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| Episode Comparisons | Orange Islands
Episode
Stats:
Japanese Episode 103: "Yuzu Gym! A Three on Three Type Battle!"
American Episode 247: "Misty Meets Her Match"
Pokémon Dare Da? Pawou (Japanese), Scyther (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Pocket Monsters The Movie "Revelation Lugia" Special Feature
Japanese Air Date: July 1st, 1999
American Air Date: September 9th, 2000
Important Characters: Ziggy (Rudy), Marie (Mahri)
Thoughts
Every time I sit down to do an Orange Islands Gym Battle episode (so, two other times at this point) I always end up having to revisit the previous ones because of that weird Southern Cross erasure thing the English dub does. And so as I was going back through them this time around I remember thinking huh, isn't it weird that literally 100% of the male Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands have absolutely no problem openly flirting with a ten-year-old girl like Kasumi?
Why was this the show's go-to when it comes to writing the region's male Gym Leader characters? "Yuzu Gym! A Three on Three Type Battle!" isn't quite as bad as the last one since Ziggy seems to be a lot closer to Kasumi's age than Dan was, but the forced "romance" subplot still makes for an uncomfortable 22 minutes of television. And for what? The "drama" Ziggy creates by asking Kasumi to stay behind on the island doesn't even add anything to the episode since we all know Kasumi was never in any danger of actually accepting his offer (she was all over the Movie 2 ads that would've been up at the time, for example) and so they could have easily removed that element altogether and nothing would've been lost.
I personally would have preferred to see the episode focus on a different aspect of Ziggy the Gym Leader. His dancing is a fairly underdeveloped part of his character so how about focusing on that instead? How did he get into dancing, how did he teach his Pokémon how to dance (especially the four-legged ones), etc. Heck, you could have even had our heroes' Pokémon participate in a silly dance lesson, and maybe even use that to foreshadow Zenigame learning Hydro Pump, a move that requires it to spin around like the legendary kaiju Gamera a break dancer. There's a lot they could've done with the concept, actually!
At least the battle portion of the episode ended up being pretty decent. The main gimmick is that it's a three-on-three "Type Battle," which is apparently a new term made up by the staff of the animated series to describe Pokémon of the same type going up against each other. That's an OK gimmick, I guess, but whenever I think of Pokémon of the same types going up against each other I always think back to "The Samurai Boy's Challenge" where Satoshi's Trancell has that stare down with Samurai's Trancell. It's just two Pokémon using similar looking attacks that aren't really effective against each other, turning the battles into a slugfest determined mainly by who has the most stamina. This episode manages to do what it can to shake things up -- Pikachu relying on Quick Attack, Nassy dancing to avoid Fushigidane's attacks, Starmie using Thunderbolt -- but I'm still also happy these type of match-ups don't pop up all that often.
There are many, many reasons why I will forever prefer the Japanese version of Pocket Monsters to any of its English dubs, but one of the big ones is due to just how stacked the voice cast is on the Japanese side. We already have heavy hitters like Megumi Hayashibara and Tomokazu Seki and Unshou Ishizuka coming at us every. single. week, but then we also get episodes like this one, where the Gym Leader-of-the-day is voiced by none other than the Prince of the Saiyans himself, Mr. Ryo Horikawa. And this is Horikawa in his prime at that! Sorry English dub, but there's just no way you could possibly compete with that.
Ziggy's Starmie keeps its Japanese voice.
Dialogue Edit
Our heroes approach Trovita Island:
So 4Kids gets things started off by just making up some random backstory for the island, just because!
Would it be worth it for me to compile a list somewhere of all the dub-only "facts" about the Pokémon World? Because I'm starting to think I'd have enough for a pretty decent sized list.
Music Edit
This episode retains a little over half the music tracks from the Japanese version. That's not as bad as the numbers we'll see in later seasons, of course, but it is in no way acceptable either.
One point that stands out to me is the episode's title screen. In the original we hear "M51" play from the time our heroes spot Marie and her Pawou in the water all the way until the title screen ends, replacing the usual title screen music in the process.
The English dub, on the
other hand, uses dub replacement music for the shots of Mahri in the
water and then takes the regular title screen music from a different
episode and places it here. So in other words, they replace one piece
of
Japanese music with another.
There are also two
places in the episode where the dub decides to insert a vocal
song when there was only instrumental music in the original. In both
instances the 4Kids song is that absolutely dreadful "Pokémon
(Dance Mix)" song, and in both instances it replaces M74 - The
Bicycle Biker Gang (SAC 29). A song that's been played multiple times in the English dub
by this
point, by the way.
There are other music replacement shenanigans in the episode as well (the start of the Satoshi vs. Ziggy battle is pretty bad, for example) but these are the three that really stood out to me this time around.
