Review S06 EP32: Brave the Wave

[Dogasu]

Japanese Episode 020: "Dewford Gym! Enter Brawly the Surfing Gym Leader!"
American Episode 020: "Brave the Wave"

Who wants to bet that Brawly will be given a stereotypical surfer voice and that the script will contain multiple surfing jokes?

Enjoy the Chuck cameo. :-D

Post your thoughts about the episodes here. Please mark any spoilers for episodes not that have yet to air in America in spoiler tags.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

I liked the surfing jokes! I thought they were cute!

And what's Ash's problem with the Leader not fighting him right away? I mean, Leaders can't work in the Gym *all the time*...

He also seemed put off by how flaky Brawly seemed. Dude, you remember Chuck but not Whitney? Whitney was a *total* flake! (although, granted, not as much as she was in the games)

My god...May, don't change on the beach! I don't care if you *are* wearing your bathing suit underneath!

Machop has a new voice? Or wait a moment...did we ever hear one before? I can't think of where we would have...we've heard it's evolutions, but...

Anyone think Makuhita looks like a tied-off trash bag?

Max imitating Brock. It had to happen sometime.

Yesterday at the store, I told my mom how irritated I was to hear the phrase 'lo carb' everywhere. Imagine my chagrin to hear it from TEAM ROCKET of all people!

...reused footage on Machop falling over and rolling. Also, I fail to see how moving like it's on a surfboard would affect how it takes damage. Perhaps, say, resistance built up from being hit by the waves, but not with *footwork*...

...Guts Pokémon. That don't sound right, yo.

Treecko is a glutton for punishment, I swear. How many HP you figure that thing's got? I think we should rename him the Deus Ex Machina Pokémon.

Hariyama looks like it's got a leaf skirt. Just thought you should know.

It was interesting seeing Ash so angry with his strategy failing. Last I remember seeing him doubt his strategy to that degree was in the Surge episode. Although I didn't think he was 'forcing' Treecko to fight--it didn't really give an indication that it didn't want to. Yes, it was getting the crap beat out of it, but that's how Treecko fights.

Ooooookay...Brawley and Hariyama are about to call it a day, then Brawley talks to Ash for a little bit, and...they head back to the water. Huh.

Max says that Brawley couldn't have been goofing off because he's a Gym Leader. *DUDE*, that's an unfair assumption!

 

[TK n Happy Ness]

Ash uses a Flying type in this one, yet he didn't bother using Noctowl against Chuck. He could've owned him easily. And just because Flying types are strong against Fighting doesn't mean they will win. Taillow is Normal/Flying, which means the damage by Fighting is normal.

 

[Shiksa ♥]

Shoot, I loved this episode. And wasn't just because Brawly was in it, it was....or, maybe it was. XD I also like Dewford's music, even though that has nothing to do with the anime. *nods assuringly* And plus there were a bunch of shipping hints! Or at least things that rabid shippers could say are shipping hints because they're definitely not anti-shipping hints! XDXD :-D :dodgy:

In response to Blackjack's points: What's wrong with changing on the beach if you have your bathing suit underneath? And yeah, that's what I thought the first time I saw Makuhita. And Bellossom also looks like it's wearing a leaf skirt...or maybe that is a leaf skirt... O_O *is stupid* Maybe "gutsy" Pokémon would be better. And maybe the footwork has to do with balance, and Machop being able move like that at all, with lithe and speed and junk. XD

Brawly's voice was...like that. O_O As stupid as it seems, I was *NOT* expecting that at all. I always imagined his voice being kinda serene (I'm obsessed with that word lately) with a kind of fun and carefree tone. XD Plus, IIRC, he had very minimal surfer dialouge in teh game. There wasn't even surfing in the game. O_O The sad thing is, when I'm hyper I talk kinda like that. XD Ash-tachi shouldn't have been so surprised that they islanders talked like that.

