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| Episode Comparisons | Orange Islands
Episode Stats:
Thoughts
By my count, "The Mystery of the Missing Pokémon!" marks the fourteenth non-filler episode of Pocket Monsters in a row. Fourteen! Is this the longest such streak in this series? It's sad that we're about to enter filler town soon but if we had to leave these important episodes behind then I couldn't think of a better episode to end the streak on. And the big reason for that, in my opinion, is Mr. Atsuhiro Tomioka's script. Mr. Tomioka's kind of well-known among us fans as being the screenplay writer least afraid of making references to past episodes and this episode is a perfect example.
For example, he brought back Yamato and Kosaburou who, at this point in the series, had only ever appeared one other time. Yamato and Kosaburou hadn't quite become the comic relief villains they would turn into later, and while there are still some goofy things in here -- the four-way motto, the Kosanji running gag, their over-the-top rivalry with Musashi and Kojirou -- they're still, at least for now, being treated as the "more competent" version of our favorite comic relief villains. In the second half of the episode Yamato sums up the difference between their approach and that of their rivals pretty well; work smarter, not harder. Yamato and Kosaburou operate by making Pokémon come to them -- first with the Pokémon daycare in Kanto, and now with Sleep there on the Orange Islands -- while Musashi and Kojirou are just endlessly chasing after their prey, always playing catch up.
Mr. Tomioka also remembers that hey, the Rocket-Dan's Beroringa and Utsubot exist! Can you believe that this episode is only the second appearance ever of Musashi's Beroringa!? Or that this is only Kojirou's Utsubot's third time on the show? From this episode onwards the series will have the Rocket trio use these neglected Pokémon much more often, and I can't help but wonder how much of that is because of what Mr. Tomioka does in this episode.
The other major callback in this episode involves Togepy learning Metronome! Well, allegedly. The show was smart to bring up Togepy's lack of attacks in that episode where Musashi and Kojirou deliver the Pokémon to their Boss but they haven't really done anything with that plot point in the 20-some episodes since. And on top of that, Togepy learning Metronome by playfully copying the Rocket-Dan's Sleep is actually kind of genius! Togepy's still very much a baby, and babies learn things by imitating those around them and so having Togepy learn its first attack in this way is actually kind of brilliant. I also thought it was a nice touch to have nobody realize that it was Togepy who saved the day; it'll make for some interesting scenarios moving forward!
But this episode isn't just one reference after the other, you know! We get to see the Rocket trio (well, Musashi and Kojirou) team up with the twerps, something that never, ever disappoints. We get a ton of iconic artwork from animation director Akihiro Tamagawa. We get to see Junsar use a Pokémon other than Gardie for a change. We get to see Musashi and Kojirou actually be kind of dramatic. We get that amazing Metronome sequence at the end of the episode. We get...well, we get a lot of things in this episode, don't we! This episode is just one stand out moment after the other and I love, love, LOVE it for that.
I don't know about you,
but I consider the English dub adding music to scenes that didn't have
any background music in them originally to count as music replacement
just as much as when they swap out one piece of music for another. To
me, statements like "well, they kept 100% of the Japanese music but
just added in some filler music" (for example) contradicts itself
because if you're
adding music over silence then you're still changing the show's
soundtrack! It makes a huge difference! Other than that, there
are a lot of moments in this episode where 4Kids just kind of throws
out the Japanese script and
make up their own dialogue so there are plenty of Dialogue EditsTM
for me to
go through this time around.
Dialogue Edit
After the opening narration:
Islands in the Orange Archipelago getting their names changed is a regular occurrence in the English dub, of course, but this particular case stands out. In the Japanese version, the island in this episode is called Kinkan Island (キンカン島) while the one in Episode 099, "Kanna of the Four Heavenly Kings! The Icy Battle!!", is called Mandarin Island (マンダリン島). So you would expect the two islands to also have two different names in the English dub, right? Apparently not! 4Kids uses the name "Mandarin Island" for the locations of both these episodes despite the fact that the two have nothing in common.
To further complicate things, the word "Kinkan" in "Kinkan Island" is Japanese for "kumquat," which is a name 4Kids will use for the island where Satoshi earns his final Orange League badge! The whole thing's needlessly complicated!
Eric Stuart's Harvey Fierstein impersonation makes its Orange Islands debut:
The English dub makes it seem like the Butch / Cassidy duo have some long-standing vendetta against Ash and his friends while that same implication's not there in the original.
After Voltorb blows itself up:
I don't really understand Tracey's line here. My best guess is that maybe he's afraid the police will think they had something to do with the stolen Pokémon, but then if that was the case then why did they instantly go running toward Officer Jenny the second she arrives on the scene?
Speaking of Officer Jenny:
Ash refers to his Pikachu as a "him" in the English dub, something that, as you can see, doesn't happen in the Japanese version.
The two versions have almost nothing in common! This is just one of many rewrites we'll see throughout the episode.
