Brief Summary
This video is a comprehensive guide to Ash Ketchum's journey in the Pokémon anime, from its origins in Japan to his departure from the series. It covers key aspects such as the anime's early days, Ash's character development, his relationships with companions and Pokémon, and significant events like the Indigo League and the Orange Islands. The video also discusses banned episodes, censorship, and the impact of the Pokémon movies, providing a detailed and nostalgic look at Ash's adventures.
- Origins and rise of Pokémon in Japan and the US.
- Ash's character development and relationships with companions and Pokémon.
- Key events: Indigo League, Orange Islands, and Pokémon movies.
- Banned episodes, censorship, and controversies.
- Impact of the anime on the Pokémon franchise and its cultural significance.
The video introduces Ash Ketchum as an iconic character whose journey is ending in 2023, prompting a nostalgic re-experience of his adventures. The video aims to guide viewers through Ash's journey, from his beginnings in Pallet Town to becoming a world champion, spanning over 25 seasons, 1200 episodes, and numerous movies. The video emphasizes the character's impact on fans and the legacy he leaves behind.
The Pokémon franchise began in Japan with the release of the "Red and Green" games in 1996, leading to a surge in popularity that expanded into card games, manga, and other media. The anime, based on the video game concept, premiered on April 1, 1997, following Satoshi's journey to become a Pokémon Master. In North America, the anime premiered on September 7, 1998, followed by the release of the "Red and Blue" video games and the trading card game, creating a "triple threat attack" that fueled pokémania. The English dubbing was handled by 4Kids Entertainment, known for its censorship and edits, which would affect the broadcast of certain episodes in the United States.
Ash is portrayed as a complex character who evolves throughout the series. Initially, he is depicted as a naive and somewhat irresponsible kid with a strong determination. Despite his flaws, Ash's heart and determination endear him to viewers, making him a relatable and rootable protagonist. His frequent failures and losses highlight the importance of perseverance. While Ash's character matures over time, his core themes remain consistent, particularly his connections with his companions.
Pikachu's relationship with Ash is central to the anime, starting with an antagonistic dynamic that evolves into a strong bond after they protect each other. Pikachu's personality shifts from standoffish to caring, and his past remains a mystery, though later revealed. Misty is described as the one who keeps Ash in line, balancing his ambitions with better judgment. She has a complex backstory related to Cerulean City and her own goals. Brock, a gym leader turned Pokémon breeder, supports Ash with his knowledge of Pokémon care and serves as the team's cook and medic.
The series starts with a 10-year-old Ash Ketchum preparing to receive his first Pokémon from Professor Oak. Due to oversleeping, Ash arrives late and is left with Pikachu, who initially dislikes him. Their journey begins awkwardly, with Pikachu resisting Ash's attempts to befriend him. Ash's initial attempts to capture Pokémon fail due to his lack of knowledge. After angering a group of Spearow, Ash and Pikachu are attacked, leading to a bonding moment when they protect each other. Ash steals Misty's bike to get Pikachu to a Pokémon Center, leading to a storm and an attack by the Spearow. Pikachu uses a powerful electric shock to defeat the Spearow, and they see a mysterious golden Pokémon flying above.
In Viridian City, Ash encounters Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy, who are part of a family of look-alikes. He reports the mysterious golden Pokémon to Professor Oak. Misty confronts Ash about her ruined bike. Team Rocket, consisting of Jesse, James, and Meowth, attempts to steal Pokémon from the Pokémon Center. Pikachu, with the help of other Pikachu, unleashes a powerful thundershock, thwarting Team Rocket's plan. Team Rocket sets their sights on capturing Ash's Pikachu. Misty joins Ash on his journey to get her bike repaid.
Ash catches a Caterpie and a Pidgeotto, using Caterpie as bait. Misty teaches Ash about battle strategy. Team Rocket tries to steal Pikachu, leading to a battle where Caterpie defeats Ekans and Koffing. Caterpie evolves into Metapod. A samurai kid challenges Ash to a battle, which ends in a stalemate. A Beedrill steals Ash's Metapod, leading Ash to rescue it. Metapod evolves into Butterfree to protect Ash from a Beedrill attack.
Ash arrives in Pewter City to challenge gym leader Brock for his first badge. Ash's Pikachu is easily defeated by Brock's Onix. Ash spends time with Flint, who tells him about Brock's family situation. Ash battles Brock again, but the sprinklers weaken Onix. Ash refuses to win under these circumstances. Brock gives Ash the Boulder Badge, impressed by his kindness to Pokémon. Brock's father returns, allowing Brock to pursue his dream of becoming a Pokémon breeder and join Ash and Misty.
The trio arrives in Cerulean City, where Misty acts strangely. Ash meets Misty's sisters, who offer him a badge without a battle. Misty challenges Ash to a battle, but Team Rocket interrupts. Pikachu helps defeat Team Rocket and rescue the water Pokémon. Misty's sisters give Ash the Cascade Badge, acknowledging Misty's potential as a trainer.
On the way to Vermilion City, Misty tries to catch an Oddish but is stopped by a Bulbasaur. The group falls into a pit and meets Melanie, who cares for injured and abandoned Pokémon. Team Rocket tries to steal Pokémon, but Ash and Bulbasaur fight them off. Ash battles Bulbasaur and captures him. The group encounters a Charmander abandoned by its trainer, Damien. They learn that Damien abandoned Charmander because it was weak.
Ash, Misty, and Brock rush to help the abandoned Charmander, protecting it from the rain and Spearow. They take Charmander to the Pokémon Center for care. Charmander returns to the rock to wait for Damien. Team Rocket captures Pikachu, but Charmander saves him with a powerful flamethrower. Damien returns, impressed by Charmander's power, but Charmander rejects him and joins Ash.
The group falls into a pit and encounters the Squirtle Squad, a group of prankster Squirtle abandoned by their trainers. Team Rocket convinces the Squirtle Squad to capture Pikachu. Ash convinces the Squirtle Squad to help him get medicine for Pikachu. Gary knocks Ash out, and Jesse and James rob the shop. Ash saves the leader Squirtle from Team Rocket, and the Squirtle Squad becomes town heroes. The leader Squirtle joins Ash's team.
Ash tries to catch a Krabby but reaches his party limit, sending Krabby to Professor Oak's lab. Professor Oak informs Ash that Gary caught a larger Krabby. The group meets Bill, who alludes to more than 151 Pokémon species. They encounter a giant Pokémon, possibly a Dragonite, near a lighthouse. Team Rocket interrupts the encounter.
Ash battles Lt. Surge at the Vermilion City Gym. Surge's Raichu defeats Ash's Pikachu. Ash is offered a Thunderstone to evolve Pikachu, but Pikachu refuses, wanting to defeat Raichu as himself. Team Rocket spies on Pikachu and roots for him. Ash and Pikachu use speed and agility to defeat Raichu, winning the Thunder Badge.
Ash and his friends board the Saint Anne, a luxury cruise liner, where Team Rocket plans to steal Pokémon. Ash trades his Butterfree for a Raticate but regrets it. A storm hits the ship, causing chaos. Ash finds the man he traded with and reverses the trade. The ship flips upside down and begins to sink.
Officer Jenny presumes the group dead. The ship is barely balanced on a rock structure. Ash, Misty, Brock, and Team Rocket work together to escape. Charmander melts a hole in the ship. James kicks his Magikarp into the ocean, where it evolves into Gyarados and attacks them. The group finds themselves on a mysterious island.
Ash's Pikachu, Squirtle, Charmander, and Bulbasaur are missing. The group encounters giant Pokémon, which turn out to be mechanical. The island is Pokémon Land, an amusement park owned by Giovanni.
Ash sees his mom, Professor Oak, and Gary at a resort. The episode is a beach filler with a story about angry Tentacool and Tentacruel destroying a hotel built on a coral reef.
The crew stumbles across Butterfree celebrating their mating ritual. Ash tries to help Butterfree find a mate. Team Rocket traps the Butterfree, but Ash's Butterfree helps free them. Butterfree finds a pink Butterfree and chooses to migrate with the others. Ash says a tearful goodbye to Butterfree.
