PS Recap Three: Revenge of the Recap
Jun. 12th, 2010 02:21 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elementalheroNothing can stop the Pokemon Special recap! Not even a hellish twelve-hour shift!
Chapter Eight: Vs. Starmie (American title: Suddenly, Starmie!)
We return to see our intrepid hero and Misty docking off at a huge mansion in Cerulean City. Red asks Misty if it's her house, with an incredulous look on his face. She even has a row of chibi maids! AWW YEAH SHE'S HOT AND LOADED, RED'S HIT THE JACKPOT. Oh wait, he's eleven and the Derp Oblivious-to-Love-And-Or-UST Hero. Too bad. While their clothes are hung out to dry and their Pokemon are treated, Red shows up to dinner in what looks like a bathrobe but is probably a yukata (whatever, basically the same function here), and Misty shows up in a ballgown:
NO SIR, NOT TRYING TO IMPRESS ANYONE TODAY.
Red regales the maids with tales of his gallantry and saving-of-Misty-from-Team-Rocket-due-to-her-massive-head-injury, while Misty tries to get him to focus and talk about how they need to be worrying about Team Rocket and getting stronger/training. Red is cocky and asserts that while Misty might have some trouble, he is totally going to kick their asses. Wow, upon rereading, I never noticed how cocky Red behaves when we first meet him! Honestly, given his character development over the course of the manga, and the end result of how we understand his personality (highly Sora-like, making immediate friendships and also spamming everyone with happy hearts ;3;), it feels highly incongruous. Especially since Red is never this chauvinistic again (oh, wait until we meet Blue, WAIT UNTIL WE MEET BLUE YOU GUYS AKSALDJA). :/a
Misty yells at him and calls him an idiot, and I believe it is implied she slapped him (if there was a sound effect, it was taken out), since Red's cheek looks red in the next panel as she storms out with tears in her eyes. He's yelling, though, so it could also just be him flushing, so who knows?
Later that night, Red wonders for a moment if it was something he said, before concluding "Naaaaah," and going to bed. Then, SUDDENLY, the lights go out, and he is buffeted by sudden gale-force winds that batter him and his Pokemon, leaving the room in a shambles. Red's reaction, understandably: WTF. He finds a Gyarados scale in the wreckage, but no other clues.
The next day, Red eats breakfast alone, and the maids scoot over to ask if he is going to be cool and show them his pokemanz today. Red announces that he intends to take on...THE CERULEAN GYM LEADER, who certainly must be a big tough guy, and beat him for fame and glory and badges and shit. To his surprise, the maids burst out laughing! Misty pops in with an uncharacteristically evil smirk and says she'll take Red to the Cerulean Gym Leader. Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of canon knows why this is funny and what's about to happen. XD
Misty is all "oh, please, after you," as they enter the Gym, and Red gives her a look indicating he is kind of thrown off by her sudden shift in attitude. But fame and glory call, so they go in. But, oh no, as they approach the last room, IT IS EMPTY. Red is upset and asks where the Gym Leader is. Misty smiles...
OHOHOHO SHE IS THE LEADER OF THE CERULEAN GYM~
Red's reaction is to burst out laughing but then he gets a Water Gun to the face for being an uncharacteristic asshat in this chapter. Misty also reveals that OHOHOHO SHE WAS THE ONE WHO ATTACKED HIM LAST NIGHT~ (which, even to prove a point, was kind of a dickly thing to do, really. WHAT IS WITH THIS CHAPTER ANYWAY? D8) Red attacks with Bulbasaur and is soundly beaten by Misty's Starmie's furious Bubblebeam.
Red is shocked and asks why. Misty's fists clench and she is visibly trembling. "I thought," she says, "you knew how I felt...about us as a team..." Red looks solemn as she continues on, tears welling up, to say that Starmie wasn't good enough at Mount Moon, and that they have to use teamwork in order to get stronger:
Red then says, "You're right. I don't have time to impress girls...and you don't have time for crying!" He holds out a hand and Misty smiles as they agree to get stronger.
