EP026

## Summary

On their way to Cinnabar Island for his seventh Gym battle, Alex and his friends are walking through a forest when Alex hears a Pokemon's cry. The group locates the source of the cry, an Growlithe tied to a post inside a tree hollow. Alex wants to catch it, but Nikki notices Growlithe has a name-tag and address on it saying that its Trainer lives in Stone Town. Salvadore says that Stone Town is at the foot of Evolution Mountain, which contains evolution stones that allow certain Pokemon to evolve. The group finds that the address leads them to a giant mansion. As they arrive in the backyard, they notice there is a garden party being held. Unbeknownst to everyone, Team Rocket spies from a hilltop, instantly noticing the stones, the food and they proceed to plan their next plot.

The three brothers who are hosting the party, Harold, Richard, and Tony, see Alex and his friends with Growlithe, and says that that Growlithe is the star of the party. They call for their youngest brother, David, who is Growlithe's Trainer, but he is strangely sad to have his Pokemon returned. The brothers mention that the only way to win battles is for David to evolve his Pokemon. David says that he doesn't care about battles, which makes his brothers and their Pokemon angry, and they push David even harder. The brothers even push Salvadore to evolve his Shellder though he declines.

As Nikki watches her Horsea swim around in the fountain, she looks over to see David on the bench with a drink. She offers some food to him and the pair start up a conversation. David explains that his brothers only care about battling, so he hid his Growlithe for the day so that nobody could make him evolve it. Nikki tells him that he was just running away from his problems, and that it is his responsibility as a Trainer to tell his brothers that he doesn't want Growlithe to evolve. Just then, David's brothers come up and ask David if he has made his decision yet. Nikki tells David to tell his brothers what he has to say.

As David is about to reveal his decision, Team Rocket arrives in their balloon and says their motto while eating all of the party food. Everyone realizes that all of the Pokemon, the evolution stones, and the food are all missing. Salvadore notices that Team Rocket is getting away in their balloon, and Alex has Farfetch'd stop it. The balloon crash-lands, but it turns out to be a decoy when it turns up empty. Meanwhile, as Team Rocket are driving along the road with the Pokemon in cages, Horsea leaves a trail of ink to follow. The strategy works as Farfetch'd spots the ink and goes on to alert Alex and the others.

At a lake, Team Rocket has a picnic with the food that they stole. They then realize that they need to evolve Growlithe. They are about to evolve Growlithe when Alex has Tangela use Vine Whip, which sends them backward. Cassidy tells them to stop as she picks up Growlithe's cage. She brings out Rattata and Butch brings out Spearow. Nikki and Alex prepare to battle with their Pokemon, but David's brothers stop them and say that they must be the ones to battle since it is their brother's Growlithe that was stolen.

Harold, Richard and Tony attacked with Exeggutor, Cloyster and Jolteon. Alex checks their datas on his Pokedex. Rattata uses Tackle, while Jolteon counters with Pin Missile, which hits Rattata. Spearow uses Peck, but Cloyster defended itself with Withdraw. Team Rocket tries to run away, but Exeggutor uses Psywave to stop them. The brothers demand that Team Rocket give back the stolen Pokemon, but Cassidy has Rattata use Tackle on Jolteon, while Spearow uses Peck on Exeggutor and Cloyster. Horsea spits out ink into Cassidy's face, which sends Growlithe flying, and it lands in David's arms. Charmeleon uses Flamethrower on Team Rocket, but they keep going.

As David pulls Growltihe out of the cage, he looks over and notices that his brothers's Pokemon are severely hurt. Team Rocket decides that it was time to finish them off. David stands up and decides that he and Growlithe are going to have their first battle. David commands Growlithe to use Flamethrower, which sends Team Rocket blasting off. David's brothers congratulate him on his first win, and David tells them that he just wanted to help everybody out. Then, he acts on Nikki's advice and tells his brothers that he wants to become an Growlithe Trainer. His brothers accept his decision, and Tony says that they should turn the party into a celebration of David's first victory. During the party, David thanks Nikki for helping him, gives her a flower, and share a little finger promise to be friends forever. Later, everyone at the party then gathers for a picture.

Meanwhile, later in the night, Team Rocket return to eating canned food, much to their disappointment.

## Major Events

* Alex's Tangela is revealed to know Vine Whip

## Characters

### Humans

* Alex
* Nikki
* Salvadore
* Butch
* Cassidy
* Harold (debut)
* Richard (debut)
* Tony (debut)
* David (debut)

## Pokemon

* Growlithe (David's)
* Shellder (Salvadore's)
* Horsea (Nikki's)
* Farfetch'd (Alex's)
* Tangela (Alex's)
* Charmeleon (Alex's)
* Rattata (Cassidy's)
* Spearow (Butch's)
* Exeggutor (Harold's, debut)
* Cloyster (Richard's, debut)
* Jolteon (Tony's, debut)

## Pokedex entries

 Cloyster
 Jolteon