Now that Jacko and Manectric have grown so close, Cal takes the pokemon and drives off so he can use it in a power plant while Jacko stays behind and never sees it again.
Uh… success?
I laughed way too hard at this.
And I always had the impression that Gary was way above Ash in the first season, with Ash closing the gap over the course of the Orange Island and G/S/C episodes. Look at how thoroughly Gary was thrashing Viridian Gym before Mewtwo was brought out.