AG077

A Fan with a Plan (Japanese: 強敵！？ママさんコーディネーター登場！ Formidable Enemy!? Mother Coordinator Enters!) is the 77th episode of the, and the 351st episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 20, 2004 and in the United States on May 7, 2005.

Blurb
May is headed for the Rubello Town Pokémon Contest, where at least one ribbon is needed to enter. She runs into Drew, and both of them are mobbed by the Mothers for Pokémon—a group of women who adore Pokémon Coordinators. One of them, Savannah, is a Coordinator herself, and will be competing in the upcoming contest, but she is really nervous.

Jessie from Team Rocket wants to enter the contest but can't since she has never won a ribbon.

Later, May is practicing outside the Pokémon Center when she spots Drew with his new Masquerain. She tries to show off her Bulbasaur, but it won't listen to her.

The next day, May is helping Savannah practice when they are accosted by Team Rocket, who takes both May's and Savannah's ribbons. The kids take down Team Rocket's balloon, and Jessie returns the stolen ribbons. Savannah's Lairon uses a Water-type move to send the thieves blasting off.

Savannah's daughter Sandra reassures her mother, while May is feeling confident again about the contest.

Plot
enters Rubello Town, on their way to 's next Gym, when Max spots a poster for a Pokémon Contest which is set to begin the next day. is delighted and quickly decides to enter. , however, notices a mysterious symbol on the poster, "R1," the meaning of which is not known to the group. Fortunately, Nurse Joy explains that in order to enter the Rubello Contest, a must have earned at least one Ribbon. In the Pokémon Center, May runs into Drew, who is also entering the Pokémon Contest. After insulting May, she gets angered with him, but before anything can happen, Drew is engulfed by a swarm of rabid female fans. Drew isn't exactly happy to see these fans, as they lean towards the obsessive side, but May becomes jealous nonetheless. The jealousy is forgotten when one of the women recognizes May and the group crowds around her instead. However, the fans seem more interested in Norman than either May or Max. During the discussion, Savannah, the head of the group, explains that they saw May in the Contest. Savannah also reveals that she will be entering the Rubello Contest as well. The group also introduces themselves with a cheer as the Mothers for Pokémon, also known as MFP. They are a group of wives and mothers who love Pokémon. They decide to throw a party for May and Max. One of them tells Ash that he isn't on the list of "promising and handsome young s."

Meanwhile, enters the town very fatigued, but Jessie, upon seeing the Contest poster, decides to enter. James and groan. When she discovers that she needs a Ribbon to enter, and having none, she decides to steal one and enter the Contest. Back at the reception, Savannah and the MFP compliment May and her father, Norman. Ash mutters angrily to himself, saying he does all the hard work, training and Gym battles, and is jealous of May. Nonetheless, Ash vehemently denies his jealousy when Max asks about his complaining. At the other table, Savannah and May realize that neither of them have picked Pokémon for the Contest. Savannah shows May her and. While showing May her Pokémon, Savannah reveals that this R1 competition requires the use of two Pokémon; one for the appeals round and one for the Battle Round. While Savannah only has to decide the order, May faces a more difficult decision; picking two candidates from her four Pokémon lineup. While Brock and Savannah go grocery shopping and meet Savannah's daughter Sandra, May, Ash, and Max talk the Pokémon choice over. Savannah and Sandra invite the company to dinner in the end.

May trains late into the night, testing all four of her Pokémon to see which is the best choice for the upcoming Contest. stumbles and trips in its attempted combination, but May remains confident and happily remembers the compliments she got from the MFP earlier that day. Her reminiscence is interrupted by Drew's voice, calling out orders to his new. Drew notices May watching him and brags that "winning this Contest will be a cinch." Drew also notices May's Pokémon, and inquires about her new Bulbasaur, a rare find in the Hoenn region. Drew insults May's Bulbasaur as undisciplined. His comments provoke May, who decides to use Bulbasaur in the Contest, a decision which startles the rest of the group. Meanwhile, Savannah nears the breaking point from stage fright, but completely forgets her fear at the sight of Bulbasaur, which she says was her first Pokémon long ago. May and Savannah decide to start a practice battle to train, with Bulbasaur having the disadvantage against Savannah's Flareon. However, the battle is cut short by Team Rocket's interruption.

James and Meowth are less than enthusiastic about the Ribbon theft operation, but Jessie sends out her to combat the Pokémon Savannah and May already have out. However, Ash, Brock, and Max quickly arrive on the scene. Flareon's is deflected by. Ash's Pikachu and Brock's Lombre and are quickly called out to join the battle. Dustox uses while Pikachu uses  to block. Wobbuffet deflects a pair of attacks. Jessie orders her Dustox to attack Sandra with, but that's the breaking point for Savannah. She becomes angry that Jessie would dare attack her daughter and orders Flareon to launch another Flamethrower attack. Wobbuffet steps forward, but the attack was aimed at the balloon, not Wobbuffet. Team Rocket goes down in flames. Jessie declares that she would rather give up James and Meowth than the Ribbons. This angers James and Meowth, who convince Jessie to surrender the Ribbons to the group. Sandra and Savannah launch a which sends Team Rocket blasting off. In the end, the Coordinators anxiously await the start of the Rubello Town Contest.

Major events

 * and arrive in Rubello Town and meet up with Drew again.
 * decides to enter the upcoming R1 Rubello Town Pokémon Contest.
 * Drew is revealed to own a.
 * May's Bulbasaur is revealed to know.

Humans

 * Savannah
 * Sandra
 * Mothers for Pokémon (MFP) members

Humans

 * Max
 * Jessie
 * James
 * Nurse Joy
 * Drew
 * Norman (photo)
 * Savannah
 * Sandra
 * Mothers for Pokémon (MFP) members
 * Savannah
 * Sandra
 * Mothers for Pokémon (MFP) members

Pokémon
Pokémon Trainer's Choice:
 * (Drew's; debut)
 * (Savannah's)
 * (Savannah's; debut)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Drew's; debut)
 * (Savannah's)
 * (Savannah's; debut)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Drew's; debut)
 * (Savannah's)
 * (Savannah's; debut)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (Pink, picture)
 * (picture)
 * (picture)

Trivia

 * In this episode, uses a  of their motto.
 * The dub title is a pun of the phrase "a man with a plan".
 * The poster in the beginning of the episode shows a  among other Pokémon.  chooses to use  this episode.
 * Advance Adventure and music from Mewtwo Strikes Back are used.

Errors

 * This most infamous segment incorrectly claims that  evolves into .  and the other two choices,  and, don't evolve at all, and  is the only Pokémon in an evolution chain.
 * In both the original version and the dub, May mentioned that she used in the  Contest, but she actually used  in the Contest in question.
 * When Team Rocket does their, Jessie states that the Contest is tonight, but at the end of the episode, May says the Contest is tomorrow.
 * Also in Team Rocket's motto, James states that Jessie's winning streak would go from zero to two, but with May's two Ribbons and Savannah's Ribbon, her "winning streak" would be three.
 * However, he probably said it so it would rhyme.
 * Savannah calls Brock "a men who really understands".
 * When May checks with her Pokédex, her glove is not covering her thumb.

Pokémon Trainer's Choice

 * Question: Trainers, Which one of these Pokémon evolves into ?
 * Choices:, ,
 * Answer: OK, Trainers! If you chose, you were !

In other languages
MFP-Girls wollen Spaß! EP353 AG077 AG編第77話 精灵宝可梦 超世代 第77集