Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode 088:  "The Island of Pink Pokémon"
American Episode 234:  "In the Pink"
Pokemon Dare Da?  Pink Saihorn (Japanese), Kabuto (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course:  Eevee
Japanese Air Date:  March 18th, 1999
American Air Date:  February 12th, 2000
Important Places:  Pinkan Island (Pinkan Island)

One day, Satoshi and his friends are riding along the ocean when they suddenly find themselves being sucked into a whirlpool! The water currents spit them out onto Pinkan Island, a remote isle whose Pokémon inhabitants are all the color pink! Once ashore, Satoshi ends up inadvertently goading a pink Saihorn into charging at them but is saved when Kasumi’s Togepy surreptitiously uses Metronome to teleport him out of danger. Later, our heroes meet the island’s Junsar. She explains that the island’s Pokémon are all pink because of their diet of Pinkan Berries, a special fruit that somehow dyes their bodies pink. She also tells them that the island is basically off-limits to the general public for fears of it being overrun by poachers wanting to get the alternately colored Pokémon for themselves. The Rocket trio, meanwhile, unknowingly prove Junsar right by trying to poach a pink Nidoking they come across. The Drill Pokémon easily sends the trio packing but is so fired up by its encounter that it starts to rampage about the island. Satoshi and his friends try to subdue it with their own Pokémon but nothing they do seems to work. Nidoking responds with a Hyper Beam but our heroes are saved…by a psychic barrier!? Junsar then steps in and puts an end to Nidoking’s attacks by skillfully tying it up with a rope. Later, Junsar accompanies Satoshi and his friends off the island as Kasumi wonders if her Togepy maybe has some kind of hidden power…

---

Thoughts
"The Island of Pink Pokémon" is an alright episode, I guess. Our heroes come across a few wild Pokémon, all of who happen to have a unique gimmick to them, and then spend the rest of the episode working to calm down their various rampages. The plot itself is pretty forgettable but the world building, at least, is pretty solid. I like how the screenplay writer of this episode, Junki Takegami, actually sat down and worked out all the details I wish Yukiyoshi Ohashi had bothered to figure out in the previous episode, such as why the Pokémon in this episode are all pink (meanwhile we have no idea why the Crystal Iwark is made of crystal) and why it's not overrun by poachers (something that Ponkan Island absolutely should be). From a world building view, at least, "The Island of Pink Pokémon" is the superior episode.

But the thing I actually like the most about this episode is its attempt to further along the whole "when is Togepy finally going to learn an attack?" storyline that was started a few episodes ago. The Pokémon knows "Metronome" now, and even though nothing will ever really come out of it (it'll only use the attack two more times before it leaves the cast for good) I do appreciate the show taking the time out to at least try to have some sort of character development for Kasumi's chirping egg baby. I also really enjoyed the little cutaway of the Hanada City Gym Leader trying to train her Togepy to use Headbutt because it shows us that yes, our heroes are doing things in between the episodes we see on TV! The whole thing makes it feel like the characters in this show are actual living, breathing people who have lives outside what's shown on TV-Tokyo, as silly as that probably sounds.

Unfortunately, all this is kind of dampened by how this also marks the last time this show will bother to depict any of the special Pokémon that are supposed to make the Orange Islands so unique. Remember how the arc started? Welcome to the Orange Islands, a tropical archipelago that's home to Pokémon you can't find anywhere else! Hey look, the Pokémon on Dr. Uchikido's laboratory all have strange markings on them! And over there is an Iwark made entirely out of crystal glass! What's this? An island where all the Pokémon are pink!? Wow!

But now, the only Pokémon we're going to see on the Orange Islands from the next episode onwards are the same ones you can find pretty much everyone else. Why did the show abandon the region's biggest gimmick when we're not even a third of the way through the story arc? One reason, maybe, is that the show's writers realized that giving an episode unique Pokémon doesn't make for compelling television in and of itself. Because let's face it, "The Island of Pink Pokémon" is a setting, not a story. The plot here, of our heroes being chased by a rhino in the first half and then being chased by a different rhino in the second, could have happened literally anywhere else in the Pokémon World and pretty much nothing would have needed to be changed. I wonder if the writers realized this themselves and said y'know what, we don't need to bother coming up with any more gimmicky Pokémon because it's not going to affect how we write the show one way or the other.

