Pokemon, I Choose You!

This is the very first Pokemon cartoon ever (although it's not the first one that aired on TV). It starts out just like the Pokemon Red game, which has a battle between a Gengar and a Nidorino. Except for instead of being on a game, it is on a boy's television screen. Then we are introduced to Ash Ketchum, the main character of the story. He is apparently watching TV and talking to himself (not for the last time), and is vowing to become a Pokemon master. His mom comes in, and tells him to get to bed, or to at least watch something useful like the channel with Professor Oak discussing the three starter Pokemon that the four trainers starting out tomorrow will have to choose from. Ash starts watching it, but soon goes to bed (Professor Oak must be pretty boring).

Ash dreams about the three starter Pokemon, and who would be the best to choose; however, when he trows a pokeball in his dream, he also throws the clock he is holding, pretending it's a pokeball in his dream, which causes him to sleep in much later than he was planning on doing. He rushes to get to Oak's lab saying to himself, "Squirtle, Charmander, Bulbasaur, I don't care which one I get, just please save one for ME!" When he gets there, he meets up with Gary, who has a huge crowd of people seeing him off. Ash asks what Pokemon he got, but Gary doesn't answer and just braggs that it's the best one of all. Gary and the crowd soon leave, but Professor Oak sees Ash in. He explains to Ash that all of the starter Pokemon are gone (after letting him try all of the pokeballs, and finding out they are all empty- what a butthead!). Oak says that there is one pokemon left, but Ash might not want it. Ash says that whatever it is, he'll take it, so Oak brings out Ash's first ever Pokemon- a Pikachu.

Pikachu looks cute enough, as Ash thinks at first, but then when he hugs Pikachu, it shocks him, and while giving Ash his pokeballs and Pokedex it shocks Oak, and Ash again! Ash goes outside to say goodbye to hi mom, and she packs a few extra things for him on his journey (including clean underwear-can't leave home without that Ash!). Ash is soon off on his journey, and already his Pokemon has made it very clear that it both does not like being in pokeballs, or being with Ash. When a wild Pidgey appears, Ash tells Pikachu to, "go get it!" but Pikachu decides to climb a tree and take a break. Ash then says he doesn't need Pikachu, and tries to catch the Pidgey by trapping it under his pajama top. The Pidgey is smarter than Ash thinks (which is usually the case with Ash), uses Gust, and then Sand Attack on him. Ash, with Pikachu laughing in the background, thinks he sees another Pidgey. He trows a rock at it, and hits it right on the head! However, it was not a Pidgey that he hit; it was an angry Spearow! It tries to attack Ash, but sees Pikachu and decides to go for it instead. Pikachu almost falls off the tree, but shocks the Spearow with its Thundershock! The Spearow then calls all of it's friends to attack Ash and Pikachu.

Running for their lives, Ash and Pikachu try to escape the flock of Spearow. The Spearow all gang up on Pikachu, and it gets hurt pretty badly. Ash then carries Pikachu, and comes to a giant waterfall. Since there is no way to go but down, he jumps into the waterfall. After seeing Ash strugling in he water a bit, we are taken to a lovely scene where a girl is sitting on the river bank, fishing with her fishing rod. She gets a "bite", and ends up pulling Ash with Pikachu, onto the bank (wow, Misty's a strong girl!). She asks if he's okay, and Ash says he's fine. "Not you!" says the girl angrily, "your pokemon!" Ash says he's not so sure if Pikachu's okay, and Misty points him to the nearest Pokemon Center. He thanks her, and jumps on her bike and peddles off, as she yells out "Hey wait, that's my bike!!"

Things are getting kinda hairy now, and the weather's turning, and Pikahcu's not looking so good. The Spearow have returned, and are flocking behind Ash on the bike. Well, the bike takes a bad fall, and Ash and Pikachu are propelled from it. Ash tells Pikachu to get in the ball, and sets it near him. He then gets up and announces to the Spearow that they can't hurt him, because he's going to become a Pokemon Master, and he will defeat and catch every one of them. The Spearow race toward Ash, and Pikachu jumps up between them and meets with a giant thunderbolt (apparently from the storm). The result is a giant thundershock done by Pikachu, which leaves it and Ash lying on the ground, scares the Spearow away, and comepletely destroys that poor girl's bike!

The sun comes back, and Ash and Pikachu wake up to see a bird pokemon fly overhead through a rainbow. Ash asks the Pokedex what it is, and it says it doesn't know, and that not every pokemon has been discovered yet. Ash and Pikachu then walk toward the Pokemon Center (forgetting the bike), and wonder about what their new journey has in store for them.

This is one of my all-time favorite episodes! I love Misty's burnt bike; that thing totally got mangled! I also like to remind myself sometimes about what an idiot Ash used to be in the begining, so this is definetly a fun episode to watch; and if you haven't seen it yet...make sure you do!