This to me was a really good set-up. To be honest, not much of the adventure and humor that I love happened yet in the series so this isn't one of my favorite episodes but to me, it is one of the nostalgic and emotional episodes. Ash is introduced as a very likeable character whose dream is to become the number one Pokémon Master. It is the night before he gets his first Pokémon and Ash is restless. After he dreams about each of the starter Pokémon and which one he will choose, Ash realizes he is late and rushes to Professor Oaks lab. There he meets his rival Gary and his group of cheerleaders. Gary rubs it In Ash's face that he got the best starter Pokémon from the pack and goes onto to mock Ash even calling him a "loser." Gary in my opinion is set-up really well here. He is essentially the jerk that Ash always wants to catch up with. One of my minor flaws with this episode is that Ash and Gary act as if they had just met for the first time here when in reality that is not true. After finding out that all the 3 starters Pokémon (Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle) have been taken, Professor Oak reveals that there is one more. It is Pikachu, the electric mouse Pokémon. Pikachu isn't too fond of Ash and after thundershocking Ash, Ash is given his Pokedex and Pokeballs. After a teary farewell from his mother, Ash can finally start his journey.
This is when the episode starts to get really good now that we've got passed all the set up. Ash attempts to catch his first Pokémon and fails several times which leads to his actual Pokedex, Dexter, mocking him which was hilarious. Pikachu also can't help but laugh at his trainer's miserable attempts. Later on, Ash throws a rock at a Spearow which causes the Spearow to attack Pikachu. After getting thundershocked, Spearow calls his flock and chases after Pikachu and Ash. Ash and Pikachu land in the water and a girl named Misty ends up pulling them out with her rod. Ash ends up taking Misty's bike much to Misty's dismay. Ash ends up telling Pikachu to get inside his Pokeball. Pikachu begins to admire his trainers bravery and his worry for him. Ash tells the Spearow that he will capture and defeat them all. The Spearow come at him and Pikachu saves Ash with a powerful thundershock. As Ash and Pikachu lay there, they notice a mysterious Pokémon fly across the sky. The Pokedex confirms that there is no information and that there are still more Pokémon waiting to be discovered. Ash and Pikachu walk off to the nearest Pokémon center as the narrator closes us out.
What I liked about this episode: It is a good set-up episode. We get to meet Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Gary, Professor Oak and Delia. The interactions between Ash and Pikachu were great. There was humor that came from Delia, Professor Oak and Gary. The ending was emotional.
What I didn't like about this episode: This is not my favorite Kanto episode and I'll tell you why. Even though it was a good set-up, it was essentially a set-up episode for half of the episode which is fine. The plot is quite simplistic and Kanto is usually known for its out of there plots. Those are the kind of episodes I like. It's what set Pokémon Kanto apart from a lot of other shows.
