Pokémon Learning League
Media Part 1: Forms of Media
Written By
Timothy Whitfield
(Episode opens with Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, Dawn, Piplup, May, Max, Iris, Axew and Cilan sitting in a Pokemon center in Jubilife City and Ash speaks to the viewers.)
Ash: Hey, I'm Ash. And this is Pikachu.
Pikachu: Pika.
Misty: Hi, I'm Misty.
Cilan: Hello, I'm Cilan.
Dawn: Hey, I'm Dawn. And this is Piplup
Piplup: Piplup.
Max: Hi, I'm Max.
May: Hey, I'm May.
Brock: Hi, I'm Brock
Iris: Hey, I'm Iris. And this is Axew.
Axew: Axew.
Ash: We're all just talking about what we want to see in the city. Do you want to join us? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay.
May: All right, what should we go and see?
Dawn: I know. Why don't we go and visit the TV Station?
Ash: That's a good idea, Dawn. What about the rest of you guys?
(They all nod their heads as if to say, "Yes.")
Cilan: I do want to see what the station is like.
Iris: Yeah. It could be interesting.
Ash: Well, what are we waiting for? Let's get going.
Pikachu: Pika.
(They all leave the Pokemon Center. They arrive at the TV station, but just as they're about to enter, they notice that a lot of trainers are all going towards a new building down the street.)
Ash: Huh? Where is everyone going?
Brock: I don't know, Ash. There must be something important going on.
Bianca: (in the distance) Out of my way!
Everyone: Huh?
Bianca: (running really fast) Coming through!
Ash: Watch it, Bianca!
(Bianca runs right into Ash and sends him through the air and he lands in a fountain and gets all wet.)
Bianca: Oh, sorry there, Ash.
(A few minutes later, Ash is drying his clothes over an open fire and Cilan speaks to Bianca.)
Cilan: So, Bianca, why are you in such in a hurry?
Bianca: Oh, didn't you hear? There's a brand new spa called the Pokemon Relaxation Station where they can raise and train your Pokemon for you.
Iris: What? When did this spa open up?
Bianca: It just opened a few days ago. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to sign some of my Pokemon up. See you. (She rushes off to the spa.)
Max: Okay, something about that sounds a little fishy.
Brock: You have a point there, Max. What kind of spa would raise and train your Pokemon for you?
(Misty looks up at the big TV screen on top of the station.)
Misty: Uh, guys, you might want to take a look at this.
(A commercial for the Pokemon Relaxation Station plays on the big screen.)
"Gold" and "Platinum" trainers: *Come on in to the Relaxation Station and get your Pokemon all pumped up and feeling the sensation.*
"Gold" trainer: Come on down to the Pokemon Relaxation Station, where your Pokemon will receive the ultimate relaxation treatment.
"Platinum" trainer: You heard right. This spa will provide all your Pokemon with all of the latest relaxing techniques. Then, after that, we will give them a special rigorous training session in our Gym.
"Gold" trainer: We guarantee that after your Pokemon have spent a day here, they will be relaxed and be stronger than before. If you don't believe it, then we'll show you. Here's a Piplup before it entered the station.
"Piplup": (tired) Piplup.
"Gold" trainer: See? Now, here's that same Piplup after it spent some time in our spa.
"Piplup": (energetic and buffed up) Piplup.
"Platinum" trainer: Wow, look at those results. So, come on in to the Pokemon Relaxation Station today. You will not be disappointed.
"Gold" and "Platinum" trainers: *Come on in to the Relaxation Station and get your Pokemon all pumped up and feeling the sensation.*
(The commercial ends and then another one begins.)
Announcer: Try our new tasty Golden potato chips. They'll provide your Pokemon with a lot of strength and power. The Golden potato chips are the recommended snack food of the Pokemon Relaxation Station.
Piplup: (suspicious) Piplup.
Dawn: You're right, Piplup. Something about that Piplup in the commercial didn't look right.
Brock: Yeah, there's no way that a regular Piplup would look like that.
Max: Not to mention that it's impossible for one spa to raise a Pokemon to be that strong in just a few hours.
Ash: You know something about those trainers seems really familiar.
Pikachu: Pika.
Misty: You're right, Ash. There's something about them that I've seen somewhere before. But more importantly, we need to think about how that commercial is persuading people to go that spa.
May: That's a good point, Misty. How is that commercial making people want to go to the spa?
Ash: I don't know, May. How about the rest of you guys?
(They all shake their heads as if to say, "No.")
Ash: I know. Let's give Lex a call. (He pulls out the Pokepilot and calls Lex.) He might something about this.
Lex: Hey, guys. What's going on?
Dawn: Hi, Lex. Well, we're all here just visiting Jubilife City. It's been pretty good so far.
Lex: I'm sure it has been. So, what else is happening?
Max: We were just going to visit the TV station, but then we saw that a group of trainers heading down to a new place called the Pokemon Relaxation Station, and we just saw a commercial for it.
Lex: Okay.
Misty: We think there might be something suspicious about it and we started to think about how the commercial is getting people to want to go to the spa. We thought you might know how a commercial can persuade people to do something.
Lex: I'll be glad to tell you. If you want to know how a commercial affects people, you need to know how all forms of media affect people.
Max: Okay, but how many forms of media are there?
Lex: There are many forms of media like television, newspapers, magazines, posters, computers, radio and even music and video games are forms of media.
Ash: All right, but how does a commercial affect the way people think?
