In The Shadow of Zekrom (660)

[Gaiash]

Plus as I said in another thread Meowth spends a fair amount of time dressed as humans or different Pokemon.

[Candy-Sama]

A great start to the new region! I love Shooti's voice, he sounds like a little kid (well, is a newbie trainer, but still) and was he taking pictures of the windows? When he picked Smugleaf and Mijumaru made that face it was the new Piplup. Oh, and Oak in a pinapple T-shirt FTW!

[Gaiash]

and Mijumaru made that face it was the new Piplup.

That's a horrible thing to say. Mijumaru is nowhere near being the annoying pest Piplup was.

[dougtrio]

Meowth is an important part of TR, and removing him would be as good as removing either Jessie or James. The trio won't be the same if anyone of them gets removed from the show, so they couldn't have just let Meowth stay with the others.

I'm not saying to remove him, I was saying they should've came up with a reason that didn't sound so lazy from a writing perspective.

And I think what Giovanni is talking about the criminal attention stuff, is basically that they can be spotted more easily if they are seen with poke'mon not native to Isshu(although I have to contradict myself that there uniforms work just as well as the poke'mon).

And this goes back to Meowth being there. Wouldn't that make them easier to spot with HIM THERE?

Meowth isn't just another TR capture though... He's a member of the organization, Giovanni couldn't exactly fire him just because his species isn't native to Isshu.

According to the one quote this came from, he didn't seem to refer to Meowth as part of the group(an employee). He seemed to refer to the two to only take Meowth with them.

Plus as I said in another thread Meowth spends a fair amount of time dressed as humans or different Pokemon.

And what about the time he doesn't spend dressed as a human being? Doesn't that make them easier to spot? And doesn't Wobbuffet spend alot of time disguised (poorly) as a human?

That's a horrible thing to say. Mijumaru is nowhere near being the annoying pest Piplup was.

I love how people claim this after only being in ONE episode.

[dougtrio]

I think Mijumaru was way too showcased NOT to be owned by Ash... Pokabu kinda dissapeared after Ash left the lab... well thats cos it didn't run off or whatever. Overall.. good start. I'm glad they didn't do the "omg you broke my bike" thing again.. truly shows that its a fresh start.

And then they sort of shot that originality out the window by having Ash catch the generic regional bird pokemon. Would it kill them to NOT follow that pattern for EVERY region?

[dougtrio]

a bit late, but it actually says it in the first 30 seconds of the episode, I specifically heard "Jyuusai" which means ten years old.

It could be possible that it might of reffered to Ash as ten years old in a different context. Like saying "they continue to follow the journey Ash started when he was ten years old."

I don't know, I suppose I just find it odd that they'd refer to Ash as ten years old after not doing so for over a decade. Personally, I think Ash's age was something that was best left open to interpretation.

[Juputoru]

Eh. This was a pretty standard first ep of a region, imo. The only parts that really stood out were TR(mostly because I'm not used to seeing them be serious), Mijimaru(the writers KNOW that a large chunk of the fanbase doesn't like it, don't they? Just look at how HAPPY it was when Ash called it cute, and how devistated it was that Shooti didn't choose it!), and Ash's embarassing loss to Shooti(ten bucks says Shooti's going to have a hell of an ego now that he beat such an experienced trainer). That said, it wasn't bad, just not as good as I know the series will be later on.

[Profesco]

Yes, that was an embarassing loss. Not only can Pikachu not use its electric attacks, but simply attempting to use one makes it so tired and sluggish that it can't stand up? At least when it lost to Paul's Elekid at the beginning of Sinnoh, we could be mollified by the knowledge that Paul was already a pretty hotshot trainer. Shooti and Tsutarja were both fresh from the mint.

Way to go, writers. Screw Pikachu a little harder next time.

On a positive note, Iron Tail looks much better. Finally we can tell the difference between "[metal-related] attack" and "[generic white glow for every purpose] attack." Glad they seem to have gotten rid of that ubiquitous glow idea.

[Cazak]

Yes, that was an embarassing loss. Not only can Pikachu not use its electric attacks, but simply attempting to use one makes it so tired and sluggish that it can't stand up? At least when it lost to Paul's Elekid at the beginning of Sinnoh, we could be mollified by the knowledge that Paul was already a pretty hotshot trainer. Shooti and Tsutarja were both fresh from the mint.

I can't help but agree. Despite the fact that Pikachu wasn't able to use elctric attacks, it still should've been able to take more attacks from the grass snake. It really shouldn't have been a tough job for Pikachu to dodge the attacks with its speed, and then attack with Iron Tail or Quick attack.

[Chimchar15]

I can't help but agree. Despite the fact that Pikachu wasn't able to use elctric attacks, it still should've been able to take more attacks from the grass snake. It really shouldn't have been a tough job for Pikachu to dodge the attacks with its speed, and then attack with Iron Tail or Quick attack.

It wasn't that simple though. Pikachu couldn't use an electric attack which also hurt it's mind flow. It weakened his state of mind which in turn made him feel weaker. The mind is a powerful thing.

[Geodude]

If Ash had gone into the battle knowing Pikachu couldn't use its Electric attacks, he would've won. But he suddenly found that out mid-battle and naturally began worrying about Pikachu's health. And Pikachu itself was clearly upset when its attacks failed. You can't really blame them.

