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| Episode Comparisons | Orange Islands
Episode
Stats:
Japanese Episode 111: "The Winners Cup! A Six-on-Six Full Battle!!"
American Episode 306: "Hello, Pummelo!"
Pokémon Dare Da? Metamon (Japanese), Dragonite (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Ratta
Japanese Air Date: September 2nd, 1999
American Air Date: September 23rd, 2000
Important Characters: Yuuji (Drake)
Important Places: Kankitsu Island (Pummelo Island), Kankitsu Stadium (Pummelo Stadium), Winners Palace (The Palace of Victory), Hall of Victory (Orange League Hall of Fame)
Thoughts
We're coming up to the end of the Orange Islands arc with a two-parter that I think most fans can agree is one of the best -- if not the best -- battles of the Generation One portion of the series. It's the biggest, most complicated match-up we've seen yet, and in my opinion this two-parter really cements the idea that if you have an important Pokémon battle episode then you really want to make sure you've got Atsuhiro Tomioka in the writer's chair that week.
"The Winners Cup! A Six-on-Six Full Battle!!" introduces us to the concept of "Full Battles," a term that basically just means a single six-on-six Pokémon battle. Video games players would've only gotten one chance to experience a Full Battle in the single player campaign up until this point -- the final match against Green -- and so I think setting up Yuuji as sort of the animated series' stand-in for that game's final boss is a pretty great idea. And if you think about it, the Head Leader's actually a bit of a composite of all the members of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kanto. He has an Iwark, just like Shiba, a Gangar, just like Kikuko; a Kairyu, just like Wataru; and a Fushigibana, just like Green. He doesn't have any of Kanna's Pokémon, weirdly enough, but I guess since the show just had the real Kanna appear not that long ago they figured it was probably OK not to include her.
Speaking of Pokémon choices, I don't know if I'm 100% on board with the team Satoshi picked for his final battle here. Pikachu was obviously going to get a spot on the team, Lizardon needs to redeem itself after its performance in the Sekiei League, and Laplace deserves a spot for being the de facto mascot of the Orange Islands, and so all those choices make sense. And Kentauros is a fun wild card, I guess. But the other two though...? I mean, I can see an argument for Zenigame since it did just learn Hydro Pump during its adventures in the region, but at the same time Satoshi already has a Water-Type on his team. And then there's Fushigidane, who hasn't had any real development this arc and who -- spoiler alert -- doesn't really make much of a difference in this battle either, and so it feels a bit like a wasted slot to me. Personally, I would have swapped out Zenigame with Kabigon (Satoshi's other Orange Islands capture) and Fushigidane with Betbeton, but maybe that's just me.
The English dub has always had an issue with the overall concept of the Orange League, and we can really see that come to a head in this episode. For example, is Drake just the fifth Gym Leader of the Orange Crew? Or is he the Supreme Gym Leader? Or, is he the Orange Islands' Champion? Well, that all depends on the whims of whoever's writing that week's episode, apparently! There are other elements the company retools for their version -- the fact that Yuuji is only the current Head Leader and that there have been others before him being made less clear for the English version, or the idea that the Orange League is the name of the tournament itself -- for seemingly no reason at all, causing unnecessary confusion between what the English dub script tells us and what we're shown in the actual show itself. I feel like I've probably said this before, but at this point I'm convinced we really should be treating the English dub (or at least the 4Kids English dub) as existing in its own continuity, separate from the one presented in the Japanese original. There are just too many contradictions otherwise.
Yuuji's Kairyu keeps its Japanese voice.
Dialogue Edit
After Tracey reveals the name of the island on which this episode takes place (information the dub was supposed to give us three episodes ago, by the way!), we get the narrator's opening lines:
Does 4Kids think the "Orange League" is this one stadium here on Pummelo Island, and not the name of the collection of competitions that all culminate in the stadium match we're about to see in this episode? Because otherwise the English dub narrator's "headed for the Orange League" here makes absolutely no sense.
After the title screen:
The English dub receptionist's "another one, eh?" implies there are multiple Trainers registered to compete for the trophy on this day, but as you can see in transcript of the original dialogue above (plus from what we see in the actual episode itself) this is simply not true.
Paint Edit (???)
The white "text" under Satoshi's profile on the computer gets removed from the English dub (though in all likelihood 4Kids probably just did a freeze frame right before the "text" appears on-screen to avoid having to pay to have this airbrushed out).
Oddly enough 1) the computer beep that accompanies the "text" appearing on screen is left in, and 2) the "text" is kept intact in the very next shot.
Dialogue Edit
Our heroes are led to "The Palace of Victory":
The Japanese version doesn't rank the different names this facility goes by -- both seem to be equally valid -- while the English dub declares one name to be more "official" than the other.
The receptionist explains what comes next:
Two things here. One, there are zero trophies on display in this room here so I don't know why the dub is trying to gaslight us into thinking there are. And two, the English dub receptionist implies that there's a such thing as the "Pummelo Gym" and that Drake is just another "Gym Leader" when the Japanese version doesn't say any of that at all.
Ash thinks about his first Full Battle:
If you ever thought it's odd for Misty to be making the face you see above when talking about how Ash would "be in the Hall of Fame forever" then you have good instincts because her dialogue here is a complete rewrite. Originally Kasumi's teasing her friend here, not filling his heads with dreams of being in the Hall of Fame.
Ash is told what he'll get for winning:
Again, the "Orange League" is not the name of the single Full Battle our hero's about to participate in, despite the English dub insisting otherwise.
They learn about Drake's "ace in the hole":
The 4Kids dub goes ahead and tells us the Kairyu we see at the beginning of the episode is definitely, without a doubt, the "Gym Leader's" Pokémon when the Japanese version won't actually reveal that until the next episode.
The original version also makes it clear that all the Trainers being celebrated in the room they're in right now won against a previous Head Leader, and that nobody's been added to the Hall of Fame ever since Yuuji took the position. But, you don't really get that from 4Kids' dialogue. I mean, you can kind of sort of headcanon that explanation into existence, I suppose, but the English dub dialogue could have made this fairly important plot point a lot more clear.
The Rocket trio approach Drake:
The Rocket trio piggybacking off each other to talk about their desire for a promotion gets rewritten to a "deadly serious/seriously deadly" bit, which is especially odd this time since this dub usually tries to avoid using the d-word whenever possible.
Also, Jessie refers to Drake as a "champion" here. At first I thought this was just a poor choice of words on 4Kids' part (they sometimes also refer to characters as "Pokémon masters" when they shouldn't and so there is a precedent for this kind of thing) but then in the English version of the very next episode the show will repeatedly refer to him using that term and so it's obvious this isn't just a one time goof. And so I guess in the English dub Drake is both a Gym Leader and a Champion, maybe? In the original version Yuuji is neither of those things; he has his own unique title, "Head Leader," that seems to be completely different from both "Gym Leader" and "Champion."