The group arrives in Saffron City to challenge gym leader Sabrina. Ash meets a possessed little girl who makes a deal with him. Sabrina's Abra evolves into Kadabra and defeats Pikachu. The little girl teleports them to a dollhouse. A random man saves them and warns Ash about Sabrina.
Ash heads to Lavender Town to catch a ghost-type Pokémon to combat Sabrina. Ash and Pikachu die and become ghosts, pulling pranks on their friends. Haunter joins Ash's team. Haunter disappears during the battle with Sabrina, and Ash is disqualified. The telekinetic man explains Sabrina's backstory and reveals himself as her father.
Haunter returns and makes Sabrina laugh, breaking her psychic control. Kadabra is unable to battle, and Ash is declared the victor, earning the Marsh Badge. Haunter stays with Sabrina to bring her joy.
Ash fails to catch a Mankey but ends up capturing a Primeape. In Celadon City, Ash disrespects perfume and is banned from the gym. He disguises himself to get close to gym leader Erika. Team Rocket causes a fire, and Ash saves Erika's Gloom, earning the Rainbow Badge without winning a battle.
Misty captures a Psyduck, and Brock gets a Vulpix. Ash enters Primeape into a Pokémon fighting tournament, where it wins and is offered training by Anthony. Ash allows Primeape to stay behind for training. Ash captures a Muk and sends it to Professor Oak. Jesse and James's Ekans and Koffing evolve into Arbok and Weezing.
Ash faces Fuchsia City Gym Leader Koga and wins the Soul Badge with Charmander's victory over Golbat. Ash's Ponyta evolves into Rapidash, helping him win a race.
Pikachu spots another Pikachu and joins a group of Pikachu in the woods. Ash gets jealous of Pikachu's happiness with the other Pikachu. Team Rocket tries to steal the Pikachu, but Ash's Pikachu helps stop them. Ash decides to leave Pikachu with the other Pikachu, but Pikachu chooses to stay with Ash.
Ash's Charmander evolves into Charmeleon and becomes disobedient. The group encounters Jigglypuff, who becomes a running gag. Charmeleon evolves into Charizard, but the disobedience continues. The group finds a mysterious egg.
The video briefly mentions the episode "Holy Matrimony," which focuses on James from Team Rocket and his past.
The egg hatches, revealing a Togepi. Misty becomes Togepi's caretaker. The group meets Todd from Pokémon Snap and encounters Team Rocket members Butch and Cassidy.
The group travels to Cinnabar Island for Ash to face gym leader Blaine. Charizard refuses to battle, disqualifying Ash. Ash forfeits the match to save Pikachu. Team Rocket nearly causes a volcano eruption. Charizard helps stop the eruption and battles Blaine's Magmar, winning the Volcano Badge.
Ash arrives in Viridian City, where Gary fails to win the Earth Badge. Giovanni, the leader of Team Rocket, is the gym leader. Jesse and James battle Ash, who defeats them. Gary is nice to Ash and acknowledges his skill. A mysterious armored Pokémon breaks out of containment. Gary and Ash have a battle interrupted by Team Rocket.
The video mentions an episode focusing on Meowth's backstory and how he learned to speak.
Ash arrives at the Indigo Plateau for the Indigo League conference. He swaps Pokémon between his party and Professor Oak's lab. In his first match, Krabby evolves into Kingler and wins. Ash advances to the third match, where Kingler and Pikachu help him win. Gary loses and is eliminated from the tournament.
Ash battles Jeanette Fisher, using Bulbasaur and Muk to win. He meets Richie, who is similar to him. Ash and Richie are matched up for the fifth round.
Ash faces Richie in the fifth round. Squirtle loses to Butterfree, and Pikachu loses to Zippo. Charizard disobeys Ash and is disqualified, resulting in Ash's loss. Richie moves on to the next round.
Ash finishes in the top 16 of the Indigo League. He falls into a slump, but his friends try to encourage him. Richie loses his next battle. Ash learns from his experience and prepares for the next challenge. Team Rocket attacks, and Ash receives a patch for participating in the tournament. Ash and Richie part ways, promising to become Pokémon Masters.
The video discusses filler episodes in Pokémon, highlighting their entertainment value and character development. It mentions the episode "Snow Way Out," where Ash and his Pokémon work together to survive a snowstorm, and "The Pi-Kahuna," which features a surfer named Victor and a surfing Pikachu.
The video discusses several banned episodes, including "Beauty and the Beach," "The Legend of Dratini," and "Electric Soldier Porygon." "Electric Soldier Porygon" caused seizures in Japanese children, leading to changes in broadcast standards and the sidelining of Porygon. The video also mentions the controversy surrounding the character Jynx in "Holiday Hi-Jynx" and its racial depiction.
The video briefly touches on the censorship by 4Kids Entertainment, including changes to Japanese cultural references.
The video reflects on Ash's Pokémon and their relationships with him. Pikachu's initial animosity evolves into a strong bond. Caterpie teaches Ash about caring for Pokémon. Bulbasaur and Squirtle grow as leaders. Charmander/Charizard presents Ash's greatest challenge. Krabby shows the importance of looking out for the little guy. Primeape finds his passion in fighting. Muk represents the beauty in all Pokémon.
The video discusses Pokémon: The First Movie, which introduces Mewtwo and explores themes of identity and the relationship between humans and Pokémon. Mewtwo's hatred stems from being a clone of Mew, but he learns that clones are just as real as originals. Ash's selflessness and willingness to sacrifice himself for Pokémon break through Mewtwo's anger, leading him to seek a new purpose.
The video discusses Pokémon Live, a live musical stage event that featured original stories and characters. The musical introduced Mecca Mewtwo and teased the shipping of Ash and Misty. The tour expanded worldwide, but a televised event and home video release never happened due to financial issues.
Ash returns to Pallet Town, where everyone celebrates his Indigo League placement. Professor Oak asks Ash to visit Professor Ivy in the Orange Archipelago. Ash says goodbye to Brock, who stays with Professor Ivy. Ash meets Tracey, a Pokémon Watcher, and adds Lapras to his team.
Ash decides to compete in the Orange League. He wins the Coral Eye Badge on Mikan Island. On Naval Island, Ash wins the Sea Ruby Badge. He catches a Snorlax and meets Prima, a Kanto Elite Four member.
Ash is now on trevita island and meets Rudy the gym leader. Ash wins the Spike Shell Badge. Ash and Charizard begin to repair their relationship. On Kumquat Island, Ash wins the Jade Star Badge.
Ash is now on pomelo Island and meets Drake the Supreme Gym Leader. Ash wins the Orange League, earning a trophy and entering the Orange League Hall of Fame. Ash says goodbye to Lapras, who rejoins its family.
Ash and Company return home to Pallet Town, where they find Brock awaiting their arrival. They bring the GS Ball to Professor Oak, and Tracey becomes a lab assistant. Gary returns and defeats Ash in a battle. Ash prepares to travel to the Johto region.
The video discusses Tracey's character development and his role as a lab assistant. It also highlights Gary's transformation from an antagonistic rival to a more respectful and humbled character.
The video mentions the "Crystal Onix" episode and highlights the unique vibe of the Orange Islands, including the regional variants and character growth.
The video reflects on the new Pokémon that entered Ash's life during the Orange Islands arc, including Lapras, Snorlax, and Pidgeot.
The video discusses Pokémon: The Movie 2000, where Ash is the chosen one to restore balance to the world. The movie features Lugia and the legendary bird trio, and explores themes of greed and the importance of friendship.
The video briefly mentions other media featuring Ash, such as action figures, video games, and the Pokémon manga series, "The Electric Tale of Pikachu."
The video concludes by reflecting on the impact of Pokémon and the anime on the franchise and its cultural significance. It emphasizes the heart and imagination that the anime brought to the world, capturing the excitement of Ash's journey. The video sets the stage for the next part of the journey, the Johto region.
