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| Episode Comparisons | Orange Islands
Episode
Stats:
Japanese Episode 115: "I'm Back, Masara Town!"
American Episode 310: "A Tent Situation"
Pokémon Dare Da? Hanako's Barrierd (Japanese), Omastar (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Kamonegi
Japanese Air Date: September 30th, 1999
American Air Date: October 7th, 2000
Thoughts
I really, really like these "return to Masara Town" type episodes. They give us a chance to look back on the adventures we've seen so far and get us ready for the next journey, all while allowing us to see great characters -- Satoshi's mom, mainly -- we really don't get to see all that often. Something I really like about this one, in particular, is how the return to Masara Town also doubles up as the climax of one of Satoshi's traveling companions' storylines. Visiting Masara Town and meeting Dr. Ookido is a fun little detour for the the likes of Kasumi, Takeshi, Haruka, Hikari, etc., and walking around his lab is a neat thing they get to do. But none of that compares to what it's like for Kenji to actually visit THE Ookido laboratory. Having our heroes' annual-ish visit to Dr. Ookido's laboratory also serve as the ending to one of the show's regular cast members is something that's never been done before (and -- spoiler alert -- won't ever be done again) and I really love seeing the show use its limited screentime in such a smart way.
This is also the episode where Takeshi makes his long awaited return to the show. Apparently there's some kind of "mystery" among fans about what exactly happened to make Takeshi want to leave Dr. Uchikido's laboratory in the first place, which I find kind of odd because I think the show makes it pretty clear that he left because this adult woman he was working with didn't return his advances. It really doesn't seem to be any deeper than that, right? But apparently this is still being touted as one of the "big mysteries of the Pokémon anime," and I have to admit that I just don't get it.
"I'm Back, Masara Town" is also one of the episodes people use to question the canon status of the movies, with people saying that Pocket Monsters The Movie "Revelation Lugia" simply cannot be canon with the TV series because 1) Kenji acts like he's never met Dr. Ookido before when they actually saw each other in the second movie, and 2) because Satoshi didn't hand over the GS Ball to Dr. Ookido when he had the chance. There are just too many contradictions, people say! But...I mean, even if you completely ignore the baby Lugia arc in late Johto, the one that explicitly states that our heroes' adventures in Earthia island took place within the canon of the TV series, the claim that the second movie can't have taken place alongside the TV series is still a pretty weak one.
Rewatch the end of the second movie again. The group's all together like what we see in the screenshot below for less than 90 seconds, and the overwhelming majority of that is taken up by Hanako berating Satoshi for recklessly risking his life. Dr. Ookido has exactly one line that he says to no one in particular ("Alright, let's hurry up and go over the data of this incident. We've gotta get back to Masara Town!") before immediately running off, giving Kenji absolutely zero time to say hello or introduce himself or even process any of what's going on. The two have no interaction whatsoever.
As for not handing over the GS Ball? That's another easy one: Satoshi simply didn't have it on him at the time. When Satoshi almost drowns a few scenes earlier, we see our heroes leave their backpacks behind before climbing up all those stairs to the place where they place the final treasure on the altar. Dr. Ookido shows up, sure, but their backpacks (and the GS Ball) are all still at the bottom of the stairs. So he actually couldn't hand it over to him. You have to also remember the kid just nearly died; he wasn't in any sort of head space to go "hey wait a minute, let me run downstairs real quick so I can finish this errand that, to be honest, neither one of us are really in any hurry to wrap up."
So no, nothing in this episode contradicts the second movie, or vice versa. Kenji saw Dr. Ookido, but he didn't really meet him, and the GS Ball not being handed over makes perfect sense given what else happens in the actual movie itself. It all still works.
The English dub of this episode does this thing it does every now and then where certain scenes will be handled fairly accurately, even good, but then other scenes will be just one complete rewrite after the other. It's so bizarre. It's like the show's writers did their usual pass on the script to "punch up" the show's dialogue, except this time they didn't have enough time or whatever to do the whole thing and so they only "improved" a few select scenes? And then left all the others alone? I'm not sure if this is what really happened, but after going through this episode line-by-line it sure does feel that way.
Dialogue Edit
Tracey gets excited about (actually) meeting Professor Oak:
The English dub has it so that sketching pictures is the thing Tracey's known for, going so far as to even make it the main pun in his localized name, and so when it comes time for him to show off literally any other skill (like, say, writing out reports) 4Kids appears to be resistant to the idea.
The report to sketchbook rewrite will happen constantly throughout the episode.
Ash approaches his home:
In The Memorial Book of Orange Islands, a Japanese guide book that covers the Orange Islands portion of the animated series, this episode's screenwriter Yukiyoshi Ohashi talks about how much trouble he had coming up with what he should have Takeshi's first words be after being away for so long.
It's kind of cool seeing how scriptwriters fret over small little exchanges like this, especially since I'm willing to bet the rest of us probably don't even think twice about the significance of this scene. It's actually kind of sweet!
Anyway, the dub throws that all away, while also adding in a reveal that Ash apparently didn't bother telling his mom he was coming back home...?
Everyone's shocked:
Tracey apparently doesn't recognize Brock, something we don't really get from the original.
Brock serves up some tea:
The 4Kids dub must be short circuiting or something because here we see it replacing Indian tea with Chinese tea, as opposed to going with something a bit more "American" like, I dunno, hot chocolate or coffee or something.
The dub also removes Takeshi's "you kids" line that shows us how aware the Pokémon Breeder is of the age gap between him and his former traveling companions.
The next part of the episode features flashbacks to the episode "Pokéball Peril," and since the dub reuses the audio from that episode then the rewrites they did back then carry over as well:
Side Note
One fairly major-ish change made to this episode has to do with what it is that actually makes Takeshi get all sad and sulky.
In the English dub canon, there's apparently only one thing that upsets Brock: hearing Professor Ivy's name. As we'll see in both this episode and the next, it doesn't necessarily have to be the two words together -- even just hearing the words "Professor" or "Ivy" by themselves is apparently enough to make Brock curl up in the fetal position -- but he has to hear at least some variation of her name to get upset.
But things are a bit more open ended in the Japanese version. Originally, it's not just Dr. Uchikido's name that triggers Takeshi, it's literally anything having to do with his time on Dai Dai Island that makes him sad. "Dr. Uchikido" is enough to set off a sulking fit, sure, and is also what ends up doing the job about 80% of the time. But phrases like "what in the world happened" or "those southern islands" are also able to make him go to a dark place. If you mention the Orange Islands to Takeshi, in general, he will get upset.
