AG156

From Cradle to Save (Japanese: ウソハチと忍者スクール！！  and the Ninja School!!) is the 156th episode of the, and the 430th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on December 15, 2005 and in the United States on October 14, 2006.

Blurb
Ash takes a break to train with Donphan and Pikachu, and Donphan uncovers a young ninja named Evian. He's from the Pokémon Ninja School, where Trainers and their Pokémon study the ninja arts together, and he thought Ash and his friends might be behind a recent rash of strange events and robberies. After he apologizes, our heroes enroll in the school for day and try out ninja techniques with their teacher, Angela. Team Rocket secretly watches and waits—Jessie has big ninja dreams of her own!

Angela has everyone try to find her Kecleon, which is easier said than done for Ash. During the exercise, the students find a Bonsly and blame it for the thefts. Brock calms the crying Bonsly down and proves its innocence. The real thieves are Team Rocket, who swoop in to steal the students' Pokémon but are clearly outmatched. Jessie, never one to give up, still challenges Angela to a ninja battle and the real ninja easily wins. Then it's time for everyone to send Team Rocket bouncing on their way again.

With Team Rocket gone, Bonsly wants a battle with Brock. Brock sends out Forretress and uses Spikes to weaken Bonsly so he can capture it. Now he has a new Pokémon! A baby Pokémon! Who needs lots of attention and care... is Brock really ready to be a "father"? Our heroes continue on their way to the Battle Pike with their newest, youngest team member!

Plot
The stars illuminate the sky as the startling cries of a can be heard all around. and are enjoying a relaxing picnic under the sun while  polishes her Egg. With that original fury overtaking the scene, Ash is ready to take on any adventure as shows the same enthusiasm.

A practice battle between Pikachu and is about to begin, with Pikachu starting off with an electrifying. The attack clashes into Donphan, but only after a few seconds of resistance, the attack is negated and Pikachu flies backwards. Donphan starts into a attack, hurtling towards Ash and Pikachu. They manage to dodge the attack, Donphan colliding with a nearby rock structure and revealing a hidden boy and his.

The boy introduces himself as Evian, explaining that he is from the Pokémon Ninja School. They are then led through the nearby forest to the ninja school which is flourishing with young students and exuberant Pokémon. The students try to explain to their teacher Angela what they saw the night before involving the Bonsly. One of the boys looked out a window the night before, noticing fast movements through the forest and just seconds later hearing the screams and cries of Bonsly. Interrupting their conversation, Brock jumps towards the instructor, with clasping arms to meet just only a few seconds later, a substitution of herself with a log with similar clothing. She then reveals herself in a nearby treetop with all the students being amazed with her actions.

Nearby, is spying on the Ninja School with Jessie suggesting they become students of the school and become ninjas to ultimately capture Pikachu. Meanwhile, Ash and gang are in a training exercise involving underwater submersion while breathing through a bamboo stick. The underwater lesson then ends and transitions over to a stealth activity with each student trying to mask their position. Max secretly masks himself behind a tree as Ash and Pikachu attempt to hide underneath the ground but soon after reveal their location. The next lesson begins with Angela's which camouflages itself and dashes off into the underbrush with the students to attempt and try to find its location. Ash and the young boy begin down a trail as he spots the Kecleon. His Ninjask then begins a which sends a burst of sand towards the forest and temporarily reveals the Kecleon. He then jumps towards it but comes to meet the ground. Ash then tries his chance at it directing Pikachu to launch a attack towards the general direction but the attack comes to miss as the Kecleon snatches Ash's hat and begins up a nearby tree.

Ash and Pikachu dash for the stolen hat but come only to make direct contact with the tree. Another student of the school notices movement nearby and moves to reveal the Bonsly. The Bonsly then begins crying uncontrollably as begins to calm it down. Ash goes to look up its data in his Pokédex. The three students that noticed the Bonsly the night before rush towards Brock and start arguing, which causes Bonsly to start crying again. Brock then grabs a Berry off a nearby tree and attempts to feed it to Bonsly, but it only knocks the Berry from out his hand. Brock then attempts to feed Bonsly with a bottle as it then begins devouring the food.

