Battle Aboard the St. Anne

EP015   サントアンヌごうのたたかい！ Battle on the St. Annu!

First broadcast Japan July 8, 1997 United States September 7, 1998* September 28, 1998*

English themes Opening Pokémon Theme Ending

Japanese themes Opening めざせポケモンマスター Ending ひゃくごじゅういち

Credits Animation Team Ota Screenplay 大橋志吉Yukiyoshi Ōhashi Storyboard 浅田裕二Yūji Asada Assistant director 浅田裕二Yūji Asada Animation director 玉川明洋Akihiro Tamagawa Additional credits

Screenshots on Filb.de Battle Aboard the St. Anne on the officialPokémon TVYouTube channel

Battle Aboard the St. Anne (Japanese:サントアンヌごうのたたかい！Battle on theSt. Annu!) is the 15th episode of thePokémon animated series. It was first broadcast in Japan on July 8, 1997. It aired in the United States as the first dubbed episode on September 7, 1998, and later aired in-sequence on September 28, 1998.

Spoiler warning: this article may contain major plot or ending details.

Blurb

Ash and his friends board a fancy cruise ship called the St. Anne, thanks to tickets provided by two friendly but familiar-looking people. We soon learn that they're actually Jessie and James in disguise, and their latest plan is to lure Pokémon Trainers onto the ship and steal their Pokémon!

While onboard, Ash observes a Raticate defeating a Starmie. Ash challenges the Raticate with his Butterfree. Though the Raticate's owner removes his Pokémon before the battle ends, he's impressed with Ash's Butterfree and offers a trade. Ash trades his Butterfree for the Raticate, but soon regrets his decision. Meanwhile, James is tricked into buying a Magikarp.

While all the Trainers are gathered in a room, the ship's employees reveal themselves to be members of Team Rocket! As they suck up Poké Balls with vacuum-like devices, the Trainers fight back; their Pokémon team up to multiply their attacks and drive back the bad guys.

During all the commotion, a tumultuous storm brews outside. Eventually, the ship rocks violently, and the consensus is to abandon ship. Only Jessie, James, Meowth, and Ash and his friends are unable to flee, as they are knocked unconscious by the jerking movements of the ship—then the ship flips over and sinks!

What will become of our heroes? Will they have to join forces with Team Rocket to escape? And how successful could such a partnership be?

Plot

Afterearning theThunder Badge,Ash andhis friends walk across a bridge and spot a luxury liner in the distance. The group takes a closer look at the ship and wants to get on board, butBrock mentions that they cannot afford it, so they walk away. However,Jessie andJames, disguised asganguro girls, give them a freeticket to participate in aPokémon Trainer party that is going to be held aboard theSt. Anne. While Ash and his friends look for the luxury liner, Jessie and James make their way to a nearby lighthouse to meet up withMeowth. Meowth opens up a call withthe Boss and notices aPersian fondly rubbing its head against the boss, having replaced Meowth due to the group's constant failure.Team Rocket reveals their plan: the party is a ruse to allow Team Rocket to steal the attending Trainers'Pokémon.

Ash and his friends board the ship and head into the main ballroom, noticing all the people, Pokémon, and merchandise. Ash notices abattle between aStarmie and aRaticate. Raticate usesSuper Fang to break Starmie's jewel, giving Raticate the win. Ash decides to step forward to challenge theRaticate's Trainer, sending outButterfree. Raticate attacks withJump Kick, but Butterfree counters withTackle. Raticate usesHyper Fang, and Butterfree responds withStun Spore toparalyze it. Ash prepares to finish the duel, but the Gentleman picks up his Raticate and declares it a draw, even though Ash was actually winning. Meanwhile, James walks by the vendors. Asalesman calls him over and convinces him to buy aMagikarp, tricking him into thinking that the Pokémon is worth a lot of money.

The ship sails out ofVermilion City as Ash and his friends chow down. The Gentleman comes up to Ash and commends his Butterfree. He proposes atrade between his Raticate and Ash's Butterfree. Ash asks Brock if he should go through with it, but Brock is too distracted by the woman next to the Gentleman to do anything but nod and absentmindedly say yes, so Ash agrees to go ahead with the trade. They go to atrade machine and Ash acquiresRaticate while the Gentleman receives Butterfree. Meanwhile, Jessie and Meowth are extremely displeased at James's being conned into buying a worthless Pokémon such as Magikarp, especially when he reveals he used the advance on both his own salary and Jessie's to purchase it.Misty finds Ash looking out at sea, having second thoughts about the trade, and unsure if Butterfree will be well cared for. He mentions that, as the trade was happening, he remembered the experiences he had shared with Butterfree.

