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| English Series Commentary |
Commentary on the English Episodes of Pokemon: Episodes Ten Through Fourteen
Kathy: It's that time of the week, people! Welcome back!
Brad: Only a few more days until Pokemon's official release... so this week's commentary will have good tips for starting Pokemon trainers!
Kathy: And I'm going to be stuck with the red version. I wanted Meowth and Sandshrew... I'm stuck with that stupid snake Ekans. [pouts]
Brad: Well, at least you'll be more like Jessie, then... =) [dodges]
Kathy: ! Why you... I'm not that bad! [swats at him with a stuffed Meowth toy]
Brad: Ouch! [rubs his head] Hey, at least you get Mankey and Oddish... I want an Oddish, y'know. He's cute in Episode 10... lemme get started so I can rant about that episode!
Kathy: Patience, patience! Geez... Just as a thought, though, Halloween's coming up on October 31st... anyone dressing up as a Pokemon or trainer? If so, let us know and maybe send us a picture of you in your costume! ^_^ Okay, Brad, go ahead...
Brad: Yay!
Episode 10 stars my favorite character, Bulbasaur! Brave, strong, and a very cool-looking Pokemon, he's a welcome edition to any trainer's arsenal or Pokemon. He's one of the three Pokemon that you can start with in the game. You can see a number of his attacks in this episode, as he protects Oddish and the other Pokemon in Melanie's village.
They point out in this episode, though, that you can choose to get rid of your Pokemon... free them and release them back into the wild. However, I can't really recommend doing this... ^_^; First of all, you can always store Pokemon you aren't using in the computer system... and I don't think there's a limit to the number of Pokemon you can have stored. Plus, there's the fact that, if you watch these episodes... how can you help but feel badly about letting Pokemon go? They might wonder if you abandoned them...
Then again, it's just a game... right?
Kathy: Uhn... It might be just a game, but I certainly won't be able to let my captured Pokemon go... Although in a later episode, Butterfree does end up leaving Ash on his own accord.
Brad: True. Anyways, Bulbasaur isn't as violent or mean as he looks... he's got a cute side to him, too. =) I heartily recommend him as anyone's starting Pokemon. If you're not sure, though, here's some quick reasons why you should pick Bulbasaur...
Kathy: Save the tips for later, Brad, we've got episodes to review first! ^^;
Brad: D'oh! Before we move on, though, we got a letter from Donald Duench this week, with a cultural note about this episode...
"When Team Rocket enters with a stadium (lifted by balloons), it's probably the Tokyo Dome, home of Japanese baseball's Yomiuri Giants. Their challenge is followed by a lot of baseball-related dialogue, but specifically they talk about 'The Tornado'. That's the nickname of Hideo Nomo, the star Japanese pitcher formerly of the Los Angeles Dodgers and now of the New York Mets. Nomo's twisting pitching delivery prompted the nickname."
This explains a lot about James' comments and attitude in this part. Since he came up with the idea, do you suppose James is a baseball fan? =)
Anyways, your turn, Kathy. I'll talk about Bulbasaur later, if I have to... [pout]
Kathy: Aw... anyways, if episode 10 introduces Brad's favourite Pokemon, then episode 11 affected my choice for my starting Pokemon for the game; Charmander's just the sweetest! It's so cruel how Damien just ditched him like that. Someone should leave him on a rock with empty promises!
Brad: No kidding. At least he got what he deserved in the end... flame mail, anyone?
Kathy: Oooh, bad puns... c'mon, there're enough of those in the series itself, we don't need to add to them. ^^; You gotta admit, though, Team Rocket almost had Pikachu there... if Charmander wouldn'tve shown up, who knows what would have happened to the poor electric mouse?
Brad: Episode 12 starred the third and final Pokemon that you can start the game with... Squirtle! The Squirtles in this episode are awfully mean, but that's what can happen when you abandon your Pokemon. It's kinda depressing, actually, these three episodes... they're all about Pokemon that nobody wanted.
Kathy: I know, I know... but forget about the Squirtles, I want to pound Meowth in the ground for what he did! You do not steal someone's food and eat it right in front of their noses! Argh! And those were not jelly donuts and chocolate éclairs... when will people get it right? ^^;
Brad: Eh... ^_^; You do get to see the main advantage of having a Pokemon as annoying as Meowth around, though... he can speak both human and Pokemon languages, so he's a sort of translator for Pokemon.
