What's your favorite episode (or episodes) of the Pokemon Anime?

[Beloved.BrokenWings]

And why do you like that particular episode?

 

[Karamazov]

@Beloved.BrokenWings; moved your thread to the Contest and Games section, as it fits the criteria for posts there.

 

[Misty Calls Masquerain]

#10: Fossil Fools- Johto has had so many great episodes and this one is no exception. The characters are great, the plot is engaging, and Team Rocket is funny in this episode, too, and it also has the one moment of Brock pulling Misty's ear!

#9: Charmander The Stray Pokemon- This is part of the Kanto Pokemon starter trilogy, and the best one, too. It's really sad, too. It has a great mix of everything needed for a great story: Emotion (Charmander and Damien), humor (TR), lightheartedness (Damien's demise), darkness (Charmander could have died), everything.

#8: Grin To Win!- This episode is an example of world building done RIGHT, I like the fact that they were able to help Sonrisa and her depressed Sunflora, and it was funny, too. The Sunflora contest was a unique idea, and Meowth's Sunflora disguise which would be repeated in multiple episodes after this one debuted here.

#7: Sick Daze- Brock gets sick, so Ash and Misty have to do everything without him, one would figure they'd be able to do just fine, but they mess up. The highlights of the episode were Brock's weird dreams, and Ash trying to bath Brock's Pokemon. I liked Brock's Golbat here, too (it was so protective of him)

#6: The Joy of Water Pokemon- This is one of the best Misty episodes, they had an interesting plot with Misty meeting one of her heroes (a nurse Joy who hated Water Pokemon) and they handled it pretty well, and I liked how Nurse Joy sucked it up and healed the pained Gyarados, but didn't get over her fear magically. I hoped to see how that particular Nurse Joy did in a Chronicles episode, but it wasn't to be.

#5: In The Pink- Like Grin to Win, this had great worldbuilding for the Orange Islands. An island of pink Pokemon isn't the most interesting concept, but it's executed pretty well It's also one of the few episodes where Togepi's secret power is alluded to. I liked the scene where Team Rocket thought Jigglypuff was special...until they realized all Jigglypuff are pink.

#4: Illusion Confusion- Funny episode! The premise was cliche on the surface (they get lost in a dark forest), but execution makes it work perfectly! The Hoothoot that led them out of the forest was funny, Gary was...Gary (which means he was awesome), and I liked Brock's comment about Hagatha (something that ugly can't possibly be real!), as well as Ash's "There aren't any pretty girls around!".

#3: Pikachu's Goodbye- This was one of the most emotional episodes of all time, we all knew Pikachu wouldn't leave, but it was still sad, the sudden mood whiplash from funny to sad worked in its favor, my favorite line was James's "Why don't you visit our World Wide Web?".

#2: Battle Aboard the St. Anne- Awesome episode! What could have been a generic filler of them on a boat evolved into Giovanni attacking the St. Anne and the TR grunts trying to infiltrate it. I was sad when Ash traded Butterfree for Raticate (even though they traded back), and the funniest part was James getting scammed by the Magikarp Salesman. I liked when everyone worked together to stop Team Rocket, that was an awesome scene. It also led up to Pokémon Shipwreck and Island of the Giant Pokémon, which themselves are great episodes

#1: The Fortune Hunters- Everyone shined in this episode! I liked the idea of a fortune hunting scam done by Cassidy and Butch, and everyone finding what type they were was interesting! Ash=Bellsprout, Brock=Onix, Misty=Gyarados (I think her anger speaks for itself XD), Jessie=Eevee (didn't see that coming), James=Moltres! I liked James being more confident (He was BY FAR the best character in this episode), and this scene is one of the funniest ever, even more so when you're older: James is FLAMING - YouTube

 

[G50]

* Charmander the Stray Pokemon - This was always one of the most emotional episodes for me.
* Electric Shock Showdown - The one episode I've watched more than any other in the history of Pokemon. I've always been fond of this particular episode, due to the episode rivalry between Pikachu and Raichu for the Gym battle. I thoroughly enjoyed how Pikachu used strategy to win in the end.
* Misty Meets Her Match - For some reason I always liked the Rudy vs Ash battle a lot compared to other battle episodes, especially with Squirtle learning Hydro Pump in it.
* Hello Pummelo/Enter the Dragonite - Of all Pokemon League battles, this one I've enjoyed far more than any other. Ash's Pokemon using teamwork to take down Dragonite, and Ash using a whole lot of strategy to win in the end.


My top favorite episodes in general are all from the Original Series, not really sure why.

 

[Team Gaara]

Electric Shock Showdown: This episode is the reason Raichu is my favorite Pokemon and why Lt. Surge is my favorite Gym Leader. They're both badasses.

 

[Lillie]

It's too hard for me to say, I have way too many favorites XD

Anyways I like the episode Strategy with a Smile. It shows Dawn's character development by having her finally win a contest while going through a slump and beating May, a really good coordinator.