ENGLISH NAME	JAPANESE NAME	POKEMOPOLIS NAME	DODGINESS RATING	ANIMATION	STORY	TEAM ROCKET	MORAL LEARNT
014: Electric Shock Showdown!	014: Dengeki Taiketsu! Kuchiba Jimu!	The PUN-Isher			Ash battles for his third Gym Badge	Supporting the good guys?	Americans are paedophiles!?!

The kids - sooty-faced and exhausted - are delighted to find themselves at a sign indicating they have arrived at Vermilion City! Misty wants a bubble-bath, Brock needs to use the laundromat and Ash is heading for the Gym RIGHT NOW! But as he begins to haul ass, Brock grabs his collar and hauls him back, pointing out that Pikachu is lying exhausted at his feet. He reminds Ash they haven't eaten anything "decent" for three days now, and Ash's own stomach growls to remind him that he needs to eat.



At the Pokémon Center, he hands over the dusty and exhausted Pikachu to Nurse Joy and tells her sheepishly that Pikachu might be hungry. They all stare at her and she tells them she knows they're surprised by her similarity to the other Joys, though she thinks she is the prettiest of the lot. Brock quietly agrees, but then a small boy gets Joy's attention by rushing in with a knocked out Rattata. Joy takes it to join a large number of other battered Pokémon, telling them this is the 15th one this month, all victims of Lieutenant Surge - the Vermilion Gym Leader.

Misty asks Ash if he is scared, smugly telling him he only got his first two badges out of pity and he'll have a tough time getting his third. Ash disagrees, and she flicks his nose with a laugh, telling him to prove it at the Gym. Brock says he will have to be tough based on the casualties on display at the moment, and Ash's attempt to bop Misty on the nose are stopped by Nurse Joy who reminds them they're in a goddamn hospital.



Joy notes to Ash and Misty that if two people fight, it means they really care about each other. They both react as you might expect, snapping that they don't care about the other, causing her to laugh. A tone sounds to let them know Pikachu (and other Pokémon being treated) are all healed up, and they go and find the fat little rat eagerly chomping on an apple. Ash is pleased to see Pikachu fighting fit, telling it that they need to go throw down with Lieutenant Surge. Just then another trainer and his battered Pokémon come racing in, and Pikachu starts freaking out at the idea of being sent into that lion's den.

Ash again shows a remarkable ability to understand Pikachu's jabbering, figuring that it is asking if he cares if it ends up like the other Pokémon that have thrown down with Surge in the past. He takes this onboard and agrees that he can see what Pikachu is talking about... then happily declares that Pikachu doesn't have to worry about this since they're going to win! He tries to haul Pikachu along with him, but it clutches onto the counter and then zaps Ash, who keeps on tugging. Misty notes in an aside to Brock that they must REALLY care about each other based on the way they are fighting, which is rather clever, really.

They arrive at the Gym, which is a garish, brightly coloured affair with a lightning motif. Ash and Misty argue till Brock reminds them they need to actually go in, and inside they find themselves facing a tough looking male and female. Ash explains he is here for a battle and they call back to their "Boss" that another victim for the hospital has arrived. A massive framed figure appears in silhouette, a laughing, arrogant voice asking which one. Ash gapes up at the huge block of a man he is facing as he steps into the light to reveal.... Guile from Street Fighter!?! He looms over the terrified children, then suddenly drops to a knee and hugs a squawking Misty tightly, declaring that his latest challenger is a "cute one" but that doesn't mean he'll go easy on her.

...she's... she's 10 years old, dude.

Ash reveals he is the challenger and Surge seems surprised, then rubs his head and calls him baby. Ash is pissed at the derogatory term, but Surge laughs that he calls everybody who loses against him "baby". He notices Pikachu hiding behind Ash's leg and laughs to his assistants that the baby brought a baby Pokémon. Ash doesn't understand what he means so Surge shows him, calling out his own Pokémon - Raichu!

Yes, it's the evolved form of Pikachu. Surge tells Ash that a Pokémon is only useful once it knows all the moves it can possibly know, and he should have evolved Pikachu as soon as he caught it. Ash disagrees, but Surge is insistent that an unevolved Pokémon is a useless Pokémon, and promises to teach Ash just that. Misty asks Brock if Pikachu has any chance against Raichu but Brock doesn't think much of Ash's chances, noting that Raichu will know electric moves that Pikachu doesn't, as well as being bigger and stronger.

