The First-Generation Surfing Theme

Yet another iconic music piece from the first-generation Pokémon games is the surfing music or theme. This is the music that plays when the player uses a Pokémon to go across water, which is done by the move Surf, and hence is called "surfing". True to many other pieces from the games (like the bicycle theme I discussed way back in the early days of this blog), it is also featured in the anime in certain instances, and this helps to tie together the two realms.

Compared to other music pieces from the games, this is a piece with a lighter tone. This is obviously true for the battle pieces, but it also applies in a sense to the "route" music pieces as well. Whereas the "route" pieces sound like they demand a strong sense of movement, the surfing music leaves room for calmer, gentler movement. Certainly this has to be because the player is floating on water, and by floating, the player is almost literally free to drift to different places. The particular music piece is appreciable for capturing that feeling.

For me, though, the "drifting" feeling of the music makes me want to drift elsewhere. I want to drift not on water, and not in a vehicle (as could be expected), but on the dance floor - in other words, I want to dance to it. More specifically, I want to dance the waltz to it. The 12-beat nature of the piece is adaptable to a 3-count, which means I can use it for a waltz. I've tried it out on my own, and it seems to really work. What I need for a real waltz, though, is a partner who'd do it with me. It would be intriguing to realize this.

The surfing music is well-composed for its situation in the games, allowing players to feel a different sense of freedom on water terrain. I also like it because it inspires me to take up the freedom to dance to it. Aroused feelings like this are what I like about many music pieces of the Pokémon games, and because of this, the piece is totally deserving of an iconic status.