Episode 46: Butch, Cassidy, and the Fun-Dance Kid

Ash, Brock, and Brenda, still accompanied by Misty, are walking down a route with a small city in view ahead of them.

Today we meet up with our heroes on the road towards the world-famous Rest Stop, location of Misty's Splash Cup Water-Type tournament, and on the way towards Ash's next gym match in Versal City. With their old friend rejoining the group, exciting times are ahead. Though…they may not be the well-oiled machine they used to be…or has it always been like this?

Ash and Misty are arguing. Ash asserts, "If we keep on moving, we'll get to the Rest Stop sooner, and the sooner we get to the Rest Stop, the sooner I can get to Versal City!"

Misty fights back, "We have more than enough time until the tournament begins, and this is the last city for a while! I say we stop and spend the night in the next city!"

The two continue to butt heads. Brock, having had enough of this, tries to calm them, saying, "Guys, you need to take it down a notch. No need to get so angry."

They both look to Brock and shout, "But he/she started it!" at the same time.

Brock groans. "Look, I don't care who started it." He looks to Misty. "Misty, you must admit that it is fairly early in the day, and there's no need to stop now."

Misty sighs. "Yeah…I guess so…"

Ash cheers, "Yes!"

Brock looks to Ash. "And Ash, you've got to admit that one day's difference isn't that significant."

Ash is about to deny this, but then sighs. "I guess…"

Brock nods. "Good, then you two can now see each other's sides, and have no reason to argue. We'll get to the city first, and then decide who will get their way."

They both sigh. "Alright…"

Just as that's settled, a Jigglypuff holding a microphone comes wandering by. They all stare at it in surprise. Misty asks, "Is that…?"

Ash slowly nods. "It sure is…"

Jigglypuff notices them and turns towards them. It exclaims happily, "Jiggly!" It holds its microphone up to its mouth and prepares to sing.

All at once, Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Misty shout, "No, don't sing!" And try to leap forward to stop it, but it's already too late.

Jigglypuff sings, "Jig-galy-y puff, jiggaly-y-y puffffff. Jig-galy y-y-puff jig-galy puffffff…" and they all fall asleep mid-leap. It's not long before Jigglypuff realizes this. It inflates itself in anger. It pulls the head off of its microphone, revealing the marker underneath and holds the marker up towards the sun.

A voice shouts, "Oh please, you must wake up! Please, get up!" Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Misty slowly come to. They all have graffiti from Jigglypuff's marker all over their faces. The person trying to wake them up is a girl wearing some sort of red dance leotard. She smiles. "Oh good, you're awake."

Misty says angrily, "Curse that Jigglypuff for ruining my perfect face yet again!"

Ash remarks snidely, "If anything, it's an improvement."

Before Misty can retaliate, the girl asks, "Please, can you tell me where I can find that Jigglypuff? I need to find it!"

Brock gets up and dashes to her and proclaims, "You don't need to find that silly Jigglypuff, for you have found something much more valuable. Love. Please my darling, just-"

Meteorfight appears and prepares to deliver an uppercut to Brock, but Misty beats it to the punch, grabbing Brock by the ear and dragging him away. She complains, "How have you possibly have survived without me?"

Meteorfight says sadly, "Meteor…" and returns itself to its Pokéball.

Brenda laughs. "Looks like Misty might put Meteorfight out of a job."

Ash laughs too. "Misty has been taming Brock since before Meteorfight fell to Earth."

Having dragged Brock away, Misty goes back up to the girl and says, "I apologize for my friend's behavior. What was it you were saying?"

After getting over her surprise from Brock, the girl explains, "I heard reports of a Jigglypuff in this area, and I absolutely need to find a Jigglypuff. When I found you four passed out asleep, I hoped for the best. Please, you must tell me where the Jigglypuff went."

Ash apologizes, "Sorry, but we were asleep when it left, so we have no clue where it went."

The girls nods and scolds herself, "Of course, stupid me. Why would I have thought any differently?" She looks back to them. "Sorry, my name's Cadence, I'm a dancer."

Ash introduces himself, "I'm Ash, and this is my partner Pikachu."

Pikachu grins. "Pika."

Ash also introduces, "And this is Brock, Misty, and Brenda."