Team Rocket's plan goes into motion, with the ballroom being locked down and disguisedTeam Rocket Grunts revealing themselves to confront the Trainers with vacuum packs and capture theirPoké Balls. When one of the grunts walks up to Ash and demands his Pokémon, Ash ordersPikachu to attack the thugs withThunder Shock. He spurs the other Trainers to fight back, and everyone sends out their Pokémon. Ash's Pikachu,Charmander, andBulbasaur, together withBrock's Geodude, join the other Pokémon in stopping the Grunts. Ash notices aButterfree swarm attacking with Stun Spore and decides to summon his Butterfree. However, out from the Poké Ball emerges Ash's new Raticate and Misty reminds him that he traded Butterfree away. As he watches, Ash deeply misses his Butterfree, remembering his experiences with him and wanting him back.

Ash sends outPidgeotto to join others in a groupGust attack. ThePikachu group usesThunderbolt to send Team Rocket flying off the ship and foiling their scheme. However, during the battle the ship has sailed directly into a storm. As strong waves begin to batter the ship, James drops the Poké Ball holding Magikarp and runs after it. Meanwhile, Ash finds the Gentleman and requests that the trade be reversed. The man agrees, and they begin to execute a reverse trade. The captain tries to calm the passengers, assuring them that the ship is unsinkable, but, after another wave crashes against the ship, he enters a lifeboat, evacuating the ship before the passengers and his crew (contrary to the maritime tradition ofthe captain being the last person onboard to leave a sinking ship). The passengers and crew start panicking and begin scrambling into the other lifeboats to evacuate. Misty and Brock find Ash finishing the trade. Ash grabs his Poké Ball, but another wave causes him to drop it. Ash runs after it and his friends follow.

By this time, most of the passengers and crew had gotten off the ship safely. As Ash grabs Butterfree's Poké Ball, the ship rocks again, throwing him and his friends into another room, and knocking them out. Likewise, just as James grabs Magikarp's Poké Ball, another wave sends Team Rocket flying against a wall; they too are knocked unconscious. The ship capsizes and goes down. The captain, watching from his life boat, assumes that everyone is safe, not realizing that Ash, his friends, and Team Rocket are still trapped on board.

Major events

• Ash andhis friends set off on a cruise aboard theSt. Anne luxury liner.
• Ash learns abouttrading.
• Ash trades hisButterfree for aGentleman'sRaticate, but later trades back.
• James meets theMagikarp salesman for the first time and buys aMagikarp from him.
• The St. Anne sinks with Ash,Misty,Brock, andTeam Rocket on board.

For a list of all major events inPokémon the Series: The Beginning, please see thetimeline page.

Debuts

Humans

• Giovanni
• Magikarp salesman
• Team Rocket Grunts

Pokémon debuts

• Raticate (Ash's)
• Persian (Giovanni's)
• James's Magikarp

Characters

Humans

• Ash
• Misty
• Brock
• Jessie
• James
• Giovanni
• Magikarp salesman
• Gentleman
• Team Rocket Grunts
• Samurai (flashback)
• Captain
• Passengers

Pokémon

Who's That Pokémon?:Raticate

• Pikachu (Ash's)
• Meowth (Team Rocket)
• Metapod (Ash's; flashback)
• Butterfree (Ash's; traded toGentleman; traded back)
• Pidgeotto (Ash's)
• Bulbasaur (Ash's)
• Charmander (Ash's)
• Staryu (Misty's; flashback)
• Geodude (Brock's)
• Magikarp (James's; new)
• Persian (Giovanni's; debut)
• Raticate (Gentleman's; traded to Ash; traded back; debut)
• Squirtle (Gentleman's)
• Squirtle (Trainer's)
• Bulbasaur (Trainers'; multiple)
• Charmander (Trainers'; multiple)
• Caterpie (Trainer's)
• Butterfree (Trainers'; multiple)
• Pidgey (Trainer's)
• Pidgeotto (Trainers'; multiple)
• Rattata (Trainer's)
• Pikachu (Trainers'; multiple)
• Oddish (Trainer's)
• Weepinbell (Trainer's)
• Geodude (Trainers'; multiple)
• Staryu (Trainer's)
• Starmie (Trainer's)
• Beedrill (multiple; flashback)
• Persian (fantasy; debut)