Transition to a few days later, and Red and Misty part ways; her to keep up with her gym, and Red to continue on his adventure. MORAL OF THIS CHAPTER: DON'T BE A SEXIST DOUCHEBAG. ALSO, PUBERTY IS LAME, KICKING ASS IS MUCH BETTER. I am honestly way conflicted about this chapter; while I get that they were trying to shoehorn in a little humility lesson as well as a message about PokeSpe's attitude towards the ladies (which is that they are badass and don't you forget it, AND IT IS WAY DEMONSTRATED FOR REAL LATER ON JUST TRUST ME BBS), I feel like it was carried off a little weirdly. Red was like just SUDDENLY A DOUCHEBAG, and then Misty was like TRYING TOO HARD TO IMPRESS HIM AND IN THE PROCESS COMING OFF AS KIND OF A BITCH, and I was like, "I feel like this behavior on both their parts is a bit OOC and this whole chapter seems too Mood Whiplashy."
:/a
Chapter Nine: Vs. Fearow (American title: ...But Fearow Itself!)
Did you really just use a Pokemon to pun on FDR, American translation? Really?
We open the chapter meeting this guy, Bill:
Bill is working on some sinister-looking machine consisting of two tanks connected by some wires and things; as he climbs into one of the apparently malfunctioning tanks, his shirt snags and pulls the door shut behind him. A Rattata is in the other tank as Bill begins frantically banging on the inside of his tank to no avail, as a sinister-looking button labeled "AUTO-TIMER" starts blinking...
Actually, that whole scene reminded me of the creation of Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Intentional shout-out? Coincidence? YOU DECIDE.
Transition to Red, who is having trouble carrying all his Pokeballs on his belt anymore, as he has captured a lot of Pokemon by this point. But, he can't just let them go! WHAT TO DO. He spots a strange-looking Ratatta over by the--holy god that is not a Rattata -
After Red manages to get over this by repressing it forever, Billtata introduces himself, only to be snatched up by a Fearow mid-sentence. The Fearow apparently intends to make Billtata a meal for her chicks, and we spend the next several pages attacking the Fearow in flight, learning some good actual fighting strategies while we're at it, and also being provided with comic relief in the form of Billtata freaking out. After successfully bringing the Fearow down by electrocuting the bejeezus out of it, Red and co. must face off against the Fearow on the ground. Red makes his first Badass Face in the manga (first of many!) and due to Poliwhirl mindscrewing everyone by making an ice mirror and freezing the Fearow to death (aww yeah son BD), the day is saved!
badass face
At Bill's cottage near Cerulean, Red helps reverse the Body Horror transmogrification by recreating the tank accident (don't complain about the fail science, this is Pokemon, the only law science follows here is Rule of Awesome), and Bill emerges safe and sound in order to explain how he just invented a MOLECULAR TRANSPORTER HOLY SHIT YEAH. This, of course, sets up the Pokemon Storage and Transport System, better known in the games as Bill's PC. HUZZAH, NOW RED CAN CONVENIENTLY STORE THOSE POKEMON HE COULDN'T CARRY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER :D
As a side note on this chapter, I like Bill as a character because he is cute and derpy and gets his moments later on, but I hate reading his chapters in the Viz translation because FOR NO ADEQUATELY EXPLORED REASON, they elected to give him a nigh-unreadable phonetically transcribed Huck-Finn-esque Southern accent. I'm like WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT. The online scanlations use no such thing, and there are no notes on the one I'm reading, so either he has some sort of dialectical equivalent accent in Japanese (Kansai? maybe?) or Viz is just tripping on acid. It's happened.
Chapter Ten: Vs. Voltorb (American title: Danger: High Voltorb!)
Red and co. have reached the ocean! YAY OCEAN 8D (fridge logic: they were just in Cerulean City. The ocean borders that city. Bill's cottage is called SEA COTTAGE. Maybe it's a bay and it doesn't count? Y'OKAY COOL STORY BRO.)
And they have found a cool ship called the SS Anne! YAY LET'S GO CHECK IT OUT SHIPS ARE COOL. Red sneaks in by hiding behind a guy carrying a large cargo crate (why the guy didn't notice him is beyond me) and goes to explore the ship. THIS COULD NOT POSSIBLY TURN OUT BADLY.
Red giggles to himself merrily as he wonders how far in he can get before getting caught. Oh, that lovable scamp. ♥~ For a second, he thinks he hears something in the crates of cargo being loaded aboard, but it must be his imagination, so he proceeds farther into the ship. Glancing through some porthole-shaped interior door windows, he sees a dark shadow within one cabin with eyes that gleam out through the gloom. Red shrieks (I would too D8) and some sailors spot him and kick him off the ship.
