Trying to figure out which way to go to get to Nacrene City, Ash & co. run into a group of kids with a Trubbish who are rebelling against their teacher for not letting them keep Trubbish. The kids had built a "secret" base out of junk from the junkyard they found Trubbish and proclaiming themselves to be the "Trubbish Squad" and refuse to listen to their teacher until she agrees to let them keep Trubbish. However the teacher and her grandmother are afraid that the junk will collapse and Ash goes over to see if he can't convince the kids to come out and talk. Can Ash & co. help the kids and children reach an agreement? How close is the junk to collapsing and will it? What is the Rocket Trio to do with that rock replica they were given? And has nothing really happened today that the news is forced to report about missing junk? All these answers and more in the review below!

Getting Lost And Mud Thrown At You, A Typical Day:
We meet Ash & co. in a middle of a road checking Cilan's Town Map (I can understand why they are a bit lost, compare how Route 2, Route 3, and Skyarrow Bridge look and then check their position on the Town Map) when they hear a bunch of children. They see said children riding toward them on tricycles and are pulling along a Trubbish who's in a wagon. Ash & co. watch in confusion as two woman come running behind asking for someone to stop them (they're cycling 1, MAYBE 2, miles per hour, I think you can catch up to them...).

"Leader" Kid: Enemy sighted straight ahead! *takes out a ball* Prepare to attack!
Other Kids: Yes sir! *other kids take out balls*
Comment: Looks like it's going to be one of those days for Ash & co..
Ash: What do they mean "attack"?
Comment: They're gonna give you flowers... WHAT DO YOU THINK THEY MEAN! They're holding balls of... some kind...!
"Leader" Kid: Mud bombs ready! And FIRE! *throw mud ball*
Other Kids: Yes sir! *throw their mud balls*
*Mud balls hit Cilan and Ash while Iris jumped out of the way onto a fence post*
"Leader" Kid: Attack successful! Alright! *other kids also cheer*
Comments: At times like this Ash probably wished he had a yellow mouse that can shoot paralyzing electricity... oh wait...

The children cycle by and Trubbish picks up Ash's hat which Ash had knocked off during the "attack" (can you guess what today's episode is going to be about? ). Opener and title later ("Here Comes the Trubbish Squad?" why does that sound familiar?) Iris jumps down from the fence post and asks what's wrong with those kids and Cilan says they aren't innocent pranksters but Ash is busy fuming over his hat being taken (you know they're riding 1, MAYBE 2, miles per hour, instead of watching them cycle away you could have easily ran after them). A voice apologizes and the two woman they saw chasing the children come up with the youngest one explaining they're from her kindergarten class as the older woman says they're sorry once more.

Suddenly the Sunglasses Sandile from BW003 "A Sandile Gusher of Change!" comes digging up, looks around, and digs back underground as we pull out to see a house which Iris's voice is heard exclaiming to look at all the Pokemon Eggs. Inside Ash & co. are indeed looking at a whole batch of Pokemon Eggs which inspires some poetry from Cilan as the older woman says this is her Daycare and her name is Karena and the younger woman is her granddaughter Daniela (guess which of the two woman Brock would have flirted with ) who teaches the kindergarten class (*insert "there are schools in Pokemon?" here*). Ash & co. introduce themselves and Daniela explains the kids found a Trubbish yesterday in a junkyard at the edge of town and brought it to class.

Pokedex: Trubbish, the Trashbag Pokémon. Trubbish prefer to live in dirty places like garbage dumps. It is said they were born when a chemical reaction occurred between an abandoned trashbag and industrial waste.
Iris: It must like garbage.
Comment: NO, ya think?

Ash says his hat isn't garbage as Daniela continues her story saying she wasn't exactly excited to see Trubbish and we go into a flashback of the kids bringing her Trubbish. They say it was crying and asked if they could keep it but Daniela says they can't because Trubbish would make a mess. The kids say they'll clean up after it but Deniela tells them a firm "no" and tell them to take Trubbish it back to the junkyard. The kids keep chanting they want to keep Trubbish and Daniela tells them no again and Trubbish gives a sigh releasing smelly gas as Daniela says it stinks which causes the kids to say it doesn't in rebellion. Daniela decides to take Trubbish back to the junkyard herself and apologizes to it asking it to understand they cannot keep it ending the flashback of her walking away.

Going Behind Kindergarten Lines:
Karena said next morning they found something "you wouldn't believe" and shows Ash & co. a tree with a tree house surrounded by junk which Daniela said the kids and Trubbish built. Cilan mentions it has a "recipe of a secret base" (Cilan, what is your definition of "secret"?) which Ash is impressed by complimenting them for building it as Iris tells him he's not suppose to be impressed. Daniela says that the junk could collapse and she had to do something quick as Karena asks Ash & co. if they can help clean it up which they of course agree to do. But then the "leader" kid comes out from the tree house wearing armor made of cardboard and Ash's hat and, joined by the other kids also in cardboard armor and Trubbish, says that this is the "Trubbish Squad Super Secret Base" and adults aren't allowed. Iris is confused as Cilan says they're just playing games which Iris says that's what kids do which for some reason gives Ash a small smile. Daniela says they have to stop playing but Ash says he'll talk to them as he used to play games like this all the time (him and other kids in Pallet Town used to build secret bases out of junk? Bet you Gary always declared himself king ) and Karena says that's a good idea.

