Garrymon: Gotta Catch Them All

By BlueZero
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Watch the video and be amazed as the first episode of the Pokemon anime is recreated using the Gary Mod from Half Life 2. SpawnThemAll and DavyMacaroni have done a great job parodying two of my favorite franchises. As you know I love Valve's games and this video captures the spirit of the Pokemon anime. Once you are finished with the video, continue on for my brief commentary (not 9 years in the making).

If you have been living under a rock, this would be the episode where Ash gets Pikachu and really no action happens. Pikachu was just being an independent rat until a small boy decides to drive a bike really fast to a pet hospital. After a harsh crash, Pikachu decides it's time to save the day with a already super-effective thunder against the Sparrow.

First off, the voice of John Freeman is just as annoying, yet perfect, as the voice of Ash. This is an important first step to recreating the annoying first episode from the cartoon. Second, the overdramatic Kleiner (aka Professor Oak) really adds some great humor into the video. We all know he is making out with Ash's mother since Ash really doesn't have a father. This means Ash's mother is a gold digger as who wouldn't want to log some time with Professor Oak's Pokedex. "Gotta Catch Them All" Kleiner (that's hot). Third, the Gabe-dex has been in development for many years just like all of Valve's game commentaries. The voice actor for Gabe Newell is also spot on. I had to do a double take because my ears were fooling me.

Even if you never watched the original Pokemon episode, most of the horrible puns are still intact (shocking isn't it?). The creator has even captured the original music from the show and used it in the right places. 4:40 to 4:55 is just amazing. Alyx as Misty is a little disturbing as for some reason her face is very contorted for her brief time on screen. This is even true at 10:50 where she appears again. Also here, I glad that Barney, aka Brock, has no eyes visible. The Team Rocket with Breen and Judith must be explored in another episode. There is a lot of potential here with random purple Ekans, Koffing and blue Meowth.

Original Pokemon Episode 1

Overall, I really got a laugh out of this video. I look forward to future episodes which keep the same humor while doing the really uninspired first season of Pokemon justice. The moral of the story is when you pair either Gary's Mod or Team Fortress 2 with successful video games, amazingness always happens. Look forward to my next post to prove my point!