Pokemon: Indigo League (1997–1999)
Pokemon: Indigo League (1997–1999) follows the adventures of Ash, Brock and Misty as they travel the Kanto region, collecting badges and preparing for the Pokemon League.
Ash Ketchum, a 10 year old boy from Pallet town, Has finally got his license to be a Pokemon trainer and sets off (on his own) to capture, train and battle Pokemon to become the greatest trainer of all time. On his way he meets Misty after stealing borrowing and promptly destroying her bicycle, and Brock who tag along with Ash on his misadventures. While Ash is suspost to be training his Pokemon, he seldom does any actual training, relying more on luck and (some) natural skill. While he is more interested in making friends and having fun.
Our Heros are also followed by Jessie, James, and a talking Meowth. They are members of the infamous Team Rocket, a criminal organization out to steal rare Pokemon. Jessie and James have set their eyes on Ash’s Pikachu and regularly hatch outlandish schemes to steal Pikachu that inevitably backfire.
Recently I sat down and watched the first season of the anime Pokemon.
Back when I was a bigger pokemaniac in my youth I preferred the games to the show, but I did watch it quite a bit. For some reason I stopped watching after the Indigo League season. So any seasons I watch after this will be new to me.
Now that I have been able to watch the entire season, in order, I am able to appreciate the show a bit more. The story line is well developed, however at times it does feel formulaic at times.
Character growth is okay, but lacking. While Ash, Brock and Misty do grow and develop as characters they could have gone much farther. Hopefully that happen as I watch the other seasons.
A few of my favorate episodes are:
- Pokémon, I Choose You!
- The Water Flowers Of Cerulean City
- Charmander – The Stray Pokémon
- The Song Of Jigglypuff
- And the last handful of episodes where Ash is at the Indigo Plateau
My least favorates include: Here Comes The Squirtle Squad, Battle Aboard the St. Anne (and the 2 folloing episodes in the S.S. Anne story), The Ghost of Maiden’s Peak, The Battling Eevee Brothers, and It’s Mr. Mime Time! (I’m not sure why but in general I dislike anything Mr. Mime)