Lex: The purpose of a TV commercial or any form of media is to send out a message to a particular audience and try to convince them to do something like going to a new place, watch a new show or movie or buying a particular product.
May: Really? They can do that?
Lex: Sure they can. But you've got to be careful because some messages can be misleading and it sometimes could end badly for some people. So, you need to pay close attention to the messages.
Max: All right, what should we pay close attention to?
Lex: You should pay attention to what the message is saying, the purpose of it, and what it's trying to get you to do.
Iris: Wow. Finding the messages in different forms of media is pretty tricky.
Lex: It going to be tricky. How about I show you something to help you understand it better?
Ash: Sure thing, Lex.
Pikachu: Pika.
(Cut to an image of the inside of a Pokemon center in Lex's lab.)
Lex: Okay, what you're going to do for the first two examples is find all the different forms of media.
Everyone: All right.
Lex: Good, then let's get started. Find all of the examples of media in this room.
Ash: There's a computer.
Iris: There's a TV set.
Brock: There's a newspaper.
Dawn: And there's a radio.
Lex: Very good, guys. (He shows them a new picture.) Find the examples in this room.
Cilan: There's a magazine.
Misty: There's a video game.
Max: There's a CD.
May: And there's a poster.
Lex: Great work, guys. Now, I'm going to show you a few more examples but this time you're going to tell what each one is trying to do. Okay, here's a poster for the Relaxation Station. What is the purpose of the poster?
Max: Get trainers to go to the Relaxation Station.
Lex: Very good, Max. Here's an article for the Golden potato chips. What's the article trying to get you to do?
Misty: Get us to buy the chips and make our Pokemon stronger.
Lex: Great job, Misty. Here's a clip from the commercial.
Commercial: Come on down to the Pokemon Relaxation Station, where your Pokemon will receive the ultimate relaxation treatment.
Lex: What is this clip trying to trainers to think?
Cilan: It's trying to get them to think that the spa will give their Pokemon the best relaxing treatments they've got.
Lex: Great one, Cilan. Now, here's the song from the commercial.
Commercial: *Come on in to the Relaxation Station and get your Pokemon all pumped up and feeling the sensation.*
Lex: What's the message of the song?
Dawn: It's that the Relaxation Station will make your Pokemon strong and relaxed.
Lex: Good one, Dawn. Good job, you guys.
Everyone: Thanks, Lex.
Pikachu: Pika.
Axew: Axew.
Piplup: Piplup.
Lex: No problem. Well, I've got to get back to work.
Everyone: See you, Lex.
Brock: All right, guys. What do you guys say we go over what we know before we think about what we should do?
May: Sure, Brock. Why don't ask our friends at home if they want to go over with us?
Ash: Okay, May. (He looks at the viewers.) Do you want to go over with us? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) All right. What are some of the forms of media? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) TV, radio, and computers are forms of media. Yeah.
Iris: What do we need to pay attention to? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) We need to pay attention to what the purpose of the message is, what it's saying, and what it's trying to do. Good one.
Everyone: Good work, guys.
Pikachu: Pika.
Piplup: Piplup.
Axew: Axew.
May: Okay, guys. What should we do about the Relaxation Station and their trainers?
(They all think for a minute.)
Max: I know. We can make our own video broadcast telling trainers what's wrong with the spa and who those trainers really are.
Cilan: Good idea, Max. But making the video won't be easy, so we might need a little more help.
Misty: All right, Cilan. (She looks at the viewers.) Would you like to help us make our video? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay.
(Cut to a computer screen.)
Max: Okay, we're going to make a video that'll be very persuasive. You tell us what can be added to make the video better. Let's get started. Who's the target audience for our message? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) Pokemon trainers are our target audience. Okay.
Dawn: What would make a good title for the video? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Don't Be Fooled by Commercials. Yeah.
Cilan: What's the purpose of the message? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) To warn trainers about the Relaxation Station and tell them who the gold and platinum trainers really are. Very good.
Misty: What message should we include? (She waits for an answer from the viewers.) We should say that you shouldn't listen to the commercial because the messages it's saying aren't true. All right.
Ash: What sort of videos should we use in our broadcast? (He waits for an answer from the viewers.) We can include videos of trainers having fun with their Pokemon. Cool.
(Cut back to the gang in front of the computer.)
Everyone: Thanks a lot, guys.
Pikachu: Pika
Axew: Axew
Piplup: Piplup.
May: Our video broadcast is ready to go out.
Cilan: Okay, I'll put it out. (He sets up the video broadcast.) Okay, it's ready. Let's see how it looks. (He plays their video.)
Broadcast:*Calling all Pokemon trainers. If you're thinking about sending your Pokemon to the Pokemon Relaxation Station, then you might've been tricked. No Pokemon spa possesses people with the skills necessary to raise and train all kinds of Pokemon in just a few short hours. Part of the fun of Pokemon training is raising and training them to be the best. And who are the gold and platinum trainers? Well, let's see. Sure, they may look professional, but they don't look capable enough of handling every kind of those Pokemon at once. Their Piplup doesn't even look like a real one. If you look closely, you can see the wings on it are fake and it's face doesn't look right. It looks more like a Meowth wearing a costume. So, who are they? This might surprise you, but they are really-* (the broadcast stops abruptly.)
(Everyone gasps in shock and surprise.)
Ash: What the?!
Pikachu: Pika?!
(The words, "To be continued… tomorrow afternoon" fade in.)