Transcript
Full transcript of “The COMPLETE Guide To Ash’s Pokemon Journey (Part 1)”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 for fans of Pokemon even more so the anime 2023 is a Bittersweet year Ash Ketchum is one of the most iconic characters in fictional media having a signature look that only has changed slightly since the late 90s and after these past couple decades his journey throughout the world of Pokemon is set to come to an end by the end of this year when originally hearing that announcement I felt two things one a sense of closure that never felt like it was a reality that would happen and two this emotional sense of nostalgia that has driven me to re-experience Ash's Journey from his Beginnings in Pallet Town to becoming world champion to his final goodbye throughout the next several months looking through over 25 Seasons 1200 episodes and two dozen movies we will be going on this journey with Ash to cope with the ending of a character that has been there
0:49 nearly my whole life as much as the character has meant to me as a child I have had the pleasure of calling Sarah natacheni the current voice actor of Ash for over 16 years a friend in more recent years and it has just been such a joy to see the legacy of the character do so many things he was trying to achieve back when I was a kid and now get to this well-deserved Finish Line whether or not you're a massive fan of Pokemon at one point I feel like Ash Ketchum and his adventures in the Pokemon world has meant something to you today we're going to gear up and begin our journey right where it all started with a boy from Pallet Town who was eager to get his first ever Pokemon welcome to the complete guide to Ash's Journey thank you
2:03 yeah before we get into it we have to look at where it all began where in Japan Pokemon was becoming quite popular with the original games red and green coming out in 1996. the success of the games led to the card game becoming a reality later that year in this spiral of pokemania within Japan alone was starting to Boom from there having manga adaptations and several other media vessels all stemming from just the games It ultimately led up to the anime being based on the concept of the video game coming out on April 1st 1997 in Japan but it was anything but a joke the show would follow Satoshi on his journey to become a Pokemon Master it wouldn't be long until the Pokemon bubble in Japan was ready to expand and rather than this natural growth of the franchise we saw
2:50 in Japan the plan for the North American Market was to hit with a double whammy right away and changing how unsuspecting future fans would grow to love the Pokemon property first on September 7th 1998 the anime would premiere on on television introducing kids to the character of Ash Ketchum with the first video games red and blue releasing a few weeks later on September 28th where now you can be like Ash with a video game it was a smart tactic to pull off and this isn't even including the fact that just a handful of months later on January 9 1999 the trading card game would also come out this was a triple threat attack on all fronts full-on pokemania had hit and had hit hard but what they LED with in the states here was the anime where the show would be in the hands and
3:36 mercy of four kids entertainment who would handle producing the English dubbing at this moment in time four kids was Infamous for the edits it would make before episodes were cleared for broadcast or even not allowing certain episodes to be dubbed at all leaving them as not included in the Run of episodes shown here in the states the censorship overall can be tackled more in detail later on but we have arrived at the show being a full-on reality a 10 year old boy from Pallet Town begins his journey to become Pokemon Master along with his first ever Pokemon Pikachu what a journey he will have it's 11 o'clock and you should be asleep Pokemon will return in a moment on Kids WB back to an all-new Pokemon on Kids WB you ever find yourself sitting back and thinking who is Ash well that's the million dollar question
4:26 maybe throughout our 1200 plus episodes of the show we'll be able to answer that he's a complex character that we see change over time from era to era but for where he is now at the beginning of the series Ash is very much a kid with little knowledge of the Pokemon world regardless of how much he likes to think he does he's not super responsible he can be kind of rude sometimes and his determination can blind him from his shortcomings but by golly does the kid have heart I feel why we the viewers got attached to him as a character was because he was kind of a goofball he had all the makings of a main character we would want to root for but he was nowhere near perfect in fact he loses and fails quite often making it known that it is okay to do so but to never give up you could see yourself in Ash believe in his journey and root for him along the way while
5:14 I do believe Ash grows in character throughout the Indigo League it's easier to look all the way towards the end within the sword and shield Journeys Series where he does feel a lot different while he's still someone to root for and a lot of the original themes are still there with him a lot more of those childish nature moments he had that drip feeds into the attitude in the original series really aren't there as much I think a lot of what makes Ash so special throughout the show are his connections to the other companions he has along with him on his journey with it constantly being changed after the Johto series but in the beginning we have an unforgettable cast here which yes I include Pikachu in I will separately speak on Ash's Pokemon later but Pikachu is Pikachu man I mean come on it's a little icon here so let's start with him
5:59 thank you well I will have more to say about Pikachu as the video goes on his relationship with Ash in the beginning of the Pokemon anime is so important from the very start having this antagonistic nature towards Ash and being extremely standoffish only really caring about himself of course this Dynamic starts changing once they protect each other from the Spiros in the first episode and this bonding relationship between the two starts building out from there Pikachu also has this goofy nature and tougher attitude most of the time but this adapts to a more precious and caring personality towards the group he travels with and the other Pokemon who joined the team along the way we can only sit here and speculate Pikachu's past why he is the way he is why the lightning bolt on the Pokeball he came from May indicate a Saturn pass of a
6:44 previous trainer based on the ball decoration well not quite we actually do have an answer to this but it's way later on in something we're gonna tackle many parts later but for now we can see where he started here in this series and where he goes throughout the show in general why did Ash get Pikachu would not any other starter from the Kanto region well because he was late to pick up a starter Pokemon and they were all gone but the real answer was that this yellow mouse was perfect to sell the franchise to the viewer base that attracted everyone originally it was this pink ball of terrifying power Imagine The Adventures of Ash and Clefairy for 25 years yeah I just can't see it sure it's fun in the manga but how well is that going to translate when the show is very much not like the manga but that all comes down to the personality which Pikachu is full of and why he deserves to be counted as a traveling companion next let's talk about Misty arguably the
7:35 most iconic redhead in media oh you think you have a better answer than that that you're writing in the comments right now well you're probably wrong how about that Misty is the perfect person to keep Ash in line when his eyes are too big for his stomach by that I mean his Ambitions overtaking his better judgment she's pretty complex as a character having a deep-rooted backstory with Cerulean City has specific reasons for joining Ash on his journey and where their relationship ends up by the end of their Journey together as well as when she makes some cameos way later on in more recent series with her having her own goals in mind that she discovers for herself she along with Brock who we will get to in a second really are the backbone supporting Ash throughout his highs and his lows and navigating his journey to be the best like no one ever was mixing her well-deserved annoyance with her support for him while he battles being in the gym leader circuit
8:24 with the heavy pressure from her sisters forcing her to be so hard on herself we see her start building this confidence in herself it's something that you can also root for and it adds something for the audience watching it gives them another character to find themselves in and for Brock a gym leader circuit person out of responsibility and necessity that much rather would care for Pokemon working towards his goal of being a great Pokemon breeder after leaving the gym World behind him and meeting Ash and seeing his good-natured Spirit on a path that he wanted to be a part of Brock while having his uh more interesting moments overly being into every girl that he ever meets and Performing the song Two Perfect Girls referring to his love love for both Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy song slaps though I can't lie he's still a really caring person giving a lot of his time on the journey to being the cook for both Ash and Misty as well as all of the Pokemon on their
9:11 Journey he knows how to help take care of Pokemon when there isn't a Pokemon Center around serving as the team medic just knowing his stuff when it comes to Pokemon care in general this is our main group for the journey later on I would like to dig into important characters we see throughout the series from Team Rocket to Tracy to Professor Oak but for the preliminary characters that we mainly focus on that's a solid introduction to them before we start our real journey together ah sweater ah the start has something ever been so scary and daunting yet so exciting and fun well we start
