JN081

Mad About Blue! (Japanese: 激突！？青ポケマニア！ Clash!? The Blue Poké Maniacs!) is the 81st episode of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, and the 1,166th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on September 17, 2021, in Canada on January 22, 2022, in the United Kingdom on March 9, 2022, in South Africa on March 15, 2022, in Australia on May 5, 2022, and in the United States on May 26, 2022.
==Blurb==
Goh has just caught a blue, Shiny Voltorb, which attracts immense interest from Gorman, a self-avowed blue Pokémon fanatic! This young man from Kalos is interested in all things regarding blue Pokémon, and he’s not the only one; he has an omnipresent rival named Bluto! Back and forth they go, trying to outdo each other when it comes to being a blue Pokémon superfan! But after multiple competitions, they finally join forces when Team Rocket appears to steal everyone’s Pokémon! And so, after the two rivals head off to another blue Pokémon event, our heroes once again realize just how big the world of Pokémon can be!
==Plot==
Chloe and are on their way home from school when suddenly, and Goh appear behind her. They're chasing after a and ask Chloe to stop it. Panicking, she tries to do something. As the Voltorb tries to jump over Chloe, Goh takes the chance and it from mid-jump. He lets it back out while Ash explains to Chloe that Shiny Pokémon are rather rare. Suddenly, a and his rush in and enthusiastically hug Voltorb, who promptly s. The Trainer apologizes and introduces himself as Gorman, a "blue " from Kalos. He invites the three to participate in various activities related to blue Pokémon called "Do-Blue". Ash and Goh agree, and while Chloe remains hesitant, Eevee eagerly agrees, reluctantly pulling her in too. Along the way to the first Do-Blue activity, the Do-Blue group passes by a disguised , who overhear Gorman talking about Pokémon fanatics. Deciding to make some money by exploiting his enthusiasm, they start scheming.
Gorman first leads the Do-Blue group to a museum that's holding a display of photos featuring various blue Pokémon. He draws their attention to a picture of a and starts theorizing what its expression in the image means. He theorizes that it's on a quest to find out why it dances, launching into a fantasy of him meeting Brionne and bonding with it, so he can take part in its dances. Suddenly, another blue Pokémon fanatic, named Bluto, along with his partner , appears and calls Gorman a simpleton. His personal theory is that Brionne was perhaps driven out of its home by a brutish Pokémon, and launches into his own fantasy of with Brionne until it evolves into . Gorman protests this fantasy, disliking the shade of blue on Primarina. Just then, Team Rocket appears, disguised as blue Pokémon enthusiasts, and presents them their . Gorman and Bluto are excited, and Jessie offers to take pictures of them with Wobbuffet, but the gets creeped out by the two Pokémon fanatics and runs off, with the rest of Team Rocket giving chase. Bluto then notices Goh's Voltorb and hugs it, causing it to explode yet again.
Later, Gorman expresses the frustration he's now feeling due to his encounter with Bluto, which wasn't the first time the two enthusiasts have met. Still, he decides to push it aside and lead the trio somewhere else to continue with their activities. Meanwhile, Team Rocket has caught up with Wobbuffet. translates that Wobbuffet is feeling scared, and although the Rocket trio tries to calm him down, he promptly grabs his and recalls himself, much to the trio's surprise.
The next destination on Gorman's tour is a café, which is decorated with blue surfaces and serves blue food and drinks. It soon turns out, however, that Bluto is nearby again, enjoying blue pancakes made of Yache Berries and covered with cream. Gorman counters by presenting a baked toast covered in and juice. The two blue Pokémon fanatics fiercely eat their respective dishes while Ash, Goh, and Chloe look on. Afterward, Gorman is dismayed that he ate so fast that he didn't have time to memorize the taste.
Next, Gorman shows the trio a commercial for a blue candy, featuring a and a , and takes them to the spot where the commercial was filmed, which he considers practically sacred. Unsurprisingly by now, Bluto appears again and starts arguing with Gorman, claiming that Vanillite isn't blue at all, but white. Their argument is interrupted when the disguised Team Rocket reappears, with Meowth disguised as Wobbuffet. At first, the Pokémon fanatics are excited, but soon start getting suspicious. Meowth attempts to imitate Wobbuffet in order to look more convincing, but ends up falling over, causing his disguise to start falling off. Seeing this, the Rocket trio beats a hasty retreat to avoid being completely exposed.
Gorman and Bluto start accusing each other of ruining their respective experiences, while Goh wonders why the two keep showing up in the same places. Chloe realizes that since they're both blue Pokémon fanatics, they must've ended up making identical plans. This is soon proven correct, as both Gorman and Bluto receive notifications of a plushie giveaway for the blue candy's fifth-year anniversary. Both of them rush to the local Poké Mart to obtain the plushie, but only one is currently available. As they argue over it and each of them tries to claim it for themselves, they end up ripping the plushie in half. This angers both of them so much that they finally decide to settle their differences, with the loser having to return to Kalos.
