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

[FinnishPokéFan92]

 

[jbmasta]

Assuming pregnancy in the Pokemon world is nine months, almost a year must have taken place since the end of Sun & Moon (even accounting for each episode being a day or two unless shown otherwise and travel time between regions is a huge stretch for 37 episodes).

The TRio's Alola teams had such a sweet cameo.

Well, it's nice to see the Sun and Moon cast again! Only problem I have is as mentioned by other users, it was a little bit rushed. This should been have a two-parter.

It is odd since Sun and Moon had a two parter with the visit to Kanto and seeing Brock and Misty again.

Given how close he became to Kukui and Burnett, I could see them staying in touch. They see Ash as family and I don't think they'd be the type to just never say another word to Ash again after he left.

Kukui knew to pick Ash up from the airport, plus the was Burnett called him Big Brother Ash does indicate they have off-screen contact. Lana recognised Go as Ash's friend just by hearing his name, so Ash has probably also called them since departing Alola.

For a nostalgia trip Alola is a bit recent, less than a year since the Sun and Moon series ended and the single episode didn't give much time for any of the Alola crew besides Kiawe to get much to do. A reunion episode for Hoenn or Sinnoh would be really good, since Sun and Moon already did a Kanto reunion episode. The Safari Zone would help to alleviate the issues with Go's effortless captures.

 

[Silvercrescent13]

Anyone else bothered by what Go said about not supporting Satoshi in his dreams? Seems like a really jerk thing to say, and a little OOC of him. Considering none of the others reacted in a negative way, and he also said that Satoshi feels the same, am I mistaking what he meant?

 

[Panky..]

Anyone else bothered by what Go said about not supporting Satoshi in his dreams? Seems like a really jerk thing to say, and a little OOC of him. Considering none of the others reacted in a negative way, and he also said that Satoshi feels the same, am I mistaking what he meant?

Was it a jerk thing to say? Yeah.

Was it OOC? Not at all, given his established asocial traits and lack of experience in larger social circles or unfamiliar grounds. If anything, his forward and outgoing nature atimes can be seen as OOC, especially last week's portrayal of him where he confidently helped Ash out of his slump (though it was just Ash there, so...).

Like some people mentioned earlier, it can only be seen as positive development if it's not abandoned in the future and they set up Goh to learn a lesson (that the anime itself has been teaching for 20 years now).
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In other news, Pokemon Journeys/2019 introduces a new ship because .

Spoiler: Large images

 

[nickdt]

Go - My dream is to capture every Pokemon to work my way up to Mew
Alola Gang - Applause (Despite them knowing thats not how it works).

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Gou also promised Kaki to take care of Satoshi, which definitely includes helping him.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Go's line is weird, because even though you can argue that's one of his traits and there room for development there, we've absolutely seen him helping Ash train, and Ash helping him catch Pokémon. We don't see Ash disagreeing one bit when Go mentions him feeling the same way either. Whatever the writers were going for with this, they could have worded it better, assuming there wasn't something missed in translation of course.

I wasn't expecting Rotom Dex at all, I thought they'd avoid him like they avoided Oak's Rotom when the Alola cast went to Kanto. I loved seeing him interacting with the Rotom Phones, even though I still don't get why they seem to be less sentient. I also like everytime they show that Ash keeps in touch with his friends and family off-screen.

Miyazaki music btw

Is it just me or did they not bother to update the photo on the wall to the current art style (i.e. Satoshi’s bigger eyes, Pikachu’s face)?

Spoiler

View attachment 136211

What I don't get is how Ash seems to be the only one who changes depending on the artstyle. The Alola cast looks pretty much the same as they did in Sun and Moon. The same thing happened with Korrina as they recycled a shot straight from XY and that series looked even more different.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

What I don't get is how Ash seems to be the only one who changes depending on the artstyle. The Alola cast looks pretty much the same as they did in Sun and Moon. The same thing happened with Korrina as they recycled a shot straight from XY and that series looked even more different.R

He and Team Rocket