Pokémon Learning League

Area of a Rectangle

Written By

Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens up with Ash, Pikachu, Dawn, Piplup, Serena and Brock en route to Nuvema Town via Unova Route One on a mostly sunny afternoon, with some wind blowing in. Stratocumulus clouds blow across the sky. Ash stretches out his arms and sighs.)

Ash: Man, it feels great out today.

Pikachu: Pika.

Dawn: It sure does.

Piplup: Pip, Piplup.

(As they continue on, they see a Deerling eating grass, a flock of Pidove roosting in the trees, Scatterbugs climbing up them, Flabebe resting in the shade, a loveliness of Ledyba & Ledian fly by, a Cherrim basking in the sunlight and some Tangela fighting over territory.)

Serena: So, Ash. Where are going once we get into town?

Ash: We’re going over to Professor Juniper’s lab.

Brock: Tell us, Ash. What’s Juniper like, anyway?

Ash: Oh, she’s a great professor. She has a way of training & treating the Pokemon she keeps at the lab.

Brock: I see.

(They continue onward. Twenty-one minutes later, they arrive at Nuvema Town, where they see the various homes & shops as they go along. Minutes later, they come to the lab.)

Ash: Here we are.

(Just as they’re about to go in, they spot a young trainer named Anna coming to the lab, as well. She has short green hair in a bun, green eyes and is wearing a purple shirt, cargo shorts and flats.)

Serena: Oh. Hi, there.

Anna: Hello. My name’s Anna.

Ash: Nice to meet you. I’m Ash, and this is Pikachu.

Pikachu: Pika, Pikachu

Dawn: I’m Dawn, this is Piplup.

Piplup: Piplup.

Serena: I’m Serena.

Brock: And I’m Brock. I take it you’ve come to get your starter Pokemon?

(She nods her head.)

Brock: That’s great.

(They head inside the lab. Once there, they see one of Juniper’s assistants, Miguel, working on a machine. He has black hair, blue eyes and is wearing a white lab coat, a blue shirt underneath it, jeans and loafers.)

Ash: Excuse me, do you know where Prof. Juniper is?

Miguel: Of course. She’s out back doing some training.

Ash: All right, thanks.

Miguel: You’re welcome.

(They head out back, and as they go along, they see a small garden filled some rare flowers & berries and a roosting area for flying type Pokemon. A flock of Tranquil, Pidgeotto and Fletchinder are resting in it. Moments later, they stop to find Professor Juniper training with the starter Pokemon. The Snivy is a blueish-green color, Tepig is a golden color, its tail tip & snout are a bright pink color and the top of its head and the behind are a lighter shade of brown. Oshawatt has a pink nose, its head is a beige white and its body is slightly darker shade of blue. Juniper is wearing a yellow t-shirt with a blue Pokeball symbol on it, tight jeans and training sneakers.)

Juniper: Okay, let’s do another round. Oshawatt, Razor Shell.

Oshawatt: Osha.

(It grabs the scalchop on its stomach and it starts to glow brightly. Now, a light blue aura appears around it and Oshawatt swings it once. The aura around it stretches and hardens behind it, becoming an energy blade. Oshawatt slashes at the bullseye, leaving a scratch mark on it.)

Juniper: Good. Now, Tepig, use Flamethrower.

(It opens its mouth and fires a stream of red-orange fire from it at the bullseye, landing a direct hit & leaving a scorch mark on it.)

Juniper: Snivy, do Leaf Tornado.

Snivy: Sni.

(Snivy starts spinning its body around and flips so that it spins on its head with its tail straight up in the air. Then, a large tornado of wind with circles of light green energy spin around it appears at the tip of its tail. The tornado sticks to the tail. Now, it swings on its side and catches the bullseye in it. Light green energy circles separate into light green glowing leaves that spin around inside the tornado with the bullseye. The winds starts glowing green and Snivy swings it around, slamming it into the ground. It clears up, leaving the bullseye behind.)

Juniper: Excellent. You three have gotten a lot better.

Snivy: Snivy.

Oshawatt: Oshawatt.

Tepig: Tepig.

(She gives out special Pokemon food to them. Ash & the gang come over to them.)

Ash: Hi, Professor Juniper.

(She turns around and sees them.)

Juniper: Hi, Ash. How have you been doing?

Ash: Been doing very well.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Juniper: That’s good to hear.

Ash: I’d like you to meet Brock, Dawn & Serena.

All: Hello.

Juniper: Hey. (She looks over to Anna.) Ahh, you must be Anna.

Anna: Uh-huh.