The Rocket trio gets reunited with the Rocket duo:
Kosaburou is an unusual name, even in Japan; it's super old (it's been in use since at least the 1800s, though it's probably older than that) and hasn't been a popular baby name for decades. So the fact that the others characters in this show can't remember it is not all too surprising! And in case you're wondering, "Kosanji" is actually a real name, with the most famous example being a famous rakugo poet named Kosanji Yanagiya (柳家小三治). Japanese fans can't seem to be able to figure out why "Kosanji" is the name everyone mistakes Kosaburou for and so most of them just assume it's because they're both old-timey names that begin with "Kosa--."
The English dub goes with "Botch," which is a letter off from "Butch" and has the added bonus of meaning "to mess up" ("The characters keep botching up his name") so their localization works well enough, I suppose. "Botch" isn't a real name the way "Kosanji" is but I guess you can't win them all!
As you can see, Musashi's continuing to insist (as Nyarth did the first time around) that their motto is the original one.
The two groups continue to snipe at each other:
There are lots of little differences here, but the big takeaway here is that Musashi doesn't necessarily think her colleague is lying the way Jessie obviously does.
How did the other duo get out of jail, anyway?
No, 4Kids, the boss of the Pokémon yakuza did not just waltz into a police station and pay to spring a duo arrested for multiple fraud and kidnapping charges.
The Japanese version makes no reference to Sakaki doing anything in person.
After Butch explains how they're using Drowzee to control all the Pokémon:
Kosaburou's playful teasing gets turned into Butch threatening to kill his teammates! How fun!
This makes me wonder; can Pokémon like Kangaskhan even be found in the Orange Islands in the first place? Has anyone ever made a list of Pokémon who never showed up in the Orange Islands?
Dialogue Edit
Jenny confronts Jessie at the police box:
As you can see, Junsar tells the Rocket duo that she knows who they work for, something Officer Jenny doesn't bother to do.
The Rocket trio duo reveals that they're victims, too!
A lot of Japanese find Musashi's line amusing because she's name dropping one of Kojirou's Pokémon (Mata-chan = Matadogas, of course) rather than the snake Pokémon she just kind of doesn't bother mentioning here.
There are lots of rewrites here, but the main one that sticks out to me is Ash's decidedly more tough guy act in the final line there. The English dub basically does what Nintendo does to the Kirby box art; it takes something sweet and sincere from Japan and changes it into anger because this is America goddammit we want our heroes to be strong assertive MEN!
Jessie and James ring the doorbell:
The actual content of what the Rocket duo is saying here is more or less the same in both versions but the delivery is completely different. Originally, Kojirou puts on an overly polite tone, using the same type of formal language a subordinate might use for his manager, or a service industry professional would use toward his customer. Musashi, meanwhile, goes for the cute little preschool girl route, and you can tell from her performance here that Megumi Hayashibara must have had a lot of fun recording this little bit.
Our Rocket duo gives up:
Musashi's line contains and untranslatable pun; she takes the word shaberu (喋 る), "to say something," removes the final -ru, and tacks on -roringa to make the non-word sha-beroringa. Beroringa is the name of Musashi's pink tongue Pokémon.
I suppose the English dub could have done something with the word "lick" ("You two may have licked us earlier but we're done biting our tungs") but I guess they decided it was too much trouble so they just didn't bother.
The English dub line is a perfectly fine translation of what's said in the Japanese version (ano pokemon wa...) but I'm bringing it up anyway because the wording (and cadence) that Tracey uses is the exact same thing that's said during the eyecatches in the dub. The same is not true for the Japanese version.
Ash scans Drowzee:
Well at least the first half of the second English dub sentence is similar...?
Butch notices how the other Rocket duo is there with the police:
Another rewrite!
The battle between our heroes and Yamato and Kosaburou goes pretty well, script-wise. A few of Yamato's and Kosaburou's taunts are a bit different in the original but otherwise it's pretty solid.
The next edit takes place once our heroes are outside.
Lots of little differences here! The one that stands out to me the most, though, is Jessie and Cassidy just kind of calmly going over the rules of the actual life-or-death battle they're about to have. Oh, you want two on two? Should there be a time limit? Can we switch out Pokémon? Do you wanna go first, or should...oh, you want to go? Y-yeah, sure. No, it's fine. Go ahead.
Drowzee dodges Arbok's attack:
I only bring this up because Satoshi refers to Musashi by her name here, something he very, very rarely does over the 20+ years this franchise has been going on. Usually he just refers to the individual members as simply "Rocket-Dan" and so the fact he's calling Musashi by her name here shows that he really does see her as a partner in this very moment. It's a small little nuance that's lost in the dub, unfortunately.
Drowzee uses Mega Punch:
Cassidy's claim that they're the ones to found the Rocket breeding center is an invention of the English dub.
Side Note
4Kids really does a number on the whole Metronome sequence at the end.
