Episode Guide #057 - #064 Riddle Me This Volcanic Panic Beach Blank-Out Blastoise The Misty Mermaid Clefairy Tales The Battle Of The Badge It’s Mr. Mime Time Showdown at the Po-ké Corrall Riddle Me This Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Jigglypuff, Meowth, Hitmonlee, Electabuzz, Hitmonchan, Machoke, Machop, Poliwhirl, Primeape, Pidgeotto, Ninetales, Squirtle, Charizard, Rhydon, Magmar Story: Ash and his crew are on their way to Cinnabar Island, but Gary is very sure that there’s no Gym here. Cinnabar Island is a tourist resort, and a riddling hippy explains that Blaine closed down his Gym because of the tourism. Ash and the others are unsuccessful at finding a hotel, until they decipher the riddle to the location of the hippy’s hotel. Team Rocket attack the Pokémon Lab and Ash stops them, so the hippy rewards him with the riddle to finding Blaine’s hidden Gym. The guys find it in a volcano, and the hippy reveals himself to be Blaine, and Ash begins his Gym Battle, but loses horribly, and Pikachu is all that remains. Blaine’s best is used: Magmar, and Pikachu’s life is put in danger due to the lava, and a scorching Fire Blast attack... My favourite Quote: Jessie: “To protect the world from devastation!” James: “To unite all peoples within our nation!” Jessie: “To denounce the evils of truth and love!” James: “To extend our reach to the stars above!” Meowth: “Blast off at light, speed, prepare to fight and all that udder junk, let’s rob that Pokémon lab!” Things I’d like to point out: Why does Misty scream when the wall separating the boys and girls hot springs breaks? It’s not like she was seen without any clothes on. Ninetales’s Fire Spin is not exactly the most powerful attack it has; it’s just the final attack it learns. And it didn’t look like the usual fiery hurricane, more like an Ember or Flamethrower attack. Even the narrator seems to think so, dubbing the attack as Ember when doing a recap of the battle at the start of the next episode. Nice thought using electricity on Rhydon’s horn, but not valid in the Pokémon games, Rhydon didn’t even look that stunned anyway. The series is way off the mark in comparison to the games where Blaine uses a Growlithe, Ponyta, Rapidash and Arcanine (or a Ninetales instead of the former two) and uses no non-Fire Pokémon at all. Who’s That Pokémon?: Magmar Cameos in Pokémon Journey: The Pokémon Laboratory is seen, although it has more features from the games than the cartoon. Volcanic Panic Pokémon seen: Magmar, Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Charizard, Onix, Geodude, Squirtle, Staryu, Psyduck, Jigglypuff Story: Pikachu barely avoids the Fire Blast, but Ash forfeits the match to save Pikachu. Team Rocket enters the volcano to steal Magmar, and freeze it, but not for long. They go crazy and freeze most of the volcano, but a chain reaction occurs and threatens to bury the whole island in lava. Magmar blocks up the lava flow with rocks, and Ash calls on Charizard to help, but it only does this after seeing the Magmar’s strength, and many Pokémon follow. The volcano is stopped, and Ash is given another chance to battle for a Volcano Badge, but this time Charizard is willing to fight as it has seen the power of Magmar and wants to test it strength. The battle is harsh, and Charizard appears lost at one point but it strikes back with an aerial Seismic Toss and wins. Ash receives his seventh badge and the group departs, their destination: Viridian City. My favourite Quote: Blaine: “I don’t know how to thank you Ash, perhaps if I give you-” Ash: “Are you going to give me my Volcano Badge now?” Blaine (in disbelief and almost losing his wig): “Oorgh?! Urrgh No!... I was about to say that I’ll give you another chance to Battle me for your Volcano Badge!” Things I’d like to point out: The narrator dubs Ninetales’s attack from last episode’s battle as Ember (which I personally think it was meant to be by looks alone), but according to Blaine it’s meant to be a Fire Spin attack. Why does the series overwrite what Ash said last episode, and replace it with “You’ll feel a hundred percent soon Pikachu.” when the exact phrase is used again in this episode, it had no true relevance to the battle. How did Team Rocket know about the secret entrance to the volcano? Blaine has a private entrance it seems, and the other is triggered by the Gyarados statue, Team Rocket weren’t around when the entrance first opened, and its location is kept secret from tourists. This