GS071: Moving Pictures

Synopsis

On the road to Olivine City, Ash and co meet up with their old friend Todd Snap, who's on the lookout for the legendary bird Pokémon, Articuno . What they find is a Sunkern trapped in ice. They take it to a nearby lodge run by an elderly woman named Sophia .

She tells a story of how she and her lover Marcello were in love, but one day Marcello left to work in another town. She waited for his return but she didn't know he was in a coma and was hospitalized. Days turned to weeks, weeks turned to months. Sophia was about to give up hope until she got a letter from Marcello and went around asking for Sunflora . Marcello returned and they were happily married. But the happiness was not meant to last as a year later Marcello passed on. Ash and co. couldn't help but cry, that is until Marcello was revealed to be alive and well and that Sophia loves to make up romance stories which star the two of them.

Sophia reveals that every year for 49 years they would have an anniversary picture with some Sunflora. This was going to be their 50th anniversary but there were no Sunflora in sight this year. Will this unforeseen event ruin Sophia and Marcello's 50th anniversary? will Todd ever find Articuno? And can YOU listen to one of Sophia's stories without crying?

Debuts

Pokémon

• Sunkern

Trivia

• Veronica Taylor not only provided the voice of Ash in this episode, but the voice of both young and present day Sophia.
• This was the final episode to use the pan-out display with "To be Continued..." after it. From the next episode on they would have "To Be Continued..." in the picture itself.
• Ash and Misty fail to mention to Todd that they have already encountered an Articuno (or possibly the same one) in Pokémon 2000 during their journey around the Orange Islands.
• Even though it didn't actually happen, this episode contains a rare mention of human death on the series, and even more unusual, a religious symbol in the form a cross-shaped headstone.
• The water level in the basin doesn't rise as the ice around Sunkern melts.
• Ash forces Sunkern to evolve into Sunflora without even asking it if that's what it wanted. He had previously given Pikachu the choice of whether to use a Thunder Stone to evolve.
• The title is the name of an album by Rush.

Quotes

• Ash: "Then we came to the perfect place."

Brock : "We sure did. Sunkern are the pre-evolved form of Sunflora, right?"
Sophia: "That's right. And the reason we call this the Sunflora Lodge is... Oh well. That's a very long, complicated story and I'm sure you young people wouldn't be interested in listening to an old lady reminice. (Snacks are set up) Of course it is rather interesting and I could tell you if you insist."

• Todd: "We're stuck now."

Ash: "She's gettin' ready to tell her whole life story."
Misty : "We'll be here forever."
Brock: "Wonder if she has any string cheese."

• "If you can't trust a little old lady, who CAN you trust?"

Ash Template:Anime-stub Template:Incomplete-plot Template:Pokémon: The Original Series