EP261

Here's Lookin' at You, Elekid (Japanese: ナナコとエレキッド！ and Elekid!) is the 261st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on August 15, 2002, and in the United States on August 30, 2003. 
==Blurb==
A troublesome Elekid begins harassing Larvitar only moments before Team Rocket swoops in and captures both rare Pokémon in a high-tensile steel net. As Ash and friends give chase, they bump into their old friend, Casey, who is looking for her Elekid, a Pokémon she had recently acquired to help her in cheering for her favorite baseball team, the Electabuzz. Ash and Casey manage to rescue their kidnapped Pokémon from Team Rocket's clutches, but in the process lose track of Elekid and Larvitar once again. As Jessie and James move on, they bump into the same Magikarp salesman that has troubled James on many previous occasions. That notwithstanding, James is talked into trading his Victreebel for one of this salesman's Weepinbell. All parties converge as Ash and Casey find their Pokémon at the same time as Team Rocket. In the heat of battle, James's Weepinbell evolves into a Victreebel. This isn't enough to turn the tide of battle, however, and Team Rocket is defeated. Upset by its hapless defeat, James abandons his second Victreebel of the day.
==Plot==
As and stop for lunch, a wild emerges from the shrubbery and promptly eats some of 's food. It prepares to attack the group, though responds with his own attack. Ash tries to stop the conflict from escalating but gets shocked as a result. Elekid turns its attention to Larvitar and begins patting it on the back, though Larvitar doesn't seem to be enjoying the attention. Unexpectedly, swoops in and nets both Elekid and Larvitar for themselves. Ash calls out , but her attack fails to cut up the capture net. James orders his , and its helps the Rocket trio escape in their Meowth balloon. However, Elekid manages to break both Larvitar and itself free from Team Rocket, and the two begin wandering around the forest together.
As they search for Larvitar, Ash and his friends run into and see that her Bayleef has evolved into a . They learn that Casey is after the same Elekid that they saw earlier, so she joins them in their search. During their walk, Elekid overhears Larvitar's stomach grumbling. It promptly fetches some apples from a nearby tree and hands one to Larvitar. As Larvitar goes to nibble gently, Elekid shows it how to take a real bite. The small gesture instantly makes Larvitar feel at ease. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is standing from a tree branch and looking for any signs of their lost catches with a set of binoculars. James is feeling reluctant about all the effort for the little Pokémon, and ’s boss fantasy encourages him to continue searching. Meowth suddenly spots the duo, and soon enough Team Rocket recaptures their escapees with another drop net. Elekid tries an Electric attack to free itself, but the strategy fails as the net is engineered to withstand electricity. Larvitar resorts to ing, and the ear-splitting noise alerts Ash and his friends to Team Rocket’s latest attempt. Casey has her Meganium to slice the net with a Razor Leaf. Jessie is infuriated and demands answers from James, who reveals that he swapped out the Razor Leaf-proof net for an electric-proof one. orders out his , and its bursts Team Rocket's balloon and sends the evil trio blasting off. Ash and his friends rush to find Larvitar and Elekid, though they instead find the net entangled on a precarious cliff. The group decides to venture into the forest below to search for the missing pair.
After being blasted off, the Rocket trio crash lands onto the Magikarp salesman, who promptly begins his usual sales pitch. James, remembering his losses to the salesman's earlier scams, demands a refund, but the salesman offers to trade them a Weepinbell that knows as a substitute. Jessie and Meowth agree to this deal. The trio considers their options; they decide against Meowth because he is "the brains" and Weezing due to its Smokescreen, while Jessie refuses to part with due to its attacks proving useful, as well as because she had it for so long. Through this process of elimination, the others force James to trade away his prized because of its annoying habit of latching onto James’s head. Jessie makes the trade with the Magikarp salesman's portable trade machine. The dodgy salesman informs them that he won’t accept a trade-back before quickly fleeing.
While James mourns the loss of his beloved Pokémon, his new Weepinbell uses Sweet Scent, which attracts not only Elekid and Larvitar but also Casey's Meganium and Ash's Pikachu. Following their Pokémon, Ash and his friends are able to catch up with Team Rocket and prevent them from escaping. Team Rocket challenges them to a over Larvitar and Elekid. After knocking down with a , Weepinbell evolves into Victreebel and promptly eats Jessie. With the delay, Brock has his Forretress use Rapid Spin to free Larvitar and Elekid from the net. Jessie finally emerges from Victreebel's grasp and she orders to send it flying, much to James's dismay. Casey orders her Meganium to use , sending Team Rocket blasting off once again. Meanwhile, the Magikarp salesman kicks away James's old Victreebel after it tries to eat him. It meets up with the second Victreebel in mid-air, and the two fall in love and happily bounce off into the forest together.