To illustrate this point, I've listed out all the times Takeshi starts sulking over on their own page here. Dr. Uchikido's name is the trigger word the overwhelming majority of the time, sure, but not all the time like it is in the English dub.
The Pokémon Breeder's verbal response to each of the triggers is a bit different, too. In the original Takeshi says a somewhat open-ended kikanai de kure (聞かないでくれ), or "please don't ask me that," but since the English dub changes it so that it's only the professor's name that causes the reaction, they also change Brock's response to the much more specific "Don't mention that name."
Takeshi will do something very, very similar to what he does in this episode about 20 years later in Pocket Monsters (2019) Episode 139 "Takeshi and Dent and the Witch of the Forest!" In that episode, Dent asks him "what's wrong" and Takeshi response kikanai de kure, just like he does in this Orange Islands episode from 1999. TPCi chooses to translate that line as the much-closer-to-the-Japanese-original "Please don't even ask."
At the end of the day it's not really that big a change, really, but it is still absolutely worth bringing up.
Side Note
Staying on the subject of blue Brock for a bit longer, the first time we see Brock start to sulk at the mention of Professor Ivy's name is actually pretty well done in the English dub, and it all has to do with 4Kids' decision not to add any background music to the scene. As I'm sure you're aware by now, 4Kids pretty much never has a scene go by in its dub without some sort of music droning on and on in the background, for the episode's entire 22-minute runtime. But for this initial scene here the English dub actually goes a full 33 seconds without any background music whatsoever!
Normally 4Kids would feel the need to put in music that sounds overly goofy (to "punch up" the comedy of the scene), or a song that's overly dramatic (to try to force us to feel bad for Brock), or a song that's overly energetic (because watching characters sitting around and just talking is "boring"), or some other piece of music they think enhances the action on-screen. And yet despite all odds, they resist that urge! They just let the scene play out with only the sound effects and characters' dialogue being all we can hear, and it's actually really nice.
Scenes like this play out all the time in the Japanese original but are so extremely rare in the 4Kids English dub that it is absolutely worth bringing up every time it happens.
Dialogue Edit
Delia says hello:
Delia's "nice to meet you," implying she's never talked to Tracey before, is a dub original.
Delia tells the gang how she came across Brock:
Brock's apparently been living with Ash's mom for about a week at this point, information completely made up by the 4Kids dub.
There's also a food related rewrite, with a mention of hiyamugi -- a noodle dish typically served during the hot summer months -- replaced with a comment about going shopping.
Delia find out who she's been stepping on:
That combination of "brown hat" and "tattered coat" isn't enough to fool Hanako, though it sure does seem to work on Delia! Originally Satoshi's mom's able to identify the Nibi City Gym Leader right away.
Delia talks about living with Brock:
As mentioned earlier, it's not only the name of the professor that agitates Takeshi, but it's anything to do with the Orange Islands in general.
Ash wonders what really happened:
Names are the only things that can act as trigger words in the world of English dub, apparently, and so Kasumi's insult to Satoshi got rewritten.
It's time to plan a feast:
Those absolutely wretched sounding "deep-dish chili-dog pizza-pot pies" make their return! Um, yay...?
The food rewrites continue:
The thing I love about all this is the very notion that someone at 4Kids thought "roast chicken" and "spaghetti" were too "foreign" sounding or whatever, and so they came up with nonsense like "deep-dish chili-dog pizza-pot pies" and "choco-palooza" instead. Because, y'know, localization!
Ash shows his mom his trophy:
Ash apparently just straight up gives his trophy to his mom, LOL? Is this him trying to make amends for that time he stole his mom's trophy back in early Kanto?
Originally Satoshi keeps his hard-earned trophy for himself.
Our heroes walk to Oak's lab:
Kenji fully says "Dr. Ookido's laboratory," yet Takeshi only hears the "laboratory" part and reacts poorly. Seems like he's pretty messed up about the whole thing!
The English dub, meanwhile, continues with the "Professor Ivy's name is the only thing that triggers Brock's mood swings" bit they've settled on.
Sound Effects Edit
The volume of the sound of Nyarth hitting his teammates with the giant fan is greatly reduced for the English dub. First, these two hits:
And then all these hits during the very next shot.
Based on how the rest of this season's been going I'm not too surprised to see this happen, though I still find it fascinating how they'll reduce the volume of the sound effects in some scenes (like in this episode) but then mute the sound effects completely in others.
Dialogue Edit
Tracey talks to Professor Oak:
Kenji’s kansatsu sasete moraimasu catchphrase shows up again for the first time in a while, and just like last time (and literally every other time before that) the dub removes it.
Oak looks at Tracey's reports sketches:
As we were just reminded, 4Kids absolutely hates Kenji's catchphrase, for some reason, but in this scene they still could have easily have had Tracey say something like "Now the Watcher's become the watched..." to keep the dialogue fairly same-ish. But, guess not!
Eyecatch
For this week's eyecatch we get to see Bari-chan with its broom, which it's apparently going to need after Omastar finishes leaving all its little poop bubbles behind.
Like...someone's job was to literally cut out each of those bubbles, one by one, so they could be included in the image used for this eyecatch. Never a dull moment at the 4Kids offices, I guess!
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio start its motto:
Musashi mocking the good guys gets removed from the English dub, which is of course nothing new, but it's especially a shame this time around because Professor Oak had that that awkward-as-hell pause in the middle of his sentence there just begging to be made fun of!
After the motto (which is just the regular version in the Japanese original), we get this exchange:
Brock asks if the Rocket trio will be putting on a sideshow, a old-fashioned (and also problematic) attraction, with Ash adding an implication that the villainous trio will be stars in a freak show, an equally old-fashioned (and also extremely problematic) type of show. It's a bit that has not aged particularly well.
Originally Takeshi talks about how nostalgic it feels to see the Rocket trio again.
Ash's Muk attacks Jessie:
If you heard this Team Rocket member insulting his teammate, completely unprompted, and went "y'know what, that sounds like the kind of line 4Kids would add to the show," then congratulations because that is exactly what happened.
Razor Leaf fails:
This is the episode where we learn that Kojirou's Utsubot can use Double-Edge...but only if you watch the episode in Japanese, apparently!
