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| Episode Comparisons | Orange Islands
Episode Stats:
Japanese Episode 093: "Navel Gym! The Battle of the Snowy Mountain!"
American Episode 238: "Navel Maneuvers!"
Pokemon Dare Da? Ishitsubute (Japanese), Exeggcute (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Lecture: Fushigidane
Japanese Air Date: April 22nd, 1999
American Air Date: March 11th, 2000
Important Characters: Dan (Danny)
Important Places: Navel Island (Navel Island)
Thoughts
Many Pokémon fans don't like the Orange Islands arc for a lot of reasons, but one of the ones I hear come up a lot is how the region's Gym challenges are all kind of terrible. I already went over some of the problems with the first Gym Battle -- that is, if you didn't happen to bring along a Pokémon who knows a certain move then you're pretty much screwed -- and unfortunately Satoshi's match for his second Orange Islands badge is somehow even worse.
So first of all, Dan's Gym Challenge is ableist AF. I guess if you have some sort of mobility or respiratory issue you should just give up now because one of the things you have to do to qualify to compete in the league is climb a whole ass mountain all by yourself. And this isn't even some cute little easy mountain for beginners, either; this is a hardcore, sheer rock, one slip up and you're falling to your death type of mountain. Oh, and you can't get help from any of your Pokémon, either! Like, WTF! There is actually an official Pokémon Gym out there that will straight up disqualify you for using a Pokémon! At this point you might as well just call it an actual gym.
Once you make it to the top of this death mountain you then have to do a bunch of absurd bullshit like freeze a geyser (BTW, what happens if none of your Pokémon know any Ice-Type moves?), carve a sled out of it (because that's something League Champions should know how to do...?), and then race down the mountain you literally just risked your life to conquer. Putting aside how absurd all of that is for a moment...didn't we *just* have a race in the last Gym challenge? Why are we reusing ideas here in the second gym? I know the show's sudden allergy to Pokémon battles is requiring it to come up with new ways to test its challengers but surely they haven't run out of steam this early in the game, right...?
I know I sound really harsh on this episode so I'll try to end this section with a few compliments. Nidoqueen becoming the last non-legendary Pokémon to make its animated debut is pretty cool, I guess...? And...um...the Rocket trio actually helping Satoshi win his badge here gives me something to bring up the next time someone wants to start complaining about how they have no business being in Gym battle episodes...? The animation and music and voice acting were all pretty decent...? *shrugs*
This is one of those changes that should stand out to you, even if you've never seen the Japanese version before because the badge we see at the very end of the episode looks like this:
Last time I checked, rubies weren't usually green...?
Side Note
Let's talk about the Gym Leader Dan (ダン) for a moment.
In The Memorial Book of Orange Islands, screenwriter Shinzo Fujita reveals that he (loosely) based the Navel Island Gym Leader Dan off actor Yuzo Kayama (加山 雄三), specifically his role as Yuichi Tanuma from the Wakadaishou (若大将), or "Young Guy," film series.
There were around sixteen Wakadaishou films released in the 1960s and 1970s. They saw university student Yuichi Tanuma trying his hand at a different sport in each film. In the first movie, Young Guy in College (大学の若大将), Yuichi is on the swim team. In Young Guy in Hawaii (ハワイの若大将), he participates in a yacht race. In Young Guy in the Alps (アルプスの若大将), he takes up skiing. And so on and so on.
Similar to Yuichi Tanuma, the character of Dan in this episode of Pocket Monsters seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, from riding a sailboat to climbing a mountain to sledding. There's not much of a similarity beyond that, though there's at least one more aspect from the movies that'll show up later in the episode...
Dialogue Edit
Dan gets his name changed to "Danny" for the English dub, because localization *shrugs*
The audio mixing on Danny's voice sounds a bit off to me throughout this entire episode, but especially in his introduction scene. It's as if all his lines were recorded six feet away from a mic in an empty warehouse or something while everyone else recorded in a regular old studio. It's very odd.
Our heroes introduce themselves to "Danny."
From this point onwards, Dan refers to Kasumi as "Sumi-chan," every time he talks to her. This is a direct reference to those Wakadaishou movies I mentioned earlier. In the earlier films, the female lead was a young woman named Sumiko (澄子), played by Yuriko Hoshi (星 由里子), who Mr. Kayama's character took to calling Sumi-chan (澄ちゃん). Dan giving Kasumi the same nickname Yuichi gave Sumiko is a very clear nod to this.