Drake wastes no time in sending the trio packing:
The Japanese Rocket trio comment is about how quickly the three of them are blasting off this time while the English Rocket trio just says the regular version of their catchphrase.
Ash tries to wake up his Snorlax:
The dub doesn't make it immediately clear why we're about to be shown a montage of Pokémon violently attacking one of their own, which is an interesting choice to say the least!
After seeing how nothing's working:
While these are quite similar, Ash is just a little bit more rude in the English dub here than he is in the Japanese version.
Ash wonders who to use in his match:
These two are actually very similar, but changes like Tracey referring to Drake as a "Gym Leader" again and the loss of Dr. Ookido's (easily translatable) cow pun are enough to get these lines a spot in the comparison.
Ash goes with Tauros:
Satoshi believes his Crab's unexpected victory is what helped propel him as far as the Top 16 in the Sekiei Tournament, and hopes to have a repeat of that during his upcoming battle. Ash, on the other hand...just thinks Tauros will "try really hard."
The Rocket trio's defeated:
Musashi realizes the coming-in-through-the-front-door approach they tried earlier was all wrong, something Jessie apparently doesn't.
Paint Edit
The green sign the Rocket trio sees as it passes by gets its "text" removed.
This time, the "text" sorta-kinda looks like it's saying Suki: Umiki (スキ：ウミキ) in katakana. But even if it did -- and it doesn't -- it shouldn't matter either way since "Suki: Umiki" is gibberish anyway.
Dialogue Edit
After the announcement:
It's kind of interesting to see which parts of the show 4Kids decides to over-explain and which ones it doesn't. They make things like the fact that all the previous trophy winners defeated whoever came before Yuuji unnecessarily vague, for example, but then when it comes to something like the Rocket trio's plot here the English dub explains it a lot more plainly than it's explained in the original. If the English dub had made everything more clear, or everything more vague, then I could maybe understand what they were going for, but it's this weird mix of the two (and the apparent lack of logic behind it) here that's throwing me off.
The next day, at 10:00 AM:
The English dub makes up so much nonsense here -- the idea that this is the "first" Orange League competition, that there's a "season" for this kind of thing (instead of being a one-off thing announced by a truck that drives around the city), that Drake is a "Gym Leader" -- so the comparison between these two is something else. But I think my favorite part of all this is how the English dub announcer basically starts the match off with the Pokémon world equivalent of the phrase "Welcome, animal fans!" which is both hilariously generic and also a really grim thing to say right before we're about to watch six Pokémon violently attack each other for their humans' enjoyment.
Ash meets Drake:
Satoshi's talking to himself in the original, but this gets changed to him talking directly to Drake for the English dub.
The two shake hands:
All of this is pretty different, but the biggest change here is Drake referring to this giant stadium as the "Pummelo Gym," something he does not do in the Japanese version at all.
Eyecatch
The template the English dub created for its eyecatches doesn't allow for any animation to take place -- it's either a single still image or nothing at all -- and so neat little ideas like this one from the Japanese version get sent to the cutting room floor.
Originally we see the Pikachu silhouette during the first part of the eyecatch. When the show comes back from commercials we get an animation of that silhouette morphing into Metamon before the "lights" are turned on and the answer is revealed to be Yuuji's shapeshifter.
4Kids couldn't replicate any of that -- they'd have to spend a ridiculous amount of time cutting out the animation frame by frame, placing it over that gaudy background, adding drop shadows, etc. -- and so they just slapped some key art of a different Drake Pokémon on the screen and called it a day.
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio figure out who the challenger is:
Nyarth's comment here is a reference to the plan they've cooked up (which, if you remember, hasn't been fully revealed in the Japanese version yet) while Meowth's comment is decidedly more generic.
Drake chooses Ditto as his first Pokémon:
In "Hello, Pummelo!," the writers do this thing where Drake delivers a pun every time he calls on one of his Pokémon. As you can see from the transcript above he does not do this in the original.
How will Ash fare against Ditto?
Kasumi brings up type matchup concerns while Misty's more worried about the imitation abilities of Drake's Pokémon.
Next, we get this exchange during the Pikachu vs. Ditto battle:
In the Japanese version the announcer will use game terms like "super effective" or "not very effective" throughout the match, but since 4Kids' writers don't play the video games themselves (more on that in the next comparison!) they probably didn't catch any of this.
It's also worth noting that the dub gives Ditto-Pikachu a replacement voice. In the original version it's clearly just Ikue Otani doing a slight variation of her regular Pikachu voice, but in the English dub it sounds like Rachel Lillis doing her best Otani impersonation, but then also it seems like her voice has been put through a filter to make it sound like she's on helium or something.
Ash commands Pikachu's second attack:
"Thundershock" in Japanese is Denki Shokku (でんきショック), but the attack the two Trainers are calling out in the Japanese version of this particular scene is Juu-man Boruto (10まんボルト), or "Thunderbolt."
Drake calls on his next Pokémon:
I have to wonder, who is Drake making up all these puns for? Is he doing it for Ash? Or maybe the audience? For his Pokémon? For himself? Has Drake become so bored by being an undefeated Trainer, so filled with soul crushing ennui, that the only way he has to amuse himself is by reciting these awful Dad jokes?
Squirtle vs. Onix:
The Japanese version actually calls out the name of the Rock-Type's attack ("Dig") and comments on how Yuuji's Iwark has been trained to be especially speedy, two details the English dub leaves out.
Onix counterattacks:
"Dogasu must love battle centric episodes," people probably think, "because there isn't as much dialogue for the dub to rewrite compared to a regular episode." And while there certainly is some truth to that, you also still get exchanges like this one, where a character who says a specific attack in the Japanese version gets that command changed to generic dialogue for the dub, or where a Pokémon's name in the original is replaced by an attack command for the dub. And so I don't get to rest either way!
Squirtle defeats Onix:
Once again, the game phrase "super effective" is nowhere to be found in the dub.
Drake reveals his next Pokémon:
I feel like 4Kids really likes using this "ghost of a chance" line because I swear they use it at least once a season, if not more.
Anyway, Drake won't make any more corny jokes like this when introducing the remaining three Pokémon on his team, and so this is it I guess! The easy headcanon here would be to say Drake was just playing around at first, cracking these dumb little jokes and whatnot, but then as the battle goes on he starts to take things more seriously. I mean, this has nothing to do with the way Yuuji's character is presented in the original version at all, but for Drake -- someone who lives in the English dub continuity -- it kind of works I guess?
