When it comes to thePokémonanime, there are some episodes which have aged gracefully, while others haven’t faired so well. In fact, some of them have aged so poorly that they’re uncomfortable to watch these days.
For an episode to have aged poorly, it generally needs some elements that may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but are no longer really regarded as such. Often times, these are jokes that just don’t land like they used to, although some of them never landed right to start with.
10Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym
Episode: Pokémon Black and White, Episode #50
In this episode, Ash challenges the Nimbasa City gym leader, Elesa. Elesa is an Electric-type trainer, so Ash had a “brilliant” strategy ready to go: he planned to use Palpitoad, a Ground-type, which is immune to electricity. On its face, that’s not a bad idea, and it could’ve worked out in the end under better circumstances.
Instead, Ash enters the gym battle with ONLY Palpitoad, and when Palpitoad is swiftly defeated by an experienced gym leader, has no more Pokémon to continue battling with.Ash embarrassingly had to leave the gym and go get more Pokémon, and Elesa was gracious enough to allow him to continue the battle.
This would’ve been an embarrassing mistake for Ash to make in the first season, but this far into the series, it’s almost unforgivable. The moment is out-of-character for Ash, and even Pikachu is exasperated with him.
9Solid as a Solrock
Episode: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Episode #100
In this episode, Ash faces down the twin gym leaders, Liza and Tate. Their battle is interrupted by Team Rocket and the gym is destroyed, so they end up taking the fight outside to finish their match. Liza and Tate, who had been struggling to work together, are now getting along, and pose a much bigger threat to Ash.
Ash, prompted by seemingly nothing, has an idea, and has Pikachu ride his Swellow in this double battle. Ash calls Pikachu to use Thunder, which strikes both Pikachu and Swellow.Any player of thePokémongames would instantly expect Swellow to be knocked out, but that’s not what happens. Instead, Swellow gains “Thunder Armor,” allowing Ash to win the match.
This is one ofAsh’s most infamous harebrained strategies, and it’s never mentioned as an option again. Thunder Armor is effectively a deus ex machina, helping Ash win a match he otherwise shouldn’t have.
8Battling the Enemy Within
Episode: Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Episode #178
Ash and co. discover an underground ruin, which has Ash excited. A little too excited, in fact, as he can’t help but touch everything, setting off traps and causing problems. Ash and friends then run into Pyramid King Brandon, who has been exploring the ruins, and immediately yells at them for being here, as it’s against the rules.
Brandon tells them a story about the ruins, which prompts Ash to run off again to discover the item mentioned in the story.Despite all of Brandon’s warnings, Ash finds the object and tries to use it, thinking it may unleash a Ho-Oh. Instead, Ash is possessed by an evil King’s spirit.
Brandon challenges the possessed Ash to a battle, which “Ash” cheats at until Brandon crushes him. Ash is freed of the spirit, but has lost his chance to challenge Brandon to a legitimate battle. This episode is quite frustrating because of how out-of-character Ash behaves, even before being possessed, and Brandon is extremely rude and mean.
7The School of Hard Knocks
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #9
While traveling, Ash, Brock, and Misty stumble across the Pokémon Technical Institute, a very difficult Pokémon trainer school which could allow students totake on the Pokémon Leaguewithout badges. There, they meet Joe, a student being bullied, who insists that this harsh treatment is necessary to succeed.
Ash and friends try to confront the leader of the bullies, a girl named Giselle. But Brock and Ash are completely taken by her beauty at first, leaving an irate Misty to battle her instead. After Misty loses despite having the type advantage, Ash finally steps in, but finds himself at a type disadvantage with Pikachu against Cubone.
This episode stands out as it is the only episode in which Ash shows romantic interest in a girl, and the only time Brock is interested in a girl who’s younger than he is. It’s obviously a case of Ash’s characterization changing as the series went on, but that doesn’t keep it from standing out as a weird episode. The episode also talks about levels, something not otherwise mentioned.
6The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #20
In this episode, Ash and friends are drawn to a lonely shrine overlooking the sea, where a Gastly is causing some trouble. It initially takes the form of a beautiful woman, drawing in James and Brock and forcing Ash and Team Rocket to work together in order to get away from this troublesome Ghost-type.
Gastly makes things get weird in a hurry, however.The ghost reveals itself as Gastly, prompting Misty to attempt various things to get rid of it, including a crucifix, suggesting that Christianity is real in the Pokémon world.When Jessie sends out Ekans,the Gastly turns into an illusion of a real-life mongoose, claiming it’s a snake’s enemy.
