Review SM020: Satoshi and Pikachu, the Promise between Them

[Neo Blaze]

So it seems we all fell for the misleading marketing of this show again. They hyped it up as a 20th anniversary episode and it ended up barely being an anniversary episode at all. This reminds me of the Mechanical Festival episode from last year that was hyped up to be connected with M19 in some way and it ended up like having almost no connection to the movie whatsoever.

This episode turned out so forgettable that they could have just skipped it entirely. Nice that they wanted to do something around the actual anniversary date of the very first episode besides M20, but this is the best they could come up with?

Then again, did they do anything in the regular tv series (no Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon doesn't count because it was a special) for the 10th anniversary?

Nope. I just checked. On April 5 2007, both the Floaroma Contest episodes aired. That's it.

 

[Mayla]

This reminds me of the Mechanical Festival episode from last year that was hyped up to be connected with M19 in some way and it ended up like having almost no connection to the movie whatsoever.

I thought the mechanical festival episode had some good giggles in it, though. It was frivolous, but not in an off-putting way.

 

[Neo Blaze]

I thought the mechanical festival episode had some good giggles in it, though. It was frivolous, but not in an off-putting way.

I kind of enjoyed it too, but like this one, it was hyped up in pre-release material to be something it barely ended up to be (tie-in episode to M19)

Or well, maybe that's me being naive. I easily get excited about this kind of stuff. When this episode was first announced, I had big hopes that at the very least it would be a fun anniversary episode reminiscing the past 20 years. But it ended up being a disappointment.

 

[SinnohEevee]

Can we really trust them for M20?

 

[RetroPokeFan]

I kind of enjoyed it too, but like this one, it was hyped up in pre-release material to be something it barely ended up to be (tie-in episode to M19)

Or well, maybe that's me being naive. I easily get excited about this kind of stuff. When this episode was first announced, I had big hopes that at the very least it would be a fun anniversary episode reminiscing the past 20 years. But it ended up being a disappointment.

Not one teeny weeny flashback either. I mean yeah, Ash did talk about the many friends he has in Alola so far... but this is an anniversary special. You know, to celebrate the entirety of the series. Yet this episode was too afraid to give us any memories of the other series at all. That was the big crushing blow for me.

 

[SinnohEevee]

How much does the target audience care about the 20th anniversary?

 

[ii kanji]

Then again, did they do anything in the regular tv series (no Mastermind of Mirage Pokemon doesn't count because it was a special) for the 10th anniversary?

They didn't, but the difference is that never claimed they were going to!

Can we really trust them for M20?

Err, no.

 

[Sakuraa]

This episode was...pretty pointless imo. Of all of the characters on the cast, Ash and Pikachu needed a bonding episode the least. I think Lillie and Shiron would have been the most fitting to use in this kind of scenario since they're only have like 12 episodes of friendship under their belt as opposed to Ash and Pikachu's 900+. They really did not need this. And honestly, nothing was even really interesting. The ONLY scene that I found not only enjoyable, but endearing was the part where Ash and Pikachu were mimicking the Exeggutor. But nothing else really left an impact. Even Tapu Lele's appearance was so short that it felt utterly pointless.

The major thing that stuck out to me was how Rotom-Dex actually ditched Ash, leaving him without a Pokedex for the rest of the day. It's been obvious from the start that Rotom can fly around and go wherever he pleases, but this really just make it sink into my brain that this Pokedex is free to choose whether or not he wants to be with Ash at the moment. This could make for potential interesting future episodes.

But this episode was dull. 4/10.

 

[kantoskies]

And people want to see this same plot extended to over an hour for M20?

 

[SinnohEevee]

And people want to see this same plot extended to over an hour for M20?

Won't be surprised if they do it.
Look, they don't care about older fans, only about the little kids of today.
Can we trust them with M20? No.

 

[Shoutmon]

PREVIEW: - SM020: Satoshi and Pikachu, the Promise between Them

You just linked me to a page when people were SPECULATING, nothing in the summaries for THIS episode said anything about the anniversary. Having two episodes could have been this "anniversary special".

The episode was meh, sure but you guys got your hopes up based on nothing, it's not the anime fault.

 

[kantoskies]

You just linked me to a page when people were SPECULATING, nothing in the summaries for THIS episode said anything about the anniversary. Having two episodes could have been this "anniversary special".

The episode was meh, sure but you guys got your hopes up based on nothing, it's not the anime fault.

If you had actually like, y'know, clicked on the link I gave you and scrolled down past the first few posts you would have seen a post by Playerking that translated an *official* summary of the episode that said "It's finally the 20th anniversary! A celebratory special".

But yeah, we all got our hopes up for nothing

 

[Johtohfiller]

T̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶s̶c̶e̶n̶e̶ ̶o̶f̶ ̶H̶o̶-̶o̶h̶ ̶e̶a̶t̶i̶n̶g̶ ̶T̶a̶p̶u̶ ̶L̶e̶l̶e̶ ̶w̶a̶s̶ ̶w̶a̶y̶ ̶m̶o̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶r̶u̶t̶a̶l̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶n̶ ̶I̶ ̶e̶v̶e̶r̶ ̶w̶a̶n̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶h̶i̶s̶ ̶s̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶g̶o̶.̶

Pretty good but it seems like they only called it an anniversary episode because of the airdate.