The title of the English dub of this episode, "In the Pink," comes from an old-timey phrase that can apparently mean either "healthy" or "drunk," making it the perfect episode title for a show aimed at American elementary school aged children! Meanwhile, the English version of this episode helped me pinpoint what doesn't sit right with me in regards to the voice 4Kids gives Officer Jenny; the whole performance is very shouty. Lee Quick's performance is energetic, sure, and she does a great job whenever her character is having to bark out orders during tense situations. But it's also a very one note performance. The character shouts even when she's supposed to be talking calmly, making Officer Jenny seem like a character who's always on edge instead of someone who has her ups and downs just like anyone else. Contrast this with Chinami Nishimura, whose voice actually does have those little peaks and valleys you want in a performance, and you have two very different takes on the same character.

The Pink Saihorn, the two Pink Nidoran, and the Pink Nidoking keep their Japanese voices.

Dialogue Edit
Misty recalls trying to teach Togepi some attacks:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
カスミ　「なぁんて事もあったけど…きっとトゲピーは大器晩成型なのよね～」	Kasumi:  "There's something there, though...my little Togepy's must be a late bloomer, that's all."	Misty:  "I've tried to do my best but nobody could have a better Pokémon than my Togepi."
トゲピー　「チョゲチョゲプイ～」	Togepy:  "Toge Toge pyyy~!"	Togepi:  "Toge Toge piii~!"
サトシ　「親バカっつーか」	Satoshi:  "Or maybe its parent's just seeing something that isn't there."	Ash:  "If Togepi had a better Trainer..."
カスミ　「今何か言った？」	Kasumi:  "You have something to say?"	Misty:  "What was that?"
サトシ　「何も！」	Satoshi:  "Not at all!"	Ash:  "Uh, nothing!"

Satoshi's response is that Kasumi is an oya baka (親バカ), a word that can be translated as "doting parent" or "you spoil it too much," among others, but that also happens to have the word baka (バカ) in it. Baka, by itself, means "idiot." In the Japanese version of this exchange, Kasumi most likely hears the word baka and assumes Satoshi's calling her an idiot, hence the ear pulling and whatnot.

The English dub, for what it's worth, comes up with a pretty good substitution by having Ash question her skills as a Trainer rather than her skills as a parent.

Ash wakes up on Pinkan Island:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ここは…どこだ？」	Satoshi:  "Where...am I?"	Ash:  "Pikachu? Misty?"

This is a super minor change that I ordinarily wouldn't bother bringing up except for that fact that I've seen certain fans online try to use the dub line as "evidence" that Ash loves Misty because her name is the only (human) one he brings up.

Side Note
Pinkan Island keeps its Japanese name. In any other franchise the fact that the name appears written out in English several times would have been enough to make that a given but this is Pokémon we're talking about. Things like this have been changed before, and they'll be changed again in the future.


Geographically, Pinkan Island may be based on a similar looking island in Thailand named Khao Phing Kan. Like Pinkan Island, it too is an island consisting of tall karst towers that make it difficult for your average tourist to access.


When written out in Japanese, Phing Kan Island becomes Pinkan Tou (ピンカン島), which just so happens to be the exact same spelling used for the island in this episode of Pocket Monsters. So here's my theory; I bet the writers were researching various islands in Southeast Asia, trying to come up with ideas they could use for the show, and came across this island called Pinkan Tou. And then someone said hey, that sounds kind of like the color pink...what if we had an island where all the Pokémon are pink? And we can use the tall cliffs here to explain why these Pokémon developed the way they did?

I don't have any proof of this, of course, but the pieces fit together too well for there to not be at least some amount of truth to it, right?

Dialogue Edit
Kenji gets excited about Pinkan Island:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「だからポケモンウォッチャーとしては是非とも訪れたい島なんだ！ボク 行くよ！」	Kenji:  "And that's why, as a Pokémon Watcher, this is an island I've been dying to visit! I'm going on ahead!"	Tracey:  "I might be the first Pokémon Watcher to discover a whole new type of Pokémon! Come on! Let's hurry!"

Kenji doesn't expect to find any new Pokémon the way Tracey does; he just really, really wants to cross this place off his bucket list.