They convince Daniela to let Ash try and him and Pikachu start climbing the junk as the "leader" kid yells "intruder alert" and tells Trubbish to attack which it does with Sludge which just misses Ash and Pikachu but causes a cloud of stink which stops them. The kids then begin to throw mud balls as Ash tries to tell them he just wants to talk but the "leader" kids tells one of the other kids to start the "fan assault". The kids turns on a fan which pulls a rope (I call Tauros mulch, no way a fan's motor is strong enough to pull a rope) which pulls out one of the wooden pegs holding up the platform Ash and Pikachu was standing on. Ash and Pikachu slides down into tires and after recovering he sees the kids surrounding him holding up water guns and the "leader" kid tells him not to move pointing at him with a cardboard/wooden sword. Outside the junk base Iris asks Ash what's going on:

Ash: Well, uh, they kind of got us both trapped.
Iris: Trapped? Will the two of you pull yourself together?
Comment: Iris is right, you're three times taller than them and even if they try attacking you with Trubbish again I doubt Trubbish could withstand one of Pikachu's Thunderbolts, even a weak one.

Ash says that he needs a little bit more time as the "leader" kids tells him prisoners shouldn't speak and Ash and Pikachu get sprayed with water guns and Ash complies (let me remind you that Ash had saved the world multiple times and Pikachu had fought and defeated Legendary Pokemon). The kids take Ash up to their tree house and Ash says he's impressed and asks if the kids built this all by themselves. One of the girls say they did with help from Trubbish and the "leader kids tells her she shouldn't be friendly with the enemy and she apologizes finally revealing his name is "AV". Ash asks if that's his name and he responds that it's Avery to him. Ash introduces himself and Pikachu and the kids are amazed by Pikachu (I have to give the writers credit for not smacking us in the face about Pikachu being a foreign Pokemon for the past few episodes) and they ask if they could pet Pikachu. Ash tells them sure and Pikachu jumps down only to be swarmed by the kids petting and pulling its cheek as it tries to get some space (or not shock them, or both).

While Pikachu is busy being pulled apart, Ash tells Avery he doesn't want to be enemies and just wants to talk which gets Avery to lighten up and ask if he could pet Pikachu too. And when I say "pet" I mean pulling Pikachu's tail as the other kids also tugging on parts of Pikachu. Ash tell them to be careful or they'll get zapped which has the kids back off immediately as Pikachu looks to be getting ready to give off a shock but as it turns out it was only joking (though I'm sure a small piece inside Pikachu added a "sorta" at the end of that sentence). Ash start to teach the kids about Pikachu and its Thunderbolts which Pikachu proudly demonstrates on Ash. Ash says that Pikachu is both cute (really? You're going to go with that word? I mean you do know Pikachu is a guy right?) and powerful as Trubbish walks up and gives them a wink having Ash say it's cute too as Avery and the other kids says it is. Ash says he sees the kids really like Trubbish and Avery gives Ash his hat back apologizing for taking it.

Crocodiles In The Secret Base:
At a train station we see Team Rocket sitting on a bench as a news reporter reports about the junk and Trubbish in the junkyard vanishing suggesting thievery might be involved (okay, who cares what happens to junk in the junkyard? Sure it might raise some questions around the neighborhood but is it nationwide news worthy?) before going into the weather report. Jessie asks "what time is the express train leaving" having who I guess is another Team Rocket agent (what happened to Pierce? Isn't he the Rocket Trio's contact?) answers back and asks if the mission is going as planned which the Rocket Trio says it is. The agent gives them a metal box which contain a replica of a rock they will soon be told more about and gets up to leave but before he does he tells the Rocket Trio that Giovanni has been talking highly of them (in other news, Giratina has called and has asked why is the Distortion World frozen over). Oh, and I hope you enjoyed the R Plot this far because this is all we're getting in this episode!

Back to the junk base, Ash asks the kids to apologize to their teacher but Avery says they didn't do anything wrong and it's all Daniela's fault. Ash asks if it's because she told them to take Trubbish back to the junkyard and Avery answers with a yes adding when they told her no she took it back herself. The other kids say that Trubbish isn't a bad Pokemon and it hasn't done anything wrong. Ash tells them alright but Trubbish does stink as one of the girls at first agrees but when Avery says that Trubbish doesn't stink she quickly agrees with him. Right on cure, Trubbish releases some stink as Avery and the other kids try to "show" that Trubbish doesn't stink by withstanding the smell. Ash, on the other hand, is unable to handle the smell and yells out "TRUBBISH STINKS" getting everyone's attention that's outside of the junk base as him and all the kids except Avery come running out for fresh air.

