Pokemon Learning League

The Brain

Written By
Timothy Whitfield

(Episode opens with Serena, Iris, Axew, Ash, Pikachu and Cilan
on a boat on a clear blue day, with calm winds heading for
Torom Island. The boat docks at the pier and they all get off.
Cilan casually speaks to the audience.)
Cilan: Hello, guys.
Serena: Hi.
Ash: Hey, there.
Pikachu: Pika-Pi.
Iris: Hey.
Axew: Axew, Axew.
(They leave the pier and head down a path. A few minutes
later, they come to the Learning League headquarters. They see
Quinn and Diana doing some training with Combusken.)
Ash: Hey, guys.
(They turn around and see them.)
Quinn: Hey, how are you all doing?
Ash: Were great. What sort of training are you doing with
Combusken?
Diana: Were teaching it to do Poison Jab.
Serena: Thats interesting. Hows it going?
Quinn: Pretty well. Show them, Combusken.
Combusken: Coom-busken!!
(His claws glow purple and jabs at the sky.)
Ash: Thats cool!
Pikachu: Pika!
Quinn: Thanks.
Iris: What made you guys decide to teach it?
Diana: We just thought it would be a cool move for it to know.
Ash (understanding): I see.
Quinn: Now, we need to get back to it.
Iris: All right. See you later.
Axew: Axew.
(They head inside. They head down the hall and see Ada in the
kitchen making some lunch and Shuppet helping her out.)
Ada: Hey, guys. Hows it going?
Cilan: Were doing fine, Ada. What sort of dish are you making
today?
Ada: Its a black bean and couscous salad.
Cilan: Ahh. Is it a new recipe youre using?
Ada: Yes, it is.
(Shuppets eyes glow light blue and it raises up a pepper shaker.
It becomes surrounded in a light blue aura and is handed over
to Ada, who takes it.)
Iris: I see Shuppet is being a big help to you.
Shuppet (happily): Shuppet.
Ada: It sure has, and I finally got its random disappearing thing
under control.
Ash: How long until its ready?
Ada: Oh, itll will be ready soon.
Ash: Well, thats good. What else did you make?
Ada: Ive also made a carrot pineapple cake, a Reuben casserole
and an orange smoothie.
Ash: Mmm, that sounds great.
Pikachu: Pika.
Ada: Yep. Well see you guys later on for lunch, okay?
Shuppet: Shuppet.
Serena: All right.
(They head back down the hall and see Lex working on a full-
size model of Yveltal with a maquette beside him. Hes working
on one of the wings.)
Ash: Hey, Lex.
(He stops working on it and turns around.)
Lex: Hey, guys.
Iris: Wow, that model is looking good.
Axew: Axew.
Lex: Yep. Its really coming along well.
Cilan: Mind if I ask what is it?
Lex: Sure. This here is a Yveltal.
Cilan (intrigued): I see. How much more do you have to do?
Lex: I only have the head and torso and the feet left to do, and
itll be done.
Ash: Good luck with it.
Lex: Thanks, guys.
(They head over to the next room, where they see Siara working
on a mechanical brain.)
Siara: Hey, guys.
Iris: Hey, Siara. What are you working on there?
Siara: This is a special brain for the animatronic.
Serena: Oh, how come?
Siara: I want it to be able to think on its own, sense, taste and
work just like a real human brain.
Ash (impressed): Wow! Thats incredible!
Pikachu (impressed): Pika!
Siara: It is, and also incredibly hard, but itll all be worth it.
Serena: By the way, Siara, how exactly does the brain work?
Siara: Oh, boy. Its very complicated. Look over here.
(Pan over to a monitor.)
Siara: The brain is made up of 100 billion neurons. They can
gather and transmit electrochemical signals that can transmit
them over several feet.
(As she talks about it, the images animate the actions.)
Cilan: Thats interesting.
Siara: Thats not all. There are three types of them: the motor
neurons, which control muscle contractions, the sensory
neurons, which controls the five senses, and the interneurons
can carry various info between the two.
Serena: Okay, what makes up the brain?
Siara: Its made up of various parts. You have the brain stem,
which consists of the medulla, the pons, the thalamus and
hypothalamus and the midbrain, and they each play important
roles.
Cilan: How so?
Siara: The medulla regulates blood pressure and breathing, the
pons relay movement and position info from the cerebellum to
the cortex and it also handles breathing, taste and sleep. The
midbrain links various parts dealing with motor control, eye
movement and sound control.
Cilan: Ahh, I see.
Siara: The thalamus sends incoming sensory pathways to the
right areas of the cortex and determines where each of them
will go. Lastly, the hypothalamus controls hormonal secretions
and is involved in almost every aspect of behavior.
Iris: All right, whats next?
Siara: Next, theres the cerebellum. It transmits information
from the vestibular system that gives you sense of balance and
motor control.
Serena: Anything else?
Siara: Lastly, theres the cerebrum. Its the largest part of the
brain and where all the information it receives gets interpreted
and is made up of many lobes.
Cilan: And what are those lobes?
