Showdown in Pewter City (005)

[Wednesdayz]

If I was Ash I guess I wouldn't have taken her offer either, although looking back I wish Misty had watched his first battle against Brock, but instead she was somewhere else.

Hell, if I were Ash, I would have begged for Misty's help immediately: her Staryu and Starmie would have worked wonders against Brock's Geodude and Onix. But Ash had too much pride...

 

[Leonhart]

Satoshi and Kasumi may have argued the whole way, but at least this was where they finally made it to Nibi City. I chuckled when Kasumi left Satoshi with the bill in the restaurant, and this was one of the few times that we saw Takeshi's Ishitsubute battle. Munoo was such a coward for leaving his kids, though.

 

[Wednesdayz]

Munoo was such a coward for leaving his kids, though.

Who Flint? Brock's mom did the same thing though, so Flint wasn't the only bad parent. :x

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

Hell, if I were Ash, I would have begged for Misty's help immediately: her Staryu and Starmie would have worked wonders against Brock's Geodude and Onix. But Ash had too much pride...

He did have alot of pride here, but it was a good thing that he didn't go the easy route by borrowing Misty's water types and instead allowed Flint to help him. At least Flint's training method allowed Pikachu's electrical powers to increase via hard work.

 

[Leonhart]

Who Flint? Brock's mom did the same thing though, so Flint wasn't the only bad parent. :x

Yes, but he seemed much more selfish than Takeshi's mother did, although she was pretty bad too. I just think that Munoo was more irresponsible since as a father, he should've had more courage.

 

[Alloutℯ]

Wow Misty was genuinely offering Ash help with dealing with Brock's Rock Pokemon, which Ash should've accepted. Brock's motivation for joining Ash seemed kind of flimsy though.

 

[Leonhart]

Wow Misty was genuinely offering Ash help with dealing with Brock's Rock Pokemon, which Ash should've accepted. Brock's motivation for joining Ash seemed kind of flimsy though.

I understand why Satoshi declined Kasumi's offer, however. He was proud of his team and he clearly wanted to win with his own methods instead of taking the easy route. In the end though, he still got the Gray Badge without actually winning.

 

[UltraNick]

This was annoying.

 

[ᎠᎬȺᎢḤ]

Flint was a bad dad in this episode. He did some selfish off screen things like leaving his family and he helped Ash beat Brock which is messed up when you think about it.

 

[gentwoer]

In the red/blue games Brock was probably the easiest Gym Leader to face. You could one shot him with a lv 8 Squirtle or lv 13 Bulbasaur. Even Charmander the starter weakest to him you could beat him with by the time it reached level 13 just by spamming ember and being smart enough to use defensive attacks when his Onix was absorbing energy with bide. But since Ash started with Pikachu a Pokemon that not only has a against Brock's rock pokemon but their ground sub typing means they outright have an immunity to it making Brock much much tougher. Brock is also way more fleshed out than in the games. With a backstory with a disappeared dad and dead mother and having to raise 9 brother and sisters and dreaming to become a Pokemon breeder. The girl-crazy aspect that pretty much defined his character won't come for some time.

This episode is super important not just for introducing the last member of the main cast for the original series but for setting up the narrative arc of the series; Ash collecting badges and subsequently complete in the Regional conference. Up to this point there wasn't really a on going story arc other than the vague premise of Ash wanting to catch all the Pokemon.

I don't know how I feel about Ash earning his first badge. On one had he was going to win anyways on the other hand the sprinklers was a fluke and the battle was technically unfinished. But we'll see worst examples of Ash receiving a participation award badge in Kanto.

Lastly some fans took issue with 4kids killing off Brock's mother especially when she would show up years later in a Chronicle episode that maybe like 10 people watched. I didn't because its not like the original Japanese anime isn't contradictory. If the original anime can make it that Jesse and James knew each other during their youth to not meeting until they both joined Team Rocket then 4kids can kill off Brock's mother only for her to suddenly being alive nearly a decade later. Plus given the time gap between episodes and the fact that Pokemon lost most of its original audience between the Indigo League and Pokemon Chronicles I never considered it an issue. 4Kids has made far far worse blunders.

