Episode Stats:

Japanese Episode 097:  "The Honor of Strike the Warrior"
American Episode 242:  "Tracey Gets Bugged"
Pokémon Dare Da?  Strike (Japan), Pinsir (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course:  Arbo
Japanese Air Date:  May 20th, 1999
American Air Date:  April 1st, 2000
Important Places:  Murcott Island (Murcott Island)

Satoshi and his friends make a stop at Murcott Island so that Kenji can observe the Bug-Type Pokémon said to be inhabiting the island. Our heroes walk through the island's forests, meeting all sorts of Bug-Types, when they come across a badly injured Strike. The Mantis Pokémon doesn't seem to want to accept Kenji's help and so the Pokémon Watcher has no choice but to use a Monster Ball to get the Pokémon and then carry it to a nearby Pokémon Center. As Strike is lying in recovery, the local Joy recognizes her patient as the former leader of a nearby congregation of Strike. She explains that the Pokémon was chased away for being too old and feeble and guesses it's probably trying to find some way to regain its honor. Later, Strike breaks out of its room and returns to its congregation only to find they've all been captured by the Rocket-Dan! Kenji's Strike frees its fellow Mantis Pokémon from their net and then decides to take on the Rocket trio all by itself. It holds its own for a while, insisting that it battle alone, but it eventually allows the new leader of the congregation to step in and finish the battle together. With the group of Strike now safe, Kenji's Strike earns the respect of its former congregation while also learning to respect the Trainer who worked so hard to protect it. Our heroes bid Murcott Island farewell, ready to travel the rest of the Orange Islands.

---

Thoughts
Hey look everybody, Kenji finally gets himself a new Pokémon! And it's only taken him...now wait just a minute here. It's been thirteen episodes!? You're telling me Kenji's debut was thirteen episodes ago and he's only just now getting a new Pokémon!? And hold on..."The Honor of Strike the Warrior" also marks the first time we ever get to see Kenji in an actual on-screen Pokémon battle!?!? What!?

This is absolutely wild to me. Kenji's been on the show a quarter of a year in real world time and yet we're only just now seeing him getting around to doing the things that everybody else in the show Pokémon does! What in the world were they waiting for!? I'm thinking back to the last two plus decades of this show and I don't think we've ever had any other traveling companion of age (sorry Masato and Eureka!) be as late a bloomer as Mr. Pokémon Watcher here.

This is also the episode where Kenji finds out that Kasumi has a fear of bugs. This is something else that might seem really late until you realize he wouldn't have had any reason to know this since she's been perfectly find around his Kongpang all this time. Why would he assume Kasumi has anything against Bug-Type Pokémon when the giant fly monster he travels around with doesn't seem to elicit any sort of reaction from her whatsoever? This episode would've been the perfect time to bring this up but I guess screenplay writer Atsuhiro Tomioka thought it was kind of too late to try to start addressing that now.

But enough about Kenji. The real star of this episode is Strike, an elderly Pokémon who has the heart of a warrior and refuses to give up because of honor or something like that. Strike's story is fine, I guess. In the Japanese guide book The Memorial Book of Orange Islands Mr. Tomioka reveals he based the fight for dominance we see in this episode on real world monkey tribes, and while that's kind of an neat little tidbit it doesn't really do much to make the episode more interesting. Maybe I would care more about the elderly Strike's dilemma here if we had more time with it before it met Kenji? Let's actually see the fight that leads it to getting kicked out of its congregation instead of just telling us about it! I'm sorry, but seeing a giant cartoon mantis beaten and battered isn't really enough to make me feel sorry for it.

Thankfully, the Rocket trio is here to help salvage this otherwise pedestrian episode. Musashi getting so upset over something like an unexpected haircut is absolute comedy gold, and Megumi Hayashibara does a phenomenal job bringing the character's ups and downs to life. The trio is just so, so good in this. There are a lot of episodes that would have been absolute chores to sit through if it weren't for the Rocket trio and this episode here is a perfect example of that.

The only other noteworthy thing about this episode to me is how absolutely rough it looks, animation-wise. There are a few good looking cuts in this, sure, and I recognize that animating a fairly long battle where you have all five Rocket-Dan Pokémon going up against a bunch of Strike is no easy feat. But the powers that be had to go and schedule this episode the week after that amazing Asada / Iwane combo we just got, making the whole thing look worse in comparison.

