EP262

You're a Star, Larvitar! (Japanese: ヨーギラスがんばる！  Does Its Best!) is the 262nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on August 22, 2002 and in the United States on September 6, 2003.

Blurb
''Ash and friends report back to Professor Elm as they reach the base of Mount Silver, where they hope to return their Larvitar to its birthplace. On their way up the mountain, Ash faces a young trainer in Pokémon battle, pitting his Cyndaquil against the trainer's Magby. This Magby—the pre-evolved form of Magmar—is much stronger that Ash unexpected, and Ash suffers a defeat. Ash makes it up in a subsequent battle, when his Cyndaquil defeats a Quilava—the evolved form of Cyndaquil. Following a few steps behind, Jessie and James note all of the trainers and their rare and valuable Pokémon preparing to battle in the Johto Championship to be held on this mountain. Setting aside their usual plans for capturing Pikachu—and their usual hot-air mode of transport—they capture Larvitar and as many other Pokémon as they can muster and drive off with them in a specially made truck. Only Ash and friends stand a chance of rescuing the Pokémon they hold dear.''

Plot
As and  are nearing Mt. Silver and the Silver Conference, they stop at a Pokémon Center to rest; the group decides to call Professor Elm. The Professor admires how well is developing, making a point of its gain in self-confidence. Elm gives Ash instructions as to what to do when the group reaches the top of the mountain, right before ending the call. Just then, a approaches them and makes the assumption that the group is on their way to the Silver Conference. The boy wastes no time in challenging Ash to a.

Just outside of the Center, the boy introduces himself as Satchel. The boys take their places at opposite ends of a battle field. Satchel sends out his, prompting Ash to consult his Pokédex. Having learned that Magby is a, Ash decides to send out. is surprised by his choice in, wondering why Ash didn't choose his to battle Magby. On the other hand, Satchel commends Ash in his "fighting Fire with Fire" strategy.

, acting as referee, signals the start of the battle. Cyndaquil dodges Magby's, and counters with a ; Satchel is impressed. Ash tells Cyndaquil to use a attack, and then its own Flamethrower. Satchel orders Magby to use its Flamethrower once more and the two Pokémon's attacks meet, resulting in an ascending cascade of fire. Magby's attack eventually prevails, but Cyndaquil manages to jump out of the way before it is damaged. Ash has his Pokémon use, and Satchel responds by ordering Magby to use. Cyndaquil stops in its tracks as Magby's copies surround it, and begin running in a circle. Taking a chance, Ash orders Cyndaquil to go after one of the Magby; Cyndaquil attacks a fake, and Magby's attack is disrupted. Appearing from behind Cyndaquil, Magby is told to use its. The attack strikes Cyndaquil dead-center; Cyndaquil is unable to battle, and Satchel is declared the victor.

After the battle, Ash decides that his Cyndaquil is in need of a long rest. Satchel approaches Ash and commends him on his training of Cyndaquil, its speed, and the battling as a whole. Ash shows similar praise for Magby, and its range of attacks. Although happy, Satchel expresses his goal to get his Magby to evolve into a. A fellow Trainer on his way to the Silver Conference, Satchel states that, as a Magby, his Pokémon won't be strong enough to compete against the stronger Pokémon that they will surely face. This is explained by Brock the reason why Satchel is trying to battle as much as possible. Satchel feels sure that the battle that Ash and he just had will aid a lot on Magby's way to evolution.

A little while later, Ash, and Cyndaquil are seen poolside, Cyndaquil recuperating from its battle. Ash seems worried about the upcoming Silver Conference. While he knows that Cyndaquil has "awesome" strengths, he divulges the same worry that Satchel had earlier regarding his unevolved Pokémon. All of a sudden, Ash spots an unknown Trainer with his, the evolved form of Cyndaquil. Seeing this, Ash conjures the determination from within him to get his Pokémon to evolve. Returning to the group, Ash announces that it's time for some "special training", and herds all of his Pokémon and head to a field. All of Ash's Pokémon are paired with a training partner to battle with: with Pikachu, Totodile with Cyndaquil, and  with.

