BW002

Enter Iris and Axew! (Japanese: アイリスとキバゴ！ Iris and !) is the second episode of the, and the 659th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan, as part of a one-hour special along with In The Shadow of Zekrom!, on September 23, 2010, and in the United States on February 12, 2011, once again premiering after In The Shadow of Zekrom!.

Synopsis
After arriving in Unova, having being struck by blue lightning from a thundercloud and losing to Trip's, is now in Professor Juniper's lab, and is being excessively charged by electricity. watches from outside the room, while the two Professors, and Professor Juniper attempt to restore power to the lab's electronics. Meanwhile, a large blue lightning bolt continuously rains downwards, and the silhouette of the legendary Pokémon is seen hiding within the clouds. Its wings glow bright blue and with a burst of energy, it flies up towards the sky.

Pikachu falls on all fours, screaming in pain. , in an attempt to calm it down, immediately grabs Pikachu, and is shocked by the electricity. Immediately, the blue lightning and the black clouds disappears suddenly and the sky is calm once again. Ash falls back onto the ground, and his mom, out of concern, rushes to his side. Pikachu lies on the ground on its belly, its cheeks emitting sparks. The electronic systems in the lab then mysteriously regain power.

Mrs. Ketchum, followed by Oshawott who walks up to Ash, both express their concern over him. Ash reassures them and gets up immediately, apparently worried about Pikachu. The Electric Mouse Pokémon gets up on its feet, smiles and then charges its tail with electricity, showing Ash that it has recovered. In order to test out Pikachu's electricity further, Ash commands Pikachu to use and  on him. After Ash was given a decent shock from Pikachu, he comes to the conclusion that Pikachu is back to normal, before collapsing due to exhaustion.

Later that night, while having dinner together with Pikachu, his mother and, Ash announces that he wants to begin a new adventure in Unova, to be able to meet new Pokémon and make new friends, and will be challenging the Unova League. Approving of his decision, Professor Oak tells him that he will take good care of his other Pokémon while he is away, while Ash's mother advises Pikachu to look after Ash. Professor Oak, as a researcher, then requests Ash to occasionally report to him about new Pokémon and discoveries. Right after their dinner, Professor Juniper gives him a Pokédex and five Poké Balls, and tells him that the first Gym is at Striaton City. She also reminds him that he may meet his rival, Trip, while on his journey.

As the sun rises in the morning, Ash is now prepared to leave for his journey. Meanwhile, Mrs. Ketchum, standing beside the two Professors, now rattles off a list of advice and to-dos for Ash on his journey. He tells her that he is not a small boy anymore, and when Professor Juniper informs him about the Pokémon Center after leaving the forest, he turns around and sets off, the three adults cheering him on. Oshawott watches from behind.

Ash walks into the forest, wondering what kind of Pokémon he will capture first. He then hears rustling from a bush he jogs past, and seeing something purple, he checks his Pokédex. The electronic gadget displays a picture of an, apparently green in color. Talking about Axew's properties and behavior, Ash wonders why what he sees is so different from what it is being displayed. Nevertheless, without thinking, he throws a Poké Ball, and it hits... a girl's head! The girl rises from the bush, enraged at being thought of as a Pokémon. Apparently, it was actually her purple hair that Ash had spotted while she was picking fruits. Ash immediately apologies for his actions. Accepting his apology, the girl raises the fruit she had picked to her hair and an Axew pops out, grabs the fruit and lands on the ground, eating it.

As Pikachu walks forward towards Axew, it was spotted by the girl and was grabbed. She then starts playing with its cheeks, hugging it tightly and starts cuddling it. She asks Ash about Pikachu, and the two then formally introduce each other. The girl is actually named. During the conversation, Pikachu struggles to breathe and discharges a lot of electricity, causing Iris to drop to the ground. Later on, Iris apologizes to Pikachu, and she questions Ash about the incident that happened yesterday. Upon hearing that Professor Juniper described the Pokémon as Zekrom, she starts further questioning him, but Ash and Pikachu, having spotted a, became distracted and chases after it.

Somewhere in a cave, Jessie, James and are reporting to, who has learnt that their infiltration to the Unova region was successful. The trio, plotting to capture Pikachu and a legendary Pokémon they had encountered, requests to have their Pokémon that they had left in the Headquarters. However, Matori interrupts, and tells them that using Pokémon that are not native to Unova would raise suspicions, so they will have to catch Pokémon only found in Unova. then wonders if he will be alright, as he is not native to Unova. Giovanni takes his leave, and the three become very determined to succeed. Back at the HQ, Giovanni once again reaffirms his secretary's doubts by telling her that trusts the trio, and that he is sure that their operations will result in Unova's secret organization revealing themselves. Meanwhile, the trio are inspecting the 'Starter Kit' they have been sent (which comes with Poké Balls), when a colony of flies towards them.