In the original, there's no background music whatsover. We hear the swish of Sleep's fingers moving back and forth, Togepy's chirps, the rhythmic ticking of a clock in the background, and this sound of some kind of psychic power, swelling louder and louder. We hear Satoshi, Junsar, and Ghos scream out at the very beginning of the sequence but don't hear anything else until the giant explosion at the end.
The dub takes all that and then slaps on some background music. They increase the volume of the psychic power hum while decreasing the volume of Togepi's voice. The echo effect that was on Togepi in the original is all but gone. And they add a "Pika!" at the very end that wasn't there in the original.
To me, this kind of sound tinkering is very much on the same level as a script rewrite, or a visual edit, or cut footage. It's taking a cool scene that stood out in the Japanese version because of its sound design and then throws a bunch of crap on top of it to make it...well, just another battle scene.
Dialogue Edit
Jessie and James bid farewell to the other Rocket duo:
Ash's non-chalant reaction to the rewritten dialogue 4Kids gave to Jessie and Misty is a bit off-putting to me. I mean, who cares if the Boss of Team Rocket, who I've never met before, helps release these dangerous criminals back onto the streets again? No biggee LOL!
Satoshi and his friends are not made "honorary citizens" in the original.
Finally, the very last conversation of the episode:
The Japanese version makes it clear that Kenji and the others believe that the explosion that defeated the Rocket duo was caused by Sleep, unaware that it was actually Kasumi's Togepy who defeated the Rocket-Dan. The English version takes this perfectly translatable observation and decides to have Tracey, who's only encountered the Jessie / James Rocket duo two other times at this point in the series, by the way, decide that Team Rocket only wins when they're working with the good guys. That in and of itself is a pretty dumb rewrite, but then you add the camera zooming in on Pikachu and Togepi -- an action that makes absolutely no sense with the newly rewritten dialogue -- and you have one of the sloppier rewrites in recent memory.
This page was last updated on March 3rd, 2021
Episode Stats:
Japanese Episode
086: "The Mystery of the Missing Pokémon!"
American Episode
232: "Pikachu Re-Volts"
Pokemon Dare
Da? Sleep (Japanese), Kangaskhan (English)
Dr. Ookido Pokemon Course:
Ebiwalar
Japanese Air
Date: March 4th, 1999
American Air
Date: February 5th, 2000
Important Places: Kinkan
Island (Mandarin Island)
Satoshi and his friends have arrived on Kinkan Island, home to a bustling metropolis currently having problems with Pokémon suddenly going under a trance, attacking their Trainers, and then running away! And Satoshi and Kasumi’s Pikachu and Togepy are no exception! Elsewhere, Musashi and Kojirou follow Nyarth, who seems to be brainwashed itself, over to a radio tower only to discover that fellow Rocket-Dan members Yamato and Kosaburou are behind the Pokémon’s strange behavior! Apparently they’ve been using their Psychic-Type Pokémon, Sleep, to lure all the Pokémon in the area to their lair! Later, Musashi and Kojirou decide to join forces with Satoshi and his friends to help put a stop to the other Rocket duo. Our heroes (and villains) talk their way into the tower and then confront the other Rocket duo head-on. Eventually, Satoshi tricks his Pikachu into using its Thunderbolt attack to blow up the machine that was being used to amplify Sleep's hypnosis waves, snapping the Kinkan Island Pokémon out of their trances! Yamato, Kosaburou, and Sleep, however, are still eager to fight and so Sleep is ordered to use Metronome to finish our heroes off. Without anyone noticing, Kasumi's curious little Togepy mimics the Rocket Pokémon's actions and appears to launch a Metronome attack of its own! The resulting explosion defeats the Rocket duo and enables the local Junsar to step in and arrest them. Later, Satoshi and his friends leave Kinkan Island behind, unaware that Togepy’s added a powerful new attack to its arsenal.
Thoughts
By my count, "The Mystery of the Missing Pokémon!" marks the fourteenth non-filler episode of Pocket Monsters in a row. Fourteen! Is this the longest such streak in this series? It's sad that we're about to enter filler town soon but if we had to leave these important episodes behind then I couldn't think of a better episode to end the streak on. And the big reason for that, in my opinion, is Mr. Atsuhiro Tomioka's script. Mr. Tomioka's kind of well-known among us fans as being the screenplay writer least afraid of making references to past episodes and this episode is a perfect example.
For example, he brought back Yamato and Kosaburou who, at this point in the series, had only ever appeared one other time. Yamato and Kosaburou hadn't quite become the comic relief villains they would turn into later, and while there are still some goofy things in here -- the four-way motto, the Kosanji running gag, their over-the-top rivalry with Musashi and Kojirou -- they're still, at least for now, being treated as the "more competent" version of our favorite comic relief villains. In the second half of the episode Yamato sums up the difference between their approach and that of their rivals pretty well; work smarter, not harder. Yamato and Kosaburou operate by making Pokémon come to them -- first with the Pokémon daycare in Kanto, and now with Sleep there on the Orange Islands -- while Musashi and Kojirou are just endlessly chasing after their prey, always playing catch up.
