AG009

Taming of the Shroomish (Japanese: 怪奇！キノココ屋敷の謎！？ Bizarre! Mystery of the Mansion!?) is the ninth episode of the  and the 283rd episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on January 23, 2003 and in the United States on December 6, 2003.

Blurb
''Ashes, May, Brock and Max have arrived at a small city on their way to Rustboro City. Brock decides to stock up on supplies, while Max is eager to go hunting for city dwelling Pokémon. Max soon stumbles upon a very frightened Shroomish who is hiding in an alleyway. Ash, Max, Pikachu and their new Shroomish friend head off to find a Pokémon Center. On their way they pass by a deserted mansion that is being torn down. There, the gang learns that not long ago most of the city was forest and that many, many Shroomish lived in the area. They also learn that strange things are going on at the mansion, and many people believe that it's haunted. A little investigation reveals that the mansion is actually inhabited by all of the Shroomish who used to live in the forest. When the forest was destroyed, they had nowhere else to go. All of the strange noises and smells that the construction workers were hearing were actually the Shroomish! The grandson of the owner decides to tear down the mansion as planned, but to convert all of that land into a forest for the Shroomish.''

Plot
After making it out of Petalburg Woods, we find our heroes in Rinshin Town. wants to go window shopping, wants to get something to eat,  needs to stock up on supplies and Max is all for Pokémon hunting. May and Brock go to the shops while Ash and Max go out to eat. Meanwhile, Jessie, James and are working as manual laborers on a building site in the city, tearing down an old, disused mansion. The other workers are worried by what seems to be ghosts in the mansion. May drags Brock off to look at fashion and accessories. He's extremely bored. He would rather be buying medicine and ingredients for Pokémon food, but May says that can wait. Eventually, he gets his stuff and they're walking through the streets when they hear a girl mention a curse. May is instantly interested and eager to hear the tale of a haunted mansion, where workers have been quitting because of strange happenings. Brock gets scared but she insists on going over to check out the "haunted house".

After eating a burger, Ash and Max head off to the alleyways in the city, where they peer in looking for Pokémon and spot a, who doesn't look too happy. Max wants to feed it and make friends with it, so Ash hands over some Pokémon food. Shroomish is suspicious and uses ; Ash and Max quickly back away. Afterwards, Ash takes out some of Brock's Pokémon food, stacks it on a piece of paper and sets it in front of the Shroomish. Shroomish still doesn't want to eat it, until jumps down from Ash's shoulder and takes a piece to show that it's safe to eat. Shroomish tries the food and loves it. Ash and Max are surprised because Shroomish is in the city instead of the forest, where it normally would be. They think it might have been separated from its Trainer and maybe they should take it to a Pokémon Center. Max takes out a handkerchief and ties it around the top of Shroomish's head, as a gift. Shroomish is very happy with this. Max picks up Shroomish and they head off.

Brock and May are inspecting the haunted mansion, and Brock comments that they really should let it go. May's still very excited about the prospect of ghosts. Ash, Max, Pikachu and Shroomish stop in front of an old mansion. They're spotted by, and Jessie and James immediately drop the log they're holding to hatch plan to catch Pikachu. Meowth is left holding the log, which drops on top of him. Shroomish, still in Max's arms, gets very distressed and runs off. Ash and Max follow it. Shroomish goes into the mansion through a broken window. Ash and Max see May and Brock just outside where Shroomish went in, and they're surprised to meet each other there. They are explaining what happened when a man comes up to them and tells them that they should not be there. He says it's impossible that there could have been a Shroomish, explaining that when he was a boy and his owned the mansion there were Shroomish everywhere. He loved playing with them as a kid but they all went away as the forest disappeared. Ash and Max insist, so he decides he'll have to go inside and see for himself. The others follow him.

Inside, they find Shroomish saying "mish, mish" very sadly. Two other Shroomish emerge and they all start talking, looking frightened. Pikachu goes to talk to them, while the humans decide that they must be upset because they'll have no home when the mansion is torn down. Team Rocket turns up to try to capture Pikachu, with the help of and. A whole herd of Shroomish stampede over them and use Stun Spore. Afterwards, Ash sees a picture on the table and they realize it's the man and his grandfather playing with the Shroomish.

Team Rocket decides they want revenge on the Shroomish and get hold of another vehicle. This one is airtight to stop the Stun Spores. They bash the mansion to force all the Shroomish out of the house, then pick them up with the machine one by one. The first Shroomish is angry and leads its comrades in a Stun Spore barrage, but since Team Rocket's vehicle is airtight, nothing gets through and that includes fresh air. The Stun Spores go off towards the city, but Brock's heads it off with a  attack. Jessie and James start feeling weird from lack of oxygen so Meowth opens the windows. This lets in fresh air, but also the Stun Spore. They get stunned and then all the Shroomish use to tie them up. May's burns through Team Rocket's giant net/basket with its  attack to free the other Shroomish. Afterwards Pikachu uses to defeat Team Rocket.

The man who owns the mansion explains it's too late to stop the destruction of the building. He says he'll replant the whole area full of trees so there will be a forest like there was before, and the Shroomish agree enthusiastically. Ash, May, Brock and Max wave goodbye to the man and the happy herd of Shroomish.

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Alex
 * Alex's grandfather (flashback)
 * James
 * Alex
 * Alex's grandfather (flashback)

Pokémon
Who's That Pokémon?:
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)
 * (Alex's; multiple)

Trivia

 * The title of this episode is based on that of the Shakespeare play .
 * Advance Adventure is used as background music.
 * This episode marks the first of many times where Max befriends a Pokémon.
 * This is the first "filler episode" in the.
 * When the start grouping up, just after 's attack, Jessie calls them, and James states they are . These names would later be assigned to two Pokémon of Generation V, also based on mushrooms. Coincidentally, James would catch an.

Errors

 * James's Cacnea had the three dark green diamonds under its mouth and the four point shape at the top of its head colored black like its mouth when it was attacking the herd of . It can also be seen for the top of its head during the first time the camera looks at Team Rocket after the start of the Stun Spore attack inside the mansion.
 * In the first shot of window shopping, the mannequins had heads. In the second shot, they didn't.
 * When May sends out, its voice is heard but its mouth doesn't move.
 * The blurb for the episode misspells 's name as Ashes in the first sentence.
 * This has since been corrected.

Dub edits

 * The credits of this episode uses the instrumental version of the theme.

In other languages
Die heimatlosen Knilz EP285 AG009 AG009 AG編第9話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第9集