Ash and his friends find the Pink Rhyhorn:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ピンク色のサイホーン！」	Satoshi:  "A pink-colored Saihorn!"	Ash:  "Look at that."
ケンジ　「すごいぞ！大発見だ！」	Kenji:  "Wow! This is a huge discovery!"	Tracey:  "It's a pink Rhyhorn."
カスミ　「確かに。ピンクのサイホーンなんて見たことも聞いたこともないわね」	Kasumi:  "It really is. I've never seen or heard of a Pink Saihorn before."	Misty:  "I'm not positive but I don't think Rhyhorn are supposed to be pink, are they?"
ポケモン図鑑　「サイホーン。とげとげポケモン。とにかく頑丈で攻撃力、防御力 ともに優れている」	Pokémon Bestiary:  "Saihorn, the Spikes Pokémon. It is generally tough and has an attack power and defensive power that are both exceptional."	Dexter:  "Rhyhorn, the Spiked Pokémon. Rhyhorn is known for its physical power and its considerable offensive and defensive battle skills."
サトシ　「本当。全然違うな」	Satoshi:  "She's right. It's completely different."	Ash:  "The one in here sure isn't pink."
ケンジ　「あぁ。どんな図鑑にだって載ってないよ。よし！もっと近くから！」	Kenji:  "Yup. You're not going to find that one in any bestiary. Alright! Time to get a closer look."	Tracey:  "Wow! This isn't even mentioned in the Pokédex. I gotta get a closer look."

There are a lot of tiny little changes throughout but the ones that stick out to me are how the dub makes both Misty and Tracey less sure / more surprised at what they're seeing than Kasumi and Kenji are.

After Kenji says his catchphrase (which 4Kids changes to "Just stand still, Rhyhorn...and I will sketch a masterpiece!" this time around) the observation begins:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「体長1.8メートル、高さは１メートルっと。角の長さは20センチ か」	Kenji:  "Its about 1.8 meters long and 1 meter high. And it's horn's maybe around 20 centimeters long."	Tracey:  "It looks to be about eight meters long and one meter high. And it's horn's twenty centimeters long."

Eight meters is about 26 feet, a measurement usually reserved for things like moving trucks. The Pokémon species Onix, for comparison's sake, are about 8.8 meters long, or about 28 feet. Needless to say the Rhyhorn in this episode is nowhere near that long.

The fact that we go from 1.8 to 8 makes me wonder if perhaps whoever was checking the English script that day meant to write 1.8 but, for whatever reason, left off the "one point" from the front there. It's possible, right?  It's also odd to me that 4Kids didn't convert the measurements to the imperial system in the first place since they almost never leave metric measurements as-is.

Officer Jenny approaches our heroes:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ジュンサー　「ほら！そこにいるのは誰！？」	Junsar:  "Hey! Who are you!?"	Officer Jenny:  "..."

Junsar's first line of the episode gets muted out in the dub for some reason.

The Rocket trio stumble upon Pinkan Island:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「ピンク色のサイホーンよ！」	Musashi:  "It's a pink-colored Saihorn!"	Jessie:  "It's a pink Rhyhorn!"
コジロウ　「もうしかして他のヤツのみんなピンクだったりして…」	Kojirou:  "Do you think there are other Pink Pokémon on the island besides that?"	James:  "Is it a shocking pink or more of a pale pastel pink?"
ニャース　「ピンクのポケモンは珍しいから高く売れるニャ」	Nyarth:  "Since Pink Pokémon are rare they're sure to bring in a high price Nya."	Meowth:  "If we caught a pink Rhyhorn we could sell it and make a fortune."

As you can see, both Kojirou and Nyarth have their eyes on a bigger prize, wondering if the entire island is home to a wide variety of pink Pokémon and not just the one their partner just described to him.

The Rocket trio get sucked into a whirlpool:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ニャース　「ニャ～目が回るニャ～！」	Nyarth:  "I'm getting dizzy!"	(All screaming)
ムサシ　「何とかしなさいよ」	Musashi:  "Don't just sit there, do something!"
ニャース　「ニャんともニャらないよ！」	Nyarth:  "There's Nya-thing we can do Nya!"
コジロウ　「おい！助けてー！」	Kojirou:  "Somebody! Help us----!"	Meowth:  "I'm gettin' under-seasick!"

Another example of 4Kids removing dialogue! Why is the company acting so out-of-character today? Are they feeling OK?

