DP071

'''Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 1) (Japanese: ポケモンレンジャー！波導のリオル！！(前編)' Pokémon Ranger! The Riolu!! (Part 1)'') is the 71st episode of the, and the 537th episode of the Pokémon anime. It aired in Japan in a one-hour special on March 20, 2008, the day that was released. It and DP072 were released on DVD in Japan on June 20, 2008. It aired in the United States on November 1, 2008.

Blurb
In the middle of the night, chaos breaks loose in an isolated research center as research subject RX-1, a Riolu, escapes with the help of several men and a getaway truck. But the men want to steal Riolu, not help it, so Riolu breaks out again and flees into the forest. The next day, nursing an injury, it encounters Ash and the gang, but mistakes them for more false friends and blasts Ash with Aura Sphere when he tries to help. Fortunately Kellyn, a Top Ranger from the Pokémon Rangers, catches up with Riolu. Kellyn is just in time to stop Pokémon Hunter J's minions from grabbing Riolu themselves; he uses his Vatonage Styler to recruit nearby Bug Pokémon to halt the thugs' kidnap attempt.

Now that everyone can relax, he explains that Riolu hails from the Paradise Kingdom, where it uses its special Aura powers to serve as the kingdom's guardian. Those powers strike a chord with Ash, who's able to sense mental images of Riolu's past. Riolu was kidnapped from its kingdom and is now on Pokémon Hunter J's target list, so Kellyn, together with Pokémon Ranger Solana and Officer Jenny, is here to save Riolu and get it back home. As proof of his good intentions, he brings Riolu a wooden carving made by the old man who raised it.

Hoping to evade Pokémon Hunter J, Kellyn teams up with our heroes to escort Riolu downriver toward a waiting recovery team. It's all for naught, though, as Pokémon Hunter J and her Salamence attack, forcing everyone to scatter. Ash manages to rescue Riolu and its prized carving from the water, but they wind up lost on a riverbank and cut off from the others, with Pokémon Hunter J's goons already searching the forest around them.

Ash and Riolu make a break for it, only to be spotted. Pokémon Hunter J coolly decides to flush them out into the open by burning down the forest around them, and Ash and Riolu escape the flames only to find themselves cornered by J and her Salamence. Are Ash and Riolu ever going to get out of this in one piece...?

Plot
An explosion rocks a research facility, and several men flee the premises with a. Building workers come out, saying the Riolu is a priceless research tool, and must be recovered. The kidnappers' fires a blast at the building, and they escape on a passing truck with their boss inside. Riolu is put in the back. As the truck is moving, Riolu uses its Aura abilities to hear the words spoken by the henchmen and a man with sunglasses, their boss. They say that they tricked Riolu into thinking they would bring it home. Upon hearing it, Riolu uses on the truck's back door.

The truck skids to a halt and Riolu escapes. The henchmen are ordered to find Riolu and bring it back. The man with sunglasses sees the might of Riolu's power, having broken through reinforced metal on the door, and says he wants its power for himself. , and  encounter Riolu as they are passing through a forest, and find out it is hurt. When Ash is trying to help it, it mistakes him for an enemy and blasts him with Aura Sphere. Then, Ash tries to help it again but Riolu proceeds in using Aura Sphere on him once again before being deflected by an unknown person who just showed up. Then he proceeds to follow Riolu with Ash and the group in close pursuit.

Behind a nearby bush, who witnessed the whole scene, plan on stealing Riolu. The scene turns to Ash who is searching for Riolu and then dragged into a bush by the same person who saved him. He tells the group that Riolu only wants to go back home. J|Pokémon hunter J's thugs show up and find Riolu which is standing on a branch, and attempt to steal it. One of her henchman sends out which attacks Riolu with a  making it fall off the branch. Then Ash comes out and orders to use. Crobat dodges every attack before being hit by Riolu which sends Aura Sphere to the henchmen.

The henchmen being impressed with the Aura Sphere send out their Pokémon when the unknown person shows up and reveals to be a Pokémon Ranger who uses his to control a nearby. Then Ariados wraps the henchmen's Pokémon in its. Then he captures a and orders it to. It digs underground and makes a hole for the henchmen who fall in it.

Next, after dealing with the thugs, he releases the Pokémon he captured. Then he walks toward Riolu with a small bag in his hand and takes out a small wooden figurine in the form of a Riolu. Then he explains to Riolu there is nothing to fear about while putting the bag around Riolu's neck. He picks up Riolu and tells the group to follow him introducing himself to them as Kellyn, a Pokémon ranger whose mission is to bring Riolu home.

Again, from a nearby bush, Team Rocket witnessed the whole scene and Jessie plans to take her revenge on J. The scene turns to the group where Kellyn uses a Potion to heal Riolu's wound. Then Riolu approaches the water taking out the wooden figurine. Kellyn informs the group that the figurine is a gift from the man who raised him. Then, Ash experiences a sudden vision of a house where an old man gives the same wooden figurine to the same Riolu. Then he approaches Riolu and reveals that the man used Riolu's Aura to create the vision.