Points for Wimpod, it's one of my favorites. I'm honestly hoping that Wimpod joins Ash later.

How much does the target audience care about the 20th anniversary?

Why advertise it as a 20th anniversary episode if the target audience doesn't care?

Nothing in the episode itself says "anniversary", it seems like that was pure marketing and they would have slapped that label on any episode regardless of content.

 

[Nicolas721]

I'm glad I'm killed my hopes with this one the moment I saw the preview, and I'm doing the same with M20 until Misty appears. The episode wasn't offensive or boring, but in terms of celebrating the anniversary it gets a 0/10 and in terms of developing Ash and Pikachu's relationship it gets a 3/10.

I'm mixed on Ash's monologue. I like how he's completely entusiasthic about the life he's having now, but he complimented it with the most generic promise ever. Do you want to know Ash's plan for going through the trials? Well, today you won't have the answer.

The Wimpod were awesome and cute.

 

[Shadao]

You can retcon the backstory behind Ash and Pikachu, and none of the new generation will ever care because they have never grown up with the original series. That's what I've said before about Ash's situation, and this 20th anniversary celebration episode is an indicator of that. It's not surprising that they wouldn't go for a flashback montage of the old past, even if it would be a boon to the fans.

Aside from the Tauros, which is fairly obscured and easy to miss, there has been little else referencing the original series or any series afterwards. In fact, given that I didn't see them doing a flashback to Ash's first encounter with Pikachu in this episode, you can easily and subtly imply that this is a new Ash we are following and not the old one from the original series.

And given the recent movie's trailer... I can say that I might have hit that mark all to well.

 

[Johtohfiller]

You can retcon the backstory behind Ash and Pikachu, and none of the new generation will ever care because they have never grown up with the original series. That's what I've said before about Ash's situation, and this 20th anniversary celebration episode is an indicator of that. It's not surprising that they wouldn't go for a flashback montage of the old past, even if it would be a boon to the fans.

Aside from the Tauros, which is fairly obscured and easy to miss, there has been little else referencing the original series or any series afterwards. In fact, given that I didn't see them doing a flashback to Ash's first encounter with Pikachu in this episode, you can easily and subtly imply that this is a new Ash we are following and not the old one from the original series.

And given the recent movie's trailer... I can say that I might have hit that mark all to well.

What's really weird to me is...they don't seem to have a problem with acknowledging the past per se. They did that Road to Kalos special, some of the Poke TV segments showed clips of old episodes including scenes with Dawn, last week they did that special with lots of scenes from previous series. It's just within the actual episodes they've only done small references for a while now.

Then there's the movie, which has me facepalming so damn hard. Makes me want to concentrate on fanfic rather than the show itself.

 

[GoldenUmi]

What's most amusing is how Satoshi screams about his goal of being a Pokemon Master this episode, yet has hardly done a thing this entire show to work toward that goal. Sure he did a few things here and there but he's mostly been screwing around with no real specific plan in mind. Not having a league to focus on really hurts this series imo.

 

[SinnohEevee]

What's most amusing is how Satoshi screams about his goal of being a Pokemon Master this episode, yet has hardly done a thing this entire show to work toward that goal. Sure he did a few things here and there but he's mostly been screwing around with no real specific plan in mind. Not having a league to focus on really hurts this series imo.

He's not going to become one for at least another 20 years.

 

[Likeitornot.]

If I hadn't ever seen a series of Pokemon before Sun and Moon, I would have told you that this episode is great exposition of conveying Ash Ketchum's genuine love for Pokemon - and it really did, it was like a breath of fresh air actually to see that sincerity portrayed so purely. However, it's not exactly the most creative plot for this episode when you consider the preceding episodes in the past which have re-affirmed this love, and also it distracted from the relationship Pikachu and Ash share, which the title revolves around.

I don't have a problem with the episode's entertainment factor per se, it was very light-hearted and sweet to watch Ash and Pikachu sway along in rhythm with the Alolan Exeggutor and it constituted as a relaxing way to spend thirty minutes. However, it doesn't deliver on what it promises to - which is ultimately the quiet disappointment in the peaceful air. I did not think it would provide much for an anniversary episode, considering we already have a film that will deal with that affair but it was a little bizarre to bill it as one and be very scarce to any sign of continuity. I'm not really discussing the travelling companions or whatnot, but what surprised me was there was no flashbacks to moments Pikachu and Ash have shared in the past. I mean, that's what I believed the nod to the anniversary to be, and I thought that might be likely as it fitted the theme of the episode - I was wrong.

However, the lack of recognition to continuity doesn't frustrate me too much, as I wasn't really expecting there to be any considering this worrying trend that has been adopted since XY of just ignoring the past. It was more the lack of exposition or rather, real emotion to Ash and Pikachu's bond that left me underwhelmed. I can kind of see that the scene of Ash trying to save the Wimpod from its situation and Pikachu fretting over him before coming to a solution was the moment that the audience were to feel the strength of their bond - I felt it could have been executed with a lot more depth and emotion. There wasn't a moment where I could pinpoint exactly from this episode the extent of their friendship or why the two are just such great partners (I mean, I know they are already) and Ash rattling off generic promises yet again wasn't selling anything I wanted to buy.

It was a good episode but not for what it had set out to deliver which makes it a disappointment in my eyes.

 

[Macsen]

Can we really trust them for M20?

They're not producing M20. M20 was made by the XY crew.