BW044

Purrloin: Sweet or Sneaky? (Japanese: チョロネコに御用心！ニャースとミジュマル！！ Beware of ! and !!) is the 44th episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and the 701st episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on August 25, 2011 and in the United States on December 3, 2011.
==Blurb==
Our heroes are on their way toward Nimbasa City for Ash’s fourth Gym Badge challenge when they come across a Purrloin. Meowth, still traveling with the gang, is entirely smitten with the cutie-pie Pokémon, as are Oshawott and Iris—but Cilan’s previous experiences with a Purrloin were so horrible, he doesn’t even want to talk about them!
With Meowth translating, Purrloin tells our heroes that a good friend is trapped in a cave up ahead, and pleads with them to come and help. Cilan refuses to believe Purrloin and stays behind, but everyone else decides to join the rescue, only to find that the story is a hoax—Purrloin has lured them into the cave to steal Ash’s backpack and food!
Outside, Cilan is waiting for the others to come back when a Trainer named Misha comes looking for her Purrloin. They rush to the cave to confront Purrloin, and with Meowth’s translation help, Purrloin and Misha resolve a serious misunderstanding that had kept them apart.
It’s not all happy reunions, though—just as everyone is about to hug and make up, the ground collapses under their feet, and our heroes are swept away in a landslide! Left on solid ground, Purrloin runs off to fetch help, and manages to convince a flock of Tranquill (earlier victims of Purrloin’s thieving ways) to come to the rescue, and everyone is safe and sound once more.
Meanwhile, Jessie and James continue Team Rocket’s mysterious mission without Meowth...
==Plot==
A spies on a pair of nesting , waiting for an opportunity to steal some . The Tranquill communicate by flapping their wings before leaving their nest, and the Berries, behind. Purrloin sneaks into the nest, and eats one, only to be discovered by one of the Tranquill. Purrloin extends its claws in response. Just when it thinks it is safe, a huge flock of Tranquill swarm the nest. Purrloin quickly flees for safety, being pursued by the Tranquill. However, Purrloin gains speed and races off into the depths of the forest, leaving the confused Tranquill behind. 
Continuing on towards Nimbasa City, and , now including , are walking through a forest. Meowth explains that he is in fact good in character, and that everything is better with his new friends, though still doubts Meowth's intentions. Meowth is deeply moved by Ash's sentiments towards him in contrast to Pikachu's, and begins to wail and cry in joy. Meowth is in the middle of a huge emotional scene, when Purrloin runs into him, knocking him over. Meowth turns to see his attacker, only to instantly fall in love with Purrloin. Ash quickly scans Purrloin with the Pokédex. Though holds his arms up in front of him in defense, very briefly stating that a Purrloin did something terrible to him once, but refuses to elaborate.
As Meowth asks Purrloin what is wrong and, after looking away in a devious manner, Purrloin begins to plead to Meowth. Meowth, shocked, then turns to the others and explains that Purrloin is asking for help. Cilan warns everyone not to fall for Purrloin's cuteness, though Meowth decides to help Purrloin. All of a sudden, the group are attacked with by the Tranquill flock, who have discovered Purrloin's location. Ash, observing that they must be agitated, sends out to help by using in combination with Pikachu's , causing the Tranquill to flee in fear. Purrloin then tries to creep away, only to have Meowth stop the . Purrloin then flatters Meowth, and also gets the attention of Oshawott. Meowth begins to fight over Purrloin with Oshawott, but Ash puts a stop to it. Afterwards the group venture over to a nearby stream to take a break. Purrloin tells Meowth that it didn't realize that the Berries belonged to the Tranquill. However, Cilan is still suspicious. Oshawott then uses Water Gun on Ash and Cilan, knocking some Berries out of Ash's backpack. is also overwhelmed by Purrloin’s cuteness, and tries to catch it, but Meowth blocks her, almost getting himself caught by her . Purrloin then sneaks away, preparing to steal the Berries from Ash's backpack.
Meanwhile, Jessie and James are taking photographs of Anville Town’s train yard, and discussing their feelings of loss over Meowth. While James is more concerned, Jessie is focused on the mission at hand, and orders their plans be executed that night.
Purrloin runs back to Ash and company, and claims that its friends are stuck in a deep cave up the road. The group agrees to help find them, though Cilan decides to stay behind, as he can't bring himself to trust Purrloin. The group are lead up a steep and rocky mountain, and Ash begins to grow tired. Purrloin asserts that they are almost there, and orders Ash to leave his backpack, arguing that it is heavy and might get in the way, but Ash refuses. Meanwhile, Cilan is waiting and becomes increasingly worried about the others. Misha, a Trainer with her arm in a sling, arrives and asks Cilan if he has seen a Purrloin, and he exclaims that he has. 
