Pokemon Learning League

The Brain

Written By

Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens with Serena, Iris, Axew, Ash, Pikachu and Cilan on a boat on a clear blue day, with calm winds heading for Torom Island. The boat docks at the pier and they all get off. Cilan casually speaks to the audience.)

Cilan: Hello, guys.

Serena: Hi.

Ash: Hey, there.

Pikachu: Pika-Pi.

Iris: Hey.

Axew: Axew, Axew.

(They leave the pier and head down a path. A few minutes later, they come to the Learning League headquarters. They see Quinn and Diana doing some training with Combusken.)

Ash: Hey, guys.

(They turn around and see them.)

Quinn: Hey, how are you all doing?

Ash: We're great. What sort of training are you doing with Combusken?

Diana: We're teaching it to do Poison Jab.

Serena: That's interesting. How's it going?

Quinn: Pretty well. Show them, Combusken.

Combusken: Coom-busken!

(His claws glow purple and jabs at the sky.)

Ash: That's cool!

Pikachu: Pika!

Quinn: Thanks.

Iris: What made you guys decide to teach it?

Diana: We just thought it would be a cool move for it to know.

Ash (understanding): I see.

Quinn: Now, we need to get back to it.

Iris: All right. See you later.

Axew: Axew.

(They head inside. They head down the hall and see Ada in the kitchen making some lunch and Shuppet helping her out.)

Ada: Hey, guys. How's it going?

Cilan: We're doing fine, Ada. What sort of dish are you making today?

Ada: It's a black bean and couscous salad.

Cilan: Ahh. Is it a new recipe you're using?

Ada: Yes, it is.

(Shuppet's eyes glow light blue and it raises up a pepper shaker. It becomes surrounded in a light blue aura and is handed over to Ada, who takes it.)

Iris: I see Shuppet is being a big help to you.

Shuppet (happily): Shuppet.

Ada: It sure has, and I finally got its random disappearing thing under control.

Ash: How long until it's ready?

Ada: Oh, it'll will be ready soon.

Ash: Well, that's good. What else did you make?

Ada: I've also made a carrot pineapple cake, a Reuben casserole and an orange smoothie.

Ash: Mmm, that sounds great.

Pikachu: Pika.

Ada: Yep. We'll see you guys later on for lunch, okay?

Shuppet: Shuppet.

Serena: All right.

(They head back down the hall and see Lex working on a full-size model of Yveltal with a maquette beside him. He's working on one of the wings.)

Ash: Hey, Lex.

(He stops working on it and turns around.)

Lex: Hey, guys.

Iris: Wow, that model is looking good.

Axew: Axew.

Lex: Yep. It's really coming along well.

Cilan: Mind if I ask what is it?

Lex: Sure. This here is a Yveltal.

Cilan (intrigued): I see. How much more do you have to do?

Lex: I only have the head and torso and the feet left to do, and it'll be done.

Ash: Good luck with it.

Lex: Thanks, guys.

(They head over to the next room, where they see Siara working on a mechanical brain.)

Siara: Hey, guys.

Iris: Hey, Siara. What are you working on there?

Siara: This is a special brain for the animatronic.

Serena: Oh, how come?

Siara: I want it to be able to think on its own, sense, taste and work just like a real human brain.

Ash (impressed): Wow! That's incredible!

Pikachu (impressed): Pika!

Siara: It is, and also incredibly hard, but it'll all be worth it.

Serena: By the way, Siara, how exactly does the brain work?

Siara: Oh, boy. It's very complicated. Look over here.

(Pan over to a monitor.)

Siara: The brain is made up of 100 billion neurons. They can gather and transmit electrochemical signals that can transmit them over several feet.

(As she talks about it, the images animate the actions.)

Cilan: That's interesting.

Siara: That's not all. There are three types of them: the motor neurons, which control muscle contractions, the sensory neurons, which controls the five senses, and the interneurons can carry various info between the two.

Serena: Okay, what makes up the brain?

Siara: It's made up of various parts. You have the brain stem, which consists of the medulla, the pons, the thalamus and hypothalamus and the midbrain, and they each play important roles.

Cilan: How so?

Siara: The medulla regulates blood pressure and breathing, the pons relay movement and position info from the cerebellum to the cortex and it also handles breathing, taste and sleep. The midbrain links various parts dealing with motor control, eye movement and sound control.

Cilan: Ahh, I see.

Siara: The thalamus sends incoming sensory pathways to the right areas of the cortex and determines where each of them will go. Lastly, the hypothalamus controls hormonal secretions and is involved in almost every aspect of behavior.

Iris: All right, what's next?

Siara: Next, there's the cerebellum. It transmits information from the vestibular system that gives you sense of balance and motor control.

Serena: Anything else?

