Don't Touch That 'dile

**English themes**

 **Details**

 Series
 Air date
 Storyboarder
 Animation
 Written by
 Directed by

**Don't Touch That 'dile** is the 1st episode of *Liam's Adventures of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys*.

## Plot

Walking through a foggy forest, Ash, Misty, and Brock are heading to New Bark Town to register for the Johto League. Ash notices a familiar tree branch and declares that they must be lost. Misty scolds Ash, and the two of them get into an argument, which Brock is forced to break up. Togepi senses something and promptly hops out of Misty's arms, prompting the others to follow. The group is startled after seeing a mysterious blue Pokémon, later revealed to be Suicune, on a formation in the middle of the lake. When Suicune notices them, it runs away. Ash tries to follow it but falls off a steep edge, and Pikachu and Togepi soon follow. Becoming alarmed by his disappearance, Misty and Brock go after Ash, but they also trip and fall. Jigglypuff walks by and seems to find it fun before sliding down the hill as well.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket is also lost in the same fog-filled forest. They become hungry and decide to run, and soon find themselves out of the forest and staring at a large building. The trio is started by a horde of Fearow and rush inside what is actually a Pokémon Lab. A voice suddenly speaks up, and the group soon finds the source, Professor Elm. He is too busy looking through his microscope to realize the visitors are Team Rocket; thinking it is Nurse Joy, he tells them to check up on his Totodile. They encounter Totodile shortly after, and it bites onto Meowth's tail and sprays a Water Gun at James's face. Posing as Nurse Joy, Jessie says she will bring Totodile back to the Pokémon Center before picking Totodile up and running out of the lab, followed by James and Meowth.

Upon reaching New Bark Town, Ash and his friends head for the Pokémon Center, but when they reach it, they are met by Nurse Joy's Chansey. She presses a button after Brock speculates on Chansey not being Nurse Joy, and a screen appears. A recording of Nurse Joy plays on the screen, saying that she is with Professor Elm and will be back by 2:00. Noting the time on the clock, Misty realizes that it is 3:30. Ash and Misty decide to sit down as they wait, though Brock is furious and demands that they go find her. However, when the three of them reach Elm's laboratory, they see police officers led by Officer Jenny surrounding the premises. Brock tries to offer Jenny a bouquet of flowers, but Misty pulls him away by his collar.

Ash, Brock, and Misty rush inside the lab and see Nurse Joy scolding Elm for being careless. Brock tries to flirt with Nurse Joy as well but is pulled away by Misty again. Ash and his friends then learn about the stolen Totodile, who was supposed to be picked up by a female Trainer. They also learn about Johto's starter Pokémon. Ash mentions that he is from Pallet Town and is questioned about having met Professor Oak. Then, Elm rants to Brock about his time as one of Oak's top students while Misty and Ash play with the Cyndaquil that Nurse Joy took from Elm. After this, one of the police officers brings a plaster mold of Team Rocket's footprints. Officer Jenny's Growlithe sniffs the mold and begins to track down Team Rocket and Totodile.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket decides to take a break at a local park, and Jessie is furious when Totodile chomps down on her hair. Meowth goes to make a phone call to the Boss, though Jessie smacks him away with the phone booth door and claims that he would take all of the credit. While the two of them argue, James walks past them and makes the phone call. At that moment, Ash, his friends, and Officer Jenny arrive on the scene. Team Rocket recites their motto and comment that they can't return Totodile because it won't let go of Jessie's hair. Ash scolds the three for stealing a new Trainer's Pokémon, but Team Rocket is unfazed and attempts to run away. Ash then sends out Bulbasaur and has it use Vine Whip to trip Team Rocket. James has Weezing use Smokescreen, but Ash's Charizard blows the smog away.

Bulbasaur manages to pull Totodile off Jessie's hair, and the Pokémon lands in Ash's arms. As Growlithe goes in to apprehend the trio, Weezing's Sludge leaves it blinded. James uses the opportunity to call on Victreebel, who latches onto his head. Jessie resorts to using Lickitung. Ash sends out Squirtle, and its Water Gun hits Lickitung. Desperate to flee, Jessie calls out Arbok, and together with Team Rocket's other Pokémon, they attempt a group attack. Ash replies with his own group effort: Pikachu's Thunderbolt, Charizard's Flamethrower, Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf and Squirtle's Water Gun combine and send Team Rocket's Pokémon flying. To finish things off, Totodile sends Jessie, James, and Meowth on their way with a Water Gun. Officer Jenny is disappointed not to have made any arrests, but is grateful that Totodile is safe and sound.