Drake chooses Gengar as his third Pokémon:
The dub gives Kasumi's line about Gangar being a Ghost-Type to the announcer, for some reason, and so Misty's given a generic "Gengar's gonna be tough" line instead. The reason given for having the challenger recall his Pokémon is also different between versions.
Who will Ash choose:
The reason Gangar's also weak against Ground-Type attacks is because it's also part Poison-Type, but the Japanese version never actually states this (it only focuses on the fact that it's a Ghost-Type) and so Kenji's assertion that Gangar would be weak to Ground-Types can be a bit confusing.
So I think what probably happened here is that the 4Kids writers got hung up about why Gengar would be weak to Ground-Type moves, declared this dialogue doesn't make any sense, and so they just rewrote the whole thing. The new dialogue, unfortunately, makes it seem like Ghost-Types are basically invincible when that is very much not the case, even back in the Generation One days.
Tauros is confused:
The Japanese version once again uses a phrase taken straight from the video games, and once again the English dub completely rewrites it.
Finally,
This is so, sooo close, but then the English dub had to go and add that fourth wall breaking "Find out in our next exciting episode" at the end there and so now I have to include it in this comparison.
This page was last updated on May 17th, 2025
Japanese Episode 111: "The Winners Cup! A Six-on-Six Full Battle!!"
American Episode 306: "Hello, Pummelo!"
Pokémon Dare Da? Metamon (Japanese), Dragonite (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Ratta
Japanese Air Date: September 2nd, 1999
American Air Date: September 23rd, 2000
Important Characters: Yuuji (Drake)
Important Places: Kankitsu Island (Pummelo Island), Kankitsu Stadium (Pummelo Stadium), Winners Palace (The Palace of Victory), Hall of Victory (Orange League Hall of Fame)
Now that
Satoshi and his friends have arrived on Kankitsu Island it's finally
time for Satoshi to sign up for the Winners Cup! The receptionist
explains that the battle with the Orange Islands Southern Cross' Head
Leader, Yuuji, will be a six-on-six match known as a "full battle” and
that one of Yuuji’s Pokémon is going to be a super powerful
Kairyu! Satoshi takes a look at the Pokémon he currently has on
hand and eventually decides to trade out his Kabigon with one of the
Kentauros back at Dr. Ookido's laboratory. The next morning the battle
against Yuuji begins. Round One: Yuuji's Metamon vs. Satoshi's Pikachu!
Metamon quickly transforms into Pikachu and copies Satoshi’s
Pokémon’s attacks perfectly, forcing the young Trainer to come
up with some unique move combinations to catch Yuuji’s Pokémon
off guard and earn his first victory. The second match pits Yuuji's
Iwark against Satoshi's Zenigame. The Rock-Type uses its Bind attack on
Satoshi's Water-Type and attempts to squeeze out a win, but Zenigame is
able to escape with a combination of Withrdraw and Hydro Pump. Iwark is
knocked out, forcing Yuuji to have to call on his third Pokémon,
Gangar. After an unsuccessful attempt to use his Kentauros in battle
Satoshi recalls it and decides to go with Laplace instead. A few
attacks in, Laplace’s Ice Beam collides with Gangar's Night Shade and
causes a giant explosion that envelops the entire stadium!? Who will
still be left standing once the smoke clears? To be continued!
Thoughts
We're coming up to the end of the Orange Islands arc with a two-parter that I think most fans can agree is one of the best -- if not the best -- battles of the Generation One portion of the series. It's the biggest, most complicated match-up we've seen yet, and in my opinion this two-parter really cements the idea that if you have an important Pokémon battle episode then you really want to make sure you've got Atsuhiro Tomioka in the writer's chair that week.
"The Winners Cup! A Six-on-Six Full Battle!!" introduces us to the concept of "Full Battles," a term that basically just means a single six-on-six Pokémon battle. Video games players would've only gotten one chance to experience a Full Battle in the single player campaign up until this point -- the final match against Green -- and so I think setting up Yuuji as sort of the animated series' stand-in for that game's final boss is a pretty great idea. And if you think about it, the Head Leader's actually a bit of a composite of all the members of the Four Heavenly Kings of Kanto. He has an Iwark, just like Shiba, a Gangar, just like Kikuko; a Kairyu, just like Wataru; and a Fushigibana, just like Green. He doesn't have any of Kanna's Pokémon, weirdly enough, but I guess since the show just had the real Kanna appear not that long ago they figured it was probably OK not to include her.
Speaking of Pokémon choices, I don't know if I'm 100% on board with the team Satoshi picked for his final battle here. Pikachu was obviously going to get a spot on the team, Lizardon needs to redeem itself after its performance in the Sekiei League, and Laplace deserves a spot for being the de facto mascot of the Orange Islands, and so all those choices make sense. And Kentauros is a fun wild card, I guess. But the other two though...? I mean, I can see an argument for Zenigame since it did just learn Hydro Pump during its adventures in the region, but at the same time Satoshi already has a Water-Type on his team. And then there's Fushigidane, who hasn't had any real development this arc and who -- spoiler alert -- doesn't really make much of a difference in this battle either, and so it feels a bit like a wasted slot to me. Personally, I would have swapped out Zenigame with Kabigon (Satoshi's other Orange Islands capture) and Fushigidane with Betbeton, but maybe that's just me.
The English dub has always had an issue with the overall concept of the Orange League, and we can really see that come to a head in this episode. For example, is Drake just the fifth Gym Leader of the Orange Crew? Or is he the Supreme Gym Leader? Or, is he the Orange Islands' Champion? Well, that all depends on the whims of whoever's writing that week's episode, apparently! There are other elements the company retools for their version -- the fact that Yuuji is only the current Head Leader and that there have been others before him being made less clear for the English version, or the idea that the Orange League is the name of the tournament itself -- for seemingly no reason at all, causing unnecessary confusion between what the English dub script tells us and what we're shown in the actual show itself. I feel like I've probably said this before, but at this point I'm convinced we really should be treating the English dub (or at least the 4Kids English dub) as existing in its own continuity, separate from the one presented in the Japanese original. There are just too many contradictions otherwise.
Yuuji's Kairyu keeps its Japanese voice.