Kathy: He's just too annoying for my taste, though. Anyways, onto Episode 13; okay, I'm peeved at Jessie, here. She shot at one of the rarest Pokemon there is... [sigh] Anyways, I hope Ash learned from Bill, he's a wealth of information. You can also find him in the game, too, but there's a difference!
Brad: They emphasized in this episode that, although there are 150 Pokemon known to exist, there are plenty more that can be found. There are some Pokemon who show up later in the TV series that don't appear in the game, so don't be surprised! Also, there are some Pokemon in the show which are said to be "extinct"... chances are, there are some still alive in the game... so look closely for them!
Kathy: Right! And now, the best episode this week... Episode 14! Raichu's so adorable! Like trainer, like Pokemon, I guess... Anyone notice that she imitates Lt. Surge's movements when he's taunting Ash? Speaking of which, man, is he ever tall...
Brad: Gotta be at least twice Ash's height... Pikachu proves himself to be a strong and brave Pokemon in this episode, and in a way, this episode is a turning point in the series; Ash proves that he's worthy of being a real trainer by defeating Lt. Surge. But Surge isn't the last gym leader he'll face, and the ones still to come are powerful in the extreme. Can Ash and Pikachu continue to win?
Kathy: Oh, c'mon, they're the heroes, they have to keep winning... Actaully, at the end of the episode, Jessie, James and Meowth hint at something very important and very shocking for a future episode... Japanese episode 63, actually. I hope they'll translate that far...
Brad: So do I...
And now, the moment you've all been waiting for! Along with my normal tip for this week, I'll also do a quick run-down of what to expect from your starting Pokemon. This should help you to choose which one to start with! But first, this week's "Tip for Expert Trainers":
DON'T EVOLVE YOUR POKEMON TOO SOON, IF YOU HAVE A CHOICE. Some Pokemon evolve into stronger forms when they reach a certain level of experience, while others don't evolve until they've travelled between Game Paks. But some Pokemon can be evolved using items you find in the game... Pikachu, for example, upgrades to Raichu when you give him the Thunderstone, and Clefairy turns into Clefable when you give her the Moonstone.
However, like it was mentioned in Episode 14, if you evolve your Pokemon too quickly, you may miss out on some of the attacks that Pokemon can only learn in their earlier forms; Pikachu's Agility attack, for example, is the fourth attack he learns, and it's a non-elemental attack, good for using against enemies strong against electric attacks. If you evolve Pikachu before he learns that attack, he can NEVER learn it! Think carefully before you evolve your Pokemon... you can't change your mind later!
Now, here's the three Pokemon you can start the game with:
| Bulbasaur | |
| Element: | Grass and Poison |
| Signature Attack: | Vine Lash |
| Analysis: | As a dual-element Pokemon, Bulbasaur has more weaknesses, but also more strengths. You will never encounter an enemy you can't damage with at least one of your attacks, so you can use him in any battle. Because he is weak against more types of Pokemon, however, you will need to fight more with Bulbasaur to keep him combat-worthy. |
| Charmander | |
| Element: | Fire |
| Signature Attack: | Fire Breath |
| Analysis: | Charmander's fire attacks make him very handy early in the game, where you'll encounter lots of Bug and Grass Pokemon, and also late in the game, when the rare and dangerous Ice Pokemon appear. However, he's physically the weakest of the starting Pokemon, so you will need to fight a lot with him to keep him healthy in the later areas of the game. |
| Squirtle | |
| Element: | Water |
| Signature Attack: | Water Gun |
| Analysis: | If you find it hard to get started in Pokemon, you'll want to choose Squirtle. Although he's not especially strong against most of the Pokemon you'll encounter early on in the field, he makes short work of the first Gym Leader, Brock. This can give you an extra edge, allowing you to explore further as faster. |
Kathy: [Zzzz...] Mm... gonna catch 'em all.. [Zzzz...]
Brad: [blink, blink] Uhm... Kathy? [nudge]
Kathy: [Zzz-...?] Hunh? Wha? You're actually done?
Brad: D'OH! [crash] I didn't take that long, really...
Kathy: Well, I got my beauty sleep... [shushes Brad before he gets to say something witty] Anyways, that's all for this week... Oh! Almost forgot, check out the quiz that we brewed up for you people! It should be easier than last time, but there are more questions!
Bye-bye for now! [waves!]
Brad: [wavies!]
Kathy and Brad Vaughan
Edmonton City Gym Leaders
| English Series Commentary |
