Indigo League, Episode 20: "The Ghost of Maiden's Peak"

Season 1, Episode 20, Original Air Date: August 12, 1997 (JP), October 2, 1998 (US)

I have a confession to make: when I was younger, I used to not like the subject of today’s recap. When I was a kid; I was so spooked by the subject matter that I couldn’t watch it for years. As time passed; however, I grew to appreciate it more for its gothic atmosphere and freaky imagery. Yes folks, this is a case of me originally not liking a Kanto episode when I was 8; but finding much more appreciation for it as a teenager and a young adult. 

We open on a cliff by the sea, where the ghost of a young maiden is calling for her love to come back to her, and then; it becomes a Gastly! This episode freaked me out a lot when I was younger; and I used to not like it for that. Now, I think this episode is an underrated gem from Kanto. 

The ship is landing at Maiden's Peak, and Brock is distraught that there are no more ladies in swimsuits, since summer is over.

Ash and Misty are eager to see the festival as summer ends. Brock sees something, and Ash and Misty encourage him to cheer up.

Team Rocket comes up on shore, and Jessie and James are out for pocket change; but Meowth is hungry. Then, James sees the maiden; and Jessie conks him on the head to knock it off. 

Everyone is partying like at the Mardi Gras, or more accurately; a Japanese festival; which is quite common for anime to have. I like these scenes as they provide some good breaks between battles to make the cast feel more human.

Brock then sees an old hag; who tells him he will befall a cruel fate at the hands of a young woman. Still, this is more helpful than some of the other old ladies have been in my town.

Misty then claims she's the beautiful girl; and claims like that were much more common in the subtitled version. I'd have to agree with that. The old lady, however, dismisses her as scrawny. Ash agrees, and Misty bonks him on the head in response.

James finds a penny, which 4Kids doctored from a 1 yen coin in the Japanese version. Officer Jenny comes in and claims the penny for the lost and found; and Jessie decides to bail.

An elder of the shrine unveils a painting of the maiden, who had died over 2000 years ago; waiting for a young man who went to war, and never returned, till she turned to stone in waiting. I'm reminded of Pokémon Conquest, a very good spinoff crossover with Nobunaga's Ambition; but that's not important right now.

Brock is in awe at the maiden on the cliff, and James wants to steal it. Jessie objects, but Meowth suggests stealing the painting. Jessie agrees; and she and James then fall in the water! Meowth snarks that Team Rocket is slipping.

Brock is still waiting by the rock, as Ash and Misty head to the Pokémon Center. Despite Brock's promises, Brock does not make it back before curfew.

Then, Meowth wakes to his alarm as the ghost of the maiden puts him back to sleep and takes James. Then, she takes Brock, who is waiting by the cliffs.

Everyone is looking for their missing friends the next morning as Jessie tries to do the motto by herself as James chimes in and bursts out the door of the shrine! Brock follows close behind as they're both delirious! The old woman points out they've seen the ghost, as they embrace. Ew. Pikachu then zaps them back to normal, or so they think. The old woman then decides to sell them some stickers with charms that keep away the ghosts. Oddly, the 1000-yen and 5000-yen notes in her cash register aren't changed even though the penny was. Consistency? What's that?

The spirit has come, and it still wants Brock and James. He starts whining "I don't want to go" as he's pulled away. 

Still, Ash and Misty grab Brock by the legs as Jessie shoots the ghost with their rocket launcher, telling her she doesn't have "a ghost of a chance". Then, that quip got used endlessly in Yu-Gi-Oh and its progeny after that. The spirit has been found out as Gastly. 

Gastly starts summoning illusions, including a mongoose to face Ekans. I guess they wouldn't come up with Zangoose for another 5 years. 

He then uses a fire extinguisher against Charmander. Ash sends out Bulbasaur and Squirtle, and Gastly counters with Venusaur and Blastoise. He then combines them into Venustoise! I imagine that would be a nice D-arts kitbash, or an early version of their Mega Evolutions.

Then, Misty pulls out a cross, garlic, a stake, and a hammer.

The sun rises, and Gastly then slips away.

The festival ends with many boats being set off to help any wandering spirits find their way back home; and with Ash and Misty dancing with all the other guests.

“The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak” is sure proof that time can easily change one’s opinion of certain episodes. I really enjoyed how it approached the mythology of the series; as well as offering some really spooky interpretations of Gastly for younger viewers. It may scare them, but it's a controlled dose of such a thing, which I find to be acceptable. Helped that it aired alongside Beast Wars and Sailor Moon on the UPN affiliate when I used to live in California; and alongside Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Men in Black when it moved to Kids WB. The animation is also pretty good for its time; standing out as one of the better episodes in terms of how scenes are lit and colored, and how characters move even when not battling. Overall: it's a good episode that helped condition me for my fascination with the paranormal; especially in anime and video games. To be continued...