is pretty obvious so true fans should have thought about it, it takes forever for Charizard to decide it’s going to help, so why do Ash, Misty and Brock wait until Charizard makes a decision before releasing other Pokémon, Onix alone can carry far more rocks than the other Pokémon, Brock shouldn’t have waited around and just used it straight away, the fate of everyone on the island depended on them. And on the same subject, when Squirtle and Staryu cool off the working Pokémon with water, why are Onix and Geodude allowing themselves to be dampened, Rock/Ground Pokémon hate the water, and since they’re resistant to Fire attacks, surely Brock’s Pokémon didn’t need the cool-down. Another blatant error is that Misty mixes up her Pokémon; she releases Staryu but called it Starmie. Blaine previously told Pikachu that it couldn’t take the heat, but when the other Pokémon help out, Pikachu helps anyway despite being told not to. What was Pikachu thinking? Actually preparing to fight Magmar on such a dangerous arena? I think it’s unfair for Pokémon to have a Gym Battle on such dangerous conditions that it could kill them. This is the first of Charizard’s ‘Round the Moon’ Seismic Toss attacks, but it’s certainly not the last. It’s a good thing that Ash overlooked the Gym in Viridian (come to think of it, he didn’t even know about Gym Challenges back then), he only had Pikachu at the time, and you’ll see just how powerful Giovanni’s Pokémon are when they get back there. But on the other hand, the Gym probably wasn’t open at the time seeing as the other three Pallet Pokémon Trainers never went to it the first time round. Who’s That Pokémon?: Paras Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Blaine makes an appearance in Chapter 47, but the damage from this episode has not been rectified yet. Beach Blank-Out Blastoise Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Wartortle, Squirtle, Meowth, Blastoise, Jigglypuff Story: The group miss out on their boat, and instead travel to an island to help the Squirtles and Wartortles from something that has caused them to fall asleep. It turns out to be Jigglypuff, trapped in Blastoise’s hydro cannon, and everyone falls asleep. Team Rocket steal the Blastoise, but Ash’s Squirtle leads the remaining Pokémon to get it back, along with Team Rocket’s submarine. Team Rocket attack but are hindered by the Pokémon, Squirtle and Pikachu free Jigglypuff so Blastoise can beat the threat. Afterwards, all is well on the island and the group departs. My favourite Quote: (The Squirtle and Wartortle accept Ash’s Squirtle as their temporary leader) Misty: “Ash, your Squirtle’s a real leader.” Ash: “Well... that’s what happens when you’ve got a good trainer.” Brock: “Or maybe they’re just impressed by the sunglasses.” Things I’d like to point out: Withdrawing into their shell is apparently the way that Squirtle, Wartortle and Blastoise sleep, but in a later episode, Squirtle is forced to sleep, but doesn’t withdraw into its shell, so the theory is forgotten by the artists later on. How come Blastoise doesn’t seem remotely affected or hurt by the water-carried electricity? If you want to get technical, in the games a Pokémon under one status can’t be affected by another (but only the ‘named’ ones which means confusion and attraction don’t apply), so Blastoise can’t be paralysed while it sleeps. Still, while it awakens, the shocking is still carried out despite the fact that Blastoise is no longer under Jigglypuff’s effects. When Jigglypuff draws on the turtles while they slept, it really went out of its way to get them, since their heads were inside their shells, it must have crawled in some of the shells to draw on their faces. Who’s That Pokémon?: Horsea Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Misty Mermaid Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Horsea, Seel, Meowth, Goldeen, Starmie, Seaking, Staryu, Shellder, Arbok, Weezing, Psyduck, Squirtle, Dewgong Story: Horsea isn’t feeling very well, and a large amount of water is what it needs, so Misty and the guys take a detour to her home in Cerulean City. There they discover an underwater ballet is being shown here, but Misty is dismayed to find out that she’s the star of this show. It goes well, until Team Rocket lock up Lily and Violet and take their place, but Ash and Brock take Daisy’s place to help out. Arbok beats back all the Pokémon, but Seel intervenes, and evolves to defeat it. The show is a big hit and the