Catch Me If...

Oh... Come on, try to catch me

Oh... Catch me if you can!

Oh... Come on, try to catch me

Oh... Catch me... if you can!

(Come on, come on, catch me now!)

(Catch me, Pokémon!)

(Can you come and catch me? Can you now?)

(You can't catch me anyhow!)

-- "Catch Me If You Can", Angela Via

What quite a few of Pokémon or Pokémon-related music or songs have in common is that they are especially uplifting, bringing up when one is down and keeping up when one is up. This song from the English side of the first feature film or movie, or rather, it fits into the pre-movie Pikachu short, where it is indeed played. Specifically, this occurs during an especially highly competitive scene involving the Pokémon, and therefore it fits in well with the scene.

This electronic pop number actually has a quite complex structure to it. The chorus along with its "running verse" as quoted above are repeated several times throughout the song, especially at the end where the two merge - which is why it's a "running verse", for it can be and is sung together. There is also a pre-chorus (or some people call it the "hook") that nicely transitions the verses into the chorus. Other than that, plus an initial chorus, the song pretty much follows a standard pop format, which is perfectly fine.

The song's message is as I've hinted at the beginning of this post. If one is down, one ought to lift oneself up, while if one is up, one ought to remain to feel that way - in fact, one also ought to try to be a "breakthrough" to lead the pack, get to the top, and so on and so forth, a message often repeated in many Pokémon songs. Besides the fact of it being featured as part of the movie and on its soundtrack, it could be hard to tell at first if the song is really a Pokémon song if it weren't for the mention in the "running verse" as above.

The song ends up being rather "catchy" (ahem) and rather in tune with Pokémon, for which elements of "catch" are always involved. Perhaps what is most important given the song is being able to "catch the moment" to become good or to stay that way. Whether an actual Pokémon race is involved, or maybe just a race to catch them, there is something to take heart about the better side of things with this song.

One year ago: The First Johto Saga Japanese Opening Theme

Two years ago: Rearranged Pokémon Music

Three years ago: How Far Do People Know Pokémon?