Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode 244: "Sandaa to Kurisutaru!  Mizuumi no Himitsu!"

(Thunder and Crystal!  The Secret of the Lake!)

American Episode 242:  "As Clear as Crystal"
Pokemon Dare Da?   Thunder (Japanese), Kingdra (American)
Ookido-Hakase Pokemon Lecture:   Kunugidama
Japanese Air Date:  March 28th, 2002
American Air Date:  April 12th, 2003
Important Characters:  Tsubasa (???)

After the spell that turned Satoshi into a Pikachu wears off, the groups is attacked by the Rocket-Dan.  They attempt to kidnap the little mouse pokemon using an electricity-absorbing machine, but Pikachu overloads it with its 10,000 Volt.  While the Rocket-Dan have been blasted away, Pikachu is left exhausted.  A woman named Tsubasa appears, and she brings Satoshi-tachi to a special lake where electric-types go to recharge after difficult battles.  Takeshi wonders how a lake can re-energize electric-type pokemon, so Tsubasa shows him the lake's secret--a shrine in the center of the lake holding a mysterious crystal!  The crystal is the secret to the lake's restorative powers, and after the Rocket-Dan learn this, they attempt to steal it.  After they snatch the crystal, the electric pokemon in the area attack the group's balloon, but their electricity is absorbed into a machine built into the blimp.  Suddenly, a roar of thunder introduces the arrival of the legendary pokemon Thunder!  Thunder overloads the Rocket-Dan's machine, causing them to blast off, but they still have the crystal!  And to top it all off, Thunder is now severely weakened!  Satoshi-tachi track Musashi-tachi down and, after a short battle, retrieve the mysterious crystal.  The crystal is placed back in its shrine and Thunder is revived, so the mysterious pokemon flies off.  Tsubasa thanks Satoshi-tachi for their help as they continue on their journey to Fusube City.

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Thoughts
Well, the last of the three legendary birds makes its TV series debut, and it's unfortunate that it does so in an episode that's basically a combination of the Myuutwo and Raikou TV Specials.  I mean, it was alright and all, but the "been there done that" feeling really ruined the episode for me. 

By the way, did anyone else notice Musashi's and Kojirou's costumes at the beginning of the episode?  Takeshi eventually wears an outfit very similar to Kojirou's outfit for the Pokemon Hosou episodes.

Like in the second movie, Thunder keeps its Japanese voice.

Rocket-Dan
The Rocket-Dan motto for the Japanese version of this episode is different from the normal motto, but I can't really understand what they're saying.  Oddly enough, 4Kids uses the regular old motto for the dub, making this the second time in these last few episodes that 4Kids has opted for the simpler motto.

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