Juniper: It’s nice to meet you. Sorry you had to find me doing this.

Anna: It’s okay. It was pretty interesting?

Juniper: Oh, good. So, you ready to make your choice?

Anna: Yes, I am.

Juniper: All right, go right ahead.

(She kneels down to their level carefully analyzes them. Eventually, she chooses Snivy.)

Juniper: Very well, and here’s your Pokedex and Pokeballs.

(She hands them to her.)

Anna: Thank you.

Juniper: You’re welcome. Now, if you guys will excuse me, I have to go make the flying Pokemon some lunch.

(She heads back into the lab.)

Anna (pondering): Hmm.

Brock: What are you thinking about, Anna?

Anna: I was thinking, “wouldn’t it be nice to make a special corral for the new starter Pokemon”?

Dawn: That sounds look a good idea.

Brock: Yeah, but we should make it feel comfy for them.

Serena: You’re right, Brock. Let’s add in a play area for them.

Ash: Okay. We can also put in a relaxation area.

Dawn: Yeah, and it should have a play area, too.

Anna: Anything else we need?

(They all ponder for a brief moment.)

Dawn: Let’s see if Ada has any suggestions.

(She takes out the Pokepilot, turns it on and calls up Ada, who is working on a musical score.)

Ada: Hello, guys. How’s it going?

Brock: We’re doing well, Ada. How about you?

Ada: I’m doing well. Just finishing up on this musical composition.

Dawn: Oh, good. What kind of music is it?

Ada: It’s a classic rock melody.

Ash: Oh. That’s pretty cool.

Ada: Thanks. (She takes notice of Anna.) Oh, hello. I’m Ada.

Anna: Hey. I’m Anna.

Ada: So, what are you guys doing?

Ash: We’re visiting Prof. Juniper’s lab.

Ada: That’s good. What else?

Brock: Anna thought of making a special corral for the starter Pokemon, and we want to make it comfortable for them. So you had any suggestions for it?

Ada: Sure I do. If you want to make it very comfortable for the Pokemon, try thinking about how much area they’re going to need.

Anna: Okay, but how will we know if the area’s large enough?

Ada: The way to do that is actually very simple. To start with, you need to find the width & length of the rectangle. For example, this rectangle here is 9in in length & 8in in width.

(As she talks, the sides of the rectangle highlight to her words.)

Ash: All right, now what?

Ada: Now, you multiply them together. For this one, it comes out as 72in.

Dawn: Now, what’s left?

Ada: Lastly, you state the answer in square units. It’s worth noting that there are two ways of representing it: either as 72 in.sq. or as 72in^2.

Anna: Boy that is pretty simple.

Ada: Yeah, it is. I know it isn’t all that interesting on its own, but it can make quite a difference if you know how to creatively use it, which is why I’m going to show you something.

Serena: Okay, Ada.

(Pan up to an upper showing three situations involving getting the right area of a rectangle. Each one has their width and length measured out.)

Ada: You guys ready to go?

Dawn: You bet.

Piplup: Pip-lup.

Ada: Very well, then. This Pokemon Professor is building a roaming area for the trainers’ Pokemon to relax in. How much area does it have?

Brock: 3000ft^2.

Ada: You got it, Brock. Now, this woman is making a berry garden and is going to fill it with the rarest berries you can find. What would the area of it be?

Serena: 440ft^2.

Ada: Very good, Serena. Lastly, this day care couple is building a special play area for the newly hatched Pokemon. How much area will it have?

Anna: 500ft^2.

Ada: You got it, Anna. Great work, you guys.

Serena: Thank you, Ada.

Ada: No problem, Serena. Now, I better get back to this composition. See you later, guys and good luck on that corral.

Ash: Thanks, Ada.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

(Dawn turns the Pokepilot off and puts it back in her bag.)

Brock: So, Anna, before we get started on this, what do you plan to do on your journey?

Anna: I plan on becoming a great Pokemon researcher.

Brock: That’s pretty good. I hope you that goes well for you.

Anna (appreciatively): Thanks, Brock.

Ash: Now, let’s get started on this.

Serena: Okay, Ash, but let’s see if the audience if up for this.

Ash: All right. (He turns over to the audience.) Hey, you guys up for this? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, okay.

(Dissolve to a diagram of the corral that also shows what’s going to be in it.)

Ash (V.O.): Okay, let’s get to it. What do you think the length should be? (He casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) 15 feet. Okay, then.

Dawn (V.O.): All right, what do you think the width should be? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) 30 feet. Sure, why not.

Serena (V.O.): Lastly, what is the area of the corral? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) 450ft^2. You got it.

