Anipoke (and satogou) ♡Obssessed♡

By the way, I think he found the Slowpoke. But I'm not too certain. Could be wrong.

*cue reggae slowpoke song with montage of slowpokes being slowpokes*

There is not one single thought that is going through this Pokemon's head right now.

Oh, to be a Slowpoke...

Whilst Goh is admiring the Slowpoke and, y'know, taking in the sight below them, Ash finds that this is the perfect time to eat his Pot Noodle.

Ash's mind literally just went: Food first, Pokemon later didn't it?

A Slowking emerges with it's own bowl of noodles.

Where the flaming hell did it get that from? How did it boil the water? Where did it get the noodles from? Where did the bowl come from?

I HAVE QUESTIONS PLEASE AND THANK YOU.

"I want 'em!"

Ash is still very much in the "food first" stage of his thought process, it seems.

He probably hasn't even registered the Slowking, just the noodles.

Goh tries to catch it and fails. Apparently he forgot about the "genius" part that the Pokedex literally just mentioned.

So, the Slowking wanted Ash's noodles. Sorry Ash.

Never before have I had a Pot Noodle (other instant noodle brands are available) that was this good before.

This is also giving Lion King's "I Just Can't Wait to be King" vibes or that one scene from Metropolis (1927) (there is still very much an A-level film studies student inside of me after all these years)

Apparently, the Pot Noodle was that good that Slowking decided to swap his Shelder for Ash's noodle cup and the Shelder lands on Ash's head

(no, I don't know, either. just go with it)

"Ash, are you alright?" "I've never felt better!"

Why? Why does Ash suddenly have an RP English accent? Please, I can't.

We've reached the stage of the episodes where words fail me.

What is happening? (I'm just going to keep repeating this over and over)

These three are just as confused.

Did I mention that Raboot is my spirit animal?

*Still in English accent* "I am a Slowpoke Master"

Please. I beg someone. Make it stop.

Quite frankly, Goh looks terrified. I honestly don't blame him. This is weird, even when it comes to Ash.

'Ash-King' (yes, really) tries to get Goh to join by proposing with a Shelder.

Understandably, Goh wants nothing to do with this and probably wants to get the hell out of there.

Well, they manage to eventually get the Shelder off of Ash's head with the use of Pikachu's Iron Tail...

Only for it to now land on Goh's head (complete with English accent, too).

Now it's Ash's turn to witness this chaos.

"Hey, what's wrong with you?" (Me, at the writer's of this episode)

So now we enter the game of "pass the Shelder" as Raboot gets it off Goh's head only for it to land on Pikachu's.

A Pikachu-King does a huge Thunderbolt which immediately gets it off his head...

...aaand onto Raboot's.

Pass the Shelder continues as do all the nonsensical words said in that English accent to make them sound 'posher'.

(Seriously, what does 'critical success factor' mean in this context????)

"Feeling chipping as you please" PLEASE STOP I CANT TAKE THIS ANYMORE

Meanwhile, the Slowpoke are watching this as if it's the Wimbledon final. They have no idea what's going on.

Out of frickin' nowhere, a Magikarp falls from the sky

All hail Goh's giant Magikarp (that has just come back down - seriously, how high did it jump????) for ending this madness!

The Shelder is now firmly back on the Slowking's head

and the Noodle Pot has landed perfectly on top of Ash's cap (somehow)

Understandably, they are all a bit shocked to see that Magikarp is not, in fact, lost to the Universe.

"Although it appeared Magikarp was lost in space, it made it back home safely. So they all lived happily ever after, right?"

"Right?" - You mean this isn't the end?

Of course not. Remember how we started this madness with Team Rocket in their base?

(I know, it felt like a long time ago to me, too)

Well, we're back here with Team Rocket being bored and trying to pass the time. The scene practically plays out the same as before with them all doing their separate things and Jessie deciding that she is going to try and call Pelipper even though they are inside.

