Pokémon Anime Review – EP014: “Electric Shock Showdown” | We Gonna Shock Down to Electric Raichu
In this episode of the Pika Pals Podcast, I revisit Pokémon: Electric Shock Showdown, where Ash and Pikachu finally arrive in Vermilion City — only to find the Pokémon Center packed with defeated Trainers. When Ash challenges the tough and intimidating Lt. Surge, Pikachu must face off against his evolved form, Raichu, in a battle of power, pride, and pure heart.
⚡ Whether you’re a 90s kid reliving Indigo League memories or a new fan exploring the Kanto region for the first time, this nostalgic anime rewatch is full of fun, fan theories, and friendship. 🎧 New episodes weekly! Follow and be part of the Pika Pals family!
⸻
🔗 Connect with Pika Pals:
Instagram / Twitter / Threads: @YEETaMania
📧 Email: yeetamania@gmail.com
💌 Letters via Dragonite airmail also accepted.
⸻
💛 Support Mental Health:
I’m raising money for Mind in Somerset — inspired by Pokémon’s themes of courage and connection.
Donate via Pika Pals Unite and show your support for mental health in the Pokémon community.
⸻
🚨 Disclaimer:
Pika Pals Podcast is a fan project and not affiliated with Nintendo, Game Freak, or The Pokémon Company. All rights to characters, names, and images belong to their respective owners.
Episode details and Pokémon facts referenced from Bulbapedia, with appreciation for their amazing fan community.
⸻
Keywords: Pokémon anime podcast, Indigo League rewatch, Ash Ketchum, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, Kanto region, Team Rocket, 90s anime, Pokémon nostalgia, Pokémon episode review, anime podcast, Pokémon fandom, retro anime, classic Pokémon, fan theories, Pokémon rewatch, mental health & fandom, Pika Pals Podcast
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Pikachu. And now, join Pokémon Trainer
(00:21):
Jed for a non-stop, action-packed, laugh filled
perilous journey. Turn your hat around, grab your
pokeballs, and get ready for thefantastic Pika Pals podcast,
where the excitement never ends.Welcome to the Pika Pals
podcast. I'm your host Pokémon trainer
(00:42):
Jed and I thank you for tuning in.
It's your weekly Pokémon nostalgia trip filled with joy,
laughter, and heart warming lifelessons from the always
fascinating world of Pokémon. Now before I get into today's
show, I just want to extend my thanks for all of your support.
(01:04):
A few mini milestones to celebrate because episode one of
my Pokémon podcast has now reached 100 individual listens.
That's right, 100 of you have listened to episode 1 of my Pika
Pals podcast. Now I know in comparison to
(01:27):
other podcasts, that may not seem like much of an
achievement, but to me that is avery big achievement that 100
people have listened to episode 1 individual listeners.
So it's not just me clicking replay 100 times.
I only did that 98 times. I've got some statistics here of
the geographic location of wherepeople have listened to the Peak
(01:51):
of Oz podcast. So my little Pokémon journey
that I started three months ago,a personal challenge for myself.
And here are where people are now listening to the podcast.
So we have listeners in the United Kingdom, the United
States, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Russia, Sweden, New
(02:15):
Zealand, Japan, the home of Pokémon, the Netherlands, and
Brazil. So if you are listening right
now to the Peeker Powers Podcastin any of those locations,
please, please put a comment on the episode or reach out to me
on social media. It'd be really great to to
(02:35):
connect with some of you guys from from all over the world.
The Peeker Powers Podcast is allacross the globe.
But that's enough for the intro.Let's get to today's episode.
(02:58):
OK we are still on our Pokémon watch along re watching every
episode of the original Pokémon anime series and I just got done
watching episode 14. This one is called electric
shock showdown. It's the 14th episode of the
(03:18):
original Pokémon animated seriesand it was first broadcast on
July the 1st 1997 in Japan. It would go on to be shown on
September the 25th, 1998 in the United States and beyond.
Now here is a summary of the main plot points from this
(03:40):
episode. I do encourage you to go back
and watch it. You can find it on the Pokémon
TV YouTube channel. You can find it on Netflix.
You can find it on DVD, might even have it on VHS if you dig
dig around in the attic. But in this episode, we see Ash
and the gang arrive at VermilionCity.
(04:00):
However, Pikachu is injured and Brock advises Ash that he would
be unable to battle and he needsto get him to a Pokémon Centre.
