Review HZ040: Farewell, Nyahoja?

[Eitarou]

They need to pull those strings harder Bec I felt the conflict had a weak build up.

Apparently this is the move than pushed sprig further into isolation and made her actually try to leave liko, yet the ONLY hesitation we see from her using it was that minor scene when they first fought amethio/zir (forgot which one)

Wrong. Episode one shows Sprigatito refusing to use Leafage several times. The very first time Liko commands Sprigatito to use it, it goes for Scratch instead.

After that sprig has no issue using the move, heck half the time she is full on gong ho in using it. This so the same move that she swore never to use again

Yes, the point was that by bonding with Liko, she managed to overcome her trauma, only for it to return when put in a similar situation as what caused the trauma.

This is what is known as a “relapse”.

Idk I felt if they actually showed her reluctant to battle /use leafage throughout the entire series instead of one scene I actually would of taken it more seriously. Or At least show her leafage becoming more dangerous/erratic prior to this episode to show it can get dangerous

Again, episode one, which I might add, is explicitly shown to take place over the course of several days.

Liko and Sprigs had to bond for what appears to be over a week+ and be put in a life-or-death situation before she started using it again.

From what we've seen in the episode it looks really really tame and I'm sorry it makes everyone seem overreacting

Only one, singular character was “overreacting”, which is the point. Sprigatito made an assumption about how Liko would react and was wrong.

(Doesn't help that sprig has no qualms with constantly scratching liko, especially in this episode where it looks like it hurt MORE than the minor fall she did)

She scratches Liko because, like an actual cat, she hates being held for too long. It’s reflexive. Not remotely the same thing. Also, as a cat owner, scratches aren’t usually that bad.

Secondly, the episode makes it abundantly clear that Sprigs’ wasn’t afraid of hurting Liko, she was scared that by hurting Liko, she’d end up hating her and leaving.

Sprigatito started off as a loner, gained friends, then lost them because of a mistake. She was convinced this would happen again.

 

[Eclipsical]

40 episodes in already! Time sure flies. Anyways, I thought this was a great episode for Sprigatito development! I felt that Liko & Sprigatito had sort of stagnated in their relationship due to how aloof Sprigatito could be, but it seems like they've cleared that hurdle. Sprigatito had a surprisingly depressing backstory that I think gave her a lot of depth. Her learning Magical Leaf was cool, though it visually looks the same as Leafage outside of the arc. Maybe they could've added a more magical pink/purple effect to it rather than green to showcase the "magic" part of it. I could see Sprigatito evolving in the near-future after this episode, tbh.

I knew there would be trouble the second Liko left Hatenna to watch Terapagos. I wouldn't trust either of them unaccompanied.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Wrong. Episode one shows Sprigatito refusing to use Leafage several times. The very first time Liko commands Sprigatito to use it, it goes for Scratch instead.

Again, episode one, which I might add, is explicitly shown to take place over the course of several days.

I don’t really think that the episode one argument really works when we’re now at episode 40 and Leafage is quite literally Srigatito’s most used move. Objectively speaking, this was a poorly built up conflict that either should have been built up over these episodes or occurred much sooner in the series. Even instances of them noting that Sprigatito seems to be holding back though they don’t know why would have helped. As it stands, this whole thing just comes out of nowhere and feels contradictory with what we’ve been shown.

 

[Weddingbells]

I feel like that would quickly get annoying and maybe a little repetitive. (Especially since in most battles a delay in using the move would just end in sprigatito being hit by a move)


But it isnt meant to be that though, the move is just strong and sprigatito used it in a scenario where you need more precision so it hurt the other sprigatito, which is why it learned magical leaf, more precise. The move isnt inherently dangerous sprigatito just used it in a bad situation to use it in.


One is a Pokemon move, the other is not, move scratch and just scratching are different, something something one uses a special energy the other doesnt. Plus the problem is specifically with their stronger than normal leafage which is what caused the problem before, not just moves in general anyways.

