments on the good job Nurse Joy did with the restoration and says that Misty can get back to Cerulean City even quicker, but this upsets Misty and she runs out. Ash is confused by Misty's reaction, but points out that Misty may have expected to continue traveling with them.
Misty wanders around the streets of Viridian City and comments on how Ash doesn't seem to understand or care that the trio will be splitting up. She is confronted by three Trainers, who ask her if her friends abandoned her, angering Misty even further. When Misty asks who they are, the three introduce themselves as Viridian City's top Trainers: Kim, Kail, and Kai, the Invincible Pokémon Brothers. Undaunted, Misty wishes they were the "invisible brothers", essentially telling them to disappear. The leader Kim continues to irritate Misty, who challenges them to a .
In a nearby field, Misty sends out her , while Kim sends out his . Misty orders a , which easily knocks Hitmonchan to the ground. Misty mocks the brothers, stating that they should change their title, as they appear to not be so "invincible" after all. This provokes Kail and Kai to send out their Pokémon, and . The three Pokémon surround Politoed. Misty accuses the brothers of cheating, asserting that she cannot battle fairly when it is three against one. However, Ash and Brock arrive to even the fight. hits Hitmontop with , while Brock sends out , who hits Hitmonlee with . Misty angrily tells them that she could have handled it; Ash and Brock reply that they knew she could, but they still wanted to have one last battle together as a group. Touched by their words, Misty orders Politoed to use , which devastates Hitmonchan. Pikachu and Forretress continue their assault on the other two, much to the brothers' dismay.
Nearby, Jessie and James watch as the battle closes. cuts in and, on his command, presses a button that causes two goals to appear on opposite ends of the field. The Trainers notice this, and much to their horror, the goals start to come together, trapping the Trainers and all of their Pokémon inside. The brothers become distraught and reveal that they were hired by Team Rocket to battle and tire Ash and the others out, with the expectation of being paid. Fortunately, Kim uses a handy pair of scissors to cut the net away, releasing everyone. The brothers and their Pokémon quickly surround Team Rocket and angrily ask about their money, much to Jessie's annoyance. This distraction and the brothers' destruction of the net allow Ash and his friends to escape. They order Pikachu, Politoed, and Forretress to attack Team Rocket, the brothers, and their Pokémon. As a result, they are all sent blasting off.
Afterwards, Ash tells Misty how great it was watching her battle, and she thanks him. Then, he informs her that he and Brock brought her bike, and Misty's excitement quickly diminishes. On the road to the cities of and Cerulean, Misty tells Ash not to forget to look after himself and Pikachu. She also tells Brock to try to not fall in love with all of the girls, which makes him laugh. She says that she needs to tell Ash one more thing: "Just keep on doing your best." Ash asks what she means, and Misty sadly responds by saying that it is going to be different without her there.
Misty reminisces about how she first met Ash, accidentally fishing him out of a lake and angrily pointing him in the direction of the Viridian City Pokémon Center. She also remembers all of the experiences she shared with Ash, Brock, and as they traveled through Kanto, the Orange Islands, and Johto. She recalls how it was an accident that she met , but Ash tells her that he believes no matter what, they were always meant to meet and become friends. Brock agrees and tells them that after all of their adventures, they have even become best friends. Ash and Misty agree and continue down the path.
Eventually, the path splits into three smaller paths, with one route heading towards Pallet Town, another heading towards Cerulean City, and the third heading towards Pewter City. Ash and Misty start to say their goodbyes when Brock suddenly interrupts, telling them that he just received an email and needs to return to Pewter City. Ash asks Brock why he didn't tell them this sooner, but Misty quickly deduces that Brock didn't want to split up from them either, which Brock sheepishly confirms. The three bid each other farewell and, before leaving, Brock gives Ash a small picnic complete with cutlery, while Misty gives him a handkerchief to wrap it in. Ash is touched and begins to cry. With that, they all separate, and Ash, upset about his companions' departure, breaks down crying as he runs the rest of the way home.
The next morning, Ash and Pikachu are eating their breakfasts when mentions that returned a couple of days ago. As a result, Ash rushes to Professor Oak's Laboratory, but is dismayed to learn that Gary has already left. Tracey tells Ash that Gary didn't mention where he was going, only that he woke up saying he was feeling inspired and quickly left before being asked what he meant. mentions that Gary must have wanted to make a fresh start, as he left all of his Pokémon, except for his , at the lab before leaving, and that they have no idea when they will see him again.
However, Ash catches up to Gary and asks what the hurry is. Gary responds that he needs to keep moving and that there is still a lot of traveling to do and a lot more to learn about Pokémon. Gary asks Ash what he plans to do now, and Ash is forced to admit that he doesn't know. Gary advises him to wait for a while and think about it. When he starts to leave, Ash gives Gary his half of the broken Poké Ball from their childhood back. Gary thanks Ash, and sets off on his journey. Later, Ash sits by a tree and tells Pikachu that he doesn't like the feeling of being alone. Suddenly, they notice , which is heading towards the Hoenn region. Knowing that Hoenn has a lot of Pokémon he has never seen before, Ash decides to do what Gary did and make a fresh start and head to Hoenn. He starts to run home but falls into a pitfall trap.
