The Rocket-Dan's On-Location Report

Musashi asks Kojirou to deliver his report about the new movie. That's what's on the disc he was teasing them with during the intro, right? With that, the Pokémon Radio Show's first on-location report begins!


The show then cuts to audio taken outside a movie theater playing Pocket Monsters The Movie Best Wishes! "Kyurem vs. The Sacred Swordsman Keldeo" and "Meloetta's Dazzling Recital." The murmur of a crowd of people can be heard in the background. Kojirou says it's time to ask the little brats out there what they thought about the movie ^[9].


The audio returns to the trio inside the studio. Nyarth likes the direction this segment is going! He then decides, right then and there, that these types of on-location reports will be Kojirou's responsibility from now on. But why me? protests Kojirou. Musashi reasons that for her, at least, it's because it's too hot outside. A lady must think about her looks after all!

The 'Orders from Double-Q - Try These New Items Out Ahead of Time' Segment

A new order's come from Double-Q! ^[10] Nyarth reads the e-mail out loud:

"Did you enjoy the new items last time Nya? Today, I've sent you items that will help you beat the heat this summer that we want you to try out. Saving electricity is something we in the Rocket-Dan have to do Nya. Musashi, we got 'chu some grub this time too. We're looking forward to your report."

With that, Nyarth introduces the next segment, "The 'Orders from Double-Q - Try These New Items Out Ahead of Time' Segment." What did Double-Q send them this time?

It seems like Double-Q's sent them a box filled with a variety of items for them to try out! Musashi reads the labels, one by one: "Cooling Mattress Pad" (霊感敷きパッド), "The Outlast Sweet Dreams Cooling Pillow Pad" (アウトラスト快適快眠クール枕パッド), "Mist and Fan Instant Cooler" (ミ スト＆ファン瞬間冷却), "Bone-Chilling Arctic Gel" (ぶるさらり ん北極圏ゲル), "Cooling Head Band" (熱さまひんやりヘアバンド), "Ice-Non Lotion" (ぬるアイスノン), "Teijin Gettcold's (Cap)" (TEIJINゲットコールズキャプ) and a "Hand Crank Ice Cream Maker" (く るくるアイスクリームメーカー)...!? Musashi's especially excited about this last one and wants to start from there but Nyarth points out that if they eat first then they'll be too sluggish to get through the rest of the segment. He then continues to read a memo that states that these items are all meant to get people through those hot summer nights ^[11].


Nyarth tells Kojirou that he'd like him to put down the cooling mattress pad first and then try to fall asleep to see how well it works. "You mean right now!? Here!?" asks Musashi. Nyarth says that if they don't try it out for real then they can't really write up their report, right? Kojirou puts the cooling pad down on the floor of the recording booth and gets ready to sleep, being careful not to get out of range of the microphones. After a few moments Nyarth asks how it is. "It's...meh" replies Kojirou. But, he adds, he can definitely feel a difference. Nyarth guesses that if it was too cold to the touch then you wouldn't be able to sleep on it for long and so they must have made it so it's just cool enough to enable you to make it through a hot summer's night. Musashi likens it to eating ice cream too fast; you don't want that initial jolt of coldness, right? If you sleep on this, she continues, you can remain comfortable even as the temperature rises into the early morning. Kojirou then starts to snore, prompting his teammates to shout at him that he can't fall asleep now since they still have so much to cover. Kojirou wakes up as Musashi states that an item like this will be great for all those times the three of them have to sleep outside. Kojirou then observes that maybe the reason he didn't really feel that much of a difference at first was because he's currently inside an air conditioned room; if he was outside where it's hot, he guesses, the difference would be much more pronounced. But Musashi says that since they're in the Studio Village...oh wait, they're calling it the Studio now, right? ...they get to enjoy being in an air conditioned environment.


