JE084: Turning Over A New Bayleef

Synopsis
The episode opens with Ash and company deciding to take a break from their journey and rest at a stream. Ash sends out all of his Pokemon and tells them afterwards that they are going to have some fun. Bayleef is, of course, extremely excited and she tackles Ash and knocks Ash down. Brock and Misty look at Ash, very concerned.

After the title card, the first game that Ash decides to do is his own version of fetch. How it goes is that Ash will give a stick to his Shiny Noctowl and then, Noctowl will drop the stick, and the first Pokemon to catch the stick is the winner. And so, Noctowl grabs the stick and drops it. Ash's Pokemon jump in the air in an attempt to catch the stick, but none of the Pokemon can jump as high as Bayleef, who grabs the stick. Ash congratulates Bayleef, and Bayleef tackles Ash again into the stream. Well, Ash is angered and demands an explanation from Bayleef. Brock and Misty try to calm Ash down to no avail. Ash says that Bayleef is going back into her Pokeball, and an explanation from Brock causes Ash to sigh.

Later, Ash and company are serving lunch to their Pokemon, as some of Ash's Pokemon, Bayleef included, sleep in a pile, and when the stew is ready, Totodile stops dancing on the rock and dances beside Ash, with Ash telling Totodile to not make Ash lose his balance. Bayleef wakes up and rushes towards Ash, but then she takes a moment to think about it. The camera pans up to a thought bubble above Bayleef's head, and it shows Bayleef running up to Ash and tackling him, thus causing the stew to spill on Ash and then Ash scolds her. Afterwards, the camera pans down back to Bayleef and the thought bubble above her head disappears. Bayleef decides to simply walk towards Ash. Eventually, Ash notices Bayleef and yells at her to not tackle Ash. Bayleef continues to walk towards Ash, but Ash once again yells at Bayleef to stay away from him. Feelings hurt, Bayleef rushes off with tears in her eyes as Ash and Totodile head for the table. Ash's Pokemon are all lined up and ready to eat... but something's missing. Where in the Johto region is Bayleef?

Why, at a river of course. Bayleef looks down into the river and kicks a rock into the water. She gets teary-eyed again as she remembers Ash yelling at her. Bayleef then gets angry, since she did not do anything wrong. She then kicks another rock into a bush, and some Beedrill appear. Six of them. Bayleef runs as the Beedrill chase her. However, a loose part of a rock gives way and Bayleef falls into the river, which is something more worse than getting chased by six Beedrill.

Meanwhile, Ash and his Pokemon are still searching for Bayleef. Ash does not seem to understand why Bayleef would run away. Misty tells Ash that he told Bayleef to stay away from Ash, and Bayleef is doing just that. Brock then tells Ash that if Bayleef is like a girl in love, logical explanations won't work. However, Pikachu smells a scent. Pikachu runs off and Ash and company follow. Team Rocket watch from the bushes. Jessie, James, and Meowth have no idea what the heck is going on, but Jessie has a plan and tells James and Meowth to follow her.

Meanwhile, a old woman is walking along a path with a Machoke. Machoke notices Bayleef, and the old woman and her Machoke rush over to Bayleef.

Back with Ash and company, Pikachu finds the part where the loose piece of the rock fell off. Ash and the others set off down the river, with Ash blaming himself for letting Bayleef run off.

Meanwhile, Bayleef wakes up with a blanket beside a burning fire that has no harm whatsoever. The old woman and her Machoke enter the room and offer Bayleef some hot stew. Bayleef laps it up happily, and the old woman offers to help Bayleef find her trainer. But Bayleef doesn't want to see her trainer again after the way Ash had treated her. The old woman then says that it would be better to keep Bayleef with them. Then, who peek in the corner but a Bellossom and a Skiploom. The old woman tells her two grass-types not to be concerned.

Back with Ash and the gang, they had been looking for hours and still no Bayleef. Togepi then motions toward the house up on the hill where it possibly knows where Bayleef is at. They head up to the house and knock on the door, and Ash and company hear Bayleef. Ash rushes up to Bayleef and is tackled by Skiploom. Ash tells it to back off for trying to stop him from seeing Bayleef. Skiploom scolds Ash, and then Ash finally gets to the conclusion that he should not walk on the floors. The old woman tells Ash that this is not a private garden, but Ash and company explain that they could not get any answer and that Bayleef is Ash's Pokemon. With Ash delighted, it looks like Ash is about to be reunited with Bayleef, but sadly, it's not what Ash expected as Bayleef simply turns away in anger. Ash and company settle down for some tea. Brock then complains that the herbal tea tastles like the garden's smell.

As the Pokemon do the gardening, Ash tries to make Bayleef like him again by pretending to like gardening, but the plan fails, as Bayleef walks away while carrying Skiploom. Ash gives chase, and it would've worked out well if Togepi didn't walk into view. This causes Ash to fall onto his back. Brock then gives Ash advice, to which Ash decides to follow.

Ash then tries to offer some fruit to Bayleef, but this plan fails as well, with Brock saying that his theroy on girls was wrong. Misty is not surprised, but Ash was hoping for this to work. The old woman then tells Ash to cheer up or else his other Pokemon would be upset too. The old woman explains that if you treat a flower with either love or care, it senses it and it grows, and also explains that Pokemon is just the same. Ash replies that he cares about each and every one of his Pokemon and wants them to be happy, Bayleef included, and the old woman tells Ash that Bayleef would sense it soon enough.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket watches from a tree, and James tells Jessie and Meowth that if they steal the Pokemon, they can grow crops. Jessie replies that Team Rocket are not farmers, but James tells Jessie and Meowth that they can just retire as theives. Jessie and Meowth agree on that.

Afterwards, the gardening is disturbed as a new Team Rocket mecha enters the garden, and what the mecha is but a mecha Bayleef. Team Rocket says their motto and steals the Pokemon. Four of them. The old woman tells Team Rocket to give back her Bellossom and Skiploom, and also Pikachu and Bayleef. Team Rocket tries to crush the old woman, but the old woman is saved by her Machoke. The Bayleef mecha rushes off, but Ash, being the hero he is, chases after Team Rocket.

Ash finally makes to the Bayleef mecha after crossing a path and then jumps on the mecha and tries to break the glass with his head. The Pokemon try to do the same thing, and Bayleef realizes that Ash does care about Bayleef after all, and then bashes her bulk into the glass as well. After some attacking, the screws finally come loose. Now the Pokemon are free, but they have the Bayleef mecha to deal with. Bayleef uses Razor Leaf and leaves a hole at the neck of the Bayleef mecha. Pikachu then uses Thunderbolt, causing the Bayleef mecha to stop working. Ash and the Pokemon jump off the robot as the others catch up. Team Rocket tries to use their Vine Whip attack, but Bayleef launches another Razor Leaf, cutting off the vines. Ash then pulls off all the stops by telling Pikachu to use Thunderbolt, and Team Rocket is sent blasting off again.

At the old woman's garden, Ash and company say their goodbyes. Then, Ash tells Bayleef that he is sorry for yelling at Bayleef, telling Bayleef that she can tackle Ash anytime she wants. It seems that Bayleef is sorry for hurting Ash earlier, but at least she is showing self-control now. Ash is pleased, and Bayleef then throws up her legs and knocks Ash down. It looks like Bayleef has learned Body Slam, which can be very useful for later battles. And so, with that happy ending, the episode comes to a close.

Trivia

 * This episode is celebrated as another milestone, the 200th episode.

Quotes

 * "No Tackling! Now get away from me and stay away from me!"

Ash yelling at Bayleef