The Mystery is History (Pokémon the Series: Original Series)

"The Mystery is History" (Japanese: なぞのポケモンＸ！！"Mysterious Pokémon X!!") is the 220th episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on October 18, 2001, and in the United States on November 23, 2002.

Plot
While two sets of Team Rocket villains set out to capture the Legendary Pokémon Lugia, Ash runs into his old friend Richie and his partner, a Pikachu named Sparky!

Why It Rocks

 * 1) This episode is a good way to start the Lugia Trilogy Arc, and it shows.
 * 2) It's really nice to see Ritchie again after a three season absence (Seasons 2-4).
 * 3) The plot is very well done. The gang meets up with Ritchie, from the Indigo League, again and they go on an adventure to help a Lugia and its child, a baby Lugia.
 * 4) When the gang went to the deserted island, they greeted a new character, Oliver, with his Lantern, and they had a nice introduction to each other.
 * 5) The music is amazing, and fits really well with the episode, as usual.
 * 6) While Oliver was hiding Silver, a Baby Lugia, from Ash and the others, it’s understandable since he wants to protect Silver and make sure it’s not caught by bad guys, and it’s heartwarming.
 * 7) This is one of the episodes where the Team Rocket antagonists are really funny, mainly with Jessie, James and Meowth, who are funny as usual, and also threatening, with Cassidy and Butch showing up again, and part of the capture Lugia operation with Dr. Namba, a new Team Rocket villain.
 * 8) Great animation in its time, especially for the Master Quest season as usual.
 * 9) The way Team Rocket tried to capture Silver was handled well, as our heroes helped save Silver with their Pokémon, using Oliver’s Lantern, as well as Ash’s Bayleef, and Ritchie’s Pupitar, and Luka also helped, and they managed to force Team Rocket to retreat for now.
 * 10) The heroes had a nice talk with Oliver about Silver, and they understand why Oliver lied, so he can protect it from bad people like Team Rocket, and they nicely greeted the baby Lugia.
 * 11) Oliver’s backstory of how he meet Silver was good, showing that even legendary Pokémon save the lives of humans and other Pokémon.
 * 12) The parent Lugia shows up, and the heroes convince it that they were protecting Silver from Team Rocket, and both Lugias went into the sea together, with the gang accompanying them.
 * 13) Jessie, James and Meowth disguise themselves as special Team Rocket grunts, which was funny and clever.
 * 14) Dr. Namba reveals his evil plan of using Lugia’s power for his Pokémon power magnifying project.
 * 15) While the heroes were relaxing and having fun, Silver was tricked into being captured by Team Rocket, which is completely unexpected.
 * 16) Great cliffhanger ending: Despite the heroes’ efforts to stop Team Rocket, they successfully got away with Silver, shocking the heroes, and leaving everyone, as well as the audience, with suspense and excitement for the next episode.

Bad Qualities

 * 1) Jessie, James and Meowth are poorly treated in this episode. They get disrespected by other Team Rocket members, even if they are on the same team. They even sunk inside their own submarine, thanks to Cassidy and Butch pushing them aside with their bigger submarine.
 * 2) There is a dubbing/translation error in the English dub: Ritchie told his Pupitar to use Take Down, which (of course) Pupitar cannot learn that movie, while in the original Japanese dub, he told Pupitar to use Headbutt.

Reception
"The Mystery is History" was met with positive reception and critical acclaim among fans and critics. It was scored an 7.4/10 on iMDB.com.

Trivia

 * Ash and James both reference The Power of One by mentioning the Lugia they saw in said movie, thus making the movie canon to the main series.
 * This episode marks a rare instance in which Jessie and James wear black uniforms prior to mh:terribletvshows:Pokémon the Series: Black & White.
 * Music from The Power of One can be heard briefly in this episode.
 * The Japanese title of this episode is similar to the original title for The Power of One, "The Phantom Pokémon X's Explosive Birth", a movie which also featured a Lugia.