So the gang arrive at the local Pokémon Centre, where there are
many injured Pokémon, and most of them are there because
they've been defeated by Lieutenant Serge, the Vermilion
(04:23):
City Gym Leader. Ash, however, keen to challenge
Lieutenant Serge once his Pikachu is healed.
And despite Pikachu's fear of Lieutenant Serge and Lieutenant
Serge mockery of Pikachu callinghim a a cute Pikachu, but he's
kind of mocking the fact that he's unevolved.
(04:47):
Ash proceeds with his attempt tobattle Lieutenant Serge and
Lieutenant Serge has a Raichu ashis Pokémon.
But this first battle doesn't gowell.
In fact, Pikachu loses to Lieutenant Serge due to Raichu
having superior power, being much stronger Raichu.
(05:08):
Show him a real Thunder Shack. It's over, baby.
You didn't really think that Pikachu could beat my Raichu,
did you? We do see Team Rocket in this
(05:28):
episode hatching a plan. This time, they want to catch
Raichu. However, instead of capturing a
Pikachu, why not just skip straight to the evolved state
and catch a Raichu instead? Now, Ash has a decision to make
in this episode. He has to consider whether he
(05:48):
wants to evolve his Pikachu using a Thunderstone.
There are certain types of Pokémon that you can evolve
using evolution stones, but Ash is unsure what to do.
He has quite a bond with Pikachu, and he decides to let
Pikachu make the final decision.Pikachu refuses to evolve this
(06:10):
way. He wants to battle Lieutenant
Serge and Raichu one more time as himself, as Pikachu.
So it's the rematch Lieutenant Serge and Raichu versus Ash and
Pikachu. But how are they going to win?
Strategy. Because Raichu has evolved using
(06:33):
a Thunderstone, he cannot learn some of the moves and skills
that can only be learnt while you're a Pikachu, so Ash uses
this to his advantage. Ash and Pikachu decide to use
the fact that Pikachu is much faster than Raichu and this is
(06:54):
ultimately Lieutenant Surge's weakness.
Because the fact he was unable to learn these earlier speed
based attacks and because he evolved too quickly, Lieutenant
Surge and Raichu will lose this battle.
(07:16):
Unbelievable. We did it Pikachu way to.
Go fantastic. Hooray victory.
Pikachu Ash comes out on top andwins the Thunder Badge.
Another Jim Badge in Ash's pocket as he continues on his
(07:42):
Pokémon journey. And it was thanks to Pikachu's
strategy proving that he didn't need to be evolved.
He didn't need to be a Raichu inorder to win this match.
There were advantages to him being UN evolved.
He was able to use his tail to insulate himself from an
electric shock attack. In fact, we see him stood up
(08:02):
just on the tip of his tail at one point, and he's able to use
some very powerful quick attacks, which ultimately would
win him the match. By the end of this episode, Team
Rocket realized that they've actually spent so long watching
the events unfold and they've unintentionally, you know, kind
(08:23):
of helped Ash throughout the episode that they haven't
actually caught Raichu. They haven't caught Pikachu.
They've just kind of been watching the gym battle unfold.
So Team Rocket kind of sidelinedin this one, but it was nice to
see them make an appearance and nice to see them kind of, you
know, cheering on the good guys.And that would be this episode.
(08:43):
That would be the Electric ShockShowdown could have called it.
Raichu's you, I suppose. Speaking of Raichu, I'm going to
whip out my Pokedex because Raichu is this week's Pokémon
Spotlight. Raichu National Pokedex number
(09:11):
is 26. He is an electric type Pokémon.
However, the Elohan version is actually an Electric and Psychic
type Pokémon. Raichu has the abilities of
Static. He has a hidden ability of
Lightning Rod and the Elogan. Raichu also has the ability of
(09:32):
Surge. Surfer.
Raichu is a rodent Pokémon with dark orange fur, a white
underbelly, large brown ears, and a lightning bolt shaped tip
of its tail. It can store electricity in its
cheeks, similar to Pikachu, and it's capable of storing over
(09:53):
100,000 volts, so that would come in handy if your iPhone
went flat. Raichu, however, is rarely found
in the wild. They do prefer Woodlands and
forests. And here's a fun fact for you,
Raichu is even known to discharge electricity while it
sleeps. So if you think you can sneak up
(10:14):
on a Raichu and catch it while it's asleep, you might be in for
a shock. Literally Raichu evolves from
Pikachu and is the final form ofPichu.
