EP243

Same Old Song and Dance (Japanese: ふたごのププリンＶＳプリン！うたうポケモンコンサート！  Twins VS ! Singing Pokémon Concert!) is the 243rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 11, 2002 and in the United States on April 19, 2003.

Blurb
''In the midst of their travels, Ash and friends meet up with a young girl who, along with her two Igglybuff assistants, stars in her own musical variety television program. Our heroes are content to sit back and enjoy the show, but unfortunately Team Rocket has other plans in mind. Unable to steal the show, Jessie and James content themselves by stealing the young girl's Pokémon instead. As Ash and friends run to her assistance, Jigglypuff shows up, disgruntled at having been left out of the show.''

Plot
and are travelling through a forest en route to Blackthorn City. As Ash gets hungry, reads his guidebook and announces there is an town up ahead. This invigorates Ash and he starts running ahead. Unbeknownst to Ash and the others, appears behind them. When they reach the town, runs off and meets a young girl named, who is practicing with her twin. Brittany introduces her two Igglybuff, nicknamed Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff, and explains that they star in her own musical variety television program called "Brittany"; it is her very first concert, which will be recorded live. She then plays her CD player to begin a practice performance, with Ash and the others watching on. Meanwhile, spies on them, and Jessie daydreams of having her own show with the Igglybuff.

suddenly shows up and begins to sing, but Ash snatches her microphone and stashes it in his backpack. Brock offers Jigglypuff some Pokémon food, which it gratefully enjoys. Brittany then invites, Ash, and Brock to lunch. Upon hearing the compliments the two Igglybuff received, Jigglypuff becomes jealous of them, so she bullies them when Ash and the others aren't looking, kicking them and taking their identical headbands off. When Misty stumbles upon this, Jigglypuff claims the wind blew them away. After placing the headbands back, Jigglypuff nudges Misty's leg and is also invited to Brittany's concert.

Later, as Ash, Brock, Misty and Jigglypuff watch Brittany's live performance, Jigglypuff remembers its microphone and retrieves it from Ash's backpack. Just as Jigglypuff begins singing, she is disturbed by Team Rocket's arrival, which causes the stadium to shake. The trio appears in costumes and begins to perform a song-and-dance routine, though the audience hates it. When Ash and his friends make their way on to stage to confront them, the trio recites their. Then, James sends out, while Ash calls out. Victreebel uses, but Phanpy dodges the attack and successfully uses. Meanwhile, Misty calls out, and Jessie sends out. Jigglypuff suddenly tries to use, but Wobbuffet uses and reflects the attack, sending Jigglypuff flying. Poliwhirl and Phanpy then use and, respectively, but this is met with more Counter attacks. uses to distract Ash and the others while they take Brittany's Igglybuff, though they accidentally take Jigglypuff as well. Vowing to save the Igglybuff, Ash, Misty, and Brittany head off, while Brock remains to be a replacement act.

As Team Rocket discusses what the future could look like with the two Igglybuff now captured, Jessie unties the bag and finds Jigglypuff inside as well. Ash, Misty, and Brittany arrive, only to find Jigglypuff tied to a tree and its mouth taped over with no Team Rocket or Igglybuff in sight. As they free Jigglypuff, encounters the Team Rocket's Meowth balloon and punctures a hole in it, causing the craft to crash. Ash, Misty, and Brittany find Team Rocket and battle them; fights Victreebel, while  fights. Eventually, Arbok is sent flying into Jessie, and she lets go of the bag with the two Igglybuff inside. Meowth corners the two pink Pokémon as they emerge, but Corsola tackles Meowth, allowing the two Igglybuff run over to Brittany. Brittany calls on her two Pokémon to attack Arbok and Victreebel, first with, then with. Jigglypuff then enters the battle, using Double Slap on Team Rocket's Pokémon. Pikachu finally uses Thunderbolt, sending Team Rocket flying.

When Ash, Misty, and Brittany return to the concert theater, Brock happily allows Brittany to take over the show. When the performance is over, Jigglypuff rises from a stage platform to perform its own rendition to the crowd. Not unexpectedly, her singing causes everyone, including Brittany and her two Igglybuff, to fall asleep, and she scribbles on all of their faces.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Audience
 * Brittany's fans
 * James
 * Audience
 * Brittany's fans
 * Brittany's fans

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


 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)
 * ('s; ×2, Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff)

Trivia

 * The songs featured in this episode are instrumental versions of Aim to Be a Pokémon Master, Summer Vacation Fan Club, Mama's Dear Pokémon, Team Rocket Forever, and Takeshi's Paradise.
 * This episode features the dub debut of Takeshi's Paradise.
 * The episode's dub title is derived from from.
 * This episode marks the first time that the narrator is affected by 's song. This would happen again in a later episode, where he is affected by the song of Lisa Mitchum's.
 * In Team Rocket Forever, Jessie and James sing "We're tired of our motto so we thought we'd try a song!", but they end up saying their anyway.
 * The song sings had already been sung by them in two previous episodes: The Song of Jigglypuff and Go West Young Meowth.
 * This episode features another instance of the breaking of the fourth wall, when Team Rocket sings that they plan "to be the stars of this cartoon".
 * When Jigglypuff goes through 's bag, she finds the handkerchief that Misty would give to right before they say their goodbyes.
 * Music from The Power of One can be heard in this episode.
 * This episode is featured with the VCD/DVD set of Camp Pikachu.
 * In the Japanese version, when Jessie says "Evening Three Musumue", it is a reference to the famous Japanese girl group, called "".
 * Furthermore, when Team Rocket first appeared at the concert hall, each member was wearing a costume, which the group Morning Musume once wore when performing a song of theres. James wore a sailor outfit, which was in a reference to their song ', wore an outfit that is similar to the ones worn in the subgroup of Morning Musume, known as "", and Jessie wore an outfit that was common in another subgroup called "", during their song '.
 * Soon after Team Rocket are shown spying on Ash and watching Brittany's performance with her Gigglybiff and Gigglybuff, Jessie gets angry at James and does the same "Ain" pose, made famous by the Japanese actor and comedian.

Errors

 * During Brittany's first onstage performance, before Jigglypuff goes to retrieve its microphone, the Igglybuff twins are missing from their pedestals.
 * Misty instructs Poliwhirl to use on Wobbuffet, who in turn uses  when it should have been  for it to work.
 * As Misty does so, she pulls out a Poké Ball, as if she were about to send out another Pokémon.
 * When Jessie tells to use  again, the glove on her left hand disappears.
 * After James's Weezing uses and Team Rocket escape, Jigglypuff is seen behind Brittany. However Jigglypuff was taken by Team Rocket by mistake and is in their bag at the same time.
 * This may have been a confusion from the previous scene, where Jigglypuff hid behind Brittany.
 * When Misty throws 's Poké Ball, it is shown as a regular, instead of a.
 * When James sends out Weezing, it doesn't move its mouth while making a noise.

Dub edits

 * In the streaming dub version of this episode, after jumps out of Misty's arms at the beginning, it is shown running through a hedge and emerging on the other side. In the home video dub version, a few seconds of this sequence are cut, resulting in Togepi being seen running toward the hedge and then immediately appearing on the other side in the next shot.

In other languages
Das alte Lied... EP245 EP243 無印編第243話 精灵宝可梦 第244集