A lot of Pokémon fans have this idea that Pokémon just go around saying their names, and while that is true for a significant number of them it's also true that this is much more of a thing in the English dub than it is in the Japanese original. Take Strike, for instance. Kenji's Strike emits a bunch of low-pitched growls, only sometimes emitting sounds that sorta-kinda sound like one of the syllables in its name. But in the English dub, Eric Stuart just steps in the booth and says "Scyther" a bunch of times, perfectly enunciating each and every syllable as if he's auditioning for a radio play or something. The same thing happens with a bunch of the other Bug-Type Pokémon in the episode as well. "Weedle~!" "Venomoth!" "Metapod, Metapod!"...they all sound very much like actors in a recording booth reciting Pokémon names. You do get this sometimes with the Japanese version, yes, I'm not denying that. But more often than not the actors in the original actually put in the effort to make their voices sound like actual animal cries and not just a bunch of actors in a studio, something I can't really say about some of their dub counterparts.

Dialogue Edit
The opening line of the episode:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ナレーション　「サトシたちが立ち寄ったのはマーコット島。森の深い穏やかな島 である」	Narrator:  "Satoshi and his friends' journey takes them to Murcott Island, a peaceful island with thick forests."	Narrator:  "Our heroes' next stop is Murcott Island. It looks peaceful, but...well, you'll see."

If you're Dogasu, someone who's been doing Pokémon episode comparisons for the better part of 20 years, you start to notice little patterns about the English dub that your average fan probably wouldn't even bat an eyelash at. For example, the opening narration. If what the narrator says in the English dub is faithful to what's in the Japanese original then good news, you're about to enjoy an episode with a relatively accurate script! But if it's a random rewrite, or -- like in the case of this episode, the exact opposite of what he says in the original -- then I'd better buckle in because they got the rewrite-happy writer to work on this one.

Tracey is excited about visiting the island:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「ここは虫ポケモンがたくさん生息してる島なんだ！」	Kenji:  "This island is where a lot of Bug Pokémon call their home."	Tracey:  "That was one of the reasons I'm so happy to finally be here, Misty."
カスミ　「ひぃいー」	Kasumi:  "Aah..."	Misty:  "What?"
ケンジ　「まだ図鑑にも載ってない虫ポケモンが見つかるかも！」	Kenji:  "We might even find some Bug Pokémon not in the Bestiary!"	Tracey:  "Murcott Island's famous for having tons of bug element Pokémon."
サトシ　「へ？いいじゃん！いいじゃん！早速ゲットだぜ！」	Satoshi:  "Really? That's great! Let's hurry up and get them!"	Ash:  "Hey, what are we waiting for? Let's go catch 'em!"

Kenji brings up this idea that the island might be home to some undiscovered Bug-Type Pokémon (Rediba had already been revealed by this point, thanks to the Movie 2 promotion, so it's not a stretch to think it could've made a cameo here) but 4Kids removes Kenji's suggestion for some reason.

Also, "bug element Pokémon" sounds like the type of weird turn of phrase you'd hear in an early Season One episode, back before they had solidified which phrases they were going to use.

Tracey learns a basic fact about a friend he's been traveling around with for the past thirteen episodes:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「何言ってんだよ？こういうとここそポケモンウォッチングの醍醐味が味 わえるのに」	Kenji:  "What are you talking about? An island like this is the perfect place to get a real taste of Pokémon Watching!"	Tracey:  "You must be kidding me. If you just stay here you'll hardly be able to watch any Bug Pokémon."
カスミ　「あたしはほら、ウォッチャーじゃないし」	Kasumi:  "Well...oh! I'm not a Watcher! So, y'know..."	Misty:  "Oh well. I guess you can't have everything."
サトシ　「カスミが虫が嫌いなんだよ」	Satoshi:  "Psst...Kasumi doesn't like bugs."	Ash:  "Misty's afraid of Bug Pokémon."
ケンジ　「へ⁉」	Kenji:  "Huh!?"	Tracey:  "Huh?"

The whole "get a real taste of Pokémon Watching" thing gets removed from the dub in favor of some rather uneventful filler dialogue.

