Episode Guide #017 - #024 Island of the Giant Pokémon Tentacool & Tentacruel The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak Bye Bye Butterfree Abra and the Psychic Showdown The Tower of Terror Haunter Versus Kadabra Primeape Goes Bananas Island of the Giant Pokémon Pokémon seen: Krabby, Pikachu, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Slowpoke, Meowth, Koffing, Ekans, Slowbro, Persian Story: After the wild ride, Ash and friends end up on a mysterious island, and Ash is missing some Pokémon, Team Rocket has lost their Pokémon too, and search for a way out. Meanwhile, Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle fend for themselves and end up hanging out with the Rocket’s Pokémon until they can find their masters and friends. Team Rocket use a rail cart to escape, and are joined by Ash and company. The Pokémon are reunited with their trainers, but the group accidentally destroys all of the giant Pokémon that have been hassling them, which are actually robots. My favourite Quote: Ash: “Stop the car right now!” Jessie: “We can’t do that.” James: “We can’t stop, the brake’s broken.” Ash: “Gimme a break!” Things I’d like to point out: This is the only episode that has subtitles for the Pokémon, we could sure use some more over various stories in the series in the absence of people, or even Meowth, but we don’t. Ekans claims that Pokémon do bad things only because their masters are bad, however there are clear exceptions to the rule, for instance, Charizard’s behaviour when it flies around breathing flames on things, people and Pokémon, Ash didn’t raise it to attack the innocent, it’s Charizard’s choice to do so. Meowth says that his master isn’t around any more, hinting that he had one, but the episode “Go West Young Meowth” makes it clear that Meowth grew up alone. I’m quite interested in where limbless Pokémon like Ekans and Koffing managed to set up the tea set and the table out of nowhere. Squirtle and Bulbasaur speak as if not only Ash abandoned them but Misty and Brock, but they refer to them as Masters, unless they said that just to make it simple for Ekans and Koffing who have separate masters. It’s a big coincidence that the Pokémon call out to specific people, while they are calling out for the specific Pokémon, with the exception of Brock additionally shouting out for Bulbasaur, who didn’t call out at all. Another coincidence is that when the Pokémon leap into the rail cart, they are caught by the person they were previously calling, again with the exception of Bulbasaur, who is caught by Brock. The robot Pokémon are mean, like the Blastoise for instance, I know they’re supposed to act like real Pokémon, but surely Pokémon aren’t This bad, and the island isn’t exactly safe for the Slowpoke and Slowbro (which appear to be real), or any people that end up on it. If a child was to sneak in and get hurt, the parents would almost certainly sue the people in Pokémon Land, had it not been destroyed. According to most; a Charmander dies if its flame goes out, plus they always shield their tails in the presence of water, so how does Ash’s one survive when the entire group takes a fall and splashes into the water, especially since they don’t emerge immediately? When the Gyarados tour boat floats by, the ‘Surfing’ music from the Pokémon games is heard for the first time, it’s suiting since it’s only heard while a trainer travels through water on a Pokémon’s back. Giovanni, the boss of Team Rocket, has a dark echoing voice whenever he’s communicating over a phone or video link. We know that because we hear his real voice in “The Battle Of The Badge”. But when he puts down the phone in this episode, he keeps the dark mysterious voice. Did he forget to take out his fake voice device, or does he like his voice sounding that way at this point of the season? The Slowpoke that evolves at the end because of the Shellder has already evolved because we can see it has the beige stomach that only Slowbro have, yet it talks like a Slowpoke only until the evolved Shellder is revealed from the water. This is a big error, unless Slowpoke/Slowbro is so slow that it took it a while longer than other Pokémon to realise what it was now and speak as such Who’s That Pokémon?: Slowbro Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. Tentacool & Tentacruel Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Horsea, Staryu, Goldeen, Starmie, Meowth, Tentacool, Tentacruel, Pidgeotto, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, Zubat Story: Ash and friends are stranded in Porta Vista, after missing the ferry to get off the island; they see a Horsea, who tries to warn them about something, right before an explosion happens out towards the ocean. Misty’s Pokémon save some workers who have been paralysed by certain Pokémon, and they soon meet a selfish and greedy lady called Nastina, who explains that the Tentacool have been hindering her hotel construction. She offers a lot in return for the total annihilation of the Tentacool, but the group soon goes against Nastina’s ways. Team Rocket opt to rid Nastina of the Tentacool, but they end up making things