Upon hearing this, all react surprised and Kellyn explains the Aura is similar to a feeling and Ash's Aura is perfectly matched with that of Riolu's. Then his Styler starts ringing, the caller being Solana who immediately recognizes Ash and Brock. She is shown with Officer Jenny driving on her motorcycle. She informs them of finding the location of J's hideout and is heading there with Jenny.

Next, J's ship shows up and the scene turns to her being informed by her henchman of their encounter with Kellyn and the group. The scene reverts to the group who are crossing a lake by boat being towed by and. As they cross the lake Kellyn explains that Riolu comes from the Paradise Kingdom, where it will use its special Aura powers to serve as the kingdom's new guardian. Their boat is then smashed by J's henchmen's who show up. A jumps out of the water and Kellyn captures it.

He orders Floatzel to take them to the shore but are attacked by Sharpedo's. In order to escape them, Pikachu shocks them with Thunderbolt. Then J and her show up. They proceed to attack her but Salamence deflects their attacks with. Hunter J uses her bracelet attempting to freeze Riolu but Floatzel uses to hit Salamence in its wing. After that, she fires a shot but Riolu manages to evade it dropping the figurine in the water.

Riolu chases after it, with the group following it. Salamence uses Hyper Beam on a nearby rock which breaks apart falling in water and stopping Kellyn, Dawn and Brock in their tracks. Ash, Pikachu and Buizel continue following Riolu who in turn chases the wooden figurine. The figurine falls into a waterfall and Riolu is caught in the currents, and is dragged underwater. Then, a flashback of the moment he was captured by the scientists is shown. It quickly wakes up to find itself lying down on the grass after being rescued by Ash, who gives him the wooden figurine. Pikachu hears Hunter J nearby, and runs away along with Ash, Buizel and Riolu but are spotted by her and her henchmen. The henchmen prepare to go after them but are stopped by J.

The scene turns to Team Rocket who have set up a pitfall trap when a fire starts on the nearby trees. They manage to escape by using the hole they dug up. The scene turns to J's Salamence firing everywhere in the forest surrounding Ash, Buizel, Pikachu and Riolu. J shows up and orders Salamence to use Flamethrower.

Part 1 concludes with them evading the attack and with the narrator's conclusion.

Major events

 * and meet Kellyn.
 * Ash and meet Solana again, while  meets her for the first time.
 * Dawn learns about s, and also learns that Ash can use Aura.
 * Ash and his friends meet a special Riolu that is capable of using.

Humans

 * Kellyn

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Kellyn
 * Solana
 * Officer Jenny
 * J
 * J's henchmen
 * J's client's henchmen
 * Riolu's Trainer (flashback)
 * J's henchmen
 * J's client's henchmen
 * Riolu's Trainer (flashback)
 * Riolu's Trainer (flashback)
 * Riolu's Trainer (flashback)

Pokémon

 * (J's henchmen's; ×3)
 * (J's henchmen's; ×4)
 * (Client's henchman's)
 * ('s; flashback)
 * (Aura Sphere Riolu; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (×2)
 * (×4)
 * (×2)
 * (×3)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×4)
 * (×2)
 * (×3)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×3)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×3)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)
 * (×2)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia:
 * This episode, along with Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! (Part 2), was based on the mission  in, explained by the appearance of the special Aura Sphere Riolu and Kellyn.
 * This is the fifth and (so far) last time blood has been seen in the anime, seen when Riolu blasts out the back of the truck and hurts its arm in the process.
 * So far, This is also the only time a Pokémon is shown to bleed.
 * Music from Pokémon Heroes, Lucario and the Mystery of Mew, and Pokémon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea can be heard.
 * The Japanese name is a reference to an alternate translation of the Japanese name of Lucario and the Mystery of Mew:  and the Wave Guiding Hero: .
 * When the title Crossing Paths was revealed, several sources incorrectly believed it to be the dub title for this episode.
 * Details of the North American airing were made known by Nintendo Power.
 * This episode was preceded by Chim - Charred! in the dub due to it being held off until the release of.
 * This is the first dubbed TV episode to not only retain all of its Japanese background music, but also use no American-made music (unless The Mastermind of Mirage Pokémon is counted as a dubbed TV episode).
 * Team Rocket doesn't blast off or recite the in this episode.
 * Ash's proficiency in the aura introduced in Lucario and the Mystery of Mew is referenced in this episode.

Errors

 * In the English dub when Ash chases after Kellyn and Riolu, Brock and Dawn tell Ash to wait, but only Brock's voice is heard.
 * When Ash is confronting J, J's left sleeve is colored the same as her jacket.

In other languages
de:Pokémon Ranger: Die Entführung von Riolu – Teil 1 EP540 DP071 DP071 DP編第71話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第70集