Tracey continues:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「あぁ、そうかぁ、カスミでも怖いもんがあるんだ～」	Kenji:  "Ah, I see. Even Kasumi has things she's scared of."	Tracey:  "Oh, I get it. When it comes to bugs, Misty's a chicken."
カスミ　「あたしでもってどーいうことよ⁉」	Kasumi:  "What do you mean "even" Kasumi!?"	Misty:  "Who are you calling a chicken!?"
ケンジ　「いや、その‥‥だい、大丈夫だよ。コンパンとマリルに任せときなっ て」	Kenji:  "No, I mean...uh...it's, it'll be fine. I'll just leave it up to Kongpang and Maril here.	Tracey:  "Did I say chicken? I must have meant it's a good thing we have you here checkin' for Bug-Types."
コンパン　「パンパン」	Kongpang:  "Pang Pang"	Venonat:  "Venonat."
マリル　 「リルリル」	Maril:  "Rilu Rilu"	Marill:  "Marill Marill."

"Um...why is the camera suddenly focusing on us now?" wonders Marill and Venonat. "Nobody mentioned us at all!"

Anyway yeah, this whole "chicken" exchange is dub only.

After the episode's title screen, Tracey spots a group of Caterpie:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「キャタピーがいるぞ」	Kenji:  "Wow, a bunch of Caterpie!"	Tracey:  "Wow, a Caterpie."
サトシ　「キャタピーか？久々にゲットだぜ！」	Satoshi:  "Caterpie huh? It's about time I get another one!"	Ash:  "Hey, I haven't caught a Caterpie in a long time."
カスミ　「だから虫は無視なんだってば」	Kasumi:  "I told you how much bugs really bug me!"	Misty:  "Yeah, and you're not gonna start now."
サトシ　「それじゃゲットになんないじゃないか？」	Satoshi:  "But then how am I supposed to get one?"	Ash:  "Just one little Caterpie?"

OK first of all, "a" Caterpie? Some Watcher you are, Tracey; you're clearly staring at like half a dozen of the creatures!

And then there's Kasumi's line. I've chosen to render mushi wa mushi as "bugs really bug me." It literally means "to ignore bugs," with the Japanese word for "ignore" (mushi) sounding identical to the Japanese word for "bug" (mushi), but that doesn't really work in English and so I replaced it with a similar bug pun instead.

After Misty's encounter with Pinsir, Tracey talks about how great his Pokémon are:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　 「すごいな、コンパンとマリルは」	Satoshi:  "Wow, Kongpang and Maril are really something."	Ash:  "Venonat and Marill are good to have around."
ケンジ　「コンパンのレーダー能力とマリルの音識別する力は頼りになるんだ」	Kenji:  "They sure are. Kongpang's radar abilities and the power Maril has to single out sounds really come in handy."	Tracey:  "Venonat's radar eyes and Marril's super-sensitive hearing make 'em a really great team."
カスミ　「本当。頼りにしなきゃね」	Kasumi:  "I see. I guess you have to depend on them."	Misty:  "At least they're not Bug-Types."

Um...Venonat isn't a Bug-Type, Misty? Are you sure about that?

Ash scans Scyther with his Pokédex:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ポケモン図鑑　「ストライク、カマキリポケモン。鋭いカマで獲物を捕まえる。た まに羽を使って飛ぶことがある。人目に付くはまれで捕獲例は少ない」	Pokémon Bestiary:  "Strike, the Mantis Pokémon. It uses its sharp scythes to capture its prey. It sometimes uses its wings to fly. It is rarely seen and almost never captured."	Pokédex:  "Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. Its claws are sharp as swords, and it is a powerful flyer. This Pokémon is rarely seen by humans and almost never captured. "

The part about Strike using its blades to hunt prey gets rewritten for the dub.

The Rocket trio get shot down:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「いきなり何なのよ、あのスピアー？」	Musashi:  "Why'd that Spear attack us all of a sudden?"	Jessie:  "Well, that was certainly a gigantic letdown."

Musashi's rather normal observation gets replaced with a pun about falling from the sky.

Over at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy updates our heroes on Scyther's condition:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ジョーイさん！ストライクは？」	Satoshi:  "Miss Joy! How's Strike?"	Ash:  "Nurse Joy, how's Scyther doin?"
ジョーイ　「かなりやられてるはね。回復するまで時間がかかりそうね」	Joy:  "It was beat up pretty badly. It'll probably take a while for it to get better."	Nurse Joy:  "Scyther is still very weak. It's going to take a few days to get its strength back."

