Todd (Pokémon)
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| Todd Snap | |
|---|---|
 Todd getting ready to take a snapshot in the anime series. |
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| Japanese name | トール (Tōru) |
| Voice actor(s) (English) | Jimmy Zoppi |
| Voice actor(s) (Japanese) | Kappei Yamaguchi |
| First appearances | |
| Game | Pokémon Snap |
| Anime episode | Ep. 54, "Pokémon Paparazzi" |
| In-Universe Information | |
| Occupation | Roving Pokémon photographer |
Todd (トール Tōru?) is a fictional character in the Pokémon anime and the protagonist of the Spin-off Nintendo 64 Title Pokémon Snap, where Todd is referred to as Snap. Todd appears in the Pokémon Special manga as a reporter on assignment on the Battle Frontier.
Todd is voiced by Kappei Yamaguchi in the Japanese version and was voiced by Jimmy Zoppi in the English dub.
[edit] In the anime
In the Pokémon anime, the character is not referred to as "Todd" in his first three appearances, only as Snap. It hasn't been explicitly explained by any outside sources why this is, though it is likely because the name Todd hadn't been made official by Nintendo of America at that point and the dub writers needed a name, so picked the name of the game he appeared in to be his surname. However, when the episodes premiered on Kids' WB!, his name was reverted to Todd. A brief synopsis of his contributions follows:
Ash, Brock, Misty, Pikachu and Togepi meet Snap in the first season of the Pokémon anime (commonly known as the Indigo Season since Ash is competing in the Kanto Indigo League throughout the course of those episodes) in the episode entitled "Pokémon Paparazzi".
In the episode, Snap shows off his handiwork to the main characters. His home is filled with photographs of Pokémon he's taken in the wild, with Misty commenting on how happy the Pokémon look. Snap mentions he much prefers to take pictures of wild Pokémon rather than have them pose (likely an allusion to the Pokémon Snap game).
Snap tries to get a good picture of Pikachu. However, Pikachu is frightened by the flash of the camera and Ash won't let Snap take a photo. Ash spends some time, to his great amusement, causing all kinds of problems for Snap meaning he just can't get a good photograph of Pikachu. It is revealed to the viewers, through Snap's flashback, that he has been requested to get a photograph of Pikachu by an elderly couple. It doesn't take the viewers an awful lot to realise the couple are Team Rocket, but Snap remains blissfully unaware of this.
Things come to a head when Team Rocket plant one of their patented holes and Snap does his best to help Ash and friends out of it. Team Rocket are confused as to why Snap would help the "twerps". It turns out that Team Rocket heard Snap was the best around when it came to capturing Pokémon, not realising that meant he was good at capturing them on film- something Meowth instantly regrets not reading properly when Jessie and James punish him for it! Ash and Pikachu fall into an underground sewer and are swept away by the current. Snap follows them and tells them to grab onto something as there's a waterfall at the end of the tunnel!
With nothing to grab onto, Snap extends his camera and tripod so Ash and Pikachu can hold onto it. Team Rocket show up and begin hurling blaster balls. Just as things look to be the worst, Ash takes the opportunity to play up to the vanity of Team Rocket, telling them to say "cheese" for the camera. He tells James to look to the left and James suddenly realises why- he's still holding a lit blaster ball which goes off in his hand! Distracted, Team Rocket are taken care of by Ash's Bulbasaur and defeated once more. Misty and Brock arrive on the scene to see Ash and Pikachu pulled to safety, surprised to see Ash and Snap behaving like friends!
In the following episode, "The Ultimate Test", Snap doesn't particularly contribute very much. The episode is very heavy on Ash, Jessie and James and doesn't really feature very much of any of the other characters. Snap does manage to take some Pokémon action shots, however, and even manages to take a picture of Ash bearing an uncanny resemblance to a Weezing!
The final episode in this series Snap appears in is "The Breeding Center Secret", the episode that follows "The Ultimate Test". It is worthy of note that this is the first episode to feature Butch and Cassidy (see the Team Rocket page for more information on this duo) and it is thanks in part to Snap that they are foiled. Butch and Cassidy are running a phony breeding center and Snap is able to take photos which prove the Pokémon are being mistreated. Unfortunately, his camera is stolen by Cassidy and it is Pikachu and Misty who save the day! At the end of the episode, the gang reach a fork in the road- symbolic indeed, as they split up and go their separate ways.
During the Johto League Champions season, Snap returned briefly and joined up with Ash and Friends to try to get a picture of the legendary bird Pokémon Articuno in a three-episode saga. In "Moving Pictures", Snap is addressed as Todd and the three episodes each call him this, also making out as if he had never been referred to as Snap in the first place.
In "Moving Pictures", Ash, Misty, Brock, Pikachu and Togepi meet up with Todd who informs them he is in search of Articuno. He doesn't want to sell the photo for the money it would surely bring him, he just wants the honour of taking the picture of the legendary bird. They all decide to look for Articuno together. The gang meet an elderly couple, Sophia and Marcello, who tell them that each year on their wedding anniversary they have their picture taken in a field of Sunflora. At the end of the episode, Todd takes their picture, after a blizzard is thawed out so that the Sunflora can return. The gang realise that Articuno must be linked to the blizzard.
In "Spring Fever", the following episode, the kids meet Rory, a man who searches for hot springs with the help of his daughter and his Graveler and three Swinub, Sue, Ine and Ubb. Todd doesn't play a particularly large role in this episode, though he does spot Articuno and so is spurred on to get a picture of the bird.
Todd's final appearance to date is in the following episode, "Freeze Frame". The kids hear of a legend from Officer Jenny and Nurse Joy of how Articuno supposedly once saved three travellers from certain death- round about the time Articuno does just that for Team Rocket! Not long after, the kids set out to find Articuno, with Team Rocket lurking in tow. Articuno saves the gang from a deadly fall, proving once again the truth behind the legend. Team Rocket, ungrateful for being saved, attempt to capture Articuno. Of course, they fail and Articuno willingly allows Todd to take its picture. Ash and Todd realise Articuno must have sensed all along that's what Todd wanted.
At the end of the episode, Todd decides to stay in the mountains to take pictures of the Pokémon there. It is unknown whether or not he will ever appear in the animé again, but it is certainly not something that should be dismissed.
[edit] In the games
Todd has only made one appearance in the Pokémon games and that is in Pokémon Snap. Ironically, he doesn't even have to go by the name Todd in the game, since the player may enter their own name.
In the game, Professor Oak needs Todd's help. The "Pokémon Prof" is compiling a report, the PKMN Report, and he needs accompanying photographs of Pokémon to go with it. He enlists Todd to take photographs of Pokémon in the wild using an invention of his called the ZERO-ONE, a transport vehicle that can go on land, through water and in the air.
Since a sequel to Pokémon Snap is not currently likely, it remains to be seen whether or not Todd will appear again in a future game.
The ZERO-ONE is available in trophy form in Super Smash Bros. Melee. It can be won in the Lottery or found in bonus stages in the single player mode.