Cadence smiles. "A pleasure to meet you all."

Misty asks, "So why do you need to find a Jigglypuff so badly? We've spent a lot of our journey trying to avoid that Jigglypuff."

"I suppose that is an irony, isn't it? As I said, I'm a dancer, and it's my dream to dance to as many types of music as I can. There is one song that has gone down in the history of dancing as impossible to dance to, Jigglypuff's Song. It's my goal to do the impossible and dance to it."

Brock, now recovered from Misty's ear-pulling, comments, "I'd imagine it would be quite impossible. Anyone hearing the song to try to dance to it would just fall asleep."

Cadence nods. "That's why it's considered so impossible. And that's why I want to try it."

Brenda asks, "But how would you do it? Are you going to use earplugs or something?"

She shakes her head. "No, no earplugs. That might allow me to dance with the music, but I wouldn't be able to feel it. I need to be able to hear it."

Misty asks, "So what's your plan then?"

"I have a secret weapon." She pulls out a Chesto Berry. "Once I see the Jigglypuff, I'll pop this in my mouth and it will keep me awake."

Brock marvels, "Wow, that's a great idea. Maybe we should be carrying around a supply of Chesto Berries too."

Ash offers, "Hey Cadence, why don't you let us help you out? We have a lot of experience with this particular Jigglypuff. I bet we could track it down."

Cadence grins profusely. "Would you really do that for me? Thank you so much."

Brock grins goofily. "Anything to help a beautiful…" He trails off as both Misty and Meteorfight stare him down.

Just outside the city, there is some sort of warehouse. It is guarded by several non-descript men. Hiding and watching the entrance with binoculars from some bushes is Butch and Cassidy. Butch whispers, "The target appears to be heavily guarded."

Cassidy nods. "Agreed. A frontal assault will do no good. We need an alternative method of infiltration."

Butch suggests, "We could disguise ourselves as warehouse personnel and sneak in that way."

Cassidy shakes her head. "That's exactly the sort of half-baked plan that Jessie and her friends would use. We need to think smarter than that."

Butch nods. "Right. How about-"

He's cut off when they hear a rustling behind them. They both look behind them in time to see Jigglypuff emerge from the bushes. Upon seeing them it smiles happily and prepares it microphone. It sings, "Jig-galy-y puff, jig-galy-y-y pufffff. Jig-galy y-y-puff jig-galy puffffff…" Butch and Cassidy fall straight to sleep.

Unbeknownst to Butch and Cassidy, also spying on the warehouse is Jessie, James, and Meowth. Jessie comments, "With that many guards, this place must hold something valuable."

James whispers, "And if there's something valuable, then it's Team Rocket's sanctioned right to steal it."

Meowth nods. "Then let's get a plan together right away."

James suggests, "We could disguise ourselves as warehouse personal and sneak in."

Jessie shakes her head. "No, that's exactly the kind of genius plan we'd normally use. With a place this heavily guarded, they must have heard of Team Rocket and their masterful disguises. We need a new method."

James and Meowth nod and agree. "Right."

A rustling noise is heard. They all turn to see Jigglypuff emerge from the bushes. It is putting the head of the microphone back on and grumbling something angrily. But then upon seeing Team Rocket, it gets happy again. Before they can react, it begins to sing, "Jig-galy-y puff, jig-galy-y-y pufffff. Jig-galy y-y-puff jig-galy pufffff…" and they too fall asleep.

Butch and Cassidy slowly awaken, their faces covered in drawings. Butch's face has the word Botch written across it. He asks, "What just happened?"

Cassidy responds, "I think that Jigglypuff just put us to sleep with its Sing attack."

Butch complains, "It could have blown our cover, that darned vermin."

Cassidy suddenly gets an idea. "Wait, this is exactly what we needed. If we could capture Jigglypuff, we could harness its Sing to put all the guards to sleep."

"That's a great idea."

"Thanks Botch – I mean Butch." Butch stares at her angrily as she giggles.

Jessie, James, and Meowth have woken up too, their faces covered with Jigglypuff's mark. Jessie is explaining something. "And once they're asleep, we get free access!"

James exclaims, "Great idea Jess!"

Meowth agrees, "With a plan that great, we can't fail. It's time for Operation Grab Jigglypuff."

