Variety Vault

Ash Ketchum is finally 10 years old, old enough to become a Pokémon Trainer. He wakes up late on the day he is supposed to receive his first Pokémon at Professor Oak’s lab, however, and arrives to discover all the Pokémon are gone. Ash has no choice but to take a naughty Pikachu. Pikachu will not listen to Ash or go inside its Poké Ball, so Ash must drag it along with a rope. After many failed attempts at capturing some Pokémon, Ash throws a rock and hits a Spearow. The Spearow gets angry and the entire flock starts chasing Ash and Pikachu. They run away from the Spearow, borrowing a bike from a red-haired girl to escape, but when they cannot go any farther, Ash uses his body to shield Pikachu from the attacking Pokémon. Pikachu realizes how much Ash cares for him and uses a powerful electric attack to drive the Spearow away, destroying the bicycle in the process as well.