History Recap / PokemonS1E2PokemonEmergency

* EatTheDog: In both the Japanese version and the dub, Meowth threatens to eat Pikachu, though it could be inferred as a more general threat given NeverSayDie is in force for the [=4Kids=] dub.

** On the stone mural Arcanine is depicted as a Legendary Pokémon like the Elemental birds alongside it, Articuno, Zappos and Moltres. This is a remnant from the Pocket Monster Encyclopedia, the writer's Bible of the original games, where its classification as a "Legendary" Pokémon was quite literal.

[[JustForFun/TheOneWith The one where... Team Rocket gets introduced.]]

* LostInTranslation: Pikachu constantly saying "Pika! Pika!" to Ash regarding the bicycle's light to generate electricity for Pikachu to use makes more sense in Japanese, as the Japanese onomatopoeia word for shine/sparks is "pika". So to Satoshi, Pikachu is saying "Shine" or "Sparks" while pointing at the bicycle's headlight.

* CatsAreMean: Meowth, the Pokémon member of the Team Rocket trio, is a cat Pokémon. He is also one of the least animalistic Pokémon in the show, not just following orders from an evil master but actively participating in theft.

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Nothing is said of how the Pokémon Center's sick occupants managed to fare from the ''entire building exploding'', not to mention all the additional Pikachu that provided the "Pika-Power Source". [[LightNovel/PocketMonstersTheAnimation The novelizations]] by Creator/TakeshiShudo mention that the occupants were sent to Pewter City's Pokémon Center.

* EatTheDog: In the Japanese version, Meowth makes clear he intends to eat Pikachu. In the English dub, he refers to Pikachu as "cat food", though it could be inferred as a more general threat given NeverSayDie is in force for the [=4Kids=] dub.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome:
** Just because Ash and Pikachu walked victoriously after defeating the Spearow flock doesn't mean that their troubles are over. This episode opens with Ash running with a critically injured Pikachu towards the nearest Pokémon Center, which takes nightfall to reach by motorbike.
** The Pokémon Center is treated like a real vet hospital and Pokémon recovery isn't instant. It takes several hours for Pikachu's condition to stabilize, and he's in no shape to fight when Team Rocket crashes in.
** Misty's Goldeen is used to fight Team Rocket. It works well in the games, where the fish Pokémon are either static sprites or the FlyingSeafoodSpecial kind. Not so well in the anime which [[{{AvertedTrope}} averts the trope entirely in this series]], meaning that all Goldeen can do is flop and flounder uselessly on land like a [[JokeCharacter Magikarp]].

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: Nothing is said of how the Pokémon Center's sick occupants managed to fare from the ''entire building exploding'', not to mention all the additional Pikachu that provided the "Pika-Power Source". [[LightNovel/PocketMonstersTheAnimation The novelizations]] by Creator/TakeshiShudo mention that the occupants were sent to Pewter City's Pokémon Center.

*** Even weirder for the dub. While Team Rocket's ending CatchPhrase in Japan is set in stone right away ("Yana kanji!") it takes a few more episodes for 4Kids to coin its equivalent, "Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

* SkewedPriorities: Ash feels bad and apologizes for what happened to Misty's bike, but he can't do anything until Pikachu has recovered. Misty doesn't care and just wants her bike replaced immediately. She does soften after Ash says Pikachu is in trouble.

** Pikachu's injuries from battling the Spearow flock are treated as life-threatening, and there is real worry on Ash's part (and even Nurse Joy's) that Pikachu might not make it. The franchise would soon phase out any suggestion that Pokemon are seriously hurt by fighting other Pokemon; the worst that happens to them is dizziness and/or fatigue.