Crime
Outer Banks
It’s labeled as a “teen drama” and a “coming-of-age story.” But Netflix’s buzzy, sensual news series aims at adults.
What were you doing when you were 10 years old?
Perhaps you were casually riding your bike around your neighborhood. Or besting your younger sibling at a board game. Or maybe you were studiously mastering multiplication tables in fourth grade.
Ash Ketchum doesn’t concern himself with such trivial pastimes.
At 10, Ash leaves his family and home city of Pallet Town and begins working toward his lifelong goal: Becoming a Pokémon master.
But Ash’s journey isn’t a smooth one. On the day aspiring Pokémon trainers can finally receive their first Pokémon, Ash sleeps in. As a result, he’s the last one to visit Pallet Town’s Pokémon expert and distributer, Professor Oak. By then, Ash has only one option for his starter Pokémon: a rambunctious Pikachu. Unlike most Pokémon, Pikachu won’t stay in his Poké Ball home; rather, he insists on roaming freely. And Pikachu only selectively obeys the instructions of his trainer, Ash.
Despite Ash’s rough start and Pikachu’s nontraditional demeanor, Ash quickly learns how to be a Pokémon trainer. As he befriends, trains and raises Pokémon, Ash meets fellow Pokémon trainers Misty and Brock, who accompany Ash on his journey of becoming a Pokémon master.
The heroes don’t have it easy, though.
As they travel across the Kanto region, Ash and his friends frequently get lost. When they finally reach their destination cities, Ash faces seasoned Pokémon trainers in gym battles—tournaments in which Pokémon battle each other and win coveted awards called gym badges for their trainers.
If all that isn’t enough, Ash and his friends also encounter the infamous Team Rocket. The main Team Rocket members that our heroes encounter are Pokémon trainers Jessie and James and their Pokémon buddy, Meowth. Team Rocket will stop at nothing to steal other people’s Pokémon—though their efforts are comically (and consistently) unsuccessful.
Clearly, being a Pokémon trainer isn’t easy. But as Ash continues to catch, train and bond with more Pokémon, he proves that he’s up to the task.
Japanese audiences first saw Pokémon the Series: The Beginning (also known as Pokémon: Indigo League) in 1997. A slightly revised version aired in the United States a year later in 1998.
The revised show for American audiences included typical English dubbing, and it also removed some controversial content. Most notably, the U.S. version of the series does not include a scene in which a girl competes in a bikini contest and a male character cross-dresses as a woman (including wearing fake breasts).
With this objectionable content absent from the American version of the show, Pokémon the Series: The Beginning includes content similar to other cartoon TV iterations of Pokémon.
Pokémon species possess various natural and supernatural abilities. For example, one Pokémon has hypnosis powers and Pikachu can generate and harness electricity. Pokémon also can evolve into new forms of their species—upgrading to even more powerful capabilities. The show mainly stops there, but if you dive deeper into Pokémon lore and backstory, you’ll find that some of these critters have dark and disturbing origins, while others can be considered as gods. (Kennedy Unthank unpacked it all for Plugged In here.)
Of course, these special abilities have one main purpose: battles. Pokémon fight in tournaments and sometimes attack people in the wild. These cartoon fights get pretty intense, but don’t worry—Pokémon just faint (not die) if defeated. In fact, for all the punches, electric shocks and falling from heights, everyone remains miraculously unscathed after physical altercations.
In addition to cartoon violence, this Pokémon iteration includes a few other notable concerns: A few female characters—including Jessie from Team Rocket and Ash’s friend Misty—wear midriff showing tops. There’s a scene in which an adult character holds what looks like a glass of alcohol. And some characters use unkind words like “shut up” and “idiot.”
Families willing to navigate those concerns need only consider one more: Are they willing to hear about the toys, games and Pokémon cards that’ll likely be asked for by kids enamored with the franchise?
(Editor’s Note: Plugged In is rarely able to watch every episode of a given series for review. As such, there’s always a chance that you might see a problem that we didn’t. If you notice content that you feel should be included in our review, send us an email at letters@pluggedin.com, or contact us via Facebook or Instagram, and be sure to let us know the episode number, title and season so that we can check it out.)
Ten-year-old Ash Ketchum has waited his whole life to become a Pokémon trainer. But when the day to receive his first Pokémon finally arrives, Ash wakes up late. Only one last Pokémon is available: a feisty creature named Pikachu. Ash must learn to get along with Pikachu to achieve his goal of becoming a Pokémon Master.
Various Pokémon fight one another in physical battles and sometimes attack humans. Though characters fall from significant heights and sustain minor scrapes in some of these altercations, damage is not severe.
Often Pokémon fight their battles using specified supernatural abilities. For example, Pikachu zaps foes with electricity and another Pokémon uses hypnotic powers. Additionally, all Pokémon somehow fit in Poke Balls much smaller than their bodies.
In a few scenes, Pikachu uses his electricity powers to shock characters so severely that their skeletons can be seen—but the characters always seem to be fine afterwards. Though in one scene, Pikachu’s powers cause an entire crowd of people to collapse.
Ash, Brock, Misty and other Pokémon trainers receive free tickets to board the St. Anne cruise ship. Little do the trainers know, Team Rocket sponsored the free cruise ride and plots to steal their precious Pokémon.
Two Pokémon battle each other. One bites the other, causing the loser to faint. Jessie from Team Rocket hits James with a hammer. Later she repeatedly punches him. Pokémon battle Team Rocket members. Pikachu zaps some people with electricity and another Pokémon blasts people with fire. Some members of Team Rocket get thrown from a cruise ship after engaging in battles with various Pokémon. People get trapped inside a sinking cruise ship.
Someone tells a character to “shut up.” Jessie calls James an “idiot,” and someone calls him a “dope.”
A male character dresses in women’s clothing and acts like a girl to trick people into taking free tickets for the cruise. A girl briefly wears a two-piece swimsuit. Some female characters wear midriff-showing shirts.
Pokémon trainers discuss how Pokémon evolve, and there’s a brief flashback in which we see a Pokémon evolving into a new form.
An adult holds what looks like a glass of alcohol.
A girl wears a shirt that exposes her midriff. Ash steals someone’s bike. A boy calls Ash a loser. Ash’s Pokédex (a machine that helps guide would-be trainers on their way) implies that Ash is a “stupid traveler.”
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