EP188

Spring Fever (Japanese: ここほれウリムー！おんせんをさがせ！！ Dig Here ! Search for the Hot Spring!!) is the 188th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on March 8, 2001 and in the United States on February 2, 2002.

Blurb
''As Todd and our heroes take a lunch break on a rocky mountain top, a Swinub rushes at them from a nearby crevasse. Misty is startled and drops her lunch. As the Swinub quickly swipes it, two more appear followed by a pint-sized girl named Peggy. She explains her father uses the Swinub to sniff out hot springs for hotels wanting to build resorts. Unfortunately, the Swinub's sniffers haven't been up-to-snuff and they haven't honed in on a hot spring in months. When Team Rocket try to steal the Swinub, the ensuing battle is just what they need to warm up to the search for hot springs!''

Plot
As, , and continue traveling with  in search of the Legendary Pokémon , they see a large mountain in the distance and decide that it's the perfect place to find Articuno. They decide to stop for lunch and sit on top of a rock, eating rice balls. A nearby sees the rice ball that Misty is holding and charges towards it, causing Misty to drop her rice ball. The group watches as the Swinub enjoys the rice ball, and two more Swinub join it. Todd takes pictures of the three Swinub eating the rice ball as Ash looks up Swinub on his Pokédex.

A girl appears, telling the Swinub to stop stealing food from strangers. She apologizes to the group and scolds the Swinub, calling them Su, Ein, and Ub in the process. She introduces herself to the group as Peggy and reveals that the Swinub belong to her father. Peggy brings the group to her father, Rory, who is a professional digger. The company he works for assigned him to find a hot spring in the area so that they could build a resort there, but he hasn't been able to find any hot springs in the area for months. Rory reveals that Su, Ein, and Ub help him find hot springs by using their keen sense of smell to sniff out hot, steamy water from the ground. Just then, the Swinub seem to have found a hot spring, as they are circling around a certain area of ground. Rory sends out his and has it dig through the ground, while Todd takes pictures of the moment. Meanwhile, is hiding nearby and watching the group. Jessie fantasizes about the hot springs and decides that they are going to find a hot spring. She says that they will help the group find a hot spring, and that all the hot springs will eventually belong to her.

Rory expresses his disappointment, as the hole they dug up ends up not being a hot spring. Rory tells the Swinub not to worry and gives them food. Jessie and James, disguised as construction workers, approach Rory, introducing themselves as workers that the resort company sent to help him out. Ash and his friends decide to help Rory out, as well. Everyone digs through various areas, but all are dry and have no hot springs. Jessie and James decide to try another area and ask Rory if they can borrow his Swinub and Graveler, which he agrees to. James manages to catch the Swinub in a bag, while Jessie leaves Graveler behind due to it being too heavy to carry or drag. Peggy goes around looking for Su, Ein, and Ub and finds James struggling to keep the Swinub inside the bag. Peggy calls out to the rest of the group, and Rory asks who Jessie and James really are. Jessie and James recite their, revealing themselves. At the end of the motto, appears in a sled, and Jessie and James jump into it. Ash, Brock, and Rory run after them but fall into a pitfall trap.

Ash sees a few boxes outside the house and comes up with an idea to use them to chase after Team Rocket. The group quickly catches up to Team Rocket, but Meowth pours some "Super Slippy Oil" onto the ground, slipping them up. Team Rocket goes through a small cave, and when they crash onto the ground, Meowth accidentally drops the container. The group makes it through the cave but lands in a large puddle of the oil, and they all go spinning off into different directions. While Todd is spinning around, he spots Articuno flying through the sky. He takes out his camera to take a picture of it, but when he finally stops spinning, Articuno is nowhere to be seen.

The Swinub circle around a certain area, and James and Meowth dig a hole in the area. James hits a certain spot, causing oil to burst out of the ground. Jessie and Meowth mourn the fact that they didn't find a hot spring when they realize that they found an oil well. However, James realizes that they've punched a hole in a company's pipeline, and Team Rocket runs away so that they won't get caught and go to jail. watches them run away and goes back to the group, informing them of the direction Team Rocket went. The group catches up to Team Rocket and Ash sends out while Misty sends out  and Rory sends out Graveler. Jessie and James send out and, respectively. Totodile and Poliwhirl keep Arbok and Victreebel occupied while Graveler moves to grab the Swinub back. Meowth jumps in front of the bag holding the Swinub, but Graveler quickly knocks him out with. Rory unties the bag, freeing the Swinub. James sends out his and Jessie's Wobbuffet pops out of its own Poké Ball, so Team Rocket has all of their Pokémon out.

Ash is about to battle, but the Swinub suddenly appear to be extremely angry. Rory realizes that the Swinub want to take care of Team Rocket. One of the Swinub charges towards Arbok, who uses on it. Ein uses on Arbok, freeing the other Swinub. Jessie commands Arbok to use a Fang Attack, which the two Swinub dodge. Ub uses on Wobbuffet, who counters it with. Todd is fascinated by the battle and takes various pictures, when Jessie suddenly appears in front of him and makes various poses, causing Todd to walk away. Jessie brags about her modeling career to James when they realize that the battle is still going on. James has Weezing use, but Poliwhirl blows it away with. Rory has Su, Ein, and Ub use, which s all of Team Rocket's Pokémon. The Swinub then use Tackle on them, and Totodile and Poliwhirl use, blasting Team Rocket off.

Peggy thanks Ash and his friends for helping them save the Swinub, and Ash compliments the Swinub. Suddenly, the Swinub sniff a certain area of the ground and jump up in excitement. They jump around that area in a circle, and Graveler digs through it. Everyone watches in anticipation, when Graveler makes its way out of the hole. The ground shakes, and water comes bursting out of the ground. Rory, Peggy, and the Swinub celebrate their achievement, and Todd snaps a picture of the moment.

Ash and his friends bid farewell to Rory, Peggy, the Swinub, and Graveler. The episode ends as the group heads towards the mountain in search for Articuno.

Humans

 * Jessie
 * James
 * Todd Snap
 * Rory
 * Peggy
 * Todd Snap
 * Rory
 * Peggy

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


 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's; ×3; Su, Ein, and Ub; debut)
 * (Rory's)
 * (Rory's)

Trivia

 * This episode is the first time the "To be continued" graphic simply appeared on the screen instead of the screen resizing to show the graphic.
 * This episode's dub title is a reference to the illness ; it may also come from swine fever.
 * Hot Springing a Leak has a similar plot to this episode.
 * The names of the Swinub in this episode are Sue, Ein, Ub, which, if said together quickly, become their species, . The same applies to their Japanese names, U, Ri, and Moo are the three syllables that comprise Urimoo.
 * This episode is featured on the Volume 5: Ice copy of Pokémon Elements.
 * In the Japanese version, before Meowth starts travelling on the sled, he says "Nyarth, !", which is a reference to the catchphrase from the character of Amuro Ray in , "Amuro, !".

Errors

 * In the dub, Jessie commands to use a Fang Attack on two of the . She most likely meant to say  and it was simply misunderstood when dubbing.

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
Heiße Quellen EP190 EP188 無印編第188話 精灵宝可梦 第189集