"Was it really that awful?"
"I may never get the taste out of my mouth!"
—Ash and Brock
Japanese Title: With Haruka Delicious, Get Gonbe!!
Original Airdate: March 3, 2005
US Airdate: February 11, 2006
This Munchlax may have more of an iron stomach than Jessie.
May's latest Pokéblock misadventure draws the interest of a wild Munchlax, and leads to a caper when more Pokéblocks go missing. Did Munchlax eat them all? Or is Team Rocket responsible?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Achievements in Ignorance: Munchlax didn't bother paying attention to Combusken trying to attack him. He winds up dodging all Combusken's attacks doing so!
- Brick Joke: After a flurry of failed Ice Beams that flew up to the sky, Pikachu and Snorunt sneak away from Ash, in order to avoid the inevitable.
- Color Failure: The Pokémon turn all the colors of the rainbow when they try May's "Purple Surprise" Pokéblocks: Pikachu turns blue, Torkoal turns purple, Swellow turns green, Combusken turns pink, Forretress turns teal, Ludicolo turns orange, and Grovyle just loses all color.
- Averted with Corphish. It just topples over.
- Continuity Nod: This isn't the first time Jessie's taste buds differ greatly from everyone else's, since she managed to stomach another horrible cooking "experiment", Misty's, back during "Sick Daze".
- Continuity Snarl: The Poké Ball catching Munchlax from the inside contradicts Whiscash and Ash where Nero swallowed the Master Ball.
- Epic Fail: May's impossibly awful-tasting Pokéblock, with James describing them as tasting of jet fuel and burning truck tires.
- Pikachu ends up smacking face-first on a sliding door while following Ash outside.
- Even Evil Has Standards: It's probably part of his disguise, but James really means it when he explicitly mentions that May's Purple Surprise should never be given to anyone.
- Extreme Omnivore: Munchlax eats anything edible, even May's disgusting Pokéblocks that dropped all the other Pokémon that ate them. It even tries to eat the Poké Ball May throws at it. Luckily it activates inside Munchlax's mouth and catches it.
- Hope Spot: Max notices that Corphish is the only one who isn't visibly sick or suffering from Color Failure after eating May's Pokéblocks...then he topples over.
- Impact Silhouette: May makes the mistake of trying to catch Munchlax when it's thrown out of Team Rocket's balloon with the stolen Pokéblocks, leaving a May-shaped hole in the ground.
- Before that, James, having bitten a Tamato Berry, runs through a wall while wailing in agony that his lips are on fire, leaving behind a James-shaped hole.
- It Tastes Like Feet: James complains that May's Pokéblocks taste like "jet fuel and burning truck tires".
- Large Ham: In the dub, Maddie Blaustein, Darren Dunstan and Eric Stuart had a lot of fun recording Torkoal, Swellow, Combusken, Fortress, Ludicolo and Corphish's reactions to May's Purple Suprise.
- Not Helping Your Case: Munchlax stands accused of stealing the Pokéblocks. As May and her friends and Nurse Joy try to defend him, Munchlax just wanders off to find more food.
- Overly Long Gag: The infamous Animal Reaction Shot towards May's Pokéblocks. As in, practically the entire Hoenn team.
- Pun: Ash's Grovyle says the "vile" portion of his name after tasting one of May's Pokéblock.
- Shout-Out: Grovyle's reaction to May's Purple Surprise mimics the ending of the anime Tomorrow's Joe.
- Trampled Underfoot: Munchlax instantly earns the ire of Team Rocket when he unknowingly stepped on them.