Off in the distance, can be seen from behind some bushes in a wooded area. Jessie spots multiple Trainers, most with evolved Pokémon, training in the field. Jessie, James, and decide then that they are going to steal all of the Pokémon belonging to the training Pokémon Trainers, along with Pikachu.

Brock and Misty, having been distracted by Ash's training, notice that Larvitar has wandered off. Having made its way to the field in which the other Trainers are training, Larvitar is startled by a ; the Trainers take notice of the seemingly rare Pokémon. Brock and Misty come to Larvitar's rescue just before any of the Trainers decide they want to make a newly caught Pokémon out of it. Just then, a sudden gust of wind drags all of the Pokémon through the field. Ash soon takes notice of the ordeal, and runs to save Larvitar. He is, however, soon swept up by the wind as well; Bayleef grabs onto Ash with her. Just as Ash is pondering what could be causing the wind, Team Rocket appears in their Meowth balloon and recites a variation of their. It is revealed that a mecha attached to the balloon is being used to suck all of the Trainers' Pokémon up, including Satchel's Magby; Ash's Pokémon are left on the ground. Ash orders Cyndaquil to use its Flamethrower on Team Rocket, but Meowth has it sucked into the machine before it gets a chance to attack; Ash is also sucked up, Larvitar in hand, but gets stuck. Larvitar manages to land on top of the machine without getting sucked inside. Heading off into the distance, Team Rocket, Ash, and all of the Pokémon, are followed on foot by Brock, Misty, Satchel, and Ash's other Pokémon.

Team Rocket is seen beside a cabin lowering the Pokémon into a truck. It appears as if Jessie has tied Ash up, and left him locked up within the cabin. Outside, Team Rocket is admiring the load of Pokémon they have stolen. They express their pride in their plan of using a truck to haul the Pokémon away, thinking no one would ever catch them. Moving to the front of the truck, Larvitar approaches the vehicle and down on the rear tire. To the surprise of Team Rocket, the truck leans drastically; Larvitar quickly underground. Ash, wondering what's going on outside the cabin, is surprised to see Larvitar appear from beneath the floorboards. Using its Bite, Larvitar frees Ash from his rope constraints. Ash is both very happy to have been saved by Larvitar, and angry that it would put itself in so much danger. Just then, Brock, Misty, and Satchel are shown to not have found anything; their hopes now lie in Noctowl's wings.

Team Rocket is flabbergasted as to why the tire was flattened; Jessie promptly tells James and Meowth to fix it. Sneaking up from behind the cabin, Ash tells Larvitar to have Cyndaquil and Magby use Flamethrower to melt the glass blocking their escape from the machine. Larvitar agrees and digs underground, moving towards the vehicle until just behind it. The Pokémon jumps up into the truck, and conveys Ash's message to the Fire types. Magby and Cyndaquil begin their attempt at escape. Having finished changing the tire, Team Rocket loads back into the front of the truck and is ready to leave. To prevent this, Larvitar bites down on the exact tire that had just been changed, inhibiting their vehicle once again. As Jessie "supervises" the changing of tires once again, Noctowl spots from above the site at which Team Rocket is preparing to take off with the Pokémon. Alerted by the, Brock, Misty, and Satchel head on their way to save Ash and the stolen Pokémon from Team Rocket.