Danny doesn't come up with any similar nickname for Misty in the dub.
Team Rocket spots our heroes:
I think Nyarth's line here is him saying the word "apathy" with his little Nyarth accent (swapping out any "a" sounds with a "nya") but it's hard to be 100% certain. Whatever it is he's saying, 4Kids decided to just say screw it and rewrote his line altogether.
Danny notices how much Ash and Misty are fighting:
A lot of the dialogue edits in this episode are like this exchange here, where the two versions will more or less match but there will be an odd little tweak made here or there that changes things just a little bit. In this case no, Dan does not quote the Mills Brothers in the Japanese version and no, Kasumi does not imply that Danny is more her type (barf) than Ash is.
Tracey finds a signpost on the other side of the Navel Gym's gate:
This is such a bizarre change to make for no reason whatsoever. How does Ash's question match up with the facial expression he's making here?
Misty and Tracey cheer Ash on:
Again, just another change for the sake of change.
After being sent blasting off, the Rocket trio see a bunch of geysers:
Nyarth doesn't like being warm, apparently! I feel like that's something that has been, and will continue to be, contradicted many, many times and so 4Kids' change here is actually fairly understandable.
Ash worries about his Pikachu:
The concern for Pikachu's well-being is there in both versions but the actual thing being worried about is a bit different.
Ash reaches the top:
"Wanna share my blanket?" Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew she's ten years old and he's a grown-ass man ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew
I've talked about this before, but in the Japanese version the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands all introduce themselves as being the different "stars" of the Southern Cross, the name given to the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands. Atsumi was the western star of the Southern Cross and Dan here is the eastern star, and we'll of course be meeting the southern star and northern star in later episodes. All of these references to constellations and whatnot get removed from the English dub.
It's a shame unique artwork like the one on the left never made it to American airwaves since it does make this little silhouette guessing game that much more fun.
Dialogue Edit
The second half of the episode is pretty decent, script-wise! The next real dialogue change that comes up is at the very start of the third round, when Misty and Tracey look down on the race track:
"It's all downhill from here" is an idiom that means "things are about to get worse." It is also clearly an attempt by 4Kids to make a joke about how they're on the top of a mountain that they're about to sled down (Ash is literally about to "go downhill"). But the way the line's delivered, coupled with the expression on Misty's face there, makes the comment sound kind of...defeatist? As if Misty's saying she thinks Ash's chances of winning are really low? It's an odd little moment that plays out a bit different in the original.
The Rocket trio attacks Ash and Danny:
Sometimes the English dub will include pop culture references that would have been current at the time but may not really work as well when viewed years after the fact. This exchange, where Jessie recites the catchphrase from the then-ubiquitous game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is one such example.
The Rocket trio banter with Ash:
So what I think 4Kids is going for here, maybe, is that Jessie tricking Ash into saying he wants them to cause a cave in...? So you know how when Person A says "loser says what?" and Person B goes "what?" and then everyone laughs because Person A basically just said they're a loser? I think a similar thing is going on here. Jessie blurts out the phrase "cave-in," and then when Ash repeats it back to her the other two (purposefully) misinterpret that to mean he wants them to cause the ground below him to collapse? Is that what's happening here?
Side Note
Maybe some of you have wondered what's going on in this shot here:
To the uninitiated, it looks like the Rocket trio is sitting around a coffee table for some reason...? And there's a bowl of tangerines on it? What's going on here?
I feel like a lot of my readers already know this, but just in case; that little table there is called a kotatsu (こたつ). It's a low, wooden table frame covered by a thick blanket that is then covered again by a table top. On the underside of the table frame is attached a small electric heater. The heavy blanket there helps to trap the warm air in under the table.
Japanese homes do not typically have central heating (wall-mounted space heaters are the norm) and so keeping your house warm in the winter can be very expensive. Sitting around a kotatsu enables you to do stationary activities like watch TV, have a few beers, or read a book without having to worry about consuming a lot of electricity in order to stay comfortable.
People also typically eat tangerines while sitting around the table because of their nutritional value. Lack of vitamin C can make it easier for you to catch the common cold, especially in the winter, and so it's thought that if it's cold enough for you to need a kotatsu then it's cold enough for you to have to worry about catching a cold. Sitting under a kotatsu and eating tangerines can be seen as killing two birds with one stone.
This was a long way to say that the Rocket trio are doing their best to stay warm in this cold and snowy mountain.
