I knew he'd be back.
—Sabrina
Japanese Title: Ghost Vs. Esper!
Original Air Date: September 9th 1997
US Air Date: October 8th, 1998
The one where... Laughter apparently is the best medicine.
Ash returns to Saffron City with one goal, to win a Marsh Badge. Accompanying him is his new Ghost-type Pokémon, Haunter. The scene is set and Ash Sabrina are once again face to face when suddenly, Ash's ghost Pokémon is nowhere to be found. Feeling completely humiliated, Ash leaves the gym. Brock and Misty are left behind and as a result, the young girl uses her powers to turn them into miniature dolls, rendering them helpless. The mysterious man from Ash's previous encounter with this baffling Gym Leader shows up providing Ash with some information that could ultimately be the key to defeating her. Determined to rescue Brock and Misty, Ash returns to the Saffron City Gym ready to do what it takes to win and save his friends. Just when his attempt seems hopeless, the Ghost Pokémon shows up with a unique combative technique. Will this be enough to rescue Ash's friends as well as the young Gym Leader from her dark and lonely world?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- And I Must Scream: Sabrina turns Misty and Brock into lifeless dolls, rendering them only able to communicate through thoughts. Then we find out that Sabrina did this to her own mother as well...
- "Bang!" Flag Gun: Haunter uses one when he attempts to make Jessie laugh; the "BANG!" flag only appears for a couple of frames though before cutting to the next shot.
- Cartoon Bomb: Haunter pulls one out at Sabrina, decorated with a red skull and crossbones on its front. But all the bomb does is cover Sabrina and Haunter in soot when it explodes.
- Comedy as a Weapon: Haunter defeats Sabrina by making her laugh with its goofy antics.
- Comically Missing the Point: Ash does this twice with Sabrina's Father.
- As Sabrina's Father is explaining his daughter's backstory to Ash, he shows him a picture of their family.
Ash: Sabrina had this picture of her family in her room. If you have the same picture, then that must mean you're...Sabrina's Father: (thinking) Does he know? He must have figured it out by now. After everything I've said, he must have figured out the truth about Sabrina and me. He must realize that I'm Sabrina's father.Ash: Then that must mean you're a photographer!Sabrina's Father: (flies off the bench)Sabrina's Father: Don't you see!? Don't you get it!?Ash: Get what?Sabrina's Father: (sighs) Never mind...- Later, after Ash has defeated Sabrina...
Ash: But if you've known Sabrina since she was a little girl, then that means...Sabrina's Father: So you figured it out, eh?Ash: Then you must have taken her baby pictures, too!Sabrina's Father: (facefault) JUST HOW DENSE CAN A PERSON BE?!(Ash just looks at him, clueless; he recomposes himself by clearing his throat) - Cowardly Lion: Pikachu (as well as Bulbasaur, Squirtle and Charmander) refuse to fight for Ash against Sabrina when Haunter first disappears. At the rematch when Ash seems to have given up all hope, Pikachu leaps in front of him facing off against Kadabra.
- Creepy Dollhouse: Sabrina turns Misty and Brock into dolls and keeps them in a dollhouse.
- Curb Stomp Cushion: Pikachu actually manages to harm Kadabra in their second battle. Unfortunately, Kadabra knows Recover.
- Early-Installment Weirdness: Jessie mentions Christopher Columbus in the original Japanese and Albert Einstein in the English dub. Later on, unambiguous references to the real world and real people would be effectively gone from the anime.
- Entertainingly Wrong: Ash thinks that Sabrina's father was simply a photographer, though he doesn't find it entertaining, Face Faulting every time.
- Eye Catch: This episode, the Who's That Pokémon is Haunter.
- Hammerspace: Haunter itself seems to be this, as it's able to pull a "Bang!" Flag Gun and a fake Cartoon Bomb out of its own mouth.
- Historical Character Confusion: Team Rocket does this with Christopher Columbus in the original version and with Albert Einstein in the dub (where they get him mixed up with Thomas Edison).
- Hope Spot: When Pikachu launches a powerful looking Thunderbolt attack that actually hits Kadabra and causes it to cry out in pain, Ash thinks he was able to win without Haunter's help. Unfortunately Kadabra uses Recover and seems completely unharmed after that.
- Humiliation Conga: Team Rocket fare no better here than they did in the previous episode. With their plan being foiled by Haunter, falling from a skyscraper and then getting covered in cement
- In-Universe Factoid Failure: Jessie apparently thinks that it was Einstein who invented the light bulb.
- Jaw Drop: Ash's reaction upon seeing Sabrina laugh, and the effect it had on her Kadabra.
- Lost in Translation: The joke about "the chicken who invented the egg," with James then telling the audience that true geniuses like them know that the egg predated the chicken. Originally, it was a joke where a "Columbus Egg" fell on top of Jessie and James, so James breaks the fourth wall to explain what a Columbus Egg is.
- Laugh Themselves Sick: Due to having it's mind synced up to Sabrina's, when she starts laughing, Kadabra starts rolling on the floor and laughing too.
- Must Make Her Laugh: Sabrina's dad wanted her to laugh ever since she started Psychic training, and thanks to Ash and Haunter, he finally gets his wish.
- Non-Fatal Explosions: In an attempt to make Sabrina laugh, Haunter pulls out a lit Cartoon Bomb that simply covers them both in soot when it explodes.
- Non-Indicative Title: Despite the title of the episode, Haunter doesn't battle against Kadabra due to disappearing unexpectedly; rather, it's a rematch with Ash's Pikachu going up against Kadabra instead.
- Not So Stoic: Both Sabrina and Kadabra prove this when they crack up at Haunter's antics. Even before the curse was lifted, she actually looked a tiny little bit shaken when Haunter pulled out it's Cartoon Bomb
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: When Haunter is a no-show for Ash's rematch with Sabrina, he decides to run away.
- Split-Personality Merge: Sabrina snaps out of her psychic stance after Haunter's prank.
- Teleport Spam: Kadabra dodging Pikachu's attacks.
- Toy Transmutation: Misty and Brock get turned into dolls by Sabrina after the crew attempts to escape her. They remain that way until the end of the episode. She had previously done the same with her mother, and would likely have done it to Ash as well had he not defeated her with the help of a Haunter he befriended.
- Versus Title: In both Japanese and English, the title is "[noun] Vs [noun]".