Victreebel uses its famous "Get Stuck on Muk" attack:
So the English dub adds the attack "PoisonPowder" to Victreebel's repertoire and "Poison Gas" to Ash's Muk's, despite neither attack being in the original script. It's actually kind of fascinating, because the 4Kids writers famously did not know anything about the Pokémon video games, and so in order for them to even come up with these lines in the first place they would have had to sit down with a Pokémon Red & Blue Player's Guide or something and look up which attacks they could add to this dialogue here. "Lessee, the Victreebel species can use Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Acid...ooh, how about PoisonPowder? That'd be good! Now, what attacks can Muk use..." It just seems like a lot of extra work, with no real payoff, when it would have been so much easier to just translate the dialogue as-is.
Team Rocket gives up Pokémon battling and just throws a bunch of rings instead:
Unlike Meowth, Nyarth actually gives their secret weapon a name, one that highlights the little bow we just saw appear on Pikachu's back in the previous shot:
Meowth confronts Brock again:
The Rocket trio cat's theory as to what the older twerp's been doing all this time is a bit different depending on which version of the show you're watching.
The final narration:
"Will Ash have the hometown advantage?" implies that Gary...isn't from Pallet Town? Huh?
This page was last updated on October 3rd, 2025
Japanese Episode 115: "I'm Back, Masara Town!"
American Episode 310: "A Tent Situation"
Pokémon Dare Da? Hanako's Barrierd (Japanese), Omastar (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Kamonegi
Japanese Air Date: September 30th, 1999
American Air Date: October 7th, 2000
Satoshi, Kasumi, and Kenji have finally arrived in Masara
Town. Kenji wants to hurry up and go to Dr. Ookido so he can have him
take a look at his reports but the group decides it’d be better to pay
a visit to Satoshi’s mom first. When they arrive, they’re shocked to
see their old traveling companion Takeshi appears to be living with
Satoshi’s mom…!? The young Trainers ask what he’s doing back in Masara
Town but the Pokémon Breeder makes it clear he doesn’t want to
talk about his time back on Dai Dai Island. Satoshi shows his mom the
Winners Cup trophy he won in the Orange Islands and then heads over to
Dr. Ookido’s laboratory to deliver the GS Ball. After giving the young
Trainers a quick tour of the campus Dr. Ookido sits down to start
reviewing Kenji’s reports. Suddenly the ground starts to rumble,
causing everyone to rush outside to find the area’s been enveloped in a
giant tent! The culprits are, predictably, the Rocket-Dan, who proceed
to use a giant vacuum to suck up all the Monster Balls in the
laboratory. All seems lost until Dr. Ookido’s grandson Shigeru arrives
on the scene!? The young Trainer and his Nidoqueen make quick work of
the Rocket trio, saving everyone in the lab. After the battle, Satoshi
and Shigeru both boast about how much stronger they’ve become and
decide to hold an impromptu Pokémon battle to test their
strength. Who will be victorious? To be continued!
Thoughts
I really, really like these "return to Masara Town" type episodes. They give us a chance to look back on the adventures we've seen so far and get us ready for the next journey, all while allowing us to see great characters -- Satoshi's mom, mainly -- we really don't get to see all that often. Something I really like about this one, in particular, is how the return to Masara Town also doubles up as the climax of one of Satoshi's traveling companions' storylines. Visiting Masara Town and meeting Dr. Ookido is a fun little detour for the the likes of Kasumi, Takeshi, Haruka, Hikari, etc., and walking around his lab is a neat thing they get to do. But none of that compares to what it's like for Kenji to actually visit THE Ookido laboratory. Having our heroes' annual-ish visit to Dr. Ookido's laboratory also serve as the ending to one of the show's regular cast members is something that's never been done before (and -- spoiler alert -- won't ever be done again) and I really love seeing the show use its limited screentime in such a smart way.
This is also the episode where Takeshi makes his long awaited return to the show. Apparently there's some kind of "mystery" among fans about what exactly happened to make Takeshi want to leave Dr. Uchikido's laboratory in the first place, which I find kind of odd because I think the show makes it pretty clear that he left because this adult woman he was working with didn't return his advances. It really doesn't seem to be any deeper than that, right? But apparently this is still being touted as one of the "big mysteries of the Pokémon anime," and I have to admit that I just don't get it.
"I'm Back, Masara Town" is also one of the episodes people use to question the canon status of the movies, with people saying that Pocket Monsters The Movie "Revelation Lugia" simply cannot be canon with the TV series because 1) Kenji acts like he's never met Dr. Ookido before when they actually saw each other in the second movie, and 2) because Satoshi didn't hand over the GS Ball to Dr. Ookido when he had the chance. There are just too many contradictions, people say! But...I mean, even if you completely ignore the baby Lugia arc in late Johto, the one that explicitly states that our heroes' adventures in Earthia island took place within the canon of the TV series, the claim that the second movie can't have taken place alongside the TV series is still a pretty weak one.
Rewatch the end of the second movie again. The group's all together like what we see in the screenshot below for less than 90 seconds, and the overwhelming majority of that is taken up by Hanako berating Satoshi for recklessly risking his life. Dr. Ookido has exactly one line that he says to no one in particular ("Alright, let's hurry up and go over the data of this incident. We've gotta get back to Masara Town!") before immediately running off, giving Kenji absolutely zero time to say hello or introduce himself or even process any of what's going on. The two have no interaction whatsoever.
As for not handing over the GS Ball? That's another easy one: Satoshi simply didn't have it on him at the time. When Satoshi almost drowns a few scenes earlier, we see our heroes leave their backpacks behind before climbing up all those stairs to the place where they place the final treasure on the altar. Dr. Ookido shows up, sure, but their backpacks (and the GS Ball) are all still at the bottom of the stairs. So he actually couldn't hand it over to him. You have to also remember the kid just nearly died; he wasn't in any sort of head space to go "hey wait a minute, let me run downstairs real quick so I can finish this errand that, to be honest, neither one of us are really in any hurry to wrap up."
So no, nothing in this episode contradicts the second movie, or vice versa. Kenji saw Dr. Ookido, but he didn't really meet him, and the GS Ball not being handed over makes perfect sense given what else happens in the actual movie itself. It all still works.