9:58 things off with a vision of the Pokemon League and a young 10 year old Ash Ketchum is gearing up for his big day tomorrow of seeing Professor Oak and choosing his starter Pokemon for his journey to begin at 10 years old trainers are able to get a starter Pokemon and go off alone on their own Journey too well do whatever I guess most of them go up against the Pokemon League some find other purposes in life outside of just battling though but Ash here wants to be the best but thanks to Ash accidentally destroying his alarm clock the following morning he wakes up late to be at Professor Oak's lab to choose his starter upon arriving half awake and still in his pajamas he sees Gary Oak his ultimate rival for the series and the grandson to the professor the attitude Gary serves Ash drives him to be the best that he can be especially against Gary down the road when speaking to Professor Oak he learns that all of the starter Pokemon aside from one special
10:47 option had been taken this is where we first meet Pikachu and Ash tries his best to enjoy the choice he's making while Pikachu wants nothing to do with him and kind of reluctantly ends up going with him Pikachu also isn't a fan of being in his pokeball causing problems from being outside of it like shocking everyone including Ash's overprotective yet oddly easy to push him out of the house mother making the hole leaving in celebration on the journey pretty awkward these first moments along with Ash and Pikachu are very crucial with Pikachu being completely standoffish and Ash being determined to become his friend rather than just a trainer Ash without the help of Pikachu just tries to capture Pokemon right off the bat but has many issues not understanding that he needs to weaken the Pokemon first for a better chance Pikachu just mocks him for this but Ash attempts to throw
11:34 a rock at a group of Pidgey but the rock hits a Spiro who was in the middle and they aren't as chill as the average Pidgey so in retaliation for literally getting hit with a rock Spiro swoops in and starts attacking them Pikachu gets attacked as well for just being associated Ash tries to help Pikachu but Pikachu is just defending himself at this point once the Spiro calls in for backup the two runaways they constantly get pecked by these birds while Ash's main concern is Pikachu's safety rather than his own carrying him away once he is badly attacked Ash then comes across a girl who we get introduced to his Misti shortly as she is fishing as Ash gets lectured about what a Pokemon Center is and what way to go to get Pikachu there as he then steals her bike for a faster getaway and she stands there pissed the sky starts darkening a storm starts up as the Spiro swarm
12:20 closer knocking Ash and Pikachu from the bike and right into the mud Ash does what he can to protect Pikachu offering him to get in his ball for safety and just asking Pikachu to trust him as he stands up blocking the sparrow from attacking Pikachu any further but as they swoop in for an attack on ash Pikachu uses the last bit of strength he has to jump in front of Ash and hits them all with a blast of electricity defeating him the two of them later awake as the skies clear face to face on the ground weakened but in relieved States as above them a mysterious gold silhouette what did Pokemon flies above at the time when this came out we had no idea who this was it wasn't in the 151 that we knew and it had to be in the more to see part of the song as this Gen 2 Pokemon plays a bigger Factor connecting to this moment here way later on in Ash's Journey Ash's Pokedex makes no note
13:08 of what this Pokemon is as it's not registered in Oak's Pokedex database but side note the Pokedex itself is an underrated sassy character all on its own but I just love how this episode ends with Ash escorting Pikachu to Viridian City for the Pokemon Center but it's what the narrator says that puts it best to describe the journey after this initial opening this is just the beginning of the Amazing Adventures of Ash and Pikachu their journey is destined to be packed with non-stop action millions of laughs heart-pounding perils and endless excitement together they'll encounter fantastic friends evil enemies and meet creatures beyond their wildest imagination and as their story unfolds we'll unlock the magic and mystery of a most wondrous place the incredible world of Pokemon and if that's not an introduction I don't know what is once they're in Viridian City
13:55 Ash meets a lot of familiar faces that we'll get to know from here on out from right off the bat running into Officer Jenny who just has an endless amount of identical cousins in the police force while on the lookout for some Pokemon poachers and mistaking Ash for possibly being one she notices that he is a trainer and his Pikachu is in major need of help as she whips the motorcycle right into the Pokemon Center and helping get Pikachu over to Nurse Joy who just like Jenny essentially has a never-ending look-alike family that are all nurses while waiting for Pikachu to be treated Ash takes a moment to call back home and Report into Professor Oak about the mysterious golden Pokemon where the professor doesn't fully believe him but it's okay one day we'll have those answers oh and Misty comes back and now she's angry at Ash for not only stealing her bike but getting it completely trashed Misty calms down after Ash explains it was for the well-being of Pikachu and
14:44 now she worries about Pikachu more so than her ruined bike but here is where we meet the true antagonists for the entire series Team Rocket but Morse specifically Jesse James and Meowth who can talk that's right their scheme here is to break in and steal all the Pokemon from the Pokemon Center but as tensions are high and the power cuts out a bunch of other Pikachu help keep the power on as we hear the mention of the next city we travel to Pewter City which Nurse Joy wants to get all of these Pokemon here to safety over there Ash's Pikachu is starting to wake up but isn't fully recovered yet so all the other Pikachu gather around him to charge him up and give him the strength to unleash another huge thundershock which ends up causing an explosion thanks to Team Rocket's coughing gas after seeing this Team Rocket pulls back and makes a new plan that they now have their eyes set on Ash's Pikachu for how powerful it
15:31 truly is and it will totally impress their boss Giovanni but they aren't going to get away that easily their Meowth balloon gets damaged and the team gets sent blasting off for the first time So eventually they will be saying we're blasting off again a solid catchphrase this is where the world starts opening for ash we meet some new people get introduced to the villains and by the end Ash now has as Misty as a tag along on his adventure for the main reason of his broke butt one day paying her back for the Rune bike but regardless this Sparks the beginning of a great friendship between the two even if things are still pretty at odds constantly between them but not long into their traveling Ash and Misty are startled by a Caterpie in the woods where Misty has a phobia of bug Pokemon and Ash is finally ready to catch something and luckily he does end up catching the Caterpie as his first Pokemon outside of Pikachu and on top of that apparently he's going catching
16:20 crazy ending up with a captured Pidgeotto the evolution of Pidgey which he couldn't capture in episode 1 but in doing so he indirectly uses caterpillar's bait this will come back to play in a second clearly from the carelessness and lack of knowledge and battle strategy Misty begins really showing signs of her knowledge and While She lays into Ash about this it's really giving him some important lessons to learn to be a better trainer overall Team Rocket returns to make their plans very clear to Ash about wanting to steal his Pikachu and thus Begins the repetitive Clashing of Team Rocket and Ash and Pikachu where the the setups only get more ridiculous from here to try and somehow capture the Pikachu and technically Ash does have his first real Pokemon battle here despite Team Rocket double teaming him which is against the league rules but he refuses to break them himself stopping Misty from joining in on the fight but scratch all that he tries to fist
17:09 fight them at one point I'm not sure that's in the rule book there but regardless his last attempt is to send out Caterpie into the battle and this little scrapper starts taking out Ekans and coughing like it was light work Team Rocket ends up leaving and Caterpie is celebrated but as Misty overcomes her fear of bug Pokemon to give Caterpie some congratulatory head Pats Caterpie does this yeah understandable but the silk spray turns into a cocoon for him as he evolves into a Metapod and now as Ash continues through the routes and trying to capture more Pokemon this odd boy dressed as a samurai challenges Ash to a battle at first Ash's Pidgeotto loses to the other kid's pincer but when Ash tosses out his new Metapod its hardened ability takes out one of the pincers the pincers geez that's some manga-esque violence Vibes right there then the classic Metapod V
17:56 Metapod match happens between the two constantly having them use Harden as nothing really happens here because of that a funny moment for the series overall but the determination from Ash to win in a winless stalemate shows how it can quickly turn into stubbornness but later on a Beedrill swarm swoops in where the samurai kid recalls his Metapod to save it while Ash sits there trying to get the beedrill's data into his Pokedex because of this the Beedrill ends up taking Ash's Metapod causing him to freak out I mean they just stole his fairly new Pokemon and Ash didn't act in a way to take care of his Pokemon first before trying to learn about this new Pokemon the kid lays in into Ash about this and as the Night Comes Ash is hurt with the thought of Metapod being alone out there in danger so the next morning he goes out looking for him putting himself in danger for the sake of getting Metapod out of a Kakuna Nest but once Ash goes in to rescue him Team Rocket messes
