Recap: File 3-Giovanni

So, now we arrive at Pokémon Origins File 3: Giovanni. Red continues his journey, clashing with Team Rocket and meeting Giovanni, in addition to getting the Rainbow Badge from Erika; and the Soul Badge from Koga. Once again, I must address the pacing. I will admit it's kind of choppy in this part; especially in regards to the gym leaders; but it's totally worth it for what I'm about to tell you about.

Red reaches Saffron City; and the place is crawling with Rocket Grunts; who have the city held hostage. Red and Blue rescue a secretary from Silph Tower; who tells them that Giovanni is after the prototypes for the Master Ball; which as you know, can capture any Pokémon without failure. They have the Pokémon, scientists, and office workers locked up; and it's implied that the secretary is injured. She's limping, and her stockings are all torn up. 

Red tells Blue to go take the secretary to Celadon City to call the police. Blue is unsure of this, but he changes his mind when Red grabs him by the collar of his shirt and calls him on it. If I must bring up the Ash analogy; I'm once again limiting it to this: I like both characters very much; but in different ways, in the same manner I like different Starfleet captains in different ways. Kirk, of course, is the icon; the crafty loose cannon that has been subject to much parody. In the case of the 2009 Star Trek film; it would be an official, CBS and Paramount-approved one. Picard is more by the book; but he is more level-headed and willing to seek out diplomatic solutions before the phasers come out. Sisko: he has to be an envoy of peace on Deep Space Nine as well as deal with the fact that he's raising his son as a widower. I'm in the process of re-watching Deep Space Nine; and I can easily liken this to Sisko punching Q in his first appearance on DS9.

You know what's about to happen, what they're up against!

Anyway, back to Pokémon. Red then storms Silph Tower, rescuing the hostages; both human and Pokémon alike. To thank him, the staff gives him Lapras. It's been a while since I've read the Red and Blue arc of Special; but I imagined something like this when I was playing Red and Blue. A 10-year-old kid is stepping into a situation where most adults are filling their pants with fudge. What makes this significant is this isn't just the Wile E. Coyote-like Team Rocket of old. I'm reminded of Helen's advice to Violet and Dash in The Incredibles, which is my favorite Pixar film: "Remember those bad guys on those shows you used to watch on Saturday mornings? Well these guys are not like those guys. They won't exercise restraint because you're children. They will kill you if they get the chance. Do not give them that chance."

Now, Red confronts Giovanni in the boardroom of Silph Tower. Giovanni in this special is voiced by Jamieson Price in the dub. As in Lordgenome. The man who voiced the villain of my favorite anime is now voicing the villain of my gateway into anime. Despite Red's best efforts, Giovanni not only wipes the floor with him, he smashes through the wall! He then escapes. Even though Red does not feel good about his escape, the president of Silph Corp thanks Red for rescuing him.

Red continues his journey, capturing more Pokémon and defeating Sabrina, Blaine, and the fighting dojo.

Now, he has arrived back in Viridian City; and he finds Blue already has the Earth Badge. Red has little time for Blue's gloating, and goes to challenge the leader himself.

Biggs! How are you?

Then, he is astonished to find that the gym leader is Giovanni! Outraged at this; Red vows to defeat him once and for all! The battle begins with Giovanni on the upper hand; but Red perseveres till it's down to his Charizard and Giovanni's Rhydon. Giovanni is angry on the surface, but in his mind; he's impressed. He remembers his own training as a child; before became one of the most iconic villains in the franchise and quite possibly the entire Nintendo canon. This scene can easily resonate with longtime fans like me. I'm also seeing a lot of parallels with Simon's fight with Lordgenome.

To the very end, Red and Charizard come out on top. Giovanni gives Red the Earth Badge. While Red is reluctant to accept it from the head of Team Rocket, Giovanni insists he keep it as a symbol of victory against him as Gym Leader. With this; he decides to disband Team Rocket. Red then rides off into the sunset toward the Indigo Plateau!

So, this part of the special was a marked improvement over the previous segment. The key standouts were Red's assault on Silph Tower and his battle with Giovanni. I must once again address the pacing; since while it is doing a very good job at making the world of Red and Blue come alive, it does kind of chug through much of the gym battles. I may have liked to see a bit more time spent on the other gym leaders and the significance of Red's captures; but it's still very good in terms of storytelling. Once again, I must reiterate that I am trying NOT to compare this to the main anime as many are. I know it's difficult; given that the main anime now has as many detractors as it does fans, but put it this way: Origins is essentially doing to Pokémon what Evangelion did to mecha series and what Puella Magi is doing to magical girls. I haven't read Special very much; but I do admire its more serious treatment of battles and how it often plays with my expectations in terms of characters. The art is also very good. I love how Mato adapted Ken Sugimori's designs; but unfortunately, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's as the Gold and Silver arc was winding down and had to retire from drawing. The new artist has a good style; but that's not important right now. Back on the Star Trek analogy I used earlier: not just in characters, but the stories of the bulk of TOS and early TNG were very optimistic. After Gene Roddenberry's death in 1991; the rest of TNG and all of Deep Space Nine and Voyager became much more cynical, bringing about key events like Wolf-359 and the Dominion War and focusing more on the imperfections of the Federation. I can only imagine how dark the alternate reality films will be as they go on. Likewise, while the main anime is still very idealistic with some dark elements thrown in; the various manga, games, and Origins are much more cynical. Even then, they still manage to capture the fun of being part of the Pokémon World; which is why I'm still a fan at my age.

Next time, my look at Pokémon Origins concludes with Part 4: Charizard!