Recap: File 1-Red

Recreating the opening screen of the game, and Professor Oak sounds very deep. The animation showing the opening of the Pokémon Red and Blue takes me back to 1998, when everything seemed so much simpler.

So, it's File 1: Red of Pokémon Origins. His mother sounds all right, and Red sounds pretty nice. He has flaws of his own to offset Ash and the public perception that pretty much turns Red into Superman, as Red tumbles down the stairs and rushes out.

Apparently, Green is called Blue. I don't mind; as I never really played Fire Red and Leaf Green; and I was never a big fan of the character redesigns. I find it easier to call him Blue, since when I think of Green, I usually think of the woman in the early Special/Adventures chapters. I'm also not the biggest reader of Special/Adventures, because I don't actually own many of the book collections of them; so I'm limited to fan scans of them.

Professor Oak gives Red and Blue their Pokédexes, and gives them the task of cataloging the Pokémon of the world. Then, he gives them their first Pokémon. 

Also, it seems he refers to Bulbasaur as a "plant Pokémon" rather than a "grass Pokémon". Not too big a gripe; especially given how the writing for Chronicles was a mistranslated, pun-ridden mess.

Blue, much like in the games; as well as his counterpart Gary, is a bit of an ass. It seems the Pokémon Company is aware of all the memes made about him. "That's right! I remember now! His name is DOUCHE!"

Naturally, Red chooses Charmander, like I did in my copy of Pokémon Red; and I still do. He says that it's because of his father that he's doing so. I know. My father has been very supportive of me even though I don't see him all the time.

 I want to learn the ways of the Force and become a Jedi like my father.

He says his dad named him Red because of the fire in his eyes; and his heart. They had to rework the rationale for Blue choosing Squirtle because of the name change, but it still gets the point across in its own way. 

Then, after declining the nicknames, they decide to have a battle to test their skills. It seems Kyle Hebert is Professor Oak, and Bryce Papenbrook is Red. I should really not need to introduce Kyle because of teenage Gohan, Saiyaman, and Kamina; but I think Bryce Papenbrook needs some information. He had previously voiced Masoami Kida in Durarara, and young Vash in Trigun; both anime I recommend, by the way. He does a fairly good job on capturing the character's energy.

So, Red starts building up his roster, battling, even' making the mistake of trying to catch someone else's female Nidoran.

Now, get the memetic battle between Red's Charmander and Blue's Squirtle. The one that realistically depicted how a battle would go; and pretty much made older fans cream themselves when Squirtle bit Charmander's cheek and Charmander screamed in pain. The fact the Pokémon cries are more based on the sounds from the games exemplifies this.

Red is distraught at this; and is told by Brock that his method needs work and he needs more experience as a trainer. Also, Brock is voiced by Johnny Yong Bosch. While I was hoping he would get cast as Red; he is still one of my favorite anime voice actors and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers to get a role of some sort in this special. 

So, Red works more on fine-tuning his skills as he goes to Viridian City have his Pokémon healed. After talking to Professor Oak about the PC system, he wastes no time in heading to Pewter city.

He goes to the museum and overhears how powerful Brock is. He goes to the gym to challenge him; and they even added the "you're light-years away from facing Brock" line from the games. My theory is this: that trainer knew better. They were just tossing out jargon to try and pull a fast one on a new trainer. Like in the games, it doesn't work.

It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than 12 parsecs.

So, Brock accepts Red's challenge, taking out two Pokémon; since Red has no badges. Just how I would expect a gym leader with Zero's voice to behave after starring in a crappy second season. 

Brock's Geodude and Red's Charmander face off, and it's clear Red is outmatched. The animation is also incredible, even integrating some of the HP bars from the games. Brock also talks to Red about his strategy; as his ego is what cost him the first battle against Blue. Typical that a gym leader that sounds like Vash the Stampede can offer advice like that.

Then, Red has a trick up his sleeve to win: it's a male Nidoran! He uses the Double Kick to coast through the rest of the match. I honestly did not think about that, in any of my playthroughs of Red, Blue, or Yellow. My strategy was to catch a Caterpie or Metapod in Virdian Forest, raise it into a Butterfree; and spam Confusion, since the Psychic type was easy to exploit in those days. It became more balanced later. 

Red has won, and Brock gives him the Boulder Badge; as well as a TM. While they have yet to appear in the main anime; Origins has depicted them as a disc, much like how the games have for a while. With this, Red actually saves his game before he gets ready to catch more Pokémon and get more badges! I'd say this is the most self-aware Pokémon adaptation I've ever seen.

So, I can say a good job was done with the dub of the first part of Origins. The voice acting and animation are on par with what you'd find in most movies these days. While the main anime is very cartoony and campy; Origins is much darker and more realistic. It's a massive standout in terms of characterization and treatment of battling. The way the Pokémon and trainers behave: it's almost as competitive as you would expect; since that aspect of the games has gotten very big. Even rewatching the older episodes; it's clear that it's just as big a phenomenon in-universe as it is in real life. Merchandise is everywhere; TV coverage of matches is shown in multiple languages, and entire criminal empires are based on Pokémon. Above all, I'm glad this first part managed to capture what's fun about Pokémon while targeting the older audience; which is where Apocalypse failed with me. Still; it's hard not to bring up the main anime when talking about this. Personally, I think you can do worse with merchandise-driven anime; and you can find far worse characters than Ash. At least he never tried to string a guy up by his ankles like Ky Stax did, or try to use an enchanted cell phone diary to coast through life. They are simply two of many ways of seeing the same character. They are just scratching the surface of how diverse protagonists and interpretations of Red are. I'll get more into the character revision aspect later; but for now, I'm going to enjoy this special.

Next time, my look at Pokémon Origins continues with Part 2: Cubone!