As any shounen hero worth his salt, Red immediately begins plotting his reentry aboard to investigate the Creepy Dark Shape. But before he can, he is accosted by an OLD CREEPY GUY D8
--oh frig onemanga's gone down. Probably due to server traffic for the FMA chapter. BY THE WAY, DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT TO ME. DO NOT MENTION IT. NO. I MEAN IT. DON'T EVEN KEYSMASH IN THE COMMENTS. PLEASE. I AM NOT CAUGHT UP OR EVEN CLOSE, AND I'D LIKE FOR IT NOT TO BE ADDRESSED HERE AT ALL. You know I love fangasming, but I don't want this to get ruined for me. I appreciate it in advance ;;
That's okay, though, Mangafox will do the job o9
Anyway, Old Creepy Guy introduces himself as the PRESIDENT OF THE POKEMON FAN CLUB after assaulting Red and forcing him to open his Pokeballs so he can see his Pokemanz. ...Oh god, I know, that sounded so terrible D|
Red is dragged to the Pokemon Fan Club, where the most amazing case of Getting Crap Past the Radar ensues:
If you can't read the text, the offical Viz version is the best: "Shocking Case of Poke-Love! I'll never take a bath with my Tentacool again!"
Yes.
|D
SO ANYWAY, Red and his Pokemon are petted and poked by everyone (seriously this is like a Creepers Only club D|) and after a conversation, the fan club expresses their shock that Red actually battles with his Pokemon. Red explains that without battling, Pokemon would never get stronger and evolve, which I think rather simply sums up the attitude about it in the Pokemon universe. It's genuinely a legitimate form of controlled aggression channeling and physical exercise for both Pokemon and trainer, which is what I like to say to people who argue this series is nothing but glorified cockfighting. OH GOD WHERE DID THIS SOAPBOX COME FROM /punts it
This is interrupted by a guy busting in the door because his Pokemon was stolen! Apparently, Vermilion City has been suffering from a rash of Pokemon thievery. Red vows to Get to the Bottom of This!
In order:
-The thief does the robbing around the same time every month
-It would be difficult for anyone but their trainers to get the Pokemon into their Pokeballs (heyo, world-building!), so,
-The Pokemon must be transported fully-grown (i.e. without the benefit of being shrunk to a portable size).
This information leads Red to conclude that the thief must be smuggling them away using the S.S. Anne! He's a regular Hardy Boy. /patpats
But before he goes on the ship, this happens:
D|
Which leaves Red sneaking on board with only Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl while Pikachu is left to the fan club president. I am not making the joke you're thinking of, and neither should you.
Red sneaks aboard with Bulbasaur's help and finds what seems to be a Pokeball in a dark cabin...OH GOD IT HAS A FACE D8
The Voltorb shocks Red, and Red attacks with Poliwhirl. They are both majorly freaked out. Then Poli collapses, because Red was an idiot and attacked an Electric Pokemon with a water attack. A large blond anime-haired man walks on and says the one thing we all learned from this franchise: Water conducts electricity. Red and Poli are surrounded....
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN FIRST CLIFFHANGER CHAPTER
Chapter Eleven: Vs. Electabuzz (American title: Buzz Off, Electabuzz!)
You know this is a weird naming system when the American titles end up using more exclamation marks than the Japanese titles.
Lt. Surge (for of course it is he, that badass military gaijin stereotype) asks Red why he's aboard his ship. (We were given that info in a small aside during the Hardy Boys-ing last chapter and I forgot to mention it.) Red says he's trying to find the Pokemon thief, and Surge is quick to lol at the idea. IN A MANRY WAY OF COURSE, FOR HE IS VERY MANRY. He then announces that it isn't stealing, it's rescuing those pampered, unstimulated Pokemon! Also, he is being paid to do so. Always helps. Hell, I'd do it if it means no more twelve-hour overtime shifts ;;
Surge then busts out his Electabuzz (with badass chains to emphasize its badassery) and proceeds to attack.
Red and Poliwhirl manage to sneakily freeze its legs, though, and use a Smoke Bomb to get the hell out of dodge. (It's not an asspull - that's a legit item from the games. /sunglasses yeeeaaaah) Red congratulates Poli when they're safely away, revealing that apparently he used to get bullied as a kid. WAIT WHAT. But it's blink-and-you-miss, as Red would not know angst if it hit him in the face with a Psycho Boost - oh wait, that's a few arcs from now :'D
Red sneaks around some Magnemite patrolling for him, but all in vain as apparently the whole ship is security-cam'd anyway. They are then ambushed by a Magneton, which disrupts their equilibrium with Supersonic and Red is left to Surge's mercy. (Of which Surge has none, because MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK /COBRA KAI REFERENCE AWW YEAH) Surge then throws Poliwhirl overboard, which is SO BAD -
oh wait. Poliwhirl is a Water Pokemon. :/a Maybe this will not turn out to be Surge's best idea ever. Red cannot help because he is trapped by several Magneton creating an electric light barrier cage...thing.
