Pokemon Company
Airdate: January 17, 2002
Summary: Our heroes are walking to Mahogany town when a fog rolls in, Ash walks into the fog and screams, yikes! We find that Ash fell down a little slope, Brock does as well but they see a Ninetales and a beautiful young woman named Lakoko who offers them a place to stay. Ninetales and Lakoko show our heroes their home which is a beautiful mansion, and Team Rocket sneak in to try and steal Ninetales and Pikachu. Ninetales is cozying up to Brock while they all eat a meal, Brock loves it so much that he says he wants to stay forever, which Lakoko agrees to… something is odd… and then Misty sees that in a mirror Lakoko’s reflection is not present… Misty starts to ask Lakoko some critical questions to suss out whether she is real or not and why they are in the mansion alone,, which Lakoko explains by saying the owner of the mansion left and has not returned. Lakoko asks Brock to marry her, which Brock is more than happy to except, he goes to hug her and he hugs air where her body is…. Uh oh she 100% is a ghost. Guess who doesn’t realize this? Brock… Lakoko whisks Brock away and Ninetales turns aggressive towards Ash, Misty, and Pikachu, throwing them out of the mansion. Team Rocket, still in the mansion, moves from room to room eating. Our heroes watch Brock from the outside, he is in a total fog, not knowing what is real, so Ash and Misty snoop around the compound finding clues for Lakoko. They stumble into a room with a painting of a guy who looks very similar to Brock, it looks like they are trying to relieve old haunts from over 200 years ago. Ash and Misty confront Brock, Totodile uses Water Gun on Ninetales… the illusion disappears and it shows that Lakoko doesn’t exist, the mansion is actually dilapidated, Brock realizes that Lakoko is a part of Ninetales’ illusion. Brock grabs Ninetales PokeBall and asks it to return, helping it free from the pain of being without its master. Lakoko appears again and tells the story of Ninetales waiting like Hachiko for her master, bound to the mansion forever, gaining mysterious powers with every lonely year. Just when the story ends, Team Rocket captures Ninetales in a net and sends out Victreebel and Arbok, Bayleef cuts down the net easily, and Ninetales takes care of the rest, but in the process her Pokeball breaks. Our heroes say goodbye to Ninetales as it escapes into the wilderness free from the bondage of its commitment to its former master. This was a top tier episode.
Best Trainer/Pokémon: Misty, her keen eye helped save Brock from an eternity cosplaying as another dude.
Worst Trainer/Pokémon: Brock… his heart is easily corrupted and blind, but full so it isn’t so bad.
One thing I learned: Loneliness makes the heart grow more desperate, especially over hundreds of years.
Who is that Pokémon?:Sudowoodo, I think I would like this Pokemon more if I wasn’t forced to catch/face it every time I have ever played the Johto games, which is hundreds at this point.
Best Quote: “That mirror is just incapable of reflecting her beauty” – Brock about Lakoko… he is in deep with this disillusionment.
Best Scene: Brock and Ninetales saying goodbye, it was a touch emotional.
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