Who's that Pokémon!?

It can circle the globe in just 16 hours. It is a kindhearted Pokémon that leads lost and foundering ships in a storm to the safety of land.

Cadence asks, "Do you really think this will work?"

Ash nods. "I'm certain. If there's one thing that Jigglypuff can't resist, it's a stage to perform on, and an audience to sing to." He beckons to a large tree stump they've found. "And this will be Jigglypuff's stage, and we'll be its audience."

"I hope it works."

Misty remarks, "When you're as vain as this Jigglypuff, it has to work."

Brenda asks, "So now that we've found a stage for it, what do we do?"

Brock suggests, "We should all take a seat and maybe even cheer for Jigglypuff. If it hears that, it should draw its attention."

So everyone takes a seat on the floor in front of the stump. They all begin to chant, "Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff! Jigglypuff!"

Cadence suddenly leaps up in excitement and shouts, "Look, there it is!"

Sure enough, Jigglypuff hears the commotion and peeks its head through some bushes, seeing the stage set up for it. It may just be a random stump with five people sitting in front of it, but Jigglypuff envisions it as a grand stage with a giant audience. Jigglypuff's face lights up with joy. "Jiggly!" It leaps onto the stage.

Ash says, "Alright Cadence, get ready."

She nods and pulls out her Chesto Berry. "I'm ready. At long last my dream is about to come true."

Jigglypuff raises its microphone and prepares to sing. Just as it's inhaling, a large blue tentacle comes launching in out of nowhere. It wraps around Jigglypuff.

Cadence gasps. "Oh no! What just happened!?"

A large mechanical Omastar comes rolling in. Standing atop it are Butch and Cassidy. Cassidy declares, "Prepare for trouble!"

Butch continues, "And make it double!"

"To infect the world with devastation!"

"To blight all people in every nation!"

"To denounce the goodness of truth and love!"

"To extend our wrath to the stars above!"

"Cassidy!"

"And Butch, of course!"

"We're Team Rocket, circling Earth all day and night!"

"Surrender to us now or you will surely lose the fight!"

Their Raticate appears and finishes it, "Rat, raticate!"

Misty says with confusion, "Biff and Cassidy…they weren't the ones I was expecting…"

Butch is about to protest the incorrect name usage when suddenly a giant scythe swings in and cuts the mechanical tentacle trapping Jigglypuff. Cassidy demands, "Who dares attack our robot!?"

Butch then adds with anger, "And who dares say my name wrong!?"

Into view comes a large mechanical Kabutops. Sitting in a cockpit in the top of its head are Jessie, James, and Meowth. Jessie asks, "Listen, is that the voice of inferior Team Rocket members I hear?"

James answers, "It's speaking to me loud and clear!"

"On the wind!"

"Past the stars!"

Meowth chimes in, "In your ear!"

"Bringing chaos at a breakneck pace!"

"Dashing hope, putting fear in its place!"

"A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!"

"When everything's worse, our work is complete!"

"Jessie!"

"And it's James!"

"And Meowth, now that's a name!"

"Putting the do-gooders in their place!"

"We're Team Rocket!"

They all declare, "In your face!"

Wobbuffet and Mime Jr appear. "Wobbuffet!"

"Mime mime!"

Meowth looks forward and says to no one in particular, "I know what you're thinking, that motto's outdated. But we had to one-up those motto-stealing copycats one way or another."

Cassidy demands, "Jessie! What are you doing here!? That Jigglypuff is needed for a special Team Rocket operation!"

Jessie responds, "I'll have you know that we to are collecting that Jigglypuff in the name of The Boss, so hands off!"

James shouts, "Get out of here Bunch, this is our Jigglypuff!"

Butch is angered at first, but then after a moment of thinking, he shouts, "Why don't you get out of here, Jim!?"

James stomps his foot angrily, "You did that on purpose!"

Butch nods proudly. "Now you know how it feels!"

Both sides break out into an all-out robot brawl, as they send their two mechanical prehistoric Pokémon into battle each other.

Meanwhile, everyone else has just been watching the exchange. Ash whispers, "Let's grab Jigglypuff and sneak out of here while they're distracted." Everyone else nods in agreement. Ash sneaks up to the stage and grabs Jigglypuff, who is curiously watching the robot fight. They then dash off.