18:45 things up and sets off the B drill and now ash makes his move to recall Metapod back into his ball but Metapod is pretty sour towards Ash thanks to how Ash was pushing him so hard in battle and how he could just let him be taken like this and maybe some resentment for being used as bait when he was a Caterpie it makes Ash realize how he put the battle and the excitement of new Pokemon over the health and Assurance of his own Pokemon but in the most dramatic and worrisome moment after Ash sincerely apologizes to Metapod and Promises a lot better and more responsible care Ash's Metapod jumps in to protect him from a Beedrill attack ending up with a major slash into metapod's body but it starts to Glow ending up evolving once more already into a Butterfree who uses sleep powder to put the attacking Beedrill in Team Rocket to sleep the samurai kid shows respect to Ash for
19:32 how he handled this situation though now reaching Pewter City it's time for ash to face his first challenge as he learns about the Pokemon League Championship and the fact that he needs to earn eight badges throughout Kanto from the various gym leaders and it just so happens that here in Pewter City there is a gym for him to battle against his first gym leader in hopes of winning a boulder badge his first of eight Ash is clearly unprepared for this as the training we've seen so far is well practically nothing like sure one of his Pokemon evolved twice but that really doesn't mean much here the gym leader is Brock and Ash jumps in gung-ho into the battle with his Pikachu vs brox Onyx who easily takes out a non-experienced Pikachu who isn't ready for a battle like this yet Ash defeated in spirit leaves the gym but spends time with this mysterious person named Flint that we originally meet on our way into Pewter City this guy shows Ash the other side of
20:22 Brock telling him about his father abandoning him to go off to be a Pokemon trainer and his mother abandoning the kids as well leaving Brock here to take care of his law large amount of siblings something he does take pride in while he has to hold up the City gym and battle trainers by day Ash still faces Brock the next day after some intense training and to everyone's surprise Pikachu under Ash's commands is not doing so bad but even though Pikachu uses a new Thunderbolt attack that does end up hurting Onyx a bit Onyx still has the upper hand with Pikachu on the verge of being knocked out from the tight grip wrapped around him but thanks to the sprinklers going off in the gym it ends up making Onyx a lot weaker and opening up a prime time to strike for Pikachu but all of Brock's siblings try to convince Ash not to persuading him by saying that winning under these circumstances is not really winning if the sprinklers weren't on you wouldn't have had the
21:10 chance to make this move Ash even though he isn't the most knowledgeable about anything it seems for some reason is dead set on following the rules and being fair and square with his battles if he does win he wants it to be from his merits and skill over outside conditions or Hell ash leaves the gym having a heart-to-heart with Pikachu about maybe pushing him a bit too hard in training training but before they can all walk away for the day Brock comes running up to them he ends up handing Ash a boulder badge anyway which Ash refuses to take it first but Brock tells him that his kindness to Pokemon is what made him earn this which one makes sense for Brock's character as we will see throughout the show where he cares more about Pokemon's well-being over winning battles but for ash this starts a pattern with how Ash earns a lot of these badges in the Kanto region we can point this out as they come but he earns a lot of the badges by not even winning the battles
21:59 so I guess he just accepts taking the badge and all those merits we just discussed are thrown out the window nice Brock however opens up about his passions in being a Pokemon breeder caring for and nurturing Pokemon rather than running the gym but the mysterious Flint guy reveals the whole time that he was Brock's runaway father and that he never returned to his family due to the shame of feeling like a failure but always watch from afar making sure things were okay he wants to be back in his life and help take care of the family which Brock quickly starts breaking down just how much there truly is to do for him as he can now shed led the responsibilities of running the gym and take time away from playing parent for all of his siblings and go forward with Ash and Misty to pursue more of his calling helping Pokemon not too long after this we shift from a brock Centric episode to a misty Centric episode where the trio arrived in Cerulean City where Ash is
22:47 extremely excited to go and get his second badge from the gym there the Cascade badge Misty not as excited to be there and starts acting pretty weird towards it all in general splits from the group as well as Brock goes and does Brock things Ash attempts to head to the gym on his own meeting three synchronized swimming sisters Lily Daisy and violet and apparently they all are the gym leader they seem pretty well trained but tell Ash that they are too tired to battle and literally just offer him the badge for free I mean come on what are the chances here Ash two for two without doing anything well almost Misty shows up after listening in on all of this and calls out Ash to battle her as we find out that Misty is also a gym leader for this gym and those other girls are her older sisters she definitely feels this pressure of perfection from them being separated by age
23:33 height and experience but she doesn't want Ash to just get another badge without a proper battle like the last one as well but before this battle can finish Team Rocket like usual interrupts things and ends up vacuuming up all the water Pokemon from the gym but Pikachu and Ash jump in to stop them having Pikachu Thunderbolt them out of the area and reverse the vacuum to release back all of the Pokemon and then one of the older sisters just gives Ash a badge anyway even though he didn't win a battle once again now the sisters go tell an angry Misty that she would have lost due to the type advantage anyway and have a moment with her about her coming back this great trainer they know she'll become by continuing her journey with Ash giving her another reason outside of the bike payback to stay with him sometime later on their way to Vermilion City they come across an Oddish as Misty wants to actually catch it and it's easily defeated by her starmy but as she
24:23 goes in to capture it her Pokeball is smacked aside from a Bulbasaur Vine as it steps in to defend the Oddish attacking and defeating Misty Starmie and after Ash sends in his Butterfree to help Bulbasaur and Oddish Escape back into the woods so the group now just continues along until they're on a rope bridge that breaks as they're Crossing it and Brock Falls all the way down into the water below as Ash helps pull Misty and Pikachu to safety after holding onto the bridge as they now find a way to get to the water safely to look for Brock Misty falls into a pit trap and then after Ash helps her out of that Misty ends up snagging a rope on the ground that pulls them all up into a net what a weird case of bad luck here almost like it was all on purpose hmm but not long after that Brock shows back up and helps them out and introduces them to a girl named Melanie who ended up helping him out of the river we learn all about this hidden village a place that separates
25:11 itself from Outsiders to help injured and hurt Pokemon as well as those abandoned by their trainers which is a subject we'll be touching on here with these next few episodes of Pokemon Melanie takes care of the Pokemon for as long as they are there for and makes the medicine she uses for healing them herself as she also said all of the traps up herself as a form of protection for the hidden Village after this we get a good moment of learning to care for Pokemon equally showing such a caring and loving side to sharing the world with them outside of the more widespread and popular ways of battling with them of course Team Rocket who is always following them gets in the way and tries to take some Pokemon but Ash and Bulbasaur end up fighting back to protect all of the Pokemon there and after easily doing so Melanie makes note that Ash and Bulbasaur would make a great team so why not have Ash take Bulbasaur with him Bulbasaur ends up wanting to
25:58 go with him but on one condition Ash Battles him for it where Pikachu steps in and wins the battle allowing Ash to capture Bulbasaur and add one of the three starters he originally missed the opportunity to get from Professor Oak at the start of the series now shortly after this we get one of the most emotional episodes of Pokemon as we come across the next starter Ash missed out on Charmander where the group run into him just hanging out on a rock but he refuses to be caught by Ash or even battle Pikachu as it is waiting for someone to return to get him so upon believing that this is someone else's Pokemon they can continue along the Route and end up spending the night at a Pokemon Center Lodge as the weather starts getting pretty bad outside Brock's Nature has him worrying about that Charmander and hoping that the trainer actually did come back for him in time but they end up overhearing from this person named Damien that
26:43 the Charmander was his and it was so weak that he told it to just stay there and wait for him and he had no plans to come back and get him Brock here jumps in to tell Damian off about how awful of a Pokemon trainer and overall person that he is with Ash and Misty behind him backing him up Damien though really doesn't care and just ends up leaving as now the three of them rush back to go and help that poor Charmander when they find him he is trying to cover his flame on his tail from the rain so it doesn't go out as well as he gets attacked by Spiro where now after Ash throws a rock at them like in the first episode Pikachu is ready to take them all out to get them away from Charmander ash makes sure that he protects charmander's flame as they now hightail it back to the Pokemon Center to get it some proper care Nurse Joy is there to help of course but scolds them about letting Charmander get like this but the situation diffuses once they explained that
