#ep001

What little was shown suggests Pikachu was, for most of his life, alone, and learned to fend for himself even as a Pichu. The time he spent with the Kangaskhan family showed him what true love was, because one of the Kangaskhan adopted him and took care of him even though she didn't need to, even as it became harder and more exhausting to do so, and never complained about it because she cared. Pichu to Pikachu is a friendship evolution in the games, and in this case Pichu became Pikachu because of the love the Kangaskhan family showed him and how much he came to appreciate that love, even if he had to leave afterward.

I think Pikachu valued that time and learning what love is to the point where he hated the idea of being under a Trainer because the concept of being in a Poke Ball and being "owned" by someone was what Pikachu interpreted as a master and servant relationship with the Pokémon as the servant, and Pikachu was proud of how self-capable he was and didn't want to be anyone's servant. Which is why he didn't take well to being given to Ash at first and hated going inside a Poke Ball.

Ash won him over because he proved in the first episode that he didn't just see Pikachu as a "servant", but as a friend and equal. His heart shone through in how he himself was willing to go to any lengths to protect Pikachu, even at the expense of his own safety. That imo is what won Pikachu's friendship and loyalty, because that to him was the kind of love the Kangaskhan family showed him, and Ash right there and then showed Pikachu that same undying love and loyalty. That whole chain of events established them as true partners and equals that way. Ash will go out of his way for Pikachu, and Pikachu will do the same for him in return.

 There’s nothing like a first episode to a series. It’s rough around the edges, maybe it’s lacking an element we’ve come to expect or has one that was left behind as the series marched on, but it is the groundwork. The foundation. A good first episode will tell the viewer, “Hey. You’ve found something special.”

Not a whole lot actually happens in the episode, plot-point wise; Ash oversleeps, gets a stubborn electric rodent, runs around with the birds while arguing with the rodent, runs away from the birds, steals a bike. etc etc. The majority of the time spent it the back-and-forth between Ash and Pikachu, which I think works to its benefit. Ash and Pikachu both have really strong characterization right out of the gate. Their relationship is so central to the identity of the show, so it’s cool to see that consistent theme even from the very beginning. Pokemon knows it’s a show about friendship, so it spends the first episode making sure the audience believes in the core friendship. Overall, a solid writing decision.

I hadn’t expected nearly the amount of cartoon violence that I’d be getting from the early episodes, however. I swear, that blessing/favor from Ho-oh is what keeps this boy alive through all the nonsense he faces. By all accounts, he should’ve drowned in that river or died from electrocution, and that’s just episode one.

I can see the headline now: “Local boy drowns first day of Pokemon Journey: Sparks questions about trainer reforms.” Needless to say, that would’ve been a very different story.

The world of pokemon is fun and exciting, but also dangerous. I don’t remember this much danger from X/Y, but I could easily be mistaken. I’m interested to track this detail to get a view of the region’s environments and culture about the wild in relation to each other.

As for the characters introduced, there are many:

Ash himself is the main event, of course. The opening scene does so much to characterize him despite not being that long. He’s exuberant and confident, but still very immature with a lot to learn. Pokemon are everything to him. He’s meant to be a vehicle for a young audience to project themselves onto, and he works perfectly for that. His excitement, kindness and naivety are a perfect combination for the audience to learn more about the world alongside him. Not to mention it’s just fun to watch.

Pikachu, on the other hand, is equally as stubborn and decides not to like Ash immediately after being gifted to him. Their strong-willed natures clash intensely, generating much of the conflict for the first episodes. Despite this, it’s clear the two of them are more similar than they are different, as evidenced by mutually saving the other from the flock of spearow. I can definitely see the foundations to their later bond here.

Not much is seen of either Gary or Professor Oak in episode one, but enough to make me reevaluate my pop-culture based opinions on them. Gary is, a brat, but who wouldn’t be as a ten-year-old local celebrity with your own cheer squad? He’s clearly been spoiled. The professor, conversely, is goofier than I anticipated. It becomes apparent in later episodes, but the viewer can still tell he’s not that serious of a person here in episode one.