Pokemon Company
Airdate: November 21, 2002
Summary: A girl named May is riding fast on her bike to Prof. Birch’s laboratory to get her first Pokemon, before she is scared by a Duskull. May is looking forward to traveling, but she doesn’t really like Pokemon much, she is here to travel. New intro! So much to learn, and battles to be won… wait… is that Brock in the intro! IS HE BACK?! I WANNA BE A HERO, GIVE IT JUST ONE CHANCE! Anyways… Ash and Pikachu are sailing to Hoenn while Pikachu is sick, he lands and learns that there is no Pokemon Center. He uses a phone to call and ask for Prof. Birch. Birch shows up in his cool Jeep, he says Pikachu has symptoms of electrical discharge because he can’t release his electric energy, those magnets in the last episode screwed it up. Birch and Ash get to the lab, use a machine to release Pikachu of its excess energy, but it is too strong and breaks the machine. Pikachu runs off, Birch and Ash follow, and Team Rocket chases them down. May shows up at the lab, his assistant says he is not there, so May goes into the jungle to look. Birch runs into a herd of angry Poochyena that chase him up a tree. May arrives just in time and grabs one of his Pokeballs, a Mudkip, and Birch instructs it to use Water Gun. Birch has Mudkip use Water Gun, hitting all three Poochyena. Ash sees Pikachu but gets electrified by it, and isn’t able to get close. Birch tells ash to get away because it could explode, Pikachu runs and falls off a cliff, Ash catches it and a branch in dramatic fashion. Pikachu feels better, Ash, May, and Birch reunite… and run into Team Rocket who has a new machine and a new motto, but Jessie is disenchanted with their chase.. She may be getting tired of it. Pikachu is caught, and its energy is absorbed… luckily for Pikachu who needed a release. Pikachu electrifies Team Rocket and sends them flying, reenergizing Jessie and destroying May’s bike… just like Misty. They all get back to the lab where Pikachu is resting, Prof. Birch lets out Mudkip, Treeko, and Torchic for May to consider starting with; she chooses Torchic because it nestles up to her leg. May gets Pokeballs and a Pokedex. May goes back to her bike, is about to get mad at Ash and Pikachu, but sees them sitting by Pikachu and their friendship dynamic… She decides to try and be friends like that with Torchic. Ash and May need to go to Oldale Town to register for the Pokemon League, they decide to walk their together.
Best Trainer/Pokémon: Pikachu, it has so much power it completely destroyed a very expensive energy machine.
Worst Trainer/Pokémon: Meowth, bad strategy trying to drain and overcharged Pikachu.
One thing I learned: Ash’s love language is destroying bikes.
Who is that Pokémon?: Lanturn, we have seen this one before, Johto throwback!
Best Quote: “So, how’s Pikachu?” – May’s first words to Ash after they introduce each other, loving.
Best Scene: Jessie’s stars in her eyes as she is re-electrified.
