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| English Series Commentary |
Commentary on the English Episodes of Pokemon: Episodes Five Through Nine
Kathy: Welcome back, people! Now, before we start, I just want to make a few things clear, here... [clears her throat]
A lot of people have been asking why and if Kojiro/James is a "girly-boy" (and all variations thereof that I won't list)... Now, let me explain the concept of "bishounen" to you; pronounced "bee-show-nen", a man who acts bishounen is one who acts feminine but not necessarily portrays himself as a girl. North American culture can't differenciate from that, but in Japanese anime and manga, there is a difference. Kojiro/James is an example of this, as well as Tuxedo Kamen/Tuxedo Mask from Sailor Moon. Depending on the series, a few characters are like that... I can't think of any off the top of my head, but manga and anime drawn in "shoujo" style (pronounced "show-jo") like Magic Knights Rayearth have their men drawn in this style (and for those of you who've seen it, I don't think you'd call Ferio a "girly-boy", eh? ^_^). So stop calling Kojiro/James that, okay? He may be a bad guy, but he's cool.
Okay, Brad, you can talk now, I vented my ranting out. ^^;
Brad: Gee, how am I supposed to follow an entrance like that? "To unite all people within our nation..." just doesn't fit any more. ^_^;
Kathy: Argh! [facefaults!]
Brad: Anyways, as you might have already heard, our tape of the first few Pokemon episodes got mangled... so you'll have to forgive us if our recollection of this week's events is a bit rusty. Starting at episode 5 this week, we saw Ash engage in his first gym battle. In both the game and the series, Pokemon trainers can become members of the Pokemon League by defeating the leaders of the Pokemon gyms in each city. The first gym leader is Brock, the leader of the Pewter City gym, and he's an expert in earth-type Pokemon.
Kathy: Ash just doesn't know what he's doing, here... I mean, you don't use such a cute and small Pokemon against such a big bully like Onix! And man, does Brock ever acts vicious here; hard to believe that he actually joins with Ash at the end...
Okay, now to episode 6; Clefairy's so cute!! Brad, I want one! [voice pitch goes up a few octaves]
Brad: Now, dear, you need to catch one just like everyone else... but if you sing for me, I'll give you one of mine. ^_^ "La la la la la la lala la..." [obscure reference to original Pokemon anime ending theme]
Kathy: A-heh... no. Anyways, it's nice and sweet how the Clefairies act in this show, but I just don't buy Seymour's theory that the Pokemon came from space... Sure, "beware the invasion of Pokemon!" ^_^ And Team Rocket just doesn't know when to quit...
Brad: Of course not! They almost win this one, but the Clefairies beat them back with their Metronome attack... I keep wondering if this attack is the same in the game... hypnosis/massive damage. If it is, then I want one too. =)
Episode 7 is another gym match, this time with the gym leaders of Cerulean City, Misty's sisters. If you want adorable, I think Seel's even cuter than Clefairy... =) Actually, you see one of the running gags in the show in this episode, and also in the earlier episode 5... the "identical septuplets" syndrome. Both Joy, the Pokemon Center nurse, and the blue-haired policewoman have several sisters, identical to them in appearance but differing slightly in personality. I suppose it makes it easier for newcomers to the series to identify characters, but it stretches believability JUST a little...
Still, it's the same in the game itself... when was the last time you saw programmers bother to use different character sprites for non-critical characters? Every Pokemon Center nurse looks the same in the game, too... maybe it's a pun on the game?
Anyways, the battle in this episode ends up being between Misty and Ash, since Misty's sisters don't really feel like fighting. Misty is quite a talented Pokemon trainer, and she does very well against Ash... but in the end, the hero triumphs, and gets his second badge.
I liked Team Rocket's plan to steal the Pokemon in this episode... it's a pity they had to get zotted again. =)
Kathy: Actually, if I can correct you, neither Ash nor Misty won that match; now, if Team Rocket hadn't shown up, things might have been different... you almost have to thank those three twits for that. ^_^; Nice plan they had, yeah...
Episode 8 introduces another would-be rival of Ash, A.J., a Pokemon trainer who's training style is harsh but effective. Just look at his Sandshrew, isn't he kawaii dechu? ^_^ It's a good thing that Ash doesn't train Pikachu like that, though, it'd be too hard on the poor denki nezumi...
Brad: Yup... I wouldn't treat my Pokemon like that, but since Sandshrew seems to care about A.J., he must not be all bad. =) Ash is, unfortunately, rather cocky and self-righteous in this episode. He went overboard trying to prove that his way of training was better than A.J.'s, when it really wasn't. In the end, Ash gets humbled, but it doesn't last to the next episode. Pity. ^_^;
Now, if Sandshrew was cute in this episode, then Meowth was downright spooky in his cuteness. Walking around on a giant rubber ball? Playing with Sandshrew as though he were a ball of yarn? KAI-YOOT! The "top cat" has to join my three favorite Pokemon (Pikachu and Bulbasaur are the other two). But enough talk of cuteness they're *ALL* cute!
Kathy: Meowth's not cute... Meowth's a pain...
Brad: Was Ash right to think that A.J.'s methods were wrong? In the end, A.J. proved that he was just as kind to his Pokemon as others... the difference was that he trained them harder, and his Pokemon knew that and wanted it. How would you train your Pokemon? Write me at cod@compusmart.ab.ca and let me know what you think! How about you, Kathy?
