BW111: New Places... Familiar Faces!

January 17, 2012

***New Places... Familiar Faces!*** (アララギ研究所！新たなる旅立ち！！) is the 768th episode of the Pokémon anime series. This episode continues after Ash finished 8th in the Unova League where he is now heading back to Professor Juniper's lab.

## Episode Plot

This episode begins with Ash, Iris, and Cilan traveling back to Professor Juniper's lab after Ash's finish of 8th place in the Unova League. On their way back, they ran into a girl, Nanette, who was afraid of crossing a bridge that all of them needed to cross. After successfully convincing Nanette to cross the bridge, Ash and his friends continued on their way to Professor Juniper's lab where Ash decided to call Professor Oak to tell him of his achievements in the Unova League. Professor Oak informed Ash that he had been watching his battles the entire time and that he did a splendid job, which made Ash feel better about his placement of 8th in the competition. At the end of the conversation, Ash told him that he has caught a lot of new Pokémon since being in Unova and then asked how his other Pokémon were doing. When hearing Ash's voice, his Muk appeared, and as always, tackled Professor Oak down to reach Ash, which then Ash and Pikachu both said hi to it.

Ash, Iris, and Cilan began talking to Professor Juniper about what they wanted to do now that Ash had competed in the Unova League. Cilan and Iris both agreed that they still had things to learn and Ash realized that he too had much to learn still. So, the three of them decided to travel together once again. However, shortly after the decision was made the four of them heard somebody at the door. While waiting to be let in, Nanette was fearing that nobody was home, except for maybe some Galvantula that have taken over the place. Thankfully for her though, she was greeted at the door where she was then able to pick between one of the three starter Pokémon in Unova: Snivy, Tepig, and Oshawott. While deciding between the three, she was worrying that each one would cause great trouble. Iris and Ash convinced her to just choose one and stop worrying about what could be. Cilan then suggested Tepig due to her worrisome nature. She went with Cilan's choice and chose Tepig and was given six Poké Balls and a Pokédex.

Upon receiving her Tepig, Ash challenged her to a battle. This caused her to worry and so it was decided to have a team battle: Ash and Nanette vs. Cilan and Iris. Ash called for Pikachu to use Thunderbolt and Nanette told her Tepig to do the same. Tepig gave her a confused look which she was then told to look at her Pokédex for moves her Tepig could use. The battle was soon interrupted, because Team Rocket charged into the field with a tank. A familiar motto returned, the original one heard first back in the Kanto region (one line was slightly changed by a couple words). After the motto was finished, Jessie and James called out two new Pokémon they obtained: Amoonguss and Frillish. Amoonguss used Stun Spore while Frillish used Mist, which resulted in the Pokémon in the battle becoming paralyzed. James then told his Amoonguss to use Body Slam and Jessie told Frillish to use Psychic, both on Pikachu. This resulted in Ash calling out his Unfezant to use Gust so the Mist and Stun Spore would go away. Nanette then remembered what Ash told her earlier and thus gained confidence to tell her Tepig to use Ember on Frillish which disrupted the Psychic attack, releasing Pikachu. Tepig was caught in the process and during the escape attempt by Team Rocket in their balloon, Unfezant and Pikachu went into the air and chased after them. Pikachu knocked down the balloon with Electro Ball, releasing Tepig.

After defeating Team Rocket, Nanette finally gained the confidence she needed to go on her adventure. Everyone there wished her good luck on her adventure and soon after Professor Juniper was told by one of her assistants that her father, Cedric Juniper called her. He explained to her that in Dragonspiral Tower the White Ruins were discovered which meant that valuable information could be found about the legendary Pokémon, Reshiram. This caused Ash, Iris, and Cilan to want to visit the ruins to try to learn something as well. The episode ends with Professor Juniper saying good-bye to the three of them as well as telling them to take the boat to Aspertia City, because a new gym recently opened there. Right before the credits, a mysterious person appears boarding the boat as well.

## Characters

Human
* Ash Ketchum
* Iris
* Cilan
* Professor Juniper
* Professor Oak
* Nanette
* Cedric Juniper
* Jessie
* James

Pokémon
* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Muk (Ash's)
* Unfezant (Ash's)
* Axew (Iris')
* Emolga (Iris')
* Tepig (Nanette's)
* Stunfisk (Cilan's)
* Amoonguss (James')
* Frillish (Jessie's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket's)
* Alomomola (fantasy)
* Serperior (fantasy)
* Whimsicott (fantasy)
* Galvantula (fantasy)
* Reshiram (fantasy)
* Snivy
* Oshawott