Trivia

• When the episode aired as a sneak peek inthe United States, it was not shown everywhere, as some areas ran the annualThe Jerry Lewis MDA Labor Day Telethon instead.
• According toRachael Lillis, this andPokémon Shipwreck were the first episodes to bedubbed into English.
• TheSt. Anne retains its Japanese name in theanimated series, despite being called theS.S. Anne in thegames. This is probably due to the number of paint edits required to make the change, but it actually prevents a future dub error when Ritchie is on a ship called theS.S. Anne inThe Search for the Legend.
• This is the first episode in whichAsh is seen making a Pokémontrade. This is also the first episode where a trade is done at all.
  • With this episode also featuring a Pokémon being bought, it also marks the first episode where a Pokémon is obtained through means other than catching, not countingPikachu.
• The button the Gentleman pressed to start the trade was a "record" button. There were also play, fast forward, and pause buttons.
• This is the first episode in which Team Rocket members besides Jessie, James, and Meowth appear.
• While there wasn't an attack by Team Rocket on the ship in the games, an undercoverGlobal Police officer mentions he is on the trail of Team Rocket, hinting that there may be an attack.
• The scene where all of the Pikachu are jumping over a wall to battle the Team Rocket soldiers is identical to the scene inPokémon Emergency! where the Pikachu are jumping over a wall in the Pokémon Center to battle Team Rocket.
• The captain calling the St. Anne unsinkable and then sinking is a clear reference to theRMSTitanic. Indeed, in the next episode's recap, the narrator acknowledges this by exclaiming "HolyTitanic!".
• This episode was partially adapted into the bookIsland of the Giant Pokémon.
• While not in the episode itself, the preview for this episode fromthe previous episode had Ash directly referring to Giovanni by name, the only instance where one of the protagonists ever used his name.
• This is the second episode in which aStarmie jewel is broken — the first beingThe School of Hard Knocks.

Errors

• When Ash is impressed when he sees the inside of the cruise, hisbag is missing.
• During the battle between theGentleman'sRaticate and an unnamed Trainer'sStarmie, the unnamed Trainer tells his Starmie to use an attack called "Spinning Tackle", an attack similar toRapid Spin, a move that can be considered a spinning tackle. However, Rapid Spin wasn't introduced untilGeneration II.
• Raticate usesJump Kick in this episode, a move thatcan't be learned by Raticate in the games.
• During the trade, the Gentleman puts Raticate's Poké Ball on the right side of the machine, followed by Ash puttingButterfree's on the left. However, when it shows the Pokémon, they come from the opposite sides.
• In the scene where James is walking by the Magikarp salesman, the booth to the left of the Magikarp salesman's booth has a pyramid of normal colored Poké Balls on it. Later, in a scene where James is talking to the Magikarp salesman, the pyramid of Poké Balls is now gold.
• When Jessie insults James for getting tricked by the salesman, her shirt is that of her usual uniform instead of her disguise.
• When Jessie and James get in position to recite their motto after the Team Rocket members on board the St. Anne drop their disguises, Jessie's gloves are missing.
• In theItalian andHindi dubs, Giovanni's Persian is referred to as aPersian cat.

