Review XY004: Pikachu and Dedenne! Cheek Rub!!

[Winterdaze]

XY004 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Animation Team Kato
Screenplay Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Storyboard Hirotaka Tomiyasu
Assistant director Hirotaka Tomiyasu
Animation director Shinji Matsuda

 

[sunyshore]

dedenne and bonnie are literally the cutest thing this anime has ever produced. i almost cried. i'm 28 years old. send help

 

[Musashi]

I wasn't expecting much from the title, but this was a really fun episode. Eureka continues to be a little bundle of cute, and Dedene looks to be a fun Pokemon to have in the group. Though I wonder if Citron will blast the group off some day with one of his inventions. XD

The Rockets were a nice mix of badass cool and funny, though the catchphrase Kojiro uses for Maika just screams "Any English is cool even if it doesn't make perfect sense". Nice raft too. Kojiro seems to have an answer for everything! XD

I really felt bad for Serena at the end. Being a new trainer on your own can't be easy. But I'm very glad she joins the group next week. I'm surprised they stretched it out this long.

 

[sunyshore]

I wasn't expecting much from the title, but this was a really fun episode. Eureka continues to be a little bundle of cute, and Dedene looks to be a fun Pokemon to have in the group. Though I wonder if Citron will blast the group off some day with one of his inventions. XD

The Rockets were a nice mix of badass cool and funny, though the catchphrase Kojiro uses for Maika just screams "Any English is cool even if it doesn't make perfect sense". Nice raft too. Kojiro seems to have an answer for everything! XD

I really felt bad for Serena at the end. Being a new trainer on your own can't be easy. But I'm very glad she joins the group next week. I'm surprised they stretched it out this long.

team rocket was hilarious in this episode! and i'm one of the people kind of tired of them! something weird is going on, why is the writing so good?

 

[Kairyu]

The episode was okay. Some fun bits here and there. The main plot with TR going after Pikachu wasn't exactly terribly exciting, so meh. The animation is still looking very nice even when Iwane isn't involved, and certainly a step-up from how things looked in B/W.

 

[Dogasu]

I kind of miss Kojirou's Pokemon cards ;_; Though it's understandable why they swapped those out for the pseudo-Zukan thingee instead.

though the catchphrase Kojiro uses for Maika just screams "Any English is cool even if it doesn't make perfect sense".

How does "My Maii'ka" not make perfect sense?

 

[Jukain]

Weaker than the last ep, I must say. This is more like the standard capture ep, TR being the catalyst included. However, it's not often that bonding occurs through the pokemon. Pika and Dedenne have their adventure and get together before they kick TR's butt and capturing is had.

 

[Satoshi_Pikachu]

I enjoyed it. Obviously not as great as the first two episodes, but Pikachu being smart was nice for a change, he doesn't usually have much to do, especially not at the beginning of a series. I'm disappointed at Satoshi and Serena not interacting yet, though :/ I think they're doing a good job, but I'm just too excited about them meeting, it's not often that we get to hear about Satoshi's mostly-nonexistent backstory. But that's just me being excited like a 6-year-old during Christmas, I honestly think the writers are doing a really good job so far. It's quite scary, to be honest XD I wonder how long they'll keep it up...

 

[CynthiaLover]

Bonnie... Dedenne... cuteness overload!!! *crashes to the ground, eyes swirling*

Heh, anyway, not a bad episode. Not as stellar as the past few, but good nonetheless. The writers are doing an alarmingly good job, which scares me. The part where Pikachu shocked Clemont (and his charred state afterward) out of surprise made me laugh. TRio was good, too, very funny yet cunning, but still filling in their role in the show as attack fodder. What really surprises me is that Serena hasn't bumped into Ash yet. They're really stretching that out. I guess I'm just eager to find out what their backstory, since we know very little about Ash's childhood to begin with, let alone his relation to Serena. I really want to know. Also, I'm curious to know if Ash will even remember her, considering how dense he can be. Guess we'll find out next week (hopefully).

So, overall, not to shabby. Not as awesome as the past few, but it still gets high marks with me.

 

[Makuhita]

Lucky Bonnie! Max had to go without a pokemon for his entire run. Sad sad Max.

I think Serena is the Brock of this season.