The English dub of this episode does this thing it does every now and then where certain scenes will be handled fairly accurately, even good, but then other scenes will be just one complete rewrite after the other. It's so bizarre. It's like the show's writers did their usual pass on the script to "punch up" the show's dialogue, except this time they didn't have enough time or whatever to do the whole thing and so they only "improved" a few select scenes? And then left all the others alone? I'm not sure if this is what really happened, but after going through this episode line-by-line it sure does feel that way.
Dialogue Edit
Tracey gets excited about (actually) meeting Professor Oak:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「ここにオーキド研究所があるんだ～。う～ん。いよいよオーキド博士に
会える！楽しみだなあ」 |
Kenji: "Ah, so this is where
Dr.
Ookido's laboratory is. Ooh! I can't wait to finally meet the Dr. Ookido!" |
Tracey: "Just being here is
like a dream come true for me! I can't wait to meet the famous
Professor Oak!" |
| サトシ 「博士も きっと待ってるよ あっ」 |
Satoshi: "I'm sure he's
looking forward to seeing you too. Ah!" |
Ash: "Maybe you can show him
your sketches...Ah!" |
| ケンジ 「読んでもらいたいレポート用意しなきゃ。どれにしよっかな。全部って わけにはいかないし」 | Kenji: "I have to pick out
which reports I want him to read. Should I go with this one? Or this
one? Oh, I couldn't
possibly ask
him to read all of them..." |
Tracey: "I wonder which ones
Professor Oak would like to see first. Maybe I better go through all my
sketchbooks and pick out the best ones." |
| サトシ 「あ～の～うちに着いてからにしたら？」 | Satoshi: "Um, how about we do
this back at the house?" |
Ash: "Tracey, why don't we do
this at my house?" |
| カスミ 「そうよ。サトシのママさんだって待ちくたびれてるわよ」 |
Kasumi: "Yeah, I'm sure
Satoshi's mom's dying to see her son again." |
Misty: "Yeah! We can have
lunch while you decide what to show Professor Oak." |
| ケンジ 「アハハそっか。ごめん ごめん」 | Kenji: "Ahaha, you're right.
Sorry 'bout that." |
Tracey: "OK, Misty. Good idea." |
The English dub has it so that sketching pictures is the thing Tracey's known for, going so far as to even make it the main pun in his localized name, and so when it comes time for him to show off literally any other skill (like, say, writing out reports) 4Kids appears to be resistant to the idea.
The report to sketchbook rewrite will happen constantly throughout the episode.
Ash approaches his home:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「やっとうちに着いたぞピカチュウ」 |
Satoshi: "We're finally home,
Pikachu." |
Ash: "I just can't wait to see
the look on my mom's face!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピッカ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pikka!" |
Pikachu: "Pikka!" |
| サトシ 「ハア～」 |
Satoshi: (deep breath) |
Ash: (deep breath) "Surprise!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカ～」 |
Pikachu: "Pika~" |
Pikachu: "Pika~" |
| サトシ 「ただいまー！」 |
Satoshi: "I'm back!" |
Ash: "Surprise!" |
| タケシ 「おかえりー！」 |
Takeshi: "Welcome home!" |
Brock: "Is that you, Ash?" |
In The Memorial Book of Orange Islands, a Japanese guide book that covers the Orange Islands portion of the animated series, this episode's screenwriter Yukiyoshi Ohashi talks about how much trouble he had coming up with what he should have Takeshi's first words be after being away for so long.
| It's
been a while since
we've
seen Takeshi. I went back and forth about what his first words should
be in this one but I eventually decided not on "I'm back" but on
"Welcome
home" instead. This is the strange world that is Pokémon. ひさ しぶりに登場のタケシ。第一声は、何にしようかとまよい「ただい ま」じゃなくて、「おかえり」にしました。これが、ポケモンの変な世界なのです。 |
It's kind of cool seeing how scriptwriters fret over small little exchanges like this, especially since I'm willing to bet the rest of us probably don't even think twice about the significance of this scene. It's actually kind of sweet!
Anyway, the dub throws that all away, while also adding in a reveal that Ash apparently didn't bother telling his mom he was coming back home...?
Everyone's shocked:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「うわっ タケシ！」 |
Satoshi: "Uwa! Takeshi!" |
Ash: "He's back!?" |
| (Our hero
crashes into a kitchen counter) |
||
| ケンジ 「サトシ！」 |
Kenji: "Satoshi!" |
Tracey: "Who's he?" |
| カスミ 「タ… タケシ？」 |
Kasumi: "Ta...Takeshi?" |
Misty: "He's Brock!" |
Tracey apparently doesn't recognize Brock, something we don't really get from the original.
Brock serves up some tea:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| タケシ 「さあお茶でもどうぞ。本日のアフタヌーンティーはマスカットフレー
バーのダージリン。本来ならばストレートティーといきたいところだがキミたちお子様にはやっぱり角砂糖だね。サトシは２つ、カスミは１つ…
だったよな。えー ケンジは…」 |
Takeshi: "So how about some
tea? Today's afternoon blend is a Darjeeling with muscat grape flavor.
Normally you'd drink it straight but I'm sure you kids'll want
it with sugar. If I remember correctly, Satoshi, you take yours with
two
lumps, Kasumi with one...Kenji, how do you take your tea?" |
Brock: "Well, how about a nice
cup of tea? I just made a fresh pot of Indigo Oolong which has a
delightful peachy flavor. It has a floral fragrance and I think you'll
find it very refreshing. I like my tea straight, but for you I'll add a
dash of milk and two heaping teaspoons of sugar. Now watch out! It's
hot! Here you go Tracey." |
The 4Kids dub must be short circuiting or something because here we see it replacing Indian tea with Chinese tea, as opposed to going with something a bit more "American" like, I dunno, hot chocolate or coffee or something.
The dub also removes Takeshi's "you kids" line that shows us how aware the Pokémon Breeder is of the age gap between him and his former traveling companions.
The next part of the episode features flashbacks to the episode "Pokéball Peril," and since the dub reuses the audio from that episode then the rewrites they did back then carry over as well:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| タケシ 「南風に聞いてくれ」 |
Takeshi: "You'll have to ask the southern wind." | Brock: "This ship needs a captain." |
Here, the mention
of the Orange Islands being "southern islands" gets removed.
Brock bids his
friends farewell:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| タケシ 「さらば友よっ！オレは南国の研究ライフに生きるっ‼」 |
Takeshi: "Farewell my friends! I'll be here living a tropical research life!" | Brock: "Thank you guys! And just make sure you don't forget me, will ya?" |
Just like I mentioned last time, the line "I'll be here living a tropical research life" is one of the more famous bits of dialogue among fans of the Japanese version. The English dub line, on the other hand, is not quite as well known.