Siara: Theres the parietal lobe, which handles and processes
somatosensory, or touch. Then, theres the frontal lobe, which
does speech and cognitive functions.
Ash:
Siara: Next, theres the occipital lobe, which gets and processes
info directly from the eyes, and finally theres the temporal
lobe, which processes sound info from the ears and relays them
to the frontal and parietal lobes.
Ash: Man, you werent kidding about it being complex.
Siara: It is, which is why Im going to show you something.
Serena: Sure.
(She changes the image on the monitor to an image of a brain.)
Siara: You guys ready for it?
Ash: You bet.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
Siara: All right, then. What is this here? (A small part of the
back of the brain lights up.)
Ash: Thats the occipital lobe.
Siara: All right, Ash. How about this? (The top of the brain light
up.)
Serena: Its the parietal lobe.
Siara: Very good, Serena. Now, what is this here? (The front
part of the brain lights up.)
Iris: Its the frontal lobe.
Siara: Good one, Iris. Now, which lobe is this? (The innermost
part of the brain lights up.)
Cilan: Thats the temporal lobe.
Siara: You got it, Cilan. What is this here? (The area underneath
the temporal lobe part of the brain lights up.)
Serena: Thats the brainstem.
Siara: (The bottom part of the brain lights up.)
Ash: Its the cerebellum.
Siara: You got it, Ash. You guys are doing great so far.
Iris: Thanks, Siara.
Axew: Axew, Axew.
Siara: No problem, Iris. If youll guys excuse me, Im going to
get more parts for the brain. Then, well continue with this.
Ash: Okay, Siara.
(Siara walks out of the room.)
Cilan: Guys, lets go over what we know.
Serena: All right, Cilan, but lets see if the audience wants to do
it.
Iris: Okay. (She looks at the viewers.) You guys up for it? (She
waits for an answer from the viewers.) Okay. What are the
three types of neurons? (She waits for an answer from the
viewers.) Motor, sensory and interneurons. All right.
Ash: What does the medulla do? (He waits for an answer from
the viewers.) It controls breathing and blood pressure. You got
it.
Serena: What do the parietal lobe do? (She waits for an answer
from the viewers.) It handles touch. Okay, then.
Cilan: What does the cerebellum do? (He waits for an answer
from the viewers.) It integrates info from the vestibular system
and gives you sense of balance. Very good.
Ash: Way to go, guys.
Pikachu: Pika-chu.
(Siara returns with the parts. She places them on the table.)
Siara: All right, you guys ready to go on?
Ash: You bet. Lets see if the viewers are up for this before we
do.
Serena: All right. (She looks at the viewers.) You ready to do it?
(She waits for an answer from the viewers.) Very well.
(Pan back up to the monitor and we see an image of the
brainstem.)
Ash: Okay, lets do it. What is this here? (The uppermost part
lights up and he waits for an answer from the viewers.) The
thalamus. All right.
Iris: Now, whats this right here? (An inner small area lights up
and she waits for an answer from the viewers.) The
hypothalamus. Okay, then.
Cilan: What is this part here? (The lower half of a bulb on the
stem lights up and he waits for an answer from the viewers.)
The medulla. Yep.
Serena: How about this? (The upper half of the bulb light up
and she waits for an answer from the viewers.) The pons. You
got it.
Iris: Finally, what is this? (A section of the stem lights up and she
waits for an answer from the viewers.) The midbrain. Oh,
yeah.
(Pan back over to them and Serena speaks.)
Serena: You guys did great.
Cilan: Hey, Siara. How long will it take for you to finish the
brain?
Siara: Its going to take a long while before Im through with
this.
(Ada comes over to the room.)
Ada: Guys, lunch is now ready.
All: Okay.
Pikachu: Pika.
Axew: Axew.
(We dissolve outside the HQ and see everyone having lunch.)
Pikachu (satisfied): Chuu.
Axew (satisfied): Axew.
Combusken (satisfied): Busken.
Shuppet (satisfied): Shuppet.
Serena (satisfied): Mmm, this is really good, Ada.
Ada: Thanks, Serena.
(Pan over to Cilan and Quinn and Diana.)
Cilan: Well, you guys have been doing a great job with
Combusken.
Quinn: Thanks, Cilan. Weve been trying hard with him.
Cilan: Thats good.
Diana: There are a few more moves were going to teach it.
Cilan: What kind of moves?
Diana: Oh, youll see.
(Now, we pan over to Ash and Siara.)
Ash: So, Siara, what the animatronic going to be like when its
done?
Siara: Its going to be great. Itll be a big help for us and the rest
of the island.
Ash (amazed): Ahh, thats cool.
(They all turn to the viewers.)
All: Thanks, guys.
Pikachu: Pikachu.
Axew: Axew.
(Cut to them relaxing and their Pokemon playing with each
other.)
Iris: That was a good episode. Did you like it? (She waits for an
answer from the viewers.) All right. Then, well see you later.
(They all wave goodbye to the viewers and they chat with each
other and it irises out, ending the episode.)