EP082

A Scare in the Air (Japanese: ひこうせんはふこうせん！？ Blimp Accident!?) is the 82nd episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on February 4, 1999 and in the United States on January 8, 2000.

Blurb
''Ash, Brock and Misty prepare for their long journey to Valencia Island to bring back a mysterious Poké Ball for Professor Oak. After discovering that the trip will take a month to get there, Ash manages to win a free blimp ride so it will take only a day! Once on board, they realize the blimp is being powered by Team Rocket! And things only get worse from there!''

Plot
As they prepare to depart for Valencia Island, and  pick up supplies at a grocery store. Ash suggests walking to the island, but 's guidebook says that it will only take less than a day traveling by blimp. While the blimp arrives, two men sponsor a contest where the winner gets a prize just by showing their store receipt to them. Ash shows his receipt and wins a free trip on the blimp, leaving his friends dumbfounded. Meanwhile, receives an assignment from  to join the organization's Dirigible Brigade, and their duties include operating a blimp. Unbeknownst to them, it is a scheme to get rid of the trio, since Giovanni only maintained the blimp's insurance policy and not its integrity for decades.

Ash and the others reach the blimp yard and see a broken-down blimp. Two men approach them and warn that the blimp is haunted. Jessie and James, disguised as an air-hostess and pilot, respectively, push the engineers out of the way, and push the group on board. appears and notices a lever that resembles a microphone. As it jumps to into it, it unexpectedly causes the ballast water to be released, and the blimp begins to soar into the sky. Jigglypuff finds its foot tangled in some rope and is also carried off.

Once on board, the group notices how deteriorated the blimp truly is. Meanwhile, fixes dinner while Jessie and James act as waiters. When Ash complains about the ride, Jessie and James find out from Meowth that no one is flying the blimp. The pair desperately tries to commandeer the blimp, but they fly it into a big storm. Suddenly, notices that  is missing. They set out to find it in the inflated portion of the blimp, where they encounter what they believe to be a ghost. However, it is actually revealed to be Jigglypuff covered in a white sheet.

Eventually, Ash and his friends meet up with Team Rocket and begin a Pokémon battle. At one point, Brock's Geodude throws James's Weezing through the blimp, causing it to rip apart. Misty finally spots Togepi on a high ledge, so Ash has try to grab it with its vines. Team Rocket takes the opportunity and attempts to steal, but their plan is thwarted when the blimp hits a pocket of turbulence, forcing them to fall out of the aircraft. Meowth makes a parachute from some of the blimp's fabric, but Jigglypuff lands on top of it and starts to sing. They fall asleep, and Meowth lets go of the fabric, causing the trio to fall into the ocean and drift away.

Ash and the others rush to take control the blimp and try to land it. Using their Pokémon as counterbalances, they are able to steer the blimp and crash-land it on Valencia Island. Now safely on land, they continue to Professor Ivy's lab to obtain the mysterious Poké Ball.

Major events

 * ,, and leave Kanto and travel to the Orange Archipelago, arriving on Valencia Island.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Convenience store workers
 * Mother and daughter
 * Airport employees
 * Convenience store workers
 * Mother and daughter
 * Airport employees
 * Airport employees

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



Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture:
 * Pokémon senryū summary: ; a stretching and contracting, long tongue.
 * The dub of this episode was renamed "Spirits in the Sky" after the . However, this may have only been temporary, as reruns keep the original dub title. It also remains unchanged on the official Pokémon website, both on the title card in the episode and the title on the website.
 * This episode's renamed dub title is a reference to the song "".
 * 's song is to the tune of "".
 * This is the first English episode of the.
 * This episode's title is formatted as A Scare In The Air on the DVD menu of Australian DVDs.

Errors

 * This episode, Pallet Party Panic, and Poké Ball Peril use the Pokémon Theme instead of as the opening in the Kids' WB! and Cartoon Network airings, the Netflix and Pokémon TV video-on-demand, and Australian DVD releases. However, the US DVD releases use Pokémon World.
 * When Jessie and James empty water from the blimp, outside camera shots of the blimp occasionally show any water being expelled.
 * The blimp in this episode has a rigid metal framework, which would make it a, not a.
 * When the blimp crashes at the end, it turns to more of a yellow color.
 * In the first scene, when and  are at a convenience store, the sign outside says "convinience".

Dub edits

 * Pikachu's Jukebox:

In other languages
Flug des Grauens EP084 EP082 EP082 無印編第82話 精灵宝可梦 第83集