The trio apparently skips the "The Outlast Sweet Dreams Cooling Pillow Pad" and decides to try out the "Mist and Fan Instant Cooler" next. Musashi describes that this is a blue hand-sized device with a small fan attached on the end. There's also a small trigger on it. Musashi pulls the trigger and explains that if you fill it up with water first then you could spritz yourself with water while cooling yourself off with the motorized fan. The trio plays rock-paper-scissors to see who will get to try it out and Musashi wins. As she turns the fan on the microphones in the Studio pick up the sound of the motor. Musashi says that just the fan by itself is probably enough, but she'll try using the water bottle part of it too. Musashi appears to wince as she sprays her face with the water and so Kojirou suggests she hold it further away from her before pulling the trigger again. She follows his suggestion, and while it does seem to help the problem she observes that it's more of a spray of visible water droplets than the "mist" advertised in the product's name. It's more like one of those sprays people sometime use on their laundry, maybe? But Nyarth believes an item like this would work well if you're outside in the heat. Musashi turns the fan off.


The next item they'll try today is the "Bone-Chilling Arctic Gel." Musashi reveals that the can has a line of text that reads "for use after you step out of a hot bath." It seems like if you push on the pump at the top then gel will come out. The trio plays rock-paper-scissors again and Musashi ends up losing and so she, for some reason, gets to be the guinea pig for the second time in a row. Nyarth tells her to put out her (ungloved?) hand so he can apply the gel. Musashi wonders what you do with this gel -- do you just take a little bit and then rub it over the rest of your arm...? -- and so Kojirou is asked to read the instructions that came with it. "Apply generously to the nape of your neck, your arms, legs, etc." Musashi tries it out and, after a few seconds, exclaims that the gel is very cooling. She then invites Kojirou to try some for himself. As the trio takes turns trying it out, commenting on how great it feels, they warn listeners not to touch your face or eyes while using this. Musashi comments that the gel has a kind of spearmint fragrance to it while Kojirou observes that the smell reminds him a bit of the kind of anti-itch medicine you would apply to a bug bite. Musashi believes this would be great to apply after a hot shower.


Next up is the "Cooling Head Band." Musashi and Nyarth says it looks like a thinly sliced piece of ice and Kojirou notices that it seems to be filled with some type of gel. It's very malleable, Nyarth adds; it doesn't feel like a stiff piece of ice at all. Musashi reads that you need to put the ice pack part in the freezer for at least three hours before being able to use it, and then after that you just slide it into the included head band. But will it still be bendable even after three hours in the freezer...?

The trio then tries to think up of some use cases for this item. Musashi wonders if it would be good for students taking their school entrance exams but then realizes that most of those take place in the winter so that's not it. Nyarth picks up the packaging and sees an illustration of a mother vacuuming with the head band on her forehead and a smile on her face and so maybe that's when you should use this...? Kojirou then comes up with the idea that this would be great to wear if you have to clean out a steam-filled bathtub after bathtime. But whatever she would end up using this for, Musashi says, her hair style would probably prevent her from wearing this properly. Both Nyarth and Musashi try it on anyway, and they both agree that they can definitely feel a difference. Musashi adds that if you're having trouble sleeping at night then you can put on this head band and, because the gel inside keeps it from freezing solid, it won't get in your way as you sleep. It may not be the most fashionable thing on the planet, Musashi admits, but it gets the job done. Nyarth adds that it seems like Kojirou doesn't have any problems with the way it looks; is it because its blue color matches so well with his hair color?


In a CD version exclusive, the next item the team tries is the "Ice-Non Lotion." Musashi comes out right away and admits that it seems very similar to the "Bone-Chilling Arctic Gel" they tried earlier. She rubs some on the hand she didn't rub the Arctic Gel on earlier and announces that the feel of this one is pretty much exactly the same. The smell's a little different, though. Nyarth reads a piece of copy from the package saying that this product won't leave your hands sticky afterwards.

Kojirou asks which of these products they think will be the most useful. His vote's for the "Cooling Head Band," and Musashi believes that the two gels are similar enough that you wouldn't go wrong with either one. Other than the company name on the packaging the two items are pretty much identical, though the smell of the Arctic Gel is noticeably stronger. Musashi then wonders what it would be like to put some of these gels on the coin on Nyarth's forehead but he guesses that doing so would probably just make it feel really cold to the touch.


