EP090

Stage Fight! (Japanese: おどる！ポケモンショーボート！ Dance! Pokémon Showboat!) is the 90th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 1, 1999 and in the United States on February 12, 2000.

Blurb
''Ash, Misty, and Tracey buy tickets to the Pokémon Showboat, a wonderful carnival where Pokémon can speak and perform plays! A young actress from the performance has been having problems with her Raichu ever since it shocked her early in their relationship. Ash and Pikachu may be able to help. Of course, they'll have to deal with Team Rocket first, as they attempt to steal all the talking Pokémon.''

Plot
As they continue exploring the Orange Archipelago, and  they stumble upon a floating theater called the Pokémon Showboat, where all of the actors, singers, and dancers are Pokémon. The three of them decide to see the show and enter the boat. They watch as referees a boxing ring match between  and  while  watches. As the show comes to an end, Ash says that he guesses there are more Pokémon than just who can talk.

Suddenly, wanders off behind the stage. The others run after it and find out that the Pokémon in the performance were lip-syncing to human voice actors hidden backstage. A young actress named Kay appears and yells at the group to be quiet. As the performance ends with the Pokémon dancing onstage, Roger, a voice actor, asks Kay send her out to the stage to dance with the other Pokémon. Raichu then appears from behind a box, but when Kay asks it to perform, it sits there sadly and refuses. Ash's group and the voice actors then sail to the next island, Kinnow Island. Ash thanks Roger for taking them along and asks if there is anything they could do in return. He replies that he would like Ash to teach Kay some pointers on how to become closer with her Raichu. Meanwhile, are pursuing the vessel in their Magikarp submarine and plot on stealing the performing Pokémon.

Back on the floating theater, Ash is trying to teach Kay how to get along with her Pokémon. He asks her to show him a performance with her and Raichu, which she does, but Raichu continues to do nothing. Ash then tries to give Raichu some words of encouragement, but ends up getting shocked in the process. Later on, Ash tries to talk to Kay about Raichu. Kay blames herself for Raichu not wanting to perform. She explains that when she first met Raichu, the approached her, and in its excitement, it nearly shocked her. Kay reacted instinctively and threw Raichu off her and into some crates. Since then, Raichu was too nervous to perform with Kay because it could sense Kay's fears of being shocked again.

Just then, Team Rocket fires two torpedoes at the paddle steamer, which sends Raichu flying into Kay's arms. Raichu starts to shock Kay, but she reassures it, saying that it was okay and that she isn't afraid of being shocked anymore. Team Rocket then appears on the boat. Ash tries to stop them, but Roger insists they comply to avoid destroying the Pokémon Showboat. With everyone tied up, Team Rocket goes to steal the performing Pokémon. As they do, Meowth notices Raichu crying and threatens it, only to get shocked instead. Hitmonchan attempts to intimidate Meowth and James, but upon noticing Roger's eye movements, it pretends to agree with James.

The voice actors manage to get up, even with the ropes still around them, and distract Team Rocket by voicing over their Pokémon. The trick works, and Team Rocket is convinced; Meowth even sympathizes with them, knowing the struggle that talking Pokémon face. The trio soon finds themselves surrounded and are intimidated by the Pokémon's tough talk. Hitmonchan uses and burns James' face. James angrily sends out, only for him to get devoured by it. Jessie then sends out James's Weezing and orders a, which chokes everyone on the ship, except for Ash and his friends, who break free from the ropes. James calls back Weezing and the smoke disperses. Ash and Tracey then confront Team Rocket with and. Meanwhile, the voice actors have broken free and Kay rushes over to her cowering Raichu. Everyone watches on in amazement as Kay then teams up with her Raichu and uses to blast Team Rocket off the boat.

As the boat stops at another island and prepares for the next show, Ash takes the time to call on the video-telephone about the floating theater. Just then, Kay runs out of the boat and informs Ash that Roger cannot perform in the show because he lost his voice from Team Rocket's earlier. Kay fills in for Roger's part, while Ash, his friends, and their Pokémon join the stage performance.

Major events

 * Tracey's Marill uses for the first time.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Roger
 * Kay
 * Len
 * Roger
 * Kay
 * Len

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

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture:
 * Pokémon senryū summary: Free, Free; a freely flying.
 * This episode aired on the second anniversary of Pokémon - I Choose You!
 * This episode's dub title is a reference to the popular saying "".
 * The first lines of the poem that Kay recites are from  by Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
 * The part of the show where Hitmonchan and Machoke were fighting each other is a reference to the movies.
 * When helps with the performance at the end of the episode, he remarks, "It's kinda hard to match the lip flaps, isn't it?" This is a reference to "," which is a problem faced by production companies such as 4Kids when dubbing anime.
 * When bites down to James's head, Jessie calls James's Weezing out instead of him and tells it to use.
 * In the last scene where all of the Pokémon are dancing, Aim to Be a Pokémon Master was played in the background. In the English version, was played.
 * The dancing scene is the only time a 's feet have ever been seen.
 * This is the first episode since its debut where Ash's Lapras does not appear.
 * Despite the fact that both the preceding and succeeding episodes are included, this episode was missing from Netflix when S02 was still available on Netflix, likely because of its depiction of Jynx.
 * This episode is not played on Pokémon TV, and the Pokémon.com synopsis lacks pictures of Jynx, likely due to this past controversy.
 * As of April 2013, it is removed from Pokémon.com entirely.
 * It is also removed from the re-release of the Orange Islands DVD box set.
 * In addition, it was skipped by Hungama TV and Disney XD in and was replaced by Bound For Trouble.
 * The Pokémon Junior book Raichu Shows Off follows the plot of this episode.

Errors

 * In the scene where shocks, Meowth's Japanese voice can be heard in the English version.
 * At one point during the dancing scene, Jynx's feet are colored in red.
 * When uses, he used  instead.

Dub edits

 * Pikachu's Jukebox: What Kind of Pokémon Are You?
 * In the original version of the episode, Kay and Ash voiced over Raichu and Pikachu, respectively, using their normal voices. In the dubbed version, they used higher pitched, comedic voices.

In other languages
Theater, Theater... EP092 EP090 EP090 無印編第90話 精灵宝可梦 第91集