It's Dragonite!

Having escaped, the group ceases running and stops for a break. Ash sets down Jigglypuff, which looks up angrily at him. He apologizes, "Sorry Jigglypuff, but trust me, you didn't want to stick around back there." He turns to everyone else. "What just happened back there?"

Brock answers, "It looks like Team Rocket is interested in acquiring Jigglypuff for some reason."

Brenda sighs, "As if one Team Rocket group wasn't enough, now we've got two."

Misty nods in agreement. "Tell me about it. Butch and Cassidy were bugging me for quite a while after I returned to the Cerulean Gym."

Cadence asks, "So what do we do now?"

No one seems to notice, but Jigglypuff has begun to sing.

Ash answers, "Whatever Team Rocket has planned for Jigglypuff can't be good, so we've got to protect it." He yawns. "Hey, what's that noise?" Everyone realizes at the same time what's happening. Before they can do anything about it, they all fall asleep.

Jigglypuff completes its song and realizes that everyone has fallen asleep. It puffs up in anger.

Everyone is still asleep, now with various markings and scribbles across their faces. They all begin to wake up at the same time. Upon realizing what happened, Ash, Brock, Brenda, and Misty all groan, "Not again…"

Cadence gets up and panics. "Oh no, it's gone! Jigglypuff is gone!"

Ash adds, "And now it will be easy pickings for Team Rocket."

Misty complains, "How are you supposed to protect something like Jigglypuff? It's impossible!"

Ash looks to Cadence and apologizes, "Sorry we lost Jigglypuff."

She sighs sadly, but says, "You don't have to apologize, it's not your fault. Besides, I shouldn't be worried about my dance now. You were right when you said we have to protect Jigglypuff. That has to be our first priority. I'll deal with my dance when this situation is solved."

Everyone gets to work on cleaning off their faces. Brenda asks, "So how do we find Jigglypuff this time?"

Brock suggests, "A Pokémon that puts anyone it meets to sleep shouldn't be that hard to find, theoretically. I'd think it would leave a trail of people who have fallen asleep." He looks off towards the city. "And I don't think it would be that hard to assume that Jigglypuff has headed for the city. It's where it will find the most people to sing for."

Misty nods in agreement, "So it's off to the city then."

Just as they predicated, Jigglypuff is now in the city, wandering around by itself. It attempts to get the attention of various pedestrians passing by to sing its song to, but none stop for it. This annoys Jigglypuff.

A voice over some sort of loudspeaker announces, "This is your local radio station, reminding you that we're holding open auditions today. Come on by the radio tower in the city's center and show us what you've got. You might just be able to have your voice heard across the entire city."

This idea seems to excite Jigglypuff. It looks towards the center of town, where a tall tower can be seen. Its odd shape allows Jigglypuff to envision it as looking like a giant microphone. Jigglypuff gets filled with glee and sets off towards the tower joyfully.

They are now in the city. They take turns calling out, "Jigglypuff!"

A man walks by them. Cadence runs over to him and asks, "Excuse me, but have you seen a Jigglypuff? We really need to find it."

The man stops and thinks. "Actually, I believe I have."

Cadence's face lights up. "Really? Where was it?"

"Hmm…If I remember correctly, I passed by it just a little while ago near the Pokémon Center. It seemed to be heading towards the center of the city."

Cadence grins. "Thank you so much sir. Come on guys, let's go!" They all run, following Cadence towards the center of the city and its radio tower.

After running for some time, Brenda points ahead, across the street from where they are. "Look, there's Jigglypuff!" Everyone looks to see Jigglypuff turning into an alleyway. They run to go after it, crossing the street and entering into the alley as well.

Ash shouts, "Jigglypuff, stop!"

Jigglypuff turns to see them running at it. It tilts its head in confusion.

Misty breathes a sigh of relief. "I was afraid we'd never catch up with it."

Out of nowhere, Jessie agrees, "I was wondering the same thing."

Everyone turns around to see Team Rocket enter the alley, still driving their Kabutops mech, though it is now battle-damaged. James says, "Now hand us that Jigglypuff and we'll leave you to your business.

Ash shouts, "You'll never get your hands on Jigglypuff!"