Since this is a kid's series, this means that Surge is going to lol at Red for a little bit and then let his guard down, right?
Oh wait, no. This is Pokemon Special. Red gets electrocuted until he passes out.
You know, for kids! 8D
Surge then tosses the limp, unresponsive, covered-in-electrical-burns body of an eleven-year-old into the ocean. Because that is how badass he is, apparently. Except it is no longer funny or awesome. (One thing I love about PokeSpe is how it clearly delineates the line between Awesome Badassery and When Badassery Crosses the Line into Power-Abusing Douchebaggery. More on this when we meet Norman. rrrrrrgh Norman /shakes fist)
While preliminarily drowning, Red flashes back to when he was a cute kid and Poliwhirl was just a Poliwag. Red fell into a river and couldn't swim to save himself, and Poliwag wasn't strong enough to help him. The desire to help save Red, however, gave Poli the motivation to evolve! But surely that couldn't happen aga--oh my god it happens again! 8D
aww yeah B| shit's going down
Poli proceeds to clean up by bodily throwing Electabuzz at Surge and knocking them both into the ocean Bad. Ass. BD Clearly, Lt. Surge is not coming back, right? Right?
All the missing Pokemon are returned, fan club president's cute 'lil Abra has evolved into an Alakazam, prompting him to comically faint, Pikachu gets to be back in the action, and the day is saved!
Next time on Pokemon Special Recaps: Ahaha, cuteness and squish-hugs and frolicking and rainbows and - OH MY F*CKING GOD ZOMBIES COMING UP THE HELL RIGHT NOW -
Chapter Eight: Vs. Starmie (American title: Suddenly, Starmie!)
We return to see our intrepid hero and Misty docking off at a huge mansion in Cerulean City. Red asks Misty if it's her house, with an incredulous look on his face. She even has a row of chibi maids! AWW YEAH SHE'S HOT AND LOADED, RED'S HIT THE JACKPOT. Oh wait, he's eleven and the Derp Oblivious-to-Love-And-Or-UST Hero. Too bad. While their clothes are hung out to dry and their Pokemon are treated, Red shows up to dinner in what looks like a bathrobe but is probably a yukata (whatever, basically the same function here), and Misty shows up in a ballgown:
NO SIR, NOT TRYING TO IMPRESS ANYONE TODAY.
Red regales the maids with tales of his gallantry and saving-of-Misty-from-Team-Rocket-due-to-her-massive-head-injury, while Misty tries to get him to focus and talk about how they need to be worrying about Team Rocket and getting stronger/training. Red is cocky and asserts that while Misty might have some trouble, he is totally going to kick their asses. Wow, upon rereading, I never noticed how cocky Red behaves when we first meet him! Honestly, given his character development over the course of the manga, and the end result of how we understand his personality (highly Sora-like, making immediate friendships and also spamming everyone with happy hearts ;3;), it feels highly incongruous. Especially since Red is never this chauvinistic again (oh, wait until we meet Blue, WAIT UNTIL WE MEET BLUE YOU GUYS AKSALDJA). :/a
Misty yells at him and calls him an idiot, and I believe it is implied she slapped him (if there was a sound effect, it was taken out), since Red's cheek looks red in the next panel as she storms out with tears in her eyes. He's yelling, though, so it could also just be him flushing, so who knows?
Later that night, Red wonders for a moment if it was something he said, before concluding "Naaaaah," and going to bed. Then, SUDDENLY, the lights go out, and he is buffeted by sudden gale-force winds that batter him and his Pokemon, leaving the room in a shambles. Red's reaction, understandably: WTF. He finds a Gyarados scale in the wreckage, but no other clues.
