Pokémon Learning League
Heredity
Written By
Timothy Whitfield
(Episode opens with Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, Piplup and Serena walking around the streets of Floccesy Town on a partly cloudy day with a bit of wind in the air. The town has a calm atmosphere, a few small buildings, the leaves on the trees are in different colors and some people are walking about. Serena feels the wind blowing on her and sighs with comfort.)
Serena: That wind really feels nice.
Dawn: Yeah, it does.
Piplup: Piplup.
Ash: It feels good to be back here, right, Pikachu?
Pikachu (agreeing): Pika-chu.
(They continue on down the street. They pass by the clock tower, which strikes 2:00pm and the bells ring.)
Ash: So, Dawn, what have you been doing?
Dawn: Well, I just started entering the Kanto Contests.
Ash: That's cool.
Dawn: Yeah, and it's been really fun, right Piplup?
Piplup: Piplup, Piplup.
Dawn: How's the training going for the Showcase, Serena
Serena: It's coming along fine.
Dawn: That's good.
(They continue on down until they come to a Pokemon Center.)
Serena: Hey guys. How about we stop and rest here?
(Ash and Dawn nod their heads and they go inside.)
Nurse Joy: Welcome to the Center. How can I help you today?
Ash: Could you please revitalize our Pokemon, Nurse Joy?
Nurse Joy: Okay, no problem. You can go wait over there.
(They hand her their PokeBalls, puts them on rocks and takes them away. They go over to the waiting area and sit down in the booth.)
Serena: So, where should we go to from here?
(Ash and Dawn think for a moment.)
Ash: Let's head to Virbank City.
Serena: Oh. Is it a nice place?
Dawn: It is.
Serena: Really? What does it have there?
(They start telling her all about it. Five minutes go by.)
Serena: That sounds like a lot of fun.
Ash: Oh, yeah. You're going to enjoy it.
(They hear the chime and go up to the front desk. Nurse Joy has their PokeBalls and Pikachu & Piplup all ready to go.)
Nurse Joy: I'm happy to say that your Pokemon are doing just fine.
Pikachu: Pi-ka.
Piplup: Piplup, Pip.
(They take their PokeBalls and Piplup & Pikachu return to their respective trainers.)
Serena: Thanks a lot, Nurse Joy.
Nurse Joy: No problem, guys.
(They leave the Center and head on down the road. Moments later, they run into Alder, who is carrying bags of Pokemon food & medicine.)
Ash: Hey, Alder.
Alder: Ash! Long time, no see. How've you been?
Ash: Great.
Dawn: Hi, I'm Dawn, and this is Piplup.
Piplup: Piplup, Piplup.
Serena: And I'm Serena.
Alder: Pleasure to meet you both.
Ash: So, what are you doing here?
Alder: Oh, I'm taking a week off from the Pokemon League, so I decided to come back to my hometown.
Ash (intrigued): Really?
Alder: Yep.
Serena: What do you have there?
Alder: This is special food for my Pokemon back home.
Dawn: Oh. Well, do you mind if we come with you?
Alder: No, of course not.
(They go with him on down the street. Moments later, they arrive to his house, which has a special area behind it for his Pokemon. The house itself is two stories, has a chimney, a slanted tiled roof, the walls are made of bricks and has double-hung windows.)
Alder: Well, here we are.
(They head inside. They look around and see the walls are made with wood paneling, has a shelf with some of his trophies, the floors have carpeting, the ceiling's colored sky blue, and there are various pictures of Alder, his Pokemon & some of his family.)
Serena: This is a nice place.
Alder: Thanks.
(Dawn looks at one of his trophies.)
Dawn: Hey, Alder, what did you get this one for?
Alder: Oh, this was for the performance I gave in a featurette.
Dawn (getting it): Ahh.
Alder: Yep. I was a good actor when I was younger.
Dawn: That's cool.
(They head out back to the area where his Bouffalant, Garchomp & Vanilluxe are. We look over and see his grandson, Benga, is playing with Bouffalant, who snuggles him and he gently strokes its head. Benga has red eyes, red and orange hair in a style somewhat similar to Alder's, wears a necklace of PokeBalls, a white sleeveless shirt with black shorts and red sandals.)
Alder: (Calling out.) Hey, Benga.
(Benga stops, looks over and sees them. He runs over to them.)
Benga: Hey, Granddad.
(He gives him a hug.)
Alder: How's everyone been doing?
(They grunt and growl with happiness.)
Benga: They've been having a lot of fun, right?
(They all nod in agreement.)
Adler: Well, that's great. You're really getting it.
Benga: Thanks.
Alder: Oh, yeah. Guys, this is my grandson, Benga.
Benga: Hi.
Serena: It's nice to meet you. I'm Serena.
Ash: I'm Ash, and this is Pikachu.
Pikachu: Pika, Pikachu.
Dawn: I'm Dawn, and this is Piplup.
Piplup: Piplup.
Alder: Benga, give them each some of this food.
Benga: All right, then.
