Review XY029: Ta-da! Fake Satoshi Appears!!

[Neo Blaze]

XY029 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

 

[Handy Man]

I still can't stop thinking about how creepy Inkachu looks.

 

[Moe]

That was awesome.

Clemont looks like he'd have been perfectly content to never see Bonnie and the others again and just make robots.

The food thefts made me think about how we haven't really had Team Rocket being in debt as a theme for a while - not doing those odd jobs for cash or talking about taking out more loans on their salary for their next mecha purchase, etc.

The scene of Inkay and Pumpkaboo just floating past the screen while talking to Giovanni was way more hilarious to me than it should have been. The Pokemon Quiz in this episode makes me really wish the dub copied it closer

Puppet Dedenne > Dedenne. Likewise Jessie and James did a better job with Serena and Ash's outfits, particularly with how they used their normal boots with it - which made James look a bit closer to Calem's design than Ash does, and works so much better for Serena.

So, a great episode with Team Rocket at the heart. Yay, makes up for some of the far more annoying TR appearances of late.

 

[SamurottMan]

IMO this was the funniest TR episode of XY and I totally agree that Inkachu looked really weird. Meowth was hilarious as always with the Dedenne puppet. Serena reacting to JessieSerena was also a really funny part of the episode.

About Clemont. Poor Clemont, his reaction to the TR mechas (built by him) was also priceless. Good thing that his inventions don't last more than 4 minutes.... :/

I really liked this episode Top10 best episode this series (so far)

PS. Let's watch the PokeQuiz now since they won't show the provocative Inkachu in Who's that Pokemon.

 

[Sakuraa]

This episode was actually better than I thought it would be.

I'm not even going to lie, TR actually had a good plan here. They got Bonnie, Serena, and Ash blamed for crimes so they could get Clemont alone and have him build not only a robot to attack him and his friends with, but also a machine to steal Pikachu. I like how it seems that they specifically chose a Helioliskbot to lure Clemont in with his love for electric-types. But geez Clemont must REALLY love inventing if he didn't see anything weird about building this stuff in a secluded garage at night with no one else around.

I like how Serena had to hold Bonnie up to the phone to call Clemont. Just thought I'd note that.

Anyway, Clemont was so boss here. I love how shocked and upset he was at TR for tricking him. And I'm so glad his invention ended up working at the end. Good thing TR didn't know about Clemont's invention record or else they probably wouldn't have trusted him to build that bot anyway. I just knew the Helioliskbot was gonna blow up and that was actually a good thing. And I'm glad Bunnelby got to handle TR instead of Chespin. It's been a while since he's done anything. Even though Clemont's other invention blew up again at the end, I'm glad it at least worked to repel TR first.

All in all a very impressive and entertaining episode for Clemont. 9/10.

 

[Sweet Veil]

Loved this episode, both episodes were really good so I feel the need to review them separately. Clemont's episode was fantastic, I swear this guy never ceases to amaze me in XY. His episodes always blow me away no matter what, the focus, the action, the inventions and all were all too good. Aside from the Bonnie episode, I've honestly found the last batch of XY episodes to be not that great. Clemont's episode once again breaks the monotony with how good it is. He's still my favorite thing about XY so far, even after thirty episodes and does this episode do an awesome job just stressing just how fun I find him to be. The thing I love about the opening scene for this episode, he invents a machine that works(Wow, it seems like a good amount of his machines seem to be doing their job, even if some do explode it's really nice.) and that absorbs freaking attacks and saves Pikachu at the beginning of the episode.

It was nice to see Froakie in-action too. His Bunnelby got some action against Team Rocket and much-needed screen time after a small break and helped save the day and his various reactions to Team Rocket using his work for evil were hilarious. Him ultimately saving the day thanks to the power of science was a hell of a way to really end the episode. I'm not sure what to say about Clemont, other than I really love him. He proactively gets involved when he can, he's dynamic, his character develops, there's a lot to him at the end of the day for me. He exceeds all fields, he has a nice design which is what drew me in immediately upon seeing him but at the same time. There's some real entertainment value, development and character qualities underneath all that skin. Him getting charmed by TR was another nice way to show that he has a strong devotion to science and that can get him into trouble at times.

As for Team Rocket, this is a perfect example of an episode on how to write comedic Team Rocket. Shoehorning them into episodes for plot device-y reasons like the Princess Ally episode doesn't do anything but make me groan, this is how they should be written into episodes. Being actual important parts of the plot, showing some competence that isn't blink-and-you-miss it and overall having more of a presence on their own that isn't defined by quick appearances. This goes along with the Malamar episode as their two best XY episodes thus far for me. Managing to trick Clemont, steal Pikachu in the way they did and cause a ruckus throughout the town was great. I also laughed hard at how much Jessie kept using Serena's catchphrase, "Ta-Da!" and introducing herself as Serena from Vaniville. I liked how they were actively being jerks to everyone in town, Inkachu and Fake!Ash attacking that poor Pancham and trainer was amusing yet saddening too for me. I dunno why....