Avery tells Ash that Trubbish doesn't stink while comforting Trubbish and Ash asks Trubbish isn't Avery a "great buddy" whom Trubbish smiles in agreement but they start hearing a rumble. They look down to the ground to see the Sunglasses Sandile having surfaced as Avery calls out another "intruder alert" and they prepare for another attack. Ash remembers the Sandile and as soon as it sees them, specifically Pikachu, it does a Stone Edge and Ash tells the kids to run away. The kids throw mud balls at Sandile who does a Stone Edge at them which has Trubbish send out Toxic Spikes which absorb into the floor. Sandile walks over where the Toxic Spikes have landed causing it to get hurt (do I really need to explain how that's wrong). With Sandile stunned Ash tells Pikachu to use an Iron Tail knocking Sandile back and Trubbish sends it blasting off with a Sludge (first the Dwebbles and now Sandile, the writers really must have missed blasting someone off). Avery proclaims they did it and they cheer as outside the junk base they hear laughter and wonder why Ash is playing with the kids instead of trying to change their minds (though personally as soon as I heard Ash got CAPTURED by them I would have gone to plan B).

Daniela decides she'll have to take care of it and her, Karena, Iris, and Cilan climb over the junk to tell the kids they need to talk and Iris asking Ash why is he playing with them. Ash says one thing lead to another but Daniela interrupts asking the kids to how long do they plan on staying in the junk which Avery responds until she agrees to let them keep Trubbish. Daniela tells them it's impossible (no it's not, did you ever think about having Trubbish stay OUTSIDE the Daycare if you don't want it inside? If the kids want they could build it a "dog house", I mean if they can built a secret base out of junk a dog house she be a piece of cake) and asks them to try and understand which Avery says he will not and the others kids join in. Ash ask Daniela to at least listen to what the kids have to say but Daniela tells Ash to stay out of it as this is her kindergarten class and it's her job to keep them safe (which I guess makes sense being Trubbish is a POISON-type, not exactly a child friendly type). Ash says it's also the kids kindergarten class but Daniela doesn't want to hear any of it and says she'll have to force Trubbish away and sends out a Deerling (because a Grass-type is the perfect Pokemon to chase away a Poison-type ).

Haha, This Could Have All Been Avoided:
Ash decides to battle Daniela instead and sends Pikachu out (don't know whether to comment about the type disadvantage or not, though considering how Pikachu had apparently reset...) saying that he's part of the Trubbish Squad. Daniela accepts the challenge and tells Deerling to use Tackle which hits Pikachu but it recovers easily and uses a Thunderbolt which Deerling dodges. Deerling tries another Tackle but Pikachu dodges that but the attack knocks some of the junk loose which Deeling starts holding up. Karena tells Deerling not to move or the junk will collapse and tells Ash and Daniela to end the battle as she climbs over the junk. Ash and Pikachu go over to Deeling to help hold up the junk as Iris and Cilan get the kids out of the junk base. Daniela tells Avery tey have to leave but Avery refuses saying he'll stay stay there with Trubbish (um, why not take Trubbish WITH you?). Daniela begs Avery to listen but then a green bookshelf starts to fall on Avery until Daniela runs in front of it and starts holding it up asking Avery to go. Trubbish looks around and sees Ash, Pikachu, and Deerling holding up the junk and Iris, Cilan, and Karena getting the other kids up into the tree house and uses Sludge to start knocking away chunks of junk until the structure has stabilized. Ash thanks Trubbish as Iris says that Trubbish isn't that bad and Daniela start to realize that maybe she was a bit hasty on her decision about Trubbish.

The kids apologize to Daniela for starting all this as she apologizes to them for not listening. Ash asks Daniela to reconsider her decision about not letting the kids keeps Trubbish and after looking at the kids for awhile she turns to Trubbish and asks if it would like to be part of their class which it happily agrees to. The kids start cheering and hugging Trubbish as Karena says that the friendlier Trubbish is to someone the more it'll stop releasing its smelly breath surprising everyone. Cilan asks if Karena knew that all along about Trubbish which she points out that she runs a Daycare. Iris asks why didn't she tell them in the first place and Karena says that she wanted them to find a solution on their own and gives out a laugh (I mean it's not like little kids almost got crushed under junk due to this disagreement, oh wait...). That night Ash, Cilan, Iris, their Pokemon, and Trubbish put the junk back in the junkyard and next moring they day their goodbyes... AND KARENA GIVES ASH A POKEMON EGG (I think this makes it his 4th one, depending if you count Togepi and Larvitar or not)! Karena tells Ash to make sure he raises the Pokemon that'll hatch from it right and Avery and the other kids have Ash promise to come back some time (I can't help but laugh at this as a promise from Ash is like an inside of a bubble: empty) and Ash & co. head off to Nacrene City with Ash having a Pokemon Egg in hand (who wants to bet one of the next few episodes will be about Ash losing the egg and they have to run around finding it again?).