Original Airdate: October 28th, 1999
US Airdate: October 28th, 2000
Japanese Title: Fierce Battle! Heracross VS Kailios!!
Sometimes making new friends friends can suck the sap out of you—literally. Poor Bulbasaur...
The one where... Bulbasaur gets a new admirerer.
Ash and friends discover a forest full of Heracross where invading Pinsirs are causing heavy deforestation. Investigation reveals the root of the problem: Team Rocket is carelessly harvesting sap from another part of the woods, thereby forcing the Pinsir into Heracross territory for food and upsetting the balance of nature.
Tropes
- Bridge Logic: Heracross pushes a tree down to replace the missing Rope Bridge.
- Green Aesop: Team Rocket is draining tree sap, starving the Pinsir who invade and deforest Heracross territory.
- Inksuit Actor: Woodruff, by complete coincidence, bears a resemblance to his voice actor Dan Green.
- Japanese Beetle Brothers: This is the first episode that establishes a rivalry between Pinsir and Heracross.
- Lethal Chef: Jessie's imagine spot of her opening a pancake house has her making pancakes with Limburger cheese and Cajun curry powder.
- No Sense of Personal Space: The Heracross that Ash eventually catches at the end of the episode tries to suck the pollen out of the bulb on Ash's Bulbasaur, the first of several times. Needless to say, Bulbasaur does not like this. This becomes a Running Gag.