Only this time, when James goes to open the door, it's not Pelipper on the other side but this guy.

(no idea how he found the hide out, either, but that's the least confusing thing about this entire episode)

"It's magic!"

*promptly shuts door*

✨The End✨

Episode Round Up:

*just laughs*

Well, what can I say about this episode? I can honestly say that, the first time I watched this back in 2022, I thought I was having a fever dream. I remember that I had it on in the background whilst I was also doing something else (maybe some art, I can't remember). At some point in the episode, I genuinely asked myself: what the hell am I watching? Even after the episode had finished, I was not sure what on Earth I had just witnessed. To this day, it remains to me the weirdest 20 minutes of my life. It's also one of the few episodes that I can remember how I felt the first time I watched it because it was just so weird.

For that reason, this episode is genuinely one of my favourites because it is so strange. Sure, there are moments that make me cringe and give me incredible second-hand embarrassment but I still love it. I have no idea what the writer's were on when they wrote this but, once you know what you're getting yourself into, it is an enjoyable 20 minutes.

We have a few more of these double feature episodes to go but I think this one is the best. The others - for me - have one half that I really like and another that isn't as strong. This one, both halves are just as weird as each other and both as entertaining.

Ash has also definitely perked up a bit since his battle with Bea and is back to his regular self. He asks Goh : "You're gonna catch more, aren't you?" as he notes how "hopping" (interesting adjective there) the park is.

Ash, did you really just ask that question to Goh of all people?

Of course he's gonna catch more.

As expected, Goh replies "Of course" so guess what this episode will be about.

In response to Ash's question on who Goh is planning on catching next, Goh says: "any Pokemon I meet"

Raboot is like: "yep, here we go."

Ash is like: "I shoulda known."

Putting aside the thoughts of catching Pokemon for a second, they're inside eating snacks. Goh remarks on Ash and Pikachu's relationship, stating that they're good friends as they share snacks with one another.

That's cute and all, but can we please look here at Raboot and Sobble. They are adorable and I love them.

What, pray tell, are Ash and Pikachu doing? Why are they trying to pull the snacks they are eating out of each other's mouths? There's more in the basket!

Goh is looking on at this, quite frankly, odd display and this is the moment he suddenly announces that he is going to catch a Pikachu as his next Pokemon.

Was that moment really the catalyst for this decision?

Goh's annoucement is so sudden that it shocks Raboot and Sobble and nearly causes Ash and Pikachu to choke to death on their snacks.

"That was awful quick!"

Was it? Was it really? Truth be told, I would have caught a Pikachu ages ago if it were me.

I'll be honest, I've never really understood Ash's reaction here. He seems shocked by this, like he's surprised this idea crossed Goh's mind. It is very clear that, even in the anime, Pikachu is a popular Pokemon and it isn't exactly the rarest Pokemon in Kanto. Sure, you don't find them on every street corner, but they're common enough that plenty of trainers will have one.

Believe it or not, Ash, you're not the only person to own a Pikachu.

"If I wanna catch one of every Pokemon then I've gotta catch a Pikachu too, am I right?"

"Yeah...I guess so, but..."

But what, Ash? Seriously, why is he so unsure about this?

"Looking for Pikachu, are you?"

Excuse me, Cerise, how long were you there waiting to come in? Feels like he was just waiting for the perfect moment to interject as Goh and Ash tried to figure out where the Pikachu were hiding.

"I recently received information about a sighting of an outbreak of Pikachu."

Very convenient.

Can I go, please???

This is literally my reaction when the words "outbreak" and "Pikachu" are said in the same sentence.

"An outbreak of Pikachu? I'm there!"

Me too, Goh. Me too.

So we then get the opening credits and the title Gotta Catch a What?! is read out as normal. However, why is it Goh who is the one to say 'a What?!' when it has been Ash that has been the one to come across that way prior to title sequence. It always strikes me as odd and I always think it should be the other way around with Goh sounding enthusiastic at the start of the title and Ash sounding shocked at the end.

