EP172

Mountain Time (Japanese: レディアン！かぜのたにをこえて！！ ! Pass Through the Valley of the Wind!!) is the 172nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on November 9, 2000 and in the United States on October 20, 2001.

Blurb
''Enjoying a beautiful day hiking through the mountains on the road to Ecruteak City, Ash and Pikachu chase after a Ledian that speeds by them. As they pursue it along the trail, they round a bend and get hit full-blast by a Gust from Pidgeotto! Meeting the Ledian and Pidgeotto's owners, the gang finds out they've run into the Mountain Patrol, in the midst of a training session. Find out what happens when mountain-patrolman, Benji and his courageous Ledian lead Ash, Misty and Brock on an important search-and-rescue mission!''

Plot
and stop to admire a mountain range view. The clean air gives Ash and some added energy, and they soon run off. A strange Pokémon flies by, and Ash's Pokédex reveals that it is a. As they pursue it along the trail, they round a bend and get hit by a full-blast from a. They meet Benji and his father, who are the Ledian and Pidgeotto's owners, in the midst of a training session. and soon catch up to Ash. The gang finds out that the father and son are part of the Mountain Patrol, an organisation that protects and preserves the mountain. Benji's father realizes he has to go to one of the villages at the foot of the mountains, so he leaves Benji in charge and gives the group permission to stay.

After his father leaves, Benji resumes his training with Ledian while the group watches. With a stop watch in hand, Benji watches Ledian zip through the forest course. Suddenly a gust hits Ledian from some bushes. Investigating further, they see that the strong wind is actually coming from a machine attached to 's hot air balloon. Team Rocket recites a variation of their before demonstrating the Gust Attack Blowing Vac's abilities to blow out air or to suck things in. Pikachu and are sucked into the machine. Team Rocket floats away, but is soon blown off course by a strong wind. Benji realizes the danger Team Rocket is in. Upon hearing this, Ash, Misty, and Brock start to go after them. They stop when Benji warns them that they'll get lost. Benji declares that this is his responsibility and that he will radio his dad before escorting them to help Team Rocket.

Team Rocket's balloon is hanging off a rock spike jutting from a cliff. One of the ropes that are keeping them from falling snaps from the movement created by their squabbling. James tries to get his to use, but Victreebel just latches onto his head. James struggles to get Victreebel off, but this also causes the remaining ropes to snap and send everyone plummeting. They all land safely on one of the rock spikes and Pikachu and Togepi are freed from their container. The rock spike suddenly sheers off, and after bouncing off the surrounding spikes it starts sliding down an incline. The spike ends up balanced precariously on the tip of an upright rock spike.

Meanwhile, the others race to find the crash site when falling boulders create a wall blocking their path. They are unable to climb over it because of its instability, so they decide to go another way. This route requires them to climb an old long rope ladder to the service road. Benji goes first to make sure it is safe. He gives the okay to Ash, Misty and Brock who proceed to climb up after him. As they are climbing, a gust of wind blows the rope ladder sideways, and eventually, it breaks off the cliff, but Benji catches it in time. With Ledian and Ash's Noctowl's help he pulls it back up. The effort however leaves Noctowl exhausted, so Ash quickly recalls it back to its Poké Ball.

Back on the balancing rock, Team Rocket complains of hunger. James tries to eat some food secretly but his teammates catch him, and their subsequent fight causes the rock to wobble. Just as everyone manages to regain their balance, 's unannounced arrival causes the rock to descend. As they fall, Togepi uses to teleport everyone back on the rock perfectly balanced. Togepi munches on James's candy bar while the others are puzzled by what just happened. Jessie claims the falling was just a dream.

Ledian spots the teetering rock and returns to Benji. Ledian leads him and the gang towards the rock. Ash orders to grab Togepi and Pikachu with its Vine Whip, but they are too far away. Ledian decides to retrieve them instead. Benji is afraid it is too dangerous and tries to stop Ledian, but Ledian reminds him that they are Mountain Patrols and this is what they trained for. Ledian grabs the end of a rope and a net while Benji and the gang grab the other end of the rope. Ledian flies up to the rock and wraps the rope around the upright rock. The net it strung on the rope so that it slides along it like a zip line. Meowth translates Ledian's instructions to jump into the net. Everyone jumps in and Ledian slowly brings down the net, fighting against strong winds. The winds knock down the rock, dragging Ledian and the net full of Pokémon and humans down. Fortunately, Ledian is able to hold onto the net. Before Ledian can bring them down, Team Rocket snatches Togepi and Pikachu again and they escape through a hole made by Victreebel. Misty and her friends are shocked by Team Rocket's actions, but the evil trio simply shrug off their surprise. On the ground, James sends out his and Victreebel. Benji orders Ledian to use, but Victreebel strikes it down first. Ash sends Bulbasaur into the. Eventually, Benji's father, his Ledian and Pidgeotto arrive on the scene. Pidgeotto uses Gust to blow away Weezing's. Pidgeotto then defeats Weezing and Victreebel with a single Gust attack. The two Ledian team up and use to knock Team Rocket out of the way. Pikachu and Togepi then escape the net. Ash calls for Pikachu to use, and the attack blasts Team Rocket away.

As the stars come out, the Benji notices his Ledian's back spots have begun to glow a red color. Benji's father says this shows that Ledian is well-trained and grants him the position of Mountain Patrol officer. Everyone congratulates Benji on the promotion. They soon turns their attentions to the pair of Ledian scatter sparkles into the evening air as more stars dot the sky.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * The Pokémon Mountain Patrol
 * Benji
 * Benji's father
 * The Pokémon Mountain Patrol
 * Benji
 * Benji's father

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)


 * (Benji's; debut)
 * (Benji's father's)
 * (Benji's father's; debut)
 * (Benji's; debut)
 * (Benji's father's)
 * (Benji's father's; debut)
 * (Benji's; debut)
 * (Benji's father's)
 * (Benji's father's; debut)
 * (Benji's father's)
 * (Benji's father's; debut)

Trivia

 * This episode's English title may refer to a of the same name.
 * Music from The Power of One is used.
 * This episode employs a gag from Pokémon Shipwreck.

Errors

 * When James says that it looks like they were free, most of the net is actually gone.
 * When hanging from the rope ladder, and  are all in front of it, even though the ladder is twisted. If one were to untwist the ladder,  would have been climbing on the opposite side as the other two, which is impossible, since the ladder was previously bolted to a rock wall.

Dub edits

 * The original airing of this episode on Hungama TV in started it directly from the title card, skipping the part of the episode that comes before it.

In other languages
In den Bergen EP174 EP172 無印編第172話 精灵宝可梦 第173集