Review BW097: The Reijuu Formes Advance! Isshu's Greatest Crisis!!

[ObjectionMan]

Writing them out of this generation doesn't mean they can't come back, especially since they still have their radio.

Did you ever stop and think that their radio show was made so that they can stay around without being on the actual TV show?

Because that's what it's looking like, especially since the radio show and anime are so distant from each other in tone and substance.

 

[Musashi]

Did you ever stop and think that their radio show was made so that they can stay around without being on the actual TV show?

It was said from the start that's why the radio show was made.

Doesn't mean they can never come back to the anime.

 

[Cybersai]

Doesn't mean they can't go back to their old routine in Gen 6.

I don't believe TR will continue pass this generation. Remember there are at least 7-8 months of Best Wishes left after the league in 2013. We'll still see TR in bits and pieces over the next year.

These are all opinions, not facts.

Well with TR not in Unova, we can say they're not going after Ash and Pikachu. If they stayed behind in Unova and only Giovanni/Zager left on the helicopter, I'd say they would be used for generic filler plots again. However since they actually LEFT, we can assume we won't see them interact with Ash and co. for some time, probably not till the league is done.

If we see them at all, it'll probably be just 1-2 minute scenes back in TR HQ's in Kanto.

 

[p96822]

We might not see team rocket for a long time. The flight to Kanto and Unova is a long trip

 

[fruitsmoothierevenge]

I was disappointed, but if I think about it more I find more to like about it, so I'm hoping that happens for everyone, too. As was mentioned, great animation and very nice music.

As for Jessie, James, and Meowth? I think they'll be back sooner than never, especially if we get to keep hearing them do the radio show. I cracked up when Jessie talked about Pikachu. I think they'll be back to a form of their old form when we see them next. I wouldn't mind after the League-- I will miss their concessions and trinkets-- but let's get them back in the anime at some point, please!
As Sunyshore mentioned, JJ&M tackling Giovanni pretty much saved the region/world. Hooray! But it also gives a good show of character growth regarding Gio. I sat there afterwards for a moment, and then thought, Wait, did they just touch him? Guys, they touched him. Do you remember waaaay back at the beginning when they couldn't even hear him over the phone without being fearful? Now they're like, no big deal, we got this; let's save Isshu. Couldn't be prouder. They're the best.

 

[Garren]

No lie, I'd love to see them write Meowth into the next season as one of the members of the main cast, i.e., with the twerps throughout the whole region.

Would rock, and it would allow some interesting development for the Pokemon since we could get their perspective moreso.

 

[Paulisthebest]

Interesting to see the renewed interest in stealing Pikachu again. I find it ironic how James and Jessie follow Pikachu based on amazing displays of strength but Pikachu's power came from an indirect power source;

Episode 2; they started showing interest in Pikachu due to the power it showed when it blew up the Pokemon Center with an incredible electric attack but in reality Pikachu's extra strength come from all of the other Pikachus in the Center that helped boosts it power and then the only reason it blew up was because of Koffing's gas being expelled and getting ignited by the electricity

This week, Pikachu absorbed a Thunder attack from Thundurus and that gave it the power to create that enormous Electro Ball and TR was impressed by that power so their interest is once gaining probably going to be going after Ash for Pikachu (if they return)

 

[Ampharos King]

I have placed my episode review in spoilers for those who don't want to read it.

Spoiler

Everything just ended abruptly, in my opinion. This is what happens when the writers decide to resolve two storylines--both Team Rocket being in Unova, and Meloetta leaving the main cast--in less than twenty minutes.

Once again, I perceive Larry's ability to hear Meloetta from miles away as yet another ridiculous plot device to more the storyline along. How Larry has this special ability is never explained, but presumably his knowledge of Meloetta and its connection with the people who originally created the Reveal Mirror has something to do with it.

It is also nice knowing that the main characters know the three Kami pokemon from their previous encounter with them back in BW060 and BW061. I don't think it was ever mentioned in the episode whether these pokemon were the exact same ones that the main characters fought before. It may have been the case that Team Rocket decided to catch the Kami pokemon to satisfy a requirement for their Operation Tempest, but considering how far back BW060 and BW061 were made, I don't think the writers knew that much about the Therian formes to have planned ahead that much. More likely than not, the Kami pokemon were obviously shoehorned into this plotline just so their Therian formes can debut in the anime. It felt that TR was only included here as the residual antagonists here because the writers had no other villains whose goals were diabolic enough to justify featuring these legendary pokemon in the anime.