Anyway...back to the actual episode:

PIKACHU HAVE BEEN SPOTTED!!!

But they aren't so easy to catch and Goh is learning that simply throwing a Pokeball isn't going to land in an easy catch today...

However, I do think it's hilarious that these two menaces just laugh at Goh as he gets hit in the face with one of his own Pokeballs.

"Aww, they ran away." Thanks for pointing out the obvious, Ash. Do you want to make sure your friend on the floor is okay, though?

Thankfully, someone takes notice as this little Pikachu comes over to check whether Goh is okay. She even offers him a berry!

(Ash, Pikachu, Raboot and Sobble, you're all bad friends

(i didn't mean it sobble ok?))

Because this Pikachu is the nicest Pikachu in the whole goddamn world, she also offers berries to everyone else too. Look how happy Sobble and Raboot are!

The new Pikachu goes over to Ash's Pikachu before proceeding to wipe some berry off of Ash's Pikachu's face. Look at his little blush! I think he might be developing a crush...

Too engrossed in watching the cuteness that is these two Pikachu, Goh kinda forgets why they're there in the first place, so Ash gently reminds him that he can catch it if he's quick about it. Ash's Pikachu also looks a little shocked, as if he, too, forgot why they were here (he was just enjoying the company). The other Pikachu looks very happy to be caught.

Also, I love Ash's face here: his little smile as he watches Goh catch Pikachu.

"Pikachu has been registered to your Pokedex" the best sentence ever to exist.

Goh goes in for a hug with his new friend, and in traditional Pikachu style -- she thunderbolts him. It's a rite of passage.

"That's pretty much how Pikachu say hello. You'll get used to it pretty fast." Ah, spoken like a true expert on the matter.

(I'm sure Pikachu don't actually thunderbolt their trainers like this all the time, I'm pretty sure it's mostly just Ash's Pikachu because he gets a kick out of it sometimes. That, or Ash usually does something that warrants it. Probably mostly the latter, tbh. I think Goh's Pikachu might just have been a little over-excited here).

At least Goh's Pikachu is apologetic. Ash's Pikachu is very much normally not.

Anyway, Goh's Pikachu wants them to follow, so they follower her to a rocky area and...

OH MY GOD, I'VE DIED AND GONE TO PIKACHU HEAVEN.

Now this - this - is my idea of Paradise.

Look at them all!

"We heard that there was a Pikachu outbreak, so we were here in a flash". James, you took the words right out of my mouth!

Oh yeah, Team Rocket are here too. But don't worry about them for now - LOOK AT ALL THE PIKACHU!!!

We find out that all the Pikachu have gathered here so that they can look for Thunderstones (do you think this is, like, a wild Pikachu ritual or something?). A few of them start finding stones and evolving into Raichu. Goh's Pikachu is one of the ones to find a Thunderstone and she shows it to Ash's Pikachu. He reacts exactly how you would expect:

which is to say that he puts as much distance between himself and that glowing green rock as possible like it's some form of Kryptonite.

And, I get it, Pikachu doesn't want to evolve but you can see here that he really does not want to evolve. Obviously, this is something that has come up several times over the years, going way back to his initial battle with Lt. Surge when the idea of Pikachu evolving was first mentioned. There's been a few close calls and refusals since, but I think this is the one that you can see just how much Pikachu dislikes the idea of evolving. This isn't: "nah, I don't want that, thanks" it's: "get that glowing green rock the hell away from me right now". Even Ash seems a little surprised at how strongly Pikachu is reacting here.

Meanwhile, Goh's Pikachu doesn't quite understand which possibly suggests that all Ash's Pikachu said was "get that thing away from me" with no form of explanation. So, because of that, a small chase breaks out with both Pikachu running around Ash with Ash's Pikachu becoming increasingly more panicked as this goes on.