That was funny when Ash thought May was actually changing at the beach. He should know that *most* girls don't just take of their clothes in public places. XD Her new bathing suit was cool! *steals it* Oh shoot, it's too big, you can have it back, Haruka-chan. ^^; ;-)

What stunk was Ash's lamebrain strategy. I love watching gym battles because, regardless of who wins, there's great strategy and an overall great battle to watch.
This is supposed to be a spoiler tag, I don't know if it will work:

Spoiler

Ash better have a better stragtegy when he rechallenges. If not, I'll steal his stuff. *is also obsessed with theif stuff lately* But it will be in teh cool cave! Heheh! Hopefully he catches Corphish before hand, that might help. You can see I don't know much. XD

Was I the only who noticed that in TR's motto, they threatened anyone who didn't pay teh bill, and then those two surfer peeps ran out without paying? *must write down new motto* And they just *had* a restaurant on Dewford? Didn't make sense. I was surprised the dudes ran out of there like that.

It was so not fair for Ash that Makuhita evolved during teh battle, but who cares? Poor Treecko will get beat up as long as it stays on earth. *steals Treecko* I'll take good care of you! ^_^ If you asked me, I never thought I'd actually be concerned when Ash finally cracked. Or maybe I was concerned for Haruka-tachi. *shrugs* At least he didn't stay like that.

In relevance to Geodude's one thread, we now know that gym battles don't have to be judged by the official PL referee.

Now, I have some questions about the Japanese version:
1. Did they keep Makuhita's/Hariyama's Japanese voice(s)?
2. How do they do the surfer accent/vocabulary in Japanese? I figure it's engrish galore.
3. I don't think there were, but I better ask. Any cut clips/scenes?

I swear, at the end, they were playing a let's-take-turns-spying-on-each-other game. Little did they know, I was SPYING ON THEM ALL! HAHAHA! ^^; (I'm just a little insane.) I'm really glad Ash found out the truth about Brawly. I mean, it would be a shame for us not to see that nice little scene just because Ash didn't spy on him (yeah, and because Ash would have an unfair opinion, that too ). I simply *loved* Brawly's comment about nature. I'm so into nature, and it can be fun! XD Plus, Dewford is really pretty, from what I saw on the KidsWB trailers. *wants to live in Dewford AND Fortree :-(*

I can think of but two improvements for this epi: 1) Brawly came out of teh place wearing a shirt, and Brock ran up to him and grabbed his hands and had his reaction about a surfer girl! lmao! :lol: (ahem....sorry, I think that would be funny. XD) 2)Makuhita on the surfboard is replaced with Haruka May. Yep. *nods* Rating: 10/10 >

 

[Geodude]

I haven't seen this in English yet, but in Japanese, Hariyama said what sounded like "Ha-REE-gee". What did it say in English?

 

[FireEmblemPride]

The episode was alright, but Ash seemed a bit off on his strategy today. He even told Brock to shut up!

 

[TRF-chan]

The episode was...so-so, in my opinion. I didn't like Brawly's surfer voice, it just threw me off for some reason, even if I should've known it was coming.

Makuhita should've had a high squeaky voice like Majin Buu ^^. They look enough alike.

And was it me or did James look more good-looking than usual in this episode? *Drool* Ok, fine, it was probably just my fangirlness kicking in.

 

[Char350]

When I first heard Ash say "Urusai!" in the Japanese version, I didn't think 4Kids would actually translate it. Brawly's stereotypical surfer voice was expected yet still cringing to my mind.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Really guys, about Brawly's voice, think of it this way. One big theme in this episode is Ash completely underestimated Brawly. He thought that Brawly was an undisiplined goof-off, who would go against his duty of accepting all challengers to go off and play in the ocean. His voice added to this initial impression. However, Ash finds his stereotype to be quite wrong when Brawly turns out to be a very intelligent trainer with Pokemon that possess incredible defensive abilities. Brawly's strategy of having his Pokemon roll with physical attack hits to reduce or eliminate damage was quite a brilliant one that worked well given that the Pokemon Ash was using don't know any projectile attacks yet.