Then, faced with Bulbasaur and Squirtle, Gastly takes on the form of “Venustoise,” a fusion of Venusaur and Blastoise. Finally, when Gastly is defeated, Gastly speaks to a real human ghost, promising to honor and remember her. This episode is just chock-full of weirdness, and it has aged very oddly as a result.
5The Kangaskhan Kid
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #34
As Ash and friends wander through the wilderness, they find their way into the Safari Zone. How do they know? Because an Officer Jenny with a rifle and a Chansey hat jumps out and tells them, keeping her gun trained on Ash. Team Rocket has also made their way there, enjoying the view of a herd of Kangaskhan they plan to steal.
When Officer Jenny learns of Team Rocket, she goes out to stop them, with Ash and co. in tow.After Team Rocket is dealt with, they meet a wealthy couple searching for their son, Tommy, who went missing some time ago when the idiot father dropped him out of a helicopter.Surprise! The episode is a bad take on Tarzan.
The entire Tarzan plot is really bizarre, and it gets weirder in Japanese, as Tommy actually asks Misty to breastfeed him. The episode’s tone is quite strange, and the use of guns is something that got other episodes banned, so it’s amazing this one didn’t end up banned as well.
4Navel Maneuvers
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #93
Ash and friends arrive at Navel Island, ready for Ash to challengethe next Orange Islands League gym leader. There, they meet Danny, an older man who immediately begins hitting on Misty, flattering the young girl extensively. It’s soon revealed that Danny is the Navel Island gym leader, and that he has a complex set of tasks Ash will need to beat.
Ash first must climb the mountain alone and unaided. At the top, he and his Pokémon must compete to form a bobsled out of ice, and do so faster than Danny can. Finally, Danny and Ash will race down the mountain in their bobsleds, and whoever reaches the beach first is declared the winner.
At first glance, this episode doesn’t seem too bad, butDanny’s behavior towards 10-year-old Misty is quite creepy in retrospect, ensuring that this episode has aged particularly poorly.
3Pokémon Shipwreck
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #16
Following on from the previous episode, whereTeam Rocket tried to take over the St. Anneand steal all the Pokémon, the ship has sunk to the bottom of the ocean. Ash, Misty, Brock, Jessie, and James are still aboard, however, and must work together to escape from the sinking ship if they’re to survive.
They eventually make it to the surface and a lifeboat, but no one knows to look for them.Growing desperate, the group begin considering eating James’ Magikarp, which he bought from the Magikarp Salesman. Meowth tries to bite it, but its tough scales just break Meowth’s teeth.
This episode is a pretty good one overall, but the imagine spot of Ash and Brock thinking about eating Magikarp is a pretty disturbing one nowadays, with Pokémon rarely being portrayed as foodstuff, especially if eating them would require killing them.
2A Chansey Operation
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Episode #47
After Pikachu chokes on an entire apple, Ash must rush him to emergency care, but the Pokémon Center is too far away. So, Ash takes Pikachu to a hospital for humans, where one Doctor Proctor is on duty. After Misty sweet-talks him a bit, he agrees to see them, but mistakes Misty for the patient.
Once Pikachu is helped, Nurse Joy calls the hospital, reporting to Brock that the Pokémon Center is flooded with patients and they need the hospital to take some temporarily. Brock instead flirts with her, much to her confusion. Pokémon patients begin being sent to the hospital, including Team Rocket’s Arbok, and Doctor Proctor immediately starts hitting on Jessie.
Brock’s bit of hitting on every adult woman he sees is definitely one that hasn’t aged well, but this instance of it may be one of the worst, as there’s an active emergency going on, but Brock is only concerned about hitting on Nurse Joy over the phone.
1Holiday Hi-Jynx
Episode: Pokémon the Original Series, Special Episode
As Christmas approaches, Jessie and Meowth begin plotting to capture Santa Claus, in revenge for his failings in her childhood. Jessie is also convinced that Santa Claus is a Jynx, because of this experience that she had. Ash encounters a Jynx on a beach holding a boot, and attempts to catch it, but it turns out to already have a trainer.
Jynx conveys its story telepathically to Ash and friends, and they agree to help reunite it with Santa. Jessie, however, is convinced this is the Santa she saw as a kid, and is following for revenge.Team Rocket follows them to Santa’s workshop and take Santa hostage, stealing gifts meant for good children. Santa orders his Jynx to stop Team Rocket from escaping with the gifts, and succeeds.
This episode is absolutely bizarre for making both Santa and Christmas canonical to the Pokémon world, and having Jynx in place of Santa’s elves.This episode is technically banned in the US, although it did originally air on TV in 1999. For these reasons, it’s without a doubt the episode ofPokémonto have aged the worst.
