A Giant Misunderstanding: Episode 13 – "The Mystery at the Lighthouse"

Welcome back to the official blog of The Pokémon Snapshot! We are diving right back into our Kanto retrospective with an episode that delivers some legendary lore, one of the most baffling Pokémon catches in anime history, and an incredibly forced attempt at a Dawson's Creek-style emotional wrap-up.

Originally airing in Japan on June 24, 1997, and hitting the United States on September 24, 1998, Episode 13 is officially titled "Mystery at the Lighthouse" (or "Bill’s Lighthouse" in the Japanese release). While this episode is a classic for introducing us to the legendary Pokémon researcher Bill, it also happens to feature Ash Ketchum acting at peak incompetence. Let’s get right into it!

Speak Softly and Poke Him With a Stick

We begin the episode with a familiar sight: Ash, Misty, and Brock wandering aimlessly through a dense forest.

Tyler: "We begin the episode with the party wandering lost in the woods yet again. How many episodes is that in a row that we've started the episode with Ash and his group being lost in the woods? I think it's like three or four."

Jeff: "Let's... no, it's been more than that. So, they beat the Cerulean City Gym. They saw AJ. That's one. Then they went to that school. That's two. They caught Bulbasaur, Charmander, Squirtle, 3, 4, and 5. Then, now they're at the lighthouse. So, six episodes."

The narrator helpfully reminds the audience that Ash has earned two qualifying badges for the Pokémon League. Misty, who has likely been sleeping on the hard ground for twelve days straight at this point, immediately snaps. She correctly reminds Ash that he didn't actually earn those badges—they were practically handed to him out of pity. Ash gets defensive, loudly declaring that he caught all of his Pokémon "fair and square." Misty completely lays into him, pointing out that most of his Pokémon weren't caught in battle; they simply felt bad for him and decided to follow him around.

Ash’s current lineup, consisting primarily of Pokémon that joined him willingly rather than being caught in actual battle.

Furious that Misty won't give him a break, Ash insists he'll prove her wrong. He takes off sprinting through the trees, miraculously finding his way out of the woods and onto a beautiful, tropical beach just as the sun begins to set. Instead of appreciating the gorgeous scenery, Ash whines that he doesn't want to look at a sunset—he wants to catch a Pokémon.

Right on cue, a small Krabby scuttles sideways across the sand. Ash pulls out his Pokédex, which offers the groundbreaking information that Krabby lives near the shore and is sixteen inches tall. Ash insults the Pokémon, calling it "shrimpy," which understandably offends the Krabby. When Ash bends down to half-heartedly apologize, the Krabby pinches his finger.

What happens next is arguably the most absurd Pokémon catching attempt in the history of the franchise. Instead of calling out Pikachu to use a type-advantaged Electric attack, or Bulbasaur for a Grass-type advantage, Ash decides to fight the crab with... a stick.

Ash prepares to deploy his absolute worst battle strategy yet: bringing a literal stick to a wild crab fight.

Tyler: "Ash wonders why the party thinks he is incompetent. He is constantly doing things that show all of us that he is not a capable Pokemon trainer. So what does he do? He takes a stick. He says that he's gonna catch Krabby. He takes a stick and he lunges at Krabby. I don't know what he's planning on doing. It looks like he's attempting to poke Krabby with the stick. But Krabby uses its pincers to cut the stick into tiny pieces."

Undeterred by his stick being sliced into toothpicks, Ash simply hurls a Pokéball at the crab. It sucks the Krabby inside, does the intense, anxiety-inducing wibble-wobble, and clicks shut. Against all logic and reason, Ash has successfully caught the Pokémon.

Jeff: "I have a degree in figuring out how behavior works and how to increase good behaviors and decrease bad behaviors. So I put on my behavior analyst hat on here and I'm like, his behavior is being reinforced. That's the only answer I have. He has not been successful with using a Pokemon to catch a Pokemon, so he's not going to keep doing it... This is ridiculous."

Tyler: "He's getting negative reinforcement, and that's why these behaviors are continuing. I blame his mother."

Size Matters

Ash excitedly picks up his newly filled Pokéball, but suddenly, it begins to glow with electricity and completely vanishes from his hand. Ash absolutely panics, frantically looking around the beach. Misty and Brock walk up just in time to deliver some devastatingly basic news: Pokémon trainers are legally only allowed to carry six Pokémon at a time. Any extra catches are automatically transported away.

Brock and Misty break the news of the League's six-Pokémon rule to Ash, who somehow made it thirteen episodes without knowing it.