Back in the forest, Ash spots a herd of Deerling near a pond, and checks his Pokédex. Without thinking again, he throws a Poké Ball at one of them, to which it easily deflected with its head. Iris then teases Ash for not battling the Deerling first, to which Ash responds he was trying his luck. Ash is about to send Pikachu into battle when suddenly, one of the Deerling alerts the herd, and they all run away. Apparently, the Deerling was alerted because a scurry of was on a rampage, rather than it being due to Pikachu's presence.

Night soon approaches and the sun begins to set. As Ash and Iris begins searching for food, Ash picks an apple from the tree and wonders if it could be eaten. However, Iris manages to obtain a mountain of apples from the same tree, significantly burying Ash and Pikachu underneath.

As night falls, Iris and Axew are sitting on the tree, while Ash and Pikachu are sitting on the ground, all four of them eating apples. They soon talk about yesterday's incident whereby Pikachu was unable to generate electric attacks due to Zekrom's mysterious powers. Iris then exclaims excitedly about encountering Zekrom, while Ash starts talking about the possibility of meeting mysterious Pokémon like Zekrom everywhere. Ash looks up, and realizes that Iris and Axew had fallen asleep.

Ash and Pikachu begin admiring the brilliant, star-filled night sky, when a shooting star, a symbol of good luck, runs across their field of vision. The two soon become excited about their journey, and as they drown themselves in a babble of energized chatter, Oshawott appears from behind a bush, oblivious to the two of them...

The next day, Ash wakes to find Iris missing, but nevertheless continues with his journey. He sees a flying above the forest, checks his Pokédex, then starts chasing after it. Reaching a clearing where a flock of Pidove had gathered, Ash tells Pikachu to engage the one closest to it. Pikachu, using its super-effective Thunderbolt against Pidove, causes it to faint. However, when Ash is about to throw a Poké Ball, the enraged flock of Pidove attacks Ash and Pikachu with and, buying enough time for the fainted Pidove to recover and flee. As the entire flock of Pidove flee, Ash starts feeling dejected, until one particular Pidove walks in front of Ash and starts pecking at the ground.

Grabbing this opportunity, Ash commands Pikachu to use Quick Attack, and Pidove is sent flying across the ground. It then manages to get onto its feet, recovers and tries to regain an awareness of its surroundings. As it was doing so, Pikachu jumps into the air and its tail hardens into block of shiny metal. With one fell swoop, it lands its attack on Pidove, causing it to fall back onto its belly. Ash quickly throws a Poké Ball, and Pidove turns into a red blob of energy that is soon drawn into the red-white sphere. The ball lands on the ground, and starts tethering back and forth. Ash and Pikachu watches quietly, waiting for the indication on the Poké Ball to signify Pidove's capture. For a moment Ash thought he had caught it, but the Poké Ball eventually burst open and Pidove escapes into the air.

Now, in retaliation, Pidove attacks Pikachu with, Quick Attack and then an Air Cutter. Confident of itself, it attempts to finish Pikachu off with a second Quick Attack. This time, however, Pikachu jumps into the air in time and dodges it, and Pidove flies uncontrollably in the air, hitting a nearby tree. Pikachu then prepares a Thunderbolt attack as Pidove gets up, trying to avoid the attack, but fails - it was hit and became unconscious. Ash throws a Poké Ball again, Pidove turns into a red globe of energy and is, once again, drawn into the ball. The ball drops and shakes, Ash waits in anticipation. Will he be able to catch it? The red light soon disappears, and the ball stops moving. Ash has caught !

As Ash and Pikachu celebrate the success of their first capture in Unova, Iris shows up with an apple, saying that his celebration over catching a Pidove is typical of a small child's behavior. Ash then exclaims that he now has a new partner when competing in the Unova League. During the conversation, Axew splits the apple given by Iris and shares it with Pikachu. However, before the two Pokémon could finish eating, a pair of mechanical hands grabs them. Ash and Iris turn around to find the Team Rocket trio, standing beside the 'hands'-machine and reciting their new motto.

Iris questions who Team Rocket are, and she soon realizes that they are a group of people who steal Pokémon for their evil ambitions and aim to conquer the world. Iris immediately demands Team Rocket to return her Axew, but she also notices that Meowth is able to talk. As she is amazed, Meowth then self-proclaims that is it far more intelligent than all. Team Rocket then places Pikachu and Axew in a glass cage, forcing Ash to send out Pidove. In an attempt to show how strong Pokémon from Kanto are, Jessie sends Meowth to battle, who attempted to use. With great flaps of its wings, Pidove sends Meowth flying backwards with a attack. Jessie then sends out a bat-like Pokémon which she had captured: (She only learns of the name only when Iris announces it). Woobat starts attacking Pidove with an, but Pidove evades the attack and charges at Woobat with a Quick Attack. Woobat dodges to the side, turns around and uses Gust, knocking Pidove down. Pidove hits the ground and faints, and Woobat is recalled by its owner.

