Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode 157: "Ringuma de Dokkiri!""

("Ringuma in Shock!")

American Episode 155:  "Forest Grumps"
Pokemon Dare Da?   Ringuma (Japanese), Noctowl (American)
Japanese Air Date:  June 6th, 2000
American Air Date:  June 2nd, 2001 

Satoshi-tachi are letting their pokemon relax in a forest when the Rocket-Dan appear to kidnap the pokemon.  The Rocket-Dan's plan is thwarted when a group of Ringuma attack everyone.  After the resulting confusion, everyone is jumbled up--Musashi gets lost with Satoshi and Takeshi while Kasumi is stuck with Kojirou and Nyasu.  As each group tries to find its way through the forest, the members of the Rocket-Dan take note of how much better off Satoshi-tachi are in comparison to their meager life.  Everyone is eventually reunited, and after a harrowing adventure on a rickety bridge, everything returns to normal.  After the Rocket-Dan are beaten in a battle with Satoshi-tachi, Satoshi notices a sign stating that the forest they had just escaped from was the breeding ground of the Ringuma!  Happy to be free of the hormonal Ringuma, Satoshi-tachi continue on their journey to Kogane City.

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Thoughts
This episode is a pretty fun one, and it's all because of the Rocket-Dan.  Without them, the episode would be pretty boring and uneventful.  I mean sure, it doesn't advance the plot one little bit, but it at least gives us a deeper look at the Rocket-Dan.  Would Musashi, Kojirou, and Nyasu be better off if they weren't in the Rocket-Dan?  Would it be better if they just quit right now?  It's kinda interesting to see their loyalty to Sakaki waver in this episode, it's just too bad that we never see the Rocket-Dan do this more. 

Ringuma keeps its Japanese voice.

Dialogue Edit
The big running gag of this episode is completely ruined by 4Kids.  What I'm talking about is Kasumi's, Kojirou's, and Nyasu's three games of "rock, paper, scissors."  After each game in the Japanese version, Nyasu declares that he's the winner because he's making the winning hand--scissors in the first game, rock in the second, and paper in the third.  That's why his hand is kinda thrust toward the camera after each game--he's showing us that he has the winning hand.  The joke is that his hand is in the same shape each time, so he basically cheats his way out of each game. 

In the dub, it's different.  After game #1, he says:

Um..."the odd finger?"  After the second game:

Again..."the odd finger?"  I just don't get it.  Finally, for the third game:

Originally, Nyasu says something like "This is paper!", Kojirou questions if Nyasu really did have paper, and Nyasu responds with "This really is paper!"  That's why Nyasu is looking down at his hand. 

I actually got an e-mail about the whole "odd finger" thing.  I had never heard of it before, but apparently somebody else had.  Here's what MasterAsh42 said:

The whole "odd finger" bit is a basically an equivalent to "rock, paper, scissors" in a sense, though it can only be played with three people. Basically, after counting to whatever, each person flings out either one or two fingers. Since there's only three people, the only results possible are the following: all three with two fingers, all three with one finger, two with two and one with one, or two with one and one with two. In the case of the first two, the game is replayed until a different result is achieved. In the case of the other two, the one who's alone in his/her choice (the only one with one finger or the only one with two fingers), also known as "the odd finger," is declared the winner.

OK, that makes sense.  But still--it's not the same game as "rock, paper, scissors."  4Kids' little change completely destroyed the original joke, a joke that would have been easily translated.  C'mon 4Kids--no weird Japanese puns, no cultural references, nothing untranslatable--just a reference to a game played across this country and many others.  Why did you have to go out of your way to screw it up?

Side Note
A lot of people seem to think that the green-haired lady who's talking to young Musashi during Musashi's flashback is her mother.  But it isn't--it was revealed long before this episode was aired that Miyamoto is her mother.  And Miyamoto looks nothing like the green-haired lady.  So who is she?  She's more than likely Musashi's foster mother.  I mean, somebody had to take care of Musashi after her mom died, so it only makes sense that this is who it would be.

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