DP002

Two Degrees of Separation! (Japanese: ピカチュウをさがせ！２０２番道路！ Find Pikachu! Route 202!) is the second episode of the, and the 468th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on September 28, 2006, as part of a one-hour special along with the previous episode and the next episode, and in the US on April 20, 2007 as part of a special preview, two days before the American release of Diamond and Pearl. It was later broadcast in sequence in the United States on June 5, 2007.

Blurb
Dawn and Piplup's Pokémon journey is off to a bumpy start! She needs to catch Pokémon so she can become a great Pokémon Coordinator like her mom, but both her and Piplup are having trouble getting the hang of things. After a Buneary and Burmy get away, Dawn spots a Pikachu and tries to catch it before realizing it belongs to another Trainer. When Team Rocket shows up to claim Pikachu as their own, Dawn realizes they're up to no good. A powerful attack from Piplup sends the Pokémon thieves packing!

Dawn brings the exhausted Pikachu to a Pokémon Center and calls Professor Rowan to give him an update. Elsewhere, Ash's search for Pikachu takes him to Professor Rowan's lab, where he learns that Dawn has rescued Pikachu—except she's already left the Pokémon Center to find Pikachu's Trainer. And when Dawn calls Professor Rowan again, Ash has already left the lab to find her!

As for Team Rocket, they're now resting and relaxing at a vacation house belonging to James' family. They've also picked up a new member, James's old Carnivine. Sadly, once James hears his fiancée is headed his way, Team Rocket must hit the road again. Meanwhile, still looking for Dawn, Ash meets up with his good friend Brock and catches a Starly. But none of them notice the surly stranger who's spying on Ash—a stranger whose identity will soon be revealed...

Plot
is riding her bike down when she stops and runs down a grass field, releasing her. As they sit and watch the clouds, Dawn decides to her first. A  pops out of the grass and she scrambles to check it with her Pokédex. She knows that weakening it in will make it easier to catch, so she sends Piplup into battle, opening with. She is psyched at calling her first attack, but Buneary jumps up to dodge. Piplup follows up with, but Buneary jumps aside and uses to knock out Piplup in one shot. Dawn rushes forward to grab her Piplup, but Buneary bounces off her head and runs away. Piplup is upset at failing, but Dawn cheers him up.

Dawn rides along the path, Piplup riding in the front basket, as she maps out her plan to become a Pokémon Coordinator, starting with participating in the. Dawn spots a hanging off a branch and checks it with her Pokédex. Piplup jumps out of the basket and attacks with Bubble Beam right away, the attack removing Burmy's Plant Cloak and causing it to fall off the branch. Dawn applauds Piplup for succeeding, but Piplup frantically points to Burmy scrambling to put its Plant Cloak back together. Dawn remarks on how fast Burmy could go, but Piplup still frantically points to Burmy. Dawn fumbles for a Poké Ball, but by the time she gets it ready, Burmy has already gone. Dawn sinks to her knees in defeat as Piplup consoles her this time. Dawn mentions that she can make mistakes just like Piplup, which does not sit well with the Pokémon.

Piplup hears the bushes rustling nearby as Dawn turns to the source. A, which belongs to , stumbles out from behind the bush, collapsing with exhaustion as Dawn checks her Pokédex. Although the type disadvantage is present, Piplup is willing to take a shot, firing off Bubble Beam. Despite being exhausted, Pikachu manages to use to negate the attack. Piplup follows up with Peck, but Pikachu launches another Thunderbolt to overpower Piplup, sending him flying backwards into Dawn's bike, roasting it in the same manner as 's and 's bikes. Pikachu scratches his head in apologetic embarrassment, as Dawn is furious at losing her bike, throwing the Poké Ball. The Poké Ball opens and tries to pull Pikachu in, but the energy field dissipates, sending the Poké Ball back to Dawn. Dawn realizes that this Pikachu already has a. Pikachu runs away, but a, , and cut him off, surrounding the injured Pokémon. steps out, the ability shocking Dawn as she checks her Pokédex. Jessie and James step out as well with and  in tow as they confront Dawn. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt to shock, but the other Pokémon attack, forcing Pikachu to dodge.

