Recap: The School of Hard Knocks

Hello everyone, and Happy Pokémon Day! Due to my course load right now as well as how I didn’t realize how time-consuming doing the movies I had on my list would take; I will change things up given the circumstances. Rest assured, my looks at my next episode of Code Geass R2 and the Jirachi movie will be done later; I will just have to bump them to March. I will also have reached a decision on my 300th post after this recap and the next one. I have also been wanting to do this episode for a while. In honor of the 21st anniversary of the series, I am going to do the first episode of the series I ever saw. Let’s open up “The School of Hard Knocks” and party! 

Once again, I don’t think I need to say anything else about the Pokémon theme; i’m just going to link to it and get started on reliving this episode.

We open on Ash, Misty and Brock being on their way to Vermilion City (note: still contemplating doing a gym battle showcase this year, depending on what happens). While Ash and Misty quarrel, Brock points out they’re “running late and have to start the show.” Ha!

Not pictured is Misty clobbering Brock with a log in a scene cut from the dub, as my associate Dogasu pointed out in his look at this episode. After the title card, Brock decides to set up for a break; apparently pulling a table and various kitchenware out of his bag. Ah yes, the old reliable magic satchel! Even in those days, you’d be surprised how many Ultra Balls and Full Restores you can fit in there. As I pointed out in my look at “Pokémon I Choose You,” it’s a very common anime and video game trope.

Brock then decides he will make some crepes, leading to Misty having a romantic French fantasy. Episode unintentionally predicts Kalos!

However, when Ash loudly eats some kind of snack; Misty hits HIM with a log for “ruining her romantic daydream!” So, hitting Brock with a log is bad, but Ash is no problem. Consistency? What’s that?

Ash then grudgingly decides to go get firewood; but he and Pikachu then come across a strange group of people in matching uniforms. If these guys offer me any Kool-Aid, I’m not going to drink it.

One of the kids, whose name is Joe by the way; is being antagonized by these guys before Ash sticks up for him. The way they present themselves: it’s like one of those scummy pickup artists who don’t know what the Hell they’re talking about.

Misty also joins in to help Joe, but the other kids claim that “fighting is for cavemen.” I guess no one told the current administration.

As the other kids leave, they say the only thing they’re “afraid of is how bad they’d beat a little punk like you.” Please, these preps look like the henchmen of the man Scott Pilgrim kicked so hard he saw the curvature of the Earth.

Brock, who is just casually whisking the ingredients for their crepes, says that they’re the students of Pokémon Tech; a school which is designed to get its graduates into the Pokémon League without having to travel the land collecting badges. So, it’s kind of like a precursor to the one in Alola; and I will address the manner further when I talk about the Sun and Moon series later this year (I’m still waiting for the dub to officially start airing on Disney XD, the preview on their website doesn’t count).

I also rather like how Pikachu is fiddling with the treadmill while they’re all talking, like one of those music videos I saw when I first got on YouTube. 

As the fog clears; it turns out the whole thing was a training simulation that’s part of their curriculum. Joe laments that tomorrow’s class will be on snow battles; so they’ll “make him into a snowman again.” Least you don’t have to do the Danger Room at the Xavier Academy. 

Apparently, the school has a very tough class structure; to the point where no one wants to leave without graduating, as shown by this upperclassman with gray hair; stubble and glasses that look like the kind Professor E. Gad wears in some of the Mario games.

Wow, Melvin really let himself go after Sailor Moon ended, didn't he?

Worse than that, there’s also a setup of systemized hazing and bullying; with a young woman named Giselle at the center of it all! While Ash initially considers it a “violation of students’ rights”, he and Brock become enamored with her when they see her photograph. Brock even says “she can violate his rights!” Ew.

Misty is less than pleased at this, declaring that she’s “gonna find this little witch and straighten her out!” I think I know what she meant, but 4Kids wouldn’t let her say it.

It’s also revealed that Jessie and James were a couple Pokémon Tech washouts who got the school’s lowest scores ever on the entrance exam! This is one of the key pieces of their backstory; and I do plan on addressing some more of Chronicles later this year to follow up on my look at “The Legend of Thunder” last year. 

Also, Meowth’s Humphrey Bogart impression while he declares his friends “the top of the bottom” is just precious! You see, Yo-Kai Watch? THIS is how you make a reference for the parents that might be watching with their kids.

The battle simulator being modeled after the one in Pokémon Red and Blue is also a nice touch; since the games were new at the time of the respective Japanese and American air dates.

