EP003 - Ash Catches a Pokémon

EP003 - Ash Catches a Pokémon

I Caught a Pokémon!

Original Airdates: April 15, 1997 (JP), September 10, 1998 (EN)

Written by: Atsuhiro Tomioka

Synopsis:

Satoshi succeeds in capturing Caterpie, much to Kasumi’s dismay.  Despite her protests at Satoshi keeping the bug out of its ball, she continues to follow him through the Viridian Forest.  That night, Caterpie tells Pikachu of his dreams of becoming a Butterfree.  The next day, Satoshi foolishly tries to fight a Pidgeotto with Caterpie, who is at a type disadvantage.

With Pikachu’s help, Pidgoetto is captured.  Suddenly, Team Rocket appears to steal Pikachu.  Their Ekans and Koffing manage to take out Pidgeotto, and Pikachu is blinded by Koffing’s Sludge, so Caterpie is the last resort.  It subdues the villains with String Shot and promptly evolves into a Metapod.  Satoshi happily continues trekking through the forest, hoping to catch more Pokémon.

Who’s That Pokémon?

It's Caterpie, because Ash catches a Caterpie and it goes through a whole character arc.

New Character and Pokémon Breakdown

Ash's Caterpie/Metapod

Caterpie technically appeared in the previous episode, but this is basically the real introduction of the character, whose story is told in three parts.  Part 1 focuses on Caterpie, who quickly bonds with Ash and manages to explain to the audience (without subtitles) that he dreams of evolving into a Butterfree and being strong and loved.  It's a simple dream, but we definitely feel all of the emotions he runs through as he meets with failure and triumph in both his battles and relationsip with the bug-hating Misty.  His victory results in a speedy evolution, which will play out in the next episode.

Ash's Pidgeotto

Pidgeotto kind of gets the short end of the stick in this episode, basically existing to give Caterpie a foe to play off of and to supply Ash with a bird (which he will always have on his team).  As such, very little of Pidgeotto’s personality is created.  He is more a creature of necessity rather than drama, even in future episodes (until the end of the Indigo League).  It's interesting to note which Pokémon get the "animal" treatment and which get the "human" treatment.

A Random Beedrill at the End

Follow that Beedrill to the next episode!

Setting

Viridian Forest

We saw it briefly during the preview at the end of the previous episode, but we get a fuller view of the Viridian Forest here.  It is large enough to serve as the setting for two consecutive episodes (a feat that is rarely seen during the Indigo League season), but it is just a standard, unremarkable forest.  It seems to have a fairly linear path, unlike the forest of the games which is curvy and has multiple forks in the road.  Still, it doesn't need to be anything fancy.  Virtually half of the series is our heroes travelling through the woods, which helps it feel like an actual journey.

Japanese vs. American Versions:

- Satoshi reads the title in the first person, while Misty reads the title in English

- Satoshi compares his newly captured Caterpie to being in Heaven and while Kasumi says she’s in Hell.  Misty however just calls Ash a worm for liking a worm.

- Kasumi slaps Satoshi after his poorly executed fight with Pidgeotto that put Caterpie in great danger.

- Ash tells Caterpie use Counter (an attack Caterpie doesn’t know), which is a mistranslation of Satoshi saying, “Fight back!”

- The Japanese Pokédex says all Caterpie evolve quickly, while the American one implies that Ash’s Caterpie is unique in its fast transformation

ANOTHER BLAM!

Overall Review: A-

The tone of this episode is definitely more comedic than the first two.  Jokes and dialogue moves a lot quicker, and there is a lot of slapstick and visual humor as well.  Team Rocket is closer to the personas we are familiar with, due to the influx of comedy.  Pikachu is also “cuter” in this episode, acting very babyish.  Once again, this episode focuses on explaining an aspect of the games, namely catching Pokémon.  Unlike the previous episode, the necessary information is weaved in with the story of the episode so it doesn’t feel as slow.

This episode focuses on two relationships, that of Satoshi and Kasumi and that of Satoshi and Caterpie.  Kasumi’s purpose for travel is a little bit mysterious at this point.  Satoshi calls her out on following him and she dismisses him.  At times it seems as if the writer didn't know what to do with Kasumi's presence.  Like, why doesn’t she help in the battle against Team Rocket?  Had Satoshi not crossed paths with her, where would she be going?  We later learn she, like Satoshi, wants to be a great Trainer.  But she doesn’t participate in battles or have a plan mapped out for herself.  Was Viridian Forest going to be part of her quest?  She seems to hate it in there.

The character arc of Caterpie, who does not get much focus after evolving, is a nicer set piece.  I would like to have seen this bond between Satoshi and Caterpie/Metapod/Butterfree develop more over the season, as his initial celebration of catching Caterpie is very endearing.  I also like that the scene in which Caterpie and Pikachu have a conversation was left in, despite no understandable dialogue occurring.  It was just like a little silent, emotional piece that did not feel forced or tacky (like some later Pokémon-only conversations do).

Finally, Team Rocket’s appearance is a little strange in that they do not seem to have a big plan (as they normally do).  Perhaps it is because this is only their second meeting and they have yet to realize how stubborn Satoshi and his crew can be.  But since their true characteristics appear in this episode, I allow them their screentime.  I especially like Meowth a lot better than his introduction, which was very grating.

All of these elements add up to a more consistent tone and a good idea of what the rest of the series will be like.