Meanwhile, Jigglypuff seems to not care about this exchange. With the attention not focused on it, it turns around and continues on its way.

Meowth declares, "We're taking that Jigglypuff whether you like it or not!"

With that, Jessie and James both stand up and throw their Pokéballs, sending out Buzzsaw and Haking.

Cadence looks back to where Jigglypuff was standing and realizes that it is no longer there. "Oh no, Jigglypuff is gone again!"

Misty and Brenda both pull out Pokéballs. Misty turns to Ash and says, "You three go after Jigglypuff. We'll hold off Team Rocket."

Ash nods. "Alright, good luck Misty." He, Brock, and Cadence run off.

Misty looks to Brenda and asks, "You ready for this?"

Brenda nods. "You bet." They both throw Pokéballs, sending out Corsola and Kappaqua.

Misty begins the battle by ordering, Corsola, use Spike Cannon!"

Brenda adds, "And you use Aqua Bomb Kappaqua!"

Jessie orders, "Grind those spikes with Night Slash!"

While James orders, "Put a stop to that Aqua Bomb with a Sludge Bomb!"

All of the spikes fired by Corsola are grinded away by the rotating blades of Buzzsaw's mandibles, while Haking's Sludge Bomb intercepts and neutralizes Kappaqua's Aqua Bomb.

Meanwhile, Ash, Brock, and Cadence continue to chase after Jigglypuff. Ash notices it up ahead, turning around a corner. He shouts, "There it is!" He picks up the pace, as do the others.

As soon as they turn around the corner, they find Jigglypuff stopped before the massive Omastar machine operated by Butch and Cassidy. They've already sent out their Hitmontop and Houndoom to attempt to capture it by force. Jigglypuff takes a few steps back.

Cassidy calls out, "There's no need to fear. We just need to…borrow you for a moment." Jigglypuff doesn't seem convinced.

Butch orders, "Grab it, Hitmontop!" Hitmontop leaps at Jigglypuff. However, Jigglypuff, being as light as a balloon, leaps up and over Hitmontop, causing it to fall to the ground. It then lands on Houndoom and leaps off of it, onto the Omastar mech, and then back off, onto the ground behind them.

Cassidy shouts, "Hey, get back here!"

Cadence shouts in concern, "Jigglypuff!"

Brock pulls out two Pokéballs and says, "You two keep on going after Jigglypuff. I'll make sure you aren't followed."

Ash grins. "Thanks Brock." He looks Cadence. "Come on, let's go!" They run off.

Butch and Cassidy begin to prepare to go after Jigglypuff too, but Brock shouts, "You're not going anywhere! Go, Blissey and Meteorfight!" He throws his Pokéball and sends out his Pokémon.

Cassidy remarks, "Fine, if it's a battle you want, it's a battle you'll get! Use Flamethrower, Houndoom!"

Butch adds, "And you use Triple Kick Hitmontop!"

Brock shouts, "Blissey, intercept the Flamethrower with Egg Bomb, and Meteorfight, you counter the Triple Kick with Comet Punch!" Blissey launches its egg, which explodes when it makes contact with the Flamethrower, breaking up the attack. Hitmontop leaps at Meteorfight and unleashes a volley of kicks while it spins. Meteorfight counters each one of them with a high speed punch.

Ash and Cadence are still chasing after Jigglypuff. They seem to have lost it. They stop and look around. Cadence asks, "Where did it go?"

Ash shakes his head. "I don't know." He thinks for a moment. "It seems like it keeps heading towards the center of the city. Why would it want to do that?"

Cadence thinks for a second and then realizes something. "Wait a second! The radio tower is in the center of the city!"

"Radio tower?"

"Yeah, this city has a local radio station. It's played on loudspeakers across the city. Everyone listens to it."

Ash realizes what this means. "That means it's a way for everyone in the city to hear Jigglypuff's song! We have to stop it!"

Cadence nods in agreement. Right. The radio tower is this way, follow me." They run off again.

After running for a few moments, they make it to the base of the radio tower. They burst in. A receptionist at the front desk greets them, "Hello and welcome. The open auditions are being held…" she trails off as Ash and Cadence run right past her to the elevator. "…on the top floor…"

They ride the elevator up to the top floor, and leap out once it arrives. In the broadcast room, the DJ is saying something into a microphone as Jigglypuff walks into the room. The DJ looks down to it and smiles. "Oh, how cute. A Jigglypuff has just found its way into the broadcast room. What are you doing here little guy?"

