Indigo League, Episode 9: “The School of Hard Knocks”
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| Season 1, Episode 9, Original Air Date: May 27, 1997 (JP), September 18, 1998 (US) |
After the title card, Brock decides to set up for a break, pulling a table and various bits of kitchenware from his bag. Ah yes: the old reliable magic satchel! Very common anime and video game trope. Even in those days, you'd be surprised how many Ultra Balls and Full Restores you could fit in there.
Brock then decides to make some crepes, leading to Misty having a romantic French fantasy. I guess they wouldn't come up with Kalos for about fifteen years or so. Ash then grudgingly agrees to go get firewood, but he and Pikachu then come across a strange group of people in matching uniforms. One of the kids, whose name is Joe by the way, is being antagonized by these guys before Ash sticks up for him. As the other kids leave, they tell Ash the only thing they're "afraid of is how bad they'd beat a little punk like you." Please, they look like the henchmen of the man Scott Pilgrim kicked so hard he saw the curvature of the Earth.
Brock, who is just casually whisking ingredients for their crepes, says they're the students of Pokémon Tech, a school which is designed to get its graduates into the Pokémon league without having to travel the land collecting badges. As the fog clears, it turns out the whole thing was a training simulation that's part of their curriculum. Joe laments that tomorrow's class will be on snow battle techniques so they'll "make him into a snowman again."
Apparently, the school has a very tough class structure; to the point where no one wants to leave without graduating, as shown by an upperclassman with stubble, gray hair and a pair of glasses that look like the kind Professor E. Gad wears in the Mario games.
Worse than that, there's also a setup of systemized hazing and bullying; with a young woman named Giselle at the center of it all! While Ash initially considers it a "violation of students' rights," he and Brock become enamored with her when they see her photograph. Brock even says "she can violate his rights!" Ew. Misty is less than pleased at this, saying she's going to "find this little witch and straighten her out!" I think I know what she meant, but 4Kids wouldn't let her say it.
It's also revealed that Jessie and James were a couple Pokémon Tech washouts who got the lowest scores ever on the entrance exam! Also, Meowth's Humphrey Bogart impression while he declares his friends "The top of the bottom" is just precious!
The battle simulator being modeled after the one in Pokémon Red and Blue is also a nice touch, since the games were now at the time of the respective Japanese and American air dates.
While Joe is good on the simulator, Misty challenges him to a battle; saying "a simulation is one thing, but this is real life!" Words to live by, Misty. Her Starmie KOs Joe's Weepinbell with a single stroke, which Giselle attributes to its level being much higher when she enters.
While Brock is of course attracted to Giselle, Ash displays one of the few, if only times he was interested in someone as more than just a friend. That pretty much goes away after this episode, and it's not hard to see why.
Giselle then describes herself as she laments others don’t have her "beauty, talent or humble attitude." You may want to rethink that last one, Giselle. Still, the way the anime sets her up as one of those pretentious overachievers is very "fetch," ending her introduction on the phrase, "people call me a star, but I'm just Giselle!"
She then uses a Graveler against Misty's Starmie in an attempt to one-up the Cerulean gym leader! She's trained it so much that it cracks Starmie's gem, sending Starmie crashing out the window and into the pool!
I also note this is the only episode in 22 years of anime canon that has acknowledged evolutionary levels before or since. Giselle suggests Ash's Pikachu is at level 25, but I'm not sure. Based on what I've seen, I'm going to assume the level system works differently in the show. It's the same reason why Mario gets big from eating mushrooms, but dies when he gets hit with a turtle shell after all.
Ash quickly gets tired of Giselle's ranting, and decides to challenge her in battle! Giselle sounds out Cubone, but Ash and Pikachu are undeterred despite a type disadvantage! What follows is basically a summary of his battle style: even fairly early on, he's willing to take chances and keep fighting even when the odds are against him.
Giselle is genuinely surprised that Pikachu won without using an electric attack. While the other characters insinuate it’s a fluke (albeit a “cool fluke” by Joe’s admission), I submit it’s another piece of Ash’s battle style: he is well-known to this day for taking risks and surprising his opponents, type and power be damned.
Jessie and James then break into the pool, and Meowth reappears after being knocked away in an earlier scene I forgot to mention. Giselle, not intimidated; discovers their record-low entrance exam scores and decides to engage them with the other students. While the animation has admittedly aged, it still stood out at me when I was watching this on a UPN affiliate on an old TV in California.
In a flurry of Poké Balls, Team Rocket is sent packing in a fashion similar to Wile E. Coyote. They did come close to winning in one of the Sun and Moon episodes I saw were it not for “Bewear ex machina” before they struck the final blow.So, we close on Joe and Giselle deciding to continue their studies outside the school; and Ash, Brock and Misty set off toward Vermilion City once again.
"The School of Hard Knocks" is a good episode for me to start off my Pokémon fandom.While many people at the time were under the impression this whole thing was a fad in those days, I can definitely say those impressions were unfounded in hindsight. As the first episode of the series I ever saw, it's definitely one I will watch again and again.
Next time is the trilogy of the Kanto starter captures, starting with "Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village!" To be continued...
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