DP009

Setting the World on Its Buneary! (Japanese: ミミロルとあそぼう！？ Let's Play with !?) is the ninth episode of the, and the 475th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on November 16, 2006 and in the United States on June 18, 2007.

Blurb
When Dawn wakes up to a bad hair day, there's only one solution: have Piplup use Bubble Beam to fix her hair! Yep, it's just another typical morning on the road for our heroes until Pikachu catches the eye of a wild Buneary. Dawn wants to catch it for the upcoming Pokémon Contest, but it's too shy to stick around for long. And when Buneary comes back, both Ash and Dawn want to catch it, but Buneary's too slick for Piplup to handle. That means Ash and Pikachu get a chance!

The only problem is, Buneary definitely has a crush on Pikachu and even hits our heroes with an Ice Beam so it can be alone with Pikachu. This is certainly a new situation for Pikachu, who isn't entirely sure what to do! But when Team Rocket jumps in and steals Buneary, Pikachu bravely offers to go with Team Rocket if they let Buneary go. Team Rocket being Team Rocket, they accept Pikachu's offer and then keep both Pokémon anyway. Pikachu manages to break free and rescue Buneary, and the two then work together to wreck Team Rocket's latest Pokémon-stealing robot.

After seeing all this, Ash and his friends agree that Buneary would be a great addition to the team. However, Dawn decides to observe proper Trainer etiquette and battle it first. This time Dawn and Piplup are prepared for Buneary's moves, including Dizzy Punch, and it's a successful catch! Now Dawn has a new Pokémon up her sleeve for the Pokémon Contest in Jubilife City!

Plot
At sunrise, screams and wakes up a flock of. Nearby, a familiar set of ears perk at the sound. is preparing breakfast, as Dawn's protests wake. He rushes to Dawn's tent, but she tells him to keep out because her hair is messy. Dawn tries to fix her hair manually, but it doesn't work. is amused, and Dawn gets the idea to use Piplup's. Ash is puzzled at the order. Brock drops a potato and simply looks at it. He eventually tosses it forcefully upward. Ash backs up and trips into Dawn, while grabs the potato. The capture impresses a nearby.

Meanwhile, everyone finds out about Dawn's fixed hair. Ash is puzzled by the method. Dawn wants to use the method to fix Ash's hair, but he mentions that he has his. At that word, steals Ash's hat and runs away with it. Pikachu pursues and steals it back with a. However, the hat covers Pikachu's face and he lands in the middle of a path. Officer Jenny almost runs over Pikachu, but Buneary jumps in and gets Pikachu out of danger. Ash reclaims his hat and Dawn catches up, noting the Buneary.

Buneary seems shy, covering her face with her fur. She bounces away, slamming into a tree before escaping. Jenny scolds Pikachu, and Dawn confuses her for the same Jenny in Sandgem Town. Brock shows Dawn that each Jenny is different. Brock is infatuated as usual, but Croagunk calms him with and drags him away. Jenny shows Ash and Dawn a picture of a disguised, involved with stealing machine parts, but they don't recognize them.

Later on, everyone's eating lunch, and Ash decides to the Buneary next time, but Dawn protests because she still needs to catch a, mainly for her first Pokémon Contest. Team Rocket is nearby watching, and while James is working on a machine, the others notice Croagunk is with them. Croagunk stops eating and notices something in the bushes. Buneary jumps out and bounces away. Ash and Dawn pursue, leaving the dishes to Brock.

Dawn takes the lead and has Piplup attack Buneary with Bubble Beam, taking the first opportunity. Ash lets her go first. Piplup misses with, but attacks with Bubble Beam. However, Buneary's freezes the attack, stunning everyone. Buneary uses to knock Piplup down. Buneary seems to be trying to impress Pikachu, and Piplup is now. Dawn doesn't know how to treat the condition until Brock tells her to recall Piplup. But before she can do so, Buneary knocks out Piplup with.