On another (side) note, shortly after this kotatsu image we get the shot on the left here of Nyarth saying "Nya! Don't waste electricity Nya!" (ニャ！電気は大切にニャ！). Some Japanese fans wonder if this is a reference to the very similar catchphrase of Denko-chan, one of the former mascots for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco).
(In the dub Meowth says "We like to be energy efficient," which is close enough to the original line, I guess).
If this is indeed the reference fans are suspecting it might be then it would probably go over most Japanese kids' heads (just like the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? reference in the dub probably goes over most American kids' heads these days) since Tepco retired this mascot back in 2012.
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio begin to battle:
As you can see, Kojirou actually calls for Matadogas by name while James' Weezing doesn't get a similar shout-out in the dub.
After the race, our heroes say goodbye:
Originally Kasumi doesn't tell this old creeper that she wants to see him again; she simply tells him to take care.
Music Edit
The final piece of music in the episode is an instrumental song from Pocket Monsters The Movie "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" but gets replaced by an instrumental of the 4Kids song My Best Friends from their 2.B.A. Master CD. I guess 4Kids is really working hard to promote this album, huh!
Side Note
I don't tend to talk about the Dr. Ookido Pokémon Lecture segments much in these comparisons as most of them end up being harmless fluff used to pad out the show's runtime. But the one at the end of this episode is actually pretty interesting and so I'd like to take the time to translate what it says:
The idea that scientists can't seem to come to a consensus about whether or not Fushigidane's a plant or an animal is something the show's already introduced (Episode 010) but it's still nice to see it brought up here again. To my knowledge the animated series is the only piece of Pocket Monsters media that has ever offered this little piece of extra lore for Fushigidane and I for one really love it for that.
This page was last updated on February 11th, 2022
Episode Stats:
Japanese Episode 093: "Navel Gym! The Battle of the Snowy Mountain!"
American Episode 238: "Navel Maneuvers!"
Pokemon Dare Da? Ishitsubute (Japanese), Exeggcute (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Lecture: Fushigidane
Japanese Air Date: April 22nd, 1999
American Air Date: March 11th, 2000
Important Characters: Dan (Danny)
Important Places: Navel Island (Navel Island)
Satoshi and
his friends have come to Navel Island to compete in the Orange Island's
second gym challenge. They soon meet Dan, a fellow Pokémon
Trainer who ends up joining our heroes on their way to the Navel Gym.
They soon arrive...but there's nobody there? Instead, they spot a
signboard explaining that only
challengers who successfully climb to the top of a treacherous mountain
are allowed to compete for the Gym Badge! As
Kasumi and Kenji ride a ropeway to the top, Satoshi and Dan climb their
way up
the mountain. Once at the summit, Satoshi is shocked to learn that this
"Dan" is actually the Navel Island Gym Leader and the Eastern Star of
the Southern Cross! Dan explains that the next part of the Gym
challenge will require
Satoshi to use his Pokémon to help create a sled out of ice that
he can then use to race down the mountain. The sleds are completed,
thanks to Lizardon, of all Pokémon, and so the final race for
the Shiranami Badge begins.. A pitfall trap set by the
Rocket trio slows the racers down but some quick thinking by both
Satoshi and Dan keep them from getting their Pokémon stolen. The
race resumes and, after a few
close calls, Satoshi zooms past the finish line! With this, Satoshi
wins the race and earns himself the Shiranami Badge! Now that he has
two of the Orange Islands' Gym Badges, Satoshi and his friends leave
Navel Island for their next adventure.
Thoughts
Many Pokémon fans don't like the Orange Islands arc for a lot of reasons, but one of the ones I hear come up a lot is how the region's Gym challenges are all kind of terrible. I already went over some of the problems with the first Gym Battle -- that is, if you didn't happen to bring along a Pokémon who knows a certain move then you're pretty much screwed -- and unfortunately Satoshi's match for his second Orange Islands badge is somehow even worse.
So first of all, Dan's Gym Challenge is ableist AF. I guess if you have some sort of mobility or respiratory issue you should just give up now because one of the things you have to do to qualify to compete in the league is climb a whole ass mountain all by yourself. And this isn't even some cute little easy mountain for beginners, either; this is a hardcore, sheer rock, one slip up and you're falling to your death type of mountain. Oh, and you can't get help from any of your Pokémon, either! Like, WTF! There is actually an official Pokémon Gym out there that will straight up disqualify you for using a Pokémon! At this point you might as well just call it an actual gym.
