EP076

Fire and Ice (Japanese: こおりのフィールド！ほのおのたたかい！ Ice Field! Blazing Battle!) is the 76th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on December 24, 1998 and in the United States on November 6, 1999.

Blurb
''Ash's second battle takes place on the Rock Field where he relies on his Squirtle to hopefully take down a Nidorino. In between matches, Ash needs to drop off his Pokémon at the Pokémon Center to have them taken care of. Team Rocket takes this opportunity to make one more attempt at stealing Pikachu. They set up a Pokémon Center of their own and when Ash drops off his Pokéballs, they grab them and run! When he finally gets his Pokémon back, Ash must race to make it to his third match of competition, which will be held on the Ice Field.''

Plot
As wins his second preliminary  on the Rock field with, it is revealed that  was watching Ash's battle with his cheerleaders. He scoffs at Ash's confidence for winning what he calls two easy matches. Gary walks off while his entourage cheers Ash's name, seemingly jealous and a bit spiteful toward Ash.

later arrives at the group's accommodation, only to notice Ash's absence while takes care of Ash's Pokémon. She criticizes his selfishness, and the two soon reunite with Ash and, who are in midst of searching for a place to eat. Ash soon locates an all-you-can-eat buffet restaurant, where he and Misty indulge. During the meal, Pikachu saves 's life from falling cutlery, though Misty only sees Pikachu performing a seemingly dangerous stunt. She warns her Pokémon not to follow suit and goes on to criticize Ash's training methods.

Afterwards, Ash and search for a Pokémon Center so Ash can heal his Pokémon before the third round, but they find the Centers are all crowded. Noticing this, decides to use this opportunity to swipe  by opening a fake Pokémon Center. James, disguised in a nurse outfit with a face-mask, lures them into the auspicious building, where Ash submits his Pokémon for healing. However, Brock becomes suspicious when he isn't attracted to the Center's Nurse Joy, who is actually Jessie.

While Ash and his friends are talking, they mention a few keywords that trigger Team Rocket to recite their and reveal themselves. As a result, Team Rocket is forced to destroy the fake Center and flee in their balloon. Brock's Onix stops them and retrieves Ash's Pokémon. After biting a hole into their balloon, Onix sends Team Rocket blasting off again. Afterwards, the group hears that new Pokémon can now be admitted into the Pokémon Center. Ash takes this opportunity to heal his Pokémon.

Later on, Ash is now in the middle of the third round match with Pete Pebbleman on the Ice Field, and both Trainers are each down one Pokémon. Ash uses for the battle, while Pete uses  for the battle. Pete orders Cloyster to into its spiked shell, helping it defend itself from Kingler's barrage of s. While Ash fears that Kingler will be exhausted, Misty and Brock encourage him to keep going, since Cloyster is still losing health despite the defense boost. Kingler keeps hitting Cloyster with its Crabhammer until Cloyster's shell finally cracks, knocking it out.

Pete recalls Cloyster and sends out. Kingler tries a attack, but Pete's Arcanine dodges it and uses. Kingler is caught in the icy twister, but with Ash's plea, it manages to stand up. Ash still recalls Kingler and sends onto the battlefield. Hoping to confuse his opponent, Ash has Pikachu use and it narrowly evades Arcanine's  attacks. Pete soon reveals his strategy: the Fire Blast attacks were meant to melt the field. The technique takes Ash by surprise, but with Brock's suggestion, Ash has Pikachu dive into the water. Misty reminds him that water conducts electricity, so Ash has Pikachu use, thus defeating Arcanine.

Major events

 * Ash's Squirtle is revealed to know.
 * wins his second and third against an unnamed  and Pete Pebbleman, respectively, in the Indigo Plateau Conference.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Gary Oak
 * Gary's cheerleaders
 * Nurse Joys from many different cities
 * Officer Jennys from many different cities
 * Pete Pebbleman
 * Unnamed
 * Officer Jennys from many different cities
 * Pete Pebbleman
 * Unnamed

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


 * (flashback)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Pete Pebbleman's)
 * (Pete Pebbleman's)
 * (unnamed 's)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Mandi's; flashback)
 * (Pete Pebbleman's)
 * (Pete Pebbleman's)
 * (unnamed 's)
 * (Pete Pebbleman's)
 * (unnamed 's)

Trivia

 * Professor Oak's Pokémon Lecture: Indigo Plateau Conference tournament format
 * Pokémon senryū summary: On the field, choosing the Pokémon, is difficult.
 * 's challenger on the Rock Field is left unnamed in both versions.
 * 's ability to identify fake Nurse Joys is first seen in this episode.
 * As Ash is looking for a place to eat, he passes a movie theater with a poster for , the movie of which he helped produce.
 * This is one of the very few times in the anime that refers to Ash by his first name instead of "twerp" or "brat".
 * After James suggests to Jessie and that he has a plan to steal, Team Rocket break the fourth wall by saying "So let's all get to work and get on with the show!"
 *  can be heard during the parade.
 * This episode's title is formatted as Fire And Ice on the DVD menu of Australian DVDs.

Errors

 * In the dub version, when Misty refers to Hit Points her words are mistranslated as Attack Points (Pontos de Ataque).
 * On the posters in the village, the é in Pokémon lacks its accent.
 * While Team Rocket is reciting their motto the white piece of paper behind them covering part of the "R" is missing the blue design and text.
 * As the Officer Jennys run past Ash and Misty, Ash comments on the large amount of them. However, when a group of Nurse Joys run past, Misty calls them Officer Jennys instead.
 * Misty says that Brock and Ash need to get all of their Pokémon back, but only Ash's Pikachu was stolen.
 * The scoreboard prior to Ash's battle on the Ice Field erroneously shows him as the Red Competitor on the right side when he's the Green Competitor on the right side.
 * Nidorino only attacked without his Trainer's commands.
 * When Brock tells Misty that Ash was "starving", Brock's shirt collar is discolored, making it look like his head is disconnected to the rest of his body.

Dub edits

 * Pikachu's Jukebox: 2.B.A. Master
 * North American DVD releases and Pokémon TV cut roughly 13 seconds from this episode. Immediately after Ash and Pikachu pass by the movie theater showing Pokémon in Love, there are several shots showing Pokémon-related merchandise, including Clefairy figures, Gengar cotton candy, and Cubone bobbleheads. Pikachu taps the head on one of the bobbleheads, causing it to bob and say its name. Ash and Pikachu laugh and move on. This segment is still present in the broadcast and streaming versions, as well as Australian DVDs.
 * Ash's "collection plate" joke is dub-only; in the original he just states he doesn't have any money.
 * Ash asks Pikachu if he's practicing to be in the circus while spinning a plate but in the original he warns him the people in the restaurant will get angry.
 * In the original, Team Rocket references getting expensive makeup from Hollywood and having to patch together their older balloons; in the dub, they talk about taking a vacation and leaving with Pikachu as a souvenir.
 * mentions in the dub, the only time it is referenced in the anime. She just talks about "taking damage" in the original, however.
 * The "take a dive" misunderstanding was originally referring to a Japanese proverb equivalent to "fortune favors the bold", but with the Japanese word for float (浮かぶ).

In other languages
Feuer und Eis EP078 EP076 EP076 無印編第76話 精灵宝可梦 第77集