BW129

←	BW128 : To Catch a Rotom!

The Pirates of Decolore!

BW129

EP786

デコロラ諸島の海賊王！
The Pirate Kings of the Decolora Archipelago!

First broadcast

Japan	June 6, 2013
United States	September 7, 2013

English themes

Opening	It's Always You and Me
Ending

Japanese themes

Opening	夏めく坂道
Ending	手をつなごう

Credits

No additional credits are available at this time.
Animation	Team Kato
Screenplay	大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Storyboard	西田健一 Ken'ichi Nishida
Assistant director	西田健一 Ken'ichi Nishida
Animation director	小山知洋 Tomohiro Koyama

The Pirates of Decolore! (Japanese: デコロラ諸島の海賊王！ The Pirate Kings of the Decolora Archipelago!) is the 129th episode of Pokémon the Series: Black & White, and the 786th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It first aired in Japan on June 6, 2013 and in the United States on September 7, 2013.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

It’s a beautiful day at sea, and our heroes are enjoying the fresh air on deck when a Croconaw, Azumarill, and Octillery sneak aboard unnoticed. The three break into the ship’s supply room to steal boxes of food and discover Team Rocket attempting to do the same thing! The ship’s alarm sounds, and Porter says it can only mean one thing—pirates!

Pikachu and Snivy go to investigate and spot the three pilfering Pokémon pushing a cart loaded with stolen food. Several of the ship’s crew give chase, but the crooks have obviously done this sort of thing before. They swiftly get themselves and their loot aboard a raft (where Ducklett, the fourth member of the gang, waits as a “getaway driver”), and off they go, but not before knocking Team Rocket off the ship and into the ocean!

While Meowth vows to get the grub back, Officer Jenny of the Decolore Island police informs our heroes that this is the work of a well-known gang of pirates, who have been stealing all sorts of things from people throughout the islands. Ash, Iris, and Cilan offer to help, and they all set out aboard Officer Jenny’s police boat in search of the gang’s hideout.

Meowth has discovered the hideout, but when the pirates discover him, they attack despite pleas to talk things over. Soon, Charizard finds the gang’s hideout from the air and guides the police boat there. Officer Jenny attempts to put the gang under arrest, and Ash asks why they’ve been behaving so badly. With Meowth as translator, all four Pokémon pirates relate sad stories of being mistreated and abandoned by their Trainers. After that, they vowed to get even with people by stealing from them! Pignite and Snivy can relate to their plight, but as tempers flare, the battle lines are drawn. If the pirates lose, they agree to stop their thieving ways. And that’s exactly what happens.

Our heroes and Officer Jenny are preparing to leave when a sudden storm blows up, and they notice a rubber raft being tossed on the waves with three petrified Darumaka aboard, holding on for dear life! The water is too rough to take the police boat out, but Croconaw rallies the gang, and the four of them swim out and bring the raft safely to shore. Officer Jenny is impressed with their bravery and offers to make them members of the Decolore Coastguard, but not before they go back and apologize to everyone they have stolen from.

And so, with the future looking bright for the former pirates, our heroes set sail once again on their journey to the Kanto region!

Plot

On a cruise ship during their travels through the Decolore Islands, the group watches as the Pokémon play with a ball. Porter approaches them and offers them some drinks. Meanwhile, in the water, two Pokémon emerge, an Octillery that climbs up to the ship's deck and a Croconaw, who watches on. While the Pokémon are playing, Ash's Pignite makes a bad pass and goes after the ball. However, when he finds it, the Octillery jumps over him and then throws a boltrope down to the water. Croconaw holds on to it and an Azumarill joins as well, Octillery pulls a capstan lever and the three proceed to board the ship.

In the ship's storage, other stowaways, none other than Team Rocket, sneak in through the ventilation system in order to steal some food. However, before they get a chance, the Water-type Pokémon appear and steal the food first, carrying it off the ferry. Ash and company hear the alarm and rush to help when they see the Pokémon getting away with the food. Porter is quick to identify them as the thieving culprits. Team Rocket gives chase, though Azumarill uses its tail to fling the trio overboard. Croconaw and its gang see Ducklett bring in the log raft, so they throw the boxes of food down into the water. As Ash and friends approach, the Pokémon attack to make their getaway. Ash decides to try and stop them using Oshawott to go after the getaway raft. But even after Oshawott gets on the raft, he doesn't attack them, and instead laughs. This made the Croconaw order the Octillery to cover Oshawott`s face with ink, making Oshawott recall himself to his Poké Ball. The pirate Pokémon continue on their way, but Ash is determined they won't get away with stealing food that doesn't belong to them, so he calls outs Charizard to follow the pirate raft to their hideout.