Once you make it to the top of this death mountain you then have to do a bunch of absurd bullshit like freeze a geyser (BTW, what happens if none of your Pokémon know any Ice-Type moves?), carve a sled out of it (because that's something League Champions should know how to do...?), and then race down the mountain you literally just risked your life to conquer. Putting aside how absurd all of that is for a moment...didn't we *just* have a race in the last Gym challenge? Why are we reusing ideas here in the second gym? I know the show's sudden allergy to Pokémon battles is requiring it to come up with new ways to test its challengers but surely they haven't run out of steam this early in the game, right...?
I know I sound really harsh on this episode so I'll try to end this section with a few compliments. Nidoqueen becoming the last non-legendary Pokémon to make its animated debut is pretty cool, I guess...? And...um...the Rocket trio actually helping Satoshi win his badge here gives me something to bring up the next time someone wants to start complaining about how they have no business being in Gym battle episodes...? The animation and music and voice acting were all pretty decent...? *shrugs*
When it comes to the
English dub, this episode got me thinking about just how many people
must have had to review 4Kids' version of the show before it made it on
the air. Any given episode of the show would've been seen by the show's
writers,
voice actors, voice directors, editors, sound mixers, graphics
department,
publicity, producers, network programming people, Broadcast
and Standards, and probably a few dozen other people I'm most likely
forgetting. And so it always surprises me when something so
objectively gross from the Japanese
version -- say, a blackface caricature
earlier in the season,
or a 20-something year old man openly flirting with a child in this
episode --
somehow manages to squeak its way through despite how many people
would've seen it. Like, it's bad enough that
Japan even made an episode like this in the first place, this kind of
gross shit is almost expected from them.
But for
4Kids and Kids' WB! to then get their hands on that same episode and go
"yeah, we see nothing inappropriate about Danny hitting on a
ten-year-old child"...!?!?. What in the world is going on here...!?!?!?
Dan's Nidoqueen keeps its
Japanese voice.
Dialogue
Edit
The first dialogue edit of the episode doesn't go
to the narrator for once! Instead, it takes place during this
conversation
shortly afterwards where our heroes wonder about what the second Gym
Badge is going to be
like.
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「ネーブルジムのバッジってどんなのかしら」 |
Kasumi: "I wonder what kind of
badge they have at the Navel Gym" |
Misty: "I wonder what kind of
badge they have at the gym there." |
| ケンジ 「確か白波貝でできたシラナミバッジだと思うけど」 |
Kenji:
"I think it's a badge made out of a maxima clam called the
Shiranami Badge." |
Tracey: "I think it's called a
Sea Ruby badge 'cause it's made out of a sea shell with a ruby in it." |
| サトシ 「シラナミバッジか…」 |
Satoshi: "The Shiranami Badge,
huh..." |
Ash: "The Sea Ruby Badge..." |
This is one of those changes that should stand out to you, even if you've never seen the Japanese version before because the badge we see at the very end of the episode looks like this:
Last time I checked, rubies weren't usually green...?
Side Note
Let's talk about the Gym Leader Dan (ダン) for a moment.
In The Memorial Book of Orange Islands, screenwriter Shinzo Fujita reveals that he (loosely) based the Navel Island Gym Leader Dan off actor Yuzo Kayama (加山 雄三), specifically his role as Yuichi Tanuma from the Wakadaishou (若大将), or "Young Guy," film series.
| サ
トシ、シラナミバッジをゲット！ジムリーダー・ダンのキャラクター
は、加山雄三さん主役の昔の大人気映画シリーズ「若大将」を、ちょっとだけモデルにしています。 |
Satoshi gets the Shiranami
Badge! The character of the Gym Leader Dan is based loosely on the
popular "Wakadaishou" movie series Mr. Yuzo Kayama used to star in back
in the day. |
There were around sixteen Wakadaishou films released in the 1960s and 1970s. They saw university student Yuichi Tanuma trying his hand at a different sport in each film. In the first movie, Young Guy in College (大学の若大将), Yuichi is on the swim team. In Young Guy in Hawaii (ハワイの若大将), he participates in a yacht race. In Young Guy in the Alps (アルプスの若大将), he takes up skiing. And so on and so on.
 |
| Yuzo Kayama (left) in
Young Guy in Hawaii (1963, Toho) |
Similar to Yuichi Tanuma, the character of Dan in this episode of Pocket Monsters seems to be a jack-of-all-trades, from riding a sailboat to climbing a mountain to sledding. There's not much of a similarity beyond that, though there's at least one more aspect from the movies that'll show up later in the episode...