The next day, Red eats breakfast alone, and the maids scoot over to ask if he is going to be cool and show them his pokemanz today. Red announces that he intends to take on...THE CERULEAN GYM LEADER, who certainly must be a big tough guy, and beat him for fame and glory and badges and shit. To his surprise, the maids burst out laughing! Misty pops in with an uncharacteristically evil smirk and says she'll take Red to the Cerulean Gym Leader. Anyone with even a rudimentary knowledge of canon knows why this is funny and what's about to happen. XD
Misty is all "oh, please, after you," as they enter the Gym, and Red gives her a look indicating he is kind of thrown off by her sudden shift in attitude. But fame and glory call, so they go in. But, oh no, as they approach the last room, IT IS EMPTY. Red is upset and asks where the Gym Leader is. Misty smiles...
OHOHOHO SHE IS THE LEADER OF THE CERULEAN GYM~
Red's reaction is to burst out laughing but then he gets a Water Gun to the face for being an uncharacteristic asshat in this chapter. Misty also reveals that OHOHOHO SHE WAS THE ONE WHO ATTACKED HIM LAST NIGHT~ (which, even to prove a point, was kind of a dickly thing to do, really. WHAT IS WITH THIS CHAPTER ANYWAY? D8) Red attacks with Bulbasaur and is soundly beaten by Misty's Starmie's furious Bubblebeam.
Red is shocked and asks why. Misty's fists clench and she is visibly trembling. "I thought," she says, "you knew how I felt...about us as a team..." Red looks solemn as she continues on, tears welling up, to say that Starmie wasn't good enough at Mount Moon, and that they have to use teamwork in order to get stronger:
Red then says, "You're right. I don't have time to impress girls...and you don't have time for crying!" He holds out a hand and Misty smiles as they agree to get stronger.
Transition to a few days later, and Red and Misty part ways; her to keep up with her gym, and Red to continue on his adventure. MORAL OF THIS CHAPTER: DON'T BE A SEXIST DOUCHEBAG. ALSO, PUBERTY IS LAME, KICKING ASS IS MUCH BETTER. I am honestly way conflicted about this chapter; while I get that they were trying to shoehorn in a little humility lesson as well as a message about PokeSpe's attitude towards the ladies (which is that they are badass and don't you forget it, AND IT IS WAY DEMONSTRATED FOR REAL LATER ON JUST TRUST ME BBS), I feel like it was carried off a little weirdly. Red was like just SUDDENLY A DOUCHEBAG, and then Misty was like TRYING TOO HARD TO IMPRESS HIM AND IN THE PROCESS COMING OFF AS KIND OF A BITCH, and I was like, "I feel like this behavior on both their parts is a bit OOC and this whole chapter seems too Mood Whiplashy."
:/a
Chapter Nine: Vs. Fearow (American title: ...But Fearow Itself!)
Did you really just use a Pokemon to pun on FDR, American translation? Really?
We open the chapter meeting this guy, Bill:
Bill is working on some sinister-looking machine consisting of two tanks connected by some wires and things; as he climbs into one of the apparently malfunctioning tanks, his shirt snags and pulls the door shut behind him. A Rattata is in the other tank as Bill begins frantically banging on the inside of his tank to no avail, as a sinister-looking button labeled "AUTO-TIMER" starts blinking...
Actually, that whole scene reminded me of the creation of Dr. Manhattan from Watchmen. Intentional shout-out? Coincidence? YOU DECIDE.
Transition to Red, who is having trouble carrying all his Pokeballs on his belt anymore, as he has captured a lot of Pokemon by this point. But, he can't just let them go! WHAT TO DO. He spots a strange-looking Ratatta over by the--holy god that is not a Rattata -
After Red manages to get over this by repressing it forever, Billtata introduces himself, only to be snatched up by a Fearow mid-sentence. The Fearow apparently intends to make Billtata a meal for her chicks, and we spend the next several pages attacking the Fearow in flight, learning some good actual fighting strategies while we're at it, and also being provided with comic relief in the form of Billtata freaking out. After successfully bringing the Fearow down by electrocuting the bejeezus out of it, Red and co. must face off against the Fearow on the ground. Red makes his first Badass Face in the manga (first of many!) and due to Poliwhirl mindscrewing everyone by making an ice mirror and freezing the Fearow to death (aww yeah son BD), the day is saved!