much worse, and a huge Tentacruel threatens to destroy Porta Vista. The group’s Pokémon battle and attempt to reason with the Tentacool, but it’s Misty who makes the difference. The Tentacool leave and Nastina is punished for her actions, but should the humans repeat the destructive acts on the Tentacool’s ocean home, they’ll be back. My favourite Quote: Misty (catching Horsea and doing a two fingers up pose): “Horsea... You’re my Pokémon!” Ash: “Wait a minute, that’s supposed to be my pose!” Misty: “I know, but I’ve always wanted to try it out for myself.” Brock: “That’s a great idea, next time I’ll try it.” Ash: “Oh why don’t you guys just think up your own poses, okay?!” Things I’d like to point out: The Pokédex calls Horsea ‘a Dragon Pokémon’, this is its classification and not to be confused with its type which is currently a Water-type. What is up with Nastina’s four servants, they wear nothing but underpants and they all have female anime hairstyles. When Team Rocket are blasted for insulting Nastina, they were originally confused because they thought they were addressing her cousin, and she blasted them because she was insulted by this even though it’s true (see “Beauty and the Beach” below). Team Rocket plan on stunning, catching, and selling the Tentacool in a fish market, but didn’t Nastina say that you can’t eat Tentacool? Either Team Rocket is wrong or Nastina just isn’t doing it properly. If the Stun Sauce was meant to knock out the Tentacool, why did the whole barrel evolve and supersize one of them? What would have happened if Team Rocket poured the sauce on several Tentacool? Terrible mistake Nastina, after all that she did, did she really expect for the Tentacruel to work with her? Apparently so... Check carefully what Porta Vista looks like at the beginning of this episode and then compare it to the town that Nastina lands in. This is the same town that Ash, Misty and Brock ended up in last episode (“Island of the Giant Pokémon”), yet; the narrator said that This was Porta Vista when it isn’t; very sneaky indeed. This was to cover up the fact that an episode was taken out of the series and wasn’t aired elsewhere to my knowledge: “Beauty and the Beach”. Nastina’s cousin (Brutella) was the villain of this missing episode, as the owner of a beach house in competition with an old man, whose dock is damaged by a boat accident caused by Team Rocket. Ash and his friends help to promote the restaurant using their Pokémon, but Team Rocket sabotages their attempts again and again until the customers are lost to Nastina’s cousin. The episode also includes a ladies’ swimsuit competition, a couple of reasons it could have been in bad taste was because this sort of thing is a little adult for a kid’s show, and of course, James going one step further on the dressing up like a woman thing, and entering the contest with a female body suit complete with disturbingly realistic girl parts. And as far as I’ve heard, Gary, his cheerleaders, Professor Oak and Ash’s mother appear in the episode so the females can compete, and Mrs Ketchum wins the contest and the old man’s business is saved. You can see a small clip of this episode with Ash and his friends leaving Oak and Mrs Ketchum when Ash thinks about his mother in “Hypno’s Naptime”. This explains why Mrs Ketchum knows about Brock and Misty in “It’s Mr. Mime Time”. Though it wasn’t officially aired, the missing episode’s title pun is from the fairy tale story “Beauty and the Beast”. Who’s That Pokémon?: Horsea Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak Pokémon seen: Gastly, Pikachu, Meowth, Ekans, Koffing, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur Story: The group reach Maiden’s Peak after their boat ride, and Brock is quite taken to a mysterious girl, as is James. A festival is happening, and an old story is told of the girl that the guys saw, of how she waited for her beloved soldier, but he never returned to her. Brock and James continue to be infatuated by the rock that represents the maiden, and disappear during the night, the night in which the ghost of the maiden appears. Ash, Misty and Jessie soon find Brock and James, and are helped by the old lady that warned them of the maiden, but Brock and James can’t help but go after the maiden again, who turns out to be a powerful (and fluent in human language) Gastly. He has not only been posing as the maiden, but as the old lady too, and he clearly has the edge over everyone with his powers and tricks, but the sun rises and Gastly must flee. The real ghost converses with Gastly, whose job it was to keep the legend alive, plus, he got to make some bucks from conning Ash. My favourite Quote: James (being dragged away into the air by an unseen force): “But why?! Why aren’t the stickers working?!” Meowth: “Maybe because-” Jessie: “We got them...” Meowth and James: “... For free.” James: “Free? What do you mean Free?” Jessie (pointing to Ash’s group): “A two for one deal, we got one free set for every set They brought. It was a real bargain.” James: “You used freebies?” Jessie: “Oops!” James: “I can’t believe you’re letting that ghost get me just