Dawn recalls Piplup and lets Ash take his turn. Pikachu gets ready to battle, but Buneary acts differently, not willing to attack. They finally notice Buneary is attracted to Pikachu. Ash tries to throw a Poké Ball, but Buneary freezes everybody with Ice Beam, though escapes the blast. Buneary dances with Pikachu, spinning and whisking him away.

Pikachu finally frees himself and scolds Buneary, upsetting her and making her cry. Pikachu tries to remedy the situation but he fails. Starly catches up and notices. Buneary suddenly stops crying, ears perking up at something. Suddenly, a glass ball captures Buneary, locking her into Team Rocket's mecha. Starly flies away while Pikachu attacks with. However the attack is diverted to hurt Buneary. Croagunk finds the frozen group and uses Poison Jab to free them. Starly arrives and leads the group to Team Rocket. Pikachu decides to surrender against Team Rocket, and they don't hesitate to capture Pikachu into another glass capsule. Pikachu orders them to release Buneary, but they refuse. Ash and the others find Team Rocket. Buneary tries to free herself with Dizzy Punch but it fails, and Pikachu uses to try to escape. Ash tries to rush over, but Team Rocket blocks him. Jenny arrives and connects Team Rocket as the factory thieves. Pikachu frees himself as Team Rocket detaches a part of the mecha, lifting off with rocket propulsion. Pikachu frees Buneary with Iron Tail. Buneary use Ice Beam and Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to send the pod plummeting. The Pokémon jump off the falling pod. Ash catches Pikachu and Dawn catches Buneary. Jenny tries to arrest Team Rocket, but they run away, with Jenny in pursuit.

Buneary is drawn to Dawn, but Dawn needs to battle her again for an actual catch. She summons Piplup again, leading with Bubble Beam, but Buneary dodges. Piplup tries to evade and use Peck, but Buneary dodges again. Piplup's Bubble Beam and Buneary's Ice Beam is even. Buneary attacks with Dizzy Punch, but Piplup dodges and uses Peck successfully. Dawn throws a Poké Ball to catch Buneary, and after a few moments, it succeeds. Buneary becomes Dawn's first catch and she celebrates. Everyone congratulates her and she lets Buneary back out. Now Dawn is ready for the Contest.

Major events

 * A  develops feelings for Ash's Pikachu.
 * Dawn catches the, making it her first caught Pokémon in her journey.

Pokémon debuts

 * Dawn's Buneary

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Officer Jenny
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Officer Jenny

Pokémon

 * (new)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; images)
 * (new)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; images)
 * (new)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; images)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; images)
 * (multiple)
 * (multiple; images)

Trivia

 * This episode's English title is derived from the idiom "set the world on its ear", meaning to cause excitement.
 * This is the first episode that features a . It consists of scenes showing what will happen throughout the episode later on.
 * Brock's Croagunk is added to Together and By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~.
 * An instrumental version of By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~ is used as background music during the second vs.  battle.
 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia: Gym Leaders
 * Pokémon senryū: ジムリーダー　いのちをかけて　かかってこい Jimu Riidaa, inochi o kete, kakatte koi "Gym Leader, put your life on the line and challenge me."
 * narrates the next episode preview.
 * Interestingly, when Aipom stole Ash's hat in the episode, Ash reacted in a similar manner to when Mankey stole his hat in Primeape Goes Bananas, even though he acted a bit more mature the first time Aipom stole his hat.

Errors

 * In the first airing of the dub the title card has a typo, using it's instead of its.
 * This, however, was fixed for the home video release, reruns and streaming releases.
 * In one scene where they saw Piplup dizzy, Pikachu is standing right next to Ash; however, in the next scene, Pikachu is now on his shoulder.
 * When Ash gets out of bed and stands next to the tent, he is barefoot. After he crashes into Dawn, he is wearing his shoes.

In other languages
Verknallt in Pikachu EP478 DP009 DP009 DP編第9話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第9集