Preview JN037: I'm Back, Nice to Meet You, Alola!

[Hidden Mew]

And the thing is, did it really promote it though? Aside from that awful haircut with the games in mind, it took a backseat to Primarina as the series went on and barely had focus. The biggest potential selling point, in my opinion, would have been using any of Eevee's specific Let's Go Eevee moves, such as Bouncy Bubble, which they didn't animate for some reason. All we got was Double Edge...

A shame and a bigger shame Lana didn't make something out it by evolving it into a Vaporeon by now; maybe in a later Journeys episode centered around Eeveelutions.

Maybe they didn't want to only give Sandy just one of the specific moves it could learn from Let's Go Eevee or they couldn't think of a good in-universe reason why Sandy could suddenly learn these moves. It would have been a better way to promote the games than just giving Sandy a haircut, but since Lana wasn't really that into battling, maybe it still wouldn't have been able to showcase those different moves either.

It's possible that they could evolve Sandy down the road, especially when I'm sure that there will be other episodes set in Alola during Journeys' run, but I wouldn't bet money on it. Although, I am surprised that they aren't staying in Alola for two episodes here, if only because cramming in all of these introductions and reunions into one episode sounds like a lot to do.

 

[SKYRYAN]

I think Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine will make an appearance on this episode and they found Mohn in a flashback. And Mohn returns to Alola.

 

[Silktree]

Unfortunately. Even though the game it promoted came out years ago.

I am not sure why it matters when Lana may not appear after this episode, let alone battle, and there's a new Eevee that is likely to get caught. This reminds me of how people got excited over May's Watortle and Venusaur, even though they did nothing.

I think Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine will make an appearance on this episode and they found Mohn in a flashback. And Mohn returns to Alola.

Not likely at all. Only Lillie and Gladion have their VAs listed, and they'll most likely be relegated to a flashback from SM.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Honestly, I forgot that Sandy even exists. Despite the backlash towards Lana catching it instead of Ash, it really was pretty forgettable, which is a shame after all of the buildup to its capture. They just did virtually nothing with Sandy after its pretty solid capture episode. I can understand why people thought it would evolve off screen. It was designed to promote Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, but now that those games aren't as relevant as they were during SM, maybe the idea of it becoming a Vaporeon wouldn't be a huge stretch. I didn't think that they would go that route anyway and personally, I'm not sure if evolving off-screen would have been that much better. I wasn't disappointed so much as just reminded that Lana does indeed have an Eevee.

Yea, honestly Sandy was probably some of the worst cases of shallow advertisement that this series has done. It really just seemed that it was only meant to exist to advertise LGPE rather than hold any depth as a character because beyond its capture, the writers mainly just had it sit there in Lana’s arms and do a whole lot of nothing. Which is honestly a shame as it received the worst treatment of all the previous notable Eevee in the series:

Gary’s was there for Pokémon Yellow advertisement and eventually advertised Umbreon.

May’s got to be an active part of her team and eventually advertised Glaceon

Serena’s served to advertise Sylveon and was pretty active both before and after evolving.

Lana’s was a glorified plushie that did nothing important after being captured.

 

[Singaporean]

Second and final preview:

View: https://youtu.be/z5eNwguf89s

 

[Islander Princess]

I think Lillie, Gladion, and Lusamine will make an appearance on this episode and they found Mohn in a flashback. And Mohn returns to Alola.

I believe the official Pokeani Twitter account tweeted something saying that they're still out looking for Mohn. Which is fine by me; I'm still holding out hope for a dedicated Mohn arc in the future (which would be much more satisfying than him just appearing out of nowhere, imo).

Second and final preview:

View: https://youtu.be/z5eNwguf89s

Goh awkwardly standing behind Ash's other friends is so relatable. I love it.

 

[SKYRYAN]

I can't wait to see it!

 

[JinksChow]

Maybe they didn't want to only give Sandy just one of the specific moves it could learn from Let's Go Eevee or they couldn't think of a good in-universe reason why Sandy could suddenly learn these moves. It would have been a better way to promote the games than just giving Sandy a haircut, but since Lana wasn't really that into battling, maybe it still wouldn't have been able to showcase those different moves either.

Lana's dream was literally to make a giant bubble that could fit her to explore undersea; just create a scenario where Sandy saw Popplio/Brionne/Primarina doing bubble training with Lana and wants to join in as well, that's already a good setup for learning Bouncy Bubble.

Like you said, it's probably because they don't want to set a precedent of showcasing Partner Pikachu/Eevee moves from the LGPE games, which is why Sandy got nothing other than a haircut...

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I still maintain that giving each girl a hand held Pokémon to be Misty 2.0,3.0 and4.0 was a bad decision.

 

[Kurolegacy]

I still maintain that giving each girl a hand held Pokémon to be Misty 2.0,3.0 and4.0 was a bad decision.

Without a doubt. Not only did it contribute to some pretty bad implications of female stereotype but they were a complete waste as these Pokémon served no purpose other than being held in their trainer’s arms. Even Snowy, Lillie’s partner Pokémon, you could never really consider a particularly strong Pokémon even by the end of the series.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Giving a Vaporeon to Lana is the most uncreative anime decision I can think of.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Giving a Vaporeon to Lana is the most uncreative anime decision I can think of.

Maybe but given her water Pokémon specialty, it was the most logical endgame especially considering that none of the other Trial Captain characters ventured outside of their type specialty and that she caught it in a dive ball which is meant for water types.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Maybe but given her water Pokémon specialty, it was the most logical endgame especially considering that none of the other Trial Captain characters ventured outside of their type specialty and that she caught it in a dive ball which is meant for water types.

Hence why it's the most uncreative decision I can think of.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Hence why it's the most uncreative decision I can think of.

Personally I find that the uncreative decision may have been the lesser of 2 evils compared to what the writers did do with just turning it into a glorified arm plushie.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

We managed to get this preview thread past 400 posts. Congratulations, everyone!