Beauty and the Beach

**English themes**

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**Beauty and the Beach** is the 18th episode of *Liam's Adventures of Pokémon: Indigo League*.

## Plot

Ash and his friends arrive in Porta Vista, a beach-side tourist town. Wasting no time, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu change into swimsuits and jump into the ocean. Meanwhile, Team Rocket, using their Gyarados submarine, spies on beach-goers from their vantage point underwater. They decide to steal the money of the wealthy tourists. Suddenly, Jessie notices a speedboat heading in their direction. The boat is piloted by Ash, who thought Brock borrowed it because Pikachu was on the boat. The boat collides with the sub and eventually crashes into a dock. Moe, the owner of the boat, comes out to survey the damage. Ash, Brock, and Misty volunteer to work to help pay the cost of repairing the boat and the dock, and Moe agrees to this.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket's submarine has washed up onto a private beach and they are greeted by a woman named Brutella. James asks if they can work for her restaurant to help pay for repairs to their sub, and she agrees. Later, it is revealed that both Moe and Brutella are restaurateurs and rivals. For a while, Brutella's restaurant has more customers and Team Rocket taunts Ash and his friends over this. Ash decides to have his Pokémon help out as well. Squirtle and Pikachu are told to hand out fliers advertising Moe's; Pidgeotto and Charmander are to help keep the grill going in the kitchen, and Bulbasaur is assigned to help Misty do her waitress duties. However, Meowth sabotages everything, sending fliers flying, spraying oil on the stove, and throwing banana peels on the floor to trip up Misty and Bulbasaur. This causes the crowd to leave Moe's restaurant for Brutella's, and Ash apologizes.

Brutella arrives with Team Rocket a few minutes later and tells Moe that he needs to pay off his debts by the next day, otherwise she will take his boat as payment. Moe is despondent, as he does not think he will have the money by then. He explains that he had planned to take a world cruise in his boat. Ash then fervently encourages him not to give up on his dream. They then encounter Professor Oak and Ash's mother Delia. Professor Oak explains that the Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest is set to start shortly, and he suggests handing out fliers to the audience. He also recommends that Misty enter to win some prize money that can be used to help out Moe. Ash sends out Pidgeotto, who blankets the beach and town with fliers. Soon, Moe's restaurant is full again, much to Brutella's dismay.

As the contest begins, Moe sits with Delia and Professor Oak. He explains how Ash encouraged him not to give up on his dream. Delia says that she and the professor are in town with the Pallet Town Volunteer Patrol. The contest begins, with Brock as the announcer. Misty is the first contestant, and she uses her Starmie and Ash's Squirtle to form a UFO. Team Rocket's Ekans and Koffing are next, and they're costumed as an Omastar. They are kicked off of the stage by Gary Oak and his cheerleaders, who are apparently the next contestants. Gary grabs the microphone from Brock and insults Ash, who jumps out of his seat and heads for the stage. Meanwhile, Brutella tells Jessie and James that she knows they are Team Rocket members and that she has fixed their submarine. She blackmails them into stopping the contest and destroying Moe's restaurant so that the audience will come to her restaurant instead. Jessie tells Brutella that they can destroy things without even trying.

Back onstage, Ash challenges the always-cocky Gary to a battle, but Gary refuses, stating that he does not want to battle an amateur Trainer. Brock steps between the two rivals before Ash's anger gets the best of him. Just then, the Gyarados submarine emerges from the water, causing panic. People run away, thinking that it is a real Gyarados on a rampage. Ash grabs the microphone and tells the frightened audience members that it is a mecha, not a Pokémon. Team Rocket then fires a heat-seeking missile from the sub. Under Gary's skeptical eye, Ash sends out Pidgeotto and Charmander. Charmander's Flamethrower attack hits the missile, which turns and changes course: straight for the submarine! Team Rocket pedal furiously to get away, but they crash into Brutella's restaurant, which is then destroyed by the missile.

Ash and his friends say farewell to Moe, who is heading off on his long-awaited cruise. Ash also says goodbye to Professor Oak and his mother, who is holding a trophy inscribed with the words: "First Place in Our Hearts: Ash Ketchum."

## Major events

* Vaporino is revealed to know Ice Beam.
* Huggy is revealed to know Water Gun.
* Ritsu is revealed to own a Wailmer nicknamed Orca.
* Nodoka is revealed to own a Shelmet and an Eevee.
* Sawako is revealed to own a Toxel.