(He takes the bags, goes over to the Pokemon, and gives each of them some food in bowls, each one meant specifically for them. He places them down and they all start eating it. Alder comes over to them.)
Alder: What do you think, guys?
Bouffalant: (satisfyingly grunts.)
Garchomp (satisfyingly): Gar-chomp.
Vanilluxe (satisfyingly): Vanill.
Alder: That's great.
(He strokes Bouffalant on the head and it snuggles him back. They both go back to the others.)
Benga: So, do you guys want to see my Pokemon?
Ash: Oh, you bet.
Pikachu: Pika.
Benga: Okay. Come on out, everyone.
(He tosses up his PokeBalls into the air, and an Escavalier, a Charmeleon, a Swablu and a Bergmite emerge from them.)
Ash: That's cool.
Benga: Thanks, Ash.
Ash: Benga, you want to see ours?
Benga: Of course.
Ash: All right, then.
(The three toss up their Pokemon into the air and all of their Pokemon emerge from them.)
Benga: That's Awesome.
(Just then, Vanilluxe quietly comes up behind Benga gives him a playful push.)
Benga: Whoa! (He turns around to it and playfully laughs.) Okay, you asked for it.
(He starts chasing it around the field.)
Alder: (Laughs heartedly.) That's my grandson.
(He then chases it towards a tree, but Vanilluxe goes up, he rams into it and falls to the ground.)
Alder: Oh, here we go again. Hold it, Benga.
(He goes over and talks to him.)
Ash: Benga seems like a nice guy.
Serena: Yeah.
Dawn (curiously): Hmm.
Serena: What are you thinking about, Dawn?
Dawn: Well, it's the way Benga has been treating the Pokemon.
Ash: What about it?
Dawn: It's almost like he thinks a lot like Alder.
Ash: Ahh. Well, Alder probably taught him all of that.
Dawn: Yeah, but what I mean is it's the way he's being really gentle with and understanding them. How do you think it's done?
(Ash and Serena shrug.)
Dawn: Well, let's see if Siara knows about this.
(She reaches into her backpack, pulls out the Pokepilot, turns it on and calls Siara, who is working on a layout for a stage.)
Siara: Hey, guys. How's it going?
Ash: Great, Siara. What are you working on there?
Siara: It's for a big island celebration coming up in few weeks. It's going to have some big guests coming.
Ash: That sounds cool.
Siara: Oh, it will be. Anyway, what are you up to?
Ash: We ran into Alder and he invited us to his house.
Siara: That's good.
Serena: We just met his grandson, Benga, and he's a pretty good trainer. Then, Dawn started wondering thinking about how he gets them like Alder does, so do you know how that is?
Siara: Yeah. To really get this, you need to know about heredity.
Ash: All right, but how will that help?
Siara: Let me explain. What it is, is the passing of certain traits from parents and grandparents to the offspring. When two creatures reproduce, a one-celled organism divides itself into two copies, also called alleles. One is dominant and the other is recessive. The proteins in them can affect the traits, so any variations in protein activity can produce different phenotypes, which are the composites of any traits.
Ash: All right, but how can you tell which allele is dominant or recessive?
Siara: A dominant allele creates a dominant trait offspring who has one copy of the allele from one of the parents have. But for a recessive allele, in order for it to produce a recessive phenotype, it has to have two copies of the allele from both parents. Let's say, if a dad passes a trait for blonde hair, then the child will have it, or the child could have blue eyes when the parents don't at all.
Dawn: Okay, what sort of other traits are there?
Siara: There are two kinds that can be inherited. One is the physical traits, like the hair and eye color, height, curly or straight hair and our vision. And there's the behavioral traits, which are the characteristics of the way one acts, like sensitivity, liveliness, tension and vigilance.
Serena: I see, but how are the traits formed?
Siara: Well, this is where it gets complex. Every offspring inherits a pattern of growth from each parent and, when combined, determine how they will develop. It's all arranged in the cell's nucleus into tiny bodies called chromosomes and they contain several types of proteins and DNA.
(As she explains, the images are animated to the words being spoken.)
Ash: Okay, what else?
Siara: The traits are determined by the DNA segments, or genes, which have specific sequences of nucleotides. Also, the somatic cells carry a number of similar, or homologous chromosomes. Lastly, two specialized cells, or gametes unite and they go through a process known as meiosis. When this happens, the homologous chromosomes replicate, pair up and interconnect in another process called synopsis, where they split into two and each chromosome goes to a new cell.
Dawn: Boy, you weren't kidding about it being complex.
Siara: Yeah, it is, which is why I'm going to show you something.
Dawn: All right.
Piplup: Piplup.
(Pan up to an upper panel displaying a branching tree showing the phases of heredity.)
Siara: All right, you guys up for it?
Serena: Of course.
Siara: Very well, then. How does it all start?
Dawn: The child inherits growth patterns from the parents, they get combined & is determined how it develops.
Siara: Very good, Dawn. Now,
Serena: They get arranged in the cell's nucleus into chromosomes.
Siara: All right, Serena. What happens after that?