Side Note
One fairly major-ish change made to this episode has to do with what it is that actually makes Takeshi get all sad and sulky.
In the English dub canon, there's apparently only one thing that upsets Brock: hearing Professor Ivy's name. As we'll see in both this episode and the next, it doesn't necessarily have to be the two words together -- even just hearing the words "Professor" or "Ivy" by themselves is apparently enough to make Brock curl up in the fetal position -- but he has to hear at least some variation of her name to get upset.
But things are a bit more open ended in the Japanese version. Originally, it's not just Dr. Uchikido's name that triggers Takeshi, it's literally anything having to do with his time on Dai Dai Island that makes him sad. "Dr. Uchikido" is enough to set off a sulking fit, sure, and is also what ends up doing the job about 80% of the time. But phrases like "what in the world happened" or "those southern islands" are also able to make him go to a dark place. If you mention the Orange Islands to Takeshi, in general, he will get upset.
To illustrate this point, I've listed out all the times Takeshi starts sulking over on their own page here. Dr. Uchikido's name is the trigger word the overwhelming majority of the time, sure, but not all the time like it is in the English dub.
The Pokémon Breeder's verbal response to each of the triggers is a bit different, too. In the original Takeshi says a somewhat open-ended kikanai de kure (聞かないでくれ), or "please don't ask me that," but since the English dub changes it so that it's only the professor's name that causes the reaction, they also change Brock's response to the much more specific "Don't mention that name."
Takeshi will do something very, very similar to what he does in this episode about 20 years later in Pocket Monsters (2019) Episode 139 "Takeshi and Dent and the Witch of the Forest!" In that episode, Dent asks him "what's wrong" and Takeshi response kikanai de kure, just like he does in this Orange Islands episode from 1999. TPCi chooses to translate that line as the much-closer-to-the-Japanese-original "Please don't even ask."
At the end of the day it's not really that big a change, really, but it is still absolutely worth bringing up.
Side Note
Staying on the subject of blue Brock for a bit longer, the first time we see Brock start to sulk at the mention of Professor Ivy's name is actually pretty well done in the English dub, and it all has to do with 4Kids' decision not to add any background music to the scene. As I'm sure you're aware by now, 4Kids pretty much never has a scene go by in its dub without some sort of music droning on and on in the background, for the episode's entire 22-minute runtime. But for this initial scene here the English dub actually goes a full 33 seconds without any background music whatsoever!
Normally 4Kids would feel the need to put in music that sounds overly goofy (to "punch up" the comedy of the scene), or a song that's overly dramatic (to try to force us to feel bad for Brock), or a song that's overly energetic (because watching characters sitting around and just talking is "boring"), or some other piece of music they think enhances the action on-screen. And yet despite all odds, they resist that urge! They just let the scene play out with only the sound effects and characters' dialogue being all we can hear, and it's actually really nice.
Scenes like this play out all the time in the Japanese original but are so extremely rare in the 4Kids English dub that it is absolutely worth bringing up every time it happens.
Dialogue Edit
Delia says hello:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ハナコ 「カスミちゃん、トゲピーちゃんも元気にしてた？」 |
Hanako: "Kasumi-chan, have you
and Togepy-chan been doing well?" |
Delia: "So, Misty, how's
everything going with you and Togepi?" |
| カスミ 「はい」 |
Kasumi: "Yup!" |
Misty: "Great!" |
| トゲピー 「チョッゲプリィ～」 |
Togepy: "Chogge purii~" |
Togepi: "Chogge purii~" |
| ハナコ 「あら～ ケンジ君」 |
Hanako: "Ah, it's Kenji-kun." |
Delia: "And Tracey, it's nice
to meet you." |
| ケンジ 「お世話になります」 |
Kenji: "Thanks for having us
over." |
Tracey: "Nice to meet you,
too!" |
Delia's "nice to meet you," implying she's never talked to Tracey before, is a dub original.
Delia tells the gang how she came across Brock:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「あの～ どうしてタケシがいるんですか？」 |
Kasumi: "Uh, what is Takeshi
doing here, anyway?" |
Misty: "Uh, Brock...how long's
he been here, Mrs. Ketchum?" |
| ハナコ 「ええ。それがね」 |
Hanako: "Well, you see..." |
Delia: "Well, let's see..." |
| ハナコ (ナレーション) 「あれは蒸し暑い夕暮れ時だったかしら」 |
Hanako (narrating): "I
remember it was a hot and muggy evening." |
Delia (narrating): "It was a
hot, muggy evening about a week ago. |
| ハナコ 「バリちゃん、今夜は冷や麦にしようかしら」 |
Hanako: "Bari-chan, how about
we have some cold hiyamugi noodles
tonight." |
Delia: "It's a good thing we
got to the market before it closed, wasn't it?" |
| バリちゃん 「バリバリ」 |
Bari-chan: "Bari Bari" |
Mimey: "Mime! Mr. Mime!" |
Brock's apparently been living with Ash's mom for about a week at this point, information completely made up by the 4Kids dub.
There's also a food related rewrite, with a mention of hiyamugi -- a noodle dish typically served during the hot summer months -- replaced with a comment about going shopping.
Delia find out who she's been stepping on:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ハナコ 「あーっ！どうしたのタケシ君⁉タケシ君、しっかりして！タケシ君！」 |
Hanako: "Ah! What're you doing
here Takeshi-kun!? Pull yourself together, Takeshi-kun! Takeshi-kun!" |
Delia: "Ah! Oh, I'm so sorry
for stepping all over you, sir! I hope I didn't hurt you!" |
That combination of "brown hat" and "tattered coat" isn't enough to fool Hanako, though it sure does seem to work on Delia! Originally Satoshi's mom's able to identify the Nibi City Gym Leader right away.
Delia talks about living with Brock:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ハナコ 「それでどうしたのか？いったい何があったのか？いろいろ聞いたんだけ
ど」 |
Hanako: "I tried to ask him
things like what's wrong, or what in the world happened, but..." |
Delia: "I tried to get him to
tell me what happened but whenever I mentioned Professor Ivy, he always
said the same thing..." |
| タケシ 「聞かないでくれ」 |
Takeshi: "Please don't ask me
that." |
Brock: "Don't mention that
name!" |
| ハナコ 「…の一点張りなのよ。でもそれから家事を手伝ってくれるようになって
だんだん元気を取り戻したの」 |
Hanako: "...is all he'd say.