It seems that the writers are a huge fan of deus ex machinas, and that is especially the case during this episode. The first instance of a DEM that i have seen was when the writersmade it so that Pikachu was able to break free of the energy cage just by repeatedly using Iron Tail on it. Considering that Meloetta in its Pirouette Forme broke out of its own cage prior to BW082, I am not surprised that a non-legendary pokemon was able to break out of a similar cage. However, I felt that the Kami pokemon (who were much stronger than either of them) were not able to destroy the cages that TRio set for them back in BW061. It felt that these energy cases used during the two parter were inferior to the ones that were used on the Kami pokemon beforehand, which would not make much sense realistically due to the amount of planning and tactics detailing TR's plans in BW.

It was also nice to see J/J get their dues from the writers and have them interfere with Ash rescuing Meloetta while Giovanni attempted to control the Kami pokemon.

We also got a bit of "development" from Iris's Dragonite, who expectedly decided to rush into battle against stronger opponents with absolutely no regard for its own safety or that of its friends. As consolation for those who disliked Iris for getting through the first two rounds of the Junior Cup using this Dragonite, the writers had the Kami pokemon practically wipe the floor of the pokemon until Iris showed up to protect it (again). Just when Iris was about to get attacked by Thundurus, somehow Pikachu was able to absorb the latter pokemon's electricity and protect Iris and Dragonite from the attack. After that mess, Iris somehow "calmed" Dragonite again with her power, and the Dragonite magically just obeyed its trainer once more without any logic or consistency. Is Dragonite going to obey Iris now from this point, or will it still rampage from time to time?

Consequently, the amount of focus that the writers spent on Iris and Dragonite practically made all of the other pokemon that assisted them--Cynthia's Garchomp, Pansage, and Larry's Golurk--do little else other than get their asses kicked by the same pokemon that nearly did in Dragonite just seconds ago. Garchomp practically jumped up just to push Dragonite to avoid the pokemon from falling. It clearly shows that the writers were playing favorites once again by giving Dragonite so much screentime compared to the others.

And then the writers and animators pulled something similar to the plotline of B2W2 games and had the Kami pokemon freeze certain parts of the Unova region with their combined powers. How in the hell do pokemon who have the power to bring rainstorms and thunder suddenly obtain the power to freeze everything as well? While it may have been disastrous from the description, in reality the deep freeze caused by the Kami pokemon wasn't large enough to cause major damage to Undella Town's infrastructure.

Speaking of lazy attempts at resolving the plotline, Pikachu (after absorbing Thundurus's electricity) conjured up an Electro Ball so large and powerful that it destroyed the structure that bound Meloetta and forced it to supply power to the Kami trio. And then it turns out that Giovanni suffered from the same anger issues that did in Archie back in AG, in which he becomes obsessed with wanting to destroy everything in his sight after being taken out by the Reveal Mirror. Not too much resolves from that; TRio disagreed with Giovanni's decision to destroy Unova (rather than to take it over), pushed him out of the pentagram that he stood in to protect him from a landslide, and Giovanni immediately regained his senses and control once he left the seal. Then Giovanni and TRio decide to leave Unova and go back to their headquarters in Kanto. Then J/J mention that Ash's Pikachu is indeed a special pokemon, but it felt completely forced considering that Pikachu was only able to use such a powerful Electro Ball to save Meloetta because it had absorbed another legendary pokemon's electricity. But considering that TRio only started going after Ash's Pikachu because other Pikachu in the Viridian City Pokemon Center supplied it with extra electricity back in the second episode of the original series, I can't say that this was unexpected.

Unfortunately, it seems that this is the last that we will see of TRio in the anime. Usually special endings (such as Team Rocket Forever) that feature a montage of clips that depict scenes with specific characters in it signals the end of those characters.Since the majority of the clips in the ending feature Team Rocket and some of their important pokemon, it seems that this is the last that we will see of TRio, at least until the end of this series. Considering their long history on the main cast, TRio didn't deserve a departure like this. I felt that they should have been given much more, but unfortunately the writers don't seem to construct great goodbyes for recurring cast members in this anime any more. With that said, I will honestly be surprised if the writers decide to bring them back to the anime outside of the radio show that the TRio currently has.

And finally, Meloetta saves the day by using the same song that it used in the past ten episodes or so to calm the Therian pokemon. We also got to see a little bit of Oshawott overreacting while trying to say goodbye to Meloetta.

Overall, this episode turned out to be better than I thought it would be. At the same time, however, the events at the end of the episode made me begging for more, especially with the "departure" of TRio in Best Wishes. I felt that the writers should have made a third episode so that the plotline does not appear to have a forced resolution.

With that said, there will be a few filler episodes for the next couple of weeks until Ash and co. arrive to the site of the Unova League.