(Dissolve back to the gang and Brock casually speaks to the audience.)

Brock (casually): Good job, you guys. (He turns over to the others.) Okay, guys. Let’s get to work.

(Now, a montage goes on where we see them planning out how’s it going to look & working out where everything will go. Now, they start building the corral. They build the fence, make the relaxation & feeding sections, and a small play area. Montage ends with them looking over the completed corral.)

Dawn: It looks pretty good.

Ash: Yeah.

Pikachu: Pika.

(They go over to the roosting area, where Professor Juniper is giving the flocks their food.)

Juniper: There you are. Hope you enjoy it.

(They start pecking away at the food.)

Anna (invitingly): Prof. Juniper, we have something to show you.

Juniper (intrigued): Oh? Okay.

(They show her over to the same spot & show her the corral.)

Juniper (surprised): Whoa. This looks pretty good.

Brock: Thanks, Professor. We think the Pokemon will like it, too.

Juniper: Yeah, they will.

(Anna turns over to Ash.)

Anna: So, Ash, what do you say we have a battle?

Ash: Oh, you bet.

Pikachu: Pika, Pikachu.

(They go out to the middle of the field and get into their battling stances. Anna pulls out her Pokedex and checks what other moves Snivy knows.)

Ash: So, you ready to go Pikachu?

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Ash: Great. (He glances over to the audience.) And no, this won’t turn out like our first battle with Trip.

Anna (confused): Uh, Ash, are you sure about using Pikachu?

Ash (confidently): Don’t worry about it. You’ll see.

(He turns his hat around.)

Juniper: And begin!

Anna: Snivy, use Leaf Blade!

Snivy: Snivy.

(The leaf at the end of its tail gets surrounded by a wavy light green aura. Then, it slashes Pikachu with it, leaving behind a light green trail of energy. The attack deals some damage to it.)

Ash: Pikachu, Use Iron Tail!

Pikachu: Chu!

(Pikachu’s tail becomes surrounded in white sparkles and then gets surrounded in a white outline and then turns to iron.)

Pikachu: Pika!

(He turns around and heads towards Snivy with it, landing a hit and doing damage to it.)

Ash: Now, use Quick Attack!

(He starts running fast towards Snivy and a white outline surrounds his body.)

Anna: Dodge it and use Slam!

(Snivy swiftly moves out of the way, narrowly missing the attack. Now, it lashes out one of its vines, grabs Pikachu and slams it into the ground dealing great damage to it.)

Anna: Now, use Vine Whip!

(Two small pale yellow lights flash around the collar area and Snivy's green skin meet and a pair of green vines that are the same color as the skin comes out from in between them. Snivy lashes them out at Pikachu.)

Ash: Quick, dodge it!

Pikachu: Pika!

(He jumps up and zig-zags around the vines, narrowly missing them each time.)

Ash: Now use Electro Ball!

Pikachu: Pika! Chu!

(All the electricity condenses at the end of his tail and forms into an orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off it.)

Pikachu: Pika!

(He throws it at Snivy, hitting and doing some damage to it.)

Anna: That was a pretty good, Ash.

Ash: Thanks. Now, Pikachu, Thunderbolt!

Pikachu: Pika-chuuu!!!!

(He fires a powerful bolt of yellow electricity at Snivy, directly hitting and doing some damage to it.)

Anna: All right. Snivy, Leaf Tornado!

(Snivy starts spinning its body around and flips so that it spins on its head with its tail straight up in the air. Then, a large tornado of wind with circles of light green energy spin around it appears at the tip of its tail. The tornado sticks to the tail. Now, it swings on its side and catches Pikachu in it. Light green energy circles separate into light green glowing leaves that spin around inside the tornado with Pikachu. The winds starts glowing green and Snivy swings it around, slamming it into the ground. It clears up, leaving Pikachu on the ground, having done significant damage to it. He gets back up.)

Ash: Pikachu, you okay?

(He turns arounds affirmatively nods his head.)

Ash: Good. Use Volt Tackle!

(Pikachu starts running really fast towards Snivy and his body becomes surrounded in golden electricity. He tackles it, doing significant damage to it & scuffing it up. Pikachu gets a little scuffed up himself and little yellow sparks of electricity surround his body.)

Anna: Snivy, counter with Leaf Storm!

Snivy: Snivy.

(It jumps into the air & multiple glowing green leaves start spinning around its body. Now, it fires them at Pikachu, hitting him and doing damage.)

Brock: Anna’s doing really well.

Serena: Yeah, she is.

