Pokemon Learning League

Mutation

Written By
Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens with Iris, Axew, Cilan, Dawn, Piplup, Brock, Ash
and Pikachu walking along on a clear blue afternoon and Iris
holds up her Shiny Charm to the Sun. It glistens and she puts it
down. Cilan then casually speaks to the audience.)
Cilan: Hello, there.
Dawn: Hi.
Piplup: Piplup.
Ash: Hey.
Pikachu: Pika.
Brock: Hi.
Iris: Hello.
Axew: Axew.
Dawn: Iris, that Shiny Charm is really cool.
Iris: Thanks, Dawn.
Ash: What do you think it does?
Iris: I dont know.
Axew: Axew.
Brock: Well, I guess well see.
Cilan: So, where do you guys want to go to now?
Dawn: Lets go to Mahogany Town.
Brock: All right, then.
(They continue on down the road.)
Ash: By the way, Iris, howd you come up with that Contest
combination?
Iris: I came up with it while I was watching the others and tried
to make it different.
Ash: Ahh.
(Soon, they come across an Electrike, which has a different look.
Its light blue with bright yellow on it stumbling around and
looking tired.)
Electrike (weakly): Electrike.
Ash: Whoa, check out that Electrike.
Pikachu: Pika.
Brock: Yeah. Its very worn out and hungry.
(He goes over to it.)
Brock (gently): Here, have some of this Pokemon food.
(Electrike takes a sniff at the food and eats all of it. It licks its
mouth.)
Brock: Was that good?
(It nods its head. Dawn pulls out her PokeDex and looks it up.)
Dawn: Hmm. It looks different from the one in my PokeDex.
Cilan (questioning): Yeah. Wonder why that is?
Brock: You know, guys, it might have a trainer.
Ash: Are you sure, Brock?
Brock: Yes. There are no other places you can find an Electrike
around here.
Ash: Okay, lets go find him.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
(They head down the path. Then, they seen a young boy named
Johnny comes who is looking around for something. He has
black hair, a light blue shirt, jean shorts and sneakers and is
about Ash and Dawns age.)
Cilan: Hey.
Johnny: Yes?
Cilan: Does this Electrike belong to you?
Johnny: (gasps in joy.) Yes, it is!
(Electrike happily runs over to him.)
Johnny: Are you okay, Electrike?
Electrike (happy): Elec.
(It licks his face.)
Ash: We found it really tired and hungry, but Brock took care of
it.
Johnny: Well, thats good to know. Im Johnny. Its nice to
meet you all.
Dawn: Thanks. Im Dawn, and this is Piplup.
Piplup: Piplup.
Brock: Hello, Im Brock.
Iris: Im Iris, and this is Axew.
Axew: Axew.
Ash: Im Ash, and this is my buddy, Pikachu.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
Cilan: And Im Cilan.
Brock: So, Johnny, would you mind telling us what happened?
Johnny: Well, Electrike and I were in a nearby forest doing a
little training and it was going well, but then, he accidentally hit
a Pidgeotto that was in the bushes and then a flock of them
started chasing us. He tried to fend them off, but it didnt work
and we ended up getting separated. Ive been looking for him
and I started getting worried about him.
Dawn: Ahh.
Johnny: Yeah. Thanks for taking care of him, Brock.
Brock: No problem.
Iris: By the way, has your Electrike always looked like that?
Johnny: Yes, it has.
Brock: Really?
Johnny: Yep. When it first hatched, it had those colors.
Cilan: Well, do you know what caused it?
Johnny: Well, no, I dont.
Iris: Lets see if Siara knows something about this. (She pulls
out the Pokepilot and calls Siara, who is building a wooden
model of a Mega Blaziken.)
Siara: Hey, guys. Hows it going?
Cilan: Were doing fine. This is Johnny, Siara.
Siara: Nice to meet you, Johnny.
Johnny: Thanks, same to you.
Ash: By the way, Siara, what are you building there?
Siara: Oh, its just a wooden model of a Mega Blaziken.
