EP030

As our heroes make their way through the industrial town of Gringy City, Pikachu, perhaps weary from travel, is in a strange state; the electric sacks on his cheeks are continually twitching as though overcharged. At the town's Pokémon Center, Joy diagnoses Pikachu as being in the first stages of a Pokémon cold. She begins treatment immediately, but the town suddenly goes into a blackout. Assuming the problem to be in the power-generating station near the beach, Ash and friends go to investigate. There they discover the Pokémon, Magnemite and a pack of Grimer—Pokémon created from sludge. What exactly is going on?

Upon arriving at the polluted industrial town of Gringey City, Ash and his friends notice that Pikachu has become faint and sparks are coming out of his cheeks. They subsequently rush to the Pokémon Center as they are watched by a shadowy Pokémon, as well as Meowth. Below, in the sewers, Jessie and James begin to recite their motto, though the foul stench of the environment forces them to stop. Meowth, who is inside his own protective container, gives them scuba suits to wear, and says he will stay there to pump oxygen and air freshener for them. He instructs them to dive into the water and swim through the pipes to the Pokémon Center, but they refuse. Meowth responds by pushing a button that delivers Jessie and James an electric shock, and they begrudgingly enter the sludge-filled sewer waters.

At the Pokémon Center, Ash finds an uncharacteristically apathetic Nurse Joy, who dismisses Pikachu's condition as a cold. When Ash yells at her for not being very helpful, she explains that the sparks coming out of Pikachu's cheeks are an early symptom of a cold in Electric rodent Pokémon. She suggests that they leave Pikachu there for the night, and insists that he will be fine in the morning.

At the same time, a large group of Grimer block the water flow into the hydroelectric power plant, causing the power to go out. This also cuts the power supply to Team Rocket's scuba equipment, as well as the Pokémon Center's intensive care unit. Ash and his friends decide to head for the power plant to try to do something, but Pikachu cries out as they leave. As the group receive directions from Officer Jenny, Pikachu comes out of the nearby bushes. Misty realizes that Pikachu was afraid that they wouldn't return for him, so Ash decides to let him come along. Pikachu jumps into Ash's arms, giving him an electric shock. Nearby, the shadowy Pokémon watches from a bush. Meanwhile, Jessie and James gasp for air after managing to get back to the surface. After spotting Ash and his friends run by, Meowth announces that he has a new secret weapon that the trio can use to steal Pikachu.

Ash and his friends enter the power plant and notice that nobody is there to greet them. Misty locates a map and points out the direction to the central control room. Misty gets spooked as something flies behind her. Ash calls out Misty's cowardice, though soon after, she and Brock spot something behind Ash. He turns around, but nobody is there. The shadowy figure, with a glowing blue eye, appears behind Pikachu. Fearing the worst, Ash looks it up on the Pokédex and the mysterious creature is revealed to be a Magnemite. Ash decides to try to catch it, but Magnemite only seems interested in Pikachu, and begins to follow him. Ash yells at the Magnemite to cut it out, and the Magnemite backs off.

A nasty stench then enters the corridor. They turn around to see a grating fall off the ceiling, followed by several Grimer. Brock decides that it would be best not to say anything to insult their pride. Ash pretends to compliment their unique smell, but Misty says it stinks. The leader of the Grimer, a Muk, rises from behind them. With a command from Muk, the angry Grimer attack forcing Ash and his friends to make a run for it. As they round the corner, they bump into two plant workers. The Grimer approach, and they all start running for the control room. After everyone makes it inside, Brock bolsters the door shut. One of the workers explains that the Grimer are clogging the seawater intake valve, preventing the power from coming back on. The Grimer throw themselves at the door and soon bust it open. Pikachu uses his Thunderbolt attack to knock out some of the Grimer, but it isn't enough. Suddenly, the Magnemite from before knocks out the control room's ceiling grate, entering the room with its Magneton friends. Their combined electric attacks prove effective and they manage to drive off the Grimer in the room, as well as the ones blocking the flow of water into the seawater intake valve, restoring power to the plant.

However, the Muk leader remains. Pikachu uses Thunderbolt, and Magnemite comes to his aid. The combined electric attacks knock the Muk unconscious, and Ash takes the chance to catch it in a Poké Ball. Ash celebrates his newest capture, but everyone else recoils and plugs their noses, as a horrid odor still seems to be present. Outside, Ash realizes the smell of Muk is coming through the Poké Ball, to everyone's amusement. Misty announces that Pikachu seems to be a lot better, and one of the power plant workers explains that when an electric mouse builds up too much electricity, its body becomes magnetized and it seems as though it has a cold. The group also discovers that Magnemite was attracted to Pikachu because he was magnetized, but now that Pikachu is better, Magnemite is no longer interested.

Suddenly, a Gyarados submarine comes out of the water with a large magnet attached to it. Team Rocket intends to use the magnet to capture Pikachu, unaware that Pikachu is no longer magnetized. When they activate the magnet, Magnemite and Magneton from all over town become stuck onto it, and their combined weight causes the sub to sink. As Ash and the others prepare to leave Gringey City, they mention that the Grimer horde was a sign that the town needed to be cleaned up and suggest that if the residents clean up the air and water, they will restore the city to its former glory. Taking the advice to heart, Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny bid farewell to them.