Both of them go behind a rock and the evolution light shines before a male Raichu pops out.

Yeah...they really wanted us to believe that it happened, didn't they?

"You didn't - did you?" He is genuinely worried that Pikachu might have just evolved.

Could you imagine if he had? What an anticlimax that would have been...

Of course, there was no way that they were ever going to have Ash's Pikachu evolve, so a moment later, he reappears still being chased by Goh's Pikachu with the Thunderstone.

"Well, it's not yours." *sigh of relief* "Looks that way"

Now, correct me if I'm wrong (I have seen all the anime, but it's been a while for the earlier seasons), but I think this is the first time we really get a glimpse of how Ash feels about this. Now, it might be just because Ash was worried that Pikachu would land up evolving against his will (he's always been very much of the mindset that Pokemon should be able to evolve when they want to) but, at the same time, I think some of the relief comes from the fact that Ash may not want Pikachu to evolve at all. Over the years, we have seen him offer the evolution to Pikachu and he's always been clear that it's Pikachu's decision. However, I would argue that there's a part of Ash that doesn't want to see Pikachu evolve. Of course, if that day ever came and Pikachu did decide that that was what he wanted, then without a doubt, Ash would support that decision and go out of his way to find a Thunderstone, but I also think he would miss Pikachu being Pikachu.

This is a scene that's played comically, but I do think it offers some good insight into how they both feel about this topic.

The good thing is, they're very much on the same page.

"But if Pikachu uses it, it'll get stronger, won't it? I thought Pikachu wants to evolve."

It's a fair point but I love how downright offended Pikachu looks as if Goh was magically supposed to know this information before this point. Now, an argument could be made for Goh assuming that evolution was just something that Pikachu wanted without knowing everything but, the reality is, this world does put a lot on things like the power of evolution and that evolution=strength. In some ways, Ash's Pikachu (and others like him: such as Ash's Bulbasaur or Dawn's Piplup (and arguably even Chloe's Eevee)) are anomalies in this regard. They want to get stronger as they are.

"No way. My Pikachu has always wanted to get stronger as a Pikachu." (To Goh's Pikachu) "I'm sorry, since Pikachu feels that way, we don't need it. Thanks"

In hearing this, Goh's Pikachu does a U-turn and decides to give Goh the Thunderstone to look after. She's clearly taken onboard what Ash has said about his Pikachu and is starting to realise that there are different ways of getting stronger.

"I think it's the best thing for everyone to evolve when they want to." HARD AGREE. I actually love this line so much. It encapsulates Ash's entire philosophy on the subject and suggests that everyone learns and grows differently. Pokemon are not all the same and they get stronger in so many different ways and at different paces.

The same, of course, can be said for humans.

Team Rocket finally make themselves known to the Twerps. I genuinely love how Goh's Pikachu is just completely oblivious to what's going on and the fact that, clearly, her new trainer and friends are not exactly fond of these people...

I mean she climbs a cliff just to give them berries during the stand off.

She is very sweet though

This never fails to make me laugh. What do you mean Goh just runs up this cliff with no issues? How did he do that?

"They're the bad guys..." "Pika?"

She has no concept of what a 'bad guy' is.

So, Team Rocket then bring out a Pikachu car (gimme) and start sucking up all the Pikachu.

The Twerps then follow to where they have gone with all the Pikachu they have now stolen and, as is the norm, get into a battle with Jessie and James who bring out Buneary and Mincchino, respectively.

WHO'S THAT POKEMON?

IT'S PIKACHU!!!!!

Okay, but honest talk here - what is that picture? Is that the best they had? Sure, I get that they wanted to use a female Pikachu here but are you seriously telling me that well over a decade into gender differences amongst Pokemon this is the best picture of a female Pikachu they had?

(it's like raboot's anime pokedex picture all over again...)