badass face
At Bill's cottage near Cerulean, Red helps reverse the Body Horror transmogrification by recreating the tank accident (don't complain about the fail science, this is Pokemon, the only law science follows here is Rule of Awesome), and Bill emerges safe and sound in order to explain how he just invented a MOLECULAR TRANSPORTER HOLY SHIT YEAH. This, of course, sets up the Pokemon Storage and Transport System, better known in the games as Bill's PC. HUZZAH, NOW RED CAN CONVENIENTLY STORE THOSE POKEMON HE COULDN'T CARRY AT THE BEGINNING OF THE CHAPTER :D
As a side note on this chapter, I like Bill as a character because he is cute and derpy and gets his moments later on, but I hate reading his chapters in the Viz translation because FOR NO ADEQUATELY EXPLORED REASON, they elected to give him a nigh-unreadable phonetically transcribed Huck-Finn-esque Southern accent. I'm like WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT. The online scanlations use no such thing, and there are no notes on the one I'm reading, so either he has some sort of dialectical equivalent accent in Japanese (Kansai? maybe?) or Viz is just tripping on acid. It's happened.
Chapter Ten: Vs. Voltorb (American title: Danger: High Voltorb!)
Red and co. have reached the ocean! YAY OCEAN 8D (fridge logic: they were just in Cerulean City. The ocean borders that city. Bill's cottage is called SEA COTTAGE. Maybe it's a bay and it doesn't count? Y'OKAY COOL STORY BRO.)
And they have found a cool ship called the SS Anne! YAY LET'S GO CHECK IT OUT SHIPS ARE COOL. Red sneaks in by hiding behind a guy carrying a large cargo crate (why the guy didn't notice him is beyond me) and goes to explore the ship. THIS COULD NOT POSSIBLY TURN OUT BADLY.
Red giggles to himself merrily as he wonders how far in he can get before getting caught. Oh, that lovable scamp. ♥~ For a second, he thinks he hears something in the crates of cargo being loaded aboard, but it must be his imagination, so he proceeds farther into the ship. Glancing through some porthole-shaped interior door windows, he sees a dark shadow within one cabin with eyes that gleam out through the gloom. Red shrieks (I would too D8) and some sailors spot him and kick him off the ship.
As any shounen hero worth his salt, Red immediately begins plotting his reentry aboard to investigate the Creepy Dark Shape. But before he can, he is accosted by an OLD CREEPY GUY D8
--oh frig onemanga's gone down. Probably due to server traffic for the FMA chapter. BY THE WAY, DO NOT TALK ABOUT IT TO ME. DO NOT MENTION IT. NO. I MEAN IT. DON'T EVEN KEYSMASH IN THE COMMENTS. PLEASE. I AM NOT CAUGHT UP OR EVEN CLOSE, AND I'D LIKE FOR IT NOT TO BE ADDRESSED HERE AT ALL. You know I love fangasming, but I don't want this to get ruined for me. I appreciate it in advance ;;
That's okay, though, Mangafox will do the job o9
Anyway, Old Creepy Guy introduces himself as the PRESIDENT OF THE POKEMON FAN CLUB after assaulting Red and forcing him to open his Pokeballs so he can see his Pokemanz. ...Oh god, I know, that sounded so terrible D|
Red is dragged to the Pokemon Fan Club, where the most amazing case of Getting Crap Past the Radar ensues:
If you can't read the text, the offical Viz version is the best: "Shocking Case of Poke-Love! I'll never take a bath with my Tentacool again!"
Yes.
|D
SO ANYWAY, Red and his Pokemon are petted and poked by everyone (seriously this is like a Creepers Only club D|) and after a conversation, the fan club expresses their shock that Red actually battles with his Pokemon. Red explains that without battling, Pokemon would never get stronger and evolve, which I think rather simply sums up the attitude about it in the Pokemon universe. It's genuinely a legitimate form of controlled aggression channeling and physical exercise for both Pokemon and trainer, which is what I like to say to people who argue this series is nothing but glorified cockfighting. OH GOD WHERE DID THIS SOAPBOX COME FROM /punts it
This is interrupted by a guy busting in the door because his Pokemon was stolen! Apparently, Vermilion City has been suffering from a rash of Pokemon thievery. Red vows to Get to the Bottom of This!
In order:
-The thief does the robbing around the same time every month
-It would be difficult for anyone but their trainers to get the Pokemon into their Pokeballs (heyo, world-building!), so,
-The Pokemon must be transported fully-grown (i.e. without the benefit of being shrunk to a portable size).
This information leads Red to conclude that the thief must be smuggling them away using the S.S. Anne! He's a regular Hardy Boy. /patpats
But before he goes on the ship, this happens:
D|
Which leaves Red sneaking on board with only Bulbasaur and Poliwhirl while Pikachu is left to the fan club president. I am not making the joke you're thinking of, and neither should you.