As Dawn watches angrily, she notices Piplup and decides to help out, Piplup firing Bubble Beam to clear the way as they shield Pikachu. Team Rocket recites their, but it has little impact on Dawn since Team Rocket has not spread to Sinnoh. Dawn knows that Pikachu does not belong to Team Rocket, Pikachu clinging to Dawn. Jessie's Seviper attacks Piplup with, binding him as Team Rocket decides to take Piplup as well as Pikachu. Piplup uses Bubble Beam on Seviper, releasing its grip. Meowth sends the three Pokémon forward, but Piplup's Bubble Beam and Pikachu's Thunderbolt stops them and sends Team Rocket blasting off. Dawn and the Pokémon celebrate, but Pikachu collapses with exhaustion. Dawn picks up Pikachu and they head to the Pokémon Center. At the Center, Nurse Joy treats Pikachu as Dawn explains what happened. Dawn calls her mother and informs her about her progress. Dawn admits that she could not catch a Pokémon yet. Dawn and Piplup argue about who was at fault, and Piplup attacks Dawn while her mother and her watch. After the scuffle, Dawn contacts Professor Rowan and talks about the encounter with Team Rocket. Dawn informs the professor that she wants to find Pikachu's Trainer before heading off to Jubilife City.

Meanwhile, Ash's Aipom looks around from atop a tree. Ash calls to Aipom, and she slides down, not being able to spot Pikachu. Ash and Aipom walk away to continue their search. Officer Jenny eventually finds Ash sitting off the side of the road. After telling her of the situation, Officer Jenny gives Ash a ride to Professor Rowan's lab. When Ash meets the professor, Rowan hands over Aipom's Poké Ball before mentioning that his Pikachu is in Dawn's possession. After hearing that, Ash and Rowan place a call to the Pokémon Center, but Nurse Joy mentions that Dawn already left to try to find Pikachu's Trainer. Ash runs out of the lab and heads to the Pokémon Center to try to catch up with Dawn.

Meanwhile, Team Rocket hikes along a road, exhausted after being beaten. James looks up as the group finds James's second summer cottage, where he would go when the first one needed to be cleaned. They enter the cottage, finding the furniture covered and the curtains closed. James opens the curtains as the Pokémon lounge on the couch. James enters another room and finds a box holding his first bottle cap collection. Among the caps, James pulls out a Poké Ball and recounts the Pokémon he played with before. He throws the ball up, releasing the Pokémon, which is a. The Pokémon happily bites James's head and hugs him, much like his. Jessie wants to eat as James calls for his servant over the phone. Team Rocket feasts on several courses as James thanks Mr. Cheeves. Mr. Cheeves then goes on to tell James that he notified his family and that they, along with Jessebelle, are flying out the next day, much to James's horror. Later on, as the Pokémon play video games, James informs the team that they must leave before his family arrives or else Team Rocket is history, knowing that Jessebelle and his parents would make him marry her. Meowth places a call to as they announce their plan to set up in Sinnoh. Though Giovanni does not sound enthusiastic, he approves their plan.

Back at the lab, Rowan manages to contact Dawn, identifying Pikachu's Trainer and that he is heading in her direction. Dawn and the Pokémon head back to Route 202 to cross paths with Ash. Dawn mentions that it would be faster with her bike, Pikachu scratching his head in guilt. Meanwhile, Ash and Aipom run along the path when a truck pulls up alongside and steps out of the cab. Brock introduces Ash to the driver, Claudina. Brock recounts on how he met her in Pewter City and that they have been on the road. He plans to go back with her, believing he has a shot, but Claudina answers her phone, upsetting Brock when he finds out it's her boyfriend on the line and that she has to leave. Claudina pulls away, leaving Brock upset. Brock puts it aside to partner up with Ash once again. At that point, Brock notices Pikachu is missing.

As they walk, Ash brings Brock up to speed on what happened, Brock is astounded that Team Rocket has not given up. Ash checks the map for the Pokémon Center that Dawn was at. Aipom swings through the trees and crashes into a wild, starting a fight. Ash wants to stop the fight, but Brock notices the Pokémon, prompting Ash to check his Pokédex. Ash pulls a Poké Ball out, intent on capturing the -type Pokémon to look for Pikachu. Aipom backs off to launch a attack. It lands, but Starly uses to blow the smoke away. Aipom prepares a, but Starly uses to knock Aipom down before following up with , smacking Aipom several times. Aipom manages to land the Focus Punch, harming Starly enough so Ash can throw the Poké Ball. Starly goes in and the ball rattles before locking, the catch a success. Ash holds up 's Poké Ball in success, but suddenly feels upset that Pikachu was not around to see it. Brock reminds Ash that he caught Starly to help find Pikachu, so he brings Starly back out and they continue searching. Meanwhile, Dawn, Pikachu and Piplup also continue their search for Ash while another Trainer was watching Ash's catch, remarking that he wouldn't bother with a Pokémon which was that easy to catch.