Bonsly finishes the food and then starts to cry again. A metallic projectile hurtles towards the ground and makes contact to reveal a single solitary rose. Team Rocket's voice can then be heard from the background setting the usual Rocket theme. Team Rocket is dressed in ninja attire and mysterious masks. Ash quickly sees through their disguises to reveal them as Team Rocket. With a quick phrase, then controls the new mecha, which then shoots a sticky fluid from its arms as the mecha begins to hoist the Pokémon into the air. Angela then calls upon her as it dashes towards the sky and collides with the mecha, sending it hurtling towards the ground at great speed. With great haste, Ash, Brock, and then call upon, , and. Grovyle dashes towards Team Rocket and cuts the restraints, releasing the captured Pokémon. Shiftry then clashes with the ground which sends a tremor throughout the ground and towards Team Rocket. Combusken then launches a ferocious towards Team Rocket which leaves them charred. It's now Marshtomp's turn which sends a towards Team Rocket and releases them from their position in the treetops. is then released from its Poké Ball as it masks the area with a thick.

Jessie then dashes through the air and comes down with her net. After the smoke and dust clears, Angela goes to reveal that Jessie has only captured a substitution. With a new strange technique, Jessie then begins to run around uncontrollably creating many clones of herself. Angela laughs at Jessie's effort as she directs Shiftry with a simple phrase. Shiftry then starts off with a and then creates a Whirlwind effect rotating Team Rocket at a high speed. then entangles Team Rocket with its sticky web as a gigantic ball of web is formed with Team Rocket captured inside. As everyone moves into the attack stance, Team Rocket roll off into the distance and off a nearby cliff.

Brock begins to show is affection of love for Angela again as Bonsly then jumps and knocks Brock backwards. Brock then goes to battle for and attempt to catch the wild Bonsly. Bonsly begins to once again distracting Brock and, as Bonsly begins on the attack colliding with Forretress and knocking him backwards. Forretress then begins with its attack, colliding with Bonsly and knocking it temporarily unconscious. Forretress then uses its attack and launches a barrage of tiny spikes around Bonsly. Brock goes to throw a Poké Ball towards Bonsly as the Ball begins to shake, Bonsly explodes from the Poké Ball and back towards the ground. Bonsly begins to fall backwards and makes contact with one of the nearby spikes which sends it flying upwards as Brock then attempts to catch Bonsly once more. As the Poké Ball shakes, everyone waits with anticipation with the catch of Bonsly. The ball finally finishes its struggle with Bonsly as that well-known catch sound is heard throughout the air.

Bonsly begins to cry more and more as Brock tries to feed it. With Brock's newly obtained Bonsly, the sun sets as our heroes march off into the distance.

Major events

 * catches a.

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Angela
 * Evian
 * Ninja students
 * Angela
 * Evian
 * Ninja students

Pokémon

 * (new)
 * (Jessie's; flashback)
 * (Evian's)
 * (Angela's)
 * (Angela's)
 * (student's)
 * (student's)
 * (student's)
 * (×3)
 * (new)
 * (Jessie's; flashback)
 * (Evian's)
 * (Angela's)
 * (Angela's)
 * (student's)
 * (student's)
 * (student's)
 * (×3)
 * (student's)
 * (×3)

Trivia

 * The English title is a pun on the idiom "from cradle to grave".
 * The ninja outfits worn by the characters at the ninja school are similar to those worn by Koga and in The Ninja Poké-Showdown.
 * The next episode is set in Fuchsia City, where Koga's Gym is located (although in the anime, it was in a forest outside the city itself).
 * Angela addresses as "Ninja Rock Arts." While Rock Smash is technically a  move, the move resulted in rocks hitting Team Rocket.
 * Starting with this episode, in some season 9 episodes, the English ending theme is played instrumentally without vocals.
 * One of the female students bears a notable resemblance to Delia Ketchum.

Errors

 * When escapes from the Poké Ball, it emerges as red energy rather than the usual white.

In other languages
Stolz und Tapferkeit EP433 AG156 AG編第156話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第155集