Recap: File 2-Cubone

We pick up by actually loading the save game as if we were playing it on an old Game Boy! Red won his battles against Misty and Lt. Surge, caught more Pokémon, got more TMs and HMs; the bike, and clashed with Team Rocket. Welcome to Pokémon Origins Part 2: Cubone!

At the Pokémon Center in Lavender Town; Red hears of the ghosts of Pokémon Tower. He's new in town; and it's revealed it's a Pokémon Graveyard, much like in the games. While the main anime was more humorous; this one is absolutely heartbreaking. That's one mention of the main anime for this segment; as things are going to get real dark, real fast.

Red mentions he doesn't believe in ghosts, but decides to go anyway. Before he does, he goes to the Pokémon House. Much bigger on the inside. It's a home for abandoned or orphaned Pokémon. Ready your tissues; get ready to hold the bridge of your nose, it's going to be one of those times. I shall try to maintain my composure the best I can; but it's one of the most emotionally powerful Pokémon moments ever.

Cubone is in the pen; and now we begin the story. So, now we see the first animated depiction of how vile Team Rocket can be. We see how far they will go to steal Pokémon; and we get the very first animated depiction of them killing Marowak. Mr. Fuji has helped Cubone cope; but it's not doing too well. Then, Mr. Fuji has been taken hostage by Team Rocket at Pokémon Tower! Red gets ready to storm the place; as Team Rocket has declared a stakeout at Pokémon Tower. Given their presentation: it's drawing directly from how they behaved in the games; and the violence and tone are about a hard PG on par with Star Wars or Raiders of the Lost Ark.

And now, your Highness, we will discuss the location of your hidden rebel base.

Blue sets out to stop Team Rocket; but for the glory rather than the noble cause. Shinji Miyazaki's rendition of the Lavender Town theme is very haunting and emotional. A woman coming to visit her Nidoran's grave escorts Red upstairs. 

Blue is also skeptical of ghosts, even more so than Red. While Blue's clothes are based on his redesign, his characterization would be right at home in 1998. I've always been a fan of how worldly the adaptations have made the games. Even though the stories have gotten more elaborate and the characters have gotten more varied; this special captures the feeling of playing the game at age 6 and trying to fill in the details yourself. Even when playing in black and white (or monochrome color if you had a Game Boy Color); you can make your way in the Pokémon world any way you want to. Above all, I can say that Origins succeeded in where Chronicles failed for me in recreating the experience of playing the game. A direct to game adaptation is actually not as easy as you think. It's not like adapting a book or a TV show; where there are concrete story paths and character descriptions given. Playing a game can take the story in any direction; and you might not always make the right choices the first time. Why do you think the subgenre was seen as so bad until Wreck-It Ralph came out?

Anyway, the Rocket grunts are just polishing Poké Balls while they stand guard. The have the Silph Scope, but they're defeated and Red gets it. I must note the Silph Scope kind of looks like the Virtual Boy; this really crappy 3D game system that did what the 3DS does; only a lot worse. 

It's revealed to be the ghost of Marowak, who is quelled when Cubone comes to make peace. I'm reminded a lot of Dinobot's death in Beast Wars. While the original Pokémon was among the first TV shows to make me cry; Dinobot's death in Code of Honor was THE first. I can even imagine this scene being used with this final soliloquy from Shakespeare: "Tell my tale to those who will hear; honor my memory, and let my soul be judged accordingly. The rest is silence."

With this; Red then goes to take care of Team Rocket. He has a Jolteon now; and it makes short work of their Koffing. Koffing even sports the familiar grin even as he's being hit with Thunderbolt. With Team Rocket driven from the tower and Mr. Fuji rescued; the mourners are able to return to pay their respects.

To thank him; Mr. Fuji gives him the Poké Flute and the Mega Stones. Red asks what they're for, and Mr. Fuji says he'll know when the time is right.

With this, Red sets off; and now I must address the pacing. Apart from the montages of the battles, this segment managed to cover about 3 hours of gameplay in about 22 minutes. This goes back to my statement of how adapting a video game is not as easy as adapting a book or a TV show. While it still does a good job of adapting the general gameplay paths one might take; it can feel kind of rushed and uneasy at times, which is also the only real complaint I had with Man of Steel. As for a certain scene: I can't judge Henry Cavill's Superman the same way I can Christopher Reeve's; Tom Welling's, Brandon Routh's, or even Tim Daly's. As such, I must reiterate that I simply cannot judge Ash and Red by the same standards; as they are very different interpretations of the same character. Both the creators and fandom have made it abundantly clear that you can't really go by the same standards. Even so, I regard Ash and Red more favorably than I do other characters. For instance: I watched this really awful Korean show called Tai Chi Chasers; and its lead, Rai, has a reasonably sympathetic backstory of his home life being ruined. So what does he do? Use it an excuse to act like an asshole to everyone around him. Thankfully, Ash and Red; and the great pantheon of Pokémon characters share my ideologies and embody some aspect of my personality, in the same manner Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, and Indiana Jones do. Despite this segment having some pacing problems; it is satisfying to watch in terms of storytelling and animation. It's clear that the people working on this have taken the same approach with Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Avengers: take the media and character types of the works that influenced them and use them to make something everyone will enjoy; regardless of background or prior interest. 

Next time, my look at Pokémon Origins continues with Part 3: Giovanni!