We open on Ash getting a message from Professor Oak when he, Brock and Misty stop at a local Pokémon Center. I always found it amusing how Oak not only knew they'd be there, but also make a greeting card with his image in it.
The message says for Ash to call him, which he does to give him an update on his progress. The Muk he caught in a previous episode is also quite, shall we say, "affectionate" towards the professor.
Before Oak tells him to collect more badges and Pokémon, he also upgrades his Pokédex to the latest version of its OS, which; on a 1999 setup and some Star Trek: TNG noises, is done in moments; complete with a new voice! Huh. It took me 19 days to setup my new iPhone.
I also like how the title gives a tease for what's about to happen, but doesn't give it away. To this day, the development for the series and most others is as follows: you want to think about the future, you have to get started right away.
As everyone maps out their journey to Cinnabar Island, I must once again point out how I had a totally different problem trying to navigate the Seafoam Islands on my Game Boy in those days. Anyway, everyone speculates about what could hatch from the egg; since this was before this mechanic was actually used in the games; let alone the numerous eggs I've hatched in Pokémon Go. Also, no comment on Misty's love and desire for Tentacruel other than this to any detractors reading: get your mind out of the gutter!
Team Rocket also schemes to steal the egg, and they're able to get it mixed up by posing as a pair of Swiss egg sellers with a bunch of decoys! I especially like this phony Misty holds, if everyone will allow me to play this music.
Heading to a cabin acting as their hideout, James wants to cook the egg; but Meowth opts to hatch it himself! Would have been an omelet fit for a king, but instead it's Meowth's dinner buddy! When James asks why he's holding it so much, Meowth replies so it will stay warm!
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| Your maternal aspects are an affront to our transparent evilness! |
Meowth also decides to take a bath with the egg! Take them away, Calgon!
As the two go to bed, Jessie and James remark they never knew how Meowth could be so revolting! Have you met him?
The next day, the trail of eggs has led right to the cabin where Team Rocket is hiding; somehow! I also like that fake Zubat popping-out of the dummy egg.
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| Stupid counterfeit Hatchimals! |
James also makes the mistake of trying to serve Meowth scrambled eggs for breakfast; and Meowth responds by going all Rachel Leigh Cook on James with the skillet!
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| This is what your family goes through, and your LIFE, AND YOUR JOB AND YOUR MONEY! ...Any questions? |
Before everyone breaks in to reclaim the egg, I am quite pleased with how good a job the remaster of this episode has turned out once again. I have a handful of these episodes on my iTunes account, and I am seriously considering picking up the Blu-ray release in the near future.
Everyone crashes through the window, and I don't know why; but I always liked how savage Ash looked as he smugly says, "That's funny: I thought this was OUR egg!" More on that in a moment, since now the egg must not just be reclaimed, but also protected from breaking!
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| Hope you like your egg with a little salt, fellas! |
The egg ultimately ends up safe thanks to Pikachu, and as it starts hatching, Misty comes in to see what it is! It hatches into the first of many beloved monster egg babies: Togepi!
As everyone marvels at the then-new Pokémon, the only questions remains is who does it belong to? Though it has bonded with Misty, Brock helped incubate it, and Ash was the one that found it! I must once again point out that Dogasu once again had a lot of great information that helped my writing about this episode in his comparison; but I must also disagree with his comments about Veronica Taylor's vocal performance here. Being a man in my position, there's more than one way to tell how someone is feeling, especially when they're mad. The facial cues clearly say he's angry about this disagreement.
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| Though it's more "aggressive sales pitch" angry than "Diablo Immortal backlash" angry, admittedly. |
Meowth chimes in to say how much he did to help, which leads to an informal tournament over who Togepi will join! ... While I did break my moratorium on tournament arcs with my look at "Kuwabara's Spirit Sword," I still have a couple episodes I'm contemplating addressing before my retirement.
The first heat is Meowth VS Brock, and though he has a type disadvantage, he grabs a couple buckets of water as he proclaims "Meowth never says die!"
Dousing Onix in the water, Meowth is able to land a critical blow on him; and it also turns out this tourney is a single-elimination!
The next heat is Ash vs Misty, and the match between Bulbasaur and Psyduck is just a hoot! Though the use of "Lick" and "Tickle" is not quite the same as it would be in the games, I am looking forward to seeing more of these two in Detective Pikachu.
Misty grudgingly concedes to Ash, setting up the final heat between him and Meowth! Despite Meowth's determination, he walks headfirst into Pikachu's tail! Here we go!
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| Insert "surprised Pikachu" reaction here. |
Ash wins the tournament and Togepi, but rather than be like a competitive DLC prize, Togepi chooses Misty; which the Pokédex upgrade confirms is how it imprinted her as its surrogate mother! While not everyone was a fan of this, I rather liked how it complimented her character and let the tomboyish mermaid keep her spunk. So, we close on this egg baby jumping into Misty's arms as the journey continues! Only three more days till #PokemonLet'sGo!
"Who Gets to Keep Togepi?" is easily a fun episode without question, which remains fun after all these years. Though it took quicker than I usually like when I was quickly getting this together on my Netflix profile (much like how I want to quickly get the dough I need to get the Nintendo Switch I have paid off from layaway), I definitely enjoyed working on it overall. This is an episode that many people have an affection for, and I am no exception. I just have one more Kanto episode in mind before I pick up my copy of Let's Go Pikachu this Friday, and I want to really make sure it's finished before then so I can move onto my remaining projects. That's all for now. Later.
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