Hoenn Alone! (Japanese:ピカチュウとのわかれ…！Parting with Pikachu...!) is the 274th episode of thePokémon animated series and the final episode of theoriginal series. It first aired in Japan on November 14, 2002, and in the United States on October 25, 2003.
Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.
Ash has left all of his Pokémon behind in Pallet Town—except Pikachu—and boarded a ship bound for Littleroot Town in Hoenn. Unfortunately, Team Rocket is on board as well, and they're cooking up a scheme to catch Pikachu once and for all. They nab Pikachu and hop off the boat just as it pulls into a port. Their plan quickly goes awry, and Meowth and Pikachu end up in a bad neighborhood. While Meowth and Pikachu team up to chase off a gang of territorial Haunter, Ash teams up with Officer Jenny to rescue Pikachu before the boat leaves.
Plot
Aboard a large ferry,Ash andPikachu are on their way to theHoennregion. As they discuss their upcoming adventures, Ash spots theCaptain walking by and asks him when the ship will arrive inLittleroot Town. The Captain tells him that they will arrive by tomorrow night. Meanwhile,Team Rocket is watching from their hiding place inside a lifeboat and starts to discuss stealing Pikachu.
That night, the trio uses their extendable grabber to snatch Pikachu from Ash's bed. He wakes up when Pikachu cries out, but by the time he gets out of his room, Team Rocket is nowhere to be seen. During his search, he bumps into the Captain, who uses a computer to scan the ship for stowaways. They discover Team Rocket eating in the food storage area while Pikachu is in an electricity-proof glass case. When they are discovered, they recite theirmotto before sending outArbok andWeezing to battle the Captain'sMachoke. Ash intends to send outBayleef to help, but then remembers he left her, along with all his other Pokémon, inPallet Town. During the ensuing battle, Arbok'sAcid melts a hole into the ship's water storage tank, and everyone is swept away in a torrent of water.
The Captain and Machoke manage to climb out of the water, where he reaches one of the help phones and orders the ship to the nearest port for repair. Team Rocket runs along the deck of the ship and launches a rope to a nearby crane, allowing them to swing to shore. As they are swinging, Ash jumps and grabs ontoWobbuffet, but they swing into the crane and all fall to the port below. Ash lands on some crates, breaking his fall.Jessie,James, and Wobbuffet land on one truck, andMeowth and Pikachu land on another. Both trucks drive off, but they both go in different directions, splitting the groups up. Ash manages to break out of the crates just asOfficer Jenny pulls up on her motorcycle, and Ash explains what happened.
Meanwhile, the truck that Meowth and Pikachu are on makes a sharp swerve, tossing them off near some warehouses. Pikachu's cage breaks open, while Meowth sustains a head injury. While they are walking along, Meowth and Pikachu start to argue, but then aHaunter comes up behind them and attacks them withNight Shade. They both dodge it, and Meowth retaliates withFury Swipes, which just passes straight through it. Haunter uses another Night Shade, and Pikachu replies with aThunderbolt, which scares it off. Suddenly somePidgey,Oddish, andRattata emerge from hiding and surround the pair.
Back by the ship, Ash hops into Officer Jenny's sidecar, and they are ready to leave. The captain calls down to Ash that the tank should be fixed by nightfall, and that if he is not back by then, they will be forced to leave without him. Jenny sends herPidgeot to look for Team Rocket.
In one of the warehouses, the Pokémon explain to Pikachu and Meowth that a group of Haunter had moved into the area and began scaring everyone. Meowth suggests that the Pokémon should fight back, but a Rattata adds that there are multiple Haunter. Another Oddish rushes to its friends and informs everyone that Haunter is coming for them with all of its buddies. Elsewhere, Team Rocket is in theirballoon, and while James is searching for Meowth, Jessie is more interested in finding Pikachu. Back with Ash, Officer Jenny asks Ash about his Pikachu, and he details his strongfriendship with Pikachu. Pidgeot seems to have spotted something and speeds up, and Officer Jenny follows.
Meanwhile, the Haunter show up and tell the other Pokémon to get out of their turf. Meowth tries to back away from them and talk his way out of confrontation, but Pikachu bravely speaks up on behalf of the Pokémon. Meowth urges him to stop provoking the Haunter, but Pikachu insists that Ash would have done the same and that it is the right thing to do. Haunter launches aShadow Ball at them, which they both dodge. Pikachu attempts a Thunderbolt, but the Haunter scatter to evade and quickly surround them. The Haunter lashes out with a joint Night Shade, but Pikachu jumps onto Meowth to leap into the sky and avoid the attack. Pikachu follows up with a Thunderbolt, causing the Haunter to flee. The Pokémon reappear and are happy to have been rescued again. The Rattata and the others plead for Pikachu to stay with them for protection. However, Meowth explains that Pikachu already has someone he needs to be with, but to Pikachu's surprise, Meowth claims that Pikachu is already Team Rocket’s property.