James then prepares a purple, ready to escape from Ash and Iris. Desperate, Ash and Iris both climb a nearby tree and Ash jumps off from the top, ready to grab the glass box that was hanging steadily underneath the balloon. However, he misses and falls back all the way to the ground. Seemingly hopeless at rescuing Pikachu and Axew, Oshawott suddenly appears from nowhere and throws its scalchop at Team Rocket's balloon. Air escapes from their balloon and they now descend downwards towards the ground, eventually shattering the box which contains Pikachu and Axew. As the box breaks open and the captured Pokémon fly out, both Ash and Iris jump forward to catch their Pokémon, while Oshawott catches its scalchop, places it back at its belly, and jumps for joy.

However, Team Rocket will not retreat without a fight. As Ash and Iris refuse to hand over their Pokémon, Ash tells Pikachu to attack with Thunderbolt. Jessie immediately sends out Woobat, and the Bat Pokémon uses Air Slash on Pikachu and Axew before Pikachu's electric attack could hit. For a second time, Jessie tells Woobat to use Air Slash. Just before Woobat could perform its attack, Oshawott jumps in front of the two Pokémon and uses on Woobat, sending it flying towards Team Rocket. Pikachu gets up. With a surge of electricity, it charges itself and attempts to run its into Team Rocket. However, James throws a smoke bomb and a smoke curtain is formed, causing Pikachu to run into the smoke. When the smoke has cleared, however, Team Rocket had already disappeared. Pikachu and Axew, tired and exhausted, faint and collapse onto the ground. Ash grabs Pikachu and thanks Oshawott. Then, together with Iris, they both rush to the Pokémon Center. Oshawott stares blankly as they disappeared into the distance, puzzled as to what had happened.

Later that evening, Ash's Pikachu and Pidove and Iris' Axew were healed at the Pokémon Center. Nurse Joy exclaims that it is the first time she had seen and healed a Pikachu, and Ash makes his introduction. As she learns that Ash is from Pallet Town in the Kanto region and it is his first time visiting a Unova Pokémon Center, she formally welcomes him on behalf of all Pokémon Centers. Iris then thanks Ash for helping her rescue Axew, but Ash says that Oshawott should be thanked instead. As Ash wonders why Oshawott had helped them, the Sea Otter Pokémon secretly peeps into the Pokémon Center and observes Ash...

Major events

 * appears again, and recovers his electric powers.
 * decides to remain in Unova and challenge its Pokémon League.
 * Ash learns the first Unova League Gym is in Striaton City.
 * Ash meets a mysterious girl named and her.
 * Iris decides to follow Ash in his journey.
 * Jessie and James are revealed to have left all their Pokémon at Team Rocket's Headquarters.
 * Ash captures a.
 * Jessie captures a.
 * Team Rocket changes to a new motto.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Professor Juniper
 * Matori
 * Trip (flashback)
 * Professor Juniper
 * Matori
 * Trip (flashback)
 * Matori
 * Trip (flashback)

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:
 * (new)
 * (new; debut)
 * (flashback)
 * (Juniper's)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; debut)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; debut)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Poké Balls
 * Even though she debuted in the previous episode, Iris is officially introduced in this episode.
 * This episode marks the first appearance of the redesigned Nurse Joy.
 * This is the second time James has no Pokémon on hand and the first time Jessie had no Pokémon on hand.
 * Also, as of this episode, this is the longest time a Trainer has gone without having a Pokémon on hand, lasting for 23 episodes. In the previous occurrence, A Poached Ego!, James had no Pokémon briefly, right before catching at the end of the episode.
 * Team Rocket's balloon has been redesigned from a Meowth to a purple balloon.
 * As of this episode, is no longer a member of the main cast.
 * The English dub of this episode aired as a one-hour special along with In The Shadow of Zekrom! making it the first time more than one new episode premiered during the same day since Tag! We're It...!, Glory Blaze! and Smells Like Team Spirit! aired together back on February 1, 2008.
 * Music from Arceus and the Jewel of Life is used as background music.
 * This episode, like BW001, was aired in Italy on DisneyXD one day after the American airing.
 * This marks the first time an episode is aired in Italy one day after the American airing.
 * Ash captured a Pidove and Jessie captured a Woobat, oddly, these Pokémon swarm in Nuvema Town after the player goes out whether in day or night.

Errors

 * When Team Rocket capture Pikachu and Axew, Pikachu is shown to be held in the left arm and Axew in the right. Later they are shown in the opposite arms.