Pokémon Live!
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

''Pokémon Live!'' was a musical stage show that toured the United States from September 15, 2000 to January 28, 2001. The musical was based on the ''Pokémon'' anime series, using similar characters, clothing, and story elements. The show uses songs previously released on the ''Pokémon'' anime soundtracks '' Pokémon 2BA Master'' and '' Totally Pokémon'' as well as original songs. Approximately 90 minutes in length, it told the story of Ash Ketchum,
Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
and Brock as they travel to a contest to win the much sought-after Diamond Badge. The event turns out to be part of a plan by the evil organization
Team Rocket A team is a group of individuals (human or non-human) working together to achieve their goal. As defined by Professor Leigh Thompson of the Kellogg School of Management, " team is a group of people who are interdependent with respect to infor ...
and its diabolical leader
Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
to take over the world. The show was successful, but it was largely ignored by critics. It never received a video release, despite the official ''Pokémon'' site mentioning that one would be announced in the future. A cast recording CD of the show, however, had a limited release. Plans for some 2002 performances in the United Kingdom were also made, but later cancelled. ''Pokémon Live!'' was invited to perform in
Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
,
U.A.E. The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...
at Al Mamzar Park in March 2001, coinciding with the annual Dubai Shopping Festival. A Portuguese version of the show, produced by television company
SIC The Latin adverb ''sic'' (; "thus", "just as"; in full: , "thus was it written") inserted after a quoted word or passage indicates that the quoted matter has been transcribed or translated exactly as found in the source text, complete with any e ...
, was performed from March 21 to March 27, 2002 at the
Pavilhão Atlântico Altice Arena (formerly MEO Arena; also referred to by its original name, Pavilhão Atlântico) is a multi-purpose indoor arena in Lisbon, Portugal. The arena is among the largest indoor arenas in Europe and the largest in Portugal with a capacit ...
in
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal. A Dutch adaptation of the musical was performed on April 6 and 7, 2002, at the Sportpaleis in
Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
. Chris Mitchell, the Production Stage Manager for the tour, posted videos of the complete performance in Milwaukee's
US Cellular Arena The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
(dated December 30, 2000) in seven parts to his personal YouTube channel in 2012 and the whole performance in one video in 2016. In September 2020, a user named Benjamin Delbert posted a restored fan-edit using elements from almost every performance of the show's run on YouTube.


Plot synopsis

The following synopsis is based on videos of the show as provided by the production manager, Chris Mitchell, and the script he provided to pocketmonsters.net.


