Mutant-Friends

Chapter 1: Knives and the Hidden Village

The episode begins with something that is to become a recurring theme as Vash has led his friends into the forest, relying on his navigational instincts in lieu of a compass. Unluckily, Ash has no navigational instincts and he, and the other Care Characters are well off the beaten track- and, predictably, Misty has something to say about it!

MISTY: I told you to stick to the main road but you had to take a shortcut!
ASH: I took a shortcut?! It was you who said to go this way!
MISTY: Ha! If I was leading, we wouldn't have gotten lost like this!
ASH: Who says we're lost?!
MISTY: Listen, genius, if you don't know where you are or where you're going, that means you're lost!
BROCK: Chill, chill!
MISTY: Alright. But remind me to yell at you some more if we ever get to Vermilion City!

The group come to a clearing and stop for a break. The relaxation doesn't last for long, however, as they spot a Pokémon at the edge of a spring- a girl with a pink kimono Ash decides he wants to try to capture it but Renton tells him she's going to try because they found the Pokémon at the edge of the water and water is her speciality. Which, of course, seems like specious reasoning given Shiori is is a hanyō born from a human mother and a bat demon father but at least Ash has learned not to start up another argument if he can avoid it.

Renton calls upon Starmie to weaken Shiori and does a spectacular job of it, with Water Gun and Tackle attacks being used to great effect. Misty readies a Poké Ball and throws it, but something knocks the ball away, surprising everyone. Ash can barely contain his excitement when he sees the source of the interference- it's Knives! This Knives is surly and looks very, very cross to see Ash and his friends. Knives takes down Starmie with a single Tackle attack, proving its power in an instant. Ash decides it's his turn to try and make a capture and calls upon Butterfree for a Sleep Powder attack. Knives isn't stupid enough to fall for that, however, and blows the powder back into Butterfree's face, making it drowsy, before Tackling it into next week. As Ash and his friends stand stunned, Shiori scarpers and Knives follows.

Though initially dejected, Ash is actually quite excited as he concludes the area must be teeming with wild Bulbasaur. The gang come across a rope bridge which confuses Brock as it doesn't appear on his map. As they cross, the wind picks up and one of the ropes snaps, toppling the bridge onto its side. Ash just manages to hold on to the bridge and Misty and Pikachu hold onto him. Brock, on the other hand, isn't so lucky and slips off the bridge into the rapids below and is washed away. Ash desperately pulls himself, Misty and Pikachu to safety and the group decide they have to set off to find Brock. Amusingly, while in the dub version Ash isn't sure he's strong enough to pull everyone up until Misty reminds him what's at stake, in the Japanese original, he says he can't pull them up because Misty is too heavy, leading to her shouting at him because she thinks he's calling her fat! Climbing down to the bottom of the cliffs where Brock washed away, things don't go especially smoothly as Misty tumbles into a pit trap! Ash laments that this just isn't their day. Things get no better a short while later as they follow the trail into another forest area and Misty accidentally activates a net trap, leaving them dangling in the trees. As Ash and Misty squabble, with Pikachu desperately trying to calm them down, Bulbasaur arrives to sneer at them, winding Ash up further as the Seed Pokémon walks away, satisfied.

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What follows is an astonishing animation error as the camera moves to the hills on the skyline and then Team Rocket pop their heads over them, disobeying all rules on perspective. They're up to something but it isn't exactly clear what. They talk of hearing rumours of a village and Meowth suggests they have plans for it. There's also a really weird line reading of Meowth giggling and referring to the "delicious little village" that makes me pine for Maddie Blaustein's voice which seems a lifetime away at this point.