PokeRecap – Pokemon: I Choose You

Today marks the twentieth anniversary of the first airing of the Pokemon anime. To celebrate 20 years of Pokemon, we’re going to take a look back each Saturday at a different Pokemon episode, starting with the very first one!

Episode Title: Pokemon, I Choose You

Original Air Date: April 1, 1997 (Japan); September 8, 1998 (US)

Episode Synopsis: After waking up late on the morning he’s to pick out his very first Pokemon, aspiring Pokemon trainer Ash Ketchum is forced to take a Pikachu from Professor Oak instead of a standard Pikachu. This Pikachu is far from obedient and refuses to go in its PokeBall or help Ash in his first encounter with wild Pokemon. When Ash and Pikachu run afoul of a flock of Spearow, Ash and Pikachu are forced to flee and Pikachu is seriously hurt. Ash can’t get away from the Spearow, even after stealing Misty’s bike, but the still-injured Pikachu unleashes a mighty Thunderbolt to disperse the bird Pokemon. Afterwards, Ash and Pikachu see the Legendary Pokemon Ho-Oh flying through the sky, and Ash makes it to Viridian City to get Pikachu some much-needed medical attention.

Characters Introduced: Ash, Delia Ketchum, Professor Oak, Pikachu, Gary

Locations: Pallet Town, Route 1, Viridian City

Pokemon, I Choose You does a pretty good job of explaining the core concepts of Pokemon in an easy to swallow 22 minute dose. We get our first glimpse at a proper Pokemon battle (hinting at Ash’s eventual desire to become a Pokemon Master and win the Pokemon League) and learn about how trainers catch Pokemon.

We also get our first look at Ash and Pikachu – the show’s dual protagonists. Pikachu is at his most disobedient during the episode, openly refusing to listen to even the most basic commands, probably because he feels (and rightfully so) that Ash is a bit of an idiot. However, Ash endears himself to Pikachu quickly by sacrificing his own well-being for the sake of his Pokemon. This becomes one of Ash’s most enduring and likable features – he’s an idiot, but he will do anything to keep a Pokemon from getting hurt.

You’ll probably notice that Pikachu is a bit chubbier in this episode than in later appearances. This is much more in line with how the Pokemon was originally portrayed in concept art, with stubbier arms and short legs. Pikachu has much longer arms and legs nowaday and he’s a bit more expressive, too. Pikachu also showed off his superior soccer skills during the episode, as well as a surprising knowledge about how to use Ash’s PokeDex.

Gary and Misty also make brief but notable appearances in the episode. I thought it was a bit silly that Gary had such a large throng watching him pick out his Starter Pokemon, but I suppose it was necessary to establish Gary as the “superior” trainer and make Ash more of an underdog. We also don’t find out what Pokemon Gary chose as his starter. The anime doesn’t actually reveal that bit of information for 268 more episodes, when Ash and Gary finally have their long awaited Pokemon battle.

Misty only makes a brief appearance, pulling Ash and Pikachu out the water and then yelling at Ash for his poor treatment of Pikachu. This sets up the foundation of her relationship with Ash – lots of bickering and chiding over Ash’s immaturity. Maybe that’s why Ash steals her bike….which Pikachu promptly destroys less than five minutes later.

Finally, we see one of the defining moments of Ash’s life in the closing moments of the episode. Ash and Pikachu see Ho-Oh after their encounter with the Spearow. At the time, no one knew what Ho-Oh was, but it certainly told fans that there were some big plans for the Pokemon franchise that extended past the original video games. Ash wouldn’t learn what Ho-Oh was for another few years, but he mentioned seeing the Pokemon several times during the journey.

Random Trivia: The Spearow that Ash and Pikachu ticked off makes a return 80 episodes later. The Fearow’s repeated attacks ultimately leads to Ash permanently losing one of his Pokemon.

The opening sequence of the episode is pulled straight from Pokemon Red and Blue‘s opening sequence. I thought it was interesting that the trainer controlling Nidorino and Onix looked a lot like Bruno from Kanto’s Elite Four. Bruno is later shown looking for giant Onix in the mountains surrounding Pallet Town, so maybe it’s the same trainer.

Both Ash and Gary refer to Pallet Town as “the Town of Pallet” for some reason in this episode. Ash later refers to himself as “Ash from Pallet Town” in later episodes.