Mystery at the Lighthouse (Japanese: マサキのとうだい, Hepburn: Bill's Lighthouse), formerly titled Mystery At The Lighthouse, is the 13th episode of Pocket Monsters of Pocket Monsters (1997 series), Season 1 of Pokémon the Series, and Pokémon: Indigo League of Pokémon the Series: The Beginning.
Synopsis[]
The party emerges from the forest onto a beach, where in the distance they see a lighthouse, shining at the top of a cliff. The lighthouse belongs to Bill, a Pokémon researcher who is awaiting the coming of a one-of-a-kind Pokémon, never before seen by humans. Before long, a tremendously large shadow begins to take form in the sea mists, but this possible discovery could be hindered due to the infamous Team Rocket lurking in the background cooking up another one of their schemes. Could such a legendary Pokémon truly exist?[1]
Episode plot[]
As they wander through the forest, Ash boasts about how many badges and Pokémon he has when Misty bursts his bubble and tells him that he didn't earn any of it, and all of it was out of pity. She also teases Ash by claiming all the Pokemon he caught only follow him. Ash wishes to prove himself, so he runs off to the beach to catch a Pokémon. He witnesses a small Krabby and manages to catch it, but upon putting it in the Poké Ball, it is teleported to Oak's lab. Ash is confused, but Misty reminds him that a trainer can only carry six Pokémon, and that he had just caught a seventh, so it was teleported to Oak's lab.
Pikachu then notices a lighthouse. They decide to go to it. They knock on the door for entrance, but only after Ash explains himself, and Brock offers to cook for the keeper of the lighthouse does the mysterious person grant them access. Ash asks for a chance to use the phone and the mysterious person allows it. Calling Oak, Ash inquires about his Krabby. Oak confirms that he received it. Ash is upset because he finds that not only has Gary caught a Krabby, he's caught a larger Krabby, and has caught over 45 Pokémon. Oak then informs them that they're in Bill's Lighthouse, and that he is a knowledgable Pokémon scientist and asks Bill to teach them a little, to which Bill accepts.
They then see a Kabuto coming in their direction using Bill's voice. Meanwhile, outside, Team Rocket ascend the cliffs. Ash and company learn that the Kabuto is actually Bill stuck in a costume, and help him out of it. He tells them about a Pokémon he heard a few nights earlier, and takes them up to the observation deck. As he shows them where he heard the sound from, they hear the sound again, and a giant Dragonite comes out of the seak.
Team Rocket attack it and attempt to catch it, but it sends them blasting off. Bill tries to convince it to stay but fails. The next day, Bill is at peace with this, and the heroes say their farewells and begin to leave.
Debuts[]
Character[]
Pokémon[]
Move[]
Quotes[]
- "That's right Brock, in the league, a trainer is allowed to carry six Pokémon at a time. What are their names again Ash?" - Narrator
- "Their names are:" - Ash
- "Pikachu." - Pikachu
- "Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, and I caught them all, fair and square." - Ash
- "Caught them? Ash, all of your Pokémon followed you." - Misty
- "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 Pokémon Master. Stand back and watch me work." - Ash
- "According to the phone book, that lighthouse belongs to Bill, the famous Pokémon researcher." - Jessie
- "Then I guess we've come to the right place, huh?" - James
- "How shall we sneak in? We could take the road, or risk our lives by climbing up the cliffs." - Jessie
- "Well we certainly can't take the road." - James
- "We have to climb up those cliffs." - Jessie
- "Cause we're the bad guys, and the bad guys always gotta sneak in." - Meowth
- "To be truly great criminals we have to do things the hard way." - Jessie
- "And then we'll become hardened-criminals." - James
- "But it will be tough to reach the top..." - Jessie
- "...cause we're afraid of heights!" - Jessie and James
- "It sounds like it's singing." - Misty
- "Would you care to dance?" - Brock
- "Oh, thank you." - Misty
- "What beautiful music." - Jessie
- "It's very haunting, yet so sweet." - James
- "Quite right. I'll attack it at once. But it seems a shame to aim at such a sweet creature." - James
- "Of course it's a shame, we built our fame on shame." - Jessie
- "Go on fire! It's all the shame to me." - Meowth
Trivia[]
- This episode was loosely based off of the 1953 film The Beast From 20,000 Fathoms, which was based off of a Ray Bradbury short story called The Fog Horn.
- This is the first episode that sponsored 1-800-Collect.
- An image of Mewtwo can be seen on the lighthouse's door.
- Bill's chart had all the Generation I Pokémon except Mew. The ones Ash obtained had a red dot over them: Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Butterfree, Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle and Krabby.
- At the beginning of the episode, the narrator breaks the fourth wall by talking to Brock and the others.
- "Who's that Pokémon?": Krabby (JA, EN and KO)
- The mysterious Pokémon is a Dragonite, but it was never revealed as such.
- This is the first episode where there is no battle between Pokémon.
- This is the first episode where Jessie, James and Meowth add the line "Prepare for trouble, make it double!" to their introduction.
Mistakes[]
- When Meowth was talking about how to get into the lighthouse, his ears were teal.
- Misty states that she & Brock only gave Ash his Gym Badges out of sympathy, when in fact it was her sisters who gave Ash the Cascade Badge and sympathy had nothing to do with it. Likewise, Brock gave Ash the Boulder Badge because of his kindness towards Pikachu & Pidgeotto.
- In addition, Misty said to Ash that the six Pokémon he obtained were following him, but this was incorrect because Pikachu was given to Ash by Professor Oak, Butterfree as a Caterpie was a lucky, full-health catch, and Pidgeotto and Bulbasaur were both captured in a legitimate battle. Charmander and Squirtle were the only ones who followed him.
Dub differences[]
- In the original version, after Jessie says that she, James and Meowth should climb the cliff to the top to reach the lighthouse, they question themselves whether or not they can, while in the dub, it's ironically revealed that both Jessie and James are afraid of heights.
Video[]
Gallery[]
References[]
- ^ (n.d.) . "Mystery at the Lighthouse | Pokémon TV (pokemon.com)". From The Official Pokémon Website | Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on January 21, 2024.
