EP003

← EP002 : Pokémon Emergency!

Original series

EP004 : Challenge of the Samurai →

Ash Catches a Pokémon

EP003   ポケモン ゲットだぜ！ I Caught a Pokémon!

First broadcast Japan April 15, 1997 United States September 10, 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 冨岡淳広 Atsuhiro Tomioka Storyboard 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二 Yūji Asada Animation director 玉川明洋 Akihiro Tamagawa Additional credits

Screenshots on Bulbagarden Archives

Ash Catches a Pokémon (Japanese: ポケモンゲットだぜ！ I Caught a Pokémon!) is the third episode of the Pokémon anime. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 15, 1997 and in USA on September 10, 1998.

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

Synopsis

This synopsis is in the wrong tense. Please feel free to edit this synopsis to change it to the present tense.

Ash effortlessly captured the Caterpie he tossed a Poké Ball at in the last episode. Misty showed her complete dismay at it as she feared Template:Type2 Pokémon.

Even before the celebrations for Ash catching his first Pokémon could start, he spotted yet another Pokémon, a Pidgeotto. Ash sent out his Caterpie to weaken the Template:Type2 Pokémon, but having a type advantage over Caterpie, Pidgeotto easily defeated it with a Peck attack. Misty then told Ash that Bug-types are weak to Flying-types and so, Ash used his Pikachu. Pikachu Thunderbolted Pidgeotto, knocking it out, and Ash easily made his second capture.

Team Rocket then arrived on scene and attacked the twerps. Ash sent out Pidgeotto and Pikachu to battle, but Ekans and Koffing managed to defeat them. Ash was then compelled to use his Caterpie. Jessie and James made fun of the caterpillar Pokémon, but it actually managed to defeat Ekans and Koffing with a String Shot! Team Rocket then called a full retreat and run away with Meowth in tow, and Misty was about to try and get over her phobia by petting Caterpie (on Ash's request) when suddenly, Caterpie started covering itself with some fluids and became brighter and brighter. It then started to grow, and finally, became a Metapod!

Ash and Misty then continued their journey through the forest to Pewter City with two new friends - Metapod and Pidgeotto.

Major events

• Ash captures a Caterpie, making it his first captured Pokémon.
• Ash also captures a Pidgeotto.
• Ash's Caterpie evolves into Metapod.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Metapod (Ash's)
• Butterfree
• Beedrill
• Pidgeotto (Ash's)

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Jessie
• James

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Caterpie

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Caterpie (Ash's; new, evolves)
• Metapod (Ash's; newly evolved, debut)
• Pidgeotto (Ash's; new, debut)
• Ekans (Jessie's)
• Koffing (James's)
• Butterfree (debut)
• Beedrill (debut)

Trivia

• This is the first episode in which evolution is shown.
• According to a quote from this episode, Misty cannot stand carrots, peppers and Template:Type2 Pokémon.
  • Also, in regards to another quote from this episode, Misty mentions that she is ten years old. This was only said in the original.
• This was the first time a main character catches a Pokémon that evolves in the same episode, the second being more than 500 episodes later in The Thief That Keeps on Thieving!.
• In the English version, Misty reads the episode title at the start instead of Ash, while in the Japanese version, Ash reads the title.
• This is the first episode where type advantages are mentioned: Template:Type2 moves are effective against Template:Type2 Pokémon.
• A real animal appears in this episode, as Pidgeotto is seen eating a regular worm, possibly due to the lack of Template:Type2 Pokémon available at the time.
• This is also the only episode where Ash captures two Pokémon of different species in one episode.
• Misty owns a red sleeping bag decorated with bubbles, while Ash owns a blue sleeping bag. "Satoshi" (Ash's Japanese name) appears on the name tag of his sleeping bag.
• Ash mentions that the Pokémon League has regulations stating that Trainers may only use one Pokémon at a time in battles. This rule may have changed years later in the Advanced Generation series, in which two-on-two battles are not considered unusual.
• Despite the episode title saying "a Pokémon", Ash catches two Pokémon.
• Both Pokémon Ash catches in this episode are released by the time Ash travels to the Orange Islands.
• While Ash tells Caterpie "Counter", some have taken this to mean the move, which Caterpie cannot learn. In the original, Ash told it merely to "fight back".

Dub edits

• When Caterpie is looking sad due to Misty telling it to stay in its Poké Ball, the katakana for "Ga~n" (a Japanese sound effect) moves across the screen. This was painted out for the dub.
• When Misty is telling Ash that birds eat worms, she slaps him for putting his Pokémon in danger. This scene was cut.
• How Misty and Ash commented on Caterpie is different between the versions (mostly due to religious censorship). In the English version, Ash was mentioning how he loves Caterpie, and Misty sarcastically responds how it doesn't take a lot to love a worm, whereas in the original version, Ash comments that he and Caterpie is the same kind of Heaven, and Misty retorts that their Heaven is her Hell.

In other languages

• Brazilian Portuguese: Ash Pega um Pokémon
• Czech: První chycený Pokémon
• Dutch: Ash vangt een Pokémon!
• European Portuguese: Ash captura um Pokémon
• Finnish: Ashin Pokémon-saalis
• French: Capture du premier Pokémon
• German: Ash im Jagdfieber
• Italian: Il primo Pokémon catturato
• Latin American Spanish: ¡Ash captura un Pokémon!
• Iberian Spanish: Ash atrapa un Pokémon
• Mandarin: 收服神奇宝贝
• Russian: Эш ловит Покемона

← EP002 : Pokémon Emergency!

Original series

EP004 : Challenge of the Samurai →

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