The Japanese version's "it'll probably take a while" gets turned into the much more specific "it's going to take a few days" for the English dub.

Nurse Joy explains Kenji's Scyther's backstory:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「ボス争い？」	Satoshi:  "A fight for dominance?"	Ash:  "Battle for leadership?"
ケンジ　「じゃ、あいつはストライクの群れのボスだったんですか？」	Kenji:  "So, that Strike in there was the leader of a whole congregation of Strike?"	Tracey:  "How do you know that that Scyther used to be the leader of its whole swarm?"
ジョーイ　「え。私はここに赴任する前からボスだったことは確認されてたわ」	Joy:  "Yup. That one was verified to be the leader back before I was even stationed here."	Nurse Joy:  "Well, an older Scyther only could've gotten these kinds of injuries by battling another Scyther.
カスミ　「そうだったの…」	Kasumi:  "I see..."	Misty:  "To stay a leader."

Wow, they just completely rewrote Joy's line here, didn't they? The dub line is fine and is in-character enough, I guess, but you know what? So was the Japanese original!

Nurse Joy continues to tell these random kids about the history of their neighborhood giant mantis monster:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　 「でもそんなに強いヤツがどうして？」	Satoshi:  "But how did someone so strong end up like that?"	Ash:  "Guess that other Scyther must've been stronger."
ジョーイ　「もっと若いストライクがボスに挑戦したのね。年を取ると、若いとき より、スピードもパワーも落ちるから」	Joy:  "A younger Strike must have challenged it to a fight for dominance. And when you get on in years you're not as fast or strong as you once were."	Nurse Joy:  "Usually it's a younger, faster Scyther that challenges the leader. Sometimes speed and power can overcome even the most experienced Pokémon."
カスミ　「けっこうおじいちゃんなんだ、あのストライク」	Kasumi:  "So that Strike is just like a grandpa."	Misty:  "How come Scyther was all alone when we found it?"
ジョーイ　「ボス争いに負けると群れを追い出されてしまうの。ストライクが人里 と近くに来るなんて珍しいことだもの」	Joy:  "When you lose a fight for dominance you get kicked out of the congregation. But I never thought a Strike would end up here, where humans live...this almost never happens."	Nurse Joy:  "Once a leader's defeated by another Scyther, it can't stay with the swarm. Unless it wins a new leadership battle, it has to live all by itself."

There are a lot of differences here, but the biggest one is the part where Kasumi more or less confirms that Kenji's Strike is a male by referring to it as a "grandpa" (ojiichan).

Tracey gets advice from Professor Oak:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
オーキド博士　「ん…ストライクは生まれついての誇り高き戦士じゃからな」	Dr. Ookido:  "Hmm...Strike are born to be warriors and have high senses of pride."	Professor Oak:  "I'll bet it's because Scyther's sense of pride has been injured too."
サトシ　 「…」	(no dialogue)	Ash:  "Huh?"
ケンジ　「戦士？」	Kenji:  "Warriors?"	Tracey:  "What do you mean?"
ピカチュウ　 「ピカ？」	Pikachu:  "Pika?"	Pikachu:  "Pika?"
オーキド博士　「ボス争いで負けたことや、あっさりゲットされたことを不甲斐な いと思っとるんじゃろ」	Dr. Ookido:  "I bet it's probably feeling dishonor at losing a battle of dominance and then being gotten so easily."	Professor Oak:  "If Scyther was defeated by another Scyther and then it was captured by you, it must be feeling very low."
ケンジ　「僕はどうしてやれば…？」	Kenji:  "So what should I do now?"	Tracey:  "So what am I supposed to do now?"
オーキド博士　 「まずは、ポケモンの本能を知り、どうしてやることが一番なのか考えることじゃ。良いか？ポケモンにも意志があること忘れてはならんぞ」	Dr. Ookido:  "For starters, you need to get to know your Pokémon's instincts so you can think about the best action to take next. And Kenji? You mustn't forget that Pokémon also have their own feelings."	Professor Oak:  "You always have to keep in mind that every single Pokémon has its own unique feelings and personality. You must try to help Scyther regain confidence in its strength and in itself."