Next up is the "Teijin Gettcold's (Cap)." Nyarth says he can't tell what this is just from the name (for some reason they neglect to say the "cap" part of the product's name) while Musashi says the name isn't really making her look forward to trying it out. They open it up....and it's a sporty-looking baseball cap? Musashi reads the instructions and says it seems like you dip it in water, wring it out, and then put it on your head like any other baseball cap. Nyarth says this is the first time he's heard of anything like this. Musashi asks Kojirou what it's like -- apparently he's the one who gets roped into trying it out -- and he says it's pretty cold. Nyarth tells the listeners that it seems to be made out of some material that allows it to be damp but, somehow, not dripping with water. Musashi reads that you're not supposed to soak it in water but are only supposed to submerge it just enough to get it damp and that it's supposed to keep you cool for a long while. Nyarth reaches over to touch it while Musashi tells us that it feels like a hat that's just been taken out of the washing machine. Nyarth tells Kojirou he should leave it on for a while and that, just like with the mattress pad earlier, it would probably work better if he was outside in the summer heat instead of in an air conditioned studio.

Musashi then marvels at how stylish these Teijin caps are. Kojirou adds that it would be good if a baseball team, for example, commissioned Teijin to make their teams hats like the ones they're trying on now. Nyarth then wonders if the Rocket-Dan should get in on this? Musashi reads from her copy that these hats are supposed to be able to withstand temperatures of over 150° Celsius (about 300° Fahrenheit) and that their ability to absorb moisture doesn't decrease as time goes on. Kojirou says he definitely has to go outside to try this out now. But, to piggyback off what Nyarth said earlier, if the Rocket-Dan made hats like these and then he walked around outside with one of them on then it would make it pretty obvious that he's a member of the organization himself, wouldn't it? Musashi continues to read, saying that these hats are supposed to have seven times the moisture absorption power of similar hats made out of cotton. And they're surprisingly lightweight! Musashi concludes that the technology and skill needed to develop these hats makes them perfect for the Rocket-Dan.

Nyarth says they're all of out time and so they've gotta wrap things up! But they haven't even gotten to the ice cream maker yet, protests Musashi! Nyarth says they'll have to save it for next time.

Music

Kojirou introduces today's song, Takeshi no Paradise! It's sung by Takeshi, a friend of today's guest Mr. Yuuji Ueda.


A 1 minute 7 second edit of the song plays.

Closing Words

Thank you for joining us today! exclaims Nyarth. "Ice creeeeeeam~!" Musashi continues to complain about them not getting to the ice cream but Nyarth says they'll definitely start with that next time. Musashi mutters that she'll start eating from the opening sketch...but anyway, I wanna eat ice creeeeeeam~!

Kojirou reminds listeners that the goal of their show is to grant Sakaki-sama's wish of recruiting people from all over the world into the Rocket-Dan. Becoming a member of the group is easy! All you have to do is follow Sakaki-sama's Twitter account...and that's it! Nyarth says that if you're already following him then please share your opinions of the show, what Day Care Workers you'd like to see stop by, what items you'd like the three of them to try out, etc. Musashi says that when you do this to be sure to use the hashtag #Rocketdan. And don't forget about the ice cream!

That's all the time they've got for today! We've been Nyarth, Musashi, and Kojirou! Until next time...Victory!

This radio program is brought to you by Kids Station and Movic.

---

Show notes

1. ^ As with every episode, the contents of Episode 04 were broken up into segments and spread out across several CDs.
   
   
   
• The opening sketch can be found on the Pokémon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire Volume Three - Nyarth Version CD. It starts at the 2 minute 47 second mark of Disc Two, Track Two, "Nyarth's Dream & Detective Drama 1, 2" (ニャースの夢＆刑事ドラマ ①②).
  
• The Yuuji Ueda interview can be found on the Pokémon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire ~Selection~ CD. It is the fourth mp3 file on Disc Two, "4_PokemonRadio_DJCD04."
• The "Orders from Double-Q - Try These New Items Out Ahead of Time" segment can be found on the aforementioned Nyarth CD. It's Disc One, Track Five, "Merchandise to Beat the Summer Heat" (夏バテ防止グッズ).
2. ^ On July 18th, 2012 -- a few days before the fourth episode went on the air -- the @Pokemon_Radio Twitter account posted a number of images of examples of the Rocket-Dan merchandise that had been released before. These included:
• Tomy's "Character World Vol. 1 (Rocket-Dan Musashi & Kojirou)" (ポケモン キャラクターズワールド VOL. 1 (ロケット団　ムサシ＆コジロウ)) figures from 1998. The card being held by the Nyarth figurine was packaged with the Rocket duo figures.
  