Dialogue Edit
Misty warns Mahri about playing in the ocean:
I love Misty's pointless little "And Seel!" line at the end here because Mahri was very clearly already swimming with her Seel when she got stuck in the whirlpools LOL.
Anyway, Misty's advice, while fine and all, isn't at all the same as what Kasumi tells Marie.
Later, we're introduced to the Trovita Island Gym Leader. In the original we learn his name while he's dancing with Kasumi:
...with Satoshi even bringing up his name a bit later:
But in the English dub we don't learn his name until later:
I dunno, this just seems like a lot of extra work to squeeze in a "Rude" / "Rudy" play on words, doesn't it? What was wrong with the way he was introduced in the original?
During the attack test portion of the gym challenge:
Originally Satoshi commands his Pokémon using a generic "electricity" (電撃) attack, not Denki Shock (でんきショック), the Japanese equivalent of the move "Thundershock."
During the attack test Ash calls on his Charizard, whose Flamethrower hits Misty on its way back into its Poké Ball. After that:
I've talked about this before, but in the Japanese version the Rocket trio does this thing where Musashi changes her first line of the motto in response to whatever random thing the people nearby might shout out. We can see that in action here, where Musashi takes Ziggy's question to Satoshi and tacks it onto the front of the motto.
The English dub doesn't really do this enough for it to be a recognizable quirk of the trio, for some reason, but if they did then I'd imagine they'd have Rudy say something like "That thing's nothing but trouble!" so that Jessie's "Prepare for trouble!" outburst wouldn't have seemed quite as random.
The very next line:
Does "Trovita River" exist in the Japanese version? I think I'll let television's Jonathan Frakes take this one:
Rudy invites Misty to dinner:
Mahri's line in the English dub implies her brother's the one who cooks the meal we see the three of them enjoy after the commercial break when no such thing is implied in the original.
Eyecatch
The Gym Leader doesn't really have a signature Pokémon (weird, right?) so we get Marie's cute little Pawou instead.
The English dub goes with Scyther, because sure, why not?
Dialogue Edit
Ash checks in with Professor Oak:
Here, Satoshi gives Dr. Ookido an update on his Orange Islands quest overall where Ash decides to focus purely on the gym battle directly in front of him.
Tracey shows off his newest drawing:
Kenji says he spotted the Elekid before arriving at Yuzu Island, which I guess means Mandarin Island? That would make sense; after all, in the previous episode Kenji wonders out loud several times whether or not the "creature of the underpass" is a new, undiscovered Pokémon and so he clearly had Gen 2 on the brain.
As for Ash's line, the show's more or less done away with the concept of money by this point, right? Sure, the Rocket trio will continue to remain "vaguely poor" until the end of Diamond & Pearl but I don't really remember Satoshi and his friends continuing to have money troubles past Kanto, y'know?
The Gym Battle gets started:
You might remember me talking about how, in the Japanese version, the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands are collectively known as the Southern Cross and how each Gym Leader corresponds with one of the four cardinal directions it represents. I dedicated a whole section of an earlier comparison to this topic so I won't repeat myself here, but the English dub of this particular episode removes the Gym Leader's reference to his position on the cross, just like it did for the other three. So hooray for consistency, I guess...?
Later, Rudy brings out his first Pokémon, an Electabuzz. For some reason this Pokémon, who's gotten to keep its original Japanese voice in previous appearances, gets a brand new voice in the English dub this time around.
The announcer tells everyone who's fighting who:
Originally the announcer (who, in the Japanese version, is clearly just Shin-ichiro Miki during the slightest variation of his Pokémon Bestiary voice and calling it a day) focuses on the human Pokémon Trainers who are battling while the English dub decides to focus on the Pokémon instead.
Sound Effect Edit
When Ziggy's Nassy falls on top of the Rocket trio there's a very loud CLANG sound effect played in the Japanese version.
The 4Kids dub technically leaves the sound effect in but they decrease the volume on it by so much you probably wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was removed altogether. This is the only sound effect in the episode to get altered this way, making 4Kids' decision to change this one and only this one all the more baffling.
Dialogue Edit
Misty tries to snap Ash out of it:
You often hear about how Japanese is a language heavily dependent on context, how there's just as much meaning in what people don't say as there is with what they do say. Take the word daijoubu, for example. A translator might choose, depending on the context, to render that word as "It's OK," "I'm fine," "no thank you," or "butt out!" and each one might be perfectly right. It really depends on who's saying what, and when, and in what situation.
Scenes like this are a great showcase of this particular quirk of the Japanese language in action. Both Marie and Ziggy are surprised to hear Kasumi stand up for Satoshi the way she does and so they respond the way a lot of characters in Japanese animation do by simply repeating the name of the person who's causing this shock ("big sister Kasumi" or "Kasumi-san"), all while having a surprised look on their faces. You see this in Japanese animation all the time.
