Ash's goal is to become a Pokémon master and defeat Leon. Goh's goal is to capture every single Pokémon there is, including Mew.
Or at least, that's what our favorite narrator was trying to say before he's interrupted by Team Rocket...or should I say the hosts of "Team Rocket's Undercover Kingdom Radio"! Under orders from Giovanni, they're to recruit new members into their fold, and they've decided to use a radio program to do it. But their first show...stinks, and they've got no new members! With a few reworks, they've managed to create an entirely new phenomenon.
"Dum-Dum-Dum Z" proudly presents the following tropes!
- Beyond the Impossible: Team Rocket manages to get the narrator to not only Sweat Drop, but actually hand him some of their fan mail to read. This is despite the fact he is a disembodied voice, by the way.
- Breaking the Fourth Wall: Team Rocket interrupts the narrator at the beginning of the episode, and when he does it to them at the end, they force him to read their fan mail.
- Breather Episode: After episodes 103 and 104 reunited Ash with Clemont and Bonnie and pushed him on the cusp of entering the World Coronation Series Master Class, and episode 105 had an emotional reunion with Serena, episode 106 turns its focus to a silly effort by Team Rocket to become radio stars.
- The Cameo: Brock, as seen from behind, is revealed as one of "Dum-Dum-Dum Z"'s biggest listeners. The group also gets a call from someone that is clearly Cilan.
- Dramatic Irony: Team Rocket reads a letter talking about a boy who wants to become a Pokémon Master, a boy who wants to catch every Pokémon there is, including Mew, and give advice to a man that he should become a Pokémon professor so he can better bond with his Pokémon-loving daughter who might love something cute like an Eevee. What those three don't realize is they're talking about Ash, Goh, Professor Cerise, and Chloe—the very people they've sworn to steal from—and they promise to support them no matter what!
- Fanboy: Ren, Professor Cerise, Brock, and Cilan wind up becoming big fans of "Dum-Dum-Dum Z" (though Cilan's only implied through his nom-de-plum of "Radio Connoisseur", though official artwork confirmed it's him).
- Hidden Depths: Ren and Professor Cerise are both revealed as big radio listeners, with the latter having done so since childhood. On Ren's suggestion, he gets back into it, and both are pleasantly surprised to learn they're shared fans of "Dum-Dum-Dum Z".
- Irony: In Brock's cameo, he mentions he has a crush on Jessie's radio persona. If only he knew who she really was...
- Kick the Dog: Morpeko eats all of Team Rocket's pudding.
- Motive Decay: Team Rocket was supposed to use the program to recruit new members on Giovanni's orders, but completely forgot all about it to have fun. The narrator Lampshades that Giovanni is probably going to chew them out for it.
- Mythology Gag: "Team Rocket's Undercover Kingdom Radio" homages a short-lived, Japanese-exclusive radio program called "Team Rocket's Secret Empire", where the Japanese voices for the trio hosted a radio program in character.
- No Fourth Wall: Team Rocket interacts with the narrator in ways that, even by the anime's usual standards, shouldn't be possible. See Breaking the Fourth Wall above for details.
- Out of Focus: Ash and Goh are both regulated to minor roles in this episode.
- Pet the Dog: James willingly gives away his Premier Ball as a prize, which Ren winds up getting.
- Shout-Out: The episode's title homages The Buggles song "Video Killed the Radio Star".
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome: Starting up a radio program isn't an easy feat. When Jessie hogs all the spotlight, they get no hits. Even reworking it to include all the members of the Trio still isn't enough, so they work their rears off to make sure it starts connecting, and sure enough, it does just that.