27:30 it was them saving the Charmander and it was the other trainer Damien's after a while of everyone worrying about the outcome in the waiting room Nurse Joy tells them that Charmander is all good and will be feeling better by the morning which relieves them all but in the morning the Charmander has escaped and returned back to the forest to go find the rock to wait for Damien to return because of how loyal his nature is after the trio leave the Pokemon Center and get into another scuffle with Team Rocket who now has rubber suits to not get hurt by Pikachu's attacks they are able to actually capture him away from Ash but that same Charmander comes around to stop them and speak with Meowth telling him that they need to let Pikachu go and when they don't all that pent-up anger that Charmander has after being told he's weak and not strong enough by Damien he lets out a powerful flamethrower that takes out Team Rocket and sets Pikachu free from their
28:16 captivity Damien actually catches a glimpse of this while he's just standing there in the woods for some reason and while Ash thinks Charmander and offers him a choice to come with them Damien interrupts them now being impressed at all the power that Charmander actually had and is now now back for him after all this time he claims that this was a method of training seeing the other side of how Pokemon can be looked at and treated in this world Charmander ends up rejecting going back with Damian as he tries to force him to get back in a ball but Pikachu stands alongside Charmander to fend off against Damian scaring him away leaving Brock to have Ash offer Charmander to go with him as he excitedly jumps into a Pokeball now this Charmander and how it grows throughout the series is very interesting as well having had its loyalty broken once and finding it hard to trust again now that Ash has two of the three starters better make it all three right continuing
29:04 on the road they fall into a pit a running Trope that we will see for the series and you'll hear me say it a lot and a group of Squirtle all wearing some fun sunglasses purein laughing at them after they climb out Ash tries to battle them as the other Squirtle protects the leader of the group this is broken up once Officer Jenny shoes them away and explains to The Gang That these Squirtles are the Squirtle Squad and they are going around pulling pranks on people for the heck of it as they have all come together after being a abandoned by their trainers which the past two episodes and this episode have all had a focus on clearly not too long into a trainer's Journey they're just getting rid of them like they aren't a companion it's heartbreaking stuff the pranks continue to get out of hand however and Ash really wants to battle them and after a series of events that go in no one's favor aside from the Squirtles they end up tied up in Pikachu trapped in a cage
29:51 but why would they do this well Meowth from Team Rocket convinced these Squirtles who already don't trust humans that they need to separate the humans from Pikachu and capture him obviously this is for meow to present Pikachu back to Team Rocket once they catch up with them but the Squirtles don't know that Meowth has a verbal battle here with Ash as the squirrels here are just keeping guard but Ash is able to convince the Squirtles to help him out with Pikachu as he is injured pretty bad and needs some medicine the Squirtle see that there is some care from the humans here towards their Pokemon allowing Ash to leave and run to town to get some but upon making it to the shop the door is slammed in his face by his rival Gary who doesn't even notice him or even say a word this apparently knocks him out for the entire rest of the night though when he wakes Jesse and James are literally robbing the same shop he was going to getting supplies that will be all used at the
30:38 demise of the Squirtle Squad as they were heading there to meet up with Meowth who was just standing by with Pikachu Ash runs into the shop quickly after trying to get some potion but everyone pulls the strap out on him thinking that they were getting robbed again but Jenny comes in just in time to Defuse The Situation man he's 10. y'all need to chill Ash shows back up as the Squirtles just realize that they aren't such bad humans after all and that they themselves are only just pranksters and not evil at least not like these guys where they start throwing explosives to get back at the squirrels for pranking them earlier as well and so that they can steal Pikachu in the chaos Ash jumps in to save the leader Squirtle from getting hurt causing the Squirtle to be in tears over the love he was just shown now helping him get up and go after Team Rocket to take them out Pikachu is returned and the squirrel Squad ends up helping put out the fires from the
31:24 explosions making them Town heroes and not just these annoying pranksters becoming the firefighter leaders for them the leader Squirtle follows Ash and friends as he takes off his glasses and runs into Ash's arms excited to join the team and just like that three for three Ash now has all the Pokemon that he could have had a chance to pick between at the start all with backstories relating to bad trainers giving up on them but Ash not it's emotional and truly a nice way to build up Ash's team and how we see him grow along his journey wow they're pretty dumb aren't they as the journey continues Ash and Company have some interesting encounters Ash though finds himself trying to capture a smaller and sized crabby as we will learn here more about Pokemon sizes but
32:12 after he catches him the Pokeball disappears from his hand as Ash has reached his max party limit of six Pokemon with him at once so Krabby gets sent back to Professor Oak's lab and from here on out we sometimes cut back to any of the Pokemon over at the lab with Oak as they just annoy him in their excitement to say hi to Ash more about the sizes of Pokemon Oak informs Ash that Gary also caught a crabby but it was a lot bigger in size they later run into Bill who was stuck in a Kabuto costume for a while who when freed alludes to the mysteries of the Pokemon world exploring more than the known at the time more than 151 Pokemon species because this is only one region and it's the first season so the so far in total of over a thousand aren't known technically yet he spends his time studying researching and also trying to find out more about the supposed largest Pokemon
33:02 ever that no one has seen as he brings them to the top of the lighthouse looking into the sea shortly after now this giant Pokemon does appear in this silhouette glowing-eyed form towering as large as the lighthouse stands high this encounter doesn't last long as Team Rocket is there and James says so size does matter as then they fire rockets at it ruining this beautiful moment of trust between this mysterious beast and Bill I mean clearly it's a gigantic Dragonite and outside of it being out of the normal size it should usually be this could be retconned in the form of the dynamaxing abilities of the gala region but then that logic breaks again since he would be really far away from that area where that would even be possible so who knows but sizes in Pokemon are cool and never really matter all that much but they are brought up from time to time oh and a
33:49 Dragonite Cloud at the end that's nice once Ash and everyone made it to Vermilion City where Ash has another shot at a gym badge battling against tenant surge the gym leader Ash is ready to prove that he can do it on his own without some other circumstances he will win this badge by beating Serge but things don't go well when Serge's Raichu the evolution of Pikachu which Pikachu is intimidated by the strength of him is ready to battle Pikachu is ready to give it his all as well especially since surge has done nothing but mock Ash for his baby Pokemon and not having the stronger evolved Pokemon Pikachu is losing pretty badly but has a warrior Spirit refusing to listen to Ash to stop fighting in return it's too late though as Raichu hits Pikachu with a big Thunderbolt attack knocking him out of the battle while after healing up Ash is happy that Pikachu
34:37 is okay but Pikachu himself is not physically he's fine but his mind is clouded at the loss of this battle as Raichu represents a picture of what he could be if he evolved Ash is offered a Thunderstone that Nurse Joy happened to have and to evolve a Pikachu into a Raichu it isn't about experience it's about using this Stone this was such an important moment right here this was the equivalent to a season finale of a reality show and you're wondering if Pikachu is going to accept the stone or deny it you really had to be there this is the big decision there is no coming back from this once Pikachu evolves that's it Ash contemplates the stone and knowing that he could now have the power that surge has if Pikachu were to evolve but he knows it's not his decision that he can make this would be a forced Evolution and he leaves it up to Pikachu to decide we then
35:24 have this powerful moment of Pikachu letting out his emotions smacking the stone away and feeling that he could be stronger for himself without this Stone he doesn't want to change all he wants to do is defeat Raichu and do it as himself he wants to do it for not only him but for all of the Pikachu out there who feel inferior to their evolution counterpart we know this because Meowth is explaining to Team Rocket what Pikachu is going through and as a quick aside Team Rocket here just kind of spies on Pikachu for the most part and ends up rooting for him the whole time from the sidelines as they have faith that he will be stronger than this Raichu and worth all the time that they spent trying to capture him so part good spirit part bad reasons Brock has some ideas for a strategy to work out with Ash and Pikachu as the determined team show back up to face surge again this time using Speed and Agility to work around raichu's powerful