So Pichu evolves into Pikachu who evolves into Raichu.
The Yellowhan Raichu is the onlyPokémon with its specific type
(10:35):
combination of Electric and Psychic.
And in the Pokémon Yellow Nintendo game, Pikachu cannot
directly be evolved into a Raichu.
And that's in reference to this specific episode where Pikachu
decided to remain as a Pikachu and not evolve.
(10:56):
So in the Nintendo game, you can't directly evolve Pikachu
into Raichu on Pokémon Yellow. The physical appearance of the
Raichu character kind of resembles a kangaroo rat with
it's long ears and tail and Raichu's name maybe a
combination of rye to mean Thunder and Choo Choo which is a
(11:21):
mouse's squeak. Now, continuing with the Pokémon
trivia, I have done some research and found some fun
trivia and facts for this particular episode.
So here's an episode deep dive. In this episode, we see that
Pikachu has a dislike for Raichu, despite the fact that
(11:42):
Raichu is his evolved form. Now, when Pikachu first battles
Lieutenant Search, we see Meowthpolishing an extra coin.
However, it's later revealed that Meowth is unable to use
Payday, so he wouldn't be able to produce extra coins.
So who knows where he got this one from.
Maybe stole it from Lieutenant Serge.
(12:03):
The Thunderstone that Ash was given in this episode he didn't
use to evolve Pikachu. Pikachu didn't want to evolve
into Raichu that way, he wanted to stay as himself.
And Ash actually keeps this Thunderstone for 523 episodes
later where he's using it in an episode.
Pika and the Goliath, but it gets stolen by Team Rocket.
(12:26):
This is one of the first episodes of the Pokémon anime
series where Team Rocket disguise themselves.
We do see them dress up in various costumes and disguises
throughout the series. And the disguise that they're
wearing in this episode. Here's a a deep Cut for you is
actually a reference to a manga series called A Flower Cheering
(12:50):
Team, and Jesse even does the pose of the main character by
sticking her tongue out. However, their disguise was not
enough to fool Ash and the gang because this is also one of the
only episodes where Ash, Misty and Brock see straight through
the disguise and can tell that it's Team Rocket.
Although they don't very often in future episodes, they cannot
(13:12):
tell Team Rockets disguises, even though sometimes you know,
they're pretty obvious. This is one of the first
episodes where Ash would win a gym badge by actually defeating
a Gym Leader in battle. Like Misty has referenced
previously, Ash has been kind ofawarded his gym badge is out of
(13:32):
good faith, but in this particular episode, he defeated
Lieutenant Serge straight up to win the gym badge.
This is also the first episode in which a member of Team Rocket
refers to Ash by his name, whichwould be Meowth as they say that
they're showing their support for the brave Pikachu and Ash.
(13:54):
This was the first time that we've seen an episode where Team
Rocket kind of show, you know, different side of themselves and
are actually supporting the maincharacters.
Speaking of Team Rocket, we see James breaking the 4th wall.
We're down to three walls again,folks, as at the end of this
episode, James actually says drat, we wasted this episode
(14:15):
during the good guys. And this also would be the first
time that Team Rocket in particular break the 4th wall.
However, Team Rocket may have reason to celebrate because in
this episode, Team Rocket did not blast off again.
They were able to survive this episode unscathed.
Part of the story from this episode is adapted into a
(14:37):
Pokémon book called I Choose Youand Pikachu and Raichu's voice
actors are apparently a reference to the series Bakuzo
Koyaida, where two brothers share the same voice actor.
Speaking of voice actors, the late great Rachel Lillis
(14:58):
actually provides the voice for Pikachu in this episode.
In the scene where he is seen tobe shocking Ash, we see a city
name change where the sign that would say Welcome to Kachiba
City in the original Japanese version is changed to say
Vermilion. See, in the dubbed version, we
(15:21):
also see a dubbed battle modification, as in the English
dub there is an extended shot ofRaichu missing Pikachu with its
body slam, and that sequence is shortened to a shot of Raichu's
final Thunderbolt in the dubbed version.
Pikachu and Raichu's voices are removed in the English dub
(15:41):
during the agility confusion scene, and we also have some
rewritten dialogue here. I always find it interesting to
see what gets changed between the original Japanese broadcast
and when it gets translated intodifferent languages.
And Team Rocket's dialogue aboutPikachu's attack gets rewritten,
(16:02):
replacing the pun about Pikachu's tale with a series of
puns about electricity, which Meowtha then quickly swipes both
Jesse and James across the face for making too many puns.
