Japanese Title: Who Gets to Keep Waninoko!? Satoshi VS Kasumi!
Original Airdate: June 8th, 2000
US Airdate: May 5th, 2001
Ash and Misty's friendly rivalry is tested when they both try to capture a Totodile at the same time. Unable to determine whose Pokéball had captured the wild Pokémon, the two must battle it out to determine the Totodile's new master.
Tropes
- Call-Back:
- Cuteness Proximity: Weaponized by Togepi! Pikachu can't bring himself to attack it, causing Togepi to win their battle by default.
- Fishing for Sole: Misty catches a tea kettle.
- Freeze-Frame Bonus: You can clearly see that Ash’s Ball was the one that captured its target.
- Idiot Ball: Misty might have won if she didn't order Poliwhirl to use Bubble against Bulbasaur. Since Bulbasaur couldn't move while preparing Solar Beam, having Poliwhirl use another Body Slam could have potentially won the match (and Totodile) since Bulbasaur was already worn down. Since Misty is a Water-type specialist and a Gym Leader, this kind of lapse in judgment is really inexcusable for her.
- Paper-Thin Disguise: Team Rocket as usual, but this time the heroes actually recognize them, since Wobbuffet blew the team’s cover.
- Sore Loser: In this case Misty, after their battle ends in Ash's victory with him using his new Totodile to blast Team Rocket off, it seems that at first Misty accepts her defeat reasonably, until she makes a snarky remark about Totodile "doing whatever it wants" while fawning over her newly evolved Poliwhirl which evolved to try and help her win, the reactions Ash and Brock have only sell it further that she clearly is too prideful to admit she lost to Ash fair and square.
- Super-Deformed: Misty has a fishing lure that's a chibi version of herself.
- Took a Level in Badass: Poliwag evolves into Poliwhirl, but it's not enough to defeat Bulbasaur.
- Underestimating Badassery: Misty in regards to Chikorita, she believes that since her Staryu is at a higher level (one of the few times levels are mentioned in the anime) it will win, and it does manage to push Chikorita back hard with Water Gun, but considering what Chikorita had done in her debut episode by beating Ash's Bulbasaur and managing to stand up to Charizard, it's not much of a surprise to anyone but Misty that she comes out victorious against Staryu.
