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Review SM013: The Big Alola Pancake Race!

Pretty unremarkable episode if I have to be honest. Bewear again was the best part, completely annihilating Team Rocket's chances of winning. Also Kiawe passed out, otherwise just skip to the ending which was pretty good.
 
It turned out that a wild Komala belongs to Samson Oak. It won the grand pancake race.
Damn Samson, you cheeky thing.
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It turned out that a wild Komala belongs to Samson Oak. It won the grand pancake race.
Are you sure it's actually his and why, why, why did Bewear take Team Rocket away? Does it just not want them go be anywhere but its den? It seems like Team Rocket have now come down with Stockholm Syndrome then.
 
Alright.. I thought this episode was pretty good.

GOOD:
-Kanto-esque episode

-The episode ended up with a plot twist. I mean, I didn't expect Pikachu or A. Raichu to win, even though they hinted it the same way Ash would've won the league.

-A. Vulpix hatched! I guess this episode can't count as filler now.

-Mimikyu's hate of Pikachu wasn't even cut a bit in this episode. I still fail to see how it'll fit in Pikachu shorts.

-Bewear eliminating TR. While I was disappointed Bewear had to pop up again, I'm still pretty satisfied that it came anyways because cheaters never prosper :p

BAD:
-No Rowlet? It could've fit in this episode, sense it seems to have a big appetite. There goes its episodic streak.

-James used Meowth and Wobbuffet rather then Mareanie. Though it makes sense I guess. I can't imagine Mareanie holding a plate of pancakes.

-Nobody else in the main cast besides Ash really did anything in the pancake race.

THOUGHTS:
-Was Mareanie updated into the intro?

-Though it could've been to accompany Lillie, why was Professor Kukui not racing with his Rockruff?

-I have newfound respect for Samson Oak.

7.5/10
 
Alright.. I thought this episode was pretty good.

GOOD:
-Kanto-esque episode

-The episode ended up with a plot twist. I mean, I didn't expect Pikachu or A. Raichu to win, even though they hinted it the same way Ash would've won the league.

-A. Vulpix hatched! I guess this episode can't count as filler now.

-Mimikyu's hate of Pikachu wasn't even cut a bit in this episode. I still fail to see how it'll fit in Pikachu shorts.

-Bewear eliminating TR. While I was disappointed Bewear had to pop up again, I'm still pretty satisfied that it came anyways because cheaters never prosper :p

BAD:
-No Rowlet? It could've fit in this episode, sense it seems to have a big appetite. There goes its episodic streak.

-James used Meowth and Wobbuffet rather then Mareanie. Though it makes sense I guess. I can't imagine Mareanie holding a plate of pancakes.

-Nobody else in the main cast besides Ash really did anything in the pancake race.

THOUGHTS:
-Was Mareanie updated into the intro?

-Though it could've been to accompany Lillie, why was Professor Kukui not racing with his Rockruff?

-I have newfound respect for Samson Oak.

7.5/10
No, the op is the same, the scene still shows Lillie with a pokemon egg. But I think it will be updated in next week or another week. And yes, this Komala belongs to Samson Oak, you can see it in the ending theme, right? Bewear doesn't give a darn to let Team Rocket win or cheat for once.
 
No, the op is the same, the scene still shows Lillie with a pokemon egg. But I think it will be updated in next week or another week. And yes, this Komala belongs to Samson Oak, you can see it in the ending theme, right? Bewear doesn't give a darn to let Team Rocket win or cheat for once.
I think he asked if mareanie was added not vulpix. But if I am mistaken or you answered about mareanie and I didn't understand it, sorry.
 
I love how this episode started off with some Bounsweet screen time. She really needs to get a focus episode to herself. I feel like we barely ever see her or Mallow.

Alolan Raichu is so cute. But seriously, is there any real reason why this one had to be a jerk to Pikachu. There little 'rivalry' was so pointless and formed from absolutely nothing. This is the same problem I had with the mean Alolan Persian in SM 7. Why do they make these Pokemon jerks just for the sake of it? It's so annoying. Why couldn't Raichu just be nice? There was no reason for it to be bickering with Pikachu.

I felt bad that Sophocles lost so early on. But it was nice to see some Alolan Muk. I sure didn't expect that. Also, Popplio carrying the Pancake's in his balloon was utterly adorable. Poor Kiawe though. Sucks that both of his Pokemon are super huge and heavy. Almost makes me wonder why he bothered entering. I also felt bad for Togedemaru. She was so sad that they couldn't finish the face. Lol at her showing her anger by bouncing her spikes on Sophy.

I hate that Bounsweet tripped and caused both Popplio and herself to be disqualified. At least they ended up disqualifying Mimikyu and it's trainer too. Also, that Komala rolling with the pancakes was the most hilarious thing ever. Seriously...how did they balance so perfectly.

The best element of this episode was TR flopping the entire way through. I don't even want to know why they went through the trouble of putting Meowth and Wobbufett in a giant Bewear suit that James could barely pull. They could have easily just had Jessie take her Pokemon (who doesn't have a mission to end Pikachu's life at every occasion) and James take Meowth (or, you know, that other Pokemon he just caught). I loathe that ridiculous Bewear gag, but I'm glad it foiled TR here because of the sheer stupidity of their plan.

