EP072

The Ancient Puzzle of Pokémopolis (Japanese: げきとつ！ちょうこだいポケモン Fierce Battle! Ancient Pokémon) is the 72nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on November 26, 1998 and in the United States on October 14, 1999.

Synopsis
is finally training for the Pokémon League, and is battling. Ash's is battling Brock's. Pikachu is about to use, and Vulpix is about to use , when appears in-between them. At Ash and Brock's command, Pikachu and Vulpix fire their attacks in a different direction, destroying a rock wall. As Ash and his friends walk closer, they see that they have uncovered the entrance to a temple, as well as a gigantic bell. They find an ancient artifact in the rubble, and an archaeologist named Eve takes it.

Eve and the other archaeologists are digging up artifacts related to the ancient city of Pokémopolis, and a professor finds a spoon similar to the first artifact. Pokémopolis was destroyed in a storm a long time ago, and an ancient tablet reads that two great powers of destruction will fight and destroy the world, and no human knows the secret to stop them.

That night, attempts to steal the rare and valuable artifacts from the temple. Jessie has her enter the temple and bring back the most valuable thing it can find. It brings back a dark object that appears to be three dark orbs together. It absorbs Arbok, and chases after Team Rocket. It makes footprints in the ground as it chases them, as though it is invisible. It absorbs them as well, offscreen.

Next day, the professor finds the dark device, and is absorbed by it. It then absorbs all the archaeologists except Eve, and turns into a giant with strange markings on it. Gengar heads to the nearest town to destroy it. As the nearest town is Pallet Town, Ash tries to stop it. Ash,, and Brock chase after it while Eve heads back to the van, where the artifacts are floating around. He sends after it, but the  Attack doesn't do much, and Pidgeotto is absorbed by Gengar. Brock sends after it and has Onix use, wrapping around Gengar's leg, but Gengar absorbs it too.

Gengar chases Ash, Misty, and Brock back to the van, where Eve is possessed by the two strange artifacts (the one that looks like a spoon and the other one with the same design), and the spoon sticks in the other one like a key, and the spell on Eve and the other artifacts is broken. The two artifacts then transform into a giant, also with strange markings on it. Gengar and Alakazam battle. Alakazam shoots energy waves that, when they hit the ground or a wall, transform into strangely-shaped stones. What those are is unknown. Gengar and Alakazam enter a beam struggle, and where the beams collide, they shoot into the sky, threatening to destroy the entire planet.

Ash has his Pikachu use Thunderbolt on them when they step into the water, but although they are affected, no significant damage is caused to them. Then, Jigglypuff appears and its song. Everyone inside the giant Gengar falls asleep, but Gengar and Alakazam do not, as Jigglypuff is too small to put them to sleep. Gengar knocks Alakazam backward, and it crashes into Jigglypuff, sending it flying into the distance, Team Rocket style.

However, Jigglypuff's song makes the giant bell glow, and it summons forth a. The giant Jigglypuff's song is loud and powerful enough to put the giant Gengar and Alakazam to sleep, as well as Ash, Misty, Brock, Eve, Pikachu, and. Just like the regular Jigglypuff, the giant Jigglypuff gets angry when it sees that Gengar and Alakazam fell asleep, and pulls off the head of the bell, revealing it to be a paintbrush, and scribbles on Gengar and Alakazam's faces.

When Ash and the others wake up, the dark clouds have vanished, as have the three giant Pokémon. The artifacts and all the giant Gengar's victims have all reappeared. Ash walks up to Team Rocket, and they decide not to battle Ash this time, and run off.

So the mystery of Pokémopolis has been solved, but the biggest mystery has yet to be solved - will Ash ever get to training for the Pokémon League?

Major events

 * Brock's Vulpix is revealed to know.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Eve
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Eve
 * Eve

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)


 * (at 's )
 * (at 's )
 * (debut)
 * (at 's )
 * (at 's )
 * (debut)
 * (debut)
 * (debut)
 * (debut)
 * (debut)
 * (debut)
 * (debut)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's lecture:
 * Pokémon senryū summary: Cold winter; if was here, it would be warm.
 * A stone tablet very similar to the one that Eve deciphers appears exactly four years later in the episode A Ruin with a View. It shows up in the possession of Professor Alden, who learns from it the way to get into the stone chamber of the Oldale Ruins.
 * James refers to a location in the real world,.
 * This is the second time someone, namely the giant Gengar and Alakazam, doesn't fall asleep to Jigglypuff's song, this time because Jigglypuff was too small to affect them.
 * The giant Gengar's ability to trap other people and Pokémon inside its body is somewhat similar to the from Jirachi: Wish Maker. Coincidentally, Team Rocket were trapped inside both.
 * Alakazam uses a move similar to, although the move was revealed three generations after.
 * This episode is one of the very few where Team Rocket doesn't blast off.
 * This episode is featured on the Volume 2: Jigglypuff copy of Pokémon All-Stars.
 * While examining the various artifacts inside the tent, is seen holding a carving of an unused Pokémon.

Errors

 * In the beginning of this episode Ash commands Pikachu to use "Electric attack" on Brock's Vulpix. Electric is a type, not a move (unlike Psychic, which is both a type and a move). This is most likely a translation error, as ThunderShock's Japanese name でんきショック means Electric Shock.
 * Although Arbok was the first Pokémon to go into the Dark Device it is never seen for the rest of the episode.
 * The title card for this episode misspells Pokémopolis as Pokemopolis without the accent over the e.
 * Brock's Vulpix used in this episode, a move it is normally incapable of learning. In the original Japanese version, Brock tells Vulpix to use.
 * Muk appears much smaller when seen next to Professor Oak.
 * Togepi does not retract its spikes when it falls asleep due to the giant Jigglypuff's song.

Dub edits

 * Ash commanded Pikachu to use on Gengar and Alakazam to free himself, Misty, Brock and Eve from being frozen by Gengar. In the original Japanese version, Ash commanded Pikachu to use  on Gengar and Alakazam.