Dialogue Edit
After Tracey reveals the name of the island on which this episode takes place (information the dub was supposed to give us three episodes ago, by the way!), we get the narrator's opening lines:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ナレーション 「４つのバッジを集めたサトシは最後の決戦ウィナーズカップに挑
戦するため今 カンキツ島を目指していた」 |
Narrator: "Now that he's
collected four badges Satoshi is headed toward Kankitsu Island to
compete in his
final challenge, the Winners Cup." |
Narrator: "After earning four
Orange League badges Ash and his friends are headed for the Orange
League where he's confident he'll capture the Winner's Trophy." |
| サトシ 「いよいよだなピカチュウ」 |
Satoshi: "We've finally made
it, Pikachu." |
Ash: "Nothing's gonna stop us
now!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカピカ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pika Pika!" | Pikachu: "Pika Pika!" |
Does 4Kids think the "Orange League" is this one stadium here on Pummelo Island, and not the name of the collection of competitions that all culminate in the stadium match we're about to see in this episode? Because otherwise the English dub narrator's "headed for the Orange League" here makes absolutely no sense.
After the title screen:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「オレンジリーグ ウィナーズカップの申し込みに来ました」 |
Satoshi: "I'd like to sign up
for the Orange League Winners Cup." |
Ash: "Hi, I'm here to battle
for the Orange League Trophy." |
| おじさん 「ほい きた。バッジ４個 確認っと！」 |
Old Man: "Alright then. Let me
just check the four badges you have there." |
Receptionist: "Another one,
eh? Let me just verify all four of these badges." |
The English dub receptionist's "another one, eh?" implies there are multiple Trainers registered to compete for the trophy on this day, but as you can see in transcript of the original dialogue above (plus from what we see in the actual episode itself) this is simply not true.
Paint Edit (???)
The white "text" under Satoshi's profile on the computer gets removed from the English dub (though in all likelihood 4Kids probably just did a freeze frame right before the "text" appears on-screen to avoid having to pay to have this airbrushed out).
 |
 |
Oddly enough 1) the computer beep that accompanies the "text" appearing on screen is left in, and 2) the "text" is kept intact in the very next shot.
Dialogue Edit
Our heroes are led to "The Palace of Victory":
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| おじさん 「…で ここがウィナーズパレス」 |
Old Man: "And this is the
Winners Palace." |
Receptionist: "And this...this
is the Palace of Victory." |
| サトシ 「ウィナーズパレス！」 |
Satoshi: "The Winners Palace!" |
Ash: "The Palace of Victory?" |
| おじさん 「ウィナーズパレス別名 勝利の殿堂」 |
Old Man: "Yup, the Winners
Palace. Also known as the Hall of Victory." |
Receptionist: "Well, that's
the official name. But most folks know it now as the Orange League Hall
of Fame." |
The Japanese version doesn't rank the different names this facility goes by -- both seem to be equally valid -- while the English dub declares one name to be more "official" than the other.
The receptionist explains what comes next:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| おじさん 「この写真と手形はオレンジリーグ開設以来ウィナーズカップに勝利し
た名誉トレーナーとポケモンたちなんだ」 |
Old Man: "The photos and
hand prints you see here belong to the Honorary Trainers and
Pokémon who have won the Winners Cup ever since the Orange
League was established." |
Receptionist: "All these
photos and displays and trophies are here to honor every Trainer who's
been victorious in the Orange League since the establishment of the
Winner's Trophy." |
| サトシ 「あっ…」 |
Satoshi: "Ah..." |
Ash: "Ah..." |
| おじさん 「殿堂入りするには４か所のジムを制し最後にヘッドリーダーとのフル
バトルに勝利しなくちゃならない」 |
Old Man: "To get into the Hall
of Fame you have to conquer the four gyms and then win a Full Battle
against the Head Leader." |
Receptionist: "To get into the
Hall, a Trainer has to defeat the four members of the Orange Crew and
the Pummelo Gym Leader in a full Pokémon battle." |
Two things here. One, there are zero trophies on display in this room here so I don't know why the dub is trying to gaslight us into thinking there are. And two, the English dub receptionist implies that there's a such thing as the "Pummelo Gym" and that Drake is just another "Gym Leader" when the Japanese version doesn't say any of that at all.
Ash thinks about his first Full Battle:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「長い戦いだぞ。どのタイプでいくかも悩むところだし」 |
Kenji: "You're in for a long
fight. And you've gotta worry
about things like which Types to go
with for your team." |
Tracey: "This isn't gonna be
easy. You'll have to think hard about the Pokémon you're gonna
use." |
| カスミ 「サトシが ６VS６のバトルするなんて初めてじゃない？ちゃんと
みんなを使いこなせるのかな～？」 |
Kasumi: "This is your very
first six-on-six battle, isn't it Satoshi? I wonder if you'll be able
to use everyone to their full potential?" |
Misty: "And a six-on-six
Pokémon match could last a pretty long time. But, you'd be in
the Hall of Fame forever if you win it." |
| サトシ 「ああ！ 今まで大事に育ててきたんだ。絶対に勝つさ！」 |
Satoshi: "Sure I will! 'Cause
I've
been working really hard to raise my Pokémon. I'll definitely
win!" |
Ash: "Just think: me, honored
in the Hall of Fame forever! Maybe even longer." |
If you ever thought it's odd for Misty to be making the face you see above when talking about how Ash would "be in the Hall of Fame forever" then you have good instincts because her dialogue here is a complete rewrite. Originally Kasumi's teasing her friend here, not filling his heads with dreams of being in the Hall of Fame.
Ash is told what he'll get for winning:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| おじさん 「でもってウィナーズカップに勝利すればトロフィー授与とこの殿堂入
りが認められるんだ」 |
Old Man: "And if you win in
the Winners Cup you'll be awarded with a trophy and be inducted into
the Hall of Fame." |
Receptionist: "...and if
you're able to win in the four Orange gyms and in the Orange League, you all
deserve to be in the Hall of Fame." |
Again, the "Orange League" is not the name of the single Full Battle our hero's about to participate in, despite the English dub insisting otherwise.
They learn about Drake's "ace in the hole":
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「じゃあ、あの影もきっとカイリューだったんだな」 |
Kenji: "So that thing we saw
earlier must've been a Kairyu." |
Tracey: "Hey, I wonder if that
huge flying thing we saw..." |
| おじさん 「ちなみにヘッドリーダーもカイリュー使いなんだ」 |
Old Man: "By the way, the Head
Leader's a Kairyu user." |
Receptionist: "Oh, that must
have been the Gym Leader's Dragonite getting some exercise." |
| サトシ 「“カイリュー使い”？」 |
Satoshi: "A 'Kairyu user'...?" |
Ash: "He has a Dragonite!?" |
| カスミ 「すご～い！」 |
Kasumi: "Wow!" |
Misty: "No way!" |
| おじさん 「今のヘッドリーダーになってからウィナーズカップを勝ち抜いたト レーナーはまだ 出てないんだよね」 | Old Man: "And ever since the
current Head Leader took over no Trainer has been able to earn
themselves the
Winners Cup." |
Receptionist: "Yes,
Dragonite's the reason nobody's ever beaten Drake. Well, good luck Ash.