First; Dr. Ookido refers to Strike as senshi (戦士), or "warriors." The word senshi will be used several times throughout the episode to describe Kenji's Pokémon, and while the dub keeps it a few times (Ash's "A Scyther's a natural born warrior" after the Rocket scene below) it rewrites it more often than not.

Also, "And then it was captured by you" feels like a pretty sick burn from Professor Oak! Originally, it's just the fact that it was gotten that has Strike upset; Kenji being the one to do so had nothing to do with it.

Finally, Dr. Ookido's advice is to get to know your Pokémon while Professor Oak's advice is just to cheer it up.

Outside, the Rocket trio gets away from the congregation of Scyther:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「はぁ…死ぬかと思った」	Musashi:  "...I thought I was gonna die."	Jessie:  "That...was a close one."

The dub's actually been getting better about keeping in death-related words in recent episodes ("kill" was used both in the previous episode and will be used in the next one) so seeing it get censored out of this one is a bit odd.

Jessie finds out her hair got chopped off:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「な、ない！な～っい！ムサシ・ストライクス・バック！」	Musashi:  "G...gone! It's gone! MUSASHI STRIKES BACK!!!"	Jessie:  "My hair! I'm gonna get that Scyther!"
ニャース　「待つニャ！」	Nyarth:  "Wait Nya!"	Meowth:  "Wait a second!"

This right here is one of the highlights of the episode for me. The way Megumi Hayashibara screams "Musashi Strikes Back!" in English is just about the funniest thing ever. It also works as a play on words; "Musashi Strikes Back!" is obviously very similar to the title of the first Pocket Monsters movie, but it also contains the word "Strike," as in the Mantis Pokémon this episode's all about.

The English dub replaces this with "I'm gonna get that Scyther!"

Eyecatch
Hey look, the Pokémon used in the English version's eyecatch this week actually appears in the episode!


That's something, right?

Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio round up the congregation of Scyther:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ニャース　「ほれ。作戦開始ニャ」	Nyarth:  "Ally-oop. Let's start the operation Nya."	Meowth:  "Hyep, the blaster's ready."
ムサシ　「よこして」	Musashi:  "Hand it over."	Jessie:  "Let's have it."
コジロウ　「思いっきり恨みを叩き込んでやれ」	Kojirou:  "Show 'em your wrath! Don't hold back!"	James:  "They won't look so sharp when we're through."
ムサシ　「おう！食らえ、トリモチミサイル！」	Musashi:  "Alright! Take this! Go, Birdlime Missile!"	Jessie:  "Hey! Here's some goo for all of you!"

"Birdlime" is a type of glue trap used here in the real world to trap birds out in the wild. Its widespread use has threatened to drive many bird species to extinction and so many world governments have been trying to outlaw it the last few decades.

Your average 10-year-old American kid probably has no idea what "birdlime" is and so 4Kids simplified this weapon to just "goo."

Back at the Pokémon Center, Nurse Joy unwraps Scyther's bandages:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ジョーイ　「ん？すごい回復力だわ。ほとんど治ってる！」	Joy:  "What am amazing healing ability! It's almost back to full health!"	Nurse Joy:  "Well...it still has a way to go, but Scyther's healing nicely."
サトシ　「良かったな、ストライク」	Satoshi:  "That's great, isn't it Strike?"	Ash:  "You'll be up and around in no time!"

Is this Mantis Pokémon almost better or does it still have a way to go? Depends on what version of the show you're watching, apparently!

In 4Kids' defense, the Japanese line appears to contradict what we'll see in the very next scene, where Strike can't even fly a few meters without having to stop to catch its breath, so I can sort of understand the logic behind this particular dub change.

Scyther runs away:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「あいつきっと、リターンマッチに行くつもりなんだ」	Satoshi:  "I bet it's heading out for a rematch."	Ash:  "I bet it's gonna challenge the new leader to a rematch."
カスミ　「でもまだキズが治りきってないのに」	Kasumi:  "But its wounds haven't completely healed yet."	Misty:  "But that's dangerous. Scyther's not strong enough."
ケンジ　「あいつがそうしたいと言うんだから仕方がないよ」	Kenji:  "If that's what it wants to do then there's nothing we can do to stop it."	Tracey:  "Its body may be weak but its heart is super strong."
サトシ　「ケンジ、俺たちも行こう！」	Satoshi:  "Kenji, we should go after it!"	Ash:  "Come on! I don't wanna miss this!"