Mr. Tomioka also remembers that hey, the Rocket-Dan's Beroringa and Utsubot exist! Can you believe that this episode is only the second appearance ever of Musashi's Beroringa!? Or that this is only Kojirou's Utsubot's third time on the show? From this episode onwards the series will have the Rocket trio use these neglected Pokémon much more often, and I can't help but wonder how much of that is because of what Mr. Tomioka does in this episode.
The other major callback in this episode involves Togepy learning Metronome! Well, allegedly. The show was smart to bring up Togepy's lack of attacks in that episode where Musashi and Kojirou deliver the Pokémon to their Boss but they haven't really done anything with that plot point in the 20-some episodes since. And on top of that, Togepy learning Metronome by playfully copying the Rocket-Dan's Sleep is actually kind of genius! Togepy's still very much a baby, and babies learn things by imitating those around them and so having Togepy learn its first attack in this way is actually kind of brilliant. I also thought it was a nice touch to have nobody realize that it was Togepy who saved the day; it'll make for some interesting scenarios moving forward!
But this episode isn't just one reference after the other, you know! We get to see the Rocket trio (well, Musashi and Kojirou) team up with the twerps, something that never, ever disappoints. We get a ton of iconic artwork from animation director Akihiro Tamagawa. We get to see Junsar use a Pokémon other than Gardie for a change. We get to see Musashi and Kojirou actually be kind of dramatic. We get that amazing Metronome sequence at the end of the episode. We get...well, we get a lot of things in this episode, don't we! This episode is just one stand out moment after the other and I love, love, LOVE it for that.
Dialogue Edit
After the opening narration:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「おぉ！キンカン島が見えてきたぞ！」 |
Kenji:
"Oh! I see Kinkan Island now!" |
Tracey: "Well, there's
Mandarin Island straight ahead!" |
| サトシ 「キンカン島！？」 |
Satoshi: "Kinkan Island!?" |
Ash: "Mandarin Island?" |
Islands in the Orange Archipelago getting their names changed is a regular occurrence in the English dub, of course, but this particular case stands out. In the Japanese version, the island in this episode is called Kinkan Island (キンカン島) while the one in Episode 099, "Kanna of the Four Heavenly Kings! The Icy Battle!!", is called Mandarin Island (マンダリン島). So you would expect the two islands to also have two different names in the English dub, right? Apparently not! 4Kids uses the name "Mandarin Island" for the locations of both these episodes despite the fact that the two have nothing in common.
To further complicate things, the word "Kinkan" in "Kinkan Island" is Japanese for "kumquat," which is a name 4Kids will use for the island where Satoshi earns his final Orange League badge! The whole thing's needlessly complicated!
Eric Stuart's Harvey Fierstein impersonation makes its Orange Islands debut:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ヤマト 「ま。新たな獲物よ」 |
Yamato: "Well look here. New
prey." |
Cassidy: "Well, look who's
come to visit." |
| コサブロウ 「はて…あの小僧たち」 |
Kosaburou: "Well well
well...it's those kids..." |
Butch: "It's that kid with the
Pikachu." |
| ヤマト 「うふ。懐かしいじゃないの？」 |
Yamato: "Heh...it's been a
while, hasn't it?" |
Cassidy: "Heh heh. I think
it's payback time." |
The English dub makes it seem like the Butch / Cassidy duo have some long-standing vendetta against Ash and his friends while that same implication's not there in the original.
After Voltorb blows itself up:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「サトシ！大丈夫か！？」 |
Kenji:
"Satoshi! Are you OK?" |
Tracey: "Ash, we'd better get
out of here!" |
| サトシ 「ピカチュウ…」 |
Satoshi: "Pikachu..." |
Ash: "They're...gone." |
I don't really understand Tracey's line here. My best guess is that maybe he's afraid the police will think they had something to do with the stolen Pokémon, but then if that was the case then why did they instantly go running toward Officer Jenny the second she arrives on the scene?
Speaking of Officer Jenny:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジュンサー 「遅かったか…」 |
Junsar: "I'm too late..." |
Officer Jenny: "What just
happened?" |
| サトシ 「ジュンサーさん…」 |
Satoshi: "Ms. Junsar..." |
Ash: "Officer Jenny!" |
| カスミ 「あたしの大事なトゲピーがいきなりどこかに行っちゃったんです」 |
Kasumi:
"My poor little Togepy
suddenly disappeared!" |
Misty: "Togepi was acting really weird and then there was an explosion and now it's gone." |
| サトシ 「俺のピカチュウも。どうなっちゃってるんですか、この島は！」 |
Satoshi: "My Pikachu too. What
in the world's happening on this island!?" |
Ash: "And Pikachu's gone, too. You just gotta find him, Officer Jenny!" |
Ash refers to his Pikachu as a "him" in the English dub, something that, as you can see, doesn't happen in the Japanese version.
