Does Pikachu have a stand? The manga has a unique take on how and why Pikachu can surf. Did you know you could teach Pikachu to surf? Sip plot summary @ 6:40 We also talk about the inconsistent looks of Blaine the fire Pokémon gym leader.

 

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120: Pokémon Adventures vol. 5

Chapters 53 to 65, 'Can't Catch Caterpie' and 'Karate Machomp'

Story by Hidenori Kusaka

Art by Mato

English Translation by Kaori Inoue

Lettering and touch up by Wayne Truman           

 

With the disappearance of trainer Red it is now Yellow Caballero's job to team up with Pikachu and find him. Along the way Red's rival, Blue, teaches Yellow the ways of a Pokémon trainer before they head off on their journey. Soon Yellow has a short run in with members of a fractured team Rocket and eventually Yellow traces Red's previous steps to a hidden Tentacool nest within the ocean, a pocket of air holds the treasure of evolutionary stones and Yellow finds that three of the stones have already been taken. 

 

Meanwhile an old ally of Red and Yellow's is the young Lady, trainer Green. She breaks in to Bill's house (the man who invented the Pokémon to PC transport system, remember?) and tries to find records of Red's Pokémon use, both Bill and Green learn that Red took out an Eevee, but before they learn anymore, they become attacked by Bruno of the elite four. With the use of Green's Blastoise they learn that the fight has been a distraction from the danger that Yellow is in.

 

Lance, the dragon pokemon expert and member of the elite four attacks Vermillion city whilst Yellow is at a surfing competition. Pikachu is almost abducted by Lance but uses the substitute move and learns how to surf, overpowering Lance which causes him to flee. After learning of Lance's manifesto of destroying humans for the benefit of Pokémon. Yellow asks Pikachu if siding with humans is something they want to do. Of course, Pikachu agrees to side with humans, because Pikachu is cool like that.

 

The Elite Four have spread out individually to make their attack. Bruno attacks Pewter city, Agatha attacks Cerulean city and Lorelei attacks Celadon city. Lance's whereabouts are unknown but Yellow teams up with Blaine to check out Cerise Island and see if Lance is there. Blaine intentionally gets to the island before Yellow and teams up with Blue at the shore. Once they travel inside the caves the two are ambushed, not by Lance but by the triad leaders of the Rocket gang. Lt. Surge, Sabrina and Koga! Yellow has yet to arrive.

 

Topics:

 

·       Why Yellow Caballero works as a character!

 

·       The "enemy mine" trope that James refers to pre-dates Star Trek, James talks about the third season finale of Voyager titled "Scorpion" where the crew need the help of an enemy in order to navigate Borg territory. The actual trope namer/codifier could be the 1985 Dennis Quad movie 'Enemy Mine' adapted from a Barry Longyear novella. That story also involves a war between humans and an alien race.

 

·       A mention to Red's Poliwhirl evolving in previous chapters brings cohesion to an otherwise bizarre quest for Yellow. Poliwhirl is unique to the manga as Red's first Pokémon, where as in the anime and the Dengeki Pikachu (Electric Tale of Pikachu) manga it is Pikachu who is the first Pokémon that our hero owns. The reasoning behind this is that the lead creative designer of the '96 game, Satoshi Tajiri, considers Poliwhirl to be his favorite Pokémon. Which is unsurprising since Red is based on Satoshi Tajiri.

 

·       The surfing Pikachu is a hidden feature in a few of the games in the series. When certain criteria are met, such as acquiring HM03 for example, you can teach Pikachu surf. There is also a hidden surfing Pikachu mini-game in Pokémon Yellow Edition.

 

 

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