They enter the oddly claustrophobic arena, which has a very high roof with a skylight but feels strangely narrow. The male assistant talks over an intercom to announce the battle, and it's on! Ash has Pikachu use Thundershock but Raichu easily takes it and comes back with a "real" Thundershock that blasts Pikachu and.... knocks it out with one goddamn shot! Pikachu got One-Hit-KOed!

Brock immediately shouts at Ash to recall Pikachu, saying it is too outmatched, and a clearly torn Ash considers doing just that - but Pikachu is having none of it! Staggering back to its feet, Pikachu wants to keep on fighting, and Surge and Raichu both seem entirely too willing to accommodate its death wish, Surge noting that Pikachu is pretty gutsy "for a toy". Pikachu charges straight into a Thunderpunch right to the face, followed by a Mega-Kick that sends Pikachu crashing head over heels.

Watching from outside through the windows, Team Rocket are enjoying watching Pikachu take an asskicking for a change. While Meowth happily shines a charm (but not the one on his head), James points out to Jesse that if Pikachu is so easily beaten... what does that say about them? Meowth sneers that they could always steal Raichu instead and they smack him about the head before going back to watching, but now CHEERING for Pikachu. terrified of the transitive property seeing them labelled as losers.

Another massive burst of Thundershock absolutely kills Pikachu, and it suffers the same fate as the 16 other Pokémon over the last month - in hospital. At the Pokémon Center, Ash sits beside the bed that is comically oversized for the fat little rat, Brock and Misty standing behind him on either side. Ash is happy to see it awake again, but Pikachu is pissed off at taking an asskicking from its big brother. Brock and Misty try to explain the concept of emotional damage to a 10 year old boy, and he insists that next time they'll try their hardest. Misty notes that Pikachu kinda already tried its hardest the first time, but then Nurse Joy arrives on the scene with a suggestion - evolution!

She shows them a Thunder Stone in a little case, one she "stumbled across" at some point in the past. Ash takes the stone and considers his options - the Thunder Stone will evolve Pikachu into a Raichu and give it a boost in strength and power, as well as access to new moves. It's a one way trip though, once Pikachu evolves there is no going back, and Ash notes that if he does do this, he'll be just like Surge.

And nobody wants to be a gung-ho American military paedophile!

He asks Pikachu what it wants to do, and Pikachu struggles to stand up, watched carefully by the kids, Nurse Joy and even Team Rocket peering through the window. Ash tells Pikachu he is happy for Pikachu to remain Pikachu, and it looks at the stone, then turns its back and angrily flicks the stone away, wanting no part of it. Turning back to Ash, it angrily starts ranting its own name, tearfully translated to Jesse and James by Meowth who explains that Pikachu wants to fight Raichu again... as a Pikachu, and on behalf of all Pikachu everywhere! James bursts into tears as well, the only one left dry-eyed being Jesse.

Ash grabs Pikachu by the paws and tells it that together they'll defeat Surge and Raichu. Brock tells him to change up his strategy and use a different Pokémon, but Ash insists that it is difficult, not impossible. As even Jesse gets a little wobbly-eyed at Pikachu's resolve, the Pokémon in question passes out from exhaustion and Joy tells them it needs a little more rest.

Out in the hall, Misty grabs a drink from a vending machine and says that she is nervous. Ash is angry and confused, since when has she been worried about him? She retorts she was talking about Pikachu, and then Brock speaks up. Surge mentioned that he evolved his Pikachu into a Raichu as soon as possible, and that gives Brock an idea on how Ash might be able to defeat him.

The next day Ash and Pikachu step out into the shining sun, and Ash dramatically points to the sky and tells Pikachu their lucky star is shining tonight. Pikachu looks up, confused, and Misty shoves past Ash to ask him where it is, how can a star be shining during the day? Angrily he tells her he didn't literally mean there was a star shining up in the sky that was their lucky star. Misty's grin indicates that she knew EXACTLY what he was talking about, but Ash being fired up isn't necessarily a bad thing and Brock points out that they look ready to go.

As they head down the road towards Surge's gym, they find a trio of trenchcoat wearing strangers in their path. Who are they? What do they want? The answer comes in the form of a motto!

"To protect the world from devastation!" they start, before the short furry one smacks them over the head with a growl of,"IXNAY!"



