EP246

Wish Upon a Star Shape (Japanese: ピィとピッピとながれぼし！  and and the Shooting Star!) is the 246th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 2, 2002 and in the United States on May 3, 2003.

Blurb
''Ash, Misty, and Brock are traveling along when they notice a strange shape falling from the sky. They run in to investigate, but soon realized that they were not the only witnesses of this event. Two representatives of an organization devoted to uncovering secrets of the Pokémon world arrive just as our heroes discover that the mysterious falling object was a Cleffa. Though these two Pokémon buffs seem a bit eccentric, Ash and friends share their interest in discovering from whence this Pokémon had come, and so they join forces in investigating a mystery that may shed light even on the very origins of Pokémon life on their planet.''

Plot
The episode begins with the group playing and taking a break at night. As, , and watch the moon, they spot a shooting star that is coming out of orbit and heading towards them. As Ash begins to wonder if it was a UFO, something shoots out of it and lands on. Soon, the meteor crashes on the other side of the mountain Ash and the gang are near. It is then revealed two mysterious people are watching, and that a was the object that landed on Phanpy.

Ash looks Cleffa up in the Pokédex, while Cleffa and Phanpy soon come to like each other. Soon, Cleffa points toward the place where the meteor landed. Since Cleffa came from it, the gang thinks it must be a spaceship. Ash and decide to get Cleffa back to its friends. is also watching and decides to capture Cleffa. Just then, two people run up to Cleffa and start studying it, identifying themselves as Ken and Mary of the Pokémon Mystery Club. They ask to take Cleffa, but Ash thinks they may be members of Team Rocket. Upon hearing this, they say Team Rocket is horrible.

When they overhear this, Team Rocket reveals themselves in anger and recite the. The PMC is infuriated by their presence and reveals their machine. The machine shoots out a net, and Phanpy runs off with Cleffa on its back. uses, creating smoke, and Ash, Misty, and Brock run off. While Ash and head toward the mountain, Team Rocket cannot find Phanpy and Cleffa, so they use a divining stick to show which way they went. As they begin to head that way, PMC appears and shows off another machine that resembles a satellite; it shows them where Cleffa is. Then, they bring out another machine, which resembles a snowplow. It quickly catches up to Phanpy and Cleffa while they are at a cliff. Phanpy looks around and knocks over a tree to use as a makeshift bridge and walks across it.

PMC tries to use harpoons to get to the other side of the cliff, but Team Rocket catches up and blasts away the harpoons. PMC inserts a plunger into the blaster and fires it at Team Rocket. Soon, Ash and show up and sneak away while the two teams are fighting. Meanwhile, Phanpy and Cleffa arrive to a hill, as do Ash and the gang. They see a spaceship at the bottom and realize it is the same Clefairy spaceship they saw before. Ash and his friends then see Phanpy and Cleffa. Just as Cleffa and the Clefairy are reuniting, PMC shows up, followed by Team Rocket, who are using the Meowth balloon. It then transforms into a robot and tries to grab Cleffa. Phanpy gets in the way, but is merely thrown aside. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, but it is useless, as the machine is electricity-proof. The Clefairy head into action, just as PMC unleashes yet another machine, a truck with grappling arms. The Meowth robot wrestles violently with the truck, and Team Rocket eventually decides to activate a cannon. However, the are taking apart the machine and using the parts to build their spaceship. Upon seeing this, PMC is confident of their success, but then realize the Clefairy are doing the same to them.

Soon, the spaceship is finished and Phanpy rushes Cleffa to the ship as it starts to take off, but it begins to fall apart. PMC and Team Rocket decide to work together and head toward the spaceship. Pikachu uses and Phanpy uses, energizing the ship and blasting off Team Rocket and PMC. The Clefairy ship begins to take off, and with Cleffa and Phanpy saying goodbye, Cleffa evolves and goes inside. Phanpy begins to cry at the loss of its friend, but Ash cheers it up. Later, PMC finds crop circles created by a.

Humans

 * The Pokémon Mystery Club

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Oswald (flashback)
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Oswald (flashback)
 * Oswald (flashback)
 * Oswald (flashback)

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international),  (Japan)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (flashback)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)
 * (evolves)
 * (multiple; one newly evolved)

Trivia

 * The Clefairy are the same group from Clefairy Tales.
 * The English title of this episode is a reference to the phrase "Wish upon a star".
 * This episode aired in the US exactly one year and one day after its Japanese airing.
 * In the previous episode, a child asked if Clefairy come from space; the subject of this episode is Clefairy and Cleffa that come from space.
 * Ken and Mary were blasted off together with Team Rocket.
 * Ash's Phanpy befriending the in this episode could be a reference to the fairy tale of "".

Errors

 * When the Clefairy spaceship first shows up, it is colored light-gray. However, when the spaceship is seen at the crash site, it is yellow.

In other languages
Vom Himmel gefallen EP248 EP246 無印編第246話 精灵宝可梦 第247集