Japanese Title: Stormy Cycling Road
Original Air Date: December 2nd, 1997
US Air Date: October 23rd, 1998
The one where... Ash and co. face off against a biker gang.
In the course of a journey, one meets up with many different things. Returning to civilization after a long period of wandering, our heroes find a bridge that reaches 20 kilometers in length. There is no way to reach Sunnytown—on the other side of the bridge—but by crossing. The bridge, however, has been designed especially for bicycles. The party tries to purchase bicycles in order to cross the bridge, but lacking the funds and otherwise at a complete loss, they decide to stop by the Pokémon Center and re-evaluate their plans. At the Pokémon Center, by pure luck, a job awaits them—delivering medicine to Sunnytown.
Tropes in this episode include:
- Actually Pretty Funny: Psyduck makes a complete fool of itself in its battle against Cloyster and has the bike gang in hysterics. At one point even Ash has to choke back a laugh.
- All Bikers are Hells Angels: This trope is applied even with a gang of bicycle riders.
- Anti-Hero: Ash dives into this when trying to cross the raised bridge. It looks like they're going to fall, until they see Team Rocket making the same attempt from the other side. With a cheerful smile he decides "We'll bounce!". Cue an "Oh, Crap!" from Jessie as Ash bounces his bike off the top of her head, sending her and James plummeting into the water bellow.
- Artistic License – Physics: It's highly doubtful that jumping a drawbridge and bouncing on another's head will guarantee you'll make it to the other side.
- Badass Biker:
- Chopper and Tyra... well, Bad Butt Bikers at least.
- This episode also reveals that Jessie and James were once part of a biker gang before joining Team Rocket.
- Call-Back: Misty tries to use Psyduck in hopes that it would be just as effective in The Ninja Poké-Showdown. This didn't happen, unfortunately.
- The Cavalry: Right when Ash and his friends are being ganged up on by the biker gang at Team Rocket's urging, help arrives in the form of the local Officer Jenny and a squad of police cruisers. Outnumbered by the cops, the bike gang, and Team Rocket, beat a hasty retreat as the cruisers chase after them.
- Cultural Translation: Yet again with food. In the original, Kasumi wants curry and Takeshi craves ochazuke (rice flavored with green tea) and pancakes. This is changed in the English dub to Misty wanting a hot dog and Brock wanting extra-cheese deep-dish pizza.
- Dub-Induced Plot Hole: Because the previous episode was banned, the narrator's comment about our heroes' "fond memories of the Safari Zone" can leave viewers wondering "What memories?"
- Early-Installment Weirdness: This episode shows that Jessie and James knew each other as teens. Despite their Multiple-Choice Past, later flashbacks are concrete on showing that they didn't meet until they were adults in Team Rocket.
- Epic Fail: Misty's Psyduck knows Tail Whip. Psyduck is, well, ill-equipped to use that move.
- Even Evil Has Standards: The biker gang all start rooting for Ash and his friends once they learn that they're on a mission to deliver medicine for sick Pokémon.
- Eye Catch: This episode, the Who's That Pokémon is Cloyster.
- Hidden Depths: Jessie and James may be lousy Pokémon thieves, but who knew they were talented unicyclists?
- Humiliation Conga: Misty endures this when she allows Psyduck to battle Tyra's Cloyster, after she'd butted in to battle her instead of Ash. Psyduck's total cluelessness and klutzy moves has not only Tyra but the entire bike gang laughing their asses off, and the longer Misty keeps Psyduck in the battle in hopes of it getting a headache to awaken it's hidden powers like back at Fuchsia Gym, the more Epic Fails it ends up making and the harder the bikers laugh. Ultimately, Tyra pretty much wins the battle in one move, much to Misty's fury.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: The biker gang initially comes across as rude and aggressive, but once they find out that Ash, Brock, and Misty are riding along the bridge in the rain to deliver medicine for an ill Pokémon, they immediately escort them across the bridge and help them get to the Pokémon Center.
- Laugh Themselves Sick: The bike gang in response to Misty's abovementioned Humiliation Conga. When the bikers all start laughing hysterically at Misty's decision to use Psyduck in battle, one of them even cries out "My gut hurts!" By the time Misty is actually calling for her opponent's Pokemon to go for Psyduck's head, Chopper is doubled over and clutching his stomach in pain from laughing so hard.
- Lust Object: As usual, Brock fawns over Nurse Joy.
- Mythology Gag: During the brief scene where the trio are riding their bikes, The bike riding theme from the games is playing.
- Oh, Crap!: The bikers have a moment of slack-jawed shock just as the police arrive on the bridge.
- Scissors Cuts Rock: Chopper easily defeats Bulbasaur with Golem despite the Type disadvantage. This then repeats itself when Charmander defeats Golem.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Once Officer Jenny and the police show up on the bridge, the biker gang and Team Rocket decide to bail out as fast as they can.
- Who's Laughing Now?: Subverted - when all the bikers are laughing at Psyduck's dopiness and Epic Fails, Misty attempts to invoke this by trying to have Psyduck get a headache and unleash it's true psychic powers to defeat Tyra's Cloyster. But the bikers have the last laugh, as Misty's strategy fails to take off.