 

[97SaturnSL1]

not a bad episode at all. it really seems Clemont was an engineer at Chrysler given how his latest machine reacted

 

[Aestivate]

jesus christ dedenne and eureka are so cute i *actually* cried and i'm 20 years old so don't feel too badly @sunyshore;
dedenne's eye-shine and teary eyes destroyed any semblance of decorum that i had and pls can we talk about how it picks up its tail like that holy shit it's cute

AND AT THE END WHEN PIKACHU AND DEDENNE WERE CUDDLING WITH EUREKA I STARTED SCREAMING


and citron seems to outdork himself every episode -who else thinks the static machine is blatantly foreshadowing to his coming out as a gym leader status?
he's such a good big brother T_T

and i still haven't gone through an episode yet without intensely whispering "my precious babies" at my computer screen

 

[Sweet Veil]

Not a bad episode, pretty average, it wasn't as up to scratch as the first two episodes of XY and the third but it was entertaining nonetheless. Dedenne, Citron and Eureka were all such big parts of why this episode was entertaining enough to save it from being a standard running around and getting a new Pokemon episode that we usually have. Pikachu and Dedenne's interactions were fun from start to finish and I really liked how Pikachu was like an older sibling to Dedenne and how they were continuously communicating by using electricity in this episode. The collaboration of Thundershock and Thunderbolt was a great final finisher for the battle of the episode. Dedenne was surprisingly really good in its first battle under Citron, the execution of Nuzzle and how its secondary effect with Paralysis was a well liked little afterthought that I'm glad wasn't forgotten. That little confirmation of wanting to battle Maika and little moment between Dedenne and Citron was cute, as much as I was hoping Dedenne would be controlled by Eureka right off the bat. Shame that Dedenne's Fairy-typing wasn't mentioned though, but to be fair Dedenne has only like one Fairy move in its arsenal so I digress.

Eureka was adorable and continues to make me smile, the way she was caring for all the Pokemon, even joining in on Citron's Getto Daze, searching for Dedenne, showing concern over it, fawning over Dedenne and even let the little thing sleep in her bag and cement its role as XY's out-the-ball-Pokemon was all too perfect. She such a fun little chick, I hope her and her brother have a tag battle in the future at least or her newly gotten Dedenne takes on Serena's Fokko or another freshly-caught Pokemon. As much as I actually have grown for the character the cuteness/childish actions overload could get grating and I at least see why some are annoyed by it. I'm at least optimistic for her character because she'll have her "own" Pokemon along for the ride, right in her bag to help her when needed, unlike Masato who didn't get to keep any of the Pokemon he bonded with and kinda used Gonbe at times. Citron is a caring older brother, nice little touches with the nuts and bolts in his capture screen's background and him saying how he got Dedenne for Eureka. I almost forgot that I was glad that his Horubi got another appearance, it's always a nice Pokemon to see. As for his scenes with his inventions and catchphrase, "The future is now, thanks to science! , as amusing and fantastic I find the scenes, I hope they aren't overused to the point where I grow numb from seeing them like Takeshi's flirting. He'll give a rest next episode with it being a gym battle probably.

As for Serena Fokko was expected the minute she got confirmation of being in the cast, the color scheme of Serena, whether it be game Sugimori art, anime or Pokespe, is literally dead-on with Fokko. Still was clinging to the hope she would have at least considered Harimaron and just have something unexpected in mind and ultimately choosing to pick Fokko because of something else but oh well. I'm guessing that little scene at the tail in of the end is a small throwback to the games with Fokko saving her with Ember? "DON'T GO INTO THE TALL GRASS WITHOUT A POKEMON!" The little fox is easily my least favorite of the Kalos starters but it's a cute Pokemon thus far at least. Something else I liked about this episode was just how little focus Satoshi got and it was mainly Eureka/Citron/Dedenne/Pikachu the whole time. After having Satoshi heavy focus for the first three episodes a sorta break is always welcomed, he'll get next week to himself at least and I like how they don't feel the need to throw the main character into everything, he didn't even steal the show and battle Maika, Dedenne/Citron did The blonde squad pretty much made this episode for me, they were all extraordinary in their interactions and ways and next episode if you throw Serena into that equation we'll have 3 and half blondes. Battle wasn't as good as the Horubi/Yayakoma by any means, then again what can I really ask for from an end episode Rocket battle. All things considered...some type of rivalry between TR and Citron can feasibly blossom given their use of high-tech devices and their many inventions, something similar to Akuroma/Nyasu in Episode N, but I doubt that will happen with them being demoted to comedic relief 24/7 now.

