because i have a dumb stupid AU idea for a fic that i can't get rid of, where Meowth is Ash's starter pokémon and Pikachu joins Team Rocket

and um EXCUSE ME HOW DARE THIS POKÉMON'S BACKSTORY BE SO MUCH SADDER THAN I REMEMBER

nyarth baby ;___;

trying to eat baseballs because he was so hungry

(also, still annoyed that it is 2015 and we still don't have subs for all of indigo league??)

and god help you trying to find any subs ACTUALLY UP ON A STREAMING SITE

unless they're from like BW-era or later

also: oh my god i forgot how bad the songs in the dub really are

theme song + poké rap are pretty solid (that may be nostalgia talking) but HHHHHHHSHIT THIS TEAM ROCKET SONG IS KILLING ME

GO WEST, YOUNG MEOWTH i am pretty sure we had that ep on tape....

yup! I watched it

POOR TINY MEOWTH I AM SO HEARTBROKEN FOR HIM

like literally the whole episode is just "shitty things happen to tiny kitten" and it's so damn sad

aaaand rewind. back to Episode 1

weird-ish voice acting: check

immediate animation errors: check

new feels about old TV: oH NO

THINGS YOU DIDN'T NOTICE AS A KID--the scene with gary and ash at the lab is actually really subtly scripted so that if you're watching for the first time you wouldn't realize they already knew each other

and if you did know they used to be friends then you'd see the little tells like gary pretending VERY LOUDLY AND OBVIOUSLY that he has no idea who ash is

and ash being like 'gary?' with this look of pleasant surprise like when you see a friend you haven't for a long time

AND THEN GARY IS THE BIGGEST DOUCHE FOREVER and leaves with his nonsensical squad of cheerleaders in a world where you get a pokémon at 10 AND ALSO A DRIVER'S LICENSE??

child there is no way you can reach the pedals of that convertible. plz stop

LMAO OH MY GOD ash proclaims that pikachu "[I]s so cute it's the best of all!" when presented with his nonstandard starting pokémon

he agrees with the marketing team clearly but that's still sweet