Some translators will choose to simply leave lines like these as-is and retain the ambiguity present in the original, while others might decide having the characters more plainly state what they're feeling is the way to go. 4Kids clearly chose the latter. You can make an argument that Ziggy's "Kasumi-san..." is really him just expressing his shock that Kasumi cares more about Satoshi than she does about him, and so 4Kids' dialogue could be seen as a perfectly valid translation choice. Same with Marie's line a bit earlier. Now if it was me, personally, I'd have tried to keep the ambiguity from the original intact for the dub as well to mimic what was there in the Japanese version, but at the same time I can also see arguments for handling it the way 4Kids did.
Rudy calls out his Starmie:
Here, we can see the dub removing any and all ambiguity from the original script by having Rudy say, as plainly as possible, that he likes Misty. The Japanese version is decidedly more subtle.
Speaking of surprised reactions:
Repetition is another thing you see often in Japanese cartoons, as seen here by both Kenji and Kasumi more or less saying the exact same thing, one after the other. 4Kids did what a lot of localizers do and rewrites one of these redundant lines, though in this case I wish they had chosen something better for Tracey because "What's Squirtle...(awkward pause)...doing, Misty?" makes it sound like he doesn't actually recognize one of the more well-known Pokémon attacks? And for a Pokémon Watcher like him, well...it's not a great look.
Side Note
Speaking of Hydro Pump, I wanted to highlight Zenigame's use of the attack in this episode (and beyond).
In Japan, fans see Zenigame using the attack and immediately go "oh, that's just Gamera's Spinning Jet." If you're not familiar with the Gamera movies, it's a long-running series of kaiju films about a giant prehistoric turtle that fights other monsters, not unlike Godzilla. Of Gamera's many signature attacks, its Spinning Jet (回転ジェッ ト) is probably its most iconic.
The people who make Pocket Monsters, both the video games and the animated series, have proven time and time again that they're huge kaiju nerds, and the decision to have Zenigame's Hydro Pump replicate one of its most famous monsters is yet another showcase of this love they have for the genre.
Dialogue Edit
Ash gets his third badge:
The Rinbou Badge gets its name from the rinbou-gai (輪宝貝), or "triumphant sky turban" on which it's modeled. The English dub renames this to simply "Spike Shell Badge."
Rudy says goodbye to our heroes:
Ziggy's send-off to Satoshi can be taken any number of ways (don't let her out of your sight, keep her safe, don't take her for granted, etc.) while Rudy's send-off to Ash can really only be interpreted one way.
Mahri says goodbye:
Mahri's still holding out hope that Misty'll come back while Marie, on the other hand, has apparently already moved on!
The narrator takes us out:
The narrator doesn't say anything about Kasumi's love life in the original.
This page was last updated on April 16th, 2024
Japanese Episode 103: "Yuzu Gym! A Three on Three Type Battle!"
American Episode 247: "Misty Meets Her Match"
Pokémon Dare Da? Pawou (Japanese), Scyther (English)
Dr. Ookido's Pokémon Course: Pocket Monsters The Movie "Revelation Lugia" Special Feature
Japanese Air Date: July 1st, 1999
American Air Date: September 9th, 2000
Important Characters: Ziggy (Rudy), Marie (Mahri)
Satoshi and
his friends are on the ferry to Yuzu Island when they spot a young girl
caught in a whirlpool! Kasumi rescues the girl and returns her to Yuzu
Island where our heroes are greeted by her older brother Ziggy, who
immediately begins to shower his sister’s savior with presents and
affection! The group soon learns Ziggy is also the Yuzu Island Gym
Leader and so Satoshi challenges him to a gym match. The first half of
the challenge is a game of target practice while on a moving course.
Satoshi manages to hit (most) of the targets and so Ziggy agrees to
allow Satoshi to move on to the battle portion of the challenge. That
night, Ziggy asks Kasumi if she’d be willing to remain on the island
with him and gives her until the end of Satoshi’s battle to make her
decision. The next day, Ziggy and Satoshi have the second half of their
challenge -- a three-on-three Pokémon battle! After winning one
match apiece the two Trainers find themselves in a final showdown
between Satoshi’s Zenigame and Ziggy’s Starmie. The Tiny Turtle
Pokémon is initially surprised when Ziggy’s Starmie uses
Thunderbolt but is able to dig deep enough to learn how to use Hydro
Pump! Zenigame soon uses its new power-up to claim victory, earning
Satoshi the Rinbou Badge! After Kasumi breaks the news to Ziggy that
she will not be staying behind she rejoins Satoshi and the others as
they head toward the next island.
Thoughts
Every time I sit down to do an Orange Islands Gym Battle episode (so, two other times at this point) I always end up having to revisit the previous ones because of that weird Southern Cross erasure thing the English dub does. And so as I was going back through them this time around I remember thinking huh, isn't it weird that literally 100% of the male Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands have absolutely no problem openly flirting with a ten-year-old girl like Kasumi?