future performances are guaranteed for the sisters, if they can hold onto some of Misty’s Pokémon. Misty gives up her Horsea and Starmie, but doesn’t let her sisters push their luck. With that done, the group departs Cerulean City and aim to get back to Viridian. My favourite Quote: Daisy (grabbing Togepi after being given Misty’s Horsea and Starmie): “Hi, Cute Egg!” Misty (snatching Togepi but presenting her Psyduck): “Wait! You’re not getting my Togepi, but you can keep this if you want it.” Lily and Violet: “We’re not That desperate!” Things I’d like to point out: Ash is surprisingly calm about being in a city with a Gym, and even more so about taking a detour to Cerulean City without first getting a Gym Badge. The title is a pun of “The Little Mermaid” (whether it be the original novel, or the Disney film based on the book). The banner on the Gym read from left to right says ‘Exciting Fantastic Underwater Ballet’, but Brock reads it out as ‘Fantastic Exciting Underwater Ballet’. On the banner, Misty and her Pokémon (minus Psyduck), plus Seel are illustrated, but how did Misty’s sisters know that she had a Horsea, she never mentioned it on the phone, so perhaps Misty has kept in contact with her sisters despite their winding her up. Again we clearly see in this episode that normal fish do exist in the Pokémon world and they’re even recognisable species. How is Misty’s hair so long? It can’t be that little part she ties up (maybe hair extensions?), and as for her mouth being open underwater, is that safe? James actually mentions that they’ll steal men’s clothes next time, seeing as he’s dressed like a ballerina, but the costume Jessie is wearing would be better off on him and vice versa. It turns out that Daisy’s narration isn’t done live since it’s broadcasted while she’s changing into costume. In the Pokémon games and my fanfic, Horn Drill is a knockout move, but here, Seaking performs it many times and Arbok keeps on going. Bite attack would have been a better name to use in this episode, Jessie orders Arbok to use Poison Sting, but Arbok doesn’t fire the usual needles, and instead chases the Pokémon around, trying to bite them. Arbok really shines in this episode and outlasts many attacks while defeating many Pokémon and backing them into a corner. Unfortunately this is another temporary fortune for Team Rocket’s Pokémon as Arbok returns to its normal one or two hit defeats after this episode. And Violet’s statement is invalidated as Arbok is clearly battling well underwater (and not needing to breathe air for some reason). Apparently Pokédexes or the updated Pokédex can be used underwater without shorting out. The storyline kind of lost the plot (the one in the theatre, not the episode itself), and I think the future performances won’t be as great, because there’ll be less Pokémon, the battle today wasn’t fake but future ones will be, and as for evolution of a Pokémon, Seel can only evolve the one time (unless one of the Goldeen evolved during each performance). This is why my story makes some sense, in that the sisters’ had to come out with new storylines, Pokémon and actors, but since Jessie and James return and disrupt the play, Tetsubo battles them, but improvises and so, gives the play a different but substantial ending. Between the scene cuts while Daisy mentions the show is sold out for the next six months, for just 1 frame, there’s a misplaced picture which takes place a few seconds later where Daisy tries to get Pikachu from Ash. Who’s That Pokémon?: Clefairy Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Daisy, Violet and Lily appear in Chapter 10, where the act in this episode has gotten old, and so, Tetsubo writes a new story, but Team Rocket also repeat an old act, by getting involved. Clefairy Tales Pokémon seen: Jigglypuff, Pidgey, Caterpie, Clefairy, Togepi, Pikachu, Meowth, Pidgeotto, Slowpoke, Dugtrio, Bulbasaur Story: Ash and the group are lured away by Clefairy that came in a spaceship, but in the process, their belongings are stolen, and it’s not just them it’s happening to, virtually everyone in town was robbed. A scientist called Oswald is on the trail of the apparent extra-terrestrials, and Ash and the group end up with him tagging along on their search. Team Rocket pose as aliens and snatch Pikachu, but their scheme takes a fall as do they. A Clefairy appears and takes off with Pikachu, and the group (joined by Jigglypuff) track it back to a spaceship, its parts made of the items they