Misty's upset about
Togepi:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「トゲピー、どうしてるのかな？ちゃんとご飯食べてるかしら？今頃寂し
がってあたしのこと呼んでないかしら？」 |
Kasumi: "Togepy, how is it
doing? Is it getting enough to eat? Is it feeling lonely and crying out
for me right now?" |
Misty:
"The way Togepi looked at me was just horrible. Something terrible must
be wrong with it. We've just got to find them. We've just got to." |
The two versions have almost nothing in common! This is just one of many rewrites we'll see throughout the episode.
The Rocket trio gets reunited with the Rocket duo:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「ヤマト！」 |
Musashi: "Yamato!" |
Jessie: "Cassidy?" |
| コジロウ 「コサンジ！」 |
Kojirou: "...and Kosanji!" |
James: "...and Botch!" |
| コサブロウ 「違う！コサブロウだ！」 |
Kosaburou: "What the...it's
Kosaburou!" |
Butch: "The name is Butch!" |
Kosaburou is an unusual name, even in Japan; it's super old (it's been in use since at least the 1800s, though it's probably older than that) and hasn't been a popular baby name for decades. So the fact that the others characters in this show can't remember it is not all too surprising! And in case you're wondering, "Kosanji" is actually a real name, with the most famous example being a famous rakugo poet named Kosanji Yanagiya (柳家小三治). Japanese fans can't seem to be able to figure out why "Kosanji" is the name everyone mistakes Kosaburou for and so most of them just assume it's because they're both old-timey names that begin with "Kosa--."
The English dub goes with "Botch," which is a letter off from "Butch" and has the added bonus of meaning "to mess up" ("The characters keep botching up his name") so their localization works well enough, I suppose. "Botch" isn't a real name the way "Kosanji" is but I guess you can't win them all!
After the double Team
Rocket motto:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「あんたたち、いい加減マネをやめてくれない？」 |
Musashi: "Would you mind not
copying us?" |
Jessie:
"We say it just as good as you do." |
As you can see, Musashi's continuing to insist (as Nyarth did the first time around) that their motto is the original one.
The two groups continue to snipe at each other:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ヤマト 「ムサシ。ロケット団を首になったんだって？」 |
Yamato: "Musashi! I hear you
got fired from the Rocket-Dan?" |
Cassidy: "So Jessie, rumor has
it you're getting kicked off Team Rocket." |
| ムサシ 「ク…」 |
Musashi: "Fired?" |
Jessie: "Huh?" |
| コジロウ 「…ビ？」 |
Kojirou: "Us?" |
James: "Huh?" |
| ヤマト 「あら～あたしの聞き間違いだったかしら」 |
Yamato: "Oh, but of course
maybe I just heard it wrong..." |
Cassidy: "It's just a rumor,
of course. It's not official yet." |
| コジロウ 「あ～。オレは違いますよね？」 |
Kojirou: "Ah! You heard wrong
about me too, right? Right!?" |
James: "Did you hear rumors
about me?" |
| ムサシ 「コジロウ…うんとも恥ずかしいことやってんじゃないわよ！」 |
Musashi: "Kojirou! Stop
embarrassing yourself!" |
Jessie: "Grr! I'll bet she's
the one who started the rumor." |
There are lots of little differences here, but the big takeaway here is that Musashi doesn't necessarily think her colleague is lying the way Jessie obviously does.
How did the other duo get out of jail, anyway?
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「あんたたち、いつ出所してきたわよ？」 |
Musashi: "So when did you two
get out anyway?" |
Jessie: "I thought you two were still in jail." |
| コサブロウ 「ボスがすぐに保釈金を積んでくれたのさ」 |
Kosaburou: "Well, the Boss
wasted no time getting together the bail money for us, you see." |
Butch: "The Boss came down to the station himself and bailed us out." |
| コジロウ 「ほ…保釈金？あのボスが…？」 |
Kojirou: "B...bail money? The
Boss did that?" |
James: "He paid...in person?" |
| ムサシ 「あたしたちには何もしてくれないのに…」 |
Musashi: "But he'd never
do anything like that for us..." |
Jessie: "The boss never does
anything like that for us." |
No, 4Kids, the boss of the Pokémon yakuza did not just waltz into a police station and pay to spring a duo arrested for multiple fraud and kidnapping charges.
The Japanese version makes no reference to Sakaki doing anything in person.
After Butch explains how they're using Drowzee to control all the Pokémon:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コサブロウ 「お前たちより正しい悪役してるだろ？予算もたっぷりざまあ見ろ」 |
Kosaburou: "We're just better
villains than you are, right? And look, we've got the budget to prove
it." |
Butch: "So now that both of
you know our little secret I think it's time to say goodbye." |
Kosaburou's playful teasing gets turned into Butch threatening to kill his teammates! How fun!