Dialogue Edit
Dan gets his name changed to "Danny" for the English dub, because localization *shrugs*
The audio mixing on Danny's voice sounds a bit off to me throughout this entire episode, but especially in his introduction scene. It's as if all his lines were recorded six feet away from a mic in an empty warehouse or something while everyone else recorded in a regular old studio. It's very odd.
Our heroes introduce themselves to "Danny."
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「オレ、サトシ」 |
Satoshi: "I'm Satoshi." |
Ash: "Hi, I'm Ash." |
| ケンジ 「僕はケンジです」 |
Kenji: "My name's Kenji." |
Tracey: "And my name's Tracey." |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカピカ ピカチュウ」 |
Pikachu: "Pika Pika Pikachu" |
Pikachu: "Pika Pika, Pikachu." |
| カスミ 「あぁ、あたしカスミです」 |
Kasumi: "Erm, my name's
Kasumi." |
Misty: "Oh, my name is Misty." |
| ダン 「カスミちゃんか？それじゃあ、スミちゃんだね」 |
Dan: "Kasumi-chan, huh? Well
then, I'll call you Sumi-chan." |
Danny: "Misty, eh? That beautiful name suits you." |
| サトシとケンジ 「ス、スミちゃん！？」 |
Satoshi and Kenji: "S- Sumi-chan!?" |
Ash and Tracey: "You mean her?" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピ？」 |
Pikachu: "Pi?" |
Pikachu: "Pi?" |
| ダン 「よろしく、スミちゃん」 |
Dan: "Nice to meet you,
Sumi-chan." |
Danny: "My pleasure, Misty." |
From this point onwards, Dan refers to Kasumi as "Sumi-chan," every time he talks to her. This is a direct reference to those Wakadaishou movies I mentioned earlier. In the earlier films, the female lead was a young woman named Sumiko (澄子), played by Yuriko Hoshi (星 由里子), who Mr. Kayama's character took to calling Sumi-chan (澄ちゃん). Dan giving Kasumi the same nickname Yuichi gave Sumiko is a very clear nod to this.
 |
| Sumi-chan (Yuriko
Hoshi) in
Young Guy in College (1961, Toho) |
Danny doesn't come up with any similar nickname for Misty in the dub.
Team Rocket spots our heroes:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「ジャーリボーイご一行様発見～！今日という今日こそは…っていつも
言ってるけど…本当に今日という今日こそはあのピカチュウを頂くぞ～！」 |
Musashi: "Party of twerps,
straight ahead! Today's the day...well, we always say that...but I'm
serious this time! Today's the day we grab that Pikachu!" |
Jessie: "There they are. Now I know we've suffered several significant setbacks but just remember that old saying "a twerp and his Pikachu are soon parted."" |
| コジロウ 「これ乗ったいつもいつも同じだけど」 |
Kojirou: "Well, we always
start things off this way as well..." |
James: "Well it can't be soon enough for me, Jessie." |
| ニャース 「それでもニャパシー」 |
Nyarth: "That's could also be
considered Ny-apathy." |
Meowth: "We gonna win this time?" |
| ロケット団 「お！」 |
Rocket-Dan: "Right!" |
Team Rocket: "Yeah!" |
I think Nyarth's line here is him saying the word "apathy" with his little Nyarth accent (swapping out any "a" sounds with a "nya") but it's hard to be 100% certain. Whatever it is he's saying, 4Kids decided to just say screw it and rewrote his line altogether.
Danny notices how much Ash and Misty are fighting:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ダン 「仲良しなんだな、サトシくんとスミちゃんは」 |
Dan: "You two really get
along, Satoshi-kun and Sumi-chan." |
Danny: "It sounds to me like the two of you are pretty close to one another." |
| カスミ 「え？仲良し？」 |
Kasumi: "Huh? Get along?" |
Misty: "Huh? What do you mean?" |
| ダン 「良く言うじゃないか？『ケンカするほど仲がいい』って」 |
Dan: "What's that saying? 'The
closer you are the more you fight' or something like that." |
Danny: "What's that saying? "You always hurt the one you love?" (laughs)" |
| カスミ 「あぁ、そんな違いますよ！大体あたしがあんなお子ちゃまと仲がいいは
ないじゃないですか？あたしの理想は…」 |
Kasumi: "Ah, you've got it all
wrong! I usually don't get along with little kids like that, you know
that. You see, my ideal person is..." |
Misty: "Oh, you've got it all wrong. I-I'd never get involved with a little kid like him. I-I only like the mature, intellectual type." |
| サトシ 「何がお子ちゃまだ
よ？」 |
Satoshi: "Who's she calling a
little kid?" |
Ash: "She's the kid, not me." |
A lot of the dialogue edits in this episode are like this exchange here, where the two versions will more or less match but there will be an odd little tweak made here or there that changes things just a little bit. In this case no, Dan does not quote the Mills Brothers in the Japanese version and no, Kasumi does not imply that Danny is more her type (barf) than Ash is.