But, he started helping out with the housework and gradually started
becoming his old self again." |
Delia: "So I stopped asking!
He's been a big help around the house. He does the dishes, sweeps the
floors...he's a better seamstress than I'll ever be." |
As mentioned earlier, it's not only the name of the professor that agitates Takeshi, but it's anything to do with the Orange Islands in general.
Ash wonders what really happened:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「でも何があったんだろう」 |
Satoshi: "But I wonder what
happened." |
Ash: "I guess we'll never know
what happened." |
| ケンジ 「あの… サトシ」 | Kenji: "Uh, Satoshi..." |
Tracey: "Uh, Ash..." |
| カスミ
「分かんないの？いつものことでしょ」 |
Kasumi: "You mean you haven't
figured
it out yet? The same thing that always happens!" |
Misty: "I know what happened. Brock liked Professor Ivy. |
| サトシ 「いつもの？」 | Satoshi: "Same thing?" |
Ash: "I liked her too." |
| ケンジ 「サトシ？サトシ？」 | Kenji: "Um hello? Satoshi?" |
Tracey: "Ash, can I talk to
you for a sec?" |
| カスミ 「まあ サトシはお子ちゃまだからね」 | Kasumi: "Well, I guess you're
still just a little kid huh." |
Misty: "Sometimes you're as
immature as Gary." |
| サトシ 「うぐっ。ピカチュウ～カスミだって子どもだよな～」 | Satoshi: "Ugh! Pikachu,
Kasumi's the one acting like a little kid, right?" |
Ash: "Ugh! Don't mention that
name!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカピカ」 |
Pikachu: "Pika Pika" |
Pikachu: "Pika Pika" |
| カスミ 「あんたまで暗くなんないの！」 | Kasumi: "Don't you start that
now!" |
Misty: "Come on, Ash! Quit
acting like Brock!" |
Names are the only things that can act as trigger words in the world of English dub, apparently, and so Kasumi's insult to Satoshi got rewritten.
It's time to plan a feast:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ハナコ 「サトシも帰ってきたことだしごちそう作らないと」 |
Hanako: "Since Satoshi's back
home I'll have to whip up a feast." |
Delia: "I know what'll cheer
my little pumpkin up. I'll cook up something special!" |
| バリちゃん 「バリ～」 |
Bari-chan: "Bari~" |
Mimey: "Mr. Mime!" |
| ハナコ 「あら バリちゃん。お買い物に行ってくれるの？」 | Hanako: "Oh, Bari-chan. Could
you go shopping for us?" |
Delia: "Maybe I'll make my
deep-dish chili-dog pizza-pot pies." |
| バリちゃん 「バーリ バリバリ」 | Bari-chan: "Baari Bari Bari" |
Mimey: "Mime Mime!" |
| カスミ 「そういえばこのところろくな物食べてなかったわね」 |
Kasumi: "Now that you mention
it we haven't had a good home cooked meal in a while." |
Misty: "Well, I'm sure
whatever you decide to make will be delicious, Mrs. Ketchum. |
| トゲピー 「チョッゲプリィ～」 |
Togepy: "Chogge Purii~" |
Togepi: "Chogge Purii~" |
Those absolutely wretched sounding "deep-dish chili-dog pizza-pot pies" make their return! Um, yay...?
The food rewrites continue:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「オレオレ、ローストチキン」 |
Satoshi: "Roast chicken for
me!" |
Ash: "I vote for the pot pies!" |
| ケンジ 「サトシ」 |
Kenji: "Hey, Satoshi..." |
Tracey: "Ash..." |
| カスミ 「あの～ オムライスも～」 | Kasumi: "Um...how about omrice
too?" |
Misty: "Ash talked about them
all the way here!" |
| ハナコ 「いいわよ」 | Hanako: "Sure, no problem." |
Delia: "Pot pies it is." |
| サトシ 「やった！」 | Satoshi: "Oh yeah!" |
Ash: "Oh yeah!" |
| ケンジ 「あ～ サトシ？」 | Kenji: "Um, Satoshi..." |
Tracey: "Ash, it's getting
late..." |
| サトシ 「それにクリームシチュー」 | Satoshi: "I want cream stew as
well!" |
Ash: "With extra pepperoni?" |
| ハナコ 「はい はい」 | Hanako: "Anything you want
dear." |
Delia: "Yes, yes!" |
| サトシ 「それから」 | Satoshi: "And what else? Um..." |
Ash: "And for dessert..." |
| ケンジ 「サトシ～ サトシ サトシ」 | Kenji: "Hello? Earth to
Satoshi~!" |
Tracey: "Uh, hey, Ash..." |
| サトシ 「スパゲッティ！」 |
Satoshi: "Spaghetti!" |
Ash: "That pudding?" |
| Tracey: "Ash, weren't we..." |
||
| ハナコ 「はい。ケンジ君は？」 | Hanako: "Anything you want,
Kenji-kun?" |
Delia: "Choco-palooza?" |
| ケンジ 「サトシ～！」 | Kenji: "Hey Satoshi!" |
Tracey: "Answer me!" |
The thing I love about all this is the very notion that someone at 4Kids thought "roast chicken" and "spaghetti" were too "foreign" sounding or whatever, and so they came up with nonsense like "deep-dish chili-dog pizza-pot pies" and "choco-palooza" instead. Because, y'know, localization!
Ash shows his mom his trophy:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「あっヘッ
ジャジャーン！ママ、オレやったぜ。オレンジリーグのウィナーズカップで勝ったんだ。これがそのトロフィー」 |
Satoshi: "Ah, ta-da! Look Mom,
I did it. I won at the Orange League Winners Cup. And here's the trophy
they gave me." |
Ash: "Ta-da! Look, Mom! This
is the trophy they gave me for winning the Orange League Championship!
I want you to have it." |
| ハナコ 「まあすご～い！ママもうれしいわ！ダンベルが１つなくなってたから
ちょうどいいわね」 |
Hanako: "Wow, that's
wonderful! This makes me so happy! I just
lost my other dumbbell so this'll be a perfect replacement." |
Delia: "Ash, that makes me so
happy! If I work out with that
I won't need another dumbbell!" |
Ash apparently just straight up gives his trophy to his mom, LOL? Is this him trying to make amends for that time he stole his mom's trophy back in early Kanto?
