[The next morning, Ash, his friends and their Pokémon are having breakfast]
Wow, what a beautiful day it's going to be today.
A nice day for travelling.
[Snover points to something in the distance, causing Chimchar to look at it, and then it steal Chimchar's bit of Pokémon food. Chimchar discovers this and points to Snover]
SSnover
Snover, Sno! [Picks up its bowl of Pokémon food]
[Everyone laughs]
Boy, I'll tell you, Snover loves pulling practical jokes.
So what do you say we start getting ready to move on out?
ADAsh & Dawn
Right, Brock.
[to the Pokémon] Hey, guys, as soon as you're done eating, we're getting out of here.
[Soon, everyone has had their breakfast and they are now packing up as Ash returns Staraptor to its Poké ball]
Okay, now for Grotle. [He stares at something] Huh?
[We see Grotle with some small Pokémon perching on its shell]
Look at all those wild Pokémon.
They're perched on Grotle's back.
[The camera zooms in on the Pokémon who are eating nuts on Grotle's shell]
There are nuts growing on its back.
I guess this kind of thing happens once Grotle's adjusted to evolution.
[happily] That's awesome. [Takes a nut from one of Grotle's bush-like trees]
Okay, so Snover grows berries on its body and Grotle grows nuts. Pokémon are so full of mysteries.
Of course, that's part of what makes them so intriguing.
Wow, Grotle, that's so cool.
[Team Rocket sees Grotle racing along the edges of the valley cliffs]
Hey, what's with the Sidewinder?
Does it have Velcro on its feet or something?
Grotle, Grotle, Grotle, Grotle.
[They confer with each other]
My sixth sense is telling me this is not cool.
Don't forget, that sticky green stinker can't touch us if we're flying high in our beautiful balloon.
[They take the balloon higher]
Off the throttle. Bye, dear Grotle!
Grotle! [Jumps onto the grass above the valley and jumps high into the sky] Agh!
[Grotle races through the Meowth balloon, making it explode]
We're blasting off again! [Ding]
[The title card comes up]
[voiceover] Stopped in the Name of Love!
[The camera gives us a panoramic view of Sandalstraw Town as it pans left and then fades to the local Pokémon Centre]
As Dawn excitedly prepares for her newly discovered upcoming Pokémon contest in Sandalstraw Town, our heroes find shelter at a quaint nearby Pokémon Centre...
All right, everybody - come on out! [Her Pokémon, minus Piplup, come out of their Poké Balls] We're closing in on our fifth ribbon so let's train like there's no tomorrow!
[Dawn's Pokémon cheer but then, Piplup tries to fly but falls on the ground]
Hey, are you feeling all right?
Pip. [Shakes his head] Pip-lup. [Stands up but goes out of control] Pipee-lupee...ee! Piplup! [Sits on the ground again]
You've been acting strange lately. Are you certain you're all right?
Aargh! Look out, look out, look out, look out! [Runs into Ash whose hat goes flying into the sky]
Oof! [Lands on the ground]
[Ash's hat lands on his head]
What do you think you're doing? I'm gonna make you pay a fine for that. [Sees Ash] Huh - aah! [Points to Ash] It's you, Ash!
[Kenny arrives]
Hey, there, Dee-Dee, long time.
Obviously, you're gonna enter the Sandalstraw Contest too, right, Dee-Dee?
Look, you better stop calling me Dee-Dee or else!
Huh? Just a cotton-pickin' minute - are you trying to say you two know each other?
You know Kenny too, Barry?
Of course. Best buddies... [Turns to Kenny] Right?
Yeah, although we just met each other now for the first time.
See, I just found out both Kenny and I are from Twinleaf Town, so that means we're practically like brothers. The deal is, Kenny's going to enter the contest and then I'll enter Pokémon Ping-Pong for a double win. We're going to do some special training.
You don't know what that is? Let me see if I've got it... [Gets out a poster which promotes the Pokémon Ping-Pong tournament] Yeah, here. You see, they're holding ping-pong after the contest, and all the strongest competitors are going to be there.
I remember reading about this at the Pokémon Centre. It's double ping-pong where trainer and Pokémon form a team.
[Note: This departure episode is often deemed by fans to be the most insulting, given that Ambipom was a well developed character gone to waste. It is also considered to be the worst episode in the Diamond and Pearl series because of this stunt.]
So that means, you want to play Pokemon Ping-pong, right?
AAmbipom
Ambi, Ambipom! [Right!]
Take good care of Ambipom! Promise me?
OO
Promise. My Pokemon Ping-pong training center is located in Vermillion City. Come visit anytime.
That is so cute! You must tell me where did you get it! Veilstone City, Jubilife City?
Piplup...[My goodness...]
Uhhhh....actually, my mom sent it to me.
If your mom sent it, it must be handmade! It's adorable! You are so lucky!
[getting annoyed] Please, Miss Senior, at least introduce yourself! [Should have asked her that earlier, Zoey?]
[realizing she got overexcited, immediately calms down] Oh, sorry about that. [runs to her Abomasnow and the two strike a pose] Hi! The name is Candice and I'm the Gym Leader of Snowpoint Gym!
Gym Leader? See, I'm Ash from Pallet Town and I'm here because I want to challenge the Snowpoint Gym.
Yippeee! We haven't had a challenger in so long! [later the group are walking around Snowpoint City] Things have been on the slow side at my gym.
Slow, huh? That's too bad.
Well, when you live in a town that's this far north and this cold with not much to do here, challengers don't come around all that much.
And since I have so much free time on my hands, I'm actually a teacher at this school now.
Wow, a Gym Leader and a teacher. [Like Roxanne from the Hoenn Region]
So, Ash how many badges do you have?
That's great! I'm wondering if I can show you off as an example to my students at the training school?
No. I'd really like you to help me teach a class! I'd think it would be a great experience for all of them. Can we have the Gym Battle later?
I'd be happy to do anything I can. Right Pikachu?
[Outside, Ash is lying on the grass, frustrated that he can't answer any questions right]
Relax, you simply show off your true power when you're in battle, see? Desk type work? That's not really your thing.
Pikachu. [He's got a point, you know.]
[immediately bolts up] Jeremiah!
For a trainer with six badges, you don't seem to know much. To be honest, I'm surprised.
Hey, I'll do better next time.
I would hope so. [he leaves]
Don't worry. It doesn't change you're a genius in Gym Battles, really.
Yeah, maybe. Hey, where's Dawn and the gang?