• The Pokémon Center original "The Excited-to-Get-a-Pokémon Lottery 2012! I-Prize: Pokémon Doll Figure Collection" (ポケモン わくわくゲットくじ2012 I賞 ポケモンドール フィギュアコレクション) Nyarth figure from July 2012.





Later that day the account posted this image of their newest piece of merchandise, a special Pokémon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire bumper sticker! These stickers were eventually given out to attendees during "The Rocket-Dan's Secret Live" event that was held about a half year later.






3. ^ The scene of a police inspector giving a suspect katsudon (a bowl of rice topped with a deep-fried breaded pork cutlet, egg, vegetables, and condiments), letting them eat it, and then expecting them to confess to all their wrongdoings is a very common trope in Japanese detective dramas that has, subsequently, been parodied in Japanese animation countless times over the decades. The trope has even been referenced a few times in Pocket Monsters itself.
   
4. ^ The skirts included in girls' school uniforms in Japan tend to be fairly long and conservative when worn as intended. A lot of girls, however, will rebel against their parents and either hitch up their skirts to show off their legs or change into shorter ones after leaving the house.
   
5. ^ Yuuji Ueda's debut work is a TV series called Calimero from 1992. He played the voice of Giuliano. Megumi Hayashibara played the role of Jonathan in an episode from 1993, though details beyond that are hard to find. As Mr. Ueda alludes to, the 1992 series is actually a remake of a Calimero TV series from 1974.
   
6. ^ According to an interview Mr. Ueda conducted for Pokémon Pia magazine, the "Poké-da Mon-ji" (ポケ田モン司) nickname was given to him by fellow voice actor Ikue Otani. For this nickname, Ms. Otani took the "da" (田) and "ji" (司) from Ueda Yuuji's name, written in kanji as 上 田 祐司, and then stuck them in the word "Pokémon" (ポケモン).
7. ^ This episode of the radio show aired between Pocket Monsters Best Wishes! Episodes 088 and 089, meaning it had been nearly two years since Sonansu had left the show at the end of Pocket Monsters Diamond & Pearl.
8. ^ "It's been about nine years" is a reference to how it had been nearly a decade since the last Pikachu short was released; the most recent Pikachu short before "Meloetta's Dazzling Recital" was "The Dancing Pokémon Secret Base," released alongside Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation The Movie "The Seven Night Wishing Star, Jirachi" way back in 2003.
   
9. ^ According to this tweet, Kojirou's on-location interviews took place on July 16th, 2012.
   
   
   
   
   
   
10. ^ The CD Pokémon Radio Show! The Rocket-Dan's Secret Empire Volume Three - Nyarth Version contains a CD-original sketch about Nyarth going on a scavenger hunt set up by Double-Q to find data that's been stolen by the Plasma-Dan. The sketch is broken up into small snippets and placed as the intros / outros to each track on the CD.
    
• In the intro to "Merchandise to Beat the Summer Heat," Nyarth reaches the entrance to Shirogane Mountain in the Johto Region. He goes over to get a closer look at a signpost nearby and finds that some of the stolen data's been taped to the sign!
• During the outro, Nyarth looks back on the segment and comments on how cute it was when Musashi was wincing as she sprayed herself in the face with water. He also notices that the version of the segment he just listened to seemed a little different from the one broadcast on the radio. He puts two and two together and figures out that what the Plasma-Dan stole was actually the original, unedited version of their radio broadcast! Nyarth says he can't let the Plasma-Dan get away with stealing such precious data and works himself up to head into the heart of Shirogane Mountain. As he heads inside a Nukenin pops up out of the ground, leaving behind someone's writing that says "Disc 1-2." Nyarth thanks Nukenin for its help. After the sketch ends, Double-Q's voice can be heard telling listeners to go to Disc 1, Track 2.
11. ^ The photographs of the Double-Q merchandise the official twitter account posted were not the greatest quality so I replaced them in the write-up with better-quality promotional images. The original images posted by @Pokemon_Radio can be found below:
    
    
    Click on each image to view a larger version.

Sign board from this week's guest. "To all Members of the Rocket-Dan, Yuuji Ueda. Takeshi, Sonansu, etc."

Previous Episode

Next Episode

---