Siara: Lastly, there's the cerebrum. It's the largest part of the brain and where all the information it receives gets interpreted and is made up of many lobes.

Cilan: And what are those lobes?

Siara: There's the parietal lobe, which handles and processes somatosensory, or touch. Then, there's the frontal lobe, which does speech and cognitive functions.

Ash:

Siara: Next, there's the occipital lobe, which gets and processes info directly from the eyes, and finally there's the temporal lobe, which processes sound info from the ears and relays them to the frontal and parietal lobes.

Ash: Man, you weren't kidding about it being complex.

Siara: It is, which is why I'm going to show you something.

Serena: Sure.

(She changes the image on the monitor to an image of a brain.)

Siara: You guys ready for it?

Ash: You bet.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Siara: All right, then. What is this here? (A small part of the back of the brain lights up.)

Ash: That's the occipital lobe.

Siara: All right, Ash. How about this? (The top of the brain light up.)

Serena: It's the parietal lobe.

Siara: Very good, Serena. Now, what is this here? (The front part of the brain lights up.)

Iris: It's the frontal lobe.

Siara: Good one, Iris. Now, which lobe is this? (The innermost part of the brain lights up.)

Cilan: That's the temporal lobe.

Siara: You got it, Cilan. What is this here? (The area underneath the temporal lobe part of the brain lights up.)

Serena: That's the brainstem.

Siara: (The bottom part of the brain lights up.)

Ash: It's the cerebellum.

Siara: You got it, Ash. You guys are doing great so far.

Iris: Thanks, Siara.

Axew: Axew, Axew.

Siara: No problem, Iris. If you'll guys excuse me, I'm going to get more parts for the brain. Then, we'll continue with this.

Ash: Okay, Siara.

(Siara walks out of the room.)

Cilan: Guys, let's go over what we know.

Serena: All right, Cilan, but let's see if the audience wants to do it.

Iris: Okay. (She looks at the viewers.) You guys up for it? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay. What are the three types of neurons? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Motor, sensory and interneurons. All right.

Ash: What does the medulla do? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) It controls breathing and blood pressure. You got it.

Serena: What do the parietal lobe do? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) It handles touch. Okay, then.

Cilan: What does the cerebellum do? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) It integrates info from the vestibular system and gives you sense of balance. Very good.

Ash: Way to go, guys.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

(Siara returns with the parts. She places them on the table.)

Siara: All right, you guys ready to go on?

Ash: You bet. Let's see if the viewers are up for this before we do.

Serena: All right. (She looks at the viewers.) You ready to do it? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Very well.

(Pan back up to the monitor and we see an image of the brainstem.)

Ash: Okay, let's do it. What is this here? (The uppermost part lights up and he waits for an answer from the viewers.) The thalamus. All right.

Iris: Now, what's this right here? (An inner small area lights up and she waits for an answer from the viewers.) The hypothalamus. Okay, then.

Cilan: What is this part here? (The lower half of a bulb on the stem lights up and he waits for an answer from the viewers.) The medulla. Yep.

Serena: How about this? (The upper half of the bulb light up and she waits for an answer from the viewers.) The pons. You got it.

Iris: Finally, what is this? (A section of the stem lights up and she waits for an answer from the viewers.) The midbrain. Oh, yeah.

(Pan back over to them and Serena speaks.)

Serena: You guys did great.

Cilan: Hey, Siara. How long will it take for you to finish the brain?

Siara: It's going to take a long while before I'm through with this.

(Ada comes over to the room.)

Ada: Guys, lunch is now ready.

All: Okay.

Pikachu: Pika.

Axew: Axew.

(We dissolve outside the HQ and see everyone having lunch.)

Pikachu (satisfied): Chuu.

Axew (satisfied): Axew.

Combusken (satisfied): Busken.

Shuppet (satisfied): Shuppet.

Serena (satisfied): Mmm, this is really good, Ada.

Ada: Thanks, Serena.

(Pan over to Cilan and Quinn and Diana.)

Cilan: Well, you guys have been doing a great job with Combusken.

Quinn: Thanks, Cilan. We've been trying hard with him.

Cilan: That's good.

Diana: There are a few more moves we're going to teach it.

Cilan: What kind of moves?

Diana: Oh, you'll see.

(Now, we pan over to Ash and Siara.)

Ash: So, Siara, what the animatronic going to be like when it's done?

Siara: It's going to be great. It'll be a big help for us and the rest of the island.

Ash (amazed): Ahh, that's cool.

(They all turn to the viewers.)

All: Thanks, guys.

Pikachu: Pikachu.

Axew: Axew.

(Cut to them relaxing and their Pokemon playing with each other.)

Cilan: That was a good episode. Did you like it? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) All right. Then, we'll see you next time.

(They all wave goodbye to the viewers and they chat with each other and it irises out, ending the episode.)