Originally Satoshi keeps his hard-earned trophy for himself.
Our heroes walk to Oak's lab:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「タケシ、オーキド研究所ってどんな所なんだい？」 |
Kenji: "Takeshi, what kind of
place is Dr. Ookido's laboratory?" |
Tracey: "Brock, I guess you
must've been excited the first time you
met the professor." |
| タケシ 「聞かないでくれ」 |
Takeshi: "Please don't ask." |
Brock: "That...name!" |
| カスミ 「違うでしょ！」 |
Kasumi: "Not what he means!" |
Misty: "He means Professor
Oak!" |
| タケシ 「あっ アハハ…広い庭にいろんなポケモンがいるんだ。もちろんモンスターボールに入ったポケモンもたくさんいるぞ」 | Takeshi: "Oh, haha. Well, it's
a big place with lots of different Pokémon. And of course lots
of Pokémon inside Monster Balls as well." |
Brock: "Heh heh, oh! Yeah,
Professor Oak's one of the most respected Pokémon researchers in
the whole world and he's got
one of the best Pokémon labs anywhere!" |
| ケンジ 「そっか。早く行こう！」 | Kenji: "Cool. Let's hurry." |
Tracey: "Cool. Let's hurry." |
Kenji fully says "Dr. Ookido's laboratory," yet Takeshi only hears the "laboratory" part and reacts poorly. Seems like he's pretty messed up about the whole thing!
The English dub, meanwhile, continues with the "Professor Ivy's name is the only thing that triggers Brock's mood swings" bit they've settled on.
Sound Effects Edit
The volume of the sound of Nyarth hitting his teammates with the giant fan is greatly reduced for the English dub. First, these two hits:
 |
 |
And then all these hits during the very next shot.
 |
 |
Based on how the rest of this season's been going I'm not too surprised to see this happen, though I still find it fascinating how they'll reduce the volume of the sound effects in some scenes (like in this episode) but then mute the sound effects completely in others.
Dialogue Edit
Tracey talks to Professor Oak:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「オ…
オーキド博士お会いできて光栄です。さすが博士ここまでポケモンを愛しているとは！観察させてもらいます！」 |
Kenji: "D...Dr. Ookido, it's
such an honor to meet you. I can see just how much you love
Pokémon. Let me get a closer look" |
Tracey: "It certainly is an
honor to finally meet you, Professor Oak. I'm a Pokémon Watcher,
so I observe Pokémon behavior like you do. I hope you don't mind
if I sketch this." |
| サトシ 「ケンジ！手伝えよ」 |
Satoshi: "Kenji! A little help
please?" |
Ash: "Tracey, we do mind!" |
Kenji’s kansatsu sasete moraimasu catchphrase shows up again for the first time in a while, and just like last time (and literally every other time before that) the dub removes it.
Oak looks at Tracey's reports sketches:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「ううっ。かん… 観察されてるよ」 |
Kenji: "Now I'm the
one...getting looked at closely." |
Tracey: "It's a good thing I'm
not nervous." |
As we were just reminded, 4Kids absolutely hates Kenji's catchphrase, for some reason, but in this scene they still could have easily have had Tracey say something like "Now the Watcher's become the watched..." to keep the dialogue fairly same-ish. But, guess not!
Eyecatch
For this week's eyecatch we get to see Bari-chan with its broom, which it's apparently going to need after Omastar finishes leaving all its little poop bubbles behind.
 |
 |
Like...someone's job was to literally cut out each of those bubbles, one by one, so they could be included in the image used for this eyecatch. Never a dull moment at the 4Kids offices, I guess!
Dialogue Edit
The Rocket trio start its motto:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「いったい何だ？」 |
Satoshi: "What's all this?" |
Ash: "What's this thing
supposed to be?" |
| オーキド博士 「何が起こったんじゃ？」 |
Dr. Ookido: "What just
happened?" |
Professor Oak: "It looks
like...a circus." |
| ロケット団 「ワ～ハッハッハ～」 |
Rocket-Dan: "Wa~hahaha~" |
Team Rocket: (laughs) |
| ムサシ 「何が起こったんじゃ？と聞かれたら」 |
Musashi: "If we're asked "What
just happened?"" |
Jessie: "Prepare for trouble
and the greatest act yet." |
| コジロウ 「答えてあげるが世の情け」 |
Kojirou: "It's up to the world
whether or not we answer." |
James: "Better make that
double 'cause we don't use a net." |
Musashi mocking the good guys gets removed from the English dub, which is of course nothing new, but it's especially a shame this time around because Professor Oak had that that awkward-as-hell pause in the middle of his sentence there just begging to be made fun of!
After the motto (which is just the regular version in the Japanese original), we get this exchange:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| タケシ 「い～や～ 懐かしいなあ、その登場のセリフ」 |
Takeshi: "Wow, it's been a
while since I've heard that motto." |
Brock: "Wow! I wonder if
they'll have an old-fashioned sideshow." |
| サトシ 「んっ。懐かしがってる場合かよ」 |
Satoshi: "Is this really the
time to be getting all nostalgic?" |
Ash: "No! Just three freaks." |
| ムサシ 「いや、こっちも懐かしいわ。あんたさ～いったいどこ行ってたの？」 |
Musashi: "Well, this brings
back memories for us too. Hey kid, where the heck have you been?" |
Jessie: "Not that I actually
care but, how come the big twerp's in town?" |
| ニャース 「たしかあそこまではいたんだニャ～。ウチキド研究所とかいう」 |
Nyarth: "I'm sure you were
around up until...where was it Nya? That Dr. Uchikido's lab...?" |
Meowth: "I thought you was
staying back on Valencia Island...with that Professor Ivy." |
| サトシとカスミ 「あっ！」 |
Satoshi and Kasumi: "Ah!" |
Ash and Misty: "Ah!" |
| オーキド博士
「ん？」 |
Dr. Ookido: "Hm?" |
Professor Oak: "Hm?" |
| タケシ 「聞かないでくれ」 |
Takeshi: "Please don't ask." |
Brock: "Don't mention that name!" |
Brock asks if the Rocket trio will be putting on a sideshow, a old-fashioned (and also problematic) attraction, with Ash adding an implication that the villainous trio will be stars in a freak show, an equally old-fashioned (and also extremely problematic) type of show. It's a bit that has not aged particularly well.