Why was this the show's go-to when it comes to writing the region's male Gym Leader characters? "Yuzu Gym! A Three on Three Type Battle!" isn't quite as bad as the last one since Ziggy seems to be a lot closer to Kasumi's age than Dan was, but the forced "romance" subplot still makes for an uncomfortable 22 minutes of television. And for what? The "drama" Ziggy creates by asking Kasumi to stay behind on the island doesn't even add anything to the episode since we all know Kasumi was never in any danger of actually accepting his offer (she was all over the Movie 2 ads that would've been up at the time, for example) and so they could have easily removed that element altogether and nothing would've been lost.
I personally would have preferred to see the episode focus on a different aspect of Ziggy the Gym Leader. His dancing is a fairly underdeveloped part of his character so how about focusing on that instead? How did he get into dancing, how did he teach his Pokémon how to dance (especially the four-legged ones), etc. Heck, you could have even had our heroes' Pokémon participate in a silly dance lesson, and maybe even use that to foreshadow Zenigame learning Hydro Pump, a move that requires it to spin around like the legendary kaiju Gamera a break dancer. There's a lot they could've done with the concept, actually!
At least the battle portion of the episode ended up being pretty decent. The main gimmick is that it's a three-on-three "Type Battle," which is apparently a new term made up by the staff of the animated series to describe Pokémon of the same type going up against each other. That's an OK gimmick, I guess, but whenever I think of Pokémon of the same types going up against each other I always think back to "The Samurai Boy's Challenge" where Satoshi's Trancell has that stare down with Samurai's Trancell. It's just two Pokémon using similar looking attacks that aren't really effective against each other, turning the battles into a slugfest determined mainly by who has the most stamina. This episode manages to do what it can to shake things up -- Pikachu relying on Quick Attack, Nassy dancing to avoid Fushigidane's attacks, Starmie using Thunderbolt -- but I'm still also happy these type of match-ups don't pop up all that often.
There are many, many reasons why I will forever prefer the Japanese version of Pocket Monsters to any of its English dubs, but one of the big ones is due to just how stacked the voice cast is on the Japanese side. We already have heavy hitters like Megumi Hayashibara and Tomokazu Seki and Unshou Ishizuka coming at us every. single. week, but then we also get episodes like this one, where the Gym Leader-of-the-day is voiced by none other than the Prince of the Saiyans himself, Mr. Ryo Horikawa. And this is Horikawa in his prime at that! Sorry English dub, but there's just no way you could possibly compete with that.
Ziggy's Starmie keeps its Japanese voice.
Dialogue Edit
Our heroes approach Trovita Island:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「あれがユズ島か」 |
Satoshi: "So that's Yuzu
Island, huh?" |
Ash: "What are those spiky
things?" |
| ケンジ 「高い岩が見えるだろ？あの周りは流れが激しいらしんだ」 |
Kenji: "See those tall rocks
over there? The currents around them are supposed to be really rough." |
Tracey: "They're rocks that
formed millions of years ago when Trovita Island rose up out of the
ocean." |
So 4Kids gets things started off by just making up some random backstory for the island, just because!
Would it be worth it for me to compile a list somewhere of all the dub-only "facts" about the Pokémon World? Because I'm starting to think I'd have enough for a pretty decent sized list.
Music Edit
This episode retains a little over half the music tracks from the Japanese version. That's not as bad as the numbers we'll see in later seasons, of course, but it is in no way acceptable either.
One point that stands out to me is the episode's title screen. In the original we hear "M51" play from the time our heroes spot Marie and her Pawou in the water all the way until the title screen ends, replacing the usual title screen music in the process.
There are other music replacement shenanigans in the episode as well (the start of the Satoshi vs. Ziggy battle is pretty bad, for example) but these are the three that really stood out to me this time around.
Dialogue Edit
Misty warns Mahri about playing in the ocean:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「海を甘く見ちゃダメよ」 |
Kasumi: "You can't
underestimate the ocean." |
Misty: "You have to be careful
in the ocean." |
| マリー 「えっ？」 |
Marie: "Huh?" |
Mahri: "Huh?" |
| カスミ 「優しい顔も怖い顔も、みんな海の表情の一つ。分かる？」 |
Kasumi: "The ocean has a
gentle side, but it also has a scary side to it...in other words, it
has a lot of different faces to it. Do you get what I mean?" |
Misty:
"The currents can be dangerous so always make sure you swim with other
people around. OK?" |
| マリー 「うん」 |
Marie: "Yeah!" |
Mahri: "Uh huh!" |
| カスミ 「よろしい」 |
Kasumi: "Alright then." |
Misty: "And Seel!" |
I love Misty's pointless little "And Seel!" line at the end here because Mahri was very clearly already swimming with her Seel when she got stuck in the whirlpools LOL.