 

[Adil]

This could have been a three-parter... Sakaki should be more involved from now on, I found his character much more interesting this time. And the TR ending was a nice surprise.

 

[PokeMasterCroatia1997]

This was one of the worst episode of Unova Saga! I thought that this was Team Rocket final operation and i thought the Team Rocket was going to die! But still, it was interesting episode because Oshawott was sad when Meloetta leaved with Larry!

 

[Grave-E]

The first instance of a DEM that i have seen was when the writersmade it so that Pikachu was able to break free of the energy cage just by repeatedly using Iron Tail on it. Considering that Meloetta in its Pirouette Forme broke out of its own cage prior to BW082, I am not surprised that a non-legendary pokemon was able to break out of a similar cage.

I'll admit that while watching the episode I sniggered when Pikachu was able to destroy the holo-cube prison thing so easily. Every freaking time these stupid things of Zager's are so easily destroyed that it's starting to feel like a running gag or something.

 

[Rajagopal90]

To be frank, the writers cant simply get rid of Team Rocket that easily with just a 2-parter.. I mean they are the biggest crime organization from the anime.. They are the villains in kanto & johto.. They almost messed up Team Magma & Team Aqua's plans in Hoenn and they almost fooled Team Galactic in Sinnoh and now in Unova they are the real villains upto this episode(Team Plasma has not made an entry really).... So they have outclassed all villain teams in all regions and so far ""THE BIGGEST"".. I hope its not justice to say goodbye in 2 episodes.. Is was simply cheap publicity stunt done in the magazine as TR finale.. And the trio mostly are the good guys helping Ash & co in all regions saving the day.. So its obvious the writers never want to write off TR now.. Will hav to wait for that .. and they are the best villains in this anime

 

[WatcherMark]

Honestly, if this is Team Rocket's exit from the show then I'm almost ready to be done with this show. BW and BW2 has so badly mishandled Team Rocket that I wish they'd just been written out after Diamond and Pearl. Nyasu could have worked in the Ramen Shop, Candy Musalina could take the contest world by storm and Kojirō... well, they could have found something for him to stay for.

Having said that, I did enjoy this episode a lot. The battles were nice and not a minute felt wasted. Although am I the only person to realize that the giant Electro Ball was due to Pikachu being hit by Voltolos... but I have come to the theory that getting hit by this reversed all the effects the power drain caused to Pikachu by Zekrom and he's back to his pre-DP power levels.

 

[Dogasu]

Our Rocket appearances from now on will be from the Radio and from the Live Caster.

It's been confirmed that this most recent Live Caster promotion was only a two week thing. We'll likely be back to Orchid-Hakase next week.

They made a poster declaring this as the Rocket-Dan's farewell and told us "not to miss the Rocket-Dan's final battle." Why would they have done that if this was just another Rocket two-parter?

To fuel speculation and boost ratings. Besides, Pokémon Smash just recently said that the radio show was ending, which we now know was a blatant misdirection.

...And you were very upset at that. And yet they're apparently doing the same thing here, according to you, and that's OK? Even though the misdirection here is a lot bigger, since it's dealing with the much more popular TV series? And even though the "Farewell Rocket-Dan!?" thing went on for over a month while the Rocket radio thing lasted only a week?

At least in this case the wording "Farewell? Team Rocket" was ambiguous.

The "Do not miss the Rocket-Dan's final battle" text on the poster is not ambiguous at all. Neither is the text on TV-Tokyo's website that was posted after the episode aired saying that we can win a special Pikachu DS as a farewell to the Rocket-Dan.

So like I was saying many times, main characters have never been written off in the MIDDLE of a generation.

Main human characters never got a clip montage when they weren't being written out of the show, either.

They also tend to write the evil teams out of their respective shows before that region's Pokemon League, so this is in line with that as well.

They wouldn't pull off such a bullshit to characters that were here for 15 years.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what they did. A lot of the people don't want to admit this, however, and are busy trying to convince themselves that a bigger, "real" finale is on the way. But it isn't coming. This is it, whether we like it or not.

And if it indeed was their end, don't you think that we should get more proper title announcing that than "The Reijuu Formes Advance! Isshu's Greatest Crisis!!"?

The other evil teams' finales had similar titles.

The montage did seem to focus a lot on those three Pokémon... Dogasu, I'm curious to hear why you disagree with Musashi's assessment.

1) The montage didn't focus *only* on the three pokemon from the poll. There were also a ton of shots of just the Rocket trio, and, IIRC, a shot of Kojirou's Chiirin as well. Sonasu and Manene were there a lot, yes, but they were also the Rockets' most mascot-y pokemon. It would have been weird if they *hadn't* been there.
2) They haven't made a montage for any of the other polls; why start now? And, again, why fill it out with shots of characters unrelated to the poll (the Rocket trio) when there's plenty of footage to be used of just the pokemon?
3) They replaced the ending theme with an (awkwardly) edited version of what is essentially the Rocket trio's theme song. They wouldn't have done that for just a poll.