Good luck." |
The 4Kids dub goes ahead and tells us the Kairyu we see at the beginning of the episode is definitely, without a doubt, the "Gym Leader's" Pokémon when the Japanese version won't actually reveal that until the next episode.
The original version also makes it clear that all the Trainers being celebrated in the room they're in right now won against a previous Head Leader, and that nobody's been added to the Hall of Fame ever since Yuuji took the position. But, you don't really get that from 4Kids' dialogue. I mean, you can kind of sort of headcanon that explanation into existence, I suppose, but the English dub dialogue could have made this fairly important plot point a lot more clear.
The Rocket trio approach Drake:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ユウジ 「バトルの申し込みなら 手続きを」 |
Yuuji: "If you want a battle
there's an application process you have to go through first." |
Drake: "If you've come to
battle me you'll have to apply..." |
| ムサシ 「我らの望むはチャレンジにあらず！」 |
Musashi: "A challenge isn't
what we're after." |
Jessie: (laughs) "We wouldn't
dream of battling the champion." |
| コジロウ 「望むはただ１つ！そこの カイリューなり！」 |
Kojirou: "We're only here for
one thing. That Kairyu!" |
James: "Who cares about a
trophy? We want your Dragonite!" |
| ユウジ 「カイリュー… だと？」 |
Yuuji: "My...Kairyu?" |
Drake: "You can't be...
serious." |
| ムサシ 「カイリュー ゲットで」 |
Musashi: "If we get that
Kairyu..." |
Jessie: "Deadly serious." |
| コジロウ 「楽しい出世」 |
Kojirou: "Then we can also get
ourselves..." |
James: "Seriously deadly." |
| ニャース 「頂きニャース！」 |
Nyarth: "A nice promotion
Nyarth!" |
Meowth: "Either way." |
The Rocket trio piggybacking off each other to talk about their desire for a promotion gets rewritten to a "deadly serious/seriously deadly" bit, which is especially odd this time since this dub usually tries to avoid using the d-word whenever possible.
Also, Jessie refers to Drake as a "champion" here. At first I thought this was just a poor choice of words on 4Kids' part (they sometimes also refer to characters as "Pokémon masters" when they shouldn't and so there is a precedent for this kind of thing) but then in the English version of the very next episode the show will repeatedly refer to him using that term and so it's obvious this isn't just a one time goof. And so I guess in the English dub Drake is both a Gym Leader and a Champion, maybe? In the original version Yuuji is neither of those things; he has his own unique title, "Head Leader," that seems to be completely different from both "Gym Leader" and "Champion."
Drake wastes no time in sending the trio packing:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ロケット団 「いきなりイヤな感じ～！」 |
Rocket-Dan: "Today's 'this
feels bad~' feels really sudden~" |
Team Rocket: "We're blasting
off again!" |
The Japanese Rocket trio comment is about how quickly the three of them are blasting off this time while the English Rocket trio just says the regular version of their catchphrase.
Ash tries to wake up his Snorlax:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「みんな！カビゴンを起こすんだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Alright everybody!
Let's wake
Kabigon up!" |
Ash: "I choose everybody!" |
The dub doesn't make it immediately clear why we're about to be shown a montage of Pokémon violently attacking one of their own, which is an interesting choice to say the least!
After seeing how nothing's working:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「…ったく こんなとこでポケモンみんな出す人いないわよ、普通」 |
Kasumi: "But seriously, who
else would let out all their Pokémon in a place like this." |
Misty: "Maybe you should have
tried to wake up Snorlax before
we got to the Pokémon Center." |
| サトシ 「みんなの調子を見たかったんだよ。ポケモン６体
必要なんだぜ、次のバトルは」 |
Satoshi: "I wanted to check on
my Pokémon. I need six of 'em for my next battle, after all." |
Ash: "Thanks for your advice
but when I need it I'll ask for it. Besides, I want to make sure all my
Pokémon are OK." |
While these are quite similar, Ash is just a little bit more rude in the English dub here than he is in the Japanese version.
Ash wonders who to use in his match:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「だからさ、カビゴンと誰か交換したいんだよ」 |
Satoshi: "And that's why I
want to switch out my Kabigon with someone else." |
Ash: "I know. I'm not sure
which Pokémon I want to switch for Snorlax." |
| ケンジ 「相手はどんなタイプでくるか分からないんです。こっちもバリエーショ
ンをそろえておかないと…」 |
Kenji: "You don't know what
Pokémon type your opponent's gonna use so you need to make sure
you have a good variety on your end as well." |
Tracey: "Yeah, and how do we
figure out what Pokémon to pick when we don't even know which
ones the Gym Leader's gonna use?" |
| オーキド博士 「うーん
もっともじゃな。セキエイ大会１回戦で大活躍！デカいはさみのスゴいやつキングラー。マダツボミの必殺かかと落としを撃破、いつも元気なベトベトン！走り
出したら モ～ 止まらない。地面を揺るがす大激走、ケンタロス！さてどれにするかな？」 |
Dr. Ookido: "That's true. How
about the incredible giant clawed Kingler, who played a huge role in
your first round at the Sekiei Tournament! Or the always energetic
Betbeton, who was able to beat Madatsubomi and its heel drop finishing
move. And then there's Kentauros, a Pokémon with a
ground-shaking sprint who can't be stopped once it starts moo-ving. So,
which one will it be?" |
Professor Oak: "Yes, what
should you do? Well, you could pick Kingler. Its huge claw won a
crushing victory for you at the Pokémon League. Then there's
Muk, the amazing bulk that wilted Bellsprout, if I recall correctly. Or
you might choose Tauros, the snortin', stompin', stampedin' wild
bull-type. So, which one is it going to be?" |
These two are actually very similar, but changes like Tracey referring to Drake as a "Gym Leader" again and the loss of Dr. Ookido's (easily translatable) cow pun are enough to get these lines a spot in the comparison.