stole, and Pikachu is to be the power source. Clefairy block the way to Pikachu, Jigglypuff gets into a cat fight with the Clefairy and retrieves the pen/microphone that was stolen from it. The spaceship takes off even while everyone inside falls asleep and the stolen items tumble back to their owners. Team Rocket end up in the booster rocket which is discarded and dropped. Pikachu is freed and Ash and Misty make a dangerous escape onto a skyscraper, while Oswald remains on the spaceship... which crashes near a campsite, and the Clefairy repeat their mission again. My favourite Quote: Ash (to Oswald): “Excuse me but who are you?” Oswald: “Somevon who uncovers the truth. Because the powers that be don’t vant you to know about Earth’s visitors from outer space! For the truth; look to the skies and to me: Oswald!” Ash: “How do these guys find us?...” Things I’d like to point out: I’ve been informed that the pictures in Oswald’s book are based on real pictures of unidentified flying objects. When Jessie and James pose as aliens, they keep saying “Nomékop.” which is “Pokémon” spelt backwards. We know Oswald’s invention doesn’t work, but is there any truth to Pokémon being aliens; Seymour had a similar theory back in “Clefairy And The Moon Stone”. Coincidentally, Seymour and Oswald are voiced by the same person. When Meowth descends from the crane, the lines on his charm are gone; they reappear in the next shot. During the descent through many pipes, among the age old gag of bones being buried metres away from tunnels and such (I wonder what that means in regards to the prehistoric Pokémon and what killed the dinosaurs), there is a giant Slowpoke and Dugtrio, at least when comparing them to the size of the pipes that the group is meant to be able to fit through. Also, how the heck does Brock get to Officer Jenny? He seems to be heading back to the pipe, so how did he manage to climb all the way back up the maze to the surface? The so-called Pound attacks of Jigglypuff and Clefairy appear inaccurate, to pound someone, don’t you have to at least clench your fist? They looked more like single slap attacks. The Clefairy might be smart enough to build a spaceship, but it’s not believable that they rebuilt the road in the street to open up and serve as a ramp to take off with. I’m sure there were other ways to get Officer Jenny’s attention so that she’d believe Brock about the Clefairy. When Ash and Misty find all three backpacks, they leave the spaceship wearing theirs, but don’t seem to retrieve Brock’s, yet he has it with him at the end of the episode. It didn’t drop with the people’s lost possessions as it was found after this occurred, so either this is a serious error, or Brock managed to find and purchase a replica backpack (although he’d have lost a lot of possessions as a result). Who’s That Pokémon?: Arcanine Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None. The Battle Of The Badge Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Fearow, Meowth, Persian, Nidoking, Golem, Kingler, Arcanine, Mewtwo, Cloyster, Machamp, Rhydon, Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Pidgeotto, Arbok, Weezing Story: Back in Viridian City, and Ash heads for the Gym, but Gary beats him to it and goes inside first. Ash accidentally loses Togepi, and it falls into the hands of Team Rocket (after some trouble). Giovanni/The Boss, leader of Team Rocket, is the Gym Leader, Gary gets an early lead, but Giovanni unleashes his secret weapon, an unknown Pokémon that beats Gary’s Pokémon hands down. Jessie and James present Togepi to the Boss, but he rejects it. Giovanni is called away, so he leaves Jessie and James in charge of the Gym, and lends them some Pokémon to ensure it. Jessie and James appear and Ash accepts to battle them under their conditions. These conditions being when Ash’s Pokémon feel pain, so does he, but he refuses to give up, and strikes back, and Jessie starts getting a taste of her own medicine. Meowth attempts to take Ash out of the competition, but Gary stops him. Jessie adds new Pokémon to the battle, so Ash replies in kind, and throws in Pikachu, who shocks all the competition and wins the battle. Team Rocket refuses to hand Ash the Earth Badge but Togepi activates Meowth’s device and blows up the trainer booths, and eventually, the Gym itself. Ash gets his final badge, and everyone clears out as the Gym collapses, just after Gary actually shows some respect for Ash. My favourite Quote: Misty (to Gary’s