Yes, the moves of Ash's Pokemon were a bit limited (Wing Attack, Pound and Quick Attack were the only ones used between Taillow and Treeko) but the battle was still very good. It was well animated and Brawly's Pokemon knew a nice assortment of moves. This episode is also the first time the series has shown Vital Throw, Knock Off, Arm Thrust, and Cross Chop. Chuck's Machoke started to use a Cross Chop back in Johto but Bayleef stopped the attack before it could be completed. And the Seismic Toss was impressive.

While I agree that the dub voices of Machop and Makuhita/Hariyama were a bit dull and uninspired, they were hardly the worst ever scene in Pokemon.

Plus the dialogue and character interaction in this episode were among the best in the Pokemon series. In particular, they showed that while Ash still suffers from overconfidence, he has matured substantially in that he very quickly realized and fessed up to his error, after getting over how angry he was over it. It's understandable that Ash would battle too hard here though. As stated, he thought Brawly was a goof-off with no respect for training. Also, it's understandable that he could easily push his new Pokemon too hard since he's used to battling with stronger, more-experienced ones like Charizard, Bulbasaur and Pikachu.

To those who think he should have used Pikachu, think about this. Ash started over and left most of his Pokemon behind to prove himself and not take the easy way out all the time. It wouldn't prove much if he was unable to win one hard badge using only his newly caught Pokemon. This may also be one reason he got so upset, thinking that he had failed in starting over to become a better trainer.

Anyway, Ash's loss was due to a wrong premise on entering the battle and a refusal to alter his strategy to suit the situation. As Brawly correctly pointed out, if Ash had battled with a level head he may have won.

In conclusion this battle will prove a very good learning experience for Ash, perhaps moreso than even his battle against AJ in Kanto and Gary at the end of the Orange Islands. I am impressed with this episode as it turned out to be not another generic "Ash gets too confident and loses" episode but proved to be entertaining, funny, and well done. I give it a 9.5/10

The episode also seems to be exceptionally dodgy, be it May undressing in front of the boy's, Brock's comment to the girls, and Jame's mention of "pri-vates." This also had rather strong language and is the first time I can recall Ash saying "shut up!" since the Kanto episode where James got his Victreebel and Butch and Cassidy were introduced.

 

[Trainer Lisa]

This was a really good episode! I liked it when they first went over to the Gym, and Brawly said something about the waves and Ash was like, "Gnarly waves?". That was funny! And it was also funny when they went to the beach and Max said "You can't change here May!" and she did anyway (because she had her bathing suit on underneath). Oh, and I liked the part when Brawly was surfing with Makuhita, and that big wave came, and ran over there to get Brawly to accept his challenge. That was cool! And I also liked Team Rocket's motto they said at the restaurant. It was funny! *wishes she had memorized it* Anyway, Ash's battle with Brawly was really cool! Although, I thought Taillow was gonna do a lot better....oh well. But, Ash's Treecko was really good! And it definitely wasn't fair to Ash that Brawly's Makuhita evolved during the match. And since I didn't read the episode guides, I was like...."What! Why did it evolve?!". And *as always* I really wanted Ash to win, but when Makuhita evolved I knew he wouldn't have much of a chance. Ash's Treecko was still really good though, and I couldn't believe how much stamina it had. It wanted to win, and it just wouldn't give up. That was so cool! And Ash wasn't forcing Treecko to battle, it just wanted to keep going. Oh, and when they were with Treecko at the Pokemon Center, it made sense that Ash got so mad, especially since he thought Brawly was gonna be more like Chuck (who trained a lot). I mean, Ash really didn't expect Brawly to love surfing so much. Anyway, I loved the part when Ash was walking along the beach, talking to Pikachu! And it was cool how he spied on Brawly! I liked how he realized that Brawly was surfing to train. That was cool! Oh, and I liked what Brawly said about nature. And when Ash said, "Playing in nature....becomes training?", that was funny. Oh yeah, and I liked how May, Brock, and Max were spying on Ash and Brawly. That was so funny! ^_^ And I also liked how Ash apologized to Brock, May, and Max, and said that he wanted to stay at Dewford Island to train. That was cool! And, overall, this was a very good episode. And the only thing I didn't like was the fact that Ash lost the match.