Tyler: "How the flippity heck did Ash not know about the six-Pokemon rule or that extra Pokemon will transfer? I feel like, y'know, being on a journey as a ten-year-old off on your own in the wild great beyond, you should probably at least know the basic rules of what it is that you're doing."

Brock explains that extra Pokémon are automatically teleported to whoever gave the trainer their Pokédex, meaning Krabby is currently sitting at Professor Oak's laboratory in Pallet Town. For some inexplicable reason, Ash becomes deeply worried that Krabby isn't safe with the world-renowned professor.

Jeff: "The Professor Oak thing confused me as well. I mean, Professor Oak is renowned all across the Pokémon world, so maybe Ash is just afraid that Professor Oak is getting old and senile, so he just doesn't trust him anymore?"

Tyler: "I mean, if anything, I would think that the Pokemon would be safer with Professor Oak than with Ash, but he's just dropping some serious shade. 'I gotta get to a phone to check on it!' Unbelievable. Oak, you did not deserve that."

Brock’s Midnight Diner

Misty complains about having to camp outside yet again. Looking down the beach, the gang spots a massive lighthouse perched on a cliff and decides to head over to see if they can use a phone and sleep indoors. As they approach in the dark, they realize the lighthouse features massive, ancient-looking stone doors with Pokémon etched into them.

The trio stands before a pair of giant doors etched with Pokémon images, preparing to demand shelter, phone privileges, and a kitchen for cooking double bacon cheeseburgers.

Ash walks up and rings the doorbell, which bizarrely echoes like massive cathedral bells. A voice comes over the intercom asking who is there. They ask to use the phone and stay the night. Brock then inexplicably offers to cook the stranger "double bacon cheeseburgers" in exchange for their hospitality.

Jeff: "In the Japanese version, he actually says that he wants to make tamago chahan and nabe... Again, it's probably the dubbers not knowing what to put there because during this part, the voice asks Brock if he can make Yakisoba as well. So the voice actually makes a request."

Tyler: "This whole scene is weird. Not only do the trio just go and ask to use a random person's kitchen, and to stay the night... the person on the other side is just like, sure, as long as you make something for me."

The massive doors slide open, revealing an enormous, creepy, cathedral-like interior. Ash finds the video phone—which Misty marvels at as if it's cutting-edge alien technology—and calls Professor Oak.

The screen flickers on to show Professor Oak cooking a steaming pot of tofu. Because Ash is in a state of perpetual panic, he immediately assumes Oak is boiling his newly caught Krabby. Oak assures him he isn't eating the Pokémon, lifting a tiny fishbowl to reveal Ash's Krabby safely inside. However, Oak then drops some serious psychological damage on Ash: he reveals that Gary also sent him a Krabby today. Oak lifts a second bowl, revealing a monstrous, giant Krabby that is literally double the size of Ash's.

The world's foremost Pokémon authority casually enjoys a bowl of tofu after casually reminding Ash that Gary is vastly superior to him in every way.

To twist the knife further, Oak casually mentions that Gary has already caught 45 Pokémon. Ash, who just caught his seventh (and as Tyler points out, has only legitimately "caught" two of them), is utterly crushed. Oak notes the caller ID and informs them that they are currently standing inside the lighthouse of Bill, a world-famous Pokémon researcher who knows even more about Pokémon than he does.

The Fossil Fool

After Oak hangs up, the lights in the cathedral room illuminate. Bill announces that he can't ignore a request from Professor Oak. The gang turns around, and to their absolute horror, they realize that Bill is actually a giant Pokémon!

Bill patiently waits for a group of passing children to save his life, raising several urgent questions about his bathroom situation.

Brock exclaims that it's impossible, as the Pokémon standing before them is a Kabuto, a species that has been extinct for millennia. The Kabuto speaks, correcting Brock—it’s just Bill, and he is hopelessly stuck inside the costume. Ash rushes over and pushes a highly visible button, releasing Bill from the suit. Bill thanks them, noting he had been trapped in there for hours.

Tyler: "What was his plan if no one randomly showed up? He was stuck in that costume. Imagine the headlines. Like, famous Pokemon researcher Bill died because he was stuck in a Kabuto costume doing who knows what."

Jeff: "Some people have some weird fetishes, Tyler."

Now free, Bill explains that he wears the costume to get inside the minds of the Pokémon he studies. He launches into a massive lore dump, explaining the origins of the planet and claiming that there are exactly 150 different types of Pokémon in the world. As fans watching decades later, this specific line of dialogue is glaringly inaccurate.