crying cheerleaders): “Why are you making such a big deal about one lost battle?!” Pikachu: “Pikachu!” Misty: “If I cried like that every time Ash lost a battle, I’d be waterlogged!” (Ash babbles in shock as he falls to the floor) Ash: “She’s only kidding!” Things I’d like to point out: Ash claims it’s been a year since he was last at Viridian City, but this is untrue if you consider the narrator’s comment that they were in Viridian City in “The Misty Mermaid”. It would have made more sense to say that the group were headed to Viridian City but detoured to Cerulean. This episode makes it clear that there are other Gyms apart from the eight we know, and it’s really quite fair, since the Cerulean Sisters virtually close their Gym, the Cinnabar Gym becomes very much unsafe, and the Viridian Gym crumbles to pieces. My fanfic goes into this a bit more, and introduces twelve new Gym Leaders. Gary may have ten badges, but he’s missing a couple from the Gyms that we know of, he doesn’t have Surge’s badge nor Sabrina’s, and six completely new ones. This may contradict what Oak’s been telling Ash all this time, in that his rivals were always one badge and city ahead of him. We’ve always assumed that Gary went to the same six Gyms that Ash did, but it seems this isn’t the case. Ash was probably the only one of the Pallet Pokémon Trainers that beat Sabrina and Surge. Gary must have a severe level advantage, or else using the Pokémon he did would give Giovanni a big advantage. It’s what everyone’s been waiting for, the first appearance of Mewtwo, although his face is hidden by the metal mask. This is an early look at the storyline of the first movie, and Gary claims that this Pokémon is evil. I’m not sure if Mewtwo is just naturally evil, it’s just very powerful and circumstances make it act that way. For the first time, Giovanni shows his face and speaks in this episode without the use of the equipment that made his voice deeper and echoed, I figure by this point a new voice was chosen to permanently suit the Boss, since he makes more appearances in the series from now on. Harden is used differently in the cartoon than the game, it seems to repel everything, when in the cartoon (and fanfic), it only boosts defence against physical attacks, and since Bulbasaur used Vine Whip, the Harden wouldn’t have repelled it. Pidgeotto’s Quick Attack and Double Edge may have looked good when hitting Rhydon, but they shouldn’t have damaged it so much, Rock Pokémon have a resistance to Normal attacks. And more to the point, Jessie seemingly didn’t call Rhydon to the frontline to replace Kingler, so Ash is kind of making an illegal move, despite the fact that the Rockets do the same soon afterwards. Pikachu’s Electric attack shouldn’t have affected Rhydon, they didn’t even try the horn excuse, they just ignored its Ground side completely. Out of all the various Pokémon used by Giovanni and Jessie and James, only a Rhydon matches the game’s Pokémon where Giovanni specialises in Ground-types (Rhyhorn, Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Nidoking and Rhydon in Pokémon Red/Blue and Dugtrio, Nidoqueen, Rhydon and a certain Persian in Pokémon Yellow). Gary’s cheerleaders suddenly start cheering for Ash after he wins the battle; maybe they’re required to cheer for any winner they observe and not just Gary. Who’s That Pokémon?: Mr Mime Cameos in Pokémon Journey: None, seeing as the Gym collapsed and Giovanni got involved with other projects. It’s Mr. Mime Time Pokémon seen: Pikachu, Togepi, Mr Mime, Meowth, Mewtwo, Persian, Rapidash, Ponyta, Machoke, Tangela, Exeggcute, Dodrio, Charizard Story: The group is close to Ash’s home, and they must find out how to get to the Pokémon League. On the way, they encounter a Mr Mime, and Ash misses out on capturing it because of a ringmaster called Stella and Brock’s interference. Stella needed the Mr Mime to make hers jealous so it would perform again. Brock makes a costume and Ash becomes a Mr Mime, but it’s harsh training for him. On the day of the circus, Team Rocket appears and takes Ash thinking he’s a Mr Mime. Mrs Ketchum is in the audience but knows that it was Ash. He manages to escape Team Rocket and return home, but before he does, the wild Mr Mime goes to Ash’s home and Mrs Ketchum thinks it’s Ash, and treats it to a meal. Ash returns home and the wild Mr Mime gets spooked, but Mrs Ketchum talks it into helping. Team Rocket attack the circus and capture the Pokémon, before going after