Kathy: Eh... I don't know how I'd train my Pokemon... though in the game, I already know what my winning team would be, but that's a secret! Can't let the opposition find out about my strategies, eh? By the way, for those of you who are curious, I gave up trying to convince Brad to give me the Blue version so I'm going with the Red version... Brad WILL be trading me Meowth and Sandshrew, right Brad? ^_^
Episode 9 was absolutely incredible and in my opinion the best show of this week, and we find out one of Team Rocket's dark secrets... they couldn't make it in Pokemon Tech! They failed the entrance exams! Hahahahaha! Um... ^^;
Anyways, this episode goes to prove that there's more than one way to skin a cat... or rather, more than one way to get in the Pokemon League. I can't say I agree with the Pokemon Tech's version, though... wouldn't it be better to go out into the world and earn them? Giselle does have a point though, in that even if your Pokemon is weak against your opponent's Pokemon, it doesn't mean that you don't stand a chance... but I'll let Brad rant about that later. I'm just glad everyone made up at the end. ^_^ And people, don't you think that Team Rocket's getting a LITTLE too weird with their speech effects? Jeez, bring down your ego, you two! And... is it me, or did they change Pikachu's voice at the beginning of this episode? it doesn't sound like Ohtani Ikue at all... I hope they won't do that again...
Now here's Brad with his usual rant of the week... er, I mean, his tips for expert trainers... ^_^;
Brad: Aheh... ^_^; There was a lot to learn this past week, but I think the three greatest tips that could come out of this week would have to be my choices for "Tips for Expert Trainers". Here they are, in no particular order:
PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE. A.J. had a good idea for ensuring his success in becoming a Pokemon master; train long and hard, and win as many battles as you can, before you even think about going after the badges. It's not a long trip to Pewter City in the game, and you could probably reach Brock with less than thirty or forty battles under your belt. You'll be challenged along the way, but you get as much training from fighting wild Pokemon as you do from fighting other trainers... and the wild Pokemon are unlimited! If you know that there's a gym battle in your future, make sure you're confident in your Pokemon's power before the fight begins... and don't forget to save just before the fight!Kathy: And fighting other trainers is the only way to get money in the game, so you can't pass chances like those up!
Brad: However, as you'll see in a later episode, it's sometimes a bad idea to over-power your Pokemon...
Kathy: Much later, you mean. You're talking about episode 50-something here... ^^;
Brad: Anyways, on with the tips...
ELEMENTS DON'T ALWAYS MATTER. Granted, the system of "paper-rock-scissors" used in Pokemon is a bit more pronounced in the game than in the show... water will almost always be strong against fire and rock, fire is good against bugs, and so on. But type doesn't always make a difference, especially when your Pokemon are far stronger than the ones you're fighting. While your Pokemon may never be strong enough to ignore its weaknesses, like Sandshrew, Graveller, and Cubone are, you can make your Pokemon strong enough to withstand several blows from its weak element, or even strong enough to take out the opponent in a single shot! The trick is learning which attacks work best... and that leads into our third tip.
USE VARIETY IN YOUR ATTACKS. Pokemon can have as many as four different attacks in the game; they learn more as they advance, and you can even teach them other skills with the help of Technique Manuals. Try them all, and even if you find one you really like, use the others from time to time. Remember, Pokemon can only use their powers so many times before they tire... so having several attacks gives your Pokemon more staying power.
Kathy: Mind you, there are some attacks you just can't help always using, like Technique Manual 24, Thunderbolt... ^^;
Brad: And now, as promised, the results of last week's Pokemon Quiz!
Kathy: Thank you all for writing in! We didn't think the quiz would be so well received.
Brad: What follows are the answers to last week's quiz:
EASY QUESTION: Misty's three most hated things are: Carrots, Peppers, and Bugs.
MEDIUM QUESTION: A Pokedex can also be used as ID (identification), like a driver's license. (After all, it's basically a trainer's Pokemon license. =) )
HARD QUESTION: There were nine (9) Pikachus runnning the backup generator. (I could have sworn it was ten, but I saw too many of them... ^_^;)
INSANE QUESTION: All in all, there were twenty-eight (28) different Pokemon in the first four episodes! Most people guessed only 27... which ones did you miss?
| Beedril | Ekans | Meowth | Pinsir |
| Bulbasaur | Gengar | Metapod | Rattata |
| Butterfree | Goldeen | Nidorino | Sandshrew |
| Caterpie | Kakuna | Onix | Spearow |
| Chansey | Koffing | Pidgeotto | Squirtle |
| Charmander | Magikarp | Pidgey | Weedle |
| Dodrio | Mankey | Pikachu | Gyarados |
Time and space precludes us from including the names of everyone who participated, but the big winners for this week, who got all four questions right, are Ryoga700 and Kyle Darnell. Runners-up who got three of the four correct were Voltorb, David Lo (so close and yet so far, my friend), "Jeff's Family", Leon Ching, and Robbie Pedigo. My thanks to everyone who participated, and good luck on the next quiz!
Kathy: Now, since our tape got fried (it's a conspiracy, I tell you...), we're not going to have another quiz this week. Be on the lookout for one next week, though!
Brad: As a last note... Kathy will be having a ton of exams next week, so I'll be doing the updates; please forgive me if I blow up the site in her absence, but I doubt it will happen. ^_^;
Kathy: That's it for this week! Bye-bye! ^_^
Brad: And remember, "Gotta catch 'em all!"
| English Series Commentary |