I mean, you can, you can have too many puns.
There comes a time in there comes a time when there, there
can be too many puns. Now I'm going to look into some
(16:24):
of the comments about this episode, but first got to take a
pause for the cause. We've got to keep the lights on
in the Peka Pals studio, or I could use a ride shoe for that
with all the voltage that it holds.
But I'll be right back after a quick message from our sponsors.
(16:44):
Hey there Peka Pals, you've probably noticed how a lovable
canopy is always ready to evolveand grow.
Well, Are you ready to take yourfinances to the next
evolutionary stage? Let me introduce to you Catcher
Pay, the friendliest bug type digital bullet that'll make you
feel as snug as a canopy in its cocoon.
(17:08):
Our little green buddy is alwaysup for a good string shop and
with the cater pay your money will stick to you as tightly as
caterpies string sticks to a tree.
Plus, it'll transform your finances with features so good
you'll swear they're as magical as a bug type Pokémon attack.
(17:29):
Caterpie is not only cute but also mighty secure.
Just like how Caterpie evolves into the majestic Butterfree,
Caterpie ensures your financial journey grows to new heights
with ironclad protection. And exclusively for you Pika
(17:50):
Powers Podcast listeners, Caterpay has a special offer.
Use the code Caterpay when signing up and you'll get a
whopping 10% of transaction feesfor the first three months.
That's right, 10%. So take advantage of this sweet
(18:11):
deal to transform the way you handle your finances.
Now you too can join the ranks of the fully evolved with
Caterpay here to help you achieve that mega evolution.
Give Caterpie a try today and remember to tell them all that
the Pika Pals podcast sent you. Welcome back everyone.
(19:08):
You are listening to the Peek A Pals podcast.
I am your host Pokémon Trainer Jed, and today we've been
talking about episode 14, Electric Shock Showdown.
I've looked all across the Internet and found some viewer
comments from real Pokémon fans who have watched this episode.
(19:29):
So it's time for a segment that I like to call IMDb the very
best, like no one ever was. You know, because I got the
ratings and the comments from IMDb.
It sounds like the lyrics. Clever name.
Anyway, here, here are some viewer comments.
(19:50):
Seikbushi PO said Epic Jan says in the previous episode they
didn't know who the giant Pokémon was.
But in this episode. The Pokedex casually mentions
that a Raichu's Thunderbolt can rival that of a Dragonite's.
Where's the consistency? Well, I suppose you know Ash
(20:11):
didn't know about the Dragonite in the previous episode, but the
Pokedex knows about everything. Kazuki Ki says It was actually
Brock who had the correct strategy.
Ash didn't do anything Andrea said Serge is Raichu has like 7
moves mega kick, mega punch, Thunder shock, Thunderbolt,
(20:32):
takedown, body slam and tail whip.
That's all that comment says. Thanks Andrea.
So those were your comments. Thank you very much.
That's what you guys thought of Pokémon Season 1 episode 11 and
it's now the time of the show where I tell some Pokémon jokes.
(20:54):
It's joke him on Pokémon jokes, Pokémon jokes, Pokémon jokes.
Let's see what we got. I decided to get in touch with
my inner Pokémon, so I called him up.
He said leave me alone or I'll call the cops.
(21:14):
A Pokémon trainer asked me if I could get Bulbasaur, Charmander,
and Squirtle. I said sure, but it'll cost you
an arm and a leg. He said I can't afford that.
I said well then you're going tohave to settle for just one.
I saw a Pokémon trainer the other day with a Pikachu on a
(21:35):
leash. I thought to myself, that's
ridiculous. Everyone knows Pikachu is a wild
Pokémon. It should be in a poker ball,
not on a leash. That's that's really bad People
who don't like going in his poker ball.
(21:56):
OK, let's see what else we've got.
I was walking through the Pokémon Centre and noticed a
sign that said no Pokémon battles allowed inside.
I thought to myself, well, that's good.
I wouldn't want to accidentally step in on any Pokémon battles.
I was playing Pokémon Go the other day and a wild piggy
(22:18):
appeared. I threw a poker ball, but it
missed. The piggy looked at me and said,
you're not very good at this, are you?
I said, well, I'm not a Pokémon trainer.
I'm a comedian. That's doubtful.
I don't think that I'm either. Well, that does it for this
(22:47):
week's podcast. That's the end of the episode,
and you know what that means? The time has come.