Ash goes with Tauros:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「ほんとにケンタロスでいくの？」 |
Kasumi: "Are you really going
with Kentauros?" |
Misty: "But you've never used
Tauros in a match." |
| サトシ 「ほら、セキエイ大会でオレ、クラブを初めて使って勝てただろ？その勢
いでベスト16まで突っ走ったんだぜ」 |
Satoshi: "Remember how I used
Crab for the first time at the Sekiei Tournament, and then won? Well, I
used the momentum from that match to carry us all the way to the Top
16." |
Ash: "Yeah, I know, but when I
used Krabby for the first time at the Pokémon League, I won. I
know Tauros will try really hard and maybe I can win again." |
| ケンジ 「験を担いだってわけだ」 |
Kenji: "So you're saying your
first timers are kind of like your good luck charms." |
Tracey: "The beginner's luck
factor might work." |
| サトシ 「ヘヘッそういうこと」 | Satoshi: "Heh, something like
that." |
Ash: "Yeah, that's what I'm
hopin' for." |
Satoshi believes his Crab's unexpected victory is what helped propel him as far as the Top 16 in the Sekiei Tournament, and hopes to have a repeat of that during his upcoming battle. Ash, on the other hand...just thinks Tauros will "try really hard."
The Rocket trio's defeated:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「うう… カイリューめ…」 |
Kojirou: "Ugh...that Kairyu..." |
James: "That was embarrassing." |
| ムサシ 「真正面から突っ込んだのはなんか違ったかね…」 |
Musashi: "I guess attacking it
head on wasn't the right approach..." |
Jessie: "There's got to be some way to capture that
Dragonite." |
Musashi realizes the coming-in-through-the-front-door approach they tried earlier was all wrong, something Jessie apparently doesn't.
Paint Edit
The green sign the Rocket trio sees as it passes by gets its "text" removed.
 |
 |
This time, the "text" sorta-kinda looks like it's saying Suki: Umiki (スキ：ウミキ) in katakana. But even if it did -- and it doesn't -- it shouldn't matter either way since "Suki: Umiki" is gibberish anyway.
Dialogue Edit
After the announcement:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ニャース 「ニャ！ いいこと考えたニャー！」 |
Nyarth: "Nya! I just got an
idea Nya!" |
Meowth: "Ha! I just got a
great idea." |
| ムサシ 「な～に？」 |
Musashi: "What is it?" |
Jessie: "Let's hear." |
| ニャース 「真っ向勝負は悪役にあらずニャ。もっと楽～にカイリューをゲットで
きるニャ」 |
Nyarth: "Attacking head on
isn't what real bad guys do anyway Nya. There's a muuuch easier way to
get
that Kairyu Nya." |
Meowth: "That Dragonite's too
tough for us to capture, but
not if we let that challenger
soften it up." |
| コジロウ 「ほほう」 |
Kojirou: "Oh really." |
James: "Tell us more." |
| ムサシ 「…して その秘策とは？」 | Musashi: "...So what're you
thinking?" |
Jessie: "How are we going to
do it?" |
It's kind of interesting to see which parts of the show 4Kids decides to over-explain and which ones it doesn't. They make things like the fact that all the previous trophy winners defeated whoever came before Yuuji unnecessarily vague, for example, but then when it comes to something like the Rocket trio's plot here the English dub explains it a lot more plainly than it's explained in the original. If the English dub had made everything more clear, or everything more vague, then I could maybe understand what they were going for, but it's this weird mix of the two (and the apparent lack of logic behind it) here that's throwing me off.
The next day, at 10:00 AM:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| アナウンサー 「ここカンキツスタジアムは新たなる挑戦者を迎え、熱狂と興奮の
るつぼと化しております。長らく殿堂入りの強者現れずオレンジリーグ最強を誇るサザンクロス・ヘッドリーダー
ユウジ。屈強なる彼のポケモンを撃破し久々に殿堂入りを果たすかチャレンジャー
サトシ選手。満場のスタンドは試合開始を今や遅しと待ち構えております！」 |
Announcer: "A new challenger
has arrived here at Kankitsu Stadium, making it a cauldron of
enthusiasm and excitement. It's been a while since a challenger strong
enough has emerged to enter the Hall of Fame, and Yuuji, the Head
Leader of the Southern Cross, boasts the title of being strongest in
the Orange League. Will challenger Satoshi be able to defeat his
powerful Pokémon and become the first hall of famer in a long
while? The stadium's packed with spectators eagerly awaiting the start
of the match!" |
Announcer: "Welcome,
Pokémon fans. Pummelo Stadium is pulsing with excitement as we
get set for the first Orange League competition of the season. Entering
the arena is Drake, leader of the Orange Crew and the undefeated
Pummelo Island Gym Leader! Opposing him from Pallet Town is Ash
Ketchum, who hopes today to break Drake's winning streak and earn for
himself the coveted Winner's Trophy and a permanent place in the Orange
League Hall of Fame." |
The English dub makes up so much nonsense here -- the idea that this is the "first" Orange League competition, that there's a "season" for this kind of thing (instead of being a one-off thing announced by a truck that drives around the city), that Drake is a "Gym Leader" -- so the comparison between these two is something else. But I think my favorite part of all this is how the English dub announcer basically starts the match off with the Pokémon world equivalent of the phrase "Welcome, animal fans!" which is both hilariously generic and also a really grim thing to say right before we're about to watch six Pokémon violently attack each other for their humans' enjoyment.
Ash meets Drake:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「この人がカイリュー使い？」 |
Satoshi: "This person's a
Kairyu user?" |
Ash: "I sure have heard a lot
about you." |
Satoshi's talking to himself in the original, but this gets changed to him talking directly to Drake for the English dub.
The two shake hands:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ユウジ 「オレンジリーグウィナーズカップへ ようこそ、サトシくん。」 |
Yuuji: "Welcome to the Orange
League Winners Cup, Satoshi-kun." |
Drake: "Welcome to Pummelo
Gym, Ash, and the Orange League Winner's Trophy Match." |
| サトシ 「よろしくお願いします」 |
Satoshi: "Thank you for having
me." |
Ash: "I'm real happy to be
here, Drake." |
| ユウジ 「トレーナーの知恵とポケモンの力見せてもらうよ」 |
Yuuji: "I hope you'll show me
your wisdom as a Trainer and the power of your Pokémon." |
Drake: "You must be an
excellent Trainer to have made it here, Ash. Are you ready to battle?" |
| サトシ 「はい！」 |
Satoshi: "Sure thing." |
Ash: "Yeah." |
All of this is pretty different, but the biggest change here is Drake referring to this giant stadium as the "Pummelo Gym," something he does not do in the Japanese version at all.
Eyecatch
The template the English dub created for its eyecatches doesn't allow for any animation to take place -- it's either a single still image or nothing at all -- and so neat little ideas like this one from the Japanese version get sent to the cutting room floor.
 |
 |
 |
 |
Originally we see the Pikachu silhouette during the first part of the eyecatch. When the show comes back from commercials we get an animation of that silhouette morphing into Metamon before the "lights" are turned on and the answer is revealed to be Yuuji's shapeshifter.
