Japanese Title: Chaotic Melee in Mio City!
Original Airdate: November 20, 2008
US Airdate: April 25, 2009
The twerps, in the company of Barry, are ambushed by Team Rocket. The resulting battle results in all their Pokémon being blasted off and scattered. When Meowth tries to pull off a ploy to use Pikachu to get back to Jessie and James, will it backfire and end in a Heel–Face Turn?
This episode contains examples of the following tropes:
- Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Team Rocket are pretty overjoyed when they reunite with their Pokemon. Jessie even hugs Wobbuffet.
- Becoming the Mask: When the twerps with Meowth and Mime Jr. finally cross paths with Team Rocket, while Mime Jr. happily re-joins James, Meowth hesitates to re-join them until their impending defeat reminds him of their bond.
- Believing Their Own Lies: Meowth makes up a story about wanting to quit Team Rocket due to Jessie and James' cruel treatment. After getting pampered by the heroes, he genuinely starts to believe he's mistreated and considers going legit for real.
- Continuity Nod: Jessie thinks back to the last time the groups got split up, in "A Maze-ing Race".
- Crazy-Prepared: Zig-zagged. Ash sends up Staravia in order to pop Team Rocket’s balloon. James, however, anticipated this and sends out a female Staravia decoy that distracts Ash’s and lures it away. What James didn’t predict, however, was Ash simply sending Gliscor up immediately afterwards.
- Curb-Stomp Cushion: Jessie and James briefly have the upper hand on Ash and Barry during their second encounter, but things go pear shaped soon enough, triggering Meowth to get in his own offence which, while setting the twerps back for a moment, expectedly ends in a quick blasting off for all of them.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: The twerps point out that Meowth can become a TV sensation (for starters) because of his skills.
- Deus Exit Machina: The group splitting up would have been resolved much easier, had it not been for Staravia getting, er, distracted by a decoy Staravia.
- Et Tu, Brute?: Jessie and James after Meowth turn coats. After he helps them and makes amends the heroes do likewise.
- Fake Defector: Meowth pretends to have left Jessie and James to lure the heroes' Pokemon to them. Deconstructed when he starts believing his own lies.
- Friend-or-Idol Decision: A rare villainous example. After the heroes' offer to help set Meowth up a legitimate life as a potential celebrity, he starts to feel guilt as they attack Jessie and James. He ultimately chooses to stay with his team and attacks the heroes.
- Gullible Lemmings: Everyone but Pikachu buys into Meowth's sob story, ironically even Meowth himself eventually.
- Jerkass Realization: Meowth considers selling out Jessie and James for a legitimate lifestyle. When they end up getting thrashed by the twerps over it however, he laments their time together and switches back in guilt.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Meowth takes out both Ash and Barry and then delivers an effective blow onto Barry's Empoleon with an improvised Night Slash.
- Pintsized Powerhouse: After some endless walking, Grotle gets exhausted, and Happiny had to carry him around, to his embarrassment.
- Properly Paranoid: Pikachu keeps giving Meowth very suspicious glares about his supposedly changed ways.
- Redemption Rejection: The twerps think that they have finally swayed Meowth to go straight, but in the end he decides that he stick with his True Companions.
- Running Gag: Everyone in this episode kept running into dead ends.
- Too Kinky to Torture: Meowth dares the twerps to blast him off and then thoroughly enjoys the trip when they comply.
- Took a Level in Badass: Hilariously subverted by Meowth, who claims to have learned Night Slash, but refuses to use it because it’s too scary.
- Undying Loyalty: Reconstructed. After being stranded with the heroes, Meowth genuinely considers ditching Team Rocket, especially when the heroes suggest getting connections for a celebrity life. When he sees Jessie and James falling victim to another beating however, he quickly snaps, deciding he'd rather be losing with his Team Rocket allies.