Anyway, Misty's advice, while fine and all, isn't at all the same as what Kasumi tells Marie.
Later, we're introduced to the Trovita Island Gym Leader. In the original we learn his name while he's dancing with Kasumi:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「”うちのジム？”…ということはあなたがユズジムのリーダー？」 |
Kasumi: "'Our Gym'? So that
means you're the Yuzu Gym's Leader?" |
Misty: "Your gym? You mean
you're the Trovita Island Gym Leader?" |
| ジギー 「はい。ジギーといいます」 |
Ziggy: "That's right. My name
is Ziggy." |
Rudy: "Yes! Is it such a
shock?" |
...with Satoshi even bringing up his name a bit later:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「こいつがユズジムのリーダー？」 |
Satoshi: "He's the Leader of the Yuzu Gym?" |
Ash: "He's the Trovita Gym Leader?" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピ～カ？」 |
Pikachu: "Pi~ka?" |
Pikachu: "Pi~ka?" |
| トゲピー 「チョッゲピ～」 |
Togepy: "Chogge Pi~" |
Togepi: "Chogge Pi~" |
| サトシ 「ユズジムのリーダージギー！オレと勝負しろ！」 |
Satoshi: "Alright, Yuzu Gym
Leader
Ziggy! I challenge you to a battle!" |
Ash: "Well, I'm Ash Ketchum,
and I'm here to win an Orange
League gym badge!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピーカ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pi-ka!" |
Pikachu: "Pi-ka!" |
But in the English dub we don't learn his name until later:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「ジギー！オレと勝負しろ！」 |
Satoshi: "Ziggy! I challenge
you to a battle!" |
Ash: "Me? It's you who's rude!" |
| ジギー 「勝負？ボクとキミが？」 |
Ziggy: "A battle? Between you
and me?" |
Rudy: "Not 'Rude.' It's Rudy." |
I dunno, this just seems like a lot of extra work to squeeze in a "Rude" / "Rudy" play on words, doesn't it? What was wrong with the way he was introduced in the original?
During the attack test portion of the gym challenge:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「ピカチュウ！でんげきだ！」 |
Satoshi: "Pikachu! Use your
electricity!" |
Ash: "Pikachu, Thundershock!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pika!" |
Pikachu: "Pika!" |
Originally Satoshi commands his Pokémon using a generic "electricity" (電撃) attack, not Denki Shock (でんきショック), the Japanese equivalent of the move "Thundershock."
During the attack test Ash calls on his Charizard, whose Flamethrower hits Misty on its way back into its Poké Ball. After that:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「サトシ！あんたわざとやったでしょ！」 |
Kasumi: "Hey Satoshi! You did
that on purpose, didn't you?" |
Misty: "Yeah right! You just
did that to get some attention!" |
| ジギー 「キミのリザードン、あれはいったい何なんだよ！」 |
Ziggy: "That Lizardon of
yours...what in the world was that!?" |
Rudy: "What's the matter with
you? Can't you control your Pokémon?" |
| The Rocket trio's submarine surfaces |
||
| ムサシ 「何なんだよと聞かれたら」 |
Musashi: "If we're asked 'What
in the world was that!?'..." |
Jessie: "Prepare for trouble!" |
| コジロウ 「答えてあげるが世の情け」 |
Kojirou: "It's up to the world
whether or not we answer" |
James: "And make it double!" |
I've talked about this before, but in the Japanese version the Rocket trio does this thing where Musashi changes her first line of the motto in response to whatever random thing the people nearby might shout out. We can see that in action here, where Musashi takes Ziggy's question to Satoshi and tacks it onto the front of the motto.
The English dub doesn't really do this enough for it to be a recognizable quirk of the trio, for some reason, but if they did then I'd imagine they'd have Rudy say something like "That thing's nothing but trouble!" so that Jessie's "Prepare for trouble!" outburst wouldn't have seemed quite as random.
The very next line:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| コジロウ 「…なんだけどここ、どこなんだ？」 |
Kojirou: "...speaking of
answers, where are we?" |
James: "This doesn't look like
the ocean." |
| ニャース 「島の中の川だニャ」 |
Nyarth: "A river somewhere on
the island Nya." |
Meowth: "Must be Trovita
River." |
Does "Trovita River" exist in the Japanese version? I think I'll let television's Jonathan Frakes take this one:
Rudy invites Misty to dinner:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジギー 「それではカスミさん」 |
Ziggy: "And as for you,
Kasumi-san..." |
Rudy: "And as for you..." |
| カスミ 「あっ…」 |
Kasumi: "Huh?" |
Misty: "Huh?" |
| ジギー 「ご一緒にディナーでもいかがですか？」 |
Ziggy: "Would you care to join
me for dinner?" |
Rudy: "Would you care to have
dinner with us this evening?" |
| マリー 「カスミお姉ちゃん、一緒に夕ごはん食べようよ」 |
Marie: "Big sister Kasumi,
please say yes!" |
Mahri: "Oh, please say yes! My
brother is a really good cook." |
| カスミ 「マリーちゃん」 |
Kasumi: "If you insist..." |
Misty: "I don't know..." |
Mahri's line in the English dub implies her brother's the one who cooks the meal we see the three of them enjoy after the commercial break when no such thing is implied in the original.