Tracey finds a signpost on the other side of the Navel Gym's gate:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「なになに？『挑戦者諸君。ネーベルジムにようこそ』」 |
Kenji: "Let's see here. 'To all you
challengers out there, welcome to the Navel Gym'." |
Tracey: "Let's see. It says
'Welcome Pokémon Trainers'." |
| サトシ 「何が『ようこそ』だよ？ジムなんかどこにもないじゃないか？」 |
Satoshi: "What do they mean
'welcome'? I don't see a gym anywhere around here!" |
Ash: "What kinda welcome is
this? Does it say to take the cable car up to the mountain?" |
This is such a bizarre change to make for no reason whatsoever. How does Ash's question match up with the facial expression he's making here?
Misty and Tracey cheer Ash on:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「ダンさん、頑張って！」 |
Kasumi: "Dan-san, do your
best!" |
Misty: "Oh hi! Hi Danny!" |
| ダン 「ありがとう、スミちゃん！」 |
Dan: "Thank you, Sumi-chan!" |
Danny: "I'll be at the top in just a little while!" |
| カスミ 「サトシもつい～でに頑張って」 |
Kasumi: "And Satoshi you do
your best too, I guess." |
Misty: "Please be extra careful, Danny!" |
| サトシ 「何で俺はついでなんだよ⁉」 |
Satoshi: "What are you 'I
guess'-ing me for!?" |
Ash: "What's she so worried about him for?" |
Again, just another change for the sake of change.
After being sent blasting off, the Rocket trio see a bunch of geysers:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「あれって間欠泉よ！」 |
Musashi: "Look! Geysers!" |
Jessie: "It's a geyser!" |
| ムサシとコジロウ 「熱そう～！」 |
Musashi and Kojirou: "They
look so warm~!" |
Jessie and James: "That looks
warm." |
| ニャース 「ニャは熱いのは苦手ニャ」 |
Nyarth: "Nya hates warm things
Nya" |
Meowth: "That thing couldn't
hit us, could it? |
Nyarth doesn't like being warm, apparently! I feel like that's something that has been, and will continue to be, contradicted many, many times and so 4Kids' change here is actually fairly understandable.
Ash worries about his Pikachu:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「オレは平気だよ。それよりお前が風邪でもひいたらそれこそ大変だ
ろ？」 |
Satoshi: "I'll be fine. But
more than that, you catching even a simple cold would be really bad." |
Ash: "Don't worry about me.
I'll just hold you real close and that way we'll both be warm." |
The concern for Pikachu's well-being is there in both versions but the actual thing being worried about is a bit different.
Ash reaches the top:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「ダンさーん！」 |
Kasumi: "Dan-sa~n!" |
Misty: "You're here!" |
| カスミ 「大丈夫ですか？霜焼けなんかになってないですか？」 |
Kasumi: "Are you OK? You
didn't get frostbite or anything like that, did you?" |
Misty: "Are you OK Danny? You must be cold. Wanna share my blanket?" |
| ダン 「あ、僕は平気だよ、スミちゃん」 |
Dan: "No, I'm fine, Sumi-chan." |
Danny:
"Thanks, but I enjoy this brisk weather." |
"Wanna share my blanket?" Ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew she's ten years old and he's a grown-ass man ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew ew
How did the
English dub manage to make Kasumi's dialogue even more inappropriate?