It's for the best, I know. Who could have guessed?
That. Somehow, someway, we'd have to
(23:21):
say good. Somehow, someway, we'd have to
say goodbye. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo.
Thank you for listening Peeka pals.
Don't forget to leave a review and a rating to help others
discover the show. And please share this episode
with a friend or family member or anyone that you think may
(23:42):
enjoy the podcast. You can catch me across all the
socials at Yeet a mania. I've been Jed.
This has been the Peeka Pals podcast and you've been a real
Peeka pal. The show may be over, but the
journey continues.
Pikachu. And now, join Pokémon Trainer
(00:21):
Jed for a non-stop, action-packed, laugh filled
perilous journey. Turn your hat around, grab your
pokeballs, and get ready for thefantastic Pika Pals podcast,
where the excitement never ends.Welcome to the Pika Pals
podcast. I'm your host Pokémon trainer
(00:42):
Jed and I thank you for tuning in.
It's your weekly Pokémon nostalgia trip filled with joy,
laughter, and heart warming lifelessons from the always
fascinating world of Pokémon. Now before I get into today's
show, I just want to extend my thanks for all of your support.
(01:04):
A few mini milestones to celebrate because episode one of
my Pokémon podcast has now reached 100 individual listens.
That's right, 100 of you have listened to episode 1 of my Pika
Pals podcast. Now I know in comparison to
(01:27):
other podcasts, that may not seem like much of an
achievement, but to me that is avery big achievement that 100
people have listened to episode 1 individual listeners.
So it's not just me clicking replay 100 times.
I only did that 98 times. I've got some statistics here of
the geographic location of wherepeople have listened to the Peak
(01:51):
of Oz podcast. So my little Pokémon journey
that I started three months ago,a personal challenge for myself.
And here are where people are now listening to the podcast.
So we have listeners in the United Kingdom, the United
States, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Russia, Sweden, New
(02:15):
Zealand, Japan, the home of Pokémon, the Netherlands, and
Brazil. So if you are listening right
now to the Peeker Powers Podcastin any of those locations,
please, please put a comment on the episode or reach out to me
on social media. It'd be really great to to
(02:35):
connect with some of you guys from from all over the world.
The Peeker Powers Podcast is allacross the globe.
But that's enough for the intro.Let's get to today's episode.
(02:58):
OK we are still on our Pokémon watch along re watching every
episode of the original Pokémon anime series and I just got done
watching episode 14. This one is called electric
shock showdown. It's the 14th episode of the
(03:18):
original Pokémon animated seriesand it was first broadcast on
July the 1st 1997 in Japan. It would go on to be shown on
September the 25th, 1998 in the United States and beyond.
Now here is a summary of the main plot points from this
(03:40):
episode. I do encourage you to go back
and watch it. You can find it on the Pokémon
TV YouTube channel. You can find it on Netflix.
You can find it on DVD, might even have it on VHS if you dig
dig around in the attic. But in this episode, we see Ash
and the gang arrive at VermilionCity.
(04:00):
However, Pikachu is injured and Brock advises Ash that he would
be unable to battle and he needsto get him to a Pokémon Centre.
So the gang arrive at the local Pokémon Centre, where there are
many injured Pokémon, and most of them are there because
they've been defeated by Lieutenant Serge, the Vermilion
(04:23):
City Gym Leader. Ash, however, keen to challenge
Lieutenant Serge once his Pikachu is healed.
And despite Pikachu's fear of Lieutenant Serge and Lieutenant
Serge mockery of Pikachu callinghim a a cute Pikachu, but he's
kind of mocking the fact that he's unevolved.
(04:47):
Ash proceeds with his attempt tobattle Lieutenant Serge and
Lieutenant Serge has a Raichu ashis Pokémon.
But this first battle doesn't gowell.
In fact, Pikachu loses to Lieutenant Serge due to Raichu
having superior power, being much stronger Raichu.
(05:08):
Show him a real Thunder Shack. It's over, baby.
You didn't really think that Pikachu could beat my Raichu,
did you? We do see Team Rocket in this
(05:28):
episode hatching a plan. This time, they want to catch
Raichu. However, instead of capturing a
Pikachu, why not just skip straight to the evolved state
and catch a Raichu instead? Now, Ash has a decision to make
in this episode. He has to consider whether he
(05:48):
wants to evolve his Pikachu using a Thunderstone.
There are certain types of Pokémon that you can evolve
using evolution stones, but Ash is unsure what to do.