Rating: 9 out of 10

 

[Zeta]

I liked the way Brawly was represented. Makes a little more sense than the character from the games. Now that I know he's a surfer, the whole "Looking for a New Wave" makes sense.

The only thing I didn't like, that would've been cool, is if they had used Brawly's training in the dark style, too.

But then again, watching a black screen for 15 minutes might've been boring. Although Yu Yu Hakusho managed to make an episode about a fight in the dark really interesting.

Oh well.

 

[Shiksa ♥]

I liked the way Brawly was represented. Makes a little more sense than the character from the games. Now that I know he's a surfer, the whole "Looking for a New Wave" makes sense.

The only thing I didn't like, that would've been cool, is if they had used Brawly's training in the dark style, too.

But then again, watching a black screen for 15 minutes might've been boring. Although Yu Yu Hakusho managed to make an episode about a fight in the dark really interesting.

Oh well.

I prefer the word "funny." Although I love to laugh at YYH, I do agree, they did it pretty well, with just a small light around the character(s) so the viewer could see. However, it seemed like Brawly's gym was simply an arena with those bleachers, and the darkness wouldn't have been as cool.

Spoiler

Ash has a rematch with Brawly in the cave. I didn't actually read about the episode, but it might be closer to what you want to see. ;-)

 

[Barb]

Posted by BG:

I liked the surfing jokes! I thought they were cute!

Hoenn apparently gets better waves than the North Shore, from what I saw.

And what's Ash's problem with the Leader not fighting him right away? I mean, Leaders can't work in the Gym *all the time*...

I agree, although Ash is generally 'psyched up' for gym battles anyhow, but this time he seemed really overly hyper. I wanted to give him Ritalin.

My god...May, don't change on the beach! I don't care if you *are* wearing your bathing suit underneath!

Poor Ash seemed shell-shocked at this, didn't he? Max, too.

Anyone think Makuhita looks like a tied-off trash bag?

Yes.

 

[Dogasu]

Machop has a new voice? Or wait a moment...did we ever hear one before? I can't think of where we would have...we've heard it's evolutions, but...

Wasn't there a Machop in "The Punchy Pokémon?"

Anyone think Makuhita looks like a tied-off trash bag?

I thought he looked more like a yellow Majin Boo myself ^_^

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Wasn't there a Machop in "The Punchy Pokémon?"

Yes, and in my opinion its dub voice was better then.

I thought he looked more like a yellow Majin Boo myself ^_^

A whole topic could be made about what this and other Pokemon have been compared to. Makuhita's been compared to a fat mutant Pikachu, Majin Buu, a tied off trashbag etc.

Other funny comparisons I've encountered include:

Dunsparce's voice sounding like gerbils being run over.

The original sprites for Pokemon Blue and Red looking like pixellated roadkill. ;-)

 

[grim_tales]

I thought it was quite a good episode. I knew they would gave the Gym Leader a stereotypical surfer voice.
I liked the bit when Ash thought May was actually CHANGING HER CLOTHES on the beach - that was funny :lol:
I think Ash was out of order at first demanding a battle - its` not like Leaders have to battle ALL the time. Also, he should have remembered himself there are many types of ways to train your Pokemon before mouthing off.
I do like how, at the end of the episode we see Ash actually get upset about losing (the first time he`s done that in ages) - I don`t mean to indulge in shaudenfreude but I think thats` more human than the hyped up character he is often portrayed as. Then after watching the Gym Leader for a bit he apologises to him and May/Brock and acknowledges his mistake. Thats` maturity.

8/10 IMO.

 

[Jo-Jo]

*cough* *is a dork who taped the episode and tried to write out the entire script for future reference* The TR motto from 'Brave the Wave', for anyone who's interested:

Jessie: Prepare for trouble - would you like fries with that?
James: Double delish, with half the fat!
Jessie: To protect the world from unhealthy food!
James: To give great service, and never be rude!
Jessie: To denounce the evils of high carbohydrates!
James: To extend our reach to the earth and its primates!(?)
Jessie: Jessie!
James: James!
Jessie: Team Rocket gives great service at the speed of light!
James: Pay your bill and leave a tip or prepare to fight!
Meowth: Meowth, dat's right!
Wobuffet: Wobu - ffet!