I rather a bit repetition than just one minor scene that can easily be ignored

Also scratch and using the actual move scratch makes very little difference. Just feels pedantic. Especially when the description of the move is pretty much just "Pokemom scratches opponent"

It's like tackle

 

[Weddingbells]

Wrong. Episode one shows Sprigatito refusing to use Leafage several times. The very first time Liko commands Sprigatito to use it, it goes for Scratch instead.



Yes, the point was that by bonding with Liko, she managed to overcome her trauma, only for it to return when put in a similar situation as what caused the trauma.

This is what is known as a “relapse”.



Again, episode one, which I might add, is explicitly shown to take place over the course of several days.

Liko and Sprigs had to bond for what appears to be over a week+ and be put in a life-or-death situation before she started using it again.



Only one, singular character was “overreacting”, which is the point. Sprigatito made an assumption about how Liko would react and was wrong.



She scratches Liko because, like an actual cat, she hates being held for too long. It’s reflexive. Not remotely the same thing. Also, as a cat owner, scratches aren’t usually that bad.

Secondly, the episode makes it abundantly clear that Sprigs’ wasn’t afraid of hurting Liko, she was scared that by hurting Liko, she’d end up hating her and leaving.

Sprigatito started off as a loner, gained friends, then lost them because of a mistake. She was convinced this would happen again.

You solely using episode 1, as "foreshadowing" for a past trauma sprig had her whole life before liko is exactly my issue with this episode. Were in episode 40 and at the 2nd arc of the show,maybe the halfway point of HZ (depending how long the show is) and the only hint we have of sprig trauma is episode 1. That's it?

How can the audience even appreciate sprig overcoming a trauma we didn't even have a clue she had until now. Those weeks/days were all still crammed into one singular episode which also had to be shared with the intro of amethio and friede, rvts, the pendant etc. imagine if Lillie arc of overcoming her trauma for months in the poke school was shown in one episode and never mentioned again until 50 EP later.

I'm sorry but as something as vital to sprig backstory and personality as this, one episode, which barely explored it, is not enough. Who cares if it was weeks/days, at the end of the day it's still one episode which was already burdened with other content.

I don’t really think that the episode one argument really works when we’re now at episode 40 and Leafage is quite literally Srigatito’s most used move. Objectively speaking, this was a poorly built up conflict that either should have been built up over these episodes or occurred much sooner in the series. Even instances of them noting that Sprigatito seems to be holding back though they don’t know why would have helped. As it stands, this whole thing just comes out of nowhere and feels contradictory with what we’ve been shown.

THIS is my point. It doesn't feel natural to what we've seen and mainly feels like something tacked on last minute

It's like mallow dead mom that had zero mention before the episode

 

[1rkhachatryan]

Guys how are ya'll missing this?? Sprigatito didn't have a trauma it's whole life. It was most likely a few months prior to meeting Liko. Not to mention it only came back due to Liko accidently getting hurt. Prior to this episode, through bonding with Liko, she's been able to work through it. You also have to remember that prior to Liko, she wasn't being asked to use Leafage, she just did whenever she wanted so this whole she never used it again thing is because she completely isolated herself after getting rejected by the other Sprigatito. With Liko, she had no choice to use Leafage as she was commanded to and through there bond being improved and through the training, she felt she had better control over it until it all went wrong this episode.

I don't think it's completely out of nowhere as we've seen that Sprigatito has a pretty strong Leafage before so the context makes sense. Also Sprigatito hasn't really used it to save friends before so it wouldn't have even manifested prior to this as she couldn't have even hit anyone else accidentally outside of maybe Fuecoco during a training battle.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Guys how are ya'll missing this?? Sprigatito didn't have a trauma it's whole life. It was most likely a few months prior to meeting Liko. Not to mention it only came back due to Liko accidently getting hurt. Prior to this episode, through bonding with Liko, she's been able to work through it. You also have to remember that prior to Liko, she wasn't being asked to use Leafage, she just did whenever she wanted so this whole she never used it again thing is because she completely isolated herself after getting rejected by the other Sprigatito. With Liko, she had no choice to use Leafage as she was commanded to and through there bond being improved and through the training, she felt she had better control over it until it all went wrong this episode.