[Magical Needle Smash]

Well, the new title screen sequence is nice.

[raz1337]

If Ash had gone into the battle knowing Pikachu couldn't use its Electric attacks, he would've won. But he suddenly found that out mid-battle and naturally began worrying about Pikachu's health. And Pikachu itself was clearly upset when its attacks failed. You can't really blame them.

Exactly. Pikachu can't attack, so Ash was concerned about Pikachu, and Pikachu was scared shitless. Who *would* blame them? I personally think Shooti was a heartless fool for continuing the onslaught. He was either being cruel or a novice, that he didn't cease his attacks once he saw Pikachu's problems.

[Rikudo Sennin]

I think because 99% of people who watch Pokemon play the games, they just can't wrap their mind around the concept that the anime doesn't deal with levels at all.

Strength in the anime isn't just about how much experience ( or levels) a certain pokemon has acquired, it's about the battling strategy of the trainer, the will power of the pokemon, the circumstances surrounding and affecting the battle, etc, as we have seen countless times in the run of the show.

There are so many variables that determine outcomes of fights in the anime that once you accept the anime as a standalone medium - not dependant on the games for reasoning - then it becomes way more enjoyable.

[Snegy]

So... I was wable to watch this subbed and here goes a list of things that (I think) haven't been told yet:

- The narrator actually says Ash is a 10 year old boy;
- Ash is going to Isshu with his mother in vacations;
- Jessie and James are going to Isshu to catch rare and strong pokémon, because TR's goals are to create the most powerful army of pokémon, said Giovanni. it really seems that jessie and James are going more serious this time;
- The TR woman says there's a secret organization in the Isshu region already, to which Giovanni replies it's good, because they'll show themselves once they come to know TR is there, too;
- In the plane, Jessie says she didn't expected to meet Ash going to Isshu;
- Much like Professor Oak said it was impossible for Ash to have seen Ho-oh back in the first Kanto days, he said Delia and he just saw clouds from where they were when Ash said he saw a pokémon in the sky;
- Since professor Oak is in Isshu for work; Araragi appears saying she's sorry she's late to pick him up. Then, he presents her to Ash and his mother. "Even though she's so young, she's a very important pokémon researcher of Isshu's pokémon";
- After saying Kanto's pokémon are rare in Isshu, Araragi says no Pikachu was ever seen there (Ash actually asked if Pikachu were rare in Isshu);
- Kanoko town! Obviously much bigger than the likes of Pallet;
- Araragi says everything's fine with Pikachu;
- Araragi's assistant tells her the new trainer just arrived from his travelings... She replies: "This soon?". Oak explains she also gives the new trainers their first pokémon;
- Ash asks Shooti: "Weren't you so excited last night that you couldn't even sleep?"
- Shooti laughs because he says Ash came from a very small place in Kanto... Ash asks what's wrong with that and Araragi interrupts;
- Ash thinks Pokabu is full of joy, Mijumaru is really cute and Tsutaja is full of confidence;
- Ash says he can't decide which one is best; Shooti tells him he's the one who's gonna pick;
- Zukan on Tsutaja: "Tsutaja; a grass-type pokémon. It has a calm temper and is very confident. It uses its tail to generate energy."
- Araragi: "You can only keep six pokémon with you" - Shooti: "Yeah, that's basic knowledge.";
- Shooti's wants to take part on Isshu's league;
- When taking pictures of Pikachu, Shooti is asked by Ash: "What are you doing?" - he replies: "That's why people from small towns are such a problem; this is the only Pikachu in this region, so what I'm doing is a experiment";
- Blablabla Shooti: "Is it strong?" Ash: "Of course it is!" -> battle time!
- Shooti, when Pikachu's electric attacks fail: "Is this an estrategy? You ordered moves he can't even use!";
- Shooti to Tsutarja: "You were OK to begin with, I'm glad I chose you.";
- Shooti to Ash: "You, there: I advice you to begin again with the basics";
- Araragi says Pikachu's absorved too much electricity from that cloud, so it's overloaded;
- Oak tells Ash Pikachu lost control of its electric attacks; it's not able to use them when it wants to; Ash asks if it's gonna stay like that forever;
- Thundercloud's back!
- Araragi about Zekrom: "it's a legend... people say that, in Isshu, there's a god of the rainy clouds that watches over Pokémon and humans... And it passes the sky's judgement on when necessary.

Go to the other thread!

[Shego]

I agree that PokemonloveerXD has a point. Shooti only won this battle by luck. He have underestimates Ash who happened to be very and much of the experienced trainer came from Pallet Town since Kanto. If Zekrom have taken away Pikachu's electrical abilities, Ash and his buddy would have take Shooti and his pokemon out.

[hen da man]

I think I need to learn Japanese :S.

Otherwise I thought the episode looked good

[Cazak]

Thanks for the extra points Snegy. Shooti sure seems too full off himself. I wish he sees a tape of the Suzuran League with Ash fighting Takuto somewhere.

[kentasaiba]

I dont know why, but I doubt that, this Tsutaaja wasn't a Lv5 pokemon. Too powerful for just a starter o.O

[_Taidow_]

Shuuti's arrogance is going to get on my nerves a lot.