Jigglypuff sees the microphone and leaps towards it. Ash and Cadence both shout at once, "No! Don't let it get that microphone!"

The DJ looks up in shock. She asks, "Why, what's wrong?"

And then Jigglypuff begins to sing. "Jig-galy-y puff, jiggaly-y-y puffffff. Jig-galy y-y-puff jig-galy puffffff…"

Ash, Cadence, and the DJ all fall asleep.

Across the city, Jigglypuff's song is being played via loudspeakers. People everywhere drop what they're doing and fall asleep.

Misty and Brenda are still locked in battle with Team Rocket when they hear the song. They look around for a moment, trying to figure out where Jigglypuff is, but then get too drowsy to care. Team Rocket and their Pokémon also drift off into sleep, declaring, "Team Rocket's nodding off again…" as they do so.

The story is the same with Brock. He and his Pokémon hear the song and are pulled into sleep. Butch and Cassidy, however, look to each other as they're about to lose consciousness and nod in agreement at something.

Back at the radio tower, Jigglypuff completes its song. It takes a bow, as if it expects an applause. When it hears none, it looks around and realizes that everyone in the room is asleep. It puffs up angrily and pulls out its marker. It proceeds to mark up the faces of everyone in the room.

Once done there, it marches out of the radio tower angrily. It sees that all around it people have fallen asleep. It puffs up even more. Then, in a mad dash, it goes from person to person, marking up each and every one of their faces.

Ash and Cadence both wake up at the same time. They instantly look to each other, realizing what had happened. Without speaking any words they get into the elevator, and rush down. They exit the tower and look around. Everywhere they can see, people are waking up. They are either confused at what just happened or laughing at each other's faces.

They also notice Brock, Misty, and Brenda heading towards them, also with scribbles across their faces once more. Brock asks, "What happened?"

Ash answers, "Jigglypuff managed to find the broadcast center of a radio station and sang its song for the entire city to hear."

Misty looks around and comments, "There's no way Jigglypuff stuck around here. Not after this many people fell asleep listening to it. Its pride was probably very hurt."

Cadence says, "That's good, then those crooks won't be able to get their hands on it anymore."

Brenda realizes, "Wait, that means you won't be able to fulfill your dream and dance to Jigglypuff's song!"

Cadence nods. "Don't worry about it. My day will come. I just know it. It may not be today, but I will get the chance again some other day. I'm just glad that Jigglypuff is safe. Just as it will keep singing its song until others hear it, I'll keep on dancing until I've danced to every type of song."

Misty cheers, "That's the spirit!"

Brock leaps in front of Cadence and declares, "Oh dear Cadence, your utter determination and drive is so amazing. If only I could have half of it, I would be a better-"

Misty reaches in to grab his ear and pull him away, but just before she does, Meteorfight appears and delivers its uppercut to Brock. It then looks and points to Misty, laughs, "Meteororororor!" triumphantly, and then returns itself to its Pokéball. Everyone laughs at the scene.

Will anyone ever be able to hear Jigglypuff's song? It seems doubtful, but that doesn't mean Jigglypuff should give up. In fact, we should all strive to achieve our goals and never give up as the journey continues.

Butch and Cassidy are crouched around a portable videophone. Cassidy is holding some sort of data storage chip. Butch grins. "That was a great idea using those special earplugs. With Jigglypuff's song broadcasted to the entire city, those guards didn't stand a chance."

Cassidy nods. "And now we got exactly what we needed."

The videophone screen lights up. Giovanni appears on it. He asks, "Agents Biff and Cassidy…" He trails off. "Excuse me, Butch, not Biff."

Butch shakes his head. "From you sir, Biff is fine."

Giovanni nods. "Indeed. What have you to report, agents?"

Cassidy shows him the data chip. "We have successfully infiltrated a Team Planetary warehouse and stolen the data from their computers. It's ready to be sent to you immediately."

Giovanni nods. He is pleased. "Good. Very good. This means that we can continue our Tenno agenda." He chuckles malevolently.

To Be Continued…