After saving the Pink Rhyhorn:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「何か急におとなしくなったな。オレが近づいたときはあんなに興奮した のに」	Satoshi:  "It really calmed down a lot all of a sudden. And to think it got so worked up when I got close to it..."	Ash:  "I don't understand it, Officer Jenny. How come that Rhyhorn didn't attack you like it attacked us?"
ジュンサー　「この島のポケモンたちは私以外の人間に会ったことがないのよ。と てもシャイな恥ずかしがり屋さんばかりなの」	Junsar:  "The Pokémon on this island haven't ever met any humans other than me. They're all a bunch of timid and shy Pokémon."	Officer Jenny:  "With new people the Rhyhorn get nervous and sometimes they attack. But that one knows me. Usually that Rhyhorn's very shy."
サトシ　「つまり、ピンクのシャイホーン」	Satoshi:  "So what you're saying is that it's a Shy-horn!"	Ash:  "Then maybe it's a Shy-horn!"

Surprisingly I'm not going to talk about Ash's play on words, which is actually the exact same joke they make in the Japanese version!  Instead I want to focus on Jenny's line because originally she says that she's the only human the Pokémon on Pinkan Island have ever met which, if you listen to what Dr. Ookido says in the second half of the episode, you know is a complete lie. And so 4Kids rewrite here actually makes a bit more sense.

Officer Jenny tells our heroes about the Pinkan Berries:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ピンカンの実？」	Satoshi:  "Pinkan Berries?"	Ash:  "Pinkan Berries?"
ジュンサー　「そう。だからその子は部分的にピンク色に染めちゃったのよ。ピン カン島は見たの通りピンカンの木が群生している島なの。ここのポケモンたちは代々生まれたときからこの実を食べ続けて」	Junsar:  "Yes. That's why parts of that little one there is turning pink. As you can see, there are colonies of Pinkan Trees all over this island. For generations now these Pokémon have been eating those berries from the time they're born."	Officer Jenny:  "Uh-huh. That's what makes all the Pokémon here on the island turn pink. Just take a look around, Ash. This is the only place in the world where pinkan trees grow. The Pokémon grow up eating the berries off the trees and that's why they all turn pink."
ケンジ　「そうか！それでいつしか体がピンク色になったんですね」	Kenji:  "Oh, I see! And so before anyone knew it their bodies all turned pink!"	Tracey:  "I guess there must be some kind of natural chemical in the berries that does it."

There are a few places where the two version's stories match up but for the most part 4Kids rewrites the whole thing. The original doesn't mention anything about Pinkan Island being "the only place in the world" where the berries grow, while the English version also doesn't mention that the Pokémon have been eating the berries for generations. Tracey's guess about the berries having some kind of "natural chemical" in them is also a 4Kids invention.

Ash worries about his Pokémon:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ジュンサーさん！じゃ、ピカチュウはずっとこのままなの？」	Satoshi:  "Ms. Junsar! So is Pikachu going to stay like this forever?"	Ash:  "Officer Jenny, will Pikachu's tail stay pink like this forever?"
ジュンサー　「大丈夫よ！すこしかじっただけなら時期元に戻るわ」	Junsar:  "No need to worry! It only took a few bites so it'll go back to normal after a while."	Officer Jenny:  "Don't worry, Ash. They only stay pink if they eat the berries all the time."
サトシ　「よかったなピカチュウ」	Satoshi:  "That's great, isn't it Pikachu?"	Ash:  "Oh. Then you'd be Pink-achu!"
ピカチュウ　 「ピカ！」	Pikachu:  "Pika!"	Pikachu:  "Pika!"

The Pink-achu "joke," unlike the "Shyhorn" joke from earlier, is a dub invention.

It's also a bit weird to me that Ash only seems to notice that Pikachu's tail has turned pink when its cheeks have also very obviously changed color.

Eyecatch
The eyecatch Pokémon:


No unique Pink Saihorn art for you, dub fans!

Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio dream about opening up a theme park:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ロケット団　「ピンクのポケモン～いっぱいゲットして～みんなで作ろう～ファン シーポケモンラン～ド！」	Rocket-Dan:  "We'll get lots of them~ Lots of Pink Pokémon ~ Let's make it together ~ Fancy Pokémon La~nd~!"	Team Rocket:  "Pinky Land~ Come to Pinky Land~ Come and visit once a year, Come and spend your money here, It's so nice and twinkly, never stinkly, Pinky La~nd!"

The trio's song in the Japanese version is them singing out what they're planning to do right this second. The song in the English dub, on the other hand, is presumably what they'll be singing to their potential customers in the future.