Immediately afterwards, Ash is confronted by Team Rocket. James calls out and orders it to send a down the pit. Ash tries to think of something to do, and he remembers Misty and Brock's final words and parting gifts. He gets an idea, and after fishing them out of his backpack, has Pikachu cover his mouth with the handkerchief given to him by Misty while he climbs out with the cutlery given to him by Brock. Ash confronts Team Rocket, informing them that his friends will always be with him. He orders Pikachu to hit them with Thunderbolt, blasting them off.
Back home, Ash tells Professor Oak and Tracey that he has decided to do what Gary did and leave all of his Pokémon besides Pikachu at the lab. Professor Oak guesses that Ash is heading to Hoenn, and Ash tells him that he plans to meet Professor Birch in Littleroot Town. Then, Delia arrives with and a new backpack for her son, having guessed that he would be leaving soon. She also has his ticket for the ferry that departs from to Hoenn. Professor Oak also gives Ash a brand new Pokédex that contains all of the information on the Pokémon that reside there. In addition, Tracey tells Ash that he will take care of his Pokémon while he is away. With a renewed sense of determination, Ash gets ready to set off for Hoenn.
==Major events==
* , , and give their Gym Leader status to .
* Misty gets her bike back, now mended.
* and meet the Invincible Pokémon Brothers.
* Ash, , and Misty go their separate ways.
* Ash returns to Pallet Town and briefly meets as he leaves for a new .
* Ash sees again.
* Ash leaves all of his Pokémon, except , at Professor Oak's Laboratory.
* Ash receives from and a new Pokédex from .
* Ash heads for Littleroot Town in Hoenn.
===Debuts===
====Humans====
* Invincible Pokémon Brothers
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* Nurse Joy
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* Erika (flashback; Japanese version only)
* Invincible Pokémon Brothers
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (U.S. and international), (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback; dub only)
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback; dub only)
* (; flashback)
* ()
* (; flashback)
* ()
* ()
* ('s; Mimey)
* (Officer Jenny's; flashback; Japanese version only)
* (Erika's; flashback; Japanese version only)
* (Kim's)
* (Kail's)
* (Kai's)
* (Wilhomena's; flashback; Japanese version only)
* ()
* (×3; flashback)
* (flashback)
* (multiple; flashback)
* (multiple; flashback)
==Trivia==
* This episode's English dub title refers to the original catchphrase of the Pokémon series, "Gotta catch 'em all!", which would be dropped after the following episode.
* This episode features a three-on-three battle: Invincible Pokémon Brothers' , , and against Misty's Politoed, Ash's Pikachu, and Brock's Forretress.
* A Family That Battles Together Stays Together! and Cerulean Blues both take place immediately after this episode.
* A shot in this episode was reanimated and reused in a flashback in Alola, Kanto!.
* This episode marks the start of 's new tradition of leaving his previous Pokémon party behind before heading to a new region and starting fresh with just Pikachu.
* This episode will mark Misty's final appearance as a traveling companion until she rejoins Ash in A Fated Face-Off!, 950 episodes later. Between these episodes, she will only make guest or cameo appearances.
===Errors===
* Misty's Politoed's jaw is colored green instead of yellow while the group is caught in Team Rocket's trap.
* Professor Oak's eyebrows are mistakenly colored gray when he gives Ash his new Hoenn Pokédex.
* Pikachu disappeared when Ash is looking for the Poké Ball he and fought over in the beginning of their journey.
* During the beginning of the episode, Brock introduces himself to Nurse Joy, even though he thought he had met her before. However, it's possible that he realized before the others that the Joy in question wasn't the one they had met before, given his superior instinct regarding Joys and Jennys.
* In the English dub:
** Delia mispronounces the as "The Seaform Islands" in reference to the tickets.
** When Misty says "Well, Ash Ketchum", the refers to the dialogue as "Well, Ash Ketchem".
EP273 error.png|Politoed's green jaw
EP273 error 2.png|Ash's missing Pikachu
EP273 error 3.png|Professor Oak's gray eyebrows
===Dub edits===
* The flashback about the good times Misty spent with her friends is different in both versions: the dubbed English flashback focuses on Ash and Misty while the original Japanese flashback focuses on Misty's accomplishments as a Pokémon Trainer and as a friend, and even ends with a group shot of Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Togepi, Brock, and Tracey (specifically created for this episode). The original flashback plays unreleased background music from The Power of One, while the dub flashback plays a brand new vocal song.
* Brock refers to a rice ball as an onion in this episode when he is eating one, claiming the "onion" was making his eyes water.
* In the original Japanese version, Daisy gets the tickets from the supermarket, while in the English dub, she wins them in a beauty competition.
* In the English dub, Delia tells Ash to remember to change his underwear, but it isn't mentioned in the original Japanese version.
==In other languages==
273
Category:Episodes written by Hideki Sonoda
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes directed by Yūji Asada
Category:Episodes animated by Masaaki Iwane
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes focusing on Misty
Category:Episodes focusing on Brock
Category:Episodes in which a main character leaves the group
Category:Episodes in which a Legendary Pokémon appears
de:Auf Wiedersehen, Freunde!
es:EP275
fr:EP273
it:OA157
ja:無印編第273話
zh:宝可梦 第274集