A Togepi Mirage

### Written by

Sonic876, Punkasaurus0530, Frogadier55, NegimaLover, TMNTHedgehog5, and DragonSpore18

### Directed by

Sonic876 and NegimaLover

***A Togepi Mirage*** is the 5th episode of *Josh's Adventures of Pokémon: Advanced Challenge*.

## Plot

Pikachu's cheeks are sparking with electricity as Colonel Hansen orders his Pokémon to attack. His two Ninjask use Hyper Beam while Shedinja unleashes a Solar Beam at the group. Misty watches as Togepi protects everyone from the attacks with a Safeguard. After that, Ash, Misty, and the others disappear, much to Colonel Hansen's dismay. They find themselves in a mysterious dimension, which Miranda calls the Togepi Paradise. She explains that the Mirage Kingdom and Togepi Paradise help to protect each other, but she is sad to say that a lot has changed since the last time she was here. Misty's Togepi leads everyone to some injured Togepi. May consults her Pokédex for a solution which details that Togepi has the ability to sense people's hearts, but its power will be weakened if it senses impurity in a Trainer. Hansen and his Pokémon manage to break into the Togepi Paradise, a feat which does not go unnoticed by Ash and the others. Togepi then floats towards Hansen, much to the surprise of everyone. With Togepi in his grasp, Hansen makes his way towards the palace to demand the throne from the King. When the King refuses, Hansen sends the reigning monarchs to the dungeon.
Misty is left fuming and attempts to break through the time-space barrier to the Mirage Kingdom. The weakened Togepi use their power to assist the group in returning. Later, as they make their way through town, Brock leads the discussion and states they have to defeat Colonel Hansen's Bug Pokémon. May replies that her Fire-type Torchic would be perfect. Suddenly Jessie appears on a broadcast screen to announce that Colonel Hansen is now the Mirage Kingdom's regent. Miranda and the townspeople are aghast, and Princess Sara is now deeply concerned for her parents. Meanwhile, Team Rocket's attention turns to their reward, but Hansen declares that he has no need for them anymore. The Team Rocket trio think it is a cruel joke, but realize Hansen has betrayed them after he orders his Pokémon to send them blasting off.

Ash's Taillow and May's Beautifly conduct an aerial search of the palace, but report back without any news. Miranda advises the group that the King and Queen are likely being kept in the tower, so Brock suggests they break into the palace. Ash, Misty, May, and Princess Sara decide that they will rescue Togepi while Brock, Max, and Miranda search for Sara's parents. As Brock, Max, and Miranda look for the King, two fortune tellers, who are actually Team Rocket in disguise, inform them of the King's location. After that, Team Rocket disappears, their revenge on Hansen for betraying them complete. Miranda says she'll lead Brock and Max to the hinted location.

Meanwhile, Colonel Hansen arrives at the coronation temple with Togepi in hand, and the priest officially declares him the new monarch of the Mirage Kingdom. He leaves the complex and orders Togepi to use Metronome to open the portal to the Togepi Paradise. However, Ash and the others arrive to stop his plans. Colonel Hansen refuses to listen and instead orders his Pokémon to attack. May sends out Torchic, but she quickly recalls it after it is hit by a Shadow Ball from one of Colonel Hansen's Ninjask. Pikachu, however, manages to knock out both Ninjask with a Thunder attack. As Shedinja charges up a Solar Beam, a Safeguard intervenes, with the defenses source revealed to be the Togepi from the Paradise. The Paradise Togepi perform a Metronome and bestow a mysterious blue light on Misty's Togepi. Next, Togepi bursts with blue energy before evolving into Togetic. Ash and the others look quite bewildered by Togetic's new form. It flies up to the Paradise Togepi and protects them from an oncoming Solar Beam, which irritates Colonel Hansen. Togetic causes the area to flare with bright white light. Misty smiles and tells Togetic to leave everything to her. She takes out a Poké Ball, kisses it, and calls out her Gyarados, much to Ash's surprise, as he's never seen her use one before. Hansen is not fazed one bit, knowing that Gyarados's Water attacks are useless against his Shedinja. Misty does not back down and confidently orders Gyarados to use Flamethrower, much to Hansen's horror. The Fire-type attack deals great damage to the Bug-type Shedinja, finally knocking it out. It also burns off part of Hansen's mustache. While everyone wonders why Gyarados can use Flamethrower, Misty states that some Water Pokémon can learn Fire attacks, too. The King and Queen, with their guards, Brock, Max, and Miranda all behind them, arrive at that moment and confront Hansen, and he is sent to the dungeon for his treachery. Team Rocket spies on the scene from a rooftop and are pleased to see Hansen being taken away.

Later, the Togepi appear cheerier than before and return to the Paradise. Togetic informs Misty that it wishes to stay behind in the Paradise and become its protector to prevent people like Hansen from causing harm. Misty releases Togetic, and they share one last tearful moment before bidding each other farewell. As Togetic enters the Togepi Paradise, the sky mirage fades. Princess Sara assures Misty that she will protect the Paradise and Togetic from harm. Something is tugging at the Princess's dress, and Sara is surprised to see a Togepi, likely one that didn't return to Paradise with the others. She is happy, because not only does she get a Togepi, but she is also eligible to become the new ruler. Later, as Misty prepares to return to Cerulean City and resume her Gym Leader duties, she wishes everyone the best of luck with their endeavors and invites them to visit her sometime. Ash and the others wave to Misty as she leaves back to Kanto in a blimp. Meanwhile, at the Paradise, Togetic happily looks around the lush landscape.

## Major events

* Misty's Togepi learns Safeguard and later evolves into Togetic.
* Ash learns that Misty has obtained a Gyarados.
* Misty's Gyarados is revealed to know Flamethrower.
* Misty leaves Togetic in the Mirage Kingdom and returns to Cerulean City.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash
* Misty
* May
* Brock
* Max
* Jessie
* James
* Colonel Hansen
* Princess Sara
* Miranda
* King and Queen of the Mirage Kingdom
* Mirage Kingdom Palace guards

### Pokémon

Pokémon Trainer’s Choice: Mudkip

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket)
* Togepi (Misty's; evolves)
* Togetic (Misty's; newly evolved; released; debut)
* Wobbuffet (Jessie's)
* Taillow (Ash's)
* Gyarados (Misty's)
* Torchic (May's)
* Beautifly (May's)
* Mudkip (Brock's)
* Shedinja (Colonel Hansen's)
* Ninjask (Colonel Hansen's; ×2)
* Togepi (Princess Sara's; new)
* Togepi (Togepi Paradise's; multiple)

## Transcript

*Main article: A Togepi Mirage/Transcript*
## Trivia

* Because the Sky is There replaced Polka O Dolka as the Japanese ending theme.
* This episode was aired in English exactly one year after its Japanese airdate.
* With the exception of Porygon2 (which wouldn't appear until years later, due to the incident involving its pre-evolution), as of this episode, every Generation II Pokémon has appeared in the anime.
* As with the previous episode, Japanese voice artists for Ash's first three female traveling companions are featured in this episode and the previous one; Mayumi Iizuka and KAORI. voice Misty and May, respectively; and Megumi Toyoguchi, who voices Princess Sara in this episode, went on to play Dawn during *Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl*.
* This episode marks the final time that one of Misty's Pokémon has evolved.
* This episode is featured on *Pokémon All-Stars: Togepi* from Magna Pacific's Pokémon All-Stars series.
* Team Rocket does not recite their motto.