I have to say, though, "come and visit once a year" is probably not a lyric that any theme park would ever sing toward its patrons.

James sees a pink Lickitung:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「こうなったら頼むはよベロリンガ！ここのポケモンたちを残ろずゲット して！」	Musashi:  "In that case come on out, Beroringa! Get all the Pokémon here and don't leave any behind!"	Jessie:  "We need is a Pokémon that can lick 'em all. This looks like the perfect job for Lickitung!"
ベロリンガ　「ベロー」	Beroringa:  "Bero~"	Lickitung:  "Licky!"
コジロウ　「おぉ！ピンクのベロリンガ！」	Kojirou:  "Oh! A pink Beroringa!"	James:  "Look! A pink Lickitung! Ooh!"
ムサシ　「大バカ。ベロリンガは元々ピンクでしょ？」	Musashi:  "You idiot. Beroringa's always been pink, remember?"	Jessie:  "James, Lickitung has always been pink."
ニャース　「同じギャグは二度使えないだニャ」	Nyarth:  "You can't go around using the same gag twice Nya."	Meowth:  "Another smack like that and you'll be turnin' pink."

Nyarth's line here is a reference to the fact that they already made that joke with Purin right after the commercial break. It's the kind of gag 4Kids usually looooooooves to insert into the show at random points so it's really weird to see them rewrite one when it's being handed to them on a silver platter like this.

Later, Jessie's Lickitung goes into the cave with the Nidoran and, after a few seconds, comes running out.


In the Japanese version we can clearly hear Beroringa crying (as in boo-hoo crying) while it runs back toward its Trainer. In the English dub, however, Jessie's Lickitung just says "Tung tung tung tung" a bunch of times in its regular everyday voice. Jessie does make a reference to her Pokémon crying ("I wonder what it's whimpering about") but, except for the blink-and-you'll-miss-it shot of tears coming out of its eyes, you wouldn't really know it based on the way 4Kids chose to dub this scene.

Back at the police box:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ジュンサー　「ピンカン島は世界的遺産に指定されていて、先も言った通り立ち入 り禁止なの」	Junsar:  "Pinkan Island has been declared a worldwide heritage site and, as I said earlier, trespassing is prohibited."	Officer Jenny:  "Pinkan Island has been declared an official Pokémon refuge and that's why visitors are strictly prohibited."
サトシ　「そうだったんですか？」	Satoshi:  "Really? We had no idea!"	Ash:  "We didn't mean to come here."
ピカチュウ　「ピカ」	Pikachu:  "Pika."	Pikachu:  "Pika."
ジュンサー　「でも、今回はサイホーン救出を手伝ってくれたことだし大目にみて あげるわ」	Junsar:  "But, you all helped with rescuing that Saihorn and all that so I'll overlook it this time."	Officer Jenny:  "Well, I couldn't have rescued that Rhyhorn without you so I'm not going to press charges against any of you this time."
サトシ、カスミ、ケンジ　「ありがとうございます！」	Satoshi, Kasumi, Kenji:  "Thank you very much!"	Ash, Misty, Tracey:  "Thanks, Officer Jenny!"

The term Junsar uses to describe Pinkan Island is sekai-teki isan (世界的遺産), a phrase similar to the term sekai isan (世界遺産), or World Heritage Site. Does a Pokémon World equivalent of UNESCO exist, I wonder?

Also, "I'm not going to press charges against any of you this time"...like, is Officer Jenny seriously telling a bunch of preteens that she would have actually arrested them for accidentally washing up on an island? What the hell?

And then, a few seconds later:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
オーキド博士　「何！？ピンカン島に？良く入れたもんじゃな」	Dr. Ookido:  "What!? You're on Pinkan Island? I'm impressed!"	Professor Oak:  "Pinkan Island, eh? Has Officer Jenny arrested you yet?"

Why is the dub making it sound like the police arresting a group of children is the most normal thing ever???

Later, Ash and his friends confront Team Rocket:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ニャース　 「このニドキングはニャたちのものだニャ！」	Nyarth:  "This Nidoking belongs to the three of us Nya-ow!"	Meowth:  "And you ain't gonna stop us this time, kid!"
サトシ　「ロケット団！お前たちの好きはさせないぞ！ピカチュウ、ニドキングを 助けるんだ！」	Satoshi:  "Rocket-Dan! We're not gonna let you do whatever you want! Pikachu, help that Nidoking!"	Ash:  "Yeah? We'll just see about that, Meowth! Pikachu, give 'em your Thundershock."