because you’re both so cheap!” Things I’d like to point out: Officer Jenny takes her job way too seriously, would anyone seriously go to her to ask if she’s seen their lost penny, and what if someone claimed he’d lost all the change she found but was lying? Why is this Gastly the only one who can talk and shapeshift? Meowth learned how to speak, at the sacrifice of his experience points, what’s the excuse for this Pokémon, apart from the writers wanting the first Ghost Pokémon to be a hit? Gastly creates a mongoose to scare Ekans, again raising the question about normal animals living in the Pokémon world alongside Pokémon, a mongoose Pokémon was eventually added but long after this episode was first aired. Apparently not only vampires exist in the Pokémon World but also the concept of Christianity, if Misty’s cross is anything to go by. Gastly says that he hates sunlight, so how is it that he can ignore it when he’s posing as the old lady and the maiden, In The Sunlight? There’s actually a Japanese festival which includes all the things the group (and Team Rocket) do at the end of the episode. What does Gastly need with money, he’s proved that he has many powers, so what would he ever need to buy? Who’s That Pokémon?: Gastly Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but Emily visits the place before her journey and her tale with Sebastian is briefly spoken of in her first side story: “Diary of Woe”. Also Rick and Veronica share a side story here in “Haunting Past”, and a similar experience. Bye Bye Butterfree Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Butterfree, Meowth, Persian, Starmie Story: It’s the season of love for the Butterfree, a time when they find a mate and have babies. Ash and the group take to the skies in a hot-air balloon and he has his Butterfree go out and search for a mate, it finds someone he likes; only she doesn’t like him back. He tries again but the results are no different, and then Team Rocket appears in a helicopter to steal the Butterfree. The good guys track Team Rocket to a warehouse, and rescue the Butterfree but must destroy their helicopter to secure the Butterfree’s freedom. The pink Butterfree from earlier falls for Ash’s after its heroic rescue, and the two depart shortly after. My favourite Quote: Brock: “Listen up Butterfree! See that Butterfree that girl just released?! Haaaah! That one, that one right there! Pick that one!” Butterfree (tilting its head as if to question Brock): “Free?” Brock: “Don’t you get it?! If two Butterfree fall in love, their trainers will meet and they can fall in love too!” Misty (after punching Brock on the head): “Don’t butt into Pokémon love affairs!” Things I’d like to point out: Ash is under the impression that if his Butterfree doesn’t find a mate right here and right now; it will never have babies. Surely ‘never’ isn’t the term to use here, his Butterfree was a Caterpie not too long ago, what’s the big rush? Surely Butterfree could find a mate next year, but of course, this was a way to write it out of the series. This is the first time a Pokémon’s gender has been properly confirmed, however, the pink Butterfree isn’t an official Shiny Pokémon, at least not in the games. Where did Misty get that pack of water and hose from, it’s hardly the sort of thing to be stored in the warehouse, and we know she hasn’t carried it around because it’s too big to conceal in her bag. When Pikachu deals with Team Rocket’s helicopter, the net that was previously out has disappeared. The Butterfree that Ash’s hitches up with isn’t very nice in my opinion, she totally ignored Ash’s Butterfree and shot it down, and it takes a massive rescue of her, and ninety-nine other Butterfree, before she shows an interest in Ash’s. Is this all that female Pokémon want? A big hero? I do believe this is the first time that a Pokémon leaves the group, it was made to be as moving as possible (someone I know shed a tear, but will remain nameless, and before you ask, I’m not talking about myself). Again Ash has a bad memory; the alternative Metapod to Butterfree evolution sound used in “Pokémon Shipwreck” is heard yet again. Who’s That Pokémon?: Butterfree Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but the area (that I’ve named Butterfree Canyon) is used when Bryan reveals his true nature to Emily in Chapter 23, and holds her captive in a warehouse similar to the one that Team Rocket uses in this episode. Abra and the Psychic Showdown Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Bulbasaur, Meowth, Abra, Kadabra Story: The group near Saffron City, and are noticed by a young girl, who disappears shortly after. The guys are caught by Team Rocket, but are rescued by the same young girl from before, through some mysterious powers. They move to the Gym, where the young girl sits with the Gym Leader, and has some very particular rules for the battle. Pikachu can’t stand up to Kadabra, and Ash loses the match, but also his freedom. The three are teleported to a strange place, which turns out to be a very large doll’s house, at least in comparison to Ash and the others. They are freed by a man that Ash met