EP169

Beauty and the Breeder (Japanese: さよならロコン！ポケモンビューティーコンテスト！！ Goodbye ! Pokémon Beauty Contest!!) is the 169th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on October 19, 2000 and in the United States on October 6, 2001.

Blurb
''Brock checks his e-mail at a local Pokémon Center and finds Suzy, the Pokémon breeder who gave Brock Vulpix, has contacted him regarding a Pokémon beauty contest. She is looking for a Pokémon to enter the contest with and Brock agrees to return her Vulpix. When they meet in the contest city of Bonitaville, Suzy suggests they enter the contest together. However, before the contest can commence, Team Rocket seize all the Pokémon! Will our heroes be able to track Team Rocket and return the bevy of Pokémon beauties?''

Plot
As and  rest up at a Pokémon Center,  decides to check his email inbox. He finds an email from Suzie who is taking part in the Pokémon Beauty Contest in Bonitaville, but she requires a Pokémon. Brock and his friends rush over to the event, and he begins grooming to be entered in the contest. However, are there as well, they don some fashionable Pokémon Stylist outfits and plan to enter the contest to become rich and famous. As Ash’s group look for Suzie, Vulpix takes off and leads the group directly to her. Vulpix happily licks its Trainer’s face. Brock walks over and nervously gifts Suzie a bouquet of red roses. Brock also announces that he is happy to see that Vulpix is reunited with Suzie. She then invites Brock to enter the contest with her as partners, and Brock agrees before collapsing in embarrassment. Ash looks for ’s assistance with Brock, but she is too busy talking to a Trainer with a. The young male is irritated by Misty’s questions, and Suzie calls for the Trainer by his name, Zane, and tells him to be a little more polite. Zane immediately calms down and apologizes. Later he joins Ash’s group and Suzie for a tea break, where Suzie reveals that she and Zane have known each other since nursery school and are rivals in the stylist world. Zane has differing opinions on what makes a Pokémon beautiful, and considers their outside appearance to be more important. Though Suzie believes that a Pokémon's beauty comes from the inside. Zane soon leaves to continue preparing for the upcoming contest. Brock tells Suzie that they need to focus on their own entry and that Zane is their competition. Suzie nods in agreement.

Jessie and James put the finishing touches on ’s look. Meowth looks into a mirror and begins to tear up at his transformation, but his teammates are quick to cover his mouth to avoid being discovered. Ash and Misty takes their seats in the audience, where they read the programme to see that Brock will be entry number 37, and Zane is directly after them. The announcer calls for entry number one to enter the stage. Though Team Rocket kidnap the young man and his to take their place. The trio enters the stage with an extravagant display of groomed and painted Pokémon while reciting a variation of their. ,, , , and Meowth impress the crowd who eats it up until Officer Jenny is brought to the stage by the real first entrant. She throws them out because James runs his mouth. The contest continues as normal until Meowth tries his idea.

Later, Jessie and James appear in the contestant waiting area dressed as doctors and tell everyone that the contest rules have changed and that every Pokémon needs an examination. All the Pokémon are corralled into a room and subsequently into a container being lifted by the Rocket balloon. The contestants get worried and a group led by Zane starts to bang on the door demanding to see their Pokémon. Brock sends out his and has it break down the door. Everybody rushes out to see Team Rocket trying to escape with their Pokémon. Ash sends out to pop Team Rocket's balloon, causing them to hit the ground. uses to break the lock off the container and all of the Pokémon inside rush back to their Trainers. Jessie sends out her and James orders his  to use. As Ash tells Pikachu to get ready, Suzie's Vulpix and Zane's Ninetales use on Victreebel, burning the leaves and protecting Pikachu. Then both Vulpix and Ninetales use, sending Team Rocket blasting off again. Misty immediately notices Vulpix and Ninetales teamwork, while Brock realizes that Zane is a better match for Suzie.

The competition continues as normal with our heroes watching backstage. Zane admits it is important for Pokémon to look beautiful on the inside and outside. He then proposes opening a joint Pokémon beauty salon with Suzie. Everyone supports the idea, including Brock who ends his infatuation with Suzie. Brock and Suzie then bring out Vulpix for the contest, but the overall winner is left unknown.

Major events

 * and meet up with Suzie again.
 * returns to Suzie.
 * Brock and Suzie enter the Pokémon Beauty Contest, but it is not revealed whether they win or lose.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Officer Jenny
 * Nurse Joy
 * Suzie
 * Zane
 * Competitors
 * Audience
 * Zane
 * Competitors
 * Audience

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


 * (returned to Suzie)
 * (Zane's)
 * (competitors'; ×2; Entry #1)
 * (competitor's; Entry #36)
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 * (competitor's)
 * (competitors'; ×2)
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Trivia

 * states that he always knew wasn't his and that he would have to return it one day, this episode being the moment.
 * This episode features a contest for s. It is very different from for Pokémon Coordinators introduced later on.
 * Jessie's Advanced Generation Contest costume is reminiscent of the one seen in this episode.
 * In this episode, Jessie and James disguise themselves as Pokémon Stylists, an -exclusive Trainer class which had not yet been introduced.
 * The 's appearance may be a reference to Takeshi's Paradise, where two identical-looking Exeggutor dance with Brock.
 * The white tuxedo Brock wears in this episode makes another appearance in The Heartbreak of Brock.
 * This episode's English title is the second to reference the movie, . The first was Beauty and the Beach.
 * In this episode, Team Rocket uses a of their motto.
 * Jessie and the announcer for the contest break the fourth wall in this episode, with the latter saying that the audience will only find out who wins the contest "if you stay right where you are." Ironically, the TV audience never finds out who the winner is.
 * This episode is featured on the Crash of the Dairy volume of the High Voltage Collection series, a series of select Johto League Champions episodes on VHS.
 * Brock and Suzie's Vulpix is entry number 37, while Zane and his are entry number 38 in the contest just as Vulpix is number 37 and Ninetales is number 38 in the National Pokédex.
 * Suzie's original English voice actress, Leah Applebaum, was replaced by Megan Hollingshead for this episode.
 * Meowth's make-up looks like a combination of 's and 's "" makeup.
 * One of the beauty coordinators bears a striking resemblance to.

Errors

 * The Pokémon that steal are not dressed up, despite all the Pokémon entered, besides  and, being stylized for the contest.
 * Near the end of the episode, one contestant's has an orange belly.
 * When Zane tells he was jealous when he met Suzie, he refers to Suzie as a "he".
 * In the Italian dub, Suzie and Zane command their Vulpix and Ninetales to use together instead of  against Team Rocket. In the next scene, Ash comments that it was a great.

Dub edits

 * The original airing of this episode on Hungama TV in started the episode directly from the title card, skipping the part of the episode that comes before it.

In other languages
Die Schöne und der Züchter EP171 EP169 無印編第169話 精灵宝可梦 第170集