IL013: Mystery At The Lighthouse

Mystery at the Lighthouse is the thirteenth episode of the Pokémon anime series, except in the United States, after Battle Aboard the St. Anne was broadcast as the first episode. The episode was first broadcast in Japan on June 24, 1997 and in the United States on September 24, 1998. The episode follows Ash Ketchum, Misty, Brock and Pikachu recapping the events that happened so far. Later Ash manages to capture a Krabby, which is then transfered to Professor Oak. The gang goes into a lighthouse where they meet Bill, a friend of Professor Oaks, and learn that there are 150 different known species of pokemon.

Episode Plot
Ash, Misty, and Brock were walking through a forest. Ash started bragging about how he had caught the three starters, when Misty said that he hadn't caught any of his pokemon, his pokemon decided to follow him. This got Ash really mad and he ran through the forest swearing that he would catch his 7th pokemon, only this time for real. When Ash got to the end of the forest, he found himself on a smalll beach. While Ash was trying to think of what pokemon to catch, he saw a small Krabby running around his feet. Ash threw out a PokeBall and caught it easily. The Pokeball suddenly transfered to Professor Oak's lab. Ash became frantic about where his Krabby had gone. Brock and Misty come out of the forest and ask Ash what he is doing. Ash responds that he is looking for the Pokeball that he caught Krabby with. Misty informes him that a Pokemon Trainer can only carry six pokemon at a time. The other pokemon get sent to Professor Oak's Lab. Suddenly, Pikachu started jumping up and down and pointing at a buliding in the distance. They all look over at it a realize that its a lighthouse and they all race towards it.

By the time they had gotten to the lighthouse, it was dark out and the long walk to the lighthouse had worn them all out. Ash ran the bell and someone said, ""Who's there?"

After Ash and his friends explained their situation and Brock offered to cook the lighthouse keeper a cheeseburger, they were let in. As soon as the door opened, they noticed that no one was there to greet them. Ash asked out loud is he could use the lighthouse's phone and they heard someone say, " Yes, there's a phone right near you." They still didn't know who the lighthouse keeper was.

Ash called Professor Oak about his Krabby and Professor Oak is shown on the phone's screen cooking dinner. Ash gets worried, thinking the Professor is cooking Krabby. Professor Oak assured him that Krabby was safe. Professor Oak showed him the Krabby that Gary had caught. Ash got mad because it was way bigger than Ash's. He went crazy when Professor Oak told him Gary had caught 45 pokemon while Ash had caught only 7. Professor Oak told him that he is calling from Bill's Lighthouse and that Bill knows more about pokemon that Professor Oak, so it would be a good idea to listen to him. Ash says good bye and hangs up the phone.

Suddenly, a giant Kabuto appeared, saying that it was the keeper of the lighthouse. Elsewhere, Team Rocket was outside the perimeter of the lighthouse and they decide to steal everything in there. They decide to climb the cliffs, and then they recite their motto. Meanwhile, The Kabuto said that his name was Bill and he got stuck inside the Kabuto suit during a research project. Ash, Misty, and Brock help Bill get out of the Kabuto suit. Bill thanks them and tells them that their are 150 different kinds of pokemon, something Ash didn't know before. Bill also explained that there are many more pokemon yet to be discovered. He also gave Ash a few things to think about, like "A Meaning for All".

Outside on the Cliffs Team Rocket were still climbing the cliffside. Jessie was contemplating on the meaning of it all. Bill says there is one pokemon he is searching for and it was the biggest pokemon he had ever seen. He said it was unique and that no one had ever seen it before. He said that one night he had heard a strange noise coming from across the lake and the pokemon had made the noise. Bill said that was the last time he saw the pokemon.

They all heard a starnge sound and a large pokemon rose out of the lake. Bill said it was the pokemon he had heard before. As the pokemon came closer, they realized that the pokemon was a Dragonite. The Dragonite came closer and Team Rocket was shown climbing the cliff. When they saw the Dragonite, they started launching missles to try to catch it. Dragonite got mad and smashed the top of the lighthouse. The Dragonite started to walk away, Bill tried to call it back but it didn't listen.

In the morning, Bill didn't appear upset that the Dragonite had left. He was happy that he just got to see it. With another lesson from Bill, Ash, Misty, and Brock leave the lighthouse waving Bill goodbye.