4Kids couldn't replicate any of that -- they'd have to spend a ridiculous amount of time cutting out the animation frame by frame, placing it over that gaudy background, adding drop shadows, etc. -- and so they just slapped some key art of a different Drake Pokémon on the screen and called it a day.
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio figure out who the challenger is:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「チャレンジャーって…」 |
Kojirou: "So you mean the
challenger is..." |
James: "I can't believe this." |
| ムサシ 「ジャリンコだったのか…」 |
Musashi: "The twerp?" |
Jessie: "The challenger is the
twerp." |
| ニャース 「せいじぇい頑張ってもらうニャ」 |
Nyarth: "Make sure you give it
your all for us Nya." |
Meowth: "This makes things
more interesting." |
Nyarth's comment here is a reference to the plan they've cooked up (which, if you remember, hasn't been fully revealed in the Japanese version yet) while Meowth's comment is decidedly more generic.
Drake chooses Ditto as his first Pokémon:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ユウジ 「私の１番手は こいつだ！」 |
Yuuji: "My first
Pokémon is...this one!" |
Drake: "I hope this one leaves
a good... impression!" |
In "Hello, Pummelo!," the writers do this thing where Drake delivers a pun every time he calls on one of his Pokémon. As you can see from the transcript above he does not do this in the original.
How will Ash fare against Ditto?
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「いきなりタイプも相性も関係ないわ」 |
Kasumi: "All that worrying
about type matchups' just gone out the window." |
Misty: "Ditto'll just imitate
whatever Pokémon Ash uses." |
| ケンジ 「難しい… 難しいぞ こりゃ」 |
Kenji: "This is gonna be
tough...really tough." |
Tracey: "Ditto's tricky. This
isn't going to be an easy one." |
Kasumi brings up type matchup concerns while Misty's more worried about the imitation abilities of Drake's Pokémon.
Next, we get this exchange during the Pikachu vs. Ditto battle:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「いくぜピカチュウ！かみなりだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Let's go Pikachu!
Use Thunder!" |
Ash: "Let's go, Pikachu! Use
your Thunder!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカーチュウ～！」 |
Pikachu: "Pika~chuu~!" |
Pikachu: "Pika~chuu~!" |
| アナウンサー 「ピカチュウ強力なかみなりだ！なみなみならぬパワー！よく育て
ています サトシ選手！でんき系にでんき技やはり効果は今ひとつのようだ！」 |
Announcer: "It's Pikachu's
powerful Thunder attack! What extraordinary power! Challenger Satoshi
has really trained it well! But as you can see, an Electric attack
against an Electric-Type is not very effective..." |
Announcer: "And it's a
high-flying, high-voltage Thunder attack from Pikachu, but Ditto's
taking every jolt and every volt! Despite the super shock, Ditto's
still standing strong." |
| ユウジ 「こっちもかみなりだ！」 |
Yuuji: "So then we'll use
Thunder as
well!" |
Drake: "Ditto, Thunder attack
back!" |
| メタモン 「モンモン！ピカチュウ～！」 |
Metamon: "Mon mon! Pikachu~!" |
Ditto: "Pikapi! Pi~ka~ka~!" |
| アナウンサー 「メタモンも かみなりを発射！全く同じだ！効果は今ひとつ！」 |
Announcer: "Metamon's also
fired off a Thunder attack! But the same thing's happening! It's not
very effective!" |
Announcer: "Now Ditto's
Thunder-ing Pikachu, but Pikachu proves it can take the heat." |
In the Japanese version the announcer will use game terms like "super effective" or "not very effective" throughout the match, but since 4Kids' writers don't play the video games themselves (more on that in the next comparison!) they probably didn't catch any of this.
It's also worth noting that the dub gives Ditto-Pikachu a replacement voice. In the original version it's clearly just Ikue Otani doing a slight variation of her regular Pikachu voice, but in the English dub it sounds like Rachel Lillis doing her best Otani impersonation, but then also it seems like her voice has been put through a filter to make it sound like she's on helium or something.
Ash commands Pikachu's second attack:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「ピカチュウ！10まんボルトだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Pikachu! Use
Thunderbolt!" |
Ash: "Pikachu! Thundershock
attack!" |
| ユウジ 「メタモン！10まんボルトだ！」 |
Yuuji: "Metamon! Use
Thunderbolt!" |
Drake: "Ditto, use your
Thundershock attack now!" |
"Thundershock" in Japanese is Denki Shokku (でんきショック), but the attack the two Trainers are calling out in the Japanese version of this particular scene is Juu-man Boruto (10まんボルト), or "Thunderbolt."
Drake calls on his next Pokémon:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ユウジ 「ご苦労だった。なかなか やるな。では 次は どう戦う？」 |
Yuuji: "Great job. Not bad,
Satoshi. But how will you fight this next one?" |
Drake: "You did a great job,
and so did you, Ash. But this next one's gonna rock you!" |
I have to wonder, who is Drake making up all these puns for? Is he doing it for Ash? Or maybe the audience? For his Pokémon? For himself? Has Drake become so bored by being an undefeated Trainer, so filled with soul crushing ennui, that the only way he has to amuse himself is by reciting these awful Dad jokes?
Squirtle vs. Onix:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「ゼニガメ みずでっぽうだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Zenigame! Use Water
Gun!" |
Ash: "Squirtle, use your Water
Gun attack!" |
| ユウジ 「イワーク 穴を掘れ！」 |
Yuuji: "Iwark! Dig into the
ground!" |
Drake: "Onix, you know what to
do!" |
| イワーク 「うおお！」 |
Iwark: "Uoo!" |
Onix: "Uoo!" |
| ゼニガメ 「ゼニゼニ？プ～！ゼニッ！」 |
Zenigame: "Zeni Zeni? Pu~!
Zenii!" |
Squirtle: "Squirtle! (gargles)
Squirtle Squirt." |
| サトシ 「速い！」 |
Satoshi: "That was fast!" |
Ash: "Where'd it go?" |
| アナウンサー 「イワークなんというスピード！みずでっぽうをはるかに
しのぐ速度でフィールドに逃げ込みました！」 |
Announcer: "What incredible
speed that Iwark has! It dove into the battlefield at a speed far
faster than its opponent's Water Gun." |
Announcer: "In a lightning
show of speed Onix has slithered away from Squirtle's Water Gun and
burrowed beneath the battlefield!" |
| ケンジ 「そうか！育てるときに速さを重点的に上げたんだ！」 |
Kenji: "I've got it! That
Iwark must have been trained with a focus on increasing its speed!" |
Tracey: "Watch out! That Onix
is gonna try to attack Squirtle from underground!" |
| カスミ 「そんなのあり？」 |
Kasumi: "No way!" |
Misty: "What do they do now?" |
| アナウンサー 「“穴を掘る”の技は地下からの攻撃を仕掛けるものです。どうす
る？ ゼニガメ！」 |
Announcer: "The 'Dig'
technique allows its user to attack from underground. How will Zenigame
respond?" |
Announcer: "And now Onix has
the advantage as Squirtle nervously awaits its reappearance." |
The Japanese version actually calls out the name of the Rock-Type's attack ("Dig") and comments on how Yuuji's Iwark has been trained to be especially speedy, two details the English dub leaves out.