Ash: Thats cool!
Siara: Thanks. Anyway, what are guys you up to?
Iris: Well, we found Johnnys Electrike by itself and Brock
helped it out.
Siara: Okay.
Dawn: We brought it back to Johnny and we asked him if its
colors have always look liked that and he said that it has been
since it hatched, so we want to ask you how its possible.
Siara: Sure. First, let me have a look at it.
Johnny: Okay.
(He picks up Electrike.)
Siara: Hmm.
(She looks very carefully.)
Siara: Ive got it. Your Electrikes look is the result of a somatic
mutation.
Johnny: Really? Whats a somatic mutation?
Siara: Its a genetic mutation that can occur in a somatic cell
after the Pokemon has been conceived. You can I.D. it by
comparing a mutated cell to one from another part of the body.
Ash: Okay, but what sort of changes can it cause?
Siara: Well, it tends to vary. Some Pokemon or plants might
end up looking slightly or completely different than the parents,
some people might have different hair or eye colors or
sometimes their brains might function a little differently.
Cilan: Well, what causes these mutations?
Siara: Many things can cause them, like toxins, radiation,
certain chemicals, or they can occur as the result of an error in
the cell division process.
Siara: It is. One other thing, a somatic mutation cant be passed
on to the next offspring because they dont have the germ cell,
or the sperm and eggs, which is why its also called acquired
mutation.
Ash: All right.
Siara: Okay, guys, Im going to show you something.
Iris: All right.
Axew: Axew.
(Pan down to a lower panel.)
Siara: You guys ready?
Cilan: Yep.
Siara: All right. Look at this flower. What kind of changes do
does it have?
Ash: It has more petals on it than the others.
Siara: Okay, Ash. Take a good look at this person here. What
kind of changes does he has?
Iris: He has a different hair color than his parents.
Siara: Thats good, Iris. What changes do you notice on this
Gyarados?
Johnny: It has different eye colors.
Siara: All right, Johnny. Lastly, what changes do you see in this
Clefairy?
Cilan: Its fur are slightly brighter and its ear tips are green.
Siara: Very good, Cilan. You guys did great.
Brock: Thanks, Siara.
Siara: No problem, Brock. Now, I have to get back to work on
this model. See you guys later.
Ash: See you.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
(Iris puts the Pokepilot away.)
Dawn: Hey, guys.
Brock: Okay, Dawn, buts let see if the audience is up for it.
Ash: All right. (He looks at the viewers.) Hey, you guys up for
it? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay, then.
(Cut to several images.)
Brock: Okay, lets get to it. What kind of mutation is a somatic
mutation? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Its a
genetic mutation. Okay.
Ash: What can cause it? (He waits for an answer from the
viewers.) Exposure to toxins, radiation or certain chemicals. All
right, then.
Iris: What sort of changes can it do? (She waits for an answer
from the viewers.) Different colors or the brain will function
differently. Sure, why not.
Cilan: Whats the one thing somatic mutation cant do? (He
waits for an answer from the viewers.) It cant be passed off to
the next offspring.
(Cut back to them and Dawn speaks.)
Dawn: Great job, you guys.
Piplup: Piplup.
Johnny: Well, Electrike and I better be going, then.
Iris: Where are you going to?
Johnny: Were going to check out to Olivine City.
Dawn: Oh, cool.
Johnny: Yeah. Well, see you guys later.
All: See you.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
Axew: Axew.
Piplup: Piplup.
(He and Electrike leave.)
Ash: Hes going to have a good time there.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
Brock: Yep. Theres a lot to places in Olivine that hes going to
enjoy.
(They all turn to the viewers.)
All: Thanks, you guys.
Axew: Axew.
Pikachu: Pika.
Piplup: Piplup.
(Cut to them on the path.)
Dawn: Well, that was a pretty good episode. Did you like it?
(She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay, then. Well
see you later.
(They all wave goodbye to the viewers and they continue on to
Mahogany Town and the scenery fades to black, ending the
episode.)