Had this episode on VHS back in the day & yeah the first season of the anime was seriously weird in hindsight with this being a standout example. The 'early installment quirkiness' gives it its own charm outside of the nostalgia factor even if the battles left a lot to be desired.
I love how batshit early Pokémon media was. Things could just happen and be unexplained because even Pokemon themselves didn’t know the lore solidly enough yet, like yeah have a talking Gastly in the anime who summons a mongoose, have an Arbok be cut in half and be fine in the Manga. No rules needed
This episode scared me so much as a kid that I started sleeping with the lights on. I was 6 or 7 years old when I watched it. I never experienced fear and anxiety like that before
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It's been a long time since I watched the anime, but I feel like they kind of hand-waved some of the more surreal shit in the Sabrina arc.