Onix counterattacks:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「ゼニガメ、水に飛び込むんだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Zenigame, dive into
the water!" |
Ash: "Squirtle, get to that
pool before Onix attacks!" |
| ユウジ 「イワーク、締めつけろ！」 |
Yuuji: "Iwark, Bind it!" |
Drake: "Onix, find Squirtle
now!" |
| ゼニガメ 「ゼッ…ガ… アアアア！」 |
Zenigame: "Zeh...ga... aaaa!" |
Squirtle: "Squirtle, Squirt,
Squirtle!" |
| サトシ 「ゼニガメ！」 |
Satoshi: "Zenigame!" |
Ash: "Water Gun, now!" |
"Dogasu must love battle centric episodes," people probably think, "because there isn't as much dialogue for the dub to rewrite compared to a regular episode." And while there certainly is some truth to that, you also still get exchanges like this one, where a character who says a specific attack in the Japanese version gets that command changed to generic dialogue for the dub, or where a Pokémon's name in the original is replaced by an attack command for the dub. And so I don't get to rest either way!
Squirtle defeats Onix:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| アナウンサー 「ゼニガメ、ハイドロポンプです！効果は抜群だ！イワーク
苦しんでいる」 |
Announcer: "It's Zenigame's
Hydro Pump! It's super effective! Iwark is really feeling this one!" |
Announcer: "Squirtle's
battling back by blasting a shocked and surprised Onix with its Hydro
Pump." |
Once again, the game phrase "super effective" is nowhere to be found in the dub.
Drake reveals his next Pokémon:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ユウジ 「相性に関しては 正攻法だな。では このタイプでは どう戦う？」 |
Yuuji: "That was a pretty
textbook victory based on type matchups. But how will you fight
with this next Type?" |
Drake: "Well, Ash, so far
you've beaten two of my Pokémon. But this time you don't stand a
ghost of a
chance.." |
I feel like 4Kids really likes using this "ghost of a chance" line because I swear they use it at least once a season, if not more.
Anyway, Drake won't make any more corny jokes like this when introducing the remaining three Pokémon on his team, and so this is it I guess! The easy headcanon here would be to say Drake was just playing around at first, cracking these dumb little jokes and whatnot, but then as the battle goes on he starts to take things more seriously. I mean, this has nothing to do with the way Yuuji's character is presented in the original version at all, but for Drake -- someone who lives in the English dub continuity -- it kind of works I guess?
Drake chooses Gengar as his third Pokémon:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| アナウンサー 「ユウジ手強いポケモンを次々と繰り出してきます！」 |
Announcer: "Yuuji keeps
calling on one powerful Pokémon after another!" |
Announcer: "Drake has chosen
the Ghost Pokémon Gengar!" |
| カスミ 「ゴーストタイプね」 |
Kasumi: "A Ghost-Type, huh?" |
Misty: "Gengar's gonna be tough." |
| ケンジ 「物理攻撃は効かないぞ サトシ！」 |
Kenji: "Satoshi! Physical
attacks won't have any effect on Gangar!" |
Tracey: "Squirtle's worn, Ash! You better rest it!" |
| サトシ 「戻れ ゼニガメ！」 |
Satoshi: "Zenigame, return!" |
Ash: "Squirtle, return!" |
The dub gives Kasumi's line about Gangar being a Ghost-Type to the announcer, for some reason, and so Misty's given a generic "Gengar's gonna be tough" line instead. The reason given for having the challenger recall his Pokémon is also different between versions.
Who will Ash choose:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「サトシ！ゴーストタイプに有効なのはエスパータイプと
じめんタイプだ！」 |
Kenji: "Satoshi! Psychic-Types
and Ground-Types are what're effective against Ghost-Types!" |
Tracey: "Watch out! There
aren't any Pokémon that are really strong against Ghost-Types
like Gengar!" |
| サトシ 「じめん？
そうだ。ケンタロスならじめんタイプの技が使える！ケンタロス キミに決めた！」 |
Satoshi: "Ground? Oh yeah. If
I go with Kentauros I can use its Ground-Type attacks.
Kentauros, I choose you!" |
Ash: "That's right! Oh
well...now's as good a time as any for a little beginner's luck. I
choose you, Tauros!" |
| ケンタロス 「ブモ～！」 |
Kentauros: "Bumo~!" |
Tauros: "Bumo~!" |
| ユウジ 「なるほどそうきたか」 |
Yuuji: "Ah, so that's his
plan." |
Drake: "I knew he'd slip up
eventually." |
The reason Gangar's also weak against Ground-Type attacks is because it's also part Poison-Type, but the Japanese version never actually states this (it only focuses on the fact that it's a Ghost-Type) and so Kenji's assertion that Gangar would be weak to Ground-Types can be a bit confusing.
So I think what probably happened here is that the 4Kids writers got hung up about why Gengar would be weak to Ground-Type moves, declared this dialogue doesn't make any sense, and so they just rewrote the whole thing. The new dialogue, unfortunately, makes it seem like Ghost-Types are basically invincible when that is very much not the case, even back in the Generation One days.
Tauros is confused:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| アナウンサー 「ケンタロス 混乱！訳も分からず自分を攻撃している！」 |
Announcer: "Kentauros is
confused! It's hurting itself in its confusion!" |
Announcer: "That Confusion Ray
is working, and Tauros is running wild." |
The Japanese version once again uses a phrase taken straight from the video games, and once again the English dub completely rewrites it.
Finally,
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ナレーション 「ラプラスとゲンガーの会心の一撃が激突。バトルフィールドを覆
う大爆発が収まったとき残っているのはラプラスか？ ゲンガーか？」 |
Narrator: "Laplace and
Gangar's critical hits have collided. When the explosion covering the
battlefield subsides, who will be left standing? Laplace? Or Gangar? |
Narrator: "The
Pokémon's powerful, dramatic attacks have collided head on, with
explosive results. When the smoke clears, which one will be left
standing, Gengar or Lapras? Find out in our next exciting episode." |
This is so, sooo close, but then the English dub had to go and add that fourth wall breaking "Find out in our next exciting episode" at the end there and so now I have to include it in this comparison.
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