36:12 attacks when Serge got his Pikachu he immediately evolved it into a Raichu without the chance of Pikachu learning speed-based attacks and defenses resulting in a more even match-up between the two but when Raichu goes in for a powerful finishing attack that literally starts destroying the gym Pikachu is shown to be unharmed from it with his Tails stuck in the ground to save him from the full effects of the attack now when Raichu is exhausted and weakened Ash has Pikachu hit him with a quick attack dodging raichu's take down causing Pikachu to knock him out with them winning the gym battle fair and square Ash is awarded his well-earned Thunder badge and Raichu shows respect to Pikachu for an incredible battle this moment really put Ash and Pikachu to the test and in the end helped strengthen their Bond as a great Duo it also showed more complex characteristics of Team Rocket as they didn't do anything wrong here in fact they rooted for their enemies to do
37:00 good so that's neat now we get some of the most infamous moments in the first series of Pokemon the Saint Anne Arc where Ash and Company are given access to go aboard the luxury Cruise liner from a disguised Team Rocket as there was a Pokemon trainer party happening aboard Team Rocket's plans here is to get all of these Pokemon on board this contained area at Sea and steal all of their Pokemon to please Giovanni who we see here is this menacing figure in a darkened room with his Persian meows Evolution as he hopes that they don't mess this up while on board Ash is having a great time seeing all the other trainers battle being fixated on this one trainer strong Raticate challenging that trainer to a battle and sending out Butterfree before Ash can win though the trainer pulls back his Raticate and says it's a draw offering to trade their Pokemon as he really liked Ash's Butterfree and Ash accepts to the trade without thinking just so
37:50 he can get a chance at that Raticate and moments later the trade is official and the ownership of the Pokemon has changed but after do doing so Ash starts having some second thoughts about the trade feeling like he just said goodbye to a friend without saying goodbye and without a care the memories he's had along the way so far with this Butterfree from when he first captured him as a Caterpie being the first Pokemon he ever caught really gets to him as Team Rocket kicks off their plans and all the trainers in their Pokemon start fighting back now has Ash wanting to help when seeing a bunch of these Butterfree are teaming up he gets excited tossing out his Butterfree quickly realizing that it is now eradicate and his Butterfree is gone this does it for him and he wants the trade to be reversed so as this battle on the Saint Anne goes on the ship drifts into a major incoming storm resulting in large waves crashing into the ship and the tension of the
38:38 passengers to get uneasy Ash during this finds the man he traded with and has him agree to do a trade back and just in the nick of time as right after the waves get more intense as the captain abandoned ship into a Lifeboat and the rest of the passengers are left to freak out and run to the remaining lifeboats before the ship tips over Misty and Brock go grab from this trade station as they then try and make their way to safety but then the crash of another wave causes Ash to drop his butterfree's pokeball and so he goes after it it's now clear that there are no other passengers on board except for our main Trio and Team Rocket themselves another wave hits the ship causing it to fully flip upside down and begin to sink and this is where the episode itself would cut off which is like horrifying as a kid luckily the next episode starts us with Officer Jenny giving
39:24 a speech about all of them being presumed dead tossing some flowers into the ocean and playing some sad trumpets as they salute none of this made me feel better but thanks for the trauma Under the Sea however the ship is positioned atop of this rock structure barely balancing the ship from falling further into a darkness-filled trench both groups are main crew and Team Rocket make their way through the areas that they still can within the ship and at one point are forced to work together because that's the only way that any of them will hopefully make it out of their alive their last resort here is to have Charmander melt a hole into the ship for all of them to escape by holding onto a water Pokemon that can bring them to safety Ash has Squirtle Misty has Goldeen and Brock would use Misty Starmie but Team Rocket doesn't have any water Pokemon so they think they are stuck down there but James remembers that he does have this Magikarp that
40:11 he was tricked into owning earlier but we cut away from them and visit the surface Ash Misty and Brock make it to some floating debris and see no sign of Team Rocket surfacing but in the meantime they have Ash's Pidgeotto search for any sign of land in what direction to head towards but he also spots Team Rocket now on the surface passed out on the Magikarp and once the kids see Team Rocket here they think that they're actually dead and say their Tidings getting ready to push them out to sea to their watery Graves but they wake up right as this was happening so it's all good I guess now spending the next day at Sea with all of them starving and ornery from it all James gets fed up with Magikarp feeling like he's nothing but useless in an annoyance since he was given him he ends up kicking him into the ocean where now he returns after a massive glow to reveal that he evolved into a Gyarados a fearsome water Beast who remembers the kick and
40:58 in Revenge finds some other Gyarados friends and they perform their dragon rage attack causing a cyclone and water tornadoes to form as they all get blasted off and later find themselves now on a mysterious island and Ash's Pikachu Squirtle Charmander and Bulbasaur are missing Jesse and James survive as well without Meowth as he is separate from them along with their signature Pokemon Pikachu and Ash's other Pokemon run into Meowth coughing in Atkins as they now have to work together to find their trainers we also get to look at how an already abandoned Pokemon sees this as Bulbasaur seems very nonchalant in how he claims their trainers have abandoned them but Pikachu shuts that narrative down real quick after the heart pounding Stakes of the last couple episodes this separated from each other episode is pretty fun as we start seeing these giant Pokemon roaming the land with all of these different parties here running into them resulting in a
41:47 full-on destruction of these what turns out to be mechanical Giants as it's revealed that this whole island is Pokemon land an amusement park full of giant Pokemon that funny enough is owned by Giovanni so Team Rocket couldn't capture all those Pokemon helped sink a ship and on top of all of that destroyed an expensive looking amusement park Island so I'm sure things are going well there I think it's about here that I started to realize how smooth this adventure feels in Pokemon we move from location to location as things naturally progress from there after all these traumatic events they now are at this Resort where ash sees his mom Professor Oak and even Gary but this is more of a beach filler episode that still has its charm and seriously though the filler moments that aren't important to the story and the journey all that much at least have a real nice level
42:33 of entertainment value to keep you invested in the original series specifically like we get a whole story of these angry tentacle and Tentacruel that are mad over the building of a hotel built upon a coral reef that is literally coming out of the ocean we see size come back into play as a giant Tentacool goes on a giant Rampage through a city disgusted at humans and not understanding how Pokemon could fight by their side this is full-on monster movie level destruction here taking out building after building also from some of the filler have you seen the combination Pizza Hut Taco Bell mashup known as Venus toys well I have sometimes fillers however aren't just fully fillers some major events can be misinterpreted as fillers like before we reach our next city for a gym battle we have bye bye Butterfree another Contender for saddest Pokemon episode the crews
43:20 stumble across these Butterfree celebrating their um finding of a mate ritual as Ash tries to help Butterfree see if there is a partner for him amongst the other Butterfree with them all having something unique about them to attract a mate or at least gauge some interest so when Ash's Butterfree comes back sad with no bites especially after being rejected by this pink Butterfree who isn't a shiny this is what a Shiny Butterfree would look like this is just a unique pink one maybe one day some generation of Pokemon will actually make this a regional variant that for some reason just happened to be here in Kanto at this time I mean they accidentally made a lowland executor decades before they actually turned it into a real Pokemon so to spice the things up for Butterfree here and give him some more confidants Brock adds this nice little scarf around his neck you know he's the ladies man but even before Butterfree gets to go show this off
44:06 Team Rocket comes in and starts trapping all the Butterfree so when Ash's Butterfree can help free them all he does it and comes through helping all of them escape and leaving him exhausted he still protects the pink Butterfree who stayed behind to see if he was okay this begins some real flirting between them as in the end Butterfree has to make a choice stay with Ash or go on this migration path with the rest of the Butterfree and his new pink Butterfree partner Ash emotionally gives a tear filled goodbye to Butterfree as they fly away into the drowning colors of the sunset as Ash looks back on their time together as his first Pokemon that he ever caught on his journey and how he's learned so much from how the relationship has gone from their ups and their downs to even trading him for all of about 10 minutes but he wishes Butterfree the best life from here and hey maybe one day decades later I don't know we'll see that Butterfree return We Now make