Act I

The story begins with a shadowed
Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
releasing a commercial challenging all Pokémon Trainers to win the one-of-a-kind
Diamond Badge The International Gliding Commission (IGC) is the international governing body for the sport of gliding. It is governed by meetings of delegates from national gliding associations. It is one of several Air Sport Commissions (ASC) of the Fédérati ...
by defeating him and his Pokémon in a battle.
Ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non- gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...
declines to join his mother Delia, and
Professor Oak Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
to a lecture on sleep disorders among Snorlax, because he has decided to accept the mysterious Gym Leader's challenge. As he prepares for the journey,
Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
chastises him for not taking her to the movies for her birthday as promised three weeks ago. Ash promises to make it up to her somehow, but adds that Pokémon are his friends too ("You and Me and Pokémon"). Together with Brock, Ash and Misty head off for the Gym using a map downloaded from the Diamond Badge website. Meanwhile, Jessie, James, and Meowth get a call from Giovanni ordering them to arrive at his headquarters. When they arrive, he gloats about his ultimate creation, MechaMew2. The mechanical monster—based on the powerful Mewtwo he had late in the anime's first season and '' Pokémon: The First Movie''—will soon be unstoppable ("It Will All Be Mine"). He orders Team Rocket to capture Ash's
Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which were ...
, because it has ''Thundershock'' and ''Thunder Attack'', two techniques that MechaMew2 doesn't have. They promise to do as he says after he promises them a good pay. Soon, several trainers face off against MechaMew2, which copies the attack of its challengers and uses it against them to defeat them. Among the moves it learns is ''Self Destruct'', which it is ''not'' ordered to return as doing so would destroy it. Giovanni praises his mechanical Pokémon and gloats that as soon as it learns every Pokémon's attack, nothing will stand in his way ("It Will All Be Mine (Reprise)"). While the team is in the forest, Brock chases cute girls and Misty laments that Ash is ignoring her in favor of his Pokémon. Ash tells his friends that he wants them to travel together forever ("My Best Friends"). Jessie, James and Meowth dig a
pitfall trap A pitfall trap is a trapping pit for small animals, such as insects, amphibians and reptiles. Pitfall traps are a sampling technique, mainly used for ecology studies and ecologic pest control. Animals that enter a pitfall trap are unable to esca ...
for Ash and his friends to fall into, but the heroes walk right over it without incident because the Rockets forgot to remove the supports. To their misfortune, Jessie and James only realize the cause when they pull out the supports and fall into their own trap, leaving a frustrated Meowth to run off for a rope to pull them out. In the meantime, Delia and Professor Oak approach the old, run-down building where the Snorlax lecture is supposed to be held. After Delia confesses that she feels that she is losing touch with her son, the Professor reassures her by saying that things never stay the same for long ("Everything Changes"). Suddenly, several Rocket Grunts rush out of the shadows and surround them, and Giovanni says that the lecture was a trap to lure Professor Oak to them. When the Boss also recognizes Delia, she insists that anything between them was in the past, to which he says that some things don't ''have'' to change. Giovanni orders the Rocket Grunts to take Delia and Oak to an (offstage) helicopter and to his headquarters, where they'll witness something that will change the world forever ("Everything Changes (Reprise 1)"). Back in the forest, the heroes are lost and alone after Brock earlier threw the map in the river while asking a female trainer for directions. They try getting help from a deaf trainer with Brock interpreting his signs, who agrees to share his map on the condition that he and the "guy with the goofy smile" have a battle first. Ash agrees to this, but the deaf trainer sends out Jigglypuff, who instantly starts singing and puts everyone but its trainer to
sleep Sleep is a sedentary state of mind and body. It is characterized by altered consciousness, relatively inhibited sensory activity, reduced muscle activity and reduced interactions with surroundings. It is distinguished from wakefulness by a de ...
. In spite of this, the deaf trainer leaves his map with the heroes as Jigglypuff draws on their faces. Afterwards, Misty wakes up and starts wiping Jigglypuff's marks off of Ash's face while singing about her secret feelings for him and her fear of rejection ("Misty's Song"). Ash and Brock soon wake up as well, with the former wondering aloud who was singing just now. Misty claims the song to have been an effect of Jigglypuff's song, and the heroes continue on to the next part of the path, this time with Misty carrying the map. Meanwhile, Meowth gets Jessie and James—who have also fallen asleep from Jigglypuff's song—out of the pit while complaining about their incompetence. Realizing that Meowth is right, Jessie and James lament their status as failures. Meowth cheers them up by telling them that being failures is something at which they're successful ("The Best at Being the Worst"). With that, the Rockets set out to find Pikachu again. Using their Magikarp submarine, they manage to catch up with the trainers at Cerulean Blue Lagoon, where Ash declares that he's going to use Pikachu against the gym leader ("Pikachu (I Choose You)"). While the kids get caught up in the song, Team Rocket captures Pikachu when he dances near them. By the time Ash realizes Pikachu is missing, Team Rocket is long gone.