The two Pokémon fanatics confront each other and blindfold themselves, before sending out two Pokémon each. Ash wonders if it's a Double Battle, but surprisingly, instead of attacking each other, the Pokémon walk up to the opposing Trainer and are touched by them. Goh figures that this could be a similar competition as having to recognize what food you're eating without looking at it, which is proven correct as Bluto correctly identifies Gorman's Pokémon as and , while Gorman manages to correctly guess that Bluto's Pokémon are and , with both of them also being able to tell what hue of blue they are. Before they can continue, however, Team Rocket appears again, snatching , Eevee, and in a net. James aims a net gun at the Pokémon fanatics' Pokémon, but before he can fire, Bluto has Meowstic use , causing James to drop the net gun, while Dewott uses its shells to cut the net containing Pikachu, Eevee, and Grookey, freeing them. Meowstic then brings the Rocket trio's balloon down to the ground. Frustrated, the trio calls out to . Pelipper appears, but before it can drop the Rocket Prize Master, it gets freaked out by the Pokémon fanatics obsessing over its blue color and performs a U-turn, flying away again. With the Rocket trio left defenseless, Ash promptly has Pikachu deliver them the usual blast-off .
Just as the crisis has been dealt with, Gorman and Bluto's phones notify them of a launch event for a new candy in the next town over, so they rush off to attend it. Ash, Goh, and Chloe wonder if they're friends now after they just fought side by side, but regardless, they laugh the entire thing off.
==Major events==
* Goh a .
===Debuts===
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* Goh
* Jessie
* James
* Chloe
* Gorman
* Bluto
* Poké Mart clerk
* Bartender
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: 
* ()
* ()
* ()
* ()
* (; ; new)
* ()
* (Professor Cerise's; Rotom Phone; ×2)
* (Gorman's)
* (Gorman's)
* (Gorman's)
* (Bluto's; male)
* (Bluto's)
* (Bluto's)
* ()
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* (Trainer's)
* 
* (×3; two in an image)
* 
* (×2; image)
* (image)
* (image)
* (; image)
* (evolves; image/fantasy)
* (newly evolved; fantasy)
* (commercial)
* (commercial)
==Trivia==
* Get Inspired! Let's Solve a Poké Riddle!!: 
* This is the first time a main character has a Shiny Pokémon since caught his in Fowl Play!, 1,012 episodes earlier.
* This episode marks the first appearance of a number of Pokémon species in the main series after long absences:
** Dewott, who last appeared in Crowning the Scalchop King!, 383 episodes earlier.
** , who last appeared in Adventures in Running Errands!, 283 episodes earlier.
** , who last appeared in An Electrifying Rage!, 257 episodes earlier.
** , who last appeared in Valuable Experience for All!, 241 episodes earlier.
** and , both of whom last appeared in a flashback in Till We Compete Again!, 227 episodes earlier.
* This is the first time in the animated series a Pokémon is seen being kept in a Great Ball or a Quick Ball.
* With the exceptions of , , , and , all of the Pokémon that appear in this episode contain blue coloring somewhere on their body.
* In the episode, Gorman and Bluto argue over whether counts as a blue Pokémon. According to the Pokédex, it does not, classifying it as a white Pokémon instead.
* This episode marks the only time in Pokémon Journeys: The Series that Jessie's Wobbuffet's is seen.
* This marks the first time when James cross-dresses in Pokémon Journeys: The Series.
* Ash, Goh, Chloe, and Pikachu narrate the preview for the next episode.
* The English dub title is a reference to the 1990's sitcom .
* In the ian dub, the Frogadier and Vanillite that star in the blue candy commercial are implied to be in a same-sex relationship, as they are both referred to as females: "Depois de percorrer um longo caminho, a Vanillite se apaixonou à primeira vista por uma Frogadier calma..." (all underlined words are considered feminine in Portuguese).
** While currently unknown if this was always the intention in the English and Japanese versions, it is worthy noting that the previous voice director for the Brazilian dub of Pokémon Journeys: The Series, Renan Vidal, has revealed in the past that the dubbing studio receives a list containing the genders (male, female, or gender unknown) for every relevant Pokémon in a said episode directly from The Pokémon Company International.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hg1KznPZiU
===Errors===
* In the dub, Gorman's is referred to as a male.
* Near the episode's start when Chloe panics, her left eyebrow is not colored in properly for a frame.
	
JN081 error 1.png|Chloe's eyebrow
===Dub edits===
* In the original version, Bluto mentions wanting Wobbuffet printed on a , or body pillow. In the English dub, he mentions wanting it on a T-shirt.
==In other languages==
==References==
081
Category:Episodes written by Yuka Miyata
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Noriaki Saitō
Category:Episodes directed by Hidehiko Kadota
Category:Episodes animated by Yasushi Tanizawa
Category:Episodes animated by kwon yong sang
Category:Episodes by multiple animation directors
Category:Episodes in which an alternately colored Pokémon appears
Category:Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
Category:Episodes which aired in Canada before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in the United Kingdom before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in South Africa before the United States
Category:Episodes which aired in Australia before the United States
de:Verrückt nach Blau!
es:EP1170
fr:LV081
it:EP081
ja:新無印編第81話
zh:宝可梦 旅途 第81集