This delightful (and, even, environmentally conscious) animated series tracks heroes Ash, Pikachu, Misty, Brock, May, Max, as they travel to exotic lands to discover and train Pokémon, an almost limitless variety of painfully cute cartoon creatures. The Pokémon occasionally lend a hand when the gang is threatened by Team Rocket, the criminals whose sole mission in life is to steal Pokémon for their own morbid purposes. These thirty episodes begins with a trip to the Whirl Islands, where the spiked pink Corsola helps guide back to safety after they are thrown from their boat in a whirlpool. Other highlights include Ash and using a hot air balloon to help a particularly determined Pidgy fly higher. Ash receives a rare Pokémon egg, which is stolen by, of course, evil Team Rocket. When the egg is recovered, it hatches and a blue elephant-type creature called a Phanpy emerges, escapes, and proves to be very tricky to catch. Ash and friends meet a flock of psychic bird creatures known as Xatu. The town doubts the accuracy of the Xatu's predictions, and is quickly losing faith, but the Xatu have warned villagers that their town is great danger of a catastrophic event. From the Whirl Island to Blackthorn City, Ash and his Pokémon friends encounter countless adventures of both the natural and supernatural kind.