EP039

Pikachu's Goodbye (Japanese: ピカチュウのもり Forest of Pikachu) is the 39th episode of the Pokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on April 16, 1998, and in the United States on November 20, 1998. It was the first episode to air after the EP038 incident. Notably, it is also, with EP040, the first hour-long Pokémon special.
==Blurb==
Misty and Brock continue to journey with Ash as he seeks to become a Pokémon Master. Passing through a beautiful forest, the three of them stop for a rest. As they enjoy the restful mood, Pikachu notices something staring at them from the shadows of the bush around them. Realizing that they are being watched by a group of wild Pikachu, Pikachu bounds after them into the woods. Paying no heed to Ash's call, Pikachu runs further and further into the wild unknown. Though they seem frightened at first, the group eventually opens up to Pikachu and they play together as friends. Will the group be as receptive to Ash when he makes his presence known?
==Plot==
As and rest in a forest clearing, swings on a vine when suddenly he slams into a tree trunk. rushes to Ash's side, but notices a small, Pikachu nearby. Ash's Pikachu runs after it, as Ash and follow close behind. The pursuit ends at a forest clearing, where they find a whole clan of Pikachu. Ash's Pikachu, eager to say hello, jumps forward, but the wild become scared and run off. Ash's Pikachu becomes disheartened, but the small Pikachu comes over and shakes tails to greet him. Soon after, the other Pikachu surround Ash's, and Brock notes that they must have accepted him. Ash, also eager to join the Pikachu clan, runs toward them, but they flee in fear.
Later, Ash asks Brock and Misty why the Pikachu ran away. Brock tells him that he probably scared the Pikachu because they were not used to human contact. The small Pikachu, watching their conversation from a nearby tree branch, falls into a river and Ash's Pikachu jumps in to save it. Before the pair are about to go down a waterfall, the other Pikachu grab each other's tails to save them, and they succeed. As a reward for his effort, Ash's Pikachu receives an apple and is hoisted up by the other Pikachu, who cheer. Brock keeps Ash back from the Pikachu, encouraging him to just observe. Meanwhile, sees the group of Pikachu and decide to capture all of them for .
Night falls, and all of the Pikachu start singing their Pikachu chant. Ash and his friends watch on and see how happy Ash's Pikachu is. Over dinner, Ash becomes sad and loses his appetite, but when asked what was wrong, he dismisses it as nothing. He stays up, watching the fire, to reflect on his Pikachu's happiness, and concludes that Pikachu should be with his own kind. Suddenly, the Pikachu scream for help, waking Misty and Brock. The group goes to investigate and finds all of the Pikachu captured by Team Rocket in an electric-proof net. James ensnares Ash and his friends in another net while they make their getaway. Ash's Pikachu begins chewing through the net, and the others follow suit before they soon begin their escape. Ash and his friends hold up the net they were captured in and the Pikachu jump into it unharmed. However, Ash's Pikachu, who escaped first, makes its way to Team Rocket and bites a hole in the balloon, sending them blasting off.
Ash catches his Pikachu, though he soon decides to leave him with the other Pikachu. Misty and Brock confront Ash by the campsite, where he announces his plans and claims that his Pikachu would be happier with its own kind. Ash's Pikachu then reappears and starts following him, but Ash yells at him to stay behind. Ash then begins to run away. Eventually, Ash stops running, with Misty and Brock catching up to him. As the sun rises, Ash's Pikachu shakes tails with the small Pikachu and all of the wild Pikachu started chanting, before Pikachu runs into Ash's arms. Ash is touched by the gesture, and he starts to cry.
===Explanation of EP038 incident===
The first broadcast in Japan begins with Miyuki Yadama formally greeting the viewers while surrounded by Pokémon dolls. Miyuki mentions that the Pocket Monsters anime will be starting again soon. Miyuki then mentions the details of the incident and apologies for the issue and its effects on the viewers.
Miyuki continues by discussing the hiatus and the reason why the anime was taken off the air, mentioning that research was conducted into how the incident occurred with the help of doctors, Japanese government officials, and the broadcasting stations. She highlights that the main cause of the issue was a scene where the colors red and blue were rapidly switched at a rate higher than 24 frames per second. She then notes early hypotheses that had been rejected, such as the effect of strong lights. She mentions that the research found that striped or swirling patterns and the color red should be used with care.
The scene then switches to a board with letters, drawings, and postcards from viewers in support of the anime. After focusing on two of the drawings, Miyuki thanks the viewers for the letters of encouragement.
After the scene changes back, Miyuki makes a request for all viewers to watch television at a distance from the screen and in a room that is well lit. The debriefing ends with a shot of the Pokémon around Miyuki.
==Major events==
* attempts to , but Pikachu returns to him.
===Debuts===
====Pokémon debuts====
==Characters==
===Humans===
* 
* 
* 
* Jessie
* James
* (flashback)
* Erika (flashback; Japanese version only)
===Pokémon===
Who's That Pokémon?: (US and international), (, and smaller sized) (Japan)
* ()
* ()
* (; flashback)
* (; flashback; Japanese version only)
* (Nurse Joy's; multiple; flashback)
* (; flashback; Japanese version only)
* (Erika's; flashback; Japanese version only)
* (multiple; flashback)
* (multiple)
===Initial broadcast===
====Humans====
* Miyuki Yamada
====Pokémon dolls====
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
* 
==Trivia==
* This episode was not included in the original schedule before the EP038 incident, so it is presumed that the episode was created after the incident to serve as a light introduction to the show after the preceding hiatus.