Jessie and James fly onto the scene with their balloon and trap Pikachu in a metal clamp. Meowth is pleasantly surprised, and soon Jessie hoists him up to the balloon. On Jessie's command, James reveals a hidden electromagnet, which instantly pins Pikachu to the device. Before it can be activated, Pidgeot appears and pierces their balloon, causing it to crash to the ground. Officer Jenny rides into the scene, and soon enough, Ash and Pikachu are reunited. Jenny scolds the trio for their attempted theft; however, Jessie isn't phased, and James reactivates the electromagnet; this time for real. Ash tries to hold onto Pikachu, but the magnet's waves drag out two oil drums, which strike him, knocking Ash down and exposing the Haunter group's hiding spot. Ash and Jenny now know they can't do anything as Pikachu's electricity begins to drain out of him. Team Rocket is impressed, but the Haunter and Ratata are shocked. One of them rushes in for aHyper Fang and frees Pikachu from the metal clamp, destroying it. Pikachu falls in front of Ash as he cradles him. James is shocked at the clamp's destruction, but Jessie gets angry and they attempt to go after Ash. However, they are surrounded by the Haunter, who use Night Shade on the electromagnet to overload it, causing an explosion that sends Team Rocket blasting off. Afterward, the Haunter and Rattata shake hands.
The Captain regretfully looks over the port as the ship starts to sail off into the sunset. However, Officer Jenny's Pidgeot manages to deliver Ash and Pikachu onto the ship. That night, Pikachu is sleeping on Ash's bed while he is looking at it. Ash tucks Pikachu in, saying that he deserves a good rest. Meanwhile, the Rocket trio is pinned to the ship’s hull by their electromagnet and the metal remnants of their balloon.
The following day, the skyline of Littleroot Town is now in sight. Ash steps up on the deck in his new clothes and looks on, eager to reach Hoenn. Ash immediately spots some exotic Pokémon. SomeWingull andPelipper fly alongside the ship, as severalSharpedo leap from the water, and a pod ofWailmer swim alongside it. Ash rushes back to his cabin to check on Pikachu, hoping to show him some of the new Pokémon. However, Pikachu starts to spark, and Ash realizes that he has a serious fever. Ash looks worriedly at Pikachu just as a new chapter in their journey together is about to begin.
The regular use of the original music ofTeam Rocket'smotto also ends with this episode. However, it has been reused in a few later episodes.
The usualTo be continued text is omitted and replaced withNext time... A new beginning!, referencing the fact that the next episode beginsPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire. This starts the tradition for thethreeseriesfinales that come after this to use it as well.
This is the first episode sincePokémon - I Choose You! in whichAsh is the only human protagonist featured. WhileMisty did appear in the first episode, she was not featured, and no other protagonists had made their debuts. This is also the first episode to not have any protagonists other than Ash appear at all.
This is also the very first episode (and the onlyoriginal series episode) where Misty does not appear, and the first episode sinceThe Underground Round Up whereBrock does not appear.
This episode marks the first time that Ash wears hisPokémon the Series: Ruby and Sapphire clothing.
This episode marks the longest time Ash goes without wearing his overshirt and hat. He spends the majority of the episode in his black undershirt, with theAdvanced Generation orange stripe.
Jessie mentions that she has been toLittleroot Town before, but doesn't elaborate on the experience.
Meowth refers to Ash by his real name and not as "thetwerp".
The English title is derived from the 1990 Christmas comedy filmHome Alone.
When Pikachu is sleeping, his right ear is vertical in one shot and horizontal in the next.
In the English dub, Ash andOfficer Jenny both mispronouncePidgeot from how it is typically pronounced. This is corrected in theNorwegian dub.
Dub edits
Shot only present in the original Japanese version
The scene in which the boat approaches Littleroot Town and Ash discovers that Pikachu is sick plays as an epilogue after the credits in the original, whereas the scene was moved to before the credits in the dub.
The character with theMachoke was only a sailor in the original Japanese version, while in the English dub, he was a captain.
The scene where Ash's ship approaches Littleroot Town is shortened by about 10 seconds in the dub, removing shots of the sun rising and other passengers looking at Littleroot Town on the horizon.