Komala winning was the most hilarious this ever, but it was so expected. I did like how they showed all the losing trainers in the back, comforting their Pokemon. I especially like the trainer who gave his crying Riolu a hug. That was nice.

And the egg hatched. Didn't expect that to happen here, but okay. I didn't like how Vulpix hatched facing the complete opposite direction of Lillie, but that's just a minor nitpick.

Overall, this episode was decent. 6.7/10.
 
Meh episode, 5/10. Some interesting points:
  • Ashimari shouldn't be disqualified, it's ridiculous.
  • Kaki would be smarter enough to not use Bakugames, it's out of character for him. What about all these pokemon on his farm.
  • Mao was the most trained, yet she failed. Ironic. Classic pokemon.
I don't even want to know why they went through the trouble of putting Meowth and Wobbufett in a giant Bewear suit that James could barely pull

It has rockets.
 
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This week I was used to the tv again, I did not drink coffee, it was a little less sunny (read: gale force wind smacking rain into my face) and the episode was not about Hideoide falling head over heels for Kojiro.
:-(
Despite that, not a bad outing!

My 3 quibbles:
1. I hate it when they end an episode with an unrelated event-of-some-consequence, almost as if to preempt the weekly "stupid filler" taunts.
2. Why has no race episode ever lived up to Lara Laramie? That episode is so memorable I still remember the CotD's name and I haven't watched the episode since I was a wee lassie!
3. I saw Kiteruguma coming. I mean, if you use the exact same premise (including the slowed down pre-victory!) twice in a row, what can you expect?! (Still enjoyed it though.)

But anyway, lots to commend. Boy, were we treated to some nice animation/transitions this episode. I was determined to despise Rokon but it is SO CUTE AND FLUFFY <3

Star characters:
Togedemaru attacking a contrite Maamane.
Kaki and Bakugames - don't think that needs explaining.
Amakaji is an absolute badass (who desperately needs letting loose alongside her trainer!)
Mimikyu.
Musashi scraping her face on the floor.
Nyasu WTF mate. And HOW did no one notice the rocket suddenly firing "Kiteruguma" up?!
Kojiro eating ice cream and being the sensible one.

4. Pikachu vs Raichu was disappointingly bland.
 
-Nobody else in the main cast besides Ash really did anything in the pancake race.

Well, by now I'm getting kind of used to the fact that the new 'main cast' members are nothing but useless background characters in most episodes. The way the writers have handled them so far is just awful.

Again, Team Rocket was the best part of the episode and it was fairly enjoyable.
 
Unsurprisingly, an episode about pancakes fell flat.

Actually, the race itself wasn't too bad. It had its amusing moments. But the premise was weak to begin with and that really showed in the first half of the episode. I just can't buy that a pancake race would be such a big event for people.

It had its nice moments. Mallow showed a tiny bit more character than just generic nice girl, Kiawe continues to be funny, and I liked how Poppilo and Komala carried their pancakes in different ways to everyone else.

But then it did that annoying thing of tagging on something significant right at the end. Just 30 seconds they apparently couldn't start off the next episode with. It's seriously annoying.
 
After watching the episode, i felt like there was something missing. It seemed like a pretty average episode aside from Komala winning and the egg hatching at the very end.
Atleast that little surprise has me even more hyped for next week when we get to see how Lillie ends up interacting with "Shiron" as she nicknamed the egg.
 
Who would've thought Kiawe, the buffest and toughest companion yet, would've been mentally and physically destroyed by a pancake race? Hilarious.

There were actually a lot of things I enjoyed about this episode. I liked how badly Jessie wanted to win those pancakes. It's really nice to see Team Rocket not constantly going after Pikachu or other Pokémon and kind of doing their own thing. I also lost it when they showed Popplio, Bounsweet, and Mimikyu after their disqualification. The first two, who did nothing to deserve disqualification, are so upset, and Mimikyu, who fired the actual shadow ball, has literally no regrets. I love it.

I know some people aren't big on how the companions are being used, but I personally think it's great. It was nice to see ALL of them (with the exception of Lillie, who obviously can't because she has no Pokémon) participating in the pancake race. It gets tiring to watch only Ash participate in things while everyone else watches from the sidelines. And their personalities are still so well defined, even in smaller doses! Mallow is easy going, Sophocles is klutzy, Lana is encouraging, and Kiawe is determined.

My only complaints: it felt kind of weird/random to have Samson Oak in the race, and with this appearance, he is starting to get on my nerves a little bit. Also, the tie between Pikachu and Raichu felt really contrived. Like really, they BOTH had to get second? Meh.

I know this is basically a filler episode (with the exception of Alolan Vulpix hatching at the end) but I can't bring myself to not enjoy it. There are just so many little details to take note of (the Alolan Muk being used to eat the fallen pancakes instead of just throwing them out showing off that Alolan culture of living with Pokémon and them being an important part of their lives, the pancake lore of the region, etc) and I enjoyed myself watching it.
 
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