Major events

 * decides to make her debut at the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest.
 * Dawn tries to a  and a, but fails both times.
 * Dawn runs into Ash's Pikachu and attempts to catch him, but fails since he has a already.
 * Ash's Pikachu accidentally destroys Dawn's bicycle.
 * Dawn meets and fights for the first time.
 * Ash meets Professor Rowan for the first time.
 * James is revealed to own a, which he retrieves from his second summer cottage.
 * arrives in Sinnoh and rejoins with.
 * Ash catches a.
 * Paul is introduced.

Humans

 * Paul

Pokémon debuts

 * Ash's Starly
 * Paul's Elekid
 * Paul's Elekid
 * Paul's Elekid

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Officer Jenny
 * Nurse Joy
 * Paul
 * Johanna
 * Professor Rowan
 * Mr. Cheeves
 * Jessebelle (flashback)
 * Claudina
 * Professor Rowan's assistants
 * Mr. Cheeves
 * Jessebelle (flashback)
 * Claudina
 * Professor Rowan's assistants

Pokémon

 * (new)
 * (returns; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)
 * (new)
 * (returns; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)
 * (returns; debut)
 * (debut)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)
 * (debut)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)
 * (in a video game)

Trivia

 * This episode, the previous one, and the following one are the first episodes to air in Japan after the earliest releases of in Japan and.
 * reads the title card.
 * 's second Japanese voice actor, Kenta Miyake, debuted in this episode. His previous voice actor, Hirotaka Suzuoki, passed away on August 6, 2006.
 * Instrumental versions of By Your Side ~Hikari's Theme~ and music from Lucario and the Mystery of Mew are used as background music.
 * This is one of the few times refers to Giovanni by name instead of "boss".
 * The eyecatch features wearing his  clothes with Dawn.
 * Professor Oak's Big Pokémon Encyclopedia: Sinnoh Pokédex
 * Pokémon senryū: こまったら ひらいてみよう ポケモンずかん Komattara hiraite miyō, Pokémon zukan. "When troubled, let's open the Pokédex."
 * From this episode until Once There Were Greenfields, Jessie and James both have three Pokémon each, the first and only time that James has three Pokémon with him at once for more than one episode in the entire series.
 * In the English dub, the title card music comes from seasons one through eight, when 4Kids Entertainment still dubbed Pokémon. This marks the last episode where the original title card music was used in the dub.
 * This episode's dub title is referring to the phenomenon .
 * destroys Dawn's bike in this episode, much as it destroyed the bikes of and  before they decided to travel with Ash.
 * Despite calling the Sinnoh region an island in Home is Where the Start Is,  somehow manages to get all the way there via truck.
 * However, it is still possible that Brock rode the truck while it was on a sea vessel.
 * Jessie apparently forgot who Jessebelle was, despite not only having encountered her face to face, but also having to shout defensively whenever mentions that Jessebelle looks just like Jessie.
 * Jessebelle made an appearance for the first time after 270 episodes.
 * This is the last episode when Team Rocket recite their Battle Frontier.
 * This is the only episode in the anime so far where Pikachu isn't with Ash at any point of the episode.
 * This is also the only time when Pikachu isn't present when Ash obtains a new Pokémon, a fact noted by Ash himself as well.
 * In the video game that James has, is taller than, even though Kangaskhan should be much taller.
 * This episode marks the first time a Pikachu has ever been scanned in the Pokédex, despite having been one of the lead characters since the first episode.
 * This is also the only episode where a was intentionally scanned by the Pokédex.

Errors

 * In one scene toward the end, Jessie's left eyelashes turn the same color as her skin.
 * The background during Dawn's video calls to Professor Rowan are the same despite them both being in different locations.
 * The problem is in the second call, as it looks like the inside the Pokémon Center when it is actually outdoors.

Dub edits

 * When the first three episodes aired together on April 20, 2007, they were made into a TV movie, cutting several parts out. All of these were restored when the episodes aired separately in reruns.
 * When Dawn lets her out so she can talk to it, the episode title is cut out.
 * After Ash finds out where to find Dawn, the transition scene of Rowan sighing and Team Rocket walking is cut out.
 * While searching for Ash's Pikachu by air using his, the remaining part is cut out, moving on to the next episode.
 * In the dub, when s on James's head, he mentions his, which also had a similar habit. Victreebel wasn't mentioned in the original version.
 * Ash caught a Starly that knows . In the games, Starly cannot learn this move. However, in the English dub, this move was changed to, a move that can learn.

In other languages
Gib niemals auf! EP471 DP002 DP002 DP編第2話 精灵宝可梦 钻石＆珍珠 第2集