Purrloin guides Ash and the others through an abandoned mine tunnel, and gestures to a tiny hole, explaining that the group must crawl through it. The group barely squeezes their way through, so Purrloin has Meowth grab Ash’s backpack, insisting that it gets even narrower up ahead. Arriving in a larger area, Purrloin urges that its friends are down there and that Meowth must leave the backpack up above. The group jumps down the scaffolding, which is very old and begins to creak. Purrloin then bides goodbye from above, clutching Ash's backpack, declaring that it has no business with Ash and his friends anymore now that it has their food. Suddenly, the scaffolding collapses, sending Ash and the others into the pit below. While Purrloin is checking to see if everyone is alright, Cilan and Misha arrive on the scene. Purrloin confronts its Trainer about abandoning it, and Misha explains that she had been in an accident and was unable to come home. When the hospital had released her, she came home to find that Purrloin was gone. Purrloin initially refuses to believe Misha’s story, but begins to think it over.
Meowth is alarmed as the ground underneath his feet begins to sink. Ash and Iris rush to help, only to realize that they are sinking as well. Cilan and Misha try to pull everyone out with a rope, but the remaining scaffolding gives and they fall into the pit as well. Purrloin wants to help, however Misha warns it to stay put. Purrloin reminisces the good times it has had with its Trainer and rushes out of the tunnel, much to everyone's disappointment. Ash sends out and has her use to grab the rope. As Snivy struggles to pull everyone out, Iris and Cilan send out and to assist. Suddenly, the rope snaps, and everyone begins to get pulled back under the sinking earth. Unexpectedly, the flock of Tranquill arrive and pull the group to safety just in time; all thanks to Purrloin, who had convinced the flock to come rescue Ash and his friends. The group is impressed with Purrloin's selfless actions and grateful to be saved, and Ash thanks the Tranquill and Purrloin for saving the day.
Now back at the tunnel entrance, Meowth explains how Purrloin endured Tranquill's Gust as it pleaded for the flock to rescue Ash and his friends. Misha thanks Purrloin, and it expresses remorse for the way it reacted to being left alone. The group is relieved that everything turned out alright, and Iris wishes the best for Misha and Purrloin, to which Misha expresses her gratitude. Meowth and Oshawott make one final romantic gesture toward Purrloin. However, Misha and Purrloin reveal that Purrloin is actually male, to Meowth and Oshawott's utter surprise and solemn heartbreak.
Meanwhile, Jessie and James guide the mobile lab of Dr. Zager as it lands in Anville Town in preparation for Team Rocket's next operation.
==Major events==
* tries to catch a , not knowing it was already owned, but blocks the , almost resulting in him getting caught by her again.
* Dr. Zager arrives in Anville Town.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
=====TV episode debuts=====
* 
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* Misha
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (Misha's)
* (multiple)
==Trivia== 
* Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: 
* This episode aired the same day as White—Victini and Zekrom was theatrically released in .
* Close to the end of the episode, when tries to ask out for a date, he says, "Come on, baby, don't say maybe!" This is a reference to and 's song "".
* On Pogo/Cartoon Network in , this episode was aired only in English, even on the Hindi language feed. Hence, a CN version Hindi dub of this episode does not exist, although it was later dubbed in Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu as a part of the Disney dubs when aired on Marvel HQ.
===Errors===
===Dub edits===
* In the English dub, Meowth calls and twerps throughout the episode. In the Japanese version, he doesn't call them anything, as he was trying not to blow his cover.
* In the English dub, Ash says that he doesn't care why the were angry before bringing out . In the Japanese version, he just brings out Oshawott.
* In the English dub, says that Purrloin's tail looks like a pitchfork. In the Japanese version, he says that it looks like a devil's tail.
* In the English dub, Meowth asks for a favor after brushing off Misha's gratitude, and Misha asks what it is. In the Japanese version, he instead calls Misha "mother", and Misha repeats this back to him. 
* In the English dub, Cilan calls the reveal that Purrloin is male a "menu substitution". In the Japanese version, he says that it is "in bad taste".
* In the English dub, the narrator says Meowth and Oshawott's love for Purrloin is unrequited. In the Japanese version, he says that their love "vanished into thin air" as soon as they discovered Purrloin's gender.
==In other languages==
044
Category:Episodes focusing on Meowth
Category:Episodes written by Hideki Sonoda
Category:Episodes storyboarded and directed by Shigeru Ueda
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Shigeru Ueda
Category:Episodes directed by Shigeru Ueda
Category:Episodes animated by Tomohiro Koyama
de:Felilou hat's faustdick hinter den Ohren!
es:EP706
fr:NB044
it:NB044
ja:BW編第44話
zh:宝可梦 超级愿望 第44集