Challenge of the Samurai – EP004

Last time: Ash caught a Caterpie which then evolved into a Metapod, he also caught a Pidgeotto! Misty confronted a physical manifestation of her love for Ash. 

This episode begins with Misty seeing another bug followed by Ash delivering the line: “My it’s a Cowderpie!”

This is the greatest show of all time. Ash then calls on Pikachu to combat a Weedle and he opts to take a nap instead.

This episode is off to a great start. Goofs and Sassy-chu.

This episode brings a defining feature of Ash’s personality and battling style to the forefront: stubbornness. Ash is stupid and stubborn and would rather stand facing down his increasingly hard opponent (tee-hee) rather than admit defeat or acknowledge farce.

It took real balls to face down Samurai like this.  He stood up to be counted. Proudly hung his flag at full mast and charged into battled. Samurai was gonna get boned. This would be no ordinary Pokémon cock fight, Ash would show true testicular fortitude. Prove he was the total package. Okay I’ll stop. 

This is of course the infamous Metapod standoff episode. A scene memorable enough to have a reference paid to it in Pokémon Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee. In many ways you can argue that being obstinate is Ash’s key featuring and thus that’d make this a defining episode of the series. The show leans into absurdist comedy like this, especially in the early episodes, and I’m a big fan. The sillier and weirder, we get the better.

The other key point of this episode was Ash acknowledging that he sucks in order to earn Metapod’s trust after Metapod (who beat Samurai’s Pinsir in this episodes like a beast) was captured by a swarm of Beedrill while Ash could do nothing. Saying “Hey I sorta suck but I’m trying!” certainly wouldn’t be my first approach to winning the trust of my go to fighting cocoon but it worked so who am I to say anything.

Ash was rewarded with his Metapod evolving into a Butterfree and I’m still not ready for what’s to come.

The emotions are too much…

Stray Observations 

– Who’s that Pokémon? A less shrewd eye could mistake this for a Kakuna but I would not make such an amateurish error.

– This episode begins one of Pokémon’s favourite tropes – introduce a character for an episode, have Ash bond with them, promise to see one another again and then they never appear again. It was nice knowing you Samurai. 

– We’re on episode 4 and they’re already subverting the Team Rocket motto. They were interrupted by Ash’s warnings about an incoming mob of Beedrill. Poor criminal gang just can’t catch a break (though their absurd tank made of cardboard ruled)!