Whoa, get a load of Ash's bloodlust here! He can't wait to see this old, weak mantis thing get mauled to death!

Nurse Joy says goodbye to the episode:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
カスミ　「あ！待ってよ！」	Kasumi:  "Hey! Wait for me!"	Misty:  "Wait! I gotta go Nurse Joy."
ジョーイ　「いい？バトルの後はここに来るのよ！」	Joy:  "Hey listen! Be sure to come back here after the battle!"	Nurse Joy:  "Alright. But just remember to be careful out there!"
カスミ　「…」	(no dialogue)	Misty:  "We'll try!"

The implication in the Japanese version here is that our heroes return to the Pokémon Center after the events of this episode, something we don't get in the English dub.

On the other hand, the English version is much nicer to Nurse Joy here, having Misty actually acknowledge her instead of just running off without so much as a goodbye.

Meanwhile, Jessie is going through it.

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「あたしの黒髪‥‥あたしのサラサラつやつやヘアー‥‥」	Musashi:  "My beautiful black hair...my flowing, glossy locks..."	Jessie:  "I've been robbed of my crowning glory...my resplendent hair!"
コジロウ　「黒髪～？」	Kojirou:  "Black hair...?"	James:  "Resplendent?"
ニャース　「どこがニャ！」	Nyarth:  "What's she talking about Nya?"	Meowth:  "Must mean big."
ムサシ　「朝な夕なにお手入れするのがあたしの喜びだったのに‥‥！喜びだった のに…喜びだったのに…」	Musashi:  "Taking care of it mornings and nights was my joy...was my joy...Was. My. Joy..."	Jessie:  "Since I was a child it was my only companion. And now it's been destroyed. (cries turn into laughter)"
ストライクたち　（しくしく泣き)	Strike:  (whimpers)	Scyther:  "Scyther~!"
ムサシ　「黒髪の恨み！」	Musashi:  "Feel the grudge of my black hair!"	Jessie:  "(laughs) Now it's payback time."

I had assumed Musashi's "beautiful black hair" line was meant to be a parody of something (some old movie? cartoon?) but the fact that the Anime Film Comic version of this episode changes Nyarth's reaction here to "But her hair's red, not black" (黒髪じゃな くて赤髪ニャ) tells me it maybe isn't a parody and is just be a case of Musashi being completely delusional.

Our heroes finally get a glimpse of Jessie with her new hairstyle, which prompts them to recite a modified version of their motto:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
カスミ　「へー。髪型変えたんだ！」	Kasumi:  "Oh! You changed your hair!"	Misty:  "Hey, where'd you get that new 'do?"
ムサシ　「か…か…髪型変えたのと聞かれたら！」	Musashi:  "If...If...If we're asked if we've changed our hair..."	Jessie:  "How dare you! You insult my hair? Prepare for trouble!"
コジロウ　「変えられちゃったというわけで…」	Kojirou:  "Well, it was actually changed for her..."	James:  "It used to be there but now it's stubble!"
ムサシ　「世界のヌケ毛を防ぐため！」	Musashi:  "To prevent the world from suffering hair loss!"	Jessie:  "To protect my head from humiliation!"
アーボック　「シャーボック！」	Arbok:  "Chaabok!"	Arbok:  "Chaabok!"
コジロウ　「世界の毛根守るため」	Kojirou:  "To protect the hair follicles of the world."	James:  "Too bad her hair went on vacation!"
マタドガス　「マタドガス～」	Matadogas:  "Matadogas~"	Weezing:  "Weezing."
ムサシ　「髪と地肌を健やかにいたわる」	Musashi:  "To love and appreciate our hair and scalps!"	Jessie:  "My gorgeous hair was my one true love!"
ベロリンガ　「ベロン～」	Beroringa:  "Beron~"	Lickitung:  "Tung"
コジロウ　「ラブリーチャーミーな敵役！」	Kojirou:  "We, the lovely and charming villains."	James:  "They went together like a hand and glove!"
ウツボット　(叫ぶ)	Utsubot:  (screams)	Victreebel:  (screams)
ムサシ　「ムサシ！」	Musashi:  "Musashi!"	Jessie:  "Jessie!"
コジロウ　「コジロウ！」	Kojirou:  "Kojirou!"	James:  "James!"
ムサシ　「天使の輪を持つ二人には」	Musashi:  "The ones with angel halos are the two of us!"	Jessie:  "Now my hair's short but it won't be for long!"
コジロウ　「ホワイトホール。白い明日が待ってるぜ」	Kojirou:  "A white hole - a white tomorrow is waiting."	James:  "And it won't stop our Jessie from doing what's wrong!"
ニャース　「ニャ　ニャンてニャ！」	Nyarth:  "What they said Nya~!"	Meowth:  "Hairy!"

