Pokemon 2.B.A. Master is a Pokemon soundtrack CD that was released on June 29, 1999. The disc itself is designed to look like a Pokeball, and it has thirteen tracks on it. The disc opens with the Pokemon theme song from the Indigo League episodes. There are also seven songs from the “Pikachu’s Jukebox” segment, a song from the Pokemon live show, the Indigo League Pokerap, and a couple of other songs. The Pokemon theme and the “Pikachu’s Jukebox” songs are the full-length versions of the songs, and not the edits that would have been heard on the show. This CD is an enhanced disc, and includes the video for the Pokerap.

Sonically, most of the songs sound like they were inspired by 1990’s teen pop. While this sound was contemporary and fresh when this CD was released, it makes the songs sound rather “dated” now. Even though the songs may sound “dated,” quite a few of them are still enjoyable to listen to.

To me, the weakest song on the disc is “Misty’s Song.” It’s a faux R&B/pop-sounding song that was rather repetitive. Also, the female vocalist had a nasal quality to her voice, and sounded as if she was trying to channel Britney Spears’ vocal delivery. This is the song from the Pokemon live show.

One of the tracks included is “The Time Has Come (Pikachu’s Goodbye).” This song appeared in the episode “Pikachu’s Good-Bye.” It’s the background music when Ash thinks that he’s losing Pikachu forever, and is having a flashback about the times he and Pikachu had together. However, the recording included on this disc is different from the one included in the show. The biggest difference is that this recording features a female vocalist, while the recording on the show featured a male vocalist.

The biggest highlight of this disc is “Pokemon [Dance Mix].” This is the bed music you hear in the theatrical trailers for the Pokemon films (but in the trailers, you only hear one piece of the song). This song features the vocal talent of the late Vicki Sue Robinson, who is best known for the disco hit “Turn the Beat Around.”

John Loeffler provides the closing track, an inspirational song titled, “You Can Do It (If You Really Try).” As far as I know, this song never actually appeared in the Pokemon anime. And the seven songs from the “Pikachu’s Jukebox” segment are: “2B A Master,” “Viridian City,” “What Kind of Pokemon Are You?,” “My Best Friends,” “Everything Changes,” “Double Trouble (Team Rocket),” and “Together Forever.”

If you’re a fan of Pokemon and enjoy the music from “Pikachu’s Jukebox,” then this would be a good CD to add to your music collection.