earlier (through teleportation), and the man insists that Ash must find a Ghost Pokémon to beat Sabrina. With that, the group leave to search for a Ghost Pokémon in Lavender Town. My favourite Quote: Ash: “It’s Team Rocket... Ugh, gross! They both kissed me!” Things I’d like to point out: Once again, James shows off his feminine side, literally, wearing the same Hawaiian dress as Jessie, and going as far as kissing Ash on the cheek to carry out the latest Team Rocket scheme. The tans of Jessie and James’s disguises: How did they come off so fast? A warp tile is used to capture the good guys in this episode, is this Silph Co? One of the few places that has the tiles? In Pokémon Journey, Silph Co is taken over by Rockets, as in the game storyline, and Rick’s uncle is the president. This episode gives off the impression that you can’t control a Psychic-type Pokémon without using telekinetic powers, but the series contradicts this a lot, for one thing, Ash’s mother doesn’t have telekinesis, but she gets on fine with her Mr Mime. Although a later episode (“The Psychic Sidekicks!”) says that you can develop a mental link with your Psychic Pokémon given enough time and training, you don’t actually need it in order to train one. Ash claims it’s against the rules to leave a stadium even through teleportation, in the games, teleporting causes a Pokémon to leave a battle, but since Sabrina, an official Gym Leader, had her Kadabra come straight back, this technique is obviously not illegal like Ash says. It’s not mentioned again so it wasn’t really worth mentioning other than to fill in the vocal space. However, I’m sure Sabrina breaks several rules (Pokémon League, law and moral codes) by changing losing trainers into miniature versions or themselves or tiny dolls and rolling large balls at them. There are symbols used on psychic flashcards on the walls of the Sabrina’s room (the one with the Doll’s House. Sabrina’s father says that only Ghost Pokémon can beat Psychic-types. This isn’t true, Ghost attacks, Bug attacks or a sheer physical powerhouse assault also works. It’s tough and all, but not impossible, and it’s a good thing the makers of the game tweaked things so that Psychic-types aren’t so tough in the second set of games. Who’s That Pokémon?: Abra Cameos in Pokémon Journey: The man with long auburn hair and the cloth over his mouth (who I named Boris) appears in Chapter 27, and Abby’s Gym Battle, and Sabrina’s act of hurting him with psychic powers is repeated, but from another room. The Tower of Terror Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Meowth, Gastly, Charmander, Haunter, Gengar Story: The group arrive in Lavender Town and prepare to enter the tower to catch a Ghost Pokémon, while Team Rocket sees one, and end up in a heap of trouble. The Ghost Pokémon catch onto the guys, and scare them out of the tower. Ash and Pikachu return, and stand up to the ghost’s pranking, but they are hurt, and the ghosts pull out their spirits so they can be play together and be friends. Ash returns to his body, and leaves the town, but Haunter decides to follow him back. My favourite Quote: James (referring to Jessie): “She’s got fire in her eyes.” Meowth: “Yeah, and in her hair too.” Things I’d like to point out: Just an observation really, when the Ghost Pokémon are laughing, you’re supposed to think they’re taunting the good guys, when in reality, they’re only laughing at a TV show. After Misty was so relieved at Ash not being dead, it’s obvious she cares for him but she will continue to bug him about her bike. Who’s That Pokémon?: Gengar Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, but the Ghost Tower is visited in Chapter 21 when Tetsubo searches for the new Gym Leader, Agatha. Haunter Versus Kadabra Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Haunter, Charmander, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Kadabra, Meowth Story: Ash and the crew are back in Saffron City with Haunter, and challenge Sabrina again, but Haunter doesn’t show for the battle, and Ash escapes, while Brock and Misty are turned into dolls. The mysterious man tells of how Sabrina became obsessed with her psychic training when she was young, she drove everyone away, and the conflict split her into two people, the little girl with Sabrina represents her true self. Team Rocket attempt to capture Pikachu, but Haunter scares them and ruins their scheme. Ash returns to the Gym, but Haunter pulls another disappearing act, and Pikachu must take another onslaught. Haunter reappears, and entertains Sabrina until she laughs, and since she’s linked to Kadabra, it is unable to battle because it’s laughing so much. Sabrina’s other half disappears, since she’s whole with Sabrina now and found balance, Ash gets his friends back and receives the Marsh Badge, while Haunter decides to remain here for now. My favourite Quote: Misty (referring to Brock and Haunter): “Please, he couldn’t be afraid of such a cute little thing.” Haunter (snuggling lovingly against Misty who giggles as he does): “Hau... Hau... Hau...” Brock: “Cute... Riiiight...” (Haunter licks Misty, and paralyses her) Misty: “It just crossed the cute line!...” Things I’d like to point out: Ash really doesn’t have a clue when it comes to mysteries and twists, even Pikachu realised the mysterious man is Sabrina’s father, judging by its expression, and all throughout the future, Ash is tricked by Team Rocket’s costumes even though their hair is a dead giveaway. “Just how dense can a person be?!” sums it up quite well. Team Rocket wrongly say that Einstein invented the light bulb; it was Thomas Edison, a mistake they seem to wholeheartedly believe in since this isn’t the last time they state this. The translators should have mentioned this was a mistake since children watch the show and might believe Team Rocket’s incorrect opinion. Team Rocket wrongly say that Einstein invented the lightbulb (it was Edison), a fact that is pointed out to them in Hoenn when they make the same mistake. Ash pretty much forgives Haunter for leaving because it saved Pikachu, but it didn’t leave Because of that. Pikachu wasn’t in any immediate danger at the Gym (excluding Sabrina of course) and Haunter really is just an unreliable Pokémon, since it disappears once more afterwards. Sabrina’s mother asks Brock and Misty to forgive Sabrina, and that she’s a good daughter. She turned her own mother into a doll, Woman! I believe in forgiveness but in these circumstances, Sabrina really takes the biscuit. The rematch confirms that as well as being faced much earlier than some of the other Gym Leaders Sabrina differs from the Pokémon used in the games in only using one Pokémon since in the games she uses a Kadabra and an Alakazam, a Mr Mime and a Venomoth (or an Abra, Kadabra and Alakazam in Pokémon Yellow. Although Haunter defeats Sabrina by making her laugh, her father failed to mention that although Ghost Pokémon are strong against Psychic Pokémon, the three known Ghost Pokémon are weak against Psychic attacks because of their Poison side. He must have foreseen that Haunter would only succeed in making his daughter laugh and cure her problems. When the group consider the next Gym, Pikachu’s frame rate becomes extremely basic; it only has three different movements until the end of the conversation where it suddenly becomes properly animated again. Who’s That Pokémon?: Haunter Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Sabrina appears in Chapter 27, and also in Emily’s, Chad’s, Abby’s, Scott’s and Rick’s Gym Battles, along with a vague reference from Danielle’s side story and how she lost to Sabrina. Primeape Goes Bananas Pokémon seen: Poliwag, Slowpoke, Poliwhirl, Bellsprout, Dodrio, Krabby, Pikachu, Mankey, Meowth, Charizard, Blastoise, Primeape, Ekans, Koffing, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charmander Story: Ash catches up with Oak, but must hurry on to catch up with his rivals, a Mankey appears, and Ash is extra psyched to catch it, but he gets it mad, and it attacks him and steals his cap. Team Rocket appears and makes Mankey so mad; it evolves just to get even with them. It ends up chasing Ash until he stands up to it and uses many of his Pokémon to capture Primeape, although he still retains his uncontrollable nature. Thanks to Primeape speeding them up, Ash and his friends reach Celadon City early. My favourite Quote: James: “Team Rocket always puts beauty before duty.” Things I’d like to point out: The food dubbed as doughnuts are actually Japanese riceballs. It’s a major coincidence but actually a taste of things to come, the line-up in the advert are the same Pokémon that Ash battles his rival with; his Charizard versus Gary's Blastoise. Um, how come the message ‘Pokémon League’ on the advert’s Pokéball is spelt ‘Pockemon Leag’? ‘League’ might have been cut short but surely the word Pokémon should be spelt correctly. It’s a huge coincidence that Mankey evolved into Primeape after being kicked by James, as the same thing occurred with Magikarp/Gyarados in “Pokémon Shipwreck”. If not for enraging the Pokémon to attack everyone around it, it’d be a great method for Team Rocket to acquire evolved Pokémon. Ash ran as fast as he could to get away from Primeape, and Team Rocket were left behind, yet they managed to get ahead, and dig a hole for him to fall into. It’s kind of like the Road Runner cartoons when the coyote always manages to get ahead and lay a trap. Ash used his three favourite Pokémon to battle Primeape, but it would have been easier to just use Pidgeotto, Flying-types have the advantage over Fighting-types, something Ash should have studied up on. The light tapping sounds heard when Team Rocket should be getting pummelled by a great deal of Primeape doesn’t sound remotely strong, are these Primeape weaklings, choosing not to exert their full strength or is Ash’s Primeape just a lot stronger than the others? Who’s That Pokémon?: Primeape Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, Tetsubo and Emily pass right by this route underground in Chapter 23, but Tetsubo returns here on the way back to Saffron City in Chapter 25, and meets his younger brother around here. Episodes #009 - #016 Episodes #025 - #032 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone