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Electric Shock Showdown! (014)

Ash-kid

Ash-kid
It was good to see Pikachu beating a Raichu, i loved the second battle.
 

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
First time a Pokemon refuses to evolve, weird. I thought they'd all want to get stronger, faster. I also noticed that Lt. Surge spoke English in the Japanese version haha. Anyway, about the battles; I liked the first battle and how Pikachu was losing to Raichu. The rematch with Pikachu's Speed versus Raichu's Power was good too but it seemed rushed somehow so I didn't think it was all that great. This could have been a 2-part episode. Well despite the flaws, it was good. 7/10.
 
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Jesse GS the II

I was frozen today!
"Can you see it, Pikachu? The star of victory!"
"?"
"Eh? How can you see a star in broad daylight?"
"What are you doing? At least let me try to establish a mood!"

That roughly translated scene from the Japanese version might just be my favorite exchange ever on this show. I guess I was wrong about "Pokémon" never hanging any lampshades on anything!

I'd forgotten how good this episode is - humor, action, and drama balance themselves perfectly as they so often do in Kanto. And the plot is very cleverly executed; it's actually because of this episode that I've held off on evolving most of the evolutionary stone Pokémon that I have in the video games. Now I always gotta make sure they've got a decent moveset first!

There's some great Satoshi/Kasumi arguments in this one, like how she points out that she and Takeshi gave him the Gray and Blue Badges out of pity, and Satoshi gets so defensive that he almost slugs her. (There's something they'd never dare to try today!) Machisu is easily one of the greatest characters ever, and that's due in large part to his never-ending supply of Engrish. "Unberievabuu!" still makes me laugh out loud. And as always, Musashi-tachi are hilarious, especially in their ouendan disguises. Nyasu's reaction to Kojirou's "aasu/Dogas" pun is absolutely priceless.
 

KGB13

Man of Mystery
I thought Pikachu vs Raichu was so epic back in the day and I always liked that Pikachu didn't want to evolve and wanted to take on Raichu as it was. Back when I had Yellow version, I always taught Dig to my Pikachu just so it could defeat Lt. Surges Raichu, good times. Overall, this was a great episode.
 

saar

Shiny Flygon
Pikachu as always was strong, powerfull and full faith in himself with Ash.
Lt. Surge's Raichu is stronger, I won't say it is not. But since Surge's Pikachu evolved too fast and didn't learn Quick Attack, it has been defeated. With those abilities, it wouldn't have lost.
 

Hikari Paradise

Forever Alone
Epic battle for sure. Beating its evolution makes Pikachu a force to be reckoned with. By the way I loved Ash and Pikachu's electric hug at the end.
 

G50

No longer posting
My absolute favorite Kanto Gym Battle! Nothing better than seeing a pokemon defeat their evolved form. I liked how they set up the final battle for the badge. The only thing I didn't like is of course Pikachu's decision to NEVER evolve...

98/100
 

Aquarelle

Well-Known Member
Staff member
Lt. Surge is like twice Ash's height. Seriously, he must be at least nine feet tall. O__o

Surge and Raichu were my favourite parts of this episode. I loved how Surge would call Ash a baby and treat him like one. Raichu was a beast and I enjoyed watching it beat Pikachu. :p

Using Pikachu's speed moves was a strategic and clever way of beating Raichu IMO, but I didn't like how an unevolved Pokemon beat its evolved form. I know it's to show that unevolved Pokemon can be strong too, but it didn't feel right to me. :/
 

TheEpicGoomba

Well-Known Member
Me too. Two rats fighting against each other. One is fat and full of hubris; the other small and uhh Ash's.

That made me lol.
Anyway I loved this episode. I loved how Surge beat Ash the first time round and then Pikachu refused to evolve because he thought he could beat Raichu the way he is. Really glad that Pikachu won,sad that Pikachu will never evolve but I like Pikachu so all is good.
 

Bianca~

Almost Never Online.
I loved it! Surge was an awesome gym leader. I forgot about the two people in Surge's gym, though. At first I thought they were trainers that Ash had to fight before the gym leader like in the games.
James' reactions to Meowth's translations were hilarious, and I laughed when TR forgotthat they were in costume. That motto has become a habit already. xD
 

Vernikova

Champion
Pikachu grounding its tail in the ground to divetrt Raichu's electric attack was certainly "interesting". I did like the use Pikachu's speed over Raichu's power. It was was one of the best gym battles in Kanto.
 

Calamity™

aka Lamia
This was a great Gym battle to watch after the previous two being so disappointing. I also like the fact that Ash did lose first, because it gets boring if he's just going to constantly win all the time, and predictable. It was also nice to see Ash actually using skill to win in the rematch. Pikachu refusing to evolve seemed a bit weird because the general idea is that you evolve and get stronger. The anime made it seem like the Pokémon would lose all bonds with people if it evolved.
As for Lt. Surge, I think it fitted him well being so large.
 
Lol, according to the Pokemon Wikipedia Lt Surge said a english swear word in the Japanese version, he said "goddamn."

Pretty weird to say a swear word in a children's show, huh?
 
Cool how Pikachu refused to evolve, and still won! It was funny how Pikachu didn't want to battle just before the first battle! And Surge hugging Misty, thinking she was the challenger was pretty funny as well. This is pure Kanto gold, 10/10.

Pikachu refusing to evolve seemed a bit weird because the general idea is that you evolve and get stronger. The anime made it seem like the Pokémon would lose all bonds with people if it evolved.

Not all bonds. Ash's Caterpie>Metapod>Butterfree, and later in Jotho his Chikorita>Bayleef, did not lose their bonds with Ash. I can't judge about Pidgeotto>Pidgeot, he didn't have enough screen time as a Pidgeot (but I think he would still be as loyal as when he was a Pidgeotto). However, Charmander>Charmeleon>Charizard was a drastic change, from a loyal Charmander to a disobient Charmeleon and later Charizard.
 
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7threst

Well-Known Member
In my regards is this the best gym battle, coequal with Blaine's gym match. Pikachu really build up a reputation by this episode and the there were some major character developments. Aside from the epic gym battle, I also enjoyed the humor involved with Team Rocket that instead of trying to steal Pikachu, they actually went out in disguise and cheered for him. And the whole narrative of this story comes to a good end where everybody is satisfied with the outcome. This remains in my opinion, one of the blockbuster episodes that made Kanto having this lasting legacy.
 

pacman000

On a quest to be the best...
I saw this the other day. I was surprised that Ash recognized a Pokemon without using his Pokedex. That shows an unusual amount of intelligence.

Pikachu fighting Riachu was cool. It was nice to see Pikachu's determination; this episode gave us some insight into his character.
 
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Caseydia

Ace Trainer
I wished Ash thought of the whole speed thing with Pikachu rather than Brock giving him advice. I wanted to see how would Ash handle a gym without the help of gymleaders. But as you watch these episodes, you can see that Ash had no brain back then.
 
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