Eyecatch
The main Pokémon of the
episode vs...a kangaroo Pokémon that won't appear again until
Johto!
 |
 |
This makes me wonder; can Pokémon like Kangaskhan even be found in the Orange Islands in the first place? Has anyone ever made a list of Pokémon who never showed up in the Orange Islands?
Dialogue Edit
Jenny confronts Jessie at the police box:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジュンサー 「あなたたちロケット団でしょう？ひょっとして一連の事件はあなた
たちの仕業なんじゃないの？」 |
Junsar: "You two are from the
Rocket-Dan, right? Seems to me like you might have something to do with
this
string of
incidents..." |
Officer Jenny: "I wonder if there's a connection between the Pokémon acting strangely and disappearing and these two showing up." |
As you can see, Junsar tells the Rocket duo that she knows who they work for, something Officer Jenny doesn't bother to do.
The Rocket trio duo reveals that they're victims, too!
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「お前たちもポケモンを捕らえたのか？」 |
Kenji: "You mean your
Pokémon were taken too?" |
Tracey: "You mean, your
Pokémon were taken too?" |
| ムサシ 「マタちゃん、ベロちゃん…」 |
Musashi: "Mata-chan... Bero-chan..." |
Jessie: "What's going to
happen to them?" |
| サトシ 「ロケット団…」 |
Satoshi: "Rocket-Dan..." |
Ash: "They're not faking..." |
A lot of Japanese find Musashi's line amusing because she's name dropping one of Kojirou's Pokémon (Mata-chan = Matadogas, of course) rather than the snake Pokémon she just kind of doesn't bother mentioning here.
Everyone tries to
convince Team Rocket to
stay:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「そんなこと言ってる場合⁉大事なポケモン奪われたんでしょ？」 |
Kasumi: "This isn't the time
for that! Your Pokémon were just stolen from you,
right!?" |
Misty: "How can you walk
away!? You're even lower than I thought you were!" |
| ケンジ 「取り返しに行くつもりだろ？」 |
Kenji: "You're heading out to
go get them back, right?" |
Tracey: "If you know
something, please tell us!" |
| ジュンサー 「たくさんの人たちがあなたたちと同じ気持ちなのよ。愛するポケモ ンを奪われ、襲われる悲しみ。」 | Junsar: "A lot of people are
feeling the same way you two do right now. The sadness of having the
Pokémon they love so much being stolen from them, and of being
attacked by them..." |
Officer Jenny: "Wait! I know
you're upset about losing your Pokémon and that's just the way
all the other Trainers feel about losing theirs." |
| サトシ 「頼む！何か知ってるなら教えてくれ。オレ、ピカチュウたちを助けたい
んだ。頼むよ…」 |
Satoshi: "Please...if you know something then please tell us. I want to help Pikachu and the others. I'm begging you..." | Ash: "Something bad is happening to Pikachu and the other Pokémon and you're not leaving till you tell us what you know. (crying)" |
There are lots of rewrites here, but the main one that sticks out to me is Ash's decidedly more tough guy act in the final line there. The English dub basically does what Nintendo does to the Kirby box art; it takes something sweet and sincere from Japan and changes it into anger because this is America goddammit we want our heroes to be strong assertive MEN!
Jessie and James ring the doorbell:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「はい～！どうも！」 |
Musashi: "Hi~! Hewwo 'dere!" |
Jessie: "Helloooo there!" |
| コジロウ 「お届け物でございまーす！」 |
Kojirou: "We have a package
for you." |
James: "We brought a little
peace offering." |
| ムサシ 「あたしたち 心を入れ替えて 頑張りたいと思いま～～す ♥」 |
Musashi: "We had a widdle
change ob hawts and would wike to hewp yoo." |
Jessie: "We've turned over a
new leaf and we want to help you as fellow Team Rocket members should." |
| コジロウ 「つきましては手土産持参で作戦に参加させていただきました！」 |
Kojirou: "And so by bringing
you this gift we ask that we be allowed to join your plan." |
James: "And to prove there are
no hard feelings we brought you something that might come in handy." |
The actual content of what the Rocket duo is saying here is more or less the same in both versions but the delivery is completely different. Originally, Kojirou puts on an overly polite tone, using the same type of formal language a subordinate might use for his manager, or a service industry professional would use toward his customer. Musashi, meanwhile, goes for the cute little preschool girl route, and you can tell from her performance here that Megumi Hayashibara must have had a lot of fun recording this little bit.