He has quite a bond with Pikachu, and he decides to let
Pikachu make the final decision.Pikachu refuses to evolve this
(06:10):
way. He wants to battle Lieutenant
Serge and Raichu one more time as himself, as Pikachu.
So it's the rematch Lieutenant Serge and Raichu versus Ash and
Pikachu. But how are they going to win?
Strategy. Because Raichu has evolved using
(06:33):
a Thunderstone, he cannot learn some of the moves and skills
that can only be learnt while you're a Pikachu, so Ash uses
this to his advantage. Ash and Pikachu decide to use
the fact that Pikachu is much faster than Raichu and this is
(06:54):
ultimately Lieutenant Surge's weakness.
Because the fact he was unable to learn these earlier speed
based attacks and because he evolved too quickly, Lieutenant
Surge and Raichu will lose this battle.
(07:16):
Unbelievable. We did it Pikachu way to.
Go fantastic. Hooray victory.
Pikachu Ash comes out on top andwins the Thunder Badge.
Another Jim Badge in Ash's pocket as he continues on his
(07:42):
Pokémon journey. And it was thanks to Pikachu's
strategy proving that he didn't need to be evolved.
He didn't need to be a Raichu inorder to win this match.
There were advantages to him being UN evolved.
He was able to use his tail to insulate himself from an
electric shock attack. In fact, we see him stood up
(08:02):
just on the tip of his tail at one point, and he's able to use
some very powerful quick attacks, which ultimately would
win him the match. By the end of this episode, Team
Rocket realized that they've actually spent so long watching
the events unfold and they've unintentionally, you know, kind
(08:23):
of helped Ash throughout the episode that they haven't
actually caught Raichu. They haven't caught Pikachu.
They've just kind of been watching the gym battle unfold.
So Team Rocket kind of sidelinedin this one, but it was nice to
see them make an appearance and nice to see them kind of, you
know, cheering on the good guys.And that would be this episode.
(08:43):
That would be the Electric ShockShowdown could have called it.
Raichu's you, I suppose. Speaking of Raichu, I'm going to
whip out my Pokedex because Raichu is this week's Pokémon
Spotlight. Raichu National Pokedex number
(09:11):
is 26. He is an electric type Pokémon.
However, the Elohan version is actually an Electric and Psychic
type Pokémon. Raichu has the abilities of
Static. He has a hidden ability of
Lightning Rod and the Elogan. Raichu also has the ability of
(09:32):
Surge. Surfer.
Raichu is a rodent Pokémon with dark orange fur, a white
underbelly, large brown ears, and a lightning bolt shaped tip
of its tail. It can store electricity in its
cheeks, similar to Pikachu, and it's capable of storing over
(09:53):
100,000 volts, so that would come in handy if your iPhone
went flat. Raichu, however, is rarely found
in the wild. They do prefer Woodlands and
forests. And here's a fun fact for you,
Raichu is even known to discharge electricity while it
sleeps. So if you think you can sneak up
(10:14):
on a Raichu and catch it while it's asleep, you might be in for
a shock. Literally Raichu evolves from
Pikachu and is the final form ofPichu.
So Pichu evolves into Pikachu who evolves into Raichu.
The Yellowhan Raichu is the onlyPokémon with its specific type
(10:35):
combination of Electric and Psychic.
And in the Pokémon Yellow Nintendo game, Pikachu cannot
directly be evolved into a Raichu.
And that's in reference to this specific episode where Pikachu
decided to remain as a Pikachu and not evolve.
(10:56):
So in the Nintendo game, you can't directly evolve Pikachu
into Raichu on Pokémon Yellow. The physical appearance of the
Raichu character kind of resembles a kangaroo rat with
it's long ears and tail and Raichu's name maybe a
combination of rye to mean Thunder and Choo Choo which is a
(11:21):
mouse's squeak. Now, continuing with the Pokémon
trivia, I have done some research and found some fun
trivia and facts for this particular episode.
So here's an episode deep dive. In this episode, we see that
Pikachu has a dislike for Raichu, despite the fact that
(11:42):
Raichu is his evolved form. Now, when Pikachu first battles
Lieutenant Search, we see Meowthpolishing an extra coin.
However, it's later revealed that Meowth is unable to use
Payday, so he wouldn't be able to produce extra coins.
So who knows where he got this one from.
Maybe stole it from Lieutenant Serge.