* The episode aired as a one-hour special (放送再開スペシャル（放送再開スペシャル やっとあえるね！）１時間) with EP040 to celebrate the 's return to airwaves.
** The title box of the initial airing of this episode had やっとあえるね！ We're finally back! written in yellow text over the episode title.
** Only the animation staff of the following episode was shown in the credits during this one-hour special.http://pokeani.s47.xrea.com/episodefolda/e-36-40.html
*** The animation staff of this episode was presumably only fully shown during the アニメでお正月2000！ポケモンとバカボンのお正月スペシャル Anime on New Year's Day 2000! Pokémon and Bakabon New Year's Special on January 1, 2000. This airing also credited and as animation directors additionally to . Subsequent reairings and distributions either erroneously fully showed the animation staff of the following episode as seen on the DVD releases of this episode, showing only the writer of the episode correctly whilst the rest was still of the following episode as seen on Kids Station reairings, only showing writer, storyboarder, episode director and animation director for this episode and the rest of the following one as seen as the Encore reairing on Weekly Pokémon Broadcasting Station, the Amazon Prime Video distribution as well as official YouTube uploads of the episode or not having the ending for the episode as well as the preview for the next episode at all as seen on the Hulu distribution of the episode.
* This was chosen by Asuca Hayashi as the fifth episode of Pocket Monsters Premier 10.
* Not counting the flashbacks, and were the only two species of Pokémon seen in this episode. This is the lowest number of Pokémon species appearing in an animated series episode.
* The episode's plot later became similar to that of A Plethora of Pikachu!, which also revolves around a location where a large number of Pikachu live. In addition, that episode marked the show's move from its Thursday 6:55 PM time-slot to a Sunday 6:00 PM slot, the first time the show changed its airing day since the aforementioned EP038 incident.
* The events of The Kangaskhan Kid are referenced in the beginning of this episode.
* A short version of Goodnight, My Pikachu is used as an insert song in the Japanese version.
* This episode was partially adapted into the book .
* This episode is featured on Volume 1: Pikachu from Viz Media's series.
* This episode is featured on Pokémon All-Stars: Pikachu from 's series.
* After finishes their , James says, "We'd like to thank all of our fans for their loyalty and support. This victory is for them." This obviously breaks the fourth wall, and possibly references how Pokémon fans in Japan helped get the series back on air after the EP038 incident.
* This was the first episode to premiere in the US the same year as it did in Japan.
===Errors===
* When Ash and run over to save the little Pikachu, Misty's bag is briefly layered over Ash.
* When the Pikachu save the smaller Pikachu and Ash's Pikachu from going over the waterfall, all of the wild Pikachu in the chain have a torn tail. This is a result of the animation studio cycling the animation in order to save time. However, some care was taken into this scene as only the leader Pikachu has torn ears.
** In the same scene, the leader Pikachu is missing the brown at the base of its tail when its rear end is facing the viewer.
** Later scenes are inconsistent with the number of Pikachu which have torn tails. This could be up for interpretation as the number of Pikachu Team Rocket steals is much greater than depicted in any other scene.
* When Ash and his friends realize that Team Rocket captured the Pikachu, Ash's glove is missing.
* The number of Pikachu changes throughout the episode. Although about 30 Pikachu are present when Ash, Pikachu, Brock, and Misty first see the group of Pikachu, the number of Pikachu increases greatly when Team Rocket steal the Pikachu and fly off with their balloon.
* When Pikachu begins chewing the net, a Pikachu is missing its cheek pouch.
* The episode title is spelled Pickachu's Goodbye on the back of the Australian VHS release box.
EP039 error.png|The leader Pikachu's tail
EP039 error 2.png|Ash's missing glove
EP039 error 3.png|A Pikachu's missing cheek pouch
===Dub edits===
* Kanto Pokérap: Day 4
* In the Japanese version of the scene leading up to the Ash and Pikachu montage, Ash originally yelled at Misty and Brock to shut up when they asked why he's leaving Pikachu. Then, when he was saying his goodbyes to Pikachu, Ash's voice was trembling as he was trying not to cry. Additionally, there was originally no music playing from the moment Ash puts out the campfire until he starts running away.
* The original montage of Ash and Pikachu is different in both versions. The original Japanese version has clips that are shown in chronological episodic order. The dubbed English version have clips from certain episodes in random order, with many clips missing from the original Japanese version, and it also has some clips not present in the original Japanese version.
* In the Tamil Hungama TV dub of this episode, there is no voice of the narrator throughout the episode.
* The Time Has Come (Pikachu's Goodbye) replaces Goodnight, My Pikachu during the flashback scene.
==In other languages==
==References==
039
Category:Episodes written by Shinzō Fujita
Category:Episodes storyboarded by Masamitsu Hidaka
Category:Episodes directed by Kiyotaka Itani
Category:Episodes animated by Keishi Sakai
Category:Episodes focusing on Pikachu
Category:Episodes focusing on Ash
Category:Episodes in which a main character attempts to release a Pokémon
de:Pikachus Abschied
es:EP039
fr:EP039
it:GA039
ja:無印編第39話
zh:宝可梦 第38集