Act II

After an intermission segment in which Ash's Pokédex Dexter explains his important contribution to Ash's continuing success and gathers data from the audience ("What Kind of Pokémon Are You?"), the heroes return to the forest. Ash is positive that his favorite Pokémon has once again been kidnapped by Team Rocket. Misty, apparently still upset about being ignored on her birthday, suggests that maybe Pikachu has just left Ash of his own will because of the trainer's new habit of ignoring his friends. She runs after Brock, leaving Ash to ponder her words and worry that Pikachu did leave on his own. Ash bids an emotional farewell to Pikachu ("The Time Has Come"). At the Gym, Delia and Professor Oak are in the battle arena and locked inside giant cages. Oak asks Delia why the Boss recognized her. She explains that Giovanni is an old boyfriend from when she was a teenager and used to hang out with a bad crowd, which she put behind her when she met Ash's father. She never told this to Ash, fearing that he would not understand. Delia came to hate Giovanni, which he arrives just in time to hear. Realizing Delia has changed, Giovanni tells them that they're here to witness the final battle, as the only attacks left to be learned are Pikachu's electric moves ("You and Me and Pokémon (Reprise)"). Immediately after, the Rockets arrive with the captured Pikachu ("Double Trouble"). Giovanni orders them to battle MechaMew2 using Pikachu. They attempt to command Pikachu, but Pikachu shocks the Rockets instead, knocking them into the cages and allowing Oak and Delia to escape. Giovanni is unconcerned with his prisoners' escape. He realizes that Pikachu's trainer is necessary to make it battle, so he orders Jessie, James, and Meowth to bring Ash to him. They agree and set off to capture Ash ("Double Trouble (Reprise)"). Meanwhile, as she and Brock search fruitlessly for Pikachu, Misty admits that she just wanted Ash to realize that he's alienating his friends—specifically, her. Brock realizes Misty really likes Ash, and Misty denies it by saying Brock wouldn't know anything about liking someone—after all, he's always chasing
Nurse Joy Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
and
Officer Jenny An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
("Two Perfect Girls"). Not far away, Delia and Professor Oak continue their discussion about her past and conflict over whether or not to tell it to Ash. Meanwhile, Misty continues to lament over her feelings for Ash. Elsewhere, Ash tells himself that he may have to go on without Pikachu, even if it hurts ("I've Got a Secret"). Soon, all five of them converge in the forest. Delia tells Ash that Giovanni has Pikachu in his hideout and that Team Rocket kidnapped him. Ash is furious, determined to get his Pokémon back and win the Diamond Badge. Before he can leave, Delia tells Ash of her past with Giovanni. Ash is shocked by the news and is in a hurry to leave. Suddenly, Jessie and James appear on scooters, ordering Ash to come with them. The team is utterly shocked when Ash agrees to join them without a fight. The others try to follow, but Meowth says Giovanni ''only'' wanted Ash. As Ash and Team Rocket leave, Delia laments that she gave Ash even more of a reason to confront Giovanni. ("Everything Changes (Reprise 2)"). At his headquarters, Giovanni tells MechaMew2 that soon, their conquest of the world will begin. Ash runs in and demands that his Pikachu be returned. When Giovanni hears his surname and realizes he's Delia's son, Ash is angered and tells him to leave his mother out of this. Jessie and James enter announcing their capture of Ash, missing that he had already entered the arena, and celebrate having done two things correctly in one day. The Boss grows annoyed with them and orders them to leave, and they crash their scooters upon exiting. Joyfully reunited with Pikachu, Ash prepares to battle Giovanni and is shocked when he reveals himself to be the Gym Leader from the commercial. Giovanni mockingly gives Ash the Diamond Badge, saying he'll retrieve it after Ash loses. Ash orders Pikachu to Thundershock, then Thunder MechaMew2, but the attacks do not affect it. MechaMew2 then returns the attacks, rendering Pikachu unable to battle. With that, Giovanni proclaims his victory because his Pokémon has now learned every single attack. Undaunted, Ash engages the Boss in a fistfight ("You Just Can't Win"). Tiring of the scuffle, Giovanni orders MechaMew2 to attack Ash with Hyper Beam, but Mewtwo appears to save Ash with a forcefield. He then attacks MechaMew2 with a collection of Ash's happy memories, love for Pokémon, and Misty. MechaMew2 speaks for the first time and rebels against Giovanni, revealing that it learned about love and goodness from Ash. Recognizing that Giovanni is evil, MechaMew2 feels it must stop his plans no matter the cost. MechaMew2 puts Giovanni in a headlock and prepares to Selfdestruct, telling Mewtwo to take an unconscious Ash somewhere safe. Mewtwo exits with Ash and Pikachu, but not before explaining to Giovanni that Ash was the one who defeated MechaMew2. Giovanni breaks free of MechaMew2's grip and runs just before it blows up. In the forest, Ash's friends ask for an explanation of the recent events, but Ash can't remember Mewtwo's sudden appearance or how the battle ended. He does, however, understand that his mom is still his mom, and he loves her regardless of her past. Reaching into his pocket, Ash pulls out the Diamond Badge, saying that he must have won it after all. He gives the badge to Misty as her birthday present while everybody else celebrates his triumph ("Finale"). Just before curtain call, the entire human and Pokémon cast appear and dance, including Giovanni.