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash
* Misty
* Brock
* Jessie
* James
* Professor Oak
* Delia Ketchum
* Gary Oak
* Moe
* Brutella
* Gary's cheerleaders

### Pokémon

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket)
* Pidgeotto (Ash's)
* Bulbasaur (Ash's)
* Charmander (Ash's)
* Squirtle (Ash's)
* Starmie (Misty's)
* Ekans (Jessie's)
* Koffing (James's)
* Charmeleon (Liam's)
* Spearow (Liam's; evolves)
* Fearow (Liam's; newly evolved)
* Poliwag (Liam's)
* Oddish (Liam's)
* Mankey (Liam's)
* Voltorb (Liam's)
* Machamp (Ben's; Forearms)
* Clefable (Ben's; Pixie)
* Sliggoo (Yui's; Huggy)
* Glaceon (Yui's; Glaciar)
* Jigglypuff (Yui's; Wiggy)
* Flareon (Ritsu's; Corona)
* Starly (Ritsu's; Rapture)
* Pichu (Ritsu's; Chupy)
* Wailmer (Ritsu's; nicknamed Orca; debut)
* Vaporeon (Mio's; Vaporino)
* Ralts (Mio's; Darling)
* Bulbasaur (Mio's; Sprout)
* Nidoqueen (Mugi's; Nida)
* Vanillite (Mugi's; Van-Lily)
* Eevee (Mugi's; Espia)
* Aromatisse (Mugi's; Floaroma)
* Skitty (Azusa's; Cadel)
* Espurr (Azusa's; Snowbelle)
* Sylveon (Azusa's; Vivian)
* Tirtouga (Azusa's; Ton-chan II)
* Foongus (Ui's; Angus)
* Leafeon (Ui's; Natsuko)
* Clefairy (Ui's; Bella)
* Lillipup (Jun's; Didi)
* Linoone (Sawako's; Spike)
* Piplup (Sawako's)
* Jolteon (Sawako's)
* Toxel (Sawako's; nicknamed Rockshock; debut)
* Oddish (Nodoka's; Shiny; Radish)
* Shelmet (Nodoka's; nicknamed Jitsu; debut)
* Eevee (Nodoka's; nicknamed Crescent; debut)

## Trivia

* This episode was one of the five banned episodes of Pokémon that have aired on Japanese television, and the first one to be banned from airing in all countries outside of Asia.
* Of the five banned episodes that have aired on Japanese television, this is the first one that was banned in all countries outside of Asia.
* The reason why the episode is "banned" is because there is a scene halfway in when James cross-dressed and wears inflatable breasts for a beauty contest. Although intended for comic effect, the nature of the scene caused so much controversy that the whole episode was banned for almost three years, until it was aired as a heavily cut version that was only 18 minutes long. This edited version was titled "The Lost Episode" when it aired in 2000. The ending of this episode was shown as a flashback in the English dub of *Hypno's Naptime*, indicating that they had access to the raw of this episode while dubbing the first season.
* According to Diana Pérez, the voice actress for Jessie in Latin America, this episode was dubbed into Latin American Spanish. She additionally commented that when dubbing anime, the dub staff usually receives the uncensored versions instead of the already-cut 4Kids-edited version. This could mean that the episode was translated by Western dubbers, since these are all based on the US version, but it was still never aired for those regions.
	+ In the first airing of the Japanese version a subliminal frame is shown in the middle of the impact animation when Misty throws the beach ball at Ash. This frame depicts Misty posing in a bikini and Pikachu holding a paper fan and a sign reading "日本一" (Japan's #1 best). The frame was removed following EP038.
	+ This episode marks the first chronological appearance of Team Rocket's Gyarados submarine.
	+ The Japanese version of Netflix lists an English blurb for the episode. "Ash accidentally destroys an old man's ship when he and his friends visit the resort town of Porta Vista, a beachside tourist destination."
	+ This episode was not dubbed when Nathan Price was voicing Meowth, so it is chronologically the first episode in which Maddie Blaustein portrays Meowth.
	+ This episode's English dub title is a reference to the popular French fairy-tale *Beauty and the Beast*.
		- This fairy-tale is also referenced in the Japanese title for *Jump for Joy!* and the English dub titles for *Beauty and the Breeder*.
		- This episode also shares its English dub title with a Nintendo Comics System story of the same name.
	+ Misty's beach ball appears similar to a Master Ball. This Master Ball beach ball later reappeared in *A Hot Water Battle* and the Pikachu short *Pikachu's Ice Adventure*.
	+ This episode is the one where Misty and Brock chronologically meet Delia for the first time, and also Professor Oak in person. They previously met Professor Oak via video call in *Mystery at the Lighthouse*.
		- Misty also meets Gary for the first time. Brock had previously battled Gary at the Pewter Gym before Ash arrived there.
	+ Contrary to popular belief, Delia does not win the Beauty contest in either version, as she never entered. The winner of the contest is actually unknown and unspecified.
	+ Of all banned episodes, this is the only one that was intended to be skipped completely by 4Kids, and ironically, was the only one that eventually made it to the air.
		- It is also the episode which has the longest time between its original Japanese airing and its first English dub airing, at nearly three years.
	+ This is one of the few occasions where the Japanese writing on signs and fliers is not painted out in the American version.
	+ In the Japanese version of EP040, Jessie refers to Misty as being a "flat-brat girl", a reference to Jessie and James beating Misty in the swimsuit competition. This reference was removed in the English dub.
	+ This marks the first chronological time James says "fight" three times at the end of the motto instead of just once. Due to the English dub of this episode airing out of order, the first episode to do this in air-date order was *Fit to Be Tide*.
* Ben reveals to have received his first boogie board at age 7 from a store called Bodacious Boards
	+ He also reveals that he and his family stayed for a couple of days at Porta Vista during summer vacation in his grade school years.

## Transcript

*Main article: Beauty and the Beach/Transcript*