Red sneaks aboard with Bulbasaur's help and finds what seems to be a Pokeball in a dark cabin...OH GOD IT HAS A FACE D8
The Voltorb shocks Red, and Red attacks with Poliwhirl. They are both majorly freaked out. Then Poli collapses, because Red was an idiot and attacked an Electric Pokemon with a water attack. A large blond anime-haired man walks on and says the one thing we all learned from this franchise: Water conducts electricity. Red and Poli are surrounded....
DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN FIRST CLIFFHANGER CHAPTER
Chapter Eleven: Vs. Electabuzz (American title: Buzz Off, Electabuzz!)
You know this is a weird naming system when the American titles end up using more exclamation marks than the Japanese titles.
Lt. Surge (for of course it is he, that badass military gaijin stereotype) asks Red why he's aboard his ship. (We were given that info in a small aside during the Hardy Boys-ing last chapter and I forgot to mention it.) Red says he's trying to find the Pokemon thief, and Surge is quick to lol at the idea. IN A MANRY WAY OF COURSE, FOR HE IS VERY MANRY. He then announces that it isn't stealing, it's rescuing those pampered, unstimulated Pokemon! Also, he is being paid to do so. Always helps. Hell, I'd do it if it means no more twelve-hour overtime shifts ;;
Surge then busts out his Electabuzz (with badass chains to emphasize its badassery) and proceeds to attack.
Red and Poliwhirl manage to sneakily freeze its legs, though, and use a Smoke Bomb to get the hell out of dodge. (It's not an asspull - that's a legit item from the games. /sunglasses yeeeaaaah) Red congratulates Poli when they're safely away, revealing that apparently he used to get bullied as a kid. WAIT WHAT. But it's blink-and-you-miss, as Red would not know angst if it hit him in the face with a Psycho Boost - oh wait, that's a few arcs from now :'D
Red sneaks around some Magnemite patrolling for him, but all in vain as apparently the whole ship is security-cam'd anyway. They are then ambushed by a Magneton, which disrupts their equilibrium with Supersonic and Red is left to Surge's mercy. (Of which Surge has none, because MERCY IS FOR THE WEAK /COBRA KAI REFERENCE AWW YEAH) Surge then throws Poliwhirl overboard, which is SO BAD -
oh wait. Poliwhirl is a Water Pokemon. :/a Maybe this will not turn out to be Surge's best idea ever. Red cannot help because he is trapped by several Magneton creating an electric light barrier cage...thing.
Since this is a kid's series, this means that Surge is going to lol at Red for a little bit and then let his guard down, right?
Oh wait, no. This is Pokemon Special. Red gets electrocuted until he passes out.
You know, for kids! 8D
Surge then tosses the limp, unresponsive, covered-in-electrical-burns body of an eleven-year-old into the ocean. Because that is how badass he is, apparently. Except it is no longer funny or awesome. (One thing I love about PokeSpe is how it clearly delineates the line between Awesome Badassery and When Badassery Crosses the Line into Power-Abusing Douchebaggery. More on this when we meet Norman. rrrrrrgh Norman /shakes fist)
While preliminarily drowning, Red flashes back to when he was a cute kid and Poliwhirl was just a Poliwag. Red fell into a river and couldn't swim to save himself, and Poliwag wasn't strong enough to help him. The desire to help save Red, however, gave Poli the motivation to evolve! But surely that couldn't happen aga--oh my god it happens again! 8D
aww yeah B| shit's going down
Poli proceeds to clean up by bodily throwing Electabuzz at Surge and knocking them both into the ocean Bad. Ass. BD Clearly, Lt. Surge is not coming back, right? Right?
All the missing Pokemon are returned, fan club president's cute 'lil Abra has evolved into an Alakazam, prompting him to comically faint, Pikachu gets to be back in the action, and the day is saved!
Next time on Pokemon Special Recaps: Ahaha, cuteness and squish-hugs and frolicking and rainbows and - OH MY F*CKING GOD ZOMBIES COMING UP THE HELL RIGHT NOW -
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no subject
Date: 2010-06-12 04:02 pm (UTC)(And I like the part where he's like "I SAW AN EEVEE BREATHE FAR" and Red's like "DERP HOW FAR DID IT BREATHE" and he's like "NOT FAR, FAR! WITH FLAMES! SNAP, CRACKLE!") |D
no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 02:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-14 08:54 pm (UTC)