Eyecatch
The Gym Leader doesn't really have a signature Pokémon (weird, right?) so we get Marie's cute little Pawou instead.
 |
 |
The English dub goes with Scyther, because sure, why not?
Dialogue Edit
Ash checks in with Professor Oak:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| オーキド博士 「ほうユズジムに着いたか」 |
Dr. Ookido: "Oh, so you've
arrived at the Yuzu Gym?" |
Professor Oak: "Ah, Trovita!" |
| サトシ 「あとバッジ２つゲットすればオレンジリーグに出られるんだ」 |
Satoshi: "Yup, and if I get
two more badges I get to compete in the Orange League." |
Ash: "I already passed Rudy's
attack test so the match tomorrow should be easy." |
Here, Satoshi gives Dr. Ookido an update on his Orange Islands quest overall where Ash decides to focus purely on the gym battle directly in front of him.
Tracey shows off his newest drawing:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「ボクがついてるからご心配なく。それよりオーキド博士、こんなものを
見たんですけど」 |
Kenji: "Well I'm here with him
so
don't you worry. Anyway Dr. Ookido, I wanted to show you this thing I
saw." |
Tracey: "Hi, Professor Oak.
It's me Tracey. And I wanted to show you a drawing of this thing I saw in the woods." |
| オーキド博士 「ほうそれは？」 |
Dr. Ookido: "Ooh, what is it?" |
Professor Oak: "Hmm.
Interesting." |
| ケンジ 「まだ未発見のポケモンじゃないかと思うんですけど、どうでしょう？」 |
Kenji: "I thought maybe it was
an undiscovered Pokémon, but what do you think?" |
Tracey: "Yeah, I thought maybe it was an undiscovered Pokémon. What do you think, Professor?" |
| オーキド博士 「う～むそれだけでは何とも言えんなあ」 | Dr. Ookido: "Well it's hard
to say off of just one image..." |
Professor Oak: "Well, can you
describe it a bit for me?" |
| ケンジ 「この島に来る前に偶然発見したんですが…」 | Kenji: "I randomly spotted it
before we came to this island, and..." |
Tracey: "Well, I didn't get a
real good look at it 'cause it was in the woods like I said..." |
| サトシ 「オレが話してる途中だったのに…」 |
Satoshi: "I was still talking
y'know..." |
Ash: "Hey, I'm paying for that
phone call!" |
Kenji says he spotted the Elekid before arriving at Yuzu Island, which I guess means Mandarin Island? That would make sense; after all, in the previous episode Kenji wonders out loud several times whether or not the "creature of the underpass" is a new, undiscovered Pokémon and so he clearly had Gen 2 on the brain.
As for Ash's line, the show's more or less done away with the concept of money by this point, right? Sure, the Rocket trio will continue to remain "vaguely poor" until the end of Diamond & Pearl but I don't really remember Satoshi and his friends continuing to have money troubles past Kanto, y'know?
The Gym Battle gets started:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| サトシ 「オレはマサラタウンのサトシ。ジギー勝負だ！」 |
Satoshi: "I'm Satoshi from
Masara Town! It's on, Ziggy!" |
Ash: "I hope you're ready to
battle, Rudy! I challenge you!" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカチュウ！」 |
Pikachu: "Pikachu!" |
Pikachu: "Pikachu!" |
| ジギー 「ハッ。ユズジム ジムリーダーサザンクロス南の星ジギー。まずは電気系ポケモンで勝負だ！」 | Ziggy: "Ha! I'm the Yuzu Gym
Gym Leader and the southern star of the Southern Cross, Ziggy! Let's
start with a match between Electric-Type Pokémon!" |
Rudy: "Ho ho ho. Challenge
accepted, though you don't stand a chance of winning. Choose an
electric Pokémon and we'll start the battle." |
You might remember me talking about how, in the Japanese version, the Gym Leaders in the Orange Islands are collectively known as the Southern Cross and how each Gym Leader corresponds with one of the four cardinal directions it represents. I dedicated a whole section of an earlier comparison to this topic so I won't repeat myself here, but the English dub of this particular episode removes the Gym Leader's reference to his position on the cross, just like it did for the other three. So hooray for consistency, I guess...?
Later, Rudy brings out his first Pokémon, an Electabuzz. For some reason this Pokémon, who's gotten to keep its original Japanese voice in previous appearances, gets a brand new voice in the English dub this time around.