While Joe is good on the simulator, Misty challenges him to a battle; saying “a simulation is one thing, but this is real life!” Words to live by, Misty. 

Her Starmie reams Joe’s Weepinbell with a single stroke despite a type disadvantage; which Giselle attributes to its level being much higher when she enters. I know the feeling. There are many times where my Greninja in Y, Rash can ream the low-level Burmy  near Santalune City like nothing.

While Brock is of course attracted to Giselle; Ash displays one of the few; if only times he was interested in someone openly as more than just a friend. That pretty much goes away after this episode, and it’s not hard to see why.

Giselle then describes herself as she laments that others don’t have her “beauty, talent or humble attitude.” You may want to rethink that last one, Giselle. 

Still, the way the anime sets her up as one of those pretentious overachievers is very “fetch,” ending her introduction on the phrase, “people call me a star, but I’m just Giselle!”

She then uses a Graveler against Misty’s Starmie in an attempt to one-up the Cerulean Gym Leader! She’s trained it so much that it cracks Starmie’s gem and sends it crashing out the window and into the pool! Huh. Never really noticed how much the anime nerfed her Starmie before. Might be why my head canon version of Misty has her ace be a Gyarados instead. 

I also note that this is the only episode in 20 years of anime canon that has acknowledged evolutionary levels before or sense. Giselle suggests that Ash’s Pikachu is at Level 25; but I’m not entirely sure. Based on what I’ve seen, I’m going to assume that the level system works differently in the show. Also, seeing as this is an anime based on a video game, I would presume that it doesn’t have to make sense. Mario gets big from eating mushrooms but dies when he gets hit with a turtle shell, after all. 

Giselle then continues listing off all these stats about battle techniques and trainers’ abilities; but her delivery comes off less like someone in the competitive circuit and more like someone who’s looking for names to add to her “burn book."

Ash quickly gets tired of Giselle’s ranting; and decides to engage her in battle! 

Giselle counters with a Cubone, but Ash is undeterred despite a type disadvantage.

What follows is basically a summary of his battle style: even fairly early on; he’s willing to take chances and keep on fighting even when the odds are against him.

Pikachu then leaps off Cubone’s head when he tries to use a Bone-merang, then flips the skull mask around! 

After a flurry of physical attacks, Cubone flips its mask back around just in time to get hit with its own attack! As Giselle recalls Cubone, here is the newest Pokédex entry as of Moon: “The skull it wears on its head is that of its dead mother. According to some, it will evolve when it comes to terms with the pain of her death.” Pretty morbid for an E-rated game, isn’t it? 

Giselle is genuinely surprised that Pikachu won without using an electric attack. While the other characters insinuate it’s a fluke (albeit a “cool fluke” by Joe’s admission), I submit it’s another piece of Ash’s battle style: he is well-known to this day for taking risks and surprising his opponents, type and power be damned.

Jessie and James then break into the pool, and Meowth reappears after being knocked away in an earlier scene I forgot to mention. Giselle, not intimidated; discovers their record-low entrance exam scores and decides to engage them with the other students. While the animation has admittedly-aged, it still stood out at me when I was watching this on a UPN affiliate on an old TV in California.

In a flurry of Poké Balls, Team Rocket is sent packing in a fashion similar to Wile E. Coyote. They did come close to winning in one of the Sun and Moon episodes I saw recently were it not for “Bewear ex machina” before they struck the final blow.

So, we close on Joe and Giselle deciding to continue their studies outside the school; and Ash, Brock and Misty set off toward Vermilion City once again. Good episode for the festivities today.

“The School of Hard Knocks” is a good episode for me to start off my Pokémon fandom. While many people at the time were under the impression this whole thing was a fad in those days; given how Pokémon Sun and Moon have sold over 14 million copies as of this writing and Pokémon Go is picking up again with the integration of the Johto monsters, I can definitely say those impressions were unfounded in hindsight. I can also say that in addition to some other episodes and movies I have on the table for this year; I will continue to cover stuff here for a while even if some guy who makes bizarre rants on Twitter doesn’t like it. The Jirachi movie will be covered in March, and I will be starting up my Pokémon movie marathon again with that to get ready for the “I Choose You” movie soon. I am also very eager at the prospect of more content being made for the Nintendo Switch (on track to launch this Friday), and the powers that be are interested in making use of the technology of that console (I didn’t get a preorder, so I’ll just be picking up Zelda: Breath of the Wild on my Wii U and look into it for Christmas or my 26th birthday). Next time will be my next oft-delayed recap of Code Geass R2, then my 300th post! Have a happy Pokémon day everyone! See you space cowboy!