Our Rocket duo gives up:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「オレたち、今度という今度はあんたたちに負けました！」 |
Kojirou: "This time we really
lost to you two." |
James: "Let's call a truce so
we can all be one big happy Team Rocket." |
| ヤマト 「何か企んでるでしょ？」 |
Yamato: "You're up to
something, I just know it." |
Cassidy: "This isn't like you
two." |
| ムサシ 「なーにお喋べろりんが？失礼しちゃうわね。」 |
Musashi: "Don't point your
bero-finger at us. That's not very nice." |
Jessie: "Well maybe that's
because there are more than just the two
of us now." |
| コジロウとムサシ 「さあさあ、おみやげ受け取って！」 |
Kojirou & Musashi: "In any
case, it's time to get your present!" |
James and Jessie: "That's
right. Ha ha ha ha ha!" |
Musashi's line contains and untranslatable pun; she takes the word shaberu (喋 る), "to say something," removes the final -ru, and tacks on -roringa to make the non-word sha-beroringa. Beroringa is the name of Musashi's pink tongue Pokémon.
I suppose the English dub could have done something with the word "lick" ("You two may have licked us earlier but we're done biting our tungs") but I guess they decided it was too much trouble so they just didn't bother.
Our heroes get a look at
Drowzee:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「あのポケモンは…？」 |
Kenji: "What's that...?" |
Tracey: "Who's that Pokémon?" |
The English dub line is a perfectly fine translation of what's said in the Japanese version (ano pokemon wa...) but I'm bringing it up anyway because the wording (and cadence) that Tracey uses is the exact same thing that's said during the eyecatches in the dub. The same is not true for the Japanese version.
Ash scans Drowzee:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ポケモン図鑑 「スリープ。さいみんポケモン。夢を食べるともいわれているが草
食性で大ぐい。小声でひとりごとをつぶやくクセを持つ」 |
Pokémon Bestiary:
"Sleep, the Hypnosis Pokémon. Even though it is said to feed on
dreams it is also known as a voracious herbivore. It frequently mutters
to itself." |
Dexter: "Drowzee, the Hypnotic
Pokémon. It is said to feed on the dreams of its opponents. It
is also known for its powerful Psychic attack." |
Well at least the first half of the second English dub sentence is similar...?
Butch notices how the other Rocket duo is there with the police:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コサブロウ 「悪役は警察の片棒を担ぐとは見下げはてたやつらだな」 |
Kosaburou: "Villains teaming
up with the police like this is just painful to look at." |
Butch: "I guess you couldn't cut it as criminal so you're workin' with the law." |
| ムサシ 「バカ言ってんじゃないわよ！警察があたしたちの手下になったのよ！」 |
Musashi: "Don't be stupid!
We'll have you know we've got the police working for us!" |
Jessie: "That's what we wanted you to think. We're only using her because she puts up a good-looking front." |
| ジュンサー 「アハ！あのね…」 |
Junsar: "Heh...Um, wait a
minute..." |
Officer Jenny: (laughs
nervously) |
Another rewrite!
The battle between our heroes and Yamato and Kosaburou goes pretty well, script-wise. A few of Yamato's and Kosaburou's taunts are a bit different in the original but otherwise it's pretty solid.
The next edit takes place once our heroes are outside.
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コサブロウ 「おっと！和むのは早すぎるぜ！」 |
Kosaburou: "It's too early for
you to be letting your guard down!" |
Butch: "This isn't over!" |
| ヤマト 「勝負はこれからよ！」 |
Yamato: "The real battle has
only just begun!" |
Cassidy: "We still have a
score to settle, don't we Jessie?" |
| ムサシ 「へっへ。悪役はそうこなくちゃ。決着を付けようじゃないの、ヤマ
ト！」 |
Musashi: "Heh heh. You're a
true villain, through and through. Let's settle this once and for all,
Yamato!" |
Jessie: "Heh heh heh. Some
people don't know when to quit. All right Cassidy. How are we battling?" |
| ヤマト 「望むところよ、ムサシ！」 |
Yamato: "It'll be my
pleasure,, Musashi!" |
Cassidy: "It looks like it's
two on two." |
| サトシ 「オレもやるぜ！」 |
Satoshi: "And I'm fighting
too!" |
Ash: "Make that three!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pika!" |
Pikachu: "Pika!" |
| ムサシ 「ジャリンコ…」 |
Musashi: "Twerp..." |
Jessie: "What do you mean?" |
| サトシ 「オレはどうしてもあいつらを許すないんだ！」 |
Satoshi: "No matter what I
just can't forgive them for what they've done." |
Ash: "They can't get away with what they did
to our Pokémon." |
Lots of little differences here! The one that stands out to me the most, though, is Jessie and Cassidy just kind of calmly going over the rules of the actual life-or-death battle they're about to have. Oh, you want two on two? Should there be a time limit? Can we switch out Pokémon? Do you wanna go first, or should...oh, you want to go? Y-yeah, sure. No, it's fine. Go ahead.