Back to the battle and Mincchino goes for Raboot, who dodges and Sobble gets hit instead

NO, SOBBLE. NO!!

Goh, why would you tell Raboot to dodge when he was right in front of Sobble!

Poor Sobble.

More and more Pikachu are being sucked up at this point and Ash's Pikachu decides to play hero, saving another Pikachu from being caught. In doing so, he obviously gets sucked up instead.

Now that Team Rocket have the chosen one, they disappear into the smoke.

"Where'd they go?"

Not gonna lie, I've no idea. They quite literally vanished. Yes, there is a trail of smoke leading into the sky but, man, that was a quick getaway. Honestly, we all know it, but their talents are genuinely wasted as part of Team Rocket. Think of all the success they could have - in literally any other field - if they hadn't made it their life's mission to capture this 10-year-old's rodent friend.

We see Team Rocket land somewhere else. They're happy with their haul of Pikachu (understandable, even if I don't agree with the method of capture) and the fact that the Twerp's Pikachu is amongst them.

"So, which one is the Twerp's Pikachu?"

Are you seriously telling me that that you've been following this Pikachu around for two-and-a-half decades and you can't recognise it? I'm disappointed, Team Rocket, I really am.

So now Goh is struggling to get up this cliff. What kind of weird energy burst did we see earlier on?

Ash? Raboot? Wanna help him out, maybe?

Eventually, they find Team Rocket and continue their battle from before. Sobble even gets in on this too!

Just to clarify, when I say they continue the battle, what I really mean by that is Goh continues the battle. Ash decides to wind up Mincchino instead apparently by running around as if they're playing some strange game of tag.

Ffs, Ash, you are not a Pokemon. Where are your other Pokemon, anyway? What is it with this series and Ash leaving his Pokemon behind. He literally has five Pokemon at this point and yet - apparently - only brought Pikachu.

(unless they are in fact with him and Ash just decided it was his turn to play pokemon. wouldn't put it past him)

"Don't sweat the small stuff and fight!" The small stuff? You mean the part where you are asking a Pokemon to, essentially, beat up a (defenceless, mind) human child?

Okay.

As the only Pikachu left who hasn't been sucked up into the Pikachu box, Goh's Pikachu has one final tool up her sleeve after her attempts at freeing her friends weren't met with success. Knowing that this is her only option, she calls for Goh to throw her the Thunderstone which she uses to evolve. At the moment, she isn't strong enough to save everyone and this is a way she knows will make her stronger.

I guess, essentially, it's a kind of sacrifice; especially since earlier she seemed on board with the idea of getting stronger as a Pikachu first.

The newly evolved Raichu gathers the rest of the Raichu and order a big Thunderbolt, breaking the box and setting all the Pikachu free.

Now there are Pikachu flying everywhere and it is a beautiful sight to see!

Now free, Ash's Pikachu takes the lead and organises the rest of the Pikachu into a coordinated march of pika-chu, pika-chu, pika-chu towards Team Rocket, which, in all honesty, probably wouldn't be out of place in a horror movie. The repetitive nature and the synchronisation of it all is, I have to say, a tad unnerving.

Once they come to a stop, they all jump on each other's heads (with perfect balance!)

"Now's our chance to really use Thunderbolt!"

It was a big Thunderbolt.

So, to conclude, with Team Rocket thoroughly Thunderbolted, it's back home to Cerise Lab where Raichu is definitely settling in well.

I love how she just gives berries out to everyone. She just wants to make everyone happy.

And that makes me happy, too.

Episode Round Up:

You may have been able to tell but I love this episode. Any episode where there are this many Pikachu is a top-tier episode in my book.

There is a part of me that wishes Goh had caught a Pichu and evolved it all the way up, but I understand that they probably wanted to avoid both of he and Ash having Pikachu's (which is probably why they still have Goh's Pikachu evolve into a Raichu in this episode). Still, he should have caught a Pichu at some point so he could register the entire evolution line.