While Charizard is searching for the pirate Pokémon, Jessie and James have struggled to their nearby submarine to catch their breaths. Realizing that Meowth is nowhere to be seen, they assume he went after the pirate raft and decide to head after it as well. Meowth clings onto the side, biding his time as he prepares to teach the pirates a lesson when someone steals from Team Rocket.

On the cruise ship, Iris cleans the ink out of Oshawott's eyes and tells him not to be upset, as there wasn't anything he could have done. Porter reveals there have been plenty of reports of pirate Pokémon operating in the area. Iris and Cilan both agree that the Pokémon must have their reasons for stealing food. After docking, Porter and the group give details to Officer Jenny, including what type of Pokémon were involved in the food thefts. Jenny takes notes and says this is the usual gang of pirates, who have stolen a fisherman's boat, food from beachgoers and fruit from a farmer. Because of the number of Decolore Islands, Jenny has been unable to locate their hideout.

Charizard eventually spots the pirates' hideout, which is located in a hidden cove. The pirate Pokémon begin unloading into a cave, watched by Meowth who ponders how to reveal the location to Jessie and James. Unfortunately for him, he is spotted by Ducklett who immediately alerts the others that they have been followed. Meowth tries to be diplomatic, asking if they can't just talk this out, but they refuse. Croconaw has Octillery jumps onto Meowth, wrapping him up in its tentacles. All this is observed by Charizard as well, and he heads back to inform Ash of the pirates' location.

Jenny has no choice but to bring Ash and company with her on the cruiser, motoring along behind Charizard as he leads the way. Cilan notices all the scuba gear, to which Jenny explains that the police force also acts as the coastguard. Jenny is surprised when she sees the island that Charizard is taking them towards. It's a well-known resort island that appears on all the maps. Cilan suggests that they're hiding in plain sight, and Jenny says this is why she was never able to find them.

At the hideaway, Meowth is trying to convince the pirate Pokémon that they're all on the same side. He tries to impress them with the reveal that he is part of Team Rocket, but they've never heard of it, which just infuriates him. Going into a little rant he insists that Team Rocket is a super-secret organization that is going to rule the world, then corrects himself, insisting that they already rule the world. The pirate Pokémon are unimpressed though, and still don't consider Meowth an ally. They have other problems, though, when Meowth and the pirates spot Officer Jenny's cruiser.

Meowth takes off first and the pirate Pokémon prepare to do the same but are forced to halt by the sheer power of Officer Jenny's voice when she declares they're under arrest. The group demands to know why they were stealing to begin with, since people and Pokémon should get along well together. Furious, the Pokémon angrily reply, which Meowth translates for the humans. He reveals that the Pokémon were all abandoned by their Trainers for petty and callous reasons, e.g. losing battles, failing to evolve, evolving, etc. After their abandonments, the four of them struggled by themselves for a long while, sometimes even going days without food, before eventually teaming up and turning to piracy as both a way to sustain themselves and as payback against humans for their mistreatment by their former Trainers. Pignite understands their feelings as he was abandoned by a bad Trainer as well, but assures the pirates that not all people are bad. Snivy speaks up too, reminding everybody that she abandoned her Trainer, having no patience for such a loser. Ash then asks the pirates not to steal anymore. When they refuse, Meowth translates a conversation between Snivy and Croconaw, with the two challenging each other to a battle. If Snivy wins, the pirate Pokémon have to stop stealing on their behalf.

While Jenny is unsure of all this, Ash insists that they resolve this complex issue with a battle. Officer Jenny agrees to referee a two-on-two battle with Ash's Pignite and Snivy up against Croconaw and Azumarill. The battle kicks off immediately with Croconaw taking a shot at their two opponents, who barely dodge in time. The action is fast, and there's a decided disadvantage to Ash who for once can't hear the orders being given by his opponent. Snivy and Pignite are mostly on the defensive, Pignite taking a shot of Water Gun hard to the chest. Iris is concerned, Pignite is weak against water moves, but when Pignite leaps up ready to keep fighting, Cilan reminds her that spirit counts as well. Pignite and Snivy finally go on the offensive, slapping the two pirates with Vine Whip and chasing them with Flamethrower. Snivy trips Azumarill with Vine Whip and Pignite blasts them both with Flamethrower. Croconaw helps Azumarill back up and retaliates with an Iron Tail. But Snivy can attack from range and uses Leaf Storm effectively, backing them off before Pignite finishes things off with Fire Pledge. Croconaw and Azumarill are knocked out, Pignite and Snivy are the winners, and the pirate careers of the Pokémon are over.

