Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode AG 068: "Papa wa Aidoru!?  Itsuwari no Jimu Riidaa!!"

("Papa is an Idol!?  The Fake Gym Leader!!")

American Episode 340: "A Double Dilemma"
Ookido-Hakase Pokémon Lecture:  Pokémon Senryuu Contest information
Japanese Air Date: March 18th, 2004
American Air Date:  March 5th, 2005
Important Characters:  Yaohei (Rose), Reporter (Dee Dunstan)
Important Places:  Touka City (Petalberg City)

Satoshi and the gang have finally arrived in Touka City!  As the townspeople shower the children of their beloved Senri with attention, Musashi and Kojirou devise a plan.  By dressing up as Senri and his family, the Rocket-Dan plans to cash in on the Gym Leader's popularity.  While Haruka and Masato are busy answering questions from the townspeople, Satoshi finds himself being challenged by a group of Senri's groupies.  These trainers attack Satoshi, one after another, until the young trainer's pokemon are worn out.  Haruka is called in to take care of the "disrespectful trainer," so she uses her Achamo to wipe the floor with Satoshi's worn-out pokemon.  Afterwards, one of the townspeople notice that there must be a group of imposters out there, and soon enough the disguised members of the Rocket-Dan are found.  The trio's plot is quickly discovered, and Pikachu sends them packing.  The townspeople finally warm up to Satoshi (well, his Pikachu anyway) and finally accept him as a worthy challenger to the Touka City gym.

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Thoughts
I really like the Houen Gym Leaders.  The anime producers have always found a way to make them interesting, and Senri is a perfect example.  Turning Senri into a celebrity was a great decision, and it's really interesting to see Haruka and Masato unwillingly become celebrities themselves.  While the townspeople got a little annoying with their unjustified hatred of Satoshi, and I do think that Haruka should have apologized at the end for getting so caught up in the crowd, it was still an amusing episode.

But I have to wonder...where were all the Senri fans during Satoshi's first trip through Touka City?  Was he a celebrity at the time, or is the Gym Leader's fame come about only recently?  And if so, why?
 
As for the dub, there are just the standard edits we've come to expect, but the funniest localization to me is the amount of 4Kids' self-worship included in this episode.  Everyone in this episode is going crazy over "Norman" (who shares the first name with the president of 4Kids Productions, Inc.), and there's a newspaper reporter who's name is very similar to Darren Dunstan (voice director for 4Kids).  And I thought renaming the Fox Box "4Kids TV" was egocentric...

Cut--2 seconds
Two seconds are cut from the very first shot of the episode.

Paint Edit
Whenever Satoshi's badge case appears, you know that 4Kids' paint editors have to get to work.

Dialogue Edit
The Rocket-Dan's explanation for the...well, the crapiness of Sonansu's disguise is different in the dub.  Here's what they say in the 4Kids version:

Neighbor:  "Just look how much you've grown, young man.  But ya look a little blue around the edges.  Are ya cold or something?"
Jessie:  "I'm afraid he's caught a little chill."
James:  "He gets awfully cold on the road."
Wobbuffet:  "Wobbuffet!!"

Originally, the excuse given for "Masato's" strange face is that he's been studying so much lately.  It's stupid and doesn't make any sense, but that's sort of the whole joke here.  

The explanation for "Haruka's" odd apperance (mainly, her height) is more or less the same in the dub as it is in the Japanese version.

Side Note
Dee Dunstan gives us this little gem:

Dee Dunstan:  "Who the pokemon are you?"

Lame.  Really, I'm not going to waste another word describing how unbelievably stupid that line sounded.

Also, does anyone else think it's odd how Pikachu can just scale a tree the way it did?  It pretty much pulled a Spider-Man and ran up the side of a tree to reach the Rocket-Dan's balloon.

Cut--5 seconds altogether
The rest of the edits are time cuts.

Three seconds are taken away from the shot right after the final commercial break, and two more seconds are taken away from the TO BE CONTINUED... screen.

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