Pokémon
The Grass Route
TV Flash files “The Grass Route” as hour 180 of 1220 in the TV Flash guide — Pokémon (1998–present (U.S.)) on Kids' WB/Syndication, season 4, episode 21, aired 2000-12-21, 22 min.
From the desk
How this hour is filed
This leaf is S04E21: listed hour 180 of 1220 in the Pokémon guide, hour 21 of 52 in season 4. It aired 2000-12-21 (22 min). The listed hour before it is “Wings 'N Things” (S04E20). Next is “The Apple Corp!” (S04E22). Broadcast log — titles and dates, not a plot bible.
Catalog log
Broadcast listing — not a TV Flash recap.
On the way to Ecruteak, Ash and friends are caught by the sight of a Skiploom racing by. They follow it, and encounter its trainer, Ephram. He and his Skiploom are training for the upcoming annual Grass-Type tournament, a contest for Grass Pokemon only. Confident he can win any "local" tournament, Ash decides he and Bulbasaur will enter as well. Ephram and his Skiploom train hard as the tournament quickly approaches. However, Ash doesn't think it is necessary for someone of his Pokemon prowess to prepare. The next day the tournament starts, and with two mystery trainers in the competition, who will emerge victorious?
Viewer FAQ
Where does The Grass Route sit in the Pokémon guide?
S04E21 is listed hour 180 of 1220 — hour 21 of 52 in season 4, season 4 episode 21.
When did Pokémon S04E21 air?
The Grass Route aired 2000-12-21 and is listed at 22 minutes.
Do I need the games first?
The TV series is one engine with the games and cards, not a homework prerequisite. U.S. breakthrough is 1998 anime syndication as childhood OS.
In the series
Why this series still plays
A ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, and a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime lands in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards — catch, train, argue about types. Kids’ TV as collection ritual, gym-badge serialization, and the rare cartoon that still prints money because the adventure never quite finishes.
The work, first: a young trainer, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Based on Game Freak/Nintendo games, the anime's U.S. TV breakthrough in 1998 (Kids' WB and syndication) detonated a multi-platform kids' empire: games, cards, films, toys, one engine. Satoshi Tajiri and Kunihiko Yuyama's world turned anime into mainstream American children's programming. Rica Matsumoto and Veronica Taylor as Ash across languages; Ikue Otani's Pikachu. Catch, train, argue about…
Filed against
- Rica Matsumoto as Ash Ketchum (JP)
Rica Matsumoto voices Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — the ten-year-old whose globetrotting checklist became a childhood operating system in Japanese, then a syndication engine abroad. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s…
- Veronica Taylor as Ash Ketchum (US early)
Veronica Taylor was early U.S. Ash Ketchum on Pokémon — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, a globetrotting checklist that became a childhood operating system. Anime landed in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards:…
- Ikue Otani as Pikachu
Ikue Otani voiced Pikachu as a childhood operating system — a ten-year-old, a yellow mouse, anime landing in American syndication as one engine with the games and cards. Catch, train, argue about types. TV Flash files her as 1990s kids-TV…