Originally Takeshi talks about how nostalgic it feels to see the Rocket trio again.
Ash's Muk attacks Jessie:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ニャース 「ポケモンとのスキンシップいいものだニャ」 |
Nyarth: "They say physical
contact with a Pokémon's supposed to be good for 'em Nya." |
Meowth: "Slobberin' all over
Jessie. It's just revoltin'!" |
| コジロウ 「んっそうかなあ。いけウツボット！」 |
Kojirou: "I don't know about
that... Go, Utsubot!" |
James: "For which one? Go
Victreebel!" |
If you heard this Team Rocket member insulting his teammate, completely unprompted, and went "y'know what, that sounds like the kind of line 4Kids would add to the show," then congratulations because that is exactly what happened.
Razor Leaf fails:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「ありゃりゃはっぱカッターが。えーい。ならばウツボット、すてみ
タックルだ！」 |
Kojirou: "Oh my, Razor Leaf
didn't do anything. Fine! In that case, use Double-Edge!" |
James: "Razor Leaf just didn't
cut it. Victreebel, get in there and get stuck on Muk!" |
This is the episode where we learn that Kojirou's Utsubot can use Double-Edge...but only if you watch the episode in Japanese, apparently!
Victreebel uses its famous "Get Stuck on Muk" attack:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「いいぞ！そのまま溶かしてしまえ！」 |
Kojirou: "Great! Now melt it
down!" |
James: "Good. Now use your
PoisonPowder." |
| サトシ 「ベトベトン！」 |
Satoshi: "Betbeton!" |
Ash: "Poison Gas!" |
| ベトベトン 「アウ アウ」 |
Betbeton: "Au au" |
Muk: "Muk~" |
| ウツボット 「エーッ！」 |
Utsubot: "Ah!" |
Victreebel: "Ah! |
| ベトベトン 「ベト～ バア～」 |
Betbeton: "Beto~bah~!" |
Muk: "Muk!" |
| コジロウ 「ああっウツボット～」 |
Kojirou: "Ah! Utsubot!" |
James: "Ahh, lucky Mucky!" |
So the English dub adds the attack "PoisonPowder" to Victreebel's repertoire and "Poison Gas" to Ash's Muk's, despite neither attack being in the original script. It's actually kind of fascinating, because the 4Kids writers famously did not know anything about the Pokémon video games, and so in order for them to even come up with these lines in the first place they would have had to sit down with a Pokémon Red & Blue Player's Guide or something and look up which attacks they could add to this dialogue here. "Lessee, the Victreebel species can use Sleep Powder, Stun Spore, Acid...ooh, how about PoisonPowder? That'd be good! Now, what attacks can Muk use..." It just seems like a lot of extra work, with no real payoff, when it would have been so much easier to just translate the dialogue as-is.
Team Rocket gives up Pokémon battling and just throws a bunch of rings instead:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ニャース 「今日の戦いはポケモンだけじゃないニャ！新兵器で戦うんだニャ！」 |
Nyarth: "We're not just using
Pokémon today Nya! Next we'll be fighting
with our brand new weapon Nya!" |
Meowth: "This ain't over yet,
twerp. We still got a secret weapon. This is more than a three-ring circus." |
| コジロウ 「そうでした！」 |
Kojirou: "That's right!" |
James: "Step right up." |
| ムサシ 「はい はい！」 |
Musashi: "Check this out!" |
Jessie: "Try your luck." |
| サトシ 「えっ？ あっ！」 |
Satoshi: "Huh? Ah!" |
Satoshi: "Huh?" |
| カスミ 「あーっ！」 |
Kasumi: "Ah!" |
Misty: "Ah!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピーッ ピーカッ。ピカ？」 |
Pikachu: "Pii Piika. Pika?" |
Pikachu: "Pii Piika. Pika?" |
| ニャース 「見たかニャ！ 名付けてオートマチックロープこま結び改良型ちょうちょ結び１号！」 | Nyarth: "Did ya see that Nya?
We call it the 'The New and Improved Automatic Rope Overhand Knot:
Butterfly Bow No. 1'!" |
Meowth: "Poifect. We won a nice little game of ring toss and now we get to pick every top-shelf Pokémon we want as the prize." |
Unlike Meowth, Nyarth actually gives their secret weapon a name, one that highlights the little bow we just saw appear on Pikachu's back in the previous shot:
 |
 |
Meowth confronts Brock again:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ニャース 「おミャーは今までいったい何をしてたんだニャ？」 |
Nyarth: "Just what have you
been doing all this time anyway Nya?" |
Meowth: "Time to let the cat
outta the bag, kid. How come ya came back?" |
| タケシ 「聞かないでくれ」 |
Takeshi: "Please don't ask." |
Brock: "I'll never tell!" |
| ニャース 「ニャ～んかたくらんだんじゃニャアのか？ウチキド研究所で」 |
Nyarth: "Maybe you were
plotting something Nya? Over at the Uchikido laboratory?" |
Meowth: "Maybe ya did
somethin' real embarrassin' in front of that Professor Ivy." |
| タケシ 「うっ！」 |
Takeshi: "Uhh!" |
Brock: "Uhh!" |
| サトシ 「タケシ？」 |
Satoshi: "Takeshi?" |
Ash: "Brock!" |
| タケシ 「聞かないでくれ」 |
Takeshi: "Please don't ask." | Brock: "That name!" |
The Rocket trio cat's theory as to what the older twerp's been doing all this time is a bit different depending on which version of the show you're watching.
The final narration:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ナレーション 「久しぶりにマサラタウンに帰ってきたサトシ。そこには腕を上げ
成長したシゲルがいた。シゲルとサトシ。初めて相まみえる ポケモンバトル。果たして勝つのはサトシか？それともシゲルか？」 |
Narrator: "Satoshi has
returned to Masara Town after a long time away. There he finds Shigeru,
who
has grown and improved his skills since the last time they met. Shigeru
vs. Satoshi. The two are
about to face off against in other in a Pokémon battle for the
first time. Will Satoshi be the winner? Or will Shigeru?" |
Narrator: "Well, this is a
surprise. On his first day back in Pallet, Ash finds himself on the
verge of a Pokémon battle with his archenemy Gary! And it seems
Gary is stronger than ever. Will Ash have the hometown advantage or is
he about to become the local loser?" |
"Will Ash have the hometown advantage?" implies that Gary...isn't from Pallet Town? Huh?
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