^^;

Anyways, thoughts on the episode... I haven't actually seen Pokemon since early Johto, so it was cool to see how it had changed. I liked the new introduction and outfits, and was surprised at Ash's voice - is it just me, or is it a little deeper and more 'boyish' these days? So are Brock's and Meowth's, too, except I'm not sure I like it so much with them. James has the opposite problem, though - he is now incapable of going for longer than five words without squeaking. I'm not quite sure yet whether I find that cute or annoying. And May sounds almost exactly like Delia. If she and Ash ever hook up, I am going to be very disturbed.

Speaking of May, I have to say that she bugs me a little. She just doesn't seem anywhere near as strong a character as Misty. At least when Brock got replaced, it was due to a problem with Takeshi's VA's contract, so the writers had no choice but to write in Tracey - but bringing in May to replace Misty was a deliberate decision on their part, wasn't it? So I wish that they'd created a more interesting character. I kept expecting Misty to pop up and clock Ash with her mallet when he was bugging Brawley for a battle. Maybe May will grow on me as the series progresses... but right now she seems like kind of a ditz. And a wallflower. At least Max and Brock gave some useful battling tips to Ash.

Lessee, other random thoughts... I like Max. I love how he's obviously the most mature member of the group, despite being the youngest. And his voice is adorable, if familiar (they sure do re-use voices on that show, don't they?)

Brock's pick-up lines... gaaahhhhh. -.- "The surfboard of love"? I miss the old days of, "please tell me your name so that I may emblazon it upon my heart".

Poor Team Rocket didn't get to do much this episode, did they?

Hariyama = Ugliest Pokemon Ever.

Ash's Pokemon need to learn some new attacks, yo'.

Brawley is a bish. 'Nuff said. ^^;;; But please oh please, no more surfer jokes. It wasn't the accent that bothered me so much as the random annoying comments, like, "looks like you're broken - just like a choppy wave!", or "This is getting interesting. Kinda like when a wave's got you head over heels off your board - you start to think this old wave might be worth the ride after all!", or "Treeko is in no condition to battle my Hariyama, dude. Your big wave has totally passed you by". It was funny, however, when Ash stared at him blankly and said, "totally gnarly with some really wicked waveage?" Hee. I love Clueless!Ash. Which... is just Regular!Ash, come to think of it.

And that's about all I can think of. Overall, I give it a 7 1/2.

 

[Shiksa ♥]

I liked the new introduction and outfits, and was surprised at Ash's voice - is it just me, or is it a little deeper and more 'boyish' these days?

Well that may be possible, as well as intentional. It may also be because you haven't watched for awhile. If such a change exists, it was so gradual that it really hasn't been noticed. VT may have changed her Ash voice purposely, since supposedly Ash is getting older.

And May sounds almost exactly like Delia. If she and Ash ever hook up, I am going to be very disturbed.

Yeah, that's probably because VT plays both of them. And I second your latter. ;-)

Speaking of May, I have to say that she bugs me a little. She just doesn't seem anywhere near as strong a character as Misty. At least when Brock got replaced, it was due to a problem with Takeshi's VA's contract, so the writers had no choice but to write in Tracey - but bringing in May to replace Misty was a deliberate decision on their part, wasn't it?

Well, I've got a little defending to do, since I'm a Haruka May fan and a Pokéshipper. ;-) Firstly,

Spoiler

Misty comes back!

And you can't really judge May be one episode. She's not really a battler, but she's going for something called "Pokémon Contests." I'm sure you'll like her more.

 

[Kurai Kumo]

Well she does come, but only for two eps...

 

[Cybersai]

From recently rewatching this episode, I am reminded that Brawly is awesome. I'm glad he got three episodes in the series, which is above average for a Gym leader. Good Gym battle (the only one Ash loses the entire region!), and of course the beach scenes are awesome.

And you can't really judge May be one episode. She's not really a battler, but she's going for something called "Pokémon Contests." I'm sure you'll like her more.

LMAO, irony KEELS.