The Gym Leader introduces
himself:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ダン 「そう。僕がサザンクロス東の星、ネーブルジム・ジムリーダーのダンだ。
ネーブルジムにようこそ、サトシくん」 |
Dan: "They're right. I'm the
eastern star of the Southern Cross and the Gym Leader of the Navel Gym,
Dan. Welcome to the Navel Gym, Satoshi-kun!" |
Danny: "I'm the Navel Island Gym Leader and I'm also a member of the Orange Crew. I hope you're ready for a big match, Ash." |
I've talked about this before, but in the Japanese version the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands all introduce themselves as being the different "stars" of the Southern Cross, the name given to the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands. Atsumi was the western star of the Southern Cross and Dan here is the eastern star, and we'll of course be meeting the southern star and northern star in later episodes. All of these references to constellations and whatnot get removed from the English dub.
Eyecatch
A snowball throwing Ishitsubute vs. Exeggucute.
 |
 |
It's a shame unique artwork like the one on the left never made it to American airwaves since it does make this little silhouette guessing game that much more fun.
Dialogue Edit
The second half of the episode is pretty decent, script-wise! The next real dialogue change that comes up is at the very start of the third round, when Misty and Tracey look down on the race track:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「いよいよ最後の勝負ね」 |
Kasumi: "This is it. We've
made it to the final showdown." |
Misty: "Well, it's all
downhill from here." |
| ケンジ 「あ」 |
Tracey: "Yeah." |
Tracey: "Yeah." |
"It's all downhill from here" is an idiom that means "things are about to get worse." It is also clearly an attempt by 4Kids to make a joke about how they're on the top of a mountain that they're about to sled down (Ash is literally about to "go downhill"). But the way the line's delivered, coupled with the expression on Misty's face there, makes the comment sound kind of...defeatist? As if Misty's saying she thinks Ash's chances of winning are really low? It's an odd little moment that plays out a bit different in the original.
The Rocket trio attacks Ash and Danny:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「落とし穴を掘るなんて、あいつらの仕業に決まってるよ」 |
Satoshi: "It's obvious the
ones who dug that pitfall trap was those three." |
Ash: "Oh, it was a trap all
right, and I think I know just who set it up." |
| ダン 「あいつら？」 |
Dan: "Those three?" |
Danny: "Who's that?" |
| サトシ 「そう。ロケット団だ」 |
Satoshi: "Yeah. The
Rocket-Dan." |
Ash: "It's Team Rocket." |
| ムサシ 「ビンゴ！ビンゴ！ハイ～！さすがジャーリボーイだね」 |
Musashi: "Bingo bingo! Hi~! I
wouldn't expect any less from you, brat boy." |
Jessie: "Is that your final answer? If it is, you are correct. |
Sometimes the English dub will include pop culture references that would have been current at the time but may not really work as well when viewed years after the fact. This exchange, where Jessie recites the catchphrase from the then-ubiquitous game show Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? is one such example.
The Rocket trio banter with Ash:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「お前たち、何でこのこと？」 |
Satoshi: "What are you doing
this for?" |
Ash: "We're having a match so get
lost!" |
| ムサシ 「あらつれないはね。ほんのお返しね」 |
Musashi: "Oh my, cutting right
to the chase, huh? We're here for a little payback, of course." |
Jessie: "Oh I get it. You want
a cave-in." |
| サトシ 「お返し？」 |
Satoshi: "Payback?" |
Ash: "Cave-in?" |
| コジロウ 「その通し！」 |
Kojirou: "That's right." |
James: "You've got it." |
| ニャース 「さっきはよくもやったニャ」 |
Nyarth: "This is for earlier
Nya!" |
Meowth: "Here's ya cave-in.
Ha!" |
| (pushes
button to make the ground underneath our heroes collapse inward) |
||
So what I think 4Kids is going for here, maybe, is that Jessie tricking Ash into saying he wants them to cause a cave in...? So you know how when Person A says "loser says what?" and Person B goes "what?" and then everyone laughs because Person A basically just said they're a loser? I think a similar thing is going on here. Jessie blurts out the phrase "cave-in," and then when Ash repeats it back to her the other two (purposefully) misinterpret that to mean he wants them to cause the ground below him to collapse? Is that what's happening here?
Side Note
Maybe some of you have wondered what's going on in this shot here:
To the uninitiated, it looks like the Rocket trio is sitting around a coffee table for some reason...? And there's a bowl of tangerines on it? What's going on here?
I feel like a lot of my readers already know this, but just in case; that little table there is called a kotatsu (こたつ). It's a low, wooden table frame covered by a thick blanket that is then covered again by a table top. On the underside of the table frame is attached a small electric heater. The heavy blanket there helps to trap the warm air in under the table.