Not-Meowth explains that they're the Challenger's Cheerleaders, and they're here to offer a cheer to the brave Pikachu. They then begin to do.... some REALLY weird shit! Not-Meowth bounces from foot to foot waving fans with R's on them, while Not-James waves a flag with a big R on it and Not-Jesse stands on one foot, holds her hands in front of her face, waggles her tongue and screeches,"PI KA CHU!" before they stop, claim HIP HIP HOORAY then turn and leg it out of there.

"That.... was really disturbing," says Brock. Misty is more generous though, happily waving goodbye and thanking them for their support..... and calling them Team Rocket by name! Their sunglasses pop off in surprise, how did she see through their amazing disguises? Regardless, they're clear of any attack, and Ash is focused entirely on his rematch.

At the Gym, Surge smirks to see Ash back without having bothered to evolve his Pikachu. He has accepted the battle though, and seems bemused to hear that Ash has a strategy to fight him, calling it nothing more than a new way to lose. It doesn't look good either when Pikachu immediately runs into Raichu's swinging tail, and is then held down and whipped (spanked?) by the tail before being crushed under a bodyslam. Team Rocket are once again watching from the window and are horrified to see Pikachu losing again after the cheer they did for it.

Raichu rises up for another Bodyslam, but this time Pikachu zips out of the way and Raichu's belly slams into the solid ground. Ash tells Pikachu to use its agility, and it begins darting easily around the arena avoiding Raichu's sweating attempts to hit Bodyslams. Brock and Misty are delighted, Brock's theory about Raichu was right - it evolved too soon and never learned the speed moves that it could have only picked up as a Pikachu. Ash smirks to Surge that his Raichu is too slow, and just like the American Military, Surge doesn't like being made to look a fool. He orders a Thunderbolt and Raichu unleashes a HUGE burst of electricity that smashes out the window and rips up the arena floor as the kids cringe back from the unleashed power.

The smoke clears and Surge smugly asserts that the battle is over, having used overwhelming power to defeat a more strategic attack - just like the American Military again! But to his shock, he discovers Pikachu is still standing... or rather, balancing. Having uses its tail as a ground, Pikachu has safely ridden out the massive blast of the Thunderbolt unscathed.

"What a shocking story!" puns Jesse horrible from outside.
"That was quite a.... tale!" adds James, holding Koffing's smiling face up in front of his face in what is quite obviously a terrible translation of the original line.
"And now you've both been... PUN-ished!" snaps Meowth, smacking them both over the heads and leaving them bent over with their asses in the air, while Koffing happily slides through the air down to the ground.

A sweating Surge demands another Thunderbolt from Raichu, apparently figuring that if dropping a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima didn't do the trick, then dropping one on Nagasaki will finish things off! But Raichu... can't!?! Confused, it sparks a little but can't unleash anything, and Brock smirks that it's over, Raichu is out of electricity. Ash sends Pikachu in with Quick Attack, slamming into Raichu's soft belly before backhanding it with its tail and... knocking it out! Pikachu beat Raichu! Pikachu beat up its big brother!



Surge gapes in horror, while outside Team Rocket happily bask in the knowledge that Pikachu really IS something special, and therefore justifies their continued existence.

Amongst the shattered remains of the arena, Surge towers over Ash but is all smiles as he hands over Ash's third Gym Badge - the Thunder Badge. Ash happily takes it, staring down at the badge that looks more like a sunflower than a thundercloud. Raichu seems pleased with Pikachu's fighting effort too, and Ash hauls his fat little Pokémon up and hugs it gladly. Pikachu is happy too, but lets loose a blast of electricity that shocks them both, Ash laughing that NOW he can see plenty of stars.

So the episode ends, Ash has his third badge and learned a valuable lesson about not relying on overwhelming power. Team Rocket learned something to, the aforementioned reinforcement of their belief that Pikachu is a tremendously rare and powerful Pokémon that deserves their constant pursuit. They head on down the road pleased that their life still has meaning, till James realises in horror that they wasted the entire episode cheering for the good guys! The narrator agrees, and wishes them better luck next time.

They're trying to steal the good guy's main Pokémon to put it to work for their cruel organisation in return for fame and profit, Mr. Narrator, what the hell kind of thing is that to wish them luck for!?!

BEST QUOTES

"And now you've both been... PUN-ished!"

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