(12:03):
The Thunderstone that Ash was given in this episode he didn't
use to evolve Pikachu. Pikachu didn't want to evolve
into Raichu that way, he wanted to stay as himself.
And Ash actually keeps this Thunderstone for 523 episodes
later where he's using it in an episode.
Pika and the Goliath, but it gets stolen by Team Rocket.
(12:26):
This is one of the first episodes of the Pokémon anime
series where Team Rocket disguise themselves.
We do see them dress up in various costumes and disguises
throughout the series. And the disguise that they're
wearing in this episode. Here's a a deep Cut for you is
actually a reference to a manga series called A Flower Cheering
(12:50):
Team, and Jesse even does the pose of the main character by
sticking her tongue out. However, their disguise was not
enough to fool Ash and the gang because this is also one of the
only episodes where Ash, Misty and Brock see straight through
the disguise and can tell that it's Team Rocket.
Although they don't very often in future episodes, they cannot
(13:12):
tell Team Rockets disguises, even though sometimes you know,
they're pretty obvious. This is one of the first
episodes where Ash would win a gym badge by actually defeating
a Gym Leader in battle. Like Misty has referenced
previously, Ash has been kind ofawarded his gym badge is out of
(13:32):
good faith, but in this particular episode, he defeated
Lieutenant Serge straight up to win the gym badge.
This is also the first episode in which a member of Team Rocket
refers to Ash by his name, whichwould be Meowth as they say that
they're showing their support for the brave Pikachu and Ash.
(13:54):
This was the first time that we've seen an episode where Team
Rocket kind of show, you know, different side of themselves and
are actually supporting the maincharacters.
Speaking of Team Rocket, we see James breaking the 4th wall.
We're down to three walls again,folks, as at the end of this
episode, James actually says drat, we wasted this episode
(14:15):
during the good guys. And this also would be the first
time that Team Rocket in particular break the 4th wall.
However, Team Rocket may have reason to celebrate because in
this episode, Team Rocket did not blast off again.
They were able to survive this episode unscathed.
Part of the story from this episode is adapted into a
(14:37):
Pokémon book called I Choose Youand Pikachu and Raichu's voice
actors are apparently a reference to the series Bakuzo
Koyaida, where two brothers share the same voice actor.
Speaking of voice actors, the late great Rachel Lillis
(14:58):
actually provides the voice for Pikachu in this episode.
In the scene where he is seen tobe shocking Ash, we see a city
name change where the sign that would say Welcome to Kachiba
City in the original Japanese version is changed to say
Vermilion. See, in the dubbed version, we
(15:21):
also see a dubbed battle modification, as in the English
dub there is an extended shot ofRaichu missing Pikachu with its
body slam, and that sequence is shortened to a shot of Raichu's
final Thunderbolt in the dubbed version.
Pikachu and Raichu's voices are removed in the English dub
(15:41):
during the agility confusion scene, and we also have some
rewritten dialogue here. I always find it interesting to
see what gets changed between the original Japanese broadcast
and when it gets translated intodifferent languages.
And Team Rocket's dialogue aboutPikachu's attack gets rewritten,
(16:02):
replacing the pun about Pikachu's tale with a series of
puns about electricity, which Meowtha then quickly swipes both
Jesse and James across the face for making too many puns.
I mean, you can, you can have too many puns.
There comes a time in there comes a time when there, there
can be too many puns. Now I'm going to look into some
(16:24):
of the comments about this episode, but first got to take a
pause for the cause. We've got to keep the lights on
in the Peka Pals studio, or I could use a ride shoe for that
with all the voltage that it holds.
But I'll be right back after a quick message from our sponsors.
(16:44):
Hey there Peka Pals, you've probably noticed how a lovable
canopy is always ready to evolveand grow.
Well, Are you ready to take yourfinances to the next
evolutionary stage? Let me introduce to you Catcher
Pay, the friendliest bug type digital bullet that'll make you
feel as snug as a canopy in its cocoon.
(17:08):
Our little green buddy is alwaysup for a good string shop and
with the cater pay your money will stick to you as tightly as
caterpies string sticks to a tree.
Plus, it'll transform your finances with features so good
you'll swear they're as magical as a bug type Pokémon attack.
(17:29):
Caterpie is not only cute but also mighty secure.
Just like how Caterpie evolves into the majestic Butterfree,
Caterpie ensures your financial journey grows to new heights
with ironclad protection. And exclusively for you Pika
(17:50):
Powers Podcast listeners, Caterpay has a special offer.