Musical numbers

;Act I #You & Me & Pokémon — Ash, Misty, and Brock #It Will All Be Mine — Giovanni and Team Rocket. #It Will All Be Mine (Reprise) — Giovanni #My Best Friends — Ash, Misty, and Brock #Everything Changes — Professor Oak and Delia Ketchum #Everything Changes (Reprise 1) — Giovanni #Misty's Song — Misty #The Best at Being the Worst — Team Rocket #Pikachu (I Choose You) — Ash ;Act II #
  • What Kind of Pokémon Are You? — Dexter and the Dextettes #The Time Has Come — Ash #You and Me and Pokémon (Reprise) — Giovanni #Double Trouble — Team Rocket #Double Trouble (Reprise) — Team Rocket #Two Perfect Girls — Brock #I've Got a Secret — Delia Ketchum, Misty, and Ash #Everything Changes (Reprise 2) — Delia Ketchum #You Just Can't Win — Ash and Giovanni #Finale — Company


    Tour dates

    Most of the musical numbers are remakes of songs previously released on the soundtracks '' Pokémon 2BA Master'' and '' Totally Pokémon''. Four songs, "It Will All Be Mine", "The Best at Being the Worst", "I've Got a Secret", and "You Just Can't Win", are original songs. "Finale" is a fusion of "You & Me & Pokémon" and "My Best Friends".


