Pokémon: The Original Series · Johto League Champions arc
EP204 · The Big Balloon Blow-Up
ポケモンききゅうだいレース! あらしをこえて!!
Synopsis
What happens.
Pikachu and Togepi wake up just as the sun rises. The two of them venture out of the group's tent and spot a strange horn in the nearby lake. Pikachu calls out to Ash, and he arrives to see a Rhydon emerge from the water.
Synopsis adapted from Bulbapedia's EP204 entry, used under CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5.
Story arc · EP161-EP212
Johto League Champions.
Continues the Johto badge run. Ash's Chikorita evolves into Bayleef; Brock's Onix evolves into Steelix. Team Rocket gets multiple character episodes that elevate them past gag villains.
Read the full Original guidePokémon featured · 17
Who appears.
Linked entries open the species page on the Pokédex. Items without a sprite (alternate forms, regional variants, generic group references) fall back to a name pill.
More from this arc
Other episodes in Johto League Champions.
Episode synopsis from Bulbapedia, CC-BY-NC-SA 2.5. Editorial context (arc affiliation, cultural moments, character signatures) hand-verified May 2026. Pokémon, character names, and series titles © Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures Inc., The Pokémon Company, OLM Inc. This is an unofficial fan reference.