Dub edits

• Kanto Pokérap: Day 5 (Version 2)
• In the original version, Ash calls the man to whom he trades his Butterfree a "gentleman" and thus is acknowledged asone on Bulbapedia.
• After the gentleman asks if anyone is brave enough to challenge his Raticate, in the Japanese version Ash claims he's "fired up" as flames briefly flash in his eyes. In the English dub, Ash simply says "I can't wait!" but the flames in his eyes remain.
• Some additional sound effects are added to certain scenes in the English dub, such as Butterfree and Raticate's battle (where their vocal effects are added as they keep striking each other in midair), the St. Anne leaving port (where additional crashing wave sounds are added) and right before Misty goes to talk to Ash after the trade (where the ship's horn is added to the shot).
• After Jessie announces that Team Rocket will take their Pokémon, in the Japanese version the crowd is silent. The English dub adds overlapping dialogue from the crowd in reaction. Most notably, a man asks "Our Pokémon?" and a boy saying, "They can't do that!"
• When the force of the waves knock Butterfree's Poké Ball out of Ash's hands, Ash reacts silently in the Japanese version, whereas in the English dub, he shouts, "No!"
• The scene with Giovanni talking with Jessie, James, and Meowth was used in the VHSA Sneak Peek at Pokémon with alternate dialogue. Rather than discussing their plan, Giovanni tells them that they need to capture Ash's Pikachu before various Pokémon merchandise hits the stores or else they'll probably be found out.
• When the episode aired as a sneak peek, it had different opening and closing narrations:
  • Sneak Peek opening narration: "Welcome to this special exclusive sneak preview of Pokémon! For this sneak peek, let's pick up the adventure as our heroes are departing Vermilion City. As always, Brock, Misty and Pikachu join Ash on his quest to become a Pokémon Master."
  • Regular version opening narration: "As his Pokémon journey continues, Ash is one step closer to achieving his dream of becoming a Pokémon Master. Last time, Ash defeated the Vermilion City Gym Leader and earned a Thunder Badge."
  • Sneak Peek closing narration: "Not everyone, captain. And as the St. Anne heads to the bottom of the sea, our heroes are trapped unconscious inside, and so is Team Rocket. Could this be the end? How will they escape their watery fate? Those answers will be coming soon enough, but tomorrow we'll be taking you back to the beginning, to find out how everybody met, and discover how this incredible Pokémon adventure all began."
  • Regular version closing narration: "Not everyone, captain. And as the St. Anne heads to the bottom of the sea, our heroes are trapped unconscious inside, and so is Team Rocket. Could this be the end? How will they escape their watery fate? I don't know, but I have a terrible sinking feeling!"
• Misty's fantasy of wearing a bikini is removed in the Hindi dub.
• In the original version, Ash wonders if anyone says "very good" (with the English words) anymore. In the dub, he wonders if anyone says "radical" anymore.
• In the original version, Jessie says that tickets are presents very slowly. In the dub, she says they are totally free very slowly.
• In the original version, James says that he thinks theKogal outfit looks good on him. In the dub, he says that he makes the coolest girl.
• In the original version, the gentleman says that the goddess of victory was smiling onto him. In the dub, he says that he was just lucky.
• The dub changes the Magikarp Salesman's sign and the winner sign above the gentleman. They didn't change the sign at the entrance of the ship.
• In the original version, the Magikarp salesman adds a raising set, a nursing set, and a special training set with the Magikarp for 30,000 Yen. In the dub, he adds an egg-laying set, a child care set, and an education set for 300 dollars. He tells James that he can see a golden halo behind James, which is why gold streams appear behind him. In the dub, he says that he can tell James will be a very rich man.
• In the original version, when the gentleman asks what Ash thinks about the Gentleman's Raticate, Ash responds that he thought the Raticate was pretty cool. In the dub, Ash responds that "it looked great" and "it really put up a tough fight".
• In the original version, Ash is worried that the gentleman will trade Butterfree to a person he doesn't know, and whether they will take good care of it. In the dub, he's worried that the gentleman will not take care of it they way that he did. In the dub, Ash also explains his actions, saying "I traded my Buttefree to some guy I don't even know, just because he seemed to like trading so much."
• In the original version, the captain reinforces a previous statement about the ship being unsinkable when he evacuates the ship on a lifeboat in front of a crowd of passengers. In the dub, he says he's just testing the lifeboat.

In other languages

This episode article is part ofProject Anime, aBulbapedia project that covers all aspects ofPokémon animation.

• Original series episodes
• Episodes written by Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
• Episodes storyboarded and directed by Yūji Asada
• Episodes storyboarded by Yūji Asada
• Episodes directed by Yūji Asada
• Episodes animated by Akihiro Tamagawa
• Episodes in which a main character obtains a new Pokémon
• Episodes in which a main character trades away a Pokémon
• Episodes focusing on Team Rocket
• Episodes focusing on Giovanni
• Episodes focusing on Ash