Speaking of which, it was clever how they put Serena's catchphrase in the title. They did the same with Clemont in the Princess Ally episode. I didn't like the way they got prematurely blasted off by the Heliolisk mecha when things were going so well, but still I'm happy with what they brought to the table this episode. Pumpkaboo got a new move, new moves are always nice. But overall, extraordinary episode, I was so happy Clemont didn't get his screen time or glory hijacked by anyone in this episode and the music during the climax really brought the scene together. Oh and Serena holding Bonnie up to the phone to make a call was adorable, that is all. This was a really good episode, everyone was good here, even TR for me.

I never commented on it before, but Serena's catchphrase is adorable.

 

[Aestivate]

everything about this episode in stitches.
i love this cast, everyone's such a huge dork.

 

[Ampharos King]

TRio's plan to impersonate Ash, Serena, and Bonnie in a town just so they can isolate Clemont and get him to build their mechas was surprisingly well thought out.

Unfortunately for TRio, Clemont's devices have a tendency to explode... Interesting how a simple recurring gag eventually resolves the storyline.

Plus we get more of the recurring gag with Clemont being bad at naming his inventions; even Jessie was annoyed by Clemont's "Heliolisk Machine" title. And when TRio gave a very odd and convulted name for the Heliolisk mecha, Clemont was the first to react.

And if we didn't know it already (and it was pretty obvious based on the surroundings in XY001), Serena's hometown is Vaniville Town.

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

So that's what Team Rocket's real plan was: framing Ash, Serena, and Bonnie so they could separate Clemont from them and use his brain power to build them a machine (in disguise, of course), similar to one of his own gadgets, that they could use to deflect all attacks from the main group's Pokémon while they steal Pikachu. Only now, Clemont's failure to overlook every component backfires in TR's plan. Lol.

Clemont's inventions continue to surprise me as it now becomes a plot device for a whole episode, and not just a running gag.

Overall, the episode was very entertaining, and turned out to be even better than I expected.

 

[Norzan]

Ok i have to ask but wich character is wearing the Pikachu's disguise? Because that disguise is the stuff of nightmares.

 

[Shadao]

Ok i have to ask but wich character is wearing the Pikachu's disguise? Because that disguise is the stuff of nightmares.

James's Inkay. It's wearing the costume upside down.

 

[Norzan]

Ok i have to ask but wich character is wearing the Pikachu's disguise? Because that disguise is the stuff of nightmares.

James's Inkay. It's wearing the costume upside down.

Thanks, still that disguise, i'm gonna have nightmares for days.

 

[Dogasu]

Without going too much into an anti-BW rant...I'll just say that I'm glad episodes like this are being made again.

This one had so many great quotes:

Kojirou: "And this is my partner, Pikachu!"
Boy: "Pikachu can fly!?"
Kojirou: "That's right. We underwent special training! My Pikachu is special!"
Maa'ika: "Ika!"

Family Restaurant Employee: "Hey! You didn't pay! You didn't pay!"
Musashi: "Ta-da! Let's run! I'm Serena from Asame Town!"
Kojirou: "I'm Satoshi from Masara Town!"
Nyasu: "Eureka from Miare City!"

Serena: "That's a terrible disguise! You don't look like me at all!"
Musashi: "Ta-da!"
Serena: "I don't say "ta-da" all the time like that!"
Musashi: "Ta-da ta-da ta-da!"
Serena: "I don't say that, either!"

Musashi: "Today's the day we get Pikachu! Using our "We Don't Give a Darn About Electric Attacks Elezard Machine!""
Eureka: "That's kind of a boring name."
Musashi: "Yeah, I thought the same thing."


If I had a complaint about this nearly flawless episode I'd say it was them reusing Citron's machine from the cold opening during the battle with the Rocket-Dan at the end. I know Horuby helps in the battle but it would have been nice to see the Rocket trio not be defeated by the same machine twice in one episode.

 

[Adamant]

Serena: "That's a terrible disguise! You don't look like me at all!"
Musashi: "Ta-da!"
Serena: "I don't say "ta-da" all the time like that!"
Musashi: "Ta-da ta-da ta-da!"
Serena: "I don't say that, either!"

Actually, part of the joke is that Musashi screws up the catchphrase and says "jan-jan" instead of "ja-jan".

 

[G50]

I didn't like this episode all that much, but there were a couple things I did like in it. I liked how Clemont's machine was used this time to actually absorb TR's Pokemon's attacks, to foil them this time even though it exploded. I also liked seeing Bunnelby in battle action again, and that Pumpkaboo knows Dark Pulse.

 

[THECIA]

inkachu was creepy tbh

 

[Osprey]

Gosh darn. This was a decent idea, surprising it took over a decade for them to actually use it. If I just glanced over the TRio's disguises, I think I might actually be fooled. Sure, it's plain to see something's not right with them, but they've improved their disguises significantly.

 

[Hassel]

As much as I loved TR in this episode, poor Citron freaking out at the end was super adorable. What a cute dork.