Ash: The traits are decided by the genes in the DNA.
Siara: You got it, Ash. You're doing great, guys.
Dawn: Thanks, Siara.
Piplup: Piplup.
Siara: You're welcome, Dawn. Now, I need to get back to this layout. See you guys later.
Ash: See you.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
(Dawn turns the Pokepilot off and puts it back in her backpack.)
Ash: Hey, guys, before we get back to it, how about we do something different?
Serena: All right, Ash, but let's if the audience wants to do it.
Dawn: Okay. (She turns over to the audience.) You guys up for it? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, okay. What makes a dominant trait different from a recessive one? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for two and a half seconds.) It has a copy of a dominant allele from one of the parents. You got it.
Serena: What are the two kinds of traits? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Physical & behavioral. All right.
Ash: What do chromosomes contain? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) Proteins and DNA. Oh, yeah. You guys did great.
Pikachu: Pika, Pikachu.
(They look over to see Alder showing Benga something.)
Alder: Okay, watch this.
(He gets into position, croutches down and pounces to the ground.)
Benga: That was good, granddad.
Alder: Okay, now you try.
(Pan back over to the trio.)
Dawn: Ooh, that was pretty good
Ash: Yeah. Now, let's get back to it.
Dawn: Very well, Ash. Let's see if the viewers are up for this one.
Serena: Okay. (She turns over to the audience.) Hey, do you guys want to do it? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) All right, then.
(Cut back to the tree, and pan down to the next part of it.)
Ash (O.S): All right, then. (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for two seconds.) The gametes unite and they go through meiosis. You got it.
Serena (O.S): What is the last thing that happens? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one and a half seconds.) It goes through synopsis. Yeah.
(Cut back to them and Dawn casually speaks to the audience.)
Dawn: That was good, guys.
Piplup: Piplup, Piplup.
Alder (O.S.): Now, you know what to do, Benga?
(They come walking over to them.)
Benga: Yes, I do.
Alder: That's good.
Ash: Is everything okay, you two?
Benga: Yep. Everything's fine.
Alder: Okay, Benga, you up for doing it again?
Benga: You bet.
Alder (tempted): Oh, Vanilluxe.
(Vanilluxe quickly goes away and they go charging after it, all the way to the other side of the field. They chase it back over, when suddenly, they pounce with their arms out and grab it. They land on the ground.)
Alder: Ha. Thought you could get away from us, huh?
Benga: Yeah.
(Vanilluxe giggles.)
Benga: We did well there, didn't we?
Alder: Yeah. Hey, Benga, look.
(He looks over and Alder playfully pushes him by his shoulder. He heartedly laughs.)
Benga: Oh, yeah?
(He leaps onto him and pins him to the ground. They both start playfully wrestle each other and try to pin the other. Pull back to the trio watching them.)
Ash: They really love doing that, don't they?
Serena: Yeah, they do.
(They look on and sigh with fond nostalgia.)
Serena: Hey, Dawn?
Dawn: Yeah?
Serena: What was your own dad like?
Dawn: My father was a nice man. He would help beginning trainers out and give them some great tips on how to train them. Though, there were some that didn't make sense.
Ash: That's pretty good.
Dawn: It was, and he would also help the town out in any way he could to make it better for everyone, and his Pokemon were really great, too. So, what about your dad, Serena?
Serena: Well, he was a little bit crazy. Whenever he did anything, he'd always do it differently than others, and it didn't always work out.
Dawn: Really?
Serena: Yeah. But, some of what he did actually ended up being really helpful for us. And he was a great Pokemon trainer. His Pokemon did combinations that no one thought could be done.
Ash: That's really awesome.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
Serena: How about yours, Ash?
Ash: Well, my dad was a good guy and some trainers in Pallet Town admired him. He always loved to find a good challenge and try to overcome it, although it didn't always work out, but when he wasn't doing that, he'd play with me sometimes and even show some of his Pokemon.
Dawn (intrigued): Ahh.
Piplup (intrigued): Piplup.
Ash: Then, when he left on a big journey, Mom would tell me stories about some of the adventures he was on, and it made me think about having some like that someday.
Serena: That's really nice, Ash. Do you think he's still out there somewhere?
Ash: Who knows, but it'd great to see him again.
(Pikachu jumps off his shoulder.)
Pikachu: Pika, Pika.
Ash: Oh, you want to play, buddy?
(Pikachu nods.)
Pikachu: Pika.
Ash: Well, all right, then.
(They turn to the audience.)
All: Thank you, guys.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
Piplup: Piplup.
Fennekin: Fenne.
(Cut to moments later, where everyone is playing with their Pokemon.)
Serena: Well, that's was an interesting episode. Did you guys enjoy it? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, okay.
Fennekin (O.S): Fenne.
Pancham (O.S): Pancham.
Serena: (Calling over.) Hold on, you two. (She glances over.) Well, see you guys later.
(She waves goodbye to the viewers and goes off to play with Fennekin and Pancham. The scenery fades to black, ending the episode.)