At Professor Oak's lab, a Poké Ball arrives from Ash. As Oak wonders what Ash has caught this time, the Poké Ball opens up. The Professor covers his nose in disgust as Muk appears.

Ash after catching Muk

• Ash catches a Muk, but sends it to Professor Oak's Laboratory due to its nasty smell.

For a list of all major events in Pokémon the Series: The Beginning, please see the timeline page.

Debuts

Pokémon debuts

• Fearow
• Nidoran♀
• Growlithe
• Magnemite
• Magneton
• Muk (Ash's)

Humans

Dare da?

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Nurse Joy
• Officer Jenny
• Professor Oak
• Dick and Philip

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?

Who's That Pokémon?: Magnemite

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Muk (Ash's; new; sent to Oak's Laboratory; debut)
• Pidgey
• Rattata
• Raticate
• Spearow
• Sandshrew
• Oddish
• Bellsprout
• Grimer (multiple)
• Fearow (debut)
• Nidoran♀ (debut)
• Growlithe (debut)
• Magnemite (debut)
• Magneton (multiple; debut)

• The Japanese title of this episode is a reference to the sci-fi novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?. The names of two power plant workers, Dick and Philip are named after its author, Philip K. Dick.
• When Magnemite is told by Ash to stop bothering Pikachu, it makes two sounds. The first is a couple of beeps. These beeps are commonly heard in Star Trek: The Next Generation. The second sound is a "whine" or "cry"-like sound that would later be used as Magnemite's signature sound in Pokémon Snap. Later on, when Magnemite is helping Pikachu attack Muk, it is making a high-pitched screeching noise. This sound is also used in Pokémon Snap when the Magnemite evolve and when the player zooms in on a Magnemite.
• This episode reveals Pikachu is afraid of being abandoned by Ash.
• The dangers of electrical overcharge for Electric-type Pokémon are first acknowledged and experienced here, the episode Hoenn Alone! and its subsequent episodes expanded on the condition.
• This is the first episode in which a gender unknown Pokémon falls in love with a main character's Pokémon. This would later happen again in Hold the Phione! and All for the Love of Meloetta!.
• This is the first episode whose English dubbed version aired less than a year after the premiere of the Japanese version.
• This marks the English dub debut of Team Rocket's Gyarados submarine due to Beauty and the Beach being initially skipped.
• Ash, Misty, Brock, and Pikachu do not encounter Team Rocket in this episode.

Errors

• At the beginning of the episode, Misty's bag swaps sides several times.
• When Ash is shocked by Pikachu for the second time, his and Officer Jenny's gloves are missing.
• When Ash and his friends start running away from the Grimer, some of the Grimer are floating in midair.
• In one scene, a Sandshrew has a completely yellow face.
• When Ash and his friends are outside the power plant near the end of the episode, they do not have their bags with them, but in several scenes, they appear.
• In a couple of scenes, Ash's belt has its colors reversed.
• In several scenes near the end of the episode, Misty's bag is missing.
• Near the end of the episode, when Ash, Misty, and Brock are talking to Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, smaller-than-average Raticate and Fearow are seen.
• In the English dub, after the numerous Magnemite and Magneton clear the station of Grimer, Misty notices there is still a Muk left in the control room. Ash then says, "An adult Muk, and its child!", even though there's no Grimer in the room. It's possible that the angle change during Ash's statement was mistaken as another Sludge Pokémon entering the room.
• In the Polish dub, the Grimer are referred to as Muk while the group is blocking the door.

• 

  An incorrectly layered Grimer

• 

  Sandshrew's miscolored face

• 

  The little Raticate and Fearow

Dub edits

• Kanto Pokérap: Day 5 (Version 2)
• Meowth's bit about how air-freshener was mixed with oxygen in their suit pumps was dub added.
• The text on Nurse Joy's bell (ご用の方は押してね！Press the button for service!) was removed from the dub.
• In the original Japanese version, Meowth uses an untranslatable pun. He says "福は成すニャー!", which means "We have achieved fortune meow!" while wearing a nurse's outfit; in Japanese, the word for "fortune" (福), "ふく (fuku)", can also mean "clothes" (服), and the words "成す (nasu)", which means "to achieve or form/become", and "ナース (nāsu)", which means "nurse", sound similar to each other. In the English dub, Meowth just assures Jessie and James that they will have another chance to capture Ash's Pikachu, making his nurse outfit have absolutely no context.
• Ash's stalker comment was originally referencing a skirt rather than a streaker.
• In the Japanese version, Nurse Joy prays to God that the power is restored soon. In the English dub, she merely hopes the power will come back on real soon.
• Ash's mention of Muk having a child was not in the Japanese version.
• When Pikachu attacks Grimer and later Muk in the Japanese version, Ash tells him to use Thunderbolt. In the dub, he tells Pikachu to use Thunder Shock instead.