Japanese homes do not typically have central heating (wall-mounted space heaters are the norm) and so keeping your house warm in the winter can be very expensive. Sitting around a kotatsu enables you to do stationary activities like watch TV, have a few beers, or read a book without having to worry about consuming a lot of electricity in order to stay comfortable.
People also typically eat tangerines while sitting around the table because of their nutritional value. Lack of vitamin C can make it easier for you to catch the common cold, especially in the winter, and so it's thought that if it's cold enough for you to need a kotatsu then it's cold enough for you to have to worry about catching a cold. Sitting under a kotatsu and eating tangerines can be seen as killing two birds with one stone.
This was a long way to say that the Rocket trio are doing their best to stay warm in this cold and snowy mountain.
On another (side) note, shortly after this kotatsu image we get the shot on the left here of Nyarth saying "Nya! Don't waste electricity Nya!" (ニャ！電気は大切にニャ！). Some Japanese fans wonder if this is a reference to the very similar catchphrase of Denko-chan, one of the former mascots for Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings (Tepco).
 |
 |
(In the dub Meowth says "We like to be energy efficient," which is close enough to the original line, I guess).
If this is indeed the reference fans are suspecting it might be then it would probably go over most Japanese kids' heads (just like the Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? reference in the dub probably goes over most American kids' heads these days) since Tepco retired this mascot back in 2012.
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio begin to battle:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ムサシ 「こうなったらポケモンで勝負よ！」 |
Musashi: "Seems like we've
gotta settle this with a Pokémon battle!" |
Jessie: "This calls for a
Pokémon battle." |
| コジロウ 「行け！マタドガ…」 |
Kojirou: "Go! Matadoga--" |
James: "I choose you! |
| ウツボット 「キー」 |
Utsubot: "Kiii~!" |
(Victreebel makes no noise) |
| コジロウ (不可知) |
Kojirou: (unintelligible) |
James: "Whoops, wrong Pokémon." |
| ニャース 「ニャにやってるニャ⁉」 |
Nyarth: "What are you doing
Nya!?" |
Meowth: "Train that thing!" |
As you can see, Kojirou actually calls for Matadogas by name while James' Weezing doesn't get a similar shout-out in the dub.
After the race, our heroes say goodbye:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ダン 「みんな！気を付けて旅を続けるんだよ！」 |
Dan: "Be careful on the rest
of your journey, everyone!" |
Danny: "Bye! Good luck on the rest of your journey!" |
| Ash: "Bye! Bye!" | ||
| カスミ 「ダンさんもお元気で！」 |
Kasumi: "You take care as
well, Dan-san!" |
Misty: "Hope I see you again, Danny!" |
| サトシ 「ありがとう！さようなら！」 |
Satoshi: "Thanks for
everything! Goodbye!" |
Ash: "Thanks for everything Danny!" |
Originally Kasumi doesn't tell this old creeper that she wants to see him again; she simply tells him to take care.
Music Edit
The final piece of music in the episode is an instrumental song from Pocket Monsters The Movie "Pikachu's Summer Vacation" but gets replaced by an instrumental of the 4Kids song My Best Friends from their 2.B.A. Master CD. I guess 4Kids is really working hard to promote this album, huh!
Side Note
I don't tend to talk about the Dr. Ookido Pokémon Lecture segments much in these comparisons as most of them end up being harmless fluff used to pad out the show's runtime. But the one at the end of this episode is actually pretty interesting and so I'd like to take the time to translate what it says:
 |
 |
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
| オーキド博士 「フシギダネは、不思議なことに背中にタネのようなものを背負っ
ている。このことから学会では、動物かそれとも植物なのかという議論が未だに続いておるんじゃ。動物と植物、生き物はこのどちらかがかけても生きてはいけ
ん。フシギダネはまさに生き物のシンボルともいえる不思議なポケモンじゃな」 |
Dr. Ookido: "What's so strange
about Fushigidane is that seed-like thing it has on its back. It's
because of that seed that theories continue to swirl around at academic
conferences about whether Fushigidane's a plant or
an animal, even to this day. But
whatever it is, Fushigidane is a living creature, a mysterious
Pokémon who is the very symbol of all
living
things." |
The idea that scientists can't seem to come to a consensus about whether or not Fushigidane's a plant or an animal is something the show's already introduced (Episode 010) but it's still nice to see it brought up here again. To my knowledge the animated series is the only piece of Pocket Monsters media that has ever offered this little piece of extra lore for Fushigidane and I for one really love it for that.
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This page was last updated on February 11th, 2022
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