Ash: All right, time to take it up. Pikachu, ThunderBolt and then Electro Ball!

Pikachu: Pika-chuuu!!!

(He fires a powerful bolt of yellow electricity into the air. Then, all the electricity condenses at the end of his tail and forms into an orange-yellow orb of electricity with sparks of yellow electricity coming off it. The ball absorbs the power from the Thunderbolt, grows in size and becomes bright blue.)

Pikachu: Pika!

(He does a front flip & throws it at Snivy, directly hitting and doing a great amount of damage.)

Anna: All right, we’ll show you. Snivy, use Vine Whip, then Slam!

(Two small pale yellow lights flash around the collar area and Snivy's green skin meet and a pair of green vines that are the same color as the skin comes out from in between them. Snivy lashes them out at Pikachu, who evades the first vine, but gets lashed by the second one. Then, that same vine grabs onto Pikachu, lifts him up and slams him into the ground, doing a great amount of damage.)

Dawn: Oh, that’s a good combination.

Piplup: Pip-lup.

Anna: Now, do Leaf Storm!

(It jumps into the air & multiple glowing green leaves start spinning around its body. Now, it fires them at Pikachu, hitting him and doing damage.)

Ash: Counter with Iron Tail!

Pikachu: Chu!

(Pikachu’s tail becomes surrounded in white sparkles and then gets surrounded in a white outline and then turns to iron.)

Pikachu: Pika!

(He turns around and heads towards Snivy with it, landing a hit and doing damage to it.)

Ash: Now, use Quick Attack, then Iron Tail again!

(He starts running fast towards Snivy and a white outline surrounds his body. He tackles it, doing damage to it. Now, he swings around, his tail becomes surrounded in white sparkles and then gets surrounded in a white outline and then turns to iron.)

Pikachu: Pika!

(He turns around and heads towards Snivy with it, landing a hit and doing damage to it.)

Anna: Snivy, use Leaf Storm again, then go into Leaf Tornado!

(It jumps into the air & multiple glowing green leaves start spinning around its body. It fires the leaves at Pikachu. Now, Snivy starts spinning its body around and flips so that it spins on its head with its tail straight up in the air. Then, a large tornado of wind with circles of light green energy spin around it appears at the tip of its tail. The tornado sticks to the tail. Now, it swings on its side and catches Pikachu in it. Light green energy circles separate into light green glowing leaves that spin around inside the tornado with Pikachu. The winds starts glowing

green and Snivy swings it around, slamming it into the ground. It clears up, leaving Pikachu on the ground, having done significant damage to it.)

Ash: Pikachu, can you get up?

(He manages to stand back up, but just barely.)

Ash: All right. Thanks, buddy.

Pikachu (tired): Pika.

Anna: Snivy, finish this with Leaf Blade!

(The leaf at the end of its tail gets surrounded by a wavy light green aura. Now, it slashes it out at Pikachu.)

Ash: Dodge that!

(Pikachu quickly moves out of the way, and Snivy slams its tail into the ground.)

Ash: Now, use Thunderbolt, then go into Volt Tackle!

Pikachu: Pika! Pika-chuuu!!!

(He fires a powerful bolt of yellow electricity into the air. Then, he starts running really fast towards Snivy and his body becomes surrounded in golden electricity. The power from the Thunderbolt fuses with the Volt Tackle, turning the golden electricity to a bright blue color. Pikachu tackles Snivy, dealing a great amount of damage and knocking it out.)

Juniper: Snivy cannot continue. Pikachu’s the winner, and the victory goes to Ash.

Ash: Way to go, buddy.

Pikachu: Pika-chu

Anna: Snivy, you were amazing out there.

Snivy: Sni-vy.

(Ash & Pikachu walk over to them.)

Ash (complementing): Anna, you really put up a great battle

Anna: Thanks, Ash. It was a lot of fun.

(The others come over to them. Serena pulls out a bag of Poke Puffs.)

Serena: Here you are, Anna.

(She hands her the bag, which she takes.)

Anna: Thanks, Serena.

Brock: Something tells me you’re going to make plenty of friends along the way.

Anna: You really think so?

(He nods his head.)

Anna (realizing): Oh.

(They all turn over to the audience.)

All (casually): Thanks a lot, guys.

Pikachu: Pika-chu.

Piplup: Piplup.

(Dissolve to moments later, where we see them chatting with one another.)

Dawn: That was an interesting episode. Did you enjoy it? (She casually waits for an answer from the audience for one second.) Oh, good. We’ll see you next time.

(They casually wave goodbye to the audience, resume their chatting and we iris in, ending the episode.)