EP010

Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village File:BulbasaurandtheHiddenVillage.gif.png

EP010   かくれざとのフシギダネ Fushigidane of the Hidden Village

First broadcast Japan June 3, 1997 United States September 21, 1998

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター Ending ひゃくごじゅういち

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉 Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 開木菜織 Naori Hiraki Assistant director 広島秀樹 Hideki Hiroshima Animation director 平岡正幸 Masayuki Hiraoka No additional credits are available at this time.

Bulbasaur and the Hidden Village (Japanese: かくれざとのフシギダネ Fushigidane of the Hidden Village) is the tenth episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on June 3, 1997 and in the United States on September 21, 1998.

Ash, Misty, and Brock find a hidden village of recovering abandoned Pokémon, guarded by a surly and protective Bulbasaur.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Synopsis

Our heroes are wandering through the forest without a compass, trying to find the path to Vermilion City. Ash and Misty are fighting, as usual, this time over who led them astray, while Brock is trying to get them to cool down.

They pause for a rest, and Ash sees an Oddish taking a drink. Misty sends her Starmie to fight the Oddish so she can catch it. The Oddish is defeated, but Misty's Poké ball is deflected by the appearance of a Bulbasaur before she can claim it. The Bulbasaur attacks and defeats the Starmie; Ash sends his Butterfree after the Bulbasaur with a Sleep Powder attack, but the Bulbasaur blows the powder back at Butterfree. Both the Oddish and the Bulbasaur run off into the underbrush.

The trio attempt to cross a rope bridge, but a wind starts to rip the bridge apart. Brock falls into the river below, while Misty and Pikachu cling to Ash. Ash ultimately manages to pull them up, and the three make their way to the end of the bridge. They make their way down to water level and go looking for Brock. At once, Misty falls through a deadfall into a pit. Ash pulls her out, and they go on looking. As they walk along, Misty's toe catches a rope, and they find themselves suspended in a net. They're found by the Bulbasaur.

Team Rocket appears, looking for a village across the bridge.

Ash speculates that Brock has been washed to sea and shanghaied by pirates; moments later, Brock appears and cuts them down. Brock relates his experience in the river; he was rescued from the rapids by an "incredibly beautiful" girl. Brock takes them to the village and introduces them to the girl, Melanie.

Ash and Misty notice the large number of Pokémon in the village and wonder if they belong to Melanie. Brock explains that this village is a place for abandoned or injured Pokémon to come to rest and relax. Melanie cares for them until they're better, then they leave. Melanie collects plants to use for medicine, though she says she's unqualified to be a Pokémon doctor. Misty teases Brock for falling in love with Melanie; he reacts a little violently, fearing Melanie might overhear.

Melanie explains that she set the traps they fell into to prevent Pokémon trainers from reaching the village. She is trying to protect the injured Pokémon from being captured while they are too ill to escape.

Jessie, James and Meowth try to cross the remains of the bridge, but it collapses under them, dumping them into the river.

Brock promised Melanie they wouldn't capture any of the Pokémon in the village; Misty asks if he sealed the promise with a kiss, and Brock thumps her hard on the top of her head. Misty agrees anyway, saying, "Only bad guys try to capture sick Pokémon." Ash worries if the traps are enough to keep robbers away, saying, "You'd have to be pretty stupid to fall into one of those holes." Cut to Team Rocket as Jessie says, "That's the third hole we've fallen into!" They get out only to immediately get caught in a net.

Brock and Ash are tending to a Staryu, while Misty apologizes to the Oddish. She and Ash begin quarrelling, and the Bulbasaur tackles Misty, thinking Oddish was in danger. Melanie explains that Bulbasaur volunteered to protect the whole village. Bulbasaur tries to push Ash out of the village because it doesn't trust Pokémon trainers. Ash wishes he had a Pokémon that brave.

Team Rocket appears from behind a cloud, standing on a balloon-lifted platform, reciting their mantra. They land in a clearing outside the village, and try to collect all the Pokémon in the village with a massive vacuum. Brock herds everyone into the cabin, but Oddish gets caught in the suction. Bulbasaur rescues Oddish with its vine whips, and Ash helps block the wind so it can carry Oddish to the cabin. The vacuum starts to actually pull the roof off the cabin, so Bulbasaur uses its vine whips to smack the hose around. Ash releases his Pidgeotto with instructions to start a Gust attack. The resultant tornado tosses Team Rocket and their platform into the distance.

Melanie asks Ash to take the Bulbasaur with him; the village is too small for its bulb to grow. She says the Pokémon are staying in the village too long, because the Bulbasaur has done too good a job of protecting them. She feels Ash will be a good trainer for Bulbasaur. Bulbasaur agrees to go with Ash, on condition that they battle first. Ash sends Pikachu, and the two trade rams. Bulbasaur uses its vine whips to toss Pikachu around, but Ash calls for a Thunderbolt, which shocks Bulbasaur into submission, allowing Ash to catch it in a Poké ball. Brock offers to stay and help, but Melanie refuses, telling him to continue on his adventures.

Major events

• Ash catches a Bulbasaur

Debuts

• Bulbasaur (Ash's Bulbasaur)
• Melanie

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Melanie

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Bulbasaur

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Butterfree (Ash's)
• Pidgeotto (Ash's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's; new)
• Starmie (Misty's)
• Caterpie
• Rattata
• Oddish (debut)
• Paras
• Weepinbell
• Staryu
• Magikarp

Trivia

• This is the first episode of a three-episode arc where Ash gets each of Kanto's starter Pokémon.
• This is the first episode to feature Brock's soft spot for girls.
• Eric Stuart takes over for Ted Lewis in the role of James as of this episode.

Dub edits

• At the end of the English version, the narrator says this line:

"Let's just hope our heroes don't take any more shortcuts, or we may never get there!"

In other languages

• French: Le village caché
• Portuguese (Brazil): Bulbasaur e a Vila Escondida
• Spanish: Bulbasaur y la aldea secreta

This episode article is part of Project Anime, a Bulbapedia project that covers all aspects of Pokémon animation.