 

[Leonhart]

I don't know how I feel about Ash earning his first badge. On one had he was going to win anyways on the other hand the sprinklers was a fluke and the battle was technically unfinished. But we'll see worst examples of Ash receiving a participation award badge in Kanto.

The presence of the sprinklers didn't make much sense to me anyway, because the Nibi Gym had a rocky battlefield and metallic walls, so there was almost zero chance of a fire occurring inside. I don't know why, but that detail irks me.

 

[KyogreThunder]

I liked the fact Brock decided to join Ash and Misty, as well as the fact Flint finally returned to take care of Brock's siblings (still have no idea why he failed at becoming a good Trainer), but that's it. I felt sorry for Pikachu when Flint decided to supercharge him, since he clearly was in pain, Ash using Pidgeotto against Geodude was stupid, and Pikachu never actually beat Onix, not even after the sprinklers activated. Brock was really arrogant when he first met Ash, and his siblings were annoying, too, after Onix was weakened. I kind of wish Butterfree learned Confusion/Mega Drain in this episode, since he already knew Sleep Powder, or that Pikachu learned Dig, since TMs don't exist in the anime.
4/10

 

[Leonhart]

as well as the fact Flint finally returned to take care of Brock's siblings (still have no idea why he failed at becoming a good Trainer), but that's it.

I wish we had found out more regarding why he left his family. His total 180 degree turn at the end was shocking too, because it seemed quite sudden.

 

[FullmetalJackie]

Flint selling stones makes me laugh since he was never going to make a decent living that way. Ash was smart in these early episodes most of the time, but he seemed dense here because he didn't notice that Flint was Brock's dad which should've been clear to him. Also Ash's pride was too big. He should've graciously acknowledged Misty's help when she offered it.

 

[PorcelainVulpix]

I'm convinced Misty suggested to help on purpose, knowing Ash would decline so she'd have a reason to leave him with the bill lol.

Also, Pikachu trying to send out one of Ash's other Pokemon when he saw Onix for the first time, made me chuckle.

 

[Leonhart]

Also, Pikachu trying to send out one of Ash's other Pokemon when he saw Onix for the first time, made me chuckle.

It reminds me of what Mijumaru once did in early Best Wishes when he had to face his evolved form and pushed Pikachu into the battlefield instead. Frankly, I loved Pikachu's cowardice here since it was amusing, although I just realized that all of Satoshi's Pokemon that he had in this episode were weak against Rock-types. So it wouldn't have mattered which Pokemon Satoshi had used.

 

[PorcelainVulpix]

I loved Pikachu's personality for most of the Kanto saga.

 

[FirefoxFennekin]

In summary, this episode was strange because the writers crammed in so much material and they tried hard to give Brock more depth, but the way it came off was poorly paced and the way Misty was turned into a background character was too bad. I eventually grew to like Brock and I was glad that he ended up becoming the final member of the Kanto main cast, but ultimately this episode could've been better without the Gym battle plot being so crummy. 5/10

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Was I the only one that liked the first battle better than the rematch as the second battle had Pidgeotto faint without seeing what hit it and Pikachu OHKOing Geodude with Thunderbolt even though its a ground type, plus the battle wasn't finished.
Nice seeing Brock!

 

[RetroPokeFan]

This episode sees the debut of our beloved Brock. He certainly acts a little more serious here than we normally know him for these days but it's still a welcome introduction.

This also acts Ash & Pikachu's first gym battle. We all know Pikachu's a great battler now but back then he was a bit of a coward so things don't go smoothly. But then crazy early anime weirdness shenanigans (the sprinkler can easily be seen as Pokémon's own Destroy the Moon moment, if you've seen early Yu-Gi-Oh you'll know what I mean) happens and Brock joins before ya know it.

We even learn what happened to Brock's mother thanks to his father Flint (although dub wise, this soon came back to bite 4Kids in the ass once they got round to dubbing the side story specials and a certain mother popped up).

It's a pretty good debut episode for Brock and the gym battles to come which would most certainly get better as the years go on.