EP003: Difference between revisions

Ash Catches a Pokémon

EP003   ポケモン ゲットだぜ！ I Caught a Pokémon!

First broadcast Japan April 15, 1997 United States September 10, 1998

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター Ending ひゃくごじゅういち

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 玉川明洋 Akihiro Tamagawa Additional credits

Ash Catches a Pokémon (Japanese: ポケモンゲットだぜ！ I Caught a Pokémon!) is the third episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 15, 1997 and in USA on September 10, 1998.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

Ash effortlessly catches the Caterpie he tossed a Poké Ball at in the last episode. Misty shows her complete dismay at it as she fears Template:Type2 Pokémon.

Even before the celebrations for Ash catching his first Pokémon could start, he spots yet another Pokémon, a Pidgeotto. Ash sends out his Caterpie to weaken the Template:Type2 Pokémon, but having a type advantage over Caterpie, Pidgeotto easily defeats it with a Peck attack. Ash then sends Pikachu after it. Pikachu knocks Pidgeotto out using a ThunderShock attack, and Ash easily makes his second capture. Misty then explains to Ash that Bug-types are weak against Flying-types, so he should try to use more strategic techniques to fight Pokémon.

Team Rocket then arrives on scene and attack the 'twerps.' Ash sends out Pidgeotto and Pikachu to battle, but Ekans and Koffing manage to defeat them. Ash is then compelled to use his Caterpie. Jessie and James make fun of the caterpillar Pokémon, but it actually manages to defeat Ekans and Koffing with a String Shot! Team Rocket then call a full retreat and run away with Meowth in tow. Misty is about to try and get over her phobia by petting Caterpie (on Ash's request) when suddenly, Caterpie starts covering itself in a cocoon. It then starts to grow, and finally, becomes a Metapod!

Ash and Misty then continue their journey through the forest to Pewter City with two new friends - Metapod and Pidgeotto.

Major events

• Ash captures a Caterpie, making it his first caught Pokémon.
• Ash also captures a Pidgeotto.
• Ash's Caterpie evolves into Metapod.

For a list of all major events in the anime, please see the history page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Metapod (Ash's)
• Butterfree
• Beedrill
• Pidgeotto (Ash's)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Jessie
• James

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Caterpie

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Caterpie (Ash's,)
• Metapod (Ash's, debut)
• Pidgeotto (Ash's,debut)
• Ekans (Jessie's)
• Koffing (James's)
• Butterfree (Dream, debut)
• Beedrill (debut)

Trivia

• This is the first episode in which evolution is shown.
• This is so far the only episode in which a main character catches two Pokémon of different species.
• According to a quote from this episode, Misty cannot stand carrots, peppers and Template:Type2 Pokémon.
  • Also, in regards to another quote from this episode, Misty mentions that she is ten years old. This was only said in the original.
• This was the first time a main character catches a Pokémon that would later evolve in the same episode, the second being more than 500 episodes later in The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!.
• This is the first episode where type advantages are mentioned: Template:Type2 moves are effective against Template:Type2 Pokémon.
• A real animal appears in this episode, as Pidgeotto is seen eating a regular worm.
• In this episode when Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it shoots a shower of white silk string from its mouth onto itself and sheds its skin in the process, similar to a real caterpillar going into pupation. Later episodes show Caterpie evolving like the rest of the Pokémon do.
• Misty owns a red sleeping bag decorated with bubbles, while Ash owns a blue sleeping bag. "Satoshi" (Ash's Japanese name) appears on the name tag of his sleeping bag.
• Ash mentions that the Pokémon League has regulations stating that Trainers may only use one Pokémon at a time in battles. This rule may have changed years later in the Advanced Generation series, in which two-on-two battles are not considered unusual.
• Despite the episode title saying "a Pokémon", Ash catches two Pokémon.
• Both Pokémon Ash catches in this episode are released by the time Ash travels to the Orange Islands.

Errors

• In the dub, Ash calls Misty by her name, even though she hasn't mentioned her name yet, since the scene in Pokémon Emergency! where she originally mentioned her name was in the Japanese version. Her name is mentioned in the English version, but Ash isn't anywhere near Nurse Joy when she says it.
• In the original version, Misty slaps Ash for putting his Pokémon in danger. When she insults him in place of slapping him, the slapping noise can still be heard.

Dub edits

The cut shot

• In the English version, Misty reads the episode title at the start instead of Ash, while in the Japanese version, Ash reads the title.
  • This is justified in that, in the dub at least, Ash is busy gloating over his caught Caterpie, and thus is unable to read the episode title like he usually does.
• When Caterpie is looking sad due to Misty telling it to stay in its Poké Ball, the katakana for "Ga~n" (a Japanese sound effect) moves across the screen. This was painted out for the dub.
• When Misty is telling Ash that birds eat worms, there is a shot where she slaps him for putting his Pokémon in danger. This was cut from the dub.
• How Misty and Ash commented on Caterpie is different between the versions (mostly due to religious censorship). In the English version, Ash was mentioning how he loves Caterpie, and Misty sarcastically responds how it doesn't take a lot to love a worm; whereas in the original version, Ash comments that he and Caterpie are the same kind of Heaven, and Misty retorts that their Heaven is her Hell.
• While Ash tells Caterpie "Counter", some have taken this to mean the move, which Caterpie cannot learn. In the original, Ash told it merely to "fight back".

In other languages

Language		Title
Arabic		آش يمسك ببوكيمون
Mandarin Chinese		收服神奇寶貝！/ 收服神奇宝贝!
Czech		První chycený pokémon
Dutch		Ash vangt een Pokémon!
Finnish		Ashin Pokémon-saalis
French	Canada	Ash capture un Pokémon
	Europe	Capture du premier Pokémon
German		Ash im Jagdfieber
Hebrew		אש לוכד פוקימון Ash loched Pokémon
Hungarian		Ash Pokémont fog
Italian		Il primo Pokémon catturato
Portuguese	Brazil	Ash Pega um Pokémon
	Portugal	Ash captura um Pokémon
Russian		Эш ловит покемона
Spanish	Latin America	¡Ash captura un Pokémon!
	Spain	Ash atrapa un Pokémon
Swedish		Ash fångar en Pokémon
Vietnamese		Thu phục Pokémon / Thu phục bửu bối thần kỳ

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of the Pokémon anime.