Ash Catches a Pokémon

**Ash Catches a Pokémon** (Japanese: **ポケモン ゲットだぜ！** *I Caught a Pokémon!*) is the third episode of the Pokémon anime.

## Blurb

*Ash discovers and catches a Caterpie—his first Pokémon capture! Though Ash is excited, Misty is grossed out by Bug-type Pokémon, so she is repulsed by its attempts to be friends with her. At night, as Ash and Misty sleep, Caterpie shares with Pikachu its dream of evolving into a Butterfree.*

*The next day, Ash is able to capture a Pidgey after battling it with Pikachu. Before Ash can celebrate too wildly, Misty reminds him that his success is due more to luck than skill.*

*Team Rocket shows up to steal Pikachu—they realize that there's really something special about this Pokémon—and Ash vows to defend himself. Pikachu and Pidgey are weakened by Koffing and Ekans, so he reluctantly sends out Caterpie. To the surprise of Jessie and James—not to mention Ash—Caterpie's String Shot is able to defeat the Team Rocket Pokémon, including Meowth!*

*When Misty tries to make nice with Caterpie, it evolves into a Metapod. Could a Butterfree Evolution be far behind?*

## *Plot*

*Picking up right where the previous episode left off, Ash throws his Poké Ball at a Caterpie in Viridian Forest. He attempts to break free but is unsuccessful. Ash celebrates catching his first Pokémon, holding the Poké Ball, and running in circles out of joy. When Ash holds the Poké Ball closer to Misty's face, she reveals that she has a fear of bugs, even if they are contained in a Poké Ball. Pikachu is happy to have Caterpie along, and Ash decides to bring Caterpie out, scaring Misty away. Caterpie wants to make friends with Misty, but she prefers Pikachu. Ash is offended by Misty's discomfort and complaints, which hurt Caterpie's feelings. Ash reassures Caterpie and continues traveling without Misty. However, Misty has other plans, as she is still upset about her ruined bicycle and wants Ash to replace it. Because of this, she continues following Ash.*

*Later that night, Ash sets up camp for the night. Misty, also getting ready to go to sleep, exchanges a few smart remarks with Ash, upsetting Pikachu and Caterpie. While Ash and Misty sleep, Pikachu and Caterpie get to know each other a little better. In the morning, Misty remains frightened of Caterpie, causing the Pokémon to become subdued and return to his Poké Ball. Although Ash is angry, a wild Pidgey captures his attention.*

*Wanting to catch Pidgey, Ash throws a Poké Ball, but Pidgey simply swats it away. Misty retorts that a Trainer needs to battle and weaken a wild Pokémon to capture it. She mentions that he caught Caterpie only because he was weak, irritating Ash, who summons Caterpie to battle it despite the type disadvantage against Poidgey, of which both Misty and Pikachu are aware. Ash recalls Caterpie just in time, causing Pidgey to get its beak stuck in a tree.*

*Ash sends Pikachu after Pidgey just as it frees itself. Pikachu uses Thunder Shock to hit Pidgey, weakening it and allowing Ash to toss a Poké Ball. The Ball takes Pidgey in and drops to the ground and starts swaying. After a few moments, the Ball stops moving; Ash has captured the Pidgey. Despite the success, Misty continues to berate him for his lack of knowledge about strategy.*

*Team Rocket intrudes on their argument, reciting their motto. They decide to target Ash's Pikachu, mentioning his incredible power, which causes them to become distracted in a short internal argument before they decide to attack. They send out Koffing and Ekans to battle, despite a double-team being considered against the Pokémon League rules. Misty wants to jump in, but Ash does not want to break the rules. Koffing's Sludge attack blinds Pikachu, taking him out of the battle. While he hands Pikachu off to Misty, he sends out his newly caught Pidgey, which dodges both Koffing and Ekans's attacks before going into a Quick Attack. Ekans avoids the attack by going underground, forcing Pidgey to come to a sudden stop. Koffing fires a Smog attack, which Pidgey splits with its wings before dodging multiple Sludge attacks and Ekans's retaliation. Despite soaring high into the sky, both Ekans and Koffing are able to keep up with Pidgey. Pidgeotto tries to hit Koffing with Gust but misses and is defeated.*

*Ash recalls Pidgey and tries to fight Team Rocket with his fists, but James easily holds him back. In a final attempt, Ash sends out Caterpie, which only amuses Team Rocket. Ekans and Koffing attack and Caterpie cowers, but Ash orders him to use String Shot. The attack completely incapacitates Koffing before Caterpie muzzles Ekans. Caterpie Tackles Koffing, knocking it into Ekans and taking them both out. Meowth tries to intervene, but he is also wrapped in String Shot. Taken by surprise, Team Rocket flees but promises they will be back.*

*Ash congratulates Caterpie on coming through, and after some encouragement, Misty pats Caterpie's head. At that moment, Caterpie begins to spray silk from his mouth, startling her. Ash puts Caterpie down as the thread covers his body, signaling his evolution. Caterpie evolves into Metapod, and Ash's Pokédex notes that he has reached this stage more quickly than any other Caterpie on record. In addition, Misty shows approval of Ash's strengthening bonds with his Pokémon.*

## *Major events*

* *Ash catches the Caterpie from the end of the last episode, making him his first caught Pokémon.*
* *Ash also catches a Pidgey.*
* *Team Rocket reveals to Ash their intention to steal his Pikachu.*
* *Meowth is revealed to know Fury Swipes.*
* *James's Koffing is revealed to know Sludge.*
* *Jessie's Ekans is revealed to know Dig.*
* *Caterpie is revealed to know String Shot and Tackle.*
* *Ash has his first, although unofficial, Trainer battle, and wins.*
* *Ash's Caterpie evolves into Metapod.*

### *Debuts*

#### *Pokémon debuts*

* *Metapod (Ash's)*
* *Butterfree*

## Characters

### Humans

* Ash
* Misty
* Jessie
* James

### Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?: Caterpie

* Pikachu (Ash's)
* Meowth (Team Rocket)
* Caterpie (Ash's; new; evolves)
* Metapod (Ash's; newly evolved; debut)
* Pidgey (Ash's; new)
* Ekans (Jessie's)
* Koffing (James's)
* Butterfree (fantasy; debut)

## Trivia

* This is the first episode in which evolution is shown.
* According to this episode, Misty cannot stand carrots or peppers, and her fear of Bug-type Pokémon is established here
* Misty owns a red sleeping bag decorated with bubbles, while Ash owns a blue sleeping bag with "Satoshi" (Ash's Japanese name) appearing on the name tag.
* This is the first episode where type advantages are mentioned: Flying-type moves are effective against Bug-type Pokémon.
* A real-world animal appears in this episode, as Pidgey is seen eating a regular worm.
* Despite the episode title saying "*a* Pokémon", Ash catches *two* Pokémon.
* This is the first episode where Ash uses his signature catchphrase and pose when successfully catching a Pokémon.
* In this episode, when Caterpie evolves into Metapod, it shoots a shower of white silk string from its mouth onto itself and sheds its skin in the process, similar to a real caterpillar going into pupation. Later episodes show Caterpie evolving like the rest of the Pokémon do