Go My Dear One, and Pursue Your Dreams

Go, my dear one,
Pursue your dreams
While there's still time;
Don't worry about me -
I'm willing to part
For your own good;
May they be achieved,
All your dreams.
-- "Pergilah Kasih" ("Go, My Dear One"), Chrisye (translated)

While on the way home from the event from Sunday, my friend and I discussed some of the episodes of the Pokémon anime, including the 1000-episode situation. Certain episodes came up in the discussion, and one of them was the Butterfree episode from the Kanto saga. It's a high point for the series, as Ash releases the first Pokémon that he had caught, and it's an emotional one. It is as emotional as the song that I quoted above, and I find that this song does make me think of this episode.

The message of the song is of saying goodbye to a loved one so that the loved one may pursue dreams for the greater good. It's a breakup song, in a nutshell. However, in another sense, it's not a total breakup, as the two people may still be in love, or at the very least maintain some kind of a bond. It opens the possibility that the two people may be able to be reunited in some manner.

The same is true of Butterfree, or for that matter, many of the Pokémon that Ash chose to release. They were released so they could fulfill their desires to make them better, while they are separated. Yet for Ash and his Pokémon, separation is not total, as on occasion Ash has reunited with those that separated. While this has not yet been realized for certain ones of his Pokémon, it's not hard to believe that it just might happen in the future.

This song is deeply poignant, which is just about true for any song about breakups. When Ash let go of Butterfree, it was an extremely poignant breakup as well. Still, the reason for the breakup was for pursuit of good things, which this song does speak of. It's only natural, then, that the episode and this song go hand-in-hand; the emotions that arose in the episode are perfectly encapsulated in the song. And just perhaps, Ash would agree.