    Original cast

    * Ash Ketchum (Tenor) - Dominic Nolfi *
    Misty Misty may refer to: Music * ''Misty'' (Ray Stevens album), an album by Ray Stevens featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Richard "Groove" Holmes album), an album by Richard "Groove" Holmes featuring the above song * ''Misty'' (Eddie "Lockjaw" ...
    (
    Belt Belt may refer to: Apparel * Belt (clothing), a leather or fabric band worn around the waist * Championship belt, a type of trophy used primarily in combat sports * Colored belts, such as a black belt or red belt, worn by martial arts practition ...
    ) - Heidi Weyhmueller * Brock (Baritone/Tenor) -
    Dennis Kenney Dennis Kenney is an American actor, celebrity fashion stylist, and educator. He is best known for his work as the Grinch in the New York press tour of ''Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical'' He is the founder of his fashion com ...
    *
    Giovanni Giovanni may refer to: * Giovanni (name), an Italian male given name and surname * Giovanni (meteorology), a Web interface for users to analyze NASA's gridded data * ''Don Giovanni'', a 1787 opera by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, based on the legend of ...
    (Baritone) - Darren Dunstan * Mrs. Ketchum (Mezzo Soprano) -
    Dee Roscioli Dee Roscioli (born Danielle Marie Roscioli on July 20, 1977) is an American singer and actress, who is known for her performances as Elphaba in the Broadway, Chicago, San Francisco, and national touring productions of the musical ''Wicked''. Ea ...
    *
    Professor Oak Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...
    (Tenor) - Patrick Frankfort *
    Pikachu is a fictional species in the ''Pokémon'' media franchise. Designed by Atsuko Nishida and Ken Sugimori, Pikachu first appeared in the 1996 Japanese video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Green'' created by Game Freak and Nintendo, which were ...
    - Jennifer Risser (vocals recorded by
    Ikue Otani Ikue (written: 育江, 育恵, 郁恵, 郁絵 or いくえ in hiragana) is a feminine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese singer *, Japanese curler *, Japanese musician *, Japanese actress and voice actress *, J ...
    ) * Jessie (Mezzo Soprano) - Lauren Kling *
    James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...
    (Baritone/Tenor) -
    Andrew Rannells Andrew Scott Rannells (born August 23, 1978) is an American film, stage, television and voice actor. Rannells is best known for originating the role of Elder Kevin Price in the 2011 Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon'' for which he was nomin ...
    * Meowth - Kathleen Roche (vocals recorded by Maddie Blaustein) *
    Psyduck Psyduck (), known as in Japan, is a Pokémon species in Nintendo and Game Freak's ''Pokémon'' franchise. Created by Ken Sugimori, Psyduck first appeared in the video games ''Pokémon Red'' and ''Blue'' and later in sequels. They have later ...
    - Leah Smith (vocals recorded by Michael Haigney) * Mewtwo - Shaun Bradley (vocals recorded by
    Jay Goede A jay is a member of a number of species of medium-sized, usually colorful and noisy, passerine birds in the Crow family, Corvidae. The evolutionary relationships between the jays and the magpies are rather complex. For example, the Eurasian ...
    ) * Jigglypuff - Leah Smith (vocals recorded by Rachael Lillis) *
    Nurse Joy Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...
    - Natalie Weld *
    Officer Jenny An officer is a person who has a position of authority in a hierarchical organization. The term derives from Old French ''oficier'' "officer, official" (early 14c., Modern French ''officier''), from Medieval Latin ''officiarius'' "an officer," fro ...
    - Suzanne Wogisch *
    Dexter Dexter may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Dexter, the main character of the American animated series ''Dexter's Laboratory'' that aired from 1996 to 2003 * Dexter, a fictional character in the British Diary of a Bad Man#Main, web series ''Diar ...
    - Sinclair Mitchell


    Critical reception

    The play received negative reception from critics. Little Review said "Maybe it's different in Japan, but it's hard to imagine a Japanese version of Pokémon Live!. This show may be based on televised anime, but its antecedents lie in American musicals from ''
    The King and I ''The King and I'' is the fifth musical by the team of Rodgers and Hammerstein. It is based on Margaret Landon's novel '' Anna and the King of Siam'' (1944), which is in turn derived from the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, governess to the childre ...
    '' to ''
    Annie Annie may refer to: People and fictional characters * Annie (given name), a given name and a list of people and fictional characters with the name * Annie (actress) (born 1975), Indian actress * Annie (singer) (born 1977), Norwegian singer The ...
    '' to ''
    The Lion King ''The Lion King'' is a 1994 American animated musical drama film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The 32nd Disney animated feature film and the fifth produced during the Disney Renaissance, it ...
    '', with the Solid Gold Dancers and the Backstreet Boys mixed in. If you have a rudimentary knowledge of Pokémon and an enthusiastic underage companion, you'll find that you're having a good time even as your eyes roll towards the projection of Haunter on the ceiling."


    References


    Further reading

    *


    External links


    Index page of the first official site
    on radiocity.com, archived by the
    Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
    .
    Files from the second official site
    on ekidsinternet.com, archived by the Internet Archive.


    "Script & Print"
    links to three pages with script-content.
    "Showtime"
    links to the songs. *Script
    An early draft of the Pokémon Live! script

    The official script
    *Videos
    The complete show, as uploaded by its production manager

    A Making Of Featurette, as uploaded by its production manager

    A commercial for the show
    on
    YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

    Bulbapedia
    article about the show {{DEFAULTSORT:Pokemon Live! 2000 musicals Musicals based on anime and manga Off-Broadway musicals Rock musicals
    Live Live may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Live!'' (2007 film), 2007 American film * ''Live'' (2014 film), a 2014 Japanese film *'' ''Live'' (Apocalyptica DVD) Music *Live (band), American alternative rock band * List of albums ...