Stella’s Mr Mime. Ash intervenes and the new Mr Mime works to trap Team Rocket, but inspires Stella’s to help out, and together, they imprison and defeat Team Rocket. Ash and his friends return home, as does the Mr Mime, who’s there to stay. My favourite Quote: Ash (to Team Rocket): “Sorry to disappoint you, I’m no Mr Mime but I was good enough to fool you!... Though I guess that’s not saying very much.” Things I’d like to point out: The first mistake is right in front of our eyes, the title! The voice of Ash specifically says Mr Mime, but the title has it down as Mr. Mimie. Isn’t Mimie the way to spell the nickname of Mrs Ketchum’s Mr Mime? The base that Team Rocket currently uses isn’t very inconspicuous, there’s a huge R on it. Giovanni claims that Jessie and James will never find a Pokémon as rare as Mewtwo. Now, we know how the Mewtwo plot ends up, but at the time he said that, why does he even keep Jessie and James around after they destroyed his Gym? How is Stella’s Mr Mime supposed to get jealous if it remains in its trailer and doesn’t watch its replacement? A small error, but an error none-the-less, when Misty’s watching the show, Togepi’s blue triangle on its egg disappears for a moment. Mrs Ketchum, Misty and Brock shouldn’t be so sure that Team Rocket would let Ash go upon discovering he was masquerading as a Mr Mime, Ash has ruined many Team Rocket schemes, including Giovanni’s on the Saint Anne. What if they brought Ash to the Boss to be punished for all the trouble he’s caused? Mrs Ketchum questioning if Ash has a twin brother is pathetic, for one thing, it’s just two Mr Mime/Mr Mime costumes (whatever), and she should know if Ash has a twin brother, she’s his mother after all! How did Team Rocket know about the real Mr Mime? All they saw was Ash in a costume, although they could have presumed that he was taking a real one’s place. Another colour mistake, when you see Team Rocket from within the tank when speaking out, their gloves have once again disappeared. Apparently Light Screen in the cartoon is only used to make the strange transparent glass slates, but in the games and fanfic, it’s used to defend against special attacks. Who’s That Pokémon?: Jynx Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Stella briefly appears in Chapter 55, when she brings her show to the Pokémon Village and encourages volunteers to perform; Scott and Eve become a part of it. Showdown at the Po-ké Corrall Pokémon seen: Mr Mime, Pikachu, Togepi, Meowth, Mewtwo, Persian, Krabby, Kakuna, Beedrill, Snorlax, Growlithe, Rattata, Raticate, Gloom, Paras, Oddish, Nidoran Female, Nidoran Male, Starmie, Poliwag, Staryu, Goldeen, Seel, Horsea, Mankey, Primeape, Rapidash, Ponyta, Pidgey, Pidgeotto, Spearow, Doduo, Parasect, Exeggcute, Rhyhorn, Rhydon, Onix, Diglett, Dugtrio, Vulpix, Muk, Geodude, Sandshrew, Slowpoke, Electrode, Voltorb, Tauros Story: Ash has a nightmare about the Pokémon League, on the day that he’s to inquire about it. Team Rocket’s base is destroyed by Giovanni’s special Pokémon, he survives and leaves, but unknowingly gives Jessie, James and Meowth a boost of confidence, and they decide to rob Oak’s research centre. Ash and the group arrive at Oak’s house, Gary’s there and it turns out that he and Ash are the most successful of the four Pallet Town Pokémon Trainers. Gary and Ash compare their training techniques, but Gary appears to have done better than Ash in all aspects. The group learns how Oak works every day and of his research, and just before Ash and Gary have their first Pokémon Battle, Team Rocket finally makes it to confront Oak. Before Ash and Gary can fight them off, Ash’s Tauros break out and defeat Team Rocket. Gary decides not to battle as he’d rather do it in the Pokémon League. My favourite Quote: Gary (to Ash): “Hmph. Well now, I’m not surprised you showed up late, I’m surprised you showed up at all!” Things I’d like to point out: Sources says the title pun is from “Showdown at the O-Kay Corral”, of which I have no idea what it’s from (possibly a poem but I’ve no proof of such so e- mail me if you know). As a result, the pun is understandable but not why Corral was spelt with two L’s. This is the second key scene to be referred to/reanimated in the first Pokémon Movie; the destruction of a Rocket Base by Mewtwo who shoots into the sky while shedding the metal suit placed on it. It’s hard to believe that trainers that were always said to have been ahead of Ash in terms of location and Gym