Debuts
Human Characters Pokemon Characters
 * Bill
 * Ash's Krabby
 * Mystery Pokemon (Dragonite)

Major Events

 * Ash catches a Krabby

Trivia

 * The Mystery Pokemon was a Dragonite.
 * Gary's Krabby was probaby 4 times the size of a normal Krabby.
 * When pointing out how Ash got his badges, Misty made references to the episodes "Showdown in Pewter City" and "The Water Flowers of Cerulean City".
 * This is the first episode that sponsored 1-800-Collect.
 * Bill's chart had all the Generation I pokemon except Mew. The ones Ash obtained had a red dot over them: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Suirtle and Krabby.
 * The "Who's that Pokemon?" of this episode is Krabby.
 * Bill was voiced by the late Maddie Blaustein
 * In the pokemon games (Red, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen), Bill was turned into a pokemon by an experiment gone awry. The player had to get Bill back to normal by reversing the process of his machine.

Quotes

 * Ash: "The road's gotta be somewhere."

Brock: "Everything's somewhere."

Misty: "Ash, have you gotten us lost again?"
 * "You didn't earn those badges. You got 'em just cause Brock and my sister felt sorry for you."

~Misty about Ash's Badges
 * Narrator: "That's right Brock, in the league, a trainer is allowed to carry six pokemon at a time. What are their names again Ash?"

Ash: "Their names are:"

Pikachu: "Pikachu."

Ash: "Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and I caught them all, fair and square." Misty: "Caught them? Ash, all of your pokemon followed you."
 * "You're always putting me down, but I'll show you! I'm gonna prove to you I can do it! I'm gonna be a Pokemon Master. Stand back and watch me work."

Ash
 * "A Pokemon's a pokemon I guess, but this Krabby sure is shrimpy."

Ash about Krabby.
 * "Now I really caught one, good try Krabby but not good enough."

Ash about his new Krabby
 * "I'm more worried about having to camp out again tonight. I'm sick of sleeping in sleeping bags."

Misty
 * Misty: "We've been camping out for quite a while, and I'd sure appreciate a nice, confy bed."

Brock: "And I wonder if I could use your kitchen to make some bacon double cheeseburgers for our group. And I'd be more than happy to make something for you."

Voice on intercom: "That's great. Can you cook without using Tofu?"

Brock: "Oh sure, I can cook lots of things without using any Tofu."

Voice on intercom: "That's good. I've been eating nothing but Tofu since my cook went on vacation. Come on in."
 * "Hey, it's a video phone, well that's cool."

Misty.
 * "The professor won't mind if I call him Collect."

Ash
 * "Well, hi Ash. You caught me cooking dinner. My cook is on vacation and I've got to fend for myself till she returns."

Professor Oak.
 * "Anyway, that Krabby of yours is too small to make a very hearty meal. On the other hand the Krabby that Gary caught would make an excellent dinner, much better than Tofu."

~Professor Oak comparing Ash's and Gary's Krabby
 * "Fourty-five pokemon?!"

Ash reacting to how many pokemon Gary caught.
 * "Oh, that must be Bill's lighthouse. He's a young pokemon researcher, who knows even more than me. See what you can learn from him. He could teach you just about everything about pokemon, and then some."

Professor Oak about Bill.
 * "Well there's no way I can ignore a request from the great Professor Oak. I am Bill, of the Lighthouse."

Bill.
 * Jessie: "According to the phone book, that lighthouse belongs to Bill, the famous pokemon researcher."

James: "Then I guess we've come to the right place, huh?"
 * Jessie: "How shall we sneak in? We could take the road, or risk our lives by climbing up the cliffs."

James: "Well we certainly can't take the road."

Jessie: "We have to climb up those cliffs."

Meowth: "Cause we're the bad guys, and the bad guys always gotta sneak in."
 * Jessie: "To be truly great criminals we have to do things the hard way."

James: "And then we'll become hardened-criminals."

Jessie: "But it will be tough to reach the top..."

slight pause

Jessie and James: "...cause we're afraid of heights!"
 * "Thanks for helping me get out. I've been stuck in that costume for hours."

Bill after Ash got him out of the costume.
 * "This planet was created 4.6 billion years ago. During that time, all kinds of pokemon existed. They had many ways of living."

Bill giving a history lesson.
 * "On this planet there are more than 150 known species of pokemon."

Bill.
 * Ash: "There sure are a lot of-"

Bill: "Of course these are just the pokemon we know about. There are still many pokemon that have never been discovered. So we need to keep searching."

Ash: "How many could there be?"

Bill: "No one knows exactly, the search goes on. There's always something new to look for in our lives and in ourselves."

Ash: "Something to look for?"

Bill: "Yes, there's a lot for us to look for inside and outside ourselves. There's meaning for every creature, a meaning for all the pokemon, and a meaning for all us humans too."

Ash: "A meaning for all."
 * Jessie: "Sometimes I wonder what the "Meaning of it all" is? Why're we going through all this trouble just to be bad?"

James: "It's so we can get other people's pokemon."

Meowth: "I'll fall for it, just as long as there's something in it for Meowth."

Links
Watch this and other episodes: Pokemon Episode 13: Mystery at the Lighthouse