The announcer tells everyone who's fighting who:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| アナウンサー 「マサラタウンのサトシ対ユズジムのジギー試合開始です！」 |
Announcer: "It's the start of
the match between Satoshi from Masara Town and Ziggy from the Yuzu Gym!" |
Announcer: "So it's Electabuzz
versus Pikachu in the first battle of this three-round match!" |
Originally the announcer (who, in the Japanese version, is clearly just Shin-ichiro Miki during the slightest variation of his Pokémon Bestiary voice and calling it a day) focuses on the human Pokémon Trainers who are battling while the English dub decides to focus on the Pokémon instead.
Sound Effect Edit
When Ziggy's Nassy falls on top of the Rocket trio there's a very loud CLANG sound effect played in the Japanese version.
The 4Kids dub technically leaves the sound effect in but they decrease the volume on it by so much you probably wouldn't be blamed for thinking it was removed altogether. This is the only sound effect in the episode to get altered this way, making 4Kids' decision to change this one and only this one all the more baffling.
Dialogue Edit
Misty tries to snap Ash out of it:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| カスミ 「サ・ト・シ！何やってんのよ！しっかりしなさいよ！」 |
Kasumi: "Sa-to-shi! What are
you doing! Quit goofin' around!" |
Misty: "Ash! What are you
gonna do? Just stand there and let him beat ya?" |
| マリー 「あっ、カスミ…お姉ちゃん…」 |
Marie: "Ah, big
sister...Kasumi..." |
Mahri: "You want him to win?" |
| サトシ
「カスミ？」 |
Satoshi: "Kasumi?" |
Ash: "Misty?" |
| カスミ 「ポケモンの力を引き出すのはトレーナーしだいなのよ！」 |
Kasumi: "It's up to the
Trainer to bring out the power in his Pokémon!" |
Misty: "Come on! You're the
only one who can bring out Squirtle's real power!" |
| サトシ 「分かってるよ！うるさいな！」 |
Satoshi: "I know that! So butt
out!" |
Ash: "I know that! I'm not
stupid!" |
| カスミ 「だったらなんとかしなさいよ！ボーッと踊りに見とれてる場合じゃない
でしょ！」 |
Kasumi: "If you know that then
do something! This
isn't the time to be staring at a dance show!" |
Misty: "Then don't just stand
there, do something! You already beat Rudy once, you can beat him
again!" |
| ジギー
「カスミさん…」 |
Ziggy: "Kasumi-san..." |
Rudy: "She wants him!" |
You often hear about how Japanese is a language heavily dependent on context, how there's just as much meaning in what people don't say as there is with what they do say. Take the word daijoubu, for example. A translator might choose, depending on the context, to render that word as "It's OK," "I'm fine," "no thank you," or "butt out!" and each one might be perfectly right. It really depends on who's saying what, and when, and in what situation.
Scenes like this are a great showcase of this particular quirk of the Japanese language in action. Both Marie and Ziggy are surprised to hear Kasumi stand up for Satoshi the way she does and so they respond the way a lot of characters in Japanese animation do by simply repeating the name of the person who's causing this shock ("big sister Kasumi" or "Kasumi-san"), all while having a surprised look on their faces. You see this in Japanese animation all the time.
Some translators will choose to simply leave lines like these as-is and retain the ambiguity present in the original, while others might decide having the characters more plainly state what they're feeling is the way to go. 4Kids clearly chose the latter. You can make an argument that Ziggy's "Kasumi-san..." is really him just expressing his shock that Kasumi cares more about Satoshi than she does about him, and so 4Kids' dialogue could be seen as a perfectly valid translation choice. Same with Marie's line a bit earlier. Now if it was me, personally, I'd have tried to keep the ambiguity from the original intact for the dub as well to mimic what was there in the Japanese version, but at the same time I can also see arguments for handling it the way 4Kids did.
Rudy calls out his Starmie:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジギー 「同じ水系ポケモン使いのカスミさんにこの勝利をささげます！」 |
Ziggy: "We're using Water
element Pokémon this time around and so I dedicate this victory
to Kasumi-san." |
Rudy: "I dedicate this victory
to the girl who saved my sister and stole my heart!" |
| カスミ 「えっ？」 |
Kasumi: "Eh?" |
Misty: "Huh?" |
| マリー 「あっお兄ちゃんったらやっぱりカスミお姉ちゃんのことが好きだったん
だ」 |
Marie: "I knew it! My big
brother really does like Big Sister Kasumi." |
Mahri: "Ha ha ha I knew it! I
knew right away my brother really liked you, Misty." |
Here, we can see the dub removing any and all ambiguity from the original script by having Rudy say, as plainly as possible, that he likes Misty. The Japanese version is decidedly more subtle.