Defeated, the pirate Pokémon sit sadly on the beach as the group reminds them of their promise. Jenny then insists that they give up their life of crime, and the pirates reluctantly nod in agreement, giving their word. However, new voices get their attention, which turns out to be Team Rocket. Ash sighs and tells Team Rocket that they should give it up, but Meowth happily rejoins his buddies and says that Team Rocket never will. Jessie and James offer the pirate Pokémon to join them and continue their careers in evil. Furious, Iris insists they butt out, but Jessie retorts in disagreement and brings out Woobat to fight. James also calls out Yamask, and they blast attacks at the group on the beach, who have to dodge aside. Ash has his team reply with a Leaf Storm and Fire Pledge one-two punch, and to their great surprise Team Rocket find themselves blasting off too soon, according to them.

Iris tells the pirates they will end up like Team Rocket if they keep doing bad things, an idea which horrifies the pirate Pokémon, causing them to shake their heads fearfully. Just then, storm clouds roll in and the sea becomes disrupted, and Jenny warns that this is a regular occurrence. Suddenly, they spot an inflatable raft with three terrified Darumaka inside of it. The waves are too choppy to use the cruiser to rescue them. The pirate Pokémon prevent Ash from sending in Oshawott, insisting that they will handle things. They leap into the water and swim to the Darumaka, guiding them to shore, even saving them from falling into the water when a particularly powerful wave kicks them into the air. Following the successful rescue, Jenny reunites the Darumaka with their Trainers and then suggests that the Water types join the Decolore Coast Guard. They accept Jenny's offer, but they must first apologize to everybody whom they have stolen from, which they agree to do. Later, Ash and his friends depart on their cruise ship and wave goodbye to Jenny and the former band of pirate Pokémon who now work for her as a Water Rescue Squad.

Major events

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: Black & White, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

Characters

Humans

Dare da?

Ash
Iris
Cilan
Jessie
James
Officer Jenny
Porter
Sailors (×2)
Trainers (×2)
Trainers (silhouettes; multiple)

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Octillery

Trivia

Professor Oak's Pokémon Live Caster: Golurk
The opening animation is updated to include Professor Oak's Rotom.
Pikachu once again uses his talent for mimicry in this episode to impersonate Azumarill.
The Decolore Islands pirates share some parallels with the Squirtle Squad. Both consist of Pokémon who were abandoned by their Trainers, and both gave up a life of crime to work in public services (in this case, the Decolore Coast Guard).

Errors

Jessie's earrings error

There is inconsistency in regards to the color of the ship railings. While the railings in the roofed ship terrace are colored red in most scenes, when they are shown from the outside and during full views of the ship, they are blue. Since the ship itself and Porter's color schemes features blue, the railings are probably supposed to be blue as well.
In one scene, Jessie's earrings are colored red.
When Ash tells Charizard to chase the raft, his zipper is colored the same as his skin.
When Charizard goes flying in search of the raft, the downside greenish part of its wings is upside, and the upper orange parts of its wings is downside.
While riding the boat, Oshawott sits on Ash's lap, but when he leans over to talk to Officer Jenny, Oshawott disappears.

Dub edits

In other languages


Language		Title
Mandarin Chinese		杰可羅拉群島的海賊王！
Danish		Decolores pirater!
Dutch		De piraten van Decolore!
Finnish		Decoloren merirosvot!
European French		Les Pirates des îles Décolores !
Greek		Οι Πειρατές των Ντέκολορ!
Italian		I pirati delle Isole Cristalline!
Korean		데코로라제도의 해적왕!
Norwegian		Piratene på Decolore-øyene!
Polish		Piraci z Decolore!
Brazilian Portuguese		Os Piratas de Decolore!
Russian		Пираты Деколор!
Spanish	Latin America	¡Los piratas de las Islas Decolora!
Spanish	Spain	¡Los Piratas de Decoloras!
Swedish		Decolore-piraterna!
Thai		เจ้าแห่งโจรสลัดบนหมู่เกาะเดโคโรรา!