Episode 2; they started showing interest in Pikachu due to the power it showed when it blew up the Pokemon Center with an incredible electric attack but in reality Pikachu's extra strength come from all of the other Pikachus in the Center that helped boosts it power and then the only reason it blew up was because of Koffing's gas being expelled and getting ignited by the electricity

This week, Pikachu absorbed a Thunder attack from Thundurus and that gave it the power to create that enormous Electro Ball and TR was impressed by that power

I think the interest the trio showed in Pikachu at the end of the episode wasn't to foreshadow some future plotline where they return to trying to catch Pikachu in every episode. Instead, I think it was meant as a bookend to the trio. As mentioned here, the trio started the series impressed with Pikachu's power, and now they're leaving it while being impressed with Pikachu's power.

It's similar to how Kasumi started the series with a bicycle and left with one as well.

 

[Cybersai]

It's similar to how Kasumi started the series with a bicycle and left with one as well.

Oh c'mon, Dogasu, you know good and well TR's departure here isn't like Misty or Brock's where they left the show forever.

This was the writers way of writing them out for the tail-end of Unova simply because the upcoming episodes focus on the Unova league and there's no reason for them to appear for the time being. The writers will likely have them return in 2013, and if this is the final saga for TR, have them go out with a true finale just before the end of the 5th generation.

I think its also telling that you're the only one who is trying to pass this off as TR's final episode in the anime forever. If that were the case Giovanni would have been struck by the light and died, Zager would declare Team Rocket to be "finished," and Jessie/James would make comments about what they were doing next. It was TR's final mission in Unova, not their finale in the anime.

 

[Dogasu]

Oh c'mon, Dogasu, you know good and well TR's departure here isn't like Misty or Brock's where they left the show forever.

That's exactly what this was. Only this was done very, very poorly.

 

[Jez]

It saddens me a lot but I am also convinced that it was the episode of the exit of the trio of the anime. Jessie, James and Meowth will certainly have a cameo episode in 2013 as Brock and Dawn had and certainly at the time that their effigy figurines emerge as a tribute but I'm sure they will not return in current episodes. I sincerely hope I am wrong though... *sigh*

 

[Dogasu]

And before anyone brings up those upcoming Rocket figures as "proof" that they're coming back...Nobori and Kudari are in that line as well and they haven't been on the show in about a year.

 

[Silktree]

...And you were very upset at that. And yet they're apparently doing the same thing here, according to you, and that's OK? Even though the misdirection here is a lot bigger, since it's dealing with the much more popular TV series? And even though the "Farewell Rocket-Dan!?" thing went on for over a month while the Rocket radio thing lasted only a week?

I don't like this kind of promotion, but that's neither here nor there. I think that in both cases making it seem that Team Rocket are leaving is a way to test the fans' reaction to that idea. If they end up returning, I assume that most people won't complain about the misdirection. It's similar to the pretense that Brock and even Ash weren't being carried over to the DP series; we were left wondering about that possibility for two months.

They also tend to write the evil teams out of their respective shows before that region's Pokemon League, so this is in line with that as well.

Teams Magma, Aqua and Galactic got an actual resolution to speak of, and they weren't even main characters. I'm curious: Why do you think Team Rocket didn't disband? Do you really think the writers couldn't even be bothered to wrap things up in an obvious way?

Unfortunately, that's exactly what they did. A lot of the people don't want to admit this, however, and are busy trying to convince themselves that a bigger, "real" finale is on the way. But it isn't coming. This is it, whether we like it or not.

Perhaps there won't be a bigger finale, but some sort of closure is necessary. I doubt that the radio show will be able to provide it, and I don't see what the point of continuing the radio show would be if Team Rocket didn't have any future in the actual anime, either.

 

[Musashi]

@Dogasu; Please stop stating your opinion as absolute facts. You do not work for the show. None of us do. No one can say for 100% absolute certain what will happen.

But acting like the Rockets are off the show for sure is ridiculous. The proof they're gone forever has always been very circumstantial. A small message in the post, a small line in the TV Tokyo summary... that's it. Most of the next has had that ?! which has signified in the past it's something that most likely wont happen.

If that montage was some sort of goodbye, then it was a shitty one. After I rewatched it had basically hack shit to do with the TRio, and was more about three Pokemon we haven't seen in years.

As for those new figures, the Subway twins have always been highly popular GAME characters.