Speaking of surprised reactions:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ケンジ 「あの技はハイドロパンプだ！」 |
Kenji: "That attack...it's
Hydro Pump!" |
Tracey: "What's
Squirtle...doing, Misty?" |
| カスミ 「ゼニガメ、ハイドロパンプを使えるようになったんだわ！」 |
Kasumi: "Zenigame learned how
to use Hydro Pump!" |
Misty: "Looks to me like
Squirtle just learned how to use Hydro Pump!" |
| トゲピー
「トゲトゲ！」 |
Togepy: "Toge Toge!" |
Togepi: "Toge Toge!" |
Repetition is another thing you see often in Japanese cartoons, as seen here by both Kenji and Kasumi more or less saying the exact same thing, one after the other. 4Kids did what a lot of localizers do and rewrites one of these redundant lines, though in this case I wish they had chosen something better for Tracey because "What's Squirtle...(awkward pause)...doing, Misty?" makes it sound like he doesn't actually recognize one of the more well-known Pokémon attacks? And for a Pokémon Watcher like him, well...it's not a great look.
Side Note
Speaking of Hydro Pump, I wanted to highlight Zenigame's use of the attack in this episode (and beyond).
In Japan, fans see Zenigame using the attack and immediately go "oh, that's just Gamera's Spinning Jet." If you're not familiar with the Gamera movies, it's a long-running series of kaiju films about a giant prehistoric turtle that fights other monsters, not unlike Godzilla. Of Gamera's many signature attacks, its Spinning Jet (回転ジェッ ト) is probably its most iconic.
 |
| Gamera flying away at the end of Gamera the Brave (2006) |
The people who make Pocket Monsters, both the video games and the animated series, have proven time and time again that they're huge kaiju nerds, and the decision to have Zenigame's Hydro Pump replicate one of its most famous monsters is yet another showcase of this love they have for the genre.
Dialogue Edit
Ash gets his third badge:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジギー 「リンボウバッジはキミの物だ」 |
Ziggy: "This Rinbou Badge now
belongs to you." |
Rudy: "Here's your Spike Shell
Badge, Ash." |
| サトシ 「よし！リンボウバッジゲットだぜ！」 |
Satoshi: "Alright! I got a
Rinbou Badge!" |
Ash: "Hahaha...I just won a
Spike Shell badge!" |
The Rinbou Badge gets its name from the rinbou-gai (輪宝貝), or "triumphant sky turban" on which it's modeled. The English dub renames this to simply "Spike Shell Badge."
Rudy says goodbye to our heroes:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ジギー 「カスミさん、ボクからのお別れの花束です。受け取ってください」 |
Ziggy: "Kasumi-san, these are
my way of saying goodbye. I hope you'll accept them." |
Rudy: "And Misty, I know
you've already made your decision, but these are for you." |
| カスミ 「ジギー…ありがとう」 |
Kasumi: "Ziggy...thank you." |
Misty: "I...thanks Rudy." |
| ジギー 「サトシ、カスミさんを大事にしろよ」 |
Ziggy: "And Satoshi, take good
care of Kasumi, OK?" |
Rudy: "I hope you know you're
a very lucky guy, Ash." |
| サトシ 「え？何のこと？」 |
Satoshi: "Huh? What're you
talking about?" |
Ash: "Lucky? What do you mean?" |
| ジギー 「フッ幸せなやつめ」 |
Ziggy: "Hmph. I guess
ignorance really is bliss." |
Rudy: "Heh heh. You'll see
someday." |
| サトシ 「うん？」 |
Satoshi: "Hmm?" |
Ash: "Hmm?" |
| ピカチュウ 「ピカ？」 |
Pikachu: "Pika?" |
Pikachu: "Pika?" |
Ziggy's send-off to Satoshi can be taken any number of ways (don't let her out of your sight, keep her safe, don't take her for granted, etc.) while Rudy's send-off to Ash can really only be interpreted one way.
Mahri says goodbye:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| マリー 「バイバイお姉ちゃん！あたし、お兄ちゃんがいるから大丈夫よ！」 |
Marie: "Bye bye big sis! My
big brother's still here so don't worry about me!" |
Mahri: "If you change your
mind and wanna come back we'll both be waiting here for you, Misty!" |
Mahri's still holding out hope that Misty'll come back while Marie, on the other hand, has apparently already moved on!
The narrator takes us out:
| Japanese
(original) |
Japanese
(translated) |
English
Dub |
| ナレーション 「見事ジギーとの戦いに勝ってリンボウバッジをゲットしたサト
シ。次の島には何が待っているのだろうか」 |
Narrator: "Satoshi
magnificently won his
match against Ziggy and has gotten himself a Rinbou Badge.
Who knows what's waiting for him at the next island?" |
Narrator: "And so, Ash finally
won his third Orange League badge. But Misty won something, too...a
young man's heart." |
The narrator doesn't say anything about Kasumi's love life in the original.
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