As you can see, Satoshi doesn't command any specific attack the way Ash does.

A few seconds later, Jessie turns to the twerps and says "Well then, we'll just have to capture your Pikachu, too."


After this line, 4Kids adds a growl from Nidoking -- who's still off-screen at this point -- that wasn't there in the Japanese version.

Our heroes are chased by the Pink Nidoking:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　 「このままじゃ追い付かれるぞ！」	Kenji:  "At this rate it'll catch up to us in no time!"	Tracey:  "It's too fast, it's gonna catch us."
カスミ　「任しておいて！行くのよヒトデマン！」	Kasumi:  "I'll take care of it. Go, Hitodeman!"	Misty:  "I'll fix that. I'll just use Starmie!"

Has anyone ever sat down and counted the number of times 4Kids has mixed up Staryu's and Starmie's names? Because I feel like the company stumbles over the two Pokémon's names all the time.

Junsar guides our heroes off the island after taking care of the Pink Nidoking. On the boat, Misty has this to say:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
カスミ　「ね、あたしたち今日「テレポート」や「バリア」みたいなワザで助かっ たじゃない？あれひょっとしてトゲピーがやったじゃ…」	Kasumi:  "Hey you guys, today we were saved by some techniques that looked a lot like Teleport and Barrier, right? Do you think maybe Togepy had something to do with that...?"	Misty:  "Guys, I know this may sound weird but I think Togepi helped us out today. I think Togepi knows some attacks."
サトシ　「トゲピーが？」	Satoshi:  "Togepy?"	Ash:  "Togepi?"
ケンジ　「いきなりそんなワザ使えるかな？」	Kenji:  "I don't know...can it really start using those attacks out of the blue like that?"	Tracey:  "I don't know, Misty. What makes you say that?"
カスミ　「でも確か見たのよ。トゲピーが「ゆびをふる」をやってたの」	Kasumi:  "But I saw what I saw. Togepy must have used "Metronome."	Misty:  "It moved its arms...just when Nidoking's Hyper Beam missed us."
サトシ　「まーたカスミの親バカが始まった」	Satoshi:  "Look at Kasumi, seeing something that isn't there again."	Ash:  "It's nice to dream, but I don't think so."

There are a lot of little rewrites here that I don't understand. Why doesn't Misty list out the attacks "Teleport" and "Barrier" the way Kasumi does? And why does she think Hyper Beam "missed" the pink Nidoking when it was very obviously blocked?

Side Note
I wanna talk about the attack known as Metronome in the dub.

In Japanese the attack's name is pretty simple; yubi o furu (ゆびをふる), or "Finger Waggle." Pokémon who can use this attack do so by -- you guessed it! -- waggling their fingers, with the idea being that magicians and other people with mysterious powers shake their fingers whenever they want to produce something unexpected. There's also an idea of people pointing at various things when playing eeny, meeny, miny, moe; which attack should I use now?

The simplicity of the name is part of what makes Togepy learning the attack make sense. Randomly shaking one's fingers is something babies just do, y'know? And so a Togepy inadvertently learning "Finger Waggle" during regular play is something that's completely within the realm of possibility.


This is a little more awkward in the English version since the attack name was changed to "Metronome." Babies doing a "Finger Waggle," I get, but are babies operating a device used to help musicians keep time? Seems less likely! The general idea of Kasumi's Togepy stumbling its way into learning a new attack is something that's present in both versions and so it all works out in the end, I guess, but I do think the Japanese name "Finger Waggle" makes more sense in this particular case.

Dialogue Edit
While on the topic of Metronome:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ナレーション　「トゲピーが「ゆびをふる」を覚えたかどうかは謎のまま。サトシ たちの旅はまだまだ続く。続くったら、続く」	Narrator:  "Whether or not Togepy actually learned to use "Metronome" is something that's going to remain a mystery for now. Satoshi and his friends' journey is going to continue for a long time yet.	Narrator:  "And so, Togepi secretly saves the day but what lies ahead for our heroes remains a mystery as their Pokémon adventures continue."

The Japanese version doesn't spell everything out the way the English dub does.

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This page was last updated on May 3rd, 2021