EP036

The Bridge Bike Gang (Japanese: あらしのサイクリングロード Stormy Cycling Road) is the 36th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on December 2, 1997 and in the United States on October 23, 1998.

Blurb
''In the course of a journey, one meets up with many different things. Returning to civilization after a long period of wandering, our heroes find a bridge that reaches 20 kilometers in length. There is no way to reach Sunnytown—on the other side of the bridge—but by crossing. The bridge, however, has been designed especially for bicycles. The party tries to purchase bicycles in order to cross the bridge, but lacking the funds and otherwise at a complete loss, they decide to stop by the Pokémon Center and re-evaluate their plans. At the Pokémon Center, by pure luck, a job awaits them—delivering medicine to Sunnytown.''

Plot
,, and come across a bridge, but when they try to walk on it, an officer named  says only the bike track was ready, not the actual road. Devastated, the group then sees a bike store, though their prices prove to be expensive. The group retreats to the Pokémon Center to think of a plan to get a bike. Suddenly, a worried Nurse Joy appears and says she had to deliver medicine for injured over the bridge to Sunnytown, but she cannot leave the Center because she has Pokémon to attend to. Ash and Misty agree to carry out the task for her after Nurse Joy informs them she has several spare bikes. Misty and Brock ride a tandem bicycle, whilst Ash leads in his single bike, enjoying the bridge's view and fresh air. Meanwhile, below the bridge, James rows an inflatable boat whilst Jessie and peer through their binoculars and notice Ash and his friends. Jessie and James mention the area could almost be considered their hometown and make plans to target.

Just after Ash and his friends finish their refreshments, they find themselves surrounded by a group of wild bikers. They tried to escape, but the gang's leader Chopper challenges Ash to a. He sends out his and Ash calls on. Golem's shell protects it from Bulbasaur's and it easily wins with a single. Ash then sends out, who sets Golem alight with its and. Golem's Tackle misses Charmander, and it strikes several of the gang members instead. Chopper withdraws his Golem, but the is still hot from Charmander's attack.

Next, Tyra, the other leader of the bike gang, sends out against Misty, who tries to send out, but  appears instead. Misty decides to give it a chance, but Psyduck's attacks repeatedly backfire on it. Before Psyduck has a chance to develop a headache from Cloyster's own attacks, arrives, riding on unicycles and saying their. They receive a heroes' welcome from the bicycle gang, who refer to Jessie as "Chainer Jessie" and "Big Jess" for her penchant of swinging a chain around as she rode her bike, and James as "Little Jim" and "Trainer James" because he was the only one in the group who had to use training wheels. Just as Team Rocket and the bike gang begin to attack Ash, Misty, and Brock, the police arrive. The bike gang immediately rides off, almost leaving Team Rocket behind. When Officer Jenny arrives, she offers them a ride, though she retracts her offer after being called to another emergency. As the weather becomes ferocious and turns into a storm, the bicycle gang and Team Rocket seek refuge in a building. Chopper and Tyra then challenge Team Rocket to ride through the storm on their unicycles. The whole trio falls for the peer pressure and accepts the task.

In Sunnytown, Nurse Joy calls the other Pokémon Center; she is worried that medicine hasn't arrived to cure the injured Pokémon, a. As Ash and his friends continue to ride through the rainstorm, the bridge lifts to allow a ship to pass through. However, they determinedly continue riding. Simultaneously, Team Rocket are trying their hardest to pedal their unicycles up the other side of the upturned bridge. Just as Ash, Misty, and Brock are not going to make it, they see Team Rocket jumping from the other side and promptly bounce on their heads, sending the trio into the water while allowing themselves to be propelled upward and on to the other side. As they pass the bike gang, they are challenged to a battle. When Ash refuses and tells them that he is delivering medicine for a sick Pokémon, the gang decides to escort them. They arrive in time, and Nurse Joy quickly pours the medicine into the tank, instantly improving Shellder's condition. Misty phones through to the other town's Nurse Joy, alerting her to their arrival. The bike gang promptly calls Ash and Misty "Awesome Ash" and "Mighty Misty". Brock tells Tyra that she can call him "Honey", only to receive a slap.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket emerges out of the water, stacked on a single unicycle and covered in seaweed.

Major events

 * Jessie and James are revealed to have been members of a bicycle gang in the past.
 * Misty's Psyduck is revealed to be able to use and  only when its headache is severe enough.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Officer Jenny
 * Chopper
 * Tyra
 * Officer Jenny
 * Chopper
 * Tyra

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:


 * (Chopper's; debut)
 * (Tyra's; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (Chopper's; debut)
 * (Tyra's; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (Tyra's; debut)
 * (debut)

Trivia

 * This episode marks the first time Misty takes Brock by the ear when he is in love with a beautiful woman.
 * The tune that plays when rides his Bicycle in  is heard the first time Ash and  are seen on their loaned bikes.
 * Chopper's bike design is based on.

Errors

 * In one scene at the Pokémon Center in Sunnytown, Chopper's hair is darker than usual.
 * When Ash and his friends meet up with Officer Jenny, Pikachu is missing his cheeks.
 * When Ash and friends are biking over the bridge, Ash rings his bicycle bell although his bike doesn't have a bell.
 * In the dub, when Ash cheers for the idea to cross the bridge just before the title card shows up, his English voice can heard.
 * Bulbasaur used Vine Whip on Golem. However, Golem's shell is protected from being hit with Vine Whip, even though Grass-type moves should be super effective on Rock- and Ground-types.

Dub edits

 * PokéRap: Day 1 (Version 2)
 * Originally, Misty wanted curry while Brock wanted  or pancakes. In the English version, Misty wants a hot dog while Brock wants deep-dish extra cheese pizza.
 * The Pokémon Center's poster had text removed.
 * Misty complains about doing all the work on the bike she and Brock share, while originally she was upset because she wanted a bike only she rode, not a shared bike.
 * Big Jess and Little Jim's were originally addressed with 姉御 Anego (big sister) and 兄貴 Aniki (big brother).
 * Jessie's original nickname was チェーンのムサシ Chēn no Musashi (Chain ) instead of Chainer Jessie. While James's was 補助輪のコジロウ Hojorin no Kojirō (Training Wheels ) instead of Trainer James.
 * In the Danish dub, Norman's dialogue is altered to include a contemporary pop culture reference to TV commercial characters Kaj and Bøje, a pair of seagulls.
 * In the Swedish dub, Norman states that the bridge is en och en halv mil, 15 kilometers.
 * In the Swedish dub in the end Jessie and James says "nu är det jul igen" now it's christmas again, probably making a pun on that hjul wheel and jul christmas have the same pronunciation and the fact that they are cycling on a unicycle.

In other languages
Die Fahrrad-Gang EP036 EP036 EP036 無印編第36話 精灵宝可梦 第36集