Going back to Serena, I wonder if perhaps the scenes with her being scared through the forest could be foreshadowing? Satoshi and solely Satoshi was the enabler for her to go on a journey in the first place. So perhaps a part of her growth as a person could be her learning that going at something when your heart is into it because of someone else isn't the right thing to do? She seems to only be doing Sihorn riding because of her mother and doesn't really have a goal in mind for her journey aside to meet up with Satoshi. Her realizing she's only doing these things because of other people could at least kick start her development for a decently done character arc. of her growing past this and picking up a new goal she'll go at full force.(Pokemon-Amie, Super Training, Sky Battles, these can all be adapted into anime format in a nice way with a little innovative thinking actually.)

 

[Chatsy]

Clemont, stop being so hilarious, I can't take it. That serious voice and shining glasses and then he casually points out he done and fucked up. And gave everyone afros again.

I don't know what new weed the writers took when writing these episodes, but they damn well better have a huge stock of them.

 

[Hellwarden]

Did anyone else really like how Inkay was just chilling on Wobbuffet's head?

I appreciate how the episode kept moving, it didn't slow down. Both in the way that the characters never really stopped moving, and how it flowed.

 

[ehh123]

James: Since they are both Electric-type Pokemon, they use electricity to communicate with one another.
Jessie: Meowth, translate.
Meowth: That's impossible! I'm no Electric-type!

So we are ignoring that moment in the second movie when Pikachu and Zaptos were communicating in a similar way and Meowth was able to translate that perfectly? *shugs* Eh, fine by me.

 

[Musashi]

I kind of miss Kojirou's Pokemon cards ;_; Though it's understandable why they swapped those out for the pseudo-Zukan thingee instead.

though the catchphrase Kojiro uses for Maika just screams "Any English is cool even if it doesn't make perfect sense".

How does "My Maii'ka" not make perfect sense?

I meant the "Come on!" part. It just sounds weird where saying "Come out!" or "Let's go!" would make more sense.

Did anyone else really like how Inkay was just chilling on Wobbuffet's head?

I'm still waiting for those two to have an endless conversation. Though sadly the dub will be screwed if/when that happens since neither Pokemon retained the name gag.

 

[Aestivate]

I really appreciate the dissonance when Maiika starts spazzing when it's really like "Whatever" xd

 

[Ampharos King]

Near the end of the episode, when Bonnie pets Pikachu and Dedenne together, she says "they're like brothers."

Does this mean that this Dedenne is male?

 

[Divine Synner]

I am gonna start watching this between giving out candies to the kiddies!

I can't decide if the Pokedex is suppose to be a tablet or the 2DS, either way I really don't like the design of it.

Awww, Fennekin looked so happy to be chosen. It kinda reminds me of the reason I can't go to the animal shelter just to window shop, all the puppies and kitties all looking at you wanting to be chosen, I can't chose just one of them. Serena will probably be a good caretaker of Fennekin!

Pikachu seems to be in love with Bonnie, finally someone pays attention to Pikachu all the time.

I kinda wish the Fletching stayed aggressive after being caught. Kinda add a dynamic that was like when Charmeleon was on Ash's team.

YES~!!! Dedenne got his revenge and got some food!!!

This does not seem to be a fun game of Whack-A-Rat.

James' Pokedex is so much cooler! Why couldn't everyone have one like that! Thinking of James being cool, the new Rocket of XY seems a lot cooler than they had in the past. I like the intro a lot more, and I love Wobby.

Seriously, what are they? Batman? It's a good thing I brought my boat! Should have packed a car as well, probably would have been faster! James isn't the only one who pulls thing out of nowhere, this is the second time Clemont has had an invention that is pretty big just kinda sat down fully built.

ROFL! Way to tell the team after the fact, Clemont! That was the variety I talked about wanting last week.

Yup, it's a good thing James can pull things out of thin air, or else they wouldn't have had that hot air balloon. Even though it gets blown up in a Team Rocket fashion I am sure James packed a hundred more wherever he stores them. Do Pokeballs work as suitcases as well now?

Obvious catch was obvious, I don't understand why they still keep the rule of needing to be 10 in order to catch Pokemon. Isn't Serena only suppose to be 8 years old? Bonnie getting shocked will get old quickly, too many running gags.

D'awwww Dedenne is so cute when he is asleep.

Serena needs to meet up with someone fast, her story is gonna get very boring and very stupid very fast. Already it seems they are trying hard just to get a story for what she is doing. Confusing a Vespiqueen for a person, really?

Afterthoughts: Nobody showed up at my house for candy yet! -pout- Oh well, it was a good time filler episode I guess. It didn't really advance the plot other than the new catch that was obvious and Serena choosing her first Pokemon. Serena will hopefully meet up with Ash and the gang in Santalune, if and once the four are travelling together I think it will make for a better story.