After the group reunites with Elekid and Larvitar, Casey battles Elekid with her Meganium. Elekid uses its attack to fend off Meganium's Razor Leaves. Meganium s Elekid before landing a direct Solar Beam on it. Elekid falls backwards and Casey pitches a at her target. Elekid enters the Ball, and after a few sways, Elekid is officially caught. As Casey holds up her newly Pokémon, Larvitar is feeling sad. Casey assures Larvitar that she will look after Elekid, which instantly cheers up the young Pokémon. Later, Casey declares that her new Elekid will help her earn more Badges. She sends Ash and his friends on their way with the theme song she uses to cheer on her favorite baseball team, the . However, the spirited gesture leaves the group overwhelmed.
==Major events==
* and meet up with again.
* Casey's is revealed to have evolved into a .
* James is forced to trade his for the Magikarp salesman's .
* James's Weepinbell evolves into a new Victreebel.
* Jessie blasts away James's new Victreebel.
* The Magikarp salesman his Victreebel.
* James's two Victreebel meet and fall in love.
* Casey an .
* Casey is revealed to have earned four Badges.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
=====Main series and English dub debuts=====
* ()
=====Main series debuts=====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* (fantasy)
* 
* Magikarp salesman
* s (fantasy)
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international), (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; unofficial)
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback)
* (; traded to Magikarp salesman; released)
* (; newly evolved; released)
* ()
* ('s; new)
* ()
* (; traded to James; evolves)
==Transition to digital animation==
This is the first digitally animated episode of the , although a previous episode did feature some digitally animated shots, and digital animation was extensively used for the first time in the opening OK! and its corresponding English opening, Pokémon Johto, since Don't Touch That 'dile, 144 episodes prior. Even though this episode is digitally animated, the flashbacks of James's as a and his interaction with his Weepinbell at a hot tub and inside a double decker bed, which had never been shown in the animated series before, were still animated on cels. The same goes for the flashback of James receiving a from the Magikarp salesman and the flashback of James discovering his Victreebel at a Breeding Center. Jessie's hair is also permanently changed from crimson to dark magenta from this episode onwards.
==Trivia==
* The episode's English dub title is a play on 's line "Here's looking at you, kid" from the 1942 romantic drama film .
* Before the opening theme begins (before the title card in the Japanese version), the partially visible is positioned in a way that resembles what was drawn by in Misty Meets Her Match.
* Although evolves into through the use of a Leaf Stone, James's evolves without one.
* This is the last episode from where one of James's Pokémon has evolved under his ownership.
* This is one of the few episodes from where does not recite their in any form.
* When sings her song at the end, it is the first version of the song instead of the second one she sang at the Bug-Catching Contest.
** Also, Casey Elekid exactly one hundred episodes after she was last seen obtaining in the aftermath of that competition.
* Music from Pikachu's Vacation and The Power of One can be heard in this episode.
* In the Japanese version, soon after mentions that Casey is still an Electabuzz fan, Casey says "Hot Blooded Director 77", which is a reference to the ' (which the Electabuzz is based on) director at the time, 's, special program, called "Senichi Hoshino's Hot Blooded Transcendent Night".
===Errors===
* The Pokémon.com blurb for this episode refers to Casey as already having acquired Elekid; however, Casey does not actually capture Elekid until the final moments of this episode.
* Jessie says that James said the net is made out of special steel, thought it was actually that said it.
* When sends out , its Poké Ball is a instead of the Fast Ball it was caught in.
* In the flashback, James says, "You good for nothing carp!" However, in the actual episode, he said, "You good for nothing fish!"
* In one scene, speaks, but her mouth doesn't move.
* In the English dub, the Pokédex says that Elekid is the evolved form of Electabuzz. Elekid actually evolves into Electabuzz.
===Dub edits===
==In other languages==
261
Category:Episodes focusing on James
Category:Episodes written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Hiroaki Shimura
Category:Episodes directed by Toshiaki Suzuki
Category:Episodes animated by Izumi Shimura
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character trades away a Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character releases or gives away a Pokémon
Category:Episodes in which a main character's Pokémon evolves
Category:Milestone episodes
de:Elekid ist weg!
es:EP263
fr:EP261
it:OA145
ja:無印編第261話
zh:宝可梦 第262集