Tyler: "This part really bothered me... So I'm gonna assume when they made this episode of the show, they never really foresaw that they would have other regions and more Pokemon, but that seems a little short-sighted to me. Especially considering by the time the show came out, Pokemon was already becoming a big thing."

Jeff: "At this point no one has heard of Mewtwo, so he would not have been one of those yet. Which makes you wonder, why is he number 150 and Mew is number 151? It just doesn't make sense, since Mewtwo is literally a clone of Mew. Also, by 1998 when the show was being dubbed, they had already been working on Gold and Silver."

The Dragonite in the Fog

A legendary Pokémon scientist tries to impart wisdom to a ten-year-old kid who didn't even bother to research League rules before his journey.

Bill explains that while capturing all 150 Pokémon is a great goal, he is currently obsessed with finding just one specific creature. He leads the gang out to the balcony of the lighthouse and explains that there is a massive, unknown Pokémon out in the ocean that has wandered the world for years, desperately searching for a friend.

Bill plays a haunting, melodic recording of the creature's cry, explaining that he has been communicating with it over the sound system. He says that on a foggy night, it might finally appear so they can meet. In other words, Bill has officially friend-zoned a mythical sea beast.

Right on cue, a thick fog rolls in. A gargantuan silhouette rises from the ocean. To anyone who has ever played a Pokémon game, the identity of this creature isn't a mystery at all.

The massive sea monster silhouette looming in the fog that is obviously a giant Dragonite, despite Bill’s total inability to recognize it.

Jeff: "I wanna take this moment to say that this Pokemon is obviously a Dragonite... I mean, all they had to do was mention how special it was because of its size, but they never even mentioned that this Pokemon's special because it's bigger than any Dragonite I've ever seen."

Tyler: "Right, they totally do not. And I did think it was weird that they're like, 'It's the last of its species' and yada yada yada. I'm like, no, it's just a large Dragonite."

As the massive Dragonite sings out to the lighthouse, Misty and Brock start dancing to the melody in the background. It is a deeply awkward animation loop that perfectly resembles a middle school dance where the kids are terrified of actually touching each other.

Unfortunately, the beautiful moment is about to be ruined. Team Rocket, who spent the entire evening pointlessly climbing the sheer cliff face instead of just using the stairs, reach the top of the lighthouse. They spot the giant Pokémon. James actually hesitates, pulling out a massive bazooka but admitting it feels like a shame to shoot such a sweet creature. Jessie and Meowth immediately shut down his conscience, declaring that they have "built their fame on shame."

Jessie, James, and Meowth prepare to ruin Bill's long-awaited online dating climax with three consecutive point-blank bazooka blasts.

James fires the bazooka, striking the Dragonite. Enraged, the gentle giant rises from the water and aggressively swipes the top of the lighthouse, completely destroying the balcony. In a bizarre animation glitch, the Dragonite then instantly teleports back to its original position far offshore. James fires a second shot, hitting it again.

Bill runs to the edge of the ruined balcony, desperately calling out for the Pokémon to stay. It nods at him, but Jessie and James fire yet another bazooka blast. Annoyed and done with the harassment, the Dragonite swats Team Rocket with its tail, sending them blasting off into the night sky before sadly sinking back into the ocean depths.

Cue the Sitcom Music

The next morning, the sun rises over the ruined lighthouse. Ash asks Bill what kind of Pokémon it was, and Bill—the world's foremost Pokémon researcher—replies, "Who knows?" (Again, Bill, it was a Dragonite!).

The episode then devolves into a series of incredibly forced, heavy-handed moral lessons. Ash declares that catching Pokémon will bring them all together. Brock adds that raising Pokémon helps them understand each other. Misty chimes in that they are just fun to play with. Bill concludes that there is always something new to learn.

Tyler: "What the heck kind of episode was this with all the heartfelt messages? Like, we're gonna do better together, we're gonna catch the Pokemon... there were like five different little tiny, heartfelt lessons that they were trying to teach, and not a single one of them landed. It was like trying to turn this into an episode of Dawson's Creek and it just didn't work... or maybe Seventh Heaven would be a better comparison."

Jeff: "Pretty much like any Disney Channel sitcom."

While it certainly wasn't the strongest narrative of the season, "The Mystery at the Lighthouse" gave us our first glimpse of the wider Pokémon lore and a fantastic look at the classic games' PC storage system. Ash has a long way to go, but his journey to become a Pokémon Master is about to face a massive, high-voltage reality check next week when we arrive in Vermilion City and face off with the Electric Shock Showdown!