badges gave up on entering the League, I would comment on the fact there are so few Gyms around now but the series suddenly invented a bunch of new ones if the badges seen in future episodes are anything to go by. Personally I just think the original storywriters couldn’t be bothered to include two other trainers as main characters so they just wrote them off as being failures. We’ve seen that Gary has the Boulder Badge in “The Battle Of The Badge” and Brock was the only Gym Leader in Pewter City until his father took over, yet Brock asks Gary what sort of Pokémon he would use against him as if they’ve never battled each other before. If it’s true that Ash has travelled around for at least a year, and that the Pokémon League will take place in two months, then either the dates are messed up or Oak gave starter Pokémon to the trainers a good fourteen months before the Pokémon League that Ash and Gary compete in. Oak says they’ll be over 200 trainers competing in the Pokémon League, I count 256 seeing as there are eight rounds, the numbers would go from 256 to 128, and then 64, 32, 16, 8, 4 and 2. Gary’s theory holds some truth; in that it’s good to rotate around your various Pokémon, unlike Ash, who barely switches at all. However I don’t see how only two of Ash’s Pokémon are fully evolved (that weren’t fully evolved at the time of capture) and so many of Gary’s have considering he switches around and Ash keeps a set team of Pokémon, it should be the other way around so Gary has clearly battled more than Ash. I agree with Gary’s technique in terms of training and types, but not his attitude, or the mistake that he and everyone makes in this cartoon, in that one shouldn’t use Electric-types against a Rock-type (he should have mentioned the Ground-type part of things to make the statement undeniably true). And here’s the undeniable proof about the missing episode in which Ash ends up catching 30 Tauros in the Safari Zone, as they’re all hanging out in Oak’s place, but he only uses one particular Tauros throughout the series. Gary has 200 Pokémon, and thinks you can never have too many Pokémon, I beg to differ. If you have too many Pokémon, you might not have the time to train one to a significant level if you’re catering for all the others (199 in Gary’s case it seems). Ash may not have evolved Pokémon, but he still has a strong team, but despite his theory, Gary has raised some great Pokémon too. However, among these 200 Pokémon, Gary has apparently only seen 60 different kinds, so he must have caught the same kind of Pokémon in several cases, that or not used his Pokédex on all his Pokémon or when they evolved. I’m not sure if Ash used his Pokédex on all the Pokémon he’s seen so far, but if he did then he very well would have seen over 100 Pokémon. Oak seems to have a thing for the Pokémon Trading Card Game, during his speech, the border of the screen is lined with the various symbols from the cards, he also has the symbols on his computer in various Pokémon movies. According to the Pokédex, Doduo can run faster than they can fly, but other episodes contradict this theory completely as Doduo/Dodrio can’t fly at all. Back in the second episode “Pokémon Emergency!”, Oak dismissed Ash’s claims to have seen Ho-oh (even if he thought the Articuno slate was what he saw), now that Oak believes there are more Pokémon, he doesn’t go against Ash’s claim when he brings it up today. Ash may find as many Pokémon friends as he can, but as the series goes on into the new regions, Ash has plenty of opportunity to catch Pokémon but doesn’t, usually in the interests of the Pokémon. I think this is the first time in which Electrode and Voltorb explode, but don’t disappear, they only get stunned, and here’s hoping every episode after this one remembers that, Voltorb and Electrode aren’t expendable bombs. “Show me the way to go home, I’m tired and I wanna go to bed!” This quote James is using to complain with is from the movie “Jaws” though he says it rather than sing it. Oak might be surprised at Meowth being able to talk but Gary shouldn’t, he blatantly heard Meowth speak during “The Battle Of The Badge” and replied to something he said regarding a remote control. Who’s That Pokémon?: Slowbro Cameos in Pokémon Journey: Oak made an appearance in Chapter 3, as did his lab, and many of Ash’s Pokémon are mentioned in that story. Episodes #049 - #056 Episodes #065 - #072 Back to the Episode Guide Movie and Mini-movie Guide Back to the Pokézone