I imagine that when it comes to these motto variations, 4Kids looks at the general theme of the Japanese version (in this case, "hair") and then just lets its writers loose, free to write whatever the hell they want with little to no regard to staying faithful to the original. I'm guessing this is the case because if you look at it line by line basically nothing's the same between the two versions.

Our heroes react:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
サトシ　「こりゃまた盛りだくさんだ」	Satoshi:  "Well I guess that's another variation for the list."	Ash:  "How do they come up with that stuff?"
カスミ　「でもその髪型けっこう似合ってるわよ～。どこでカットしてもらったの ～？」	Kasumi:  "But that hairstyle really suits you! Where'd you get it done?"	Misty:  "I like your new hairstyle a lot, Jessie. Who cut it, a barber or a butcher?"
ムサシ　「うるさいはね！あいつらにやられたのよ！あのカミキリ虫ね！」	Musashi:  "Shut up! I was done in by those betraying mantis!"	Jessie:  "Very funny. One of them did it, and now they're all gonna pay for it."

Musashi's line is a pun; in the original she takes the regular word for "mantis," kamakiri (カマキリ), and changes the second letter from "ma" to "mi" to make kamikiri (カミキリ) mushi, literally "hair clipper bug." Since that doesn't quite work as a pun in English I rendered it as "betraying mantis" in my translation above.

Most of the rest of the episode is a battle, which thankfully means there's very little dialogue for 4Kids to rewrite. However, we do get a few changes. The first one comes after Tracey explains how it defeated Victreebel by figuring out it's going to use Razor Leaf:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「えい、アーボック！どくばり攻撃！」	Musashi:  "Hey Arbok, Poison Needle attack!"	Jessie:  "Arbok, Poison Needle attack now!"

This isn't a rewrite, per se, but it can be considered a mistake since Jessie refers to Arbok's attack not by its officially localized name, "Poison Sting," but by a direct translation of its Japanese name dokubari instead.

This next one comes after the other Scyther step in to help Tracey's Pokémon:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ケンジ　「いあいぎりだ！」	Kenji:  "Use Cut attack!"	Tracey:  "Slash attack!"

This, on the other hand, is a completely different attack altogether! The attack Kenji calls out is Cut, not Slash.

The Rocket trio is defeated:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ムサシ　「髪は女の命なのよ！」	Musashi:   "A woman's hair is her whole life!"	Jessie:  "That was certainly a close shave!"
コジロウ　「男も髪は命なのよ！」	Kojirou:  "A man's hair is his whole life too!"	James:  "Scyther's a real cut-up!"
ニャース　「ネコは小判なのニャ～！」	Nyarth:  "And for cats it's their koban coins Nya~!"	Meowth:  "We all got a scalp treatment!"

The jokes here are completely different, aren't they!

Finally, the narrator ends the episode with a baffling little monologue:

Japanese (original)	Japanese (translated)	English Dub
ナレーション　「虫ポケモンの島でストライクと心が通じ合い、見事ゲットしたケ ンジ。新たな仲間を得てサトシたちの旅はまだまだ、まだまだ続く」	Narrator:  "On the island of Bug Pokémon, Kenji scored a magnificent get with his Strike as the two were able to understand what's in each other's hearts. With a new friend by their side, Satoshi and his friends' journey will continue, on and on."	Narrator:  "Tracey's perseverance and patience finally paid off. He has a new Pokémon and a new friend. Scyther has a new friend too, and a new reason to believe in itself. We can find those same things, but only if we look."

What in the world is the narrator in the English version even talking about? "We can find those same things, but only if we look"...that's what 4Kids wants us to take away from this episode? Based on...what now, exactly?

Previous Episode

Next Episode

This page was last updated on September 1st, 2022