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| Season | Pokémon: Indigo League (Season 1) · Festivals, photographs & the Breeding Center arc (EP52–EP57) |
| Episode | Season 1, episode 55 · English episode 55 · Japanese episode 57 · Bulbapedia code EP055 |
| English title | Pokémon Paparazzi |
| Japanese title | シャッターチャンスはピカチュウ Shattā Chansu wa Pikachū — “Shutter Chance Pikachu” |
| First aired (Japan) | 23 July 1998 · TV Tokyo |
| First aired (US) | 17 April 1999 · Kids’ WB |
| Screenplay | Hideki Sonoda |
| Opening / ending (Japan) | Mezase Pokémon Master (Aim to Be a Pokémon Master) – Rica Matsumoto · Pokémon Ondo – Garura Kobayashi, Dogars & Arbo |
| English opening | Pokémon Theme – Jason Paige |
| Who’s That Pokémon? | Geodude (US) · Geodude (Japan) |
| Previous episode | The Case of the K-9 Caper! (EP054) |
| Next episode | The Ultimate Test (EP056) |
Plot episodeTodd Snap joins
Pokémon Paparazzi is the 55th episode of Pokémon: Indigo League, the first season of the Pokémon anime, and the 55th episode of the English dub overall (Japanese episode 57, Bulbapedia code EP055). It first aired in Japan on 23 July 1998 and in the United States on 17 April 1999. It falls within the season’s Festivals, photographs & the Breeding Center stretch (EP52–EP57).
Synopsis
Everyone is enjoying some of Brocks finest Rice balls, completely unaware that they are being watched that is until the light reflects of the strangers camera lens, Ash spots it and assumes its a gun and knocks his friends to the ground for cover. This makes Togepi cry and ruins the rice balls Brock was making, Ash tells them he saw someone, Misty and Brock don’t believe him, Ash calls out Squirtle and fires a watergun into the bushes, revealing a Pokemon Photographer called Snap.
Snap declares himself to be the #1 Pokemon Photo Masker, errr I mean Master. He takes them back to his home, where he gives them some Tea and explains he is the photographer who got the only known picture of an Aerodactyl. It’s a silhouette picture of an Aerodactyl, taken at the time when it was carrying Ash away to eat him. Snap offers to make them all pancakes, and wants to photograph Pikachu eating them. Snap keeps trying to take pictures of Pikachu, who becomes scared and or annoyed and shocks him. Snap declares he can’t work like this, and that it isn’t right to make Pokemon pose for pictures, and explains he likes to take natural pictures of wild Pokemon, showing Ash, Misty and Brock some of his photographs.
Ash, Misty and Brock send out all of their Pokemon so that he can take pictures of them, but Snap seem’s intent on just taking pictures of Pikachu. It seems an elderly couple and their pet Meowth requested Snap to ‘capture’ Pikachu for them as their dying wish, but swore Snap to secrecy. This mystery old couple is of course Team Rocket, but they’ve got their wires crossed, they’re expecting Snap to physically capture Pikachu, not capture it on film.
Snap continues trying to get a natural picture of Pikachu, but to no true avail as Pikachu doesn’t like it’s picture taken. Team Rocket in the meantime are digging a classic hole in the ground trap and then get back into their disguises. Snap apologises that he hasn’t “taken that Pikachu for you yet” and finds the soft dirt where Team Rocket had been digging as a great place to take a picture of Pikachu, the gang approach and Ash falls straight into the trap, followed closely by Misty and Brock who quickly conclude it must be yet another Team Rocket trap. Snap comes to the top of the hole and starts trying to take pictures of Pikachu before he gives them the rope to rescue them. Snap notices the bottom of the pit crumbling and throws the rope, Ash and Pikachu fall through into fast flowing water leading to a sheer drop. Snap saves them with his camera and tripod, ruining his camera in the process, with Ash and Pikachu still hanging off the elderly couple who gave Snap the Pikachu capture job reveal their true identities as Team Rocket, grab Pikachu in a net and keep it in an electric proof bag and James starts throwing bombs at Ash and Snap. Ash uses snap’s camera to distract Team Rocket long enough to get blown up by their own bomb, as they squabble amongst themselves Snap pulls Ash to safety and he sends Bulbasaur to attack, Team Rocket end up in the water and fall down a waterfall.
Misty and Brock arrive and to their surprise find Ash and Snap have become friends. He doesn’t usually take pictures of humans but takes a picture to remember his new friends.
Major Events
- — Todd Snap joins (*Pokémon Snap* tie-in
- Renamed from “Snap” to “Todd” for Kids’ WB!). Debut: Todd. Last dub title card using the Pokémon logo.
Trivia
- The screenplay is by Hideki Sonoda.
- This is a plot episode: it advances the Kanto storyline.
Changes in the English Dub
- Magazine “Pokémon Friend” → “Pokémon Times”, article text (Todd’s age) erased
- Zoom-out removed
- Tōru becomes Todd on Kids’ WB! and “Snap” elsewhere — two takes of about nine lines were recorded after Kellogg’s objected to “Snap”
- Rice balls are named correctly for once
- Dub ending: the Kanto Pokérap (Friday segment)
Part of our Pokémon: Indigo League guide. Browse every season of the Pokémon anime.