Back at Elm's lab, Ash makes a call through to Oak. Ash speaks briefly before letting Elm talk to his former mentor. As the two Professors get deep into conversation, Nurse Joy arrives and escorts Ash and his friends to the Pokémon Center. There, she officially registers Ash for the Johto League. Ash and his friends then leave New Bark Town, unaware of Jigglypuff, who is still following after them.

## Major events

* Ash and his friends see a Suicune.
* Ash and his friends arrive at New Bark Town and meet Professor Elm.
* Liam receives a Cyndaquil as a starter for Johto.
* James's Victreebel is revealed to know Vine Whip.
* Ash and Liam sign up for the Johto League.
* Ash and Liam learn that the first Johto League Gym is in Violet City and decide to head there.
* Liam reveals to have left his Charizard at Professor Oak's Lab, so he can make a fresh start in Johto.
* Liam is revealed to own a PokéGear.
* Agent Ben is revealed to own a Mightyena nicknamed Banzai.

## Characters

### Humans

* Liam Hammerfield
* Ben Rockefeller
* Dora Marquez
* Lilo Pelekai
* Miki Sunshine (video-call)
* Ash Ketchum
* Misty
* Jessie
* James
* Yui Hirasawa
* Ritsu Tainaka
* Mio Akiyama
* Tsumugi Kotobuki
* Azusa Nakano
* Ui Hirasawa
* Jun Suzuki
* Nodoka Manabe
* Sawako Yamanaka
* Sumire Saito
* Nao Okuda
* Professor Oak
* Professor Elm (debut)
* Officer Jenny
* Nurse Joy

### Pokémon

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket)
* Togepi (Misty's)
* Mightyena (Ben's)
* Stoutland (Dora's)
* Bulbasaur (Ash's)
* Charizard (Ash's)
* Squirtle (Ash's)
* Arbok (Jessie's)
* Lickitung (Jessie's)
* Weezing (James's)
* Victreebel (James's)
* Charizard (Liam's; flashback)
* Cyndaquil (Liam's; new)
* Bulbasaur (starter Pokémon; flashback)
* Charmander (starter Pokémon; flashback)
* Squirtle (starter Pokémon; flashback)
* Chikorita (starter Pokémon; photo)
* Cyndaquil (starter Pokémon; debut)
* Totodile (starter Pokémon; debut)
* Growlithe (Officer Jenny's)
* Chansey (Nurse Joy's)
* Jigglypuff (anime)
* Suicune (anime; debut)
* Fearow (multiple)

## Trivia

* This episode marks the start of Generation II in the anime.
* This is the first episode since his debut to not feature Tracey or Miki.
* The Japanese title of the episode is a reference to the slogan of New Bark Town.
* On home media releases of Pokémon: The Johto Journeys, this episode is considered the season premiere. However, on televised airings, that title goes to *The Pokémon Water War*.
* The English dub of this episode first aired exactly one year after the original version.
* This episode's English dub title is a reference to the advertising slogan "don't touch that dial!"
* Pokémon Johto replaces Pokémon World as the English dub opening theme.
* This is the only time that the first episode of a region aired before the game the region corresponds to was released in Japan; Pokémon Gold and Silver were not released in Japan until more than a month after this episode's first airing.
	+ Coincidentally, this is the only time that music from a new generation premieres after the opening episode of its respective region. Instead, the music debuts in *Spinarak Attack*, the first episode to air after the release of Gold and Silver in Japan.
* This episode is featured on *Volume 16: Totodile* from Viz Media's Pokémon All-Stars series, and *Pokémon All-Stars: Totodile* from Magna Pacific's Pokémon All-Stars series.
* This episode was partially adapted into the book Go West, Young Ash.
* When Professor Elm talks to Professor Oak, he mentions an article in a magazine called National Pokégraphic, which is a reference to the real-life magazine *National Geographic*.
* This episode marks a rare instance in which Team Rocket's Pokémon blast off before Team Rocket themselves. It is also the first time where they are marked as individual twinkling stars as opposed to a single one after blasting off.
* In the Finnish dub, the first eight episodes of the third season had rather poor sound mixing, as some of the lines were too loud and the others were fairly quiet, and the English dub soundtrack may be silently audible in the background.
* Music from *Pikachu's Vacation* and *Mewtwo Strikes Back* is used in this episode

## Transcript

*Main article: Don't Touch That 'dile/Transcript*