Our heroes end up missing the last ferry off the island and back to Olivine City. Luckily they meet an old man with a plane who goes by the name Wings Alexander, who agrees to give them a ride back. Unfortunately, the plane is as old as Alexander and his Noctowl and during the flight Ash and his friends must work together, along with a stowaway Team Rocket, to help Alexander navigate through treacherous weather and keep the plane from falling apart.
Tropes
- Blatant Lies: In a bid to get rescued from the storm, Team Rocket claims to have given up their evil ways. To their credit, they at least wait until the plane is safe to discuss betraying them, which they never actually get to do.
- Breather Episode:
- In the sense that Team Rocket does not partake in stealing any Pokémon and instead help the twerps in keeping the plane on course.
- Also for the fact that it follows the epic Lugia arc that went on for the last three to four episodes.
- "Eureka!" Moment: When the plane ended up in the middle of a storm, Team Rocket comments that they don't see what the big deal about lightning is, as they've been zapped plenty of times, courtesy of Pikachu. This gives Brock the idea to have Pikachu use its electric attack to draw in the lightning to protect the plane.
- Good Feels Good: When Jessie and Meowth are considering taking the chance to grab Pikachu after helping keep the plane together, James attempts to talk them down and admits that "it's kind of nice being nice".
- Griping About Gremlins: Meowth spots a familiar shape on the plane's wing and it turns out to be Jigglypuff! She then starts to sing, not only causing the group to fall asleep once again, but also causing the plane to take a violent dive. But just as she prepares to draw on everyone's faces, she is swept off the plane by a gust of wind. Everybody then immediately wakes up and the plane is set back in gear.
- Hero of Another Story: Alexander and his Noctowl are said to have been through many difficult battles during his attempt to become a Pokémon Master.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Mere moments after discussing attempting to steal Pikachu, Team Rocket falls through the shoddily-patched hole in the floor and out of the plane.
- Pet the Dog: While it was probably just so they could steal her later, Team Rocket not letting Togepi fall to her death has to count for something.
- Retired Badass: Alexander and his Noctowl together were a force to be reckoned with when they were younger. Now that they are older, Alexander has retired from battling to focus on flying and his Noctowl sleeps most of the time.
- Too Dumb to Live: Jigglypuff trying to sing her song on an old plane. In her defense, she probably didn't understand the situation.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Jessie, James, and Meowth were blasted off by Lugia in the previous episode and turn up fine here, yet there is no mention of what happened to Butch and Cassidy, who were also blown away.