44:55 it to Saffron City where things start getting spooky for a while as the next gym leader is Sabrina where Ash has a chance to win the marsh badge here we deal with psychics and psychic and Ghost Pokemon as when we get to meet Sabrina we meet this weird possessed little girl who makes a deal based on the battle regarding if Ash loses that him and his friends have to play with her in the context of being trapped and most likely possessed after Ash quickly agrees because he just wants to battle and not give it any real thought we meet the real Sabrina who stoically seems to not be all there but somehow is in deep control of everything she floats to the battle arena holding the little girl who is sending out the pokeballs for her Abra is her Pokemon whose abilities are pretty powerful and even more so when it awakes and evolves right into a cadaver at the start of the battle and sends any attack that Pikachu has right back at him then using telekinesis to
45:43 control Pikachu hurting him pretty badly to the point Ash has to call the match to stop and he forfeits because of this the little girl teleports them to a creepy empty suburb per their deal of being trapped to play with her and upon further inspection they all find out that they are now stuck inside of a dollhouse where a giant Sabrina and a giant little girl Tower over them eventually they end up being saved from a random man they met before heading into the gym rescuing them from this torture before getting squashed this man gives Ash a Stern warning about never being able to beat her and how she's dangerous which Ash doesn't believe in this old telekinetic man pantses him okay after Ash's stubbornness he gets pointed in the direction of Lavender Town to catch a ghost type Pokemon to combat Sabrina's psychic type Pokemon as they head off this mysterious old man remarks that maybe this kid is the one who can help save Sabrina but what does that mean I guess
46:32 we'll find out shortly when Ash goes to Lavender Town and faces some ghost Pokemon head-on like ghastly Haunter and Gengar uh him and Pikachu die literally they are crushed by these ghosts pulling pranks on them and their Spirits are literally yanked out of their bodies and then they go and pull some pranks with the ghosts on their friends and through the power of not fully being dead they get to go back into their bodies and be humans instead of being ghosts and before they head head back to face Sabrina Haunter ends up joining Ash's team or maybe not just kind of goes along with him as he didn't really capture Haunter here but regardless of them all referring to him doing so in The Following episode but all of this was useless as when the battle is ready to start Haunter just disappears and now none of Ash's Pokemon want to battle making Ash disqualified and Sabrina angry turning Misty and Brock into literal dolls and the telekinetic Man shows up to
47:21 save him once more and he sits down and explains to Ash why Sabrina is the way she is now whereas a kid her use of telekinesis tore her family apart and over time ripping her in two one being a young girl with no one to play with and the older version that we see of her who enjoys battling and taking down trainers and that the little girl that she has there with her now is the representation of the real her before all of the telekinesis stuff happened oh and this old man is Sabrina's father and only tries to help her victims without getting in the way and hurting his daughter so in the end with no Haunter Ash has to fight once more with Pikachu but in the middle of the battle Haunter shows back up laughing in Sabrina's face at first Haunter is just making some faces but eventually he just pulls out an explosive and now everyone's dead okay just kidding Sabrina however
48:07 does crack a smile that leads to full-on laughter confusing Ash and making her father fill with joy also we see how non-perceptive ashes by still not realizing that this man is Sabrina's father but in the end Sabrina makes a major breakthrough finding some joy in her heart after all that has happened where that little girl representation now disappears and Sabrina seems to be okay and since the Kadabra is psychically linked with Sabrina and is laughing he is unable to battle and Ash is declared the Victor by default giving him the marsh badge and even Ash questions if he deserves this one but he did reunite fully Sabrina's parents with her and I guess haunters stays behind with Sabrina to bring her Joy he's not a fighter he's a prankster really on their way to the next gym battle Ash has to now deal with some monkey business or should I say some manky
48:53 business as he fails and try and catch one and after a fun game of hey who stole my hat Ash ends up capturing a new Pokemon for his team yep that's right he caught up primate because Mankey actually evolved into primeape here now arriving in Celadon City a great scent fills the air and Brock's attention heads to a window looking into some women in a perfume store and when Misty is interested in the scent as well Ash disrespects perfume as a whole and thinks that it is a waste of money in front of all the employees that work there so they get mad and he gets kicked out so now he just decides to make his way over to the local gym since he can't be in that store but when he gets there he's not being let in and he is stamped with a red X because the word has spread of his rudeness in the perfume store it travels faster than the scent itself so Ash now has to take cues from Team Rocket and disguises himself to get close to the gym leader Erica as she tells
49:41 the tale of how she meant gloom and had the idea of becoming a gym leader once his cover is blown he calls her out and challenges her to a battle which she surprisingly says yes the battle goes on to where Pikachu is stepping into the fight but Team Rocket also does what they do best and they ruin the the battle with some explosions causing a large fire because well this is a grass type gym and Ash jumps into the action to save Erica's Gloom who becomes trapped by the fire and is scared releasing its scent where ash just ignores it holding his breath to scoop Gloom up making it outside with no major injuries as Ash is awarded the rainbow badge again another badge that he did not earn because he did not win any battle sure don't get me wrong he did an incredible thing here that's wonderful but this is almost like cheating to get into the Pokemon League anyway rant aside we get to see how Ash can unintentionally but partially intentionally be a
50:30 jerk but like I said at the start the kid still has heart from here the group continues on their Adventures towards the next gym in fuchsia City Misty ends up capturing a Psyduck for the rest of their Journeys as psyduck's constant confusion has always been a nice break and some tension as well as Brock ends up getting a Vulpix after they all come across this Pokemon breeder named Susie that of course Brock wants to learn some pointers from for his work towards being a great breeder Ash gets his primeape into a Pokemon fighting tournament called the P1 Grand Prix where we see the toughest of the tough Pokemon duke it out like Prime Time boxing and primeape ends up winning the whole thing earning him the belt and a passion for this and Ash shows him how proud of him he is and even supports him further when Anthony the trainer of the Hitmonchan here offers to train primate further to become a real P1 fighting champion and Ash allows him to stay
51:15 behind to do so the little tough guy even gets emotional I'm so happy for him but as one Pokemon goes another one comes in as Ash becomes the proud trainer of a muck that he just immediately sends back to Professor Oak for him to deal with he's a hugger even Jesse and James have their main two Pokemon Ekans and koffing evolve into Arbok and wheezing so good for them and Ash continues on to face the fuchsia City Gym Leader Koga and despite some Interruption from Team Rocket the regular battle continues on for Ash's Charmander to score the winning blow against koga's Golbat winning him the soul badge which is nice to see Ash truly earn this one rather than just being given it for something other than battling then they all get into a little fun race Ash's ponytail that he's riding evolves into a Rapidash and then because of this ash wins this little race that's just main character energy right there and with how many losses that he has in his career going
52:04 forward it's nice to see him win something now at least we Face a bike gang which isn't as scary as it sounds once you see that it's just bicycles we even meet a ditto that can't even ditto well but it's okay I'm still proud of him but now this one for sure is the hardest Contender yet for saddest most emotional episode of the series with Pikachu's goodbye yeah get the tissues ready while on one of their rests on the routes between cities Pikachu spots another Pikachu and chases after it as the rest of the group follows Pikachu they all stop when they run into a whole large group of Pikachu hanging out together as a giant family in the woods this gets Pikachu excited to meet some friends but they are all mostly scared because he's an outsider Pikachu as well as the humans are there with him the smaller size Pikachu which totally would have just been a Pichu if Pichu were
52:50 invented at this moment but this little Pikachu comes and greets this Outsider Pikachu as now they accept him as one of of them Ash however sadly scares them away when he was just trying to get in close and join in on the fun with his Pikachu later on Brock makes note that these Pikachu
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