I don't think it's completely out of nowhere as we've seen that Sprigatito has a pretty strong Leafage before so the context makes sense. Also Sprigatito hasn't really used it to save friends before so it wouldn't have even manifested prior to this as she couldn't have even hit anyone else accidentally outside of maybe Fuecoco during a training battle.

It’s not a point of missing anything it’s a matter that it’s a poorly conceived conflict that essentially exists in a vacuum due to any lack of actual buildup. Simply because they can point at a single instance that happened 39 episodes ago doesn’t present this as having been foreshadowed.

For a better example of a plot with a cat that was foreshadowed, built up and came to a natural conclusion, look at Litten’s story with Stoutland. Litten had made smaller appearances initially but in some of them it involved it being given food. By its second major appearance we learned that it was caring for an elderly Stoutland who had taken it in presenting that the food it was being given and food that it had taken were for the Stoutland. We would be shown tidbits of them by Litten’s third major appearance as it has Litten help out Rowlet and Popplio and finally the story came to its natural conclusion when Stoutland passed in the fourth major appearance. This all happened in relative short order and the way that the story shaped out felt entirely natural and intentional in the writing.

This could have been handled better had it either taken place earlier in the series or had moments through the 40 episodes to act as a buildup that Sprigatito had a trauma pertaining to Leafage or any kind of worry of hurting those she cared about. It’s hard to feel particularly invested in a narrative that basically came arbitrarily out of the blue.

 

[Sheep]

Overall I found this episode cute! I like how they remembered Amethio's comment about Sprigatito being pretty strong early on in the series. And as a huge cat fan I was very happy seeing so many catmons! Even if seeing Sneasel and Weavile was a little odd since they never really struck me as cats but I guess the ear shape is close enough? lol

My main gripe is I wish they had a better animator for this episode but I can see why they'd want to save for other episodes that may be more battle-focused. Happy for my girl Liko further bonding with her Pokémon. <3

 

[BonslyDoodleDoo]

Boy this show really is Indigo League 2.0

Anyways this “Pikachu’s Goodbye” equivalent never really made me feel like crying the way its inspiration did. In Pikachu’s Goodbye, Pikachu encounters wild versions of his type, prompting Ash to say he’s giving his electric mouse pal up. After super sappy song, Pik come back to his trusty trainer. Definitely the type of episode that would make little kids tear up. But with this episode, Sprigatito doesn’t meet wild versions of herself as much as she’s taken to a feline Pokémon centre, though it is nice to see where starters come from. There is no super sappy song, and Liko doesn’t outright say she doesn’t want her grass cat anymore like her alleged “father” does. This just feels like the writers took Pikachu’s Goodbye but toned it down to make it less depressing. Sorry, I’m gonna stick with a. 4/10.

Spoiler

 

[HilbertIdeals5]

To the surprise of absoutley no one whatsoever, the cat didn't say farewell...

Folks are saying that this is another bait title, like that one that said Fuecoco was gonna become a delinquent but actually he was still a cinnamon roll...I don't think that's the case for this episode.

The first time Sprigatito accidentally hurt her friends, she straight up got abandoned. And considering how she was so shaken up that she repressed her Leafage (as we see from the clip of the first episode)...and when she accidentally hurt Liko, she reverted to her behavior from when she and Liko first met.... I'm pretty confident that she genuinely wanted to leave for good, believing that she deserved to be abandoned again. Which makes this episode really sad

Yea, it’s especially odd when she’s mastered Leafage to the degree of being able to create various versions of it with the fast and strong versions. Only way this makes sense is if the subs reveal she’s been handicapping herself this whole time.

Ding ding ding! That is indeed what the subs say.