Use the code Caterpay when signing up and you'll get a
whopping 10% of transaction feesfor the first three months.
That's right, 10%. So take advantage of this sweet
(18:11):
deal to transform the way you handle your finances.
Now you too can join the ranks of the fully evolved with
Caterpay here to help you achieve that mega evolution.
Give Caterpie a try today and remember to tell them all that
the Pika Pals podcast sent you. Welcome back everyone.
(19:08):
You are listening to the Peek A Pals podcast.
I am your host Pokémon Trainer Jed, and today we've been
talking about episode 14, Electric Shock Showdown.
I've looked all across the Internet and found some viewer
comments from real Pokémon fans who have watched this episode.
(19:29):
So it's time for a segment that I like to call IMDb the very
best, like no one ever was. You know, because I got the
ratings and the comments from IMDb.
It sounds like the lyrics. Clever name.
Anyway, here, here are some viewer comments.
(19:50):
Seikbushi PO said Epic Jan says in the previous episode they
didn't know who the giant Pokémon was.
But in this episode. The Pokedex casually mentions
that a Raichu's Thunderbolt can rival that of a Dragonite's.
Where's the consistency? Well, I suppose you know Ash
(20:11):
didn't know about the Dragonite in the previous episode, but the
Pokedex knows about everything. Kazuki Ki says It was actually
Brock who had the correct strategy.
Ash didn't do anything Andrea said Serge is Raichu has like 7
moves mega kick, mega punch, Thunder shock, Thunderbolt,
(20:32):
takedown, body slam and tail whip.
That's all that comment says. Thanks Andrea.
So those were your comments. Thank you very much.
That's what you guys thought of Pokémon Season 1 episode 11 and
it's now the time of the show where I tell some Pokémon jokes.
(20:54):
It's joke him on Pokémon jokes, Pokémon jokes, Pokémon jokes.
Let's see what we got. I decided to get in touch with
my inner Pokémon, so I called him up.
He said leave me alone or I'll call the cops.
(21:14):
A Pokémon trainer asked me if I could get Bulbasaur, Charmander,
and Squirtle. I said sure, but it'll cost you
an arm and a leg. He said I can't afford that.
I said well then you're going tohave to settle for just one.
I saw a Pokémon trainer the other day with a Pikachu on a
(21:35):
leash. I thought to myself, that's
ridiculous. Everyone knows Pikachu is a wild
Pokémon. It should be in a poker ball,
not on a leash. That's that's really bad People
who don't like going in his poker ball.
(21:56):
OK, let's see what else we've got.
I was walking through the Pokémon Centre and noticed a
sign that said no Pokémon battles allowed inside.
I thought to myself, well, that's good.
I wouldn't want to accidentally step in on any Pokémon battles.
I was playing Pokémon Go the other day and a wild piggy
(22:18):
appeared. I threw a poker ball, but it
missed. The piggy looked at me and said,
you're not very good at this, are you?
I said, well, I'm not a Pokémon trainer.
I'm a comedian. That's doubtful.
I don't think that I'm either. Well, that does it for this
(22:47):
week's podcast. That's the end of the episode,
and you know what that means? The time has come.
It's for the best, I know. Who could have guessed?
That. Somehow, someway, we'd have to
(23:21):
say good. Somehow, someway, we'd have to
say goodbye. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo.
Thank you for listening Peeka pals.
Don't forget to leave a review and a rating to help others
discover the show. And please share this episode
with a friend or family member or anyone that you think may
(23:42):
enjoy the podcast. You can catch me across all the
socials at Yeet a mania. I've been Jed.
This has been the Peeka Pals podcast and you've been a real
Peeka pal. The show may be over, but the
journey continues.
Popular Podcasts
Crime Junkie
Does hearing about a true crime case always leave you scouring the internet for the truth behind the story? Dive into your next mystery with Crime Junkie. Every Monday, join your host Ashley Flowers as she unravels all the details of infamous and underreported true crime cases with her best friend Brit Prawat. From cold cases to missing persons and heroes in our community who seek justice, Crime Junkie is your destination for theories and stories you won’t hear anywhere else. Whether you're a seasoned true crime enthusiast or new to the genre, you'll find yourself on the edge of your seat awaiting a new episode every Monday. If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people. Follow to join a community of Crime Junkies! Crime Junkie is presented by audiochuck Media Company.
24/7 News: The Latest
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.
Stuff You Should Know
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.