With help on the way, the Fire Pokémon duo of Cyndaquil and Magby has melted a hole in their cage; the stolen Pokémon (Cyndaquil, Magby, a, Voltorb, a , a , and a ) escape. Having heard the commotion in the back of the truck, Team Rocket goes to investigate. Ash tells Larvitar from behind the cabin that the Pokémon have to hide. To Team Rocket's surprise, there is a hole in their machine and all of the Pokémon are nowhere to be found. As Jessie inspects the machine, Cyndaquil and Magby pop out and greet her with a Flamethrower attack in her face. Ash runs out from behind the cabin and orders the Pokémon to flee from the truck. With all of the stolen Pokémon on his side, Ash tells Team Rocket that he is leaving and taking all of the Pokémon with him. Jessie doesn't like this and sends out her ; James then proceeds to send out his. Arbok's Bite attack, and Weezing's Tackle attack, are then ordered by their Trainers. All of a sudden, Noctowl swoops down and strikes the two Pokémon, Brock, Misty, Satchel, and the rest of Ash's Pokémon in tow. A attack from Arbok, as well as a  attack from Weezing, is successfully countered by a Flamethrower from Magby. Ash then orders Phanpy to Tackle Arbok and Weezing into Team Rocket, and then Totodile uses its on the group. Jessie retaliates by swinging Arbok by its tail, essentially using a "fling attack". Satchel orders his Magby to use Dynamic Punch and hits Arbok away. Reeling from its successful attack, Magby begins to evolve; everyone is shocked. Unwilling to give up, Team Rocket sends their Pokémon to attack once more. Arbok's is no match for Magmar's Flamethrower, a Flamethrower stronger than any other seen before. Ash orders Cyndaquil to "finish them off" with its own Flamethrower, causing an explosion that blasts Team Rocket off into the distance.

All of the stolen Pokémon are reunited with their owners.

As Ash and company are readying to head off, the group and Satchel part ways. Misty proclaims that Ash has found a new rival in Satchel. Despite Brock's claims of struggle Ash will probably face in the Silver Conference if facing Satchel, Ash shows confidence that he can beat anyone that comes his way. Ash has realized that even though his Pokémon haven't evolved, they have the power and heart to win if he uses their power in the right ways. The group heads on their way to the peaks of Mt. Silver.

Major events

 * is revealed to know and.
 * Jessie's Arbok is revealed to know.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Professor Elm
 * Satchel
 * s
 * Professor Elm
 * Satchel
 * s

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)
 * (Satchel's; evolves)
 * (Satchel's; newly evolved)
 * ('s)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; debut)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; ×2)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (anime)
 * ('s)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; debut)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's; ×2)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (Trainer's)
 * (anime)

Trivia

 * The Pokémon Center in this episode is the same one that and  visited in The Legend of Thunder!.
 * In this episode, uses a  of their motto.
 * has thoughts about evolving, but it doesn't evolve. This changes, however, when it evolves in An Old Family Blend!; in that episode, Ash brings it back to his team for the Lily of the Valley Conference.
 * As of this episode, all forms of the Johto starter Pokémon have appeared in the.
 * This also made it the longest time to date the anime has taken to introduce all forms of a region's starter Pokémon (the first Johto starter Pokémon to physically appear, and, appeared in Don't Touch That 'dile, 145 episodes ago).
 * One of the Trainers seen in this episode bears a striking resemblance to the Pokémon League entrance exam instructor from The Ultimate Test.
 * According to Pokémon.com, this is the season finale of Pokémon: Master Quest. However, DVD releases of the season give that title to Hoenn Alone!.
 * Music from The Power of One can be heard in this episode.

Errors

 * Satchel comments on Cyndaquil's "Flame Attack" which is not an actual move.
 * When Ash is seen with all of the stolen Pokémon, a is there. However, there was no Totodile that was stolen, and Ash's was with  and  at the time.
 * When and  are blasted by  and  says "Mama", his whiskers are missing.
 * Professor Elm refers to Ranger Mason as a male, despite the fact the character is later revealed to be female.
 * When Jessie points over to the Pokémon pasture, Meowth states that there are a lot of evolved Pokémon there. However, a was there which is not an evolved Pokémon.
 * When Ash explains his plan to, the z's in his face are missing.

In other languages
Larvitar – Superstar! EP264 EP262 無印編第262話 精灵宝可梦 第263集