Drowzee dodges Arbok's attack:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「しっかりしないよ」 |
Musashi:
"Hang in there.! |
Jessie: "We'll beat 'em." |
| サトシ 「ムサシ…」 |
Satoshi:
"Musashi..." |
Ash: "We will?" |
I only bring this up because Satoshi refers to Musashi by her name here, something he very, very rarely does over the 20+ years this franchise has been going on. Usually he just refers to the individual members as simply "Rocket-Dan" and so the fact he's calling Musashi by her name here shows that he really does see her as a partner in this very moment. It's a small little nuance that's lost in the dub, unfortunately.
Drowzee uses Mega Punch:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「強い！すごいレベルだ！」 |
Kenji: "It's strong! It's at a
really amazing level!" |
Tracey: "Whoa! It's really
strong!" |
| ヤマト 「当然！元祖ロケット団育て屋本舗がじっくり育成させたんだからね」 |
Yamato: "Of course! We had the
original Rocket-Dan's breeding office really take their time with this
one
until it was juuust right." |
Cassidy: "Yes. As the founders
of Team Rocket's breeding center we made this one extra-strength." |
Cassidy's claim that they're the ones to found the Rocket breeding center is an invention of the English dub.
Side Note
4Kids really does a number on the whole Metronome sequence at the end.
 |
 |
In the original, there's no background music whatsover. We hear the swish of Sleep's fingers moving back and forth, Togepy's chirps, the rhythmic ticking of a clock in the background, and this sound of some kind of psychic power, swelling louder and louder. We hear Satoshi, Junsar, and Ghos scream out at the very beginning of the sequence but don't hear anything else until the giant explosion at the end.
The dub takes all that and then slaps on some background music. They increase the volume of the psychic power hum while decreasing the volume of Togepi's voice. The echo effect that was on Togepi in the original is all but gone. And they add a "Pika!" at the very end that wasn't there in the original.
To me, this kind of sound tinkering is very much on the same level as a script rewrite, or a visual edit, or cut footage. It's taking a cool scene that stood out in the Japanese version because of its sound design and then throws a bunch of crap on top of it to make it...well, just another battle scene.
Dialogue Edit
Jessie and James bid farewell to the other Rocket duo:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「お前らこそクビだ！」 |
Kojirou: "Looks like you'll be the ones who get fired!" | James: "Hope we don't see you again!" |
| ムサシ 「いつの世も正しい悪が勝つ！」 |
Musashi: "As always, righteous evil always prevails!" | Jessie: "I bet the Boss won't bail them out this time." |
| カスミ 「何それ？」 |
Kasumi: "Righteous evil?" |
Misty: "Bet he does." |
| サトシ 「まぁいいってことさ。ポケモンたちが無事だったんだから」 |
Satoshi: "Eh, who cares? The Pokémon are all safe and that's what matters." | Ash: "Who cares if he does or he doesn't as long as our Pokémon are back?" |
Ash's non-chalant reaction to the rewritten dialogue 4Kids gave to Jessie and Misty is a bit off-putting to me. I mean, who cares if the Boss of Team Rocket, who I've never met before, helps release these dangerous criminals back onto the streets again? No biggee LOL!
Officer Jenny awards our
heroes:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジュンサー 「…無事にトレーナーの元に戻ろことができました。よって、ここに
感謝を込めて表彰状を送ります。旅の無事を祈っているわね。」 |
Junsar: "...were able to
return the Pokémon back to their Trainers, safe and sound. And
so, with all our thanks we present to you this certificate of
commendation. We pray you have a safe journey." |
Officer Jenny: "And so on behalf of all the Pokémon Trainers of Mandarin Island, I hearby present you with this certificate of distinguished achievement. You are now an honorary citizen." |
Satoshi and his friends are not made "honorary citizens" in the original.
Finally, the very last conversation of the episode:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「しかしあの二人、スリープに「ゆびをふる」を命令したせいで自滅した
ようのもんじゃないか」 |
Kenji: "Just think, those two basically did themselves in by ordering Sleep to use Metronome, didn't they?" | Tracey: "It's kinda funny, but I was just thinking that the only time Jessie and James were on the winning side is when they sided with us." |
| カスミ 「ほんーとう」 |
Kasumi: "They sure did." | Misty: "Hey, yeah." |
| サトシ 「やっぱりロケット団はロケット団だよな」 |
Satoshi: "I guess they really
are members of the Rocket-Dan after all, huh?" |
Ash: "I guess that proves even they can't lose 'em all." |
| (all laugh as the camera zooms in on
Togepy) |
||
The Japanese version makes it clear that Kenji and the others believe that the explosion that defeated the Rocket duo was caused by Sleep, unaware that it was actually Kasumi's Togepy who defeated the Rocket-Dan. The English version takes this perfectly translatable observation and decides to have Tracey, who's only encountered the Jessie / James Rocket duo two other times at this point in the series, by the way, decide that Team Rocket only wins when they're working with the good guys. That in and of itself is a pretty dumb rewrite, but then you add the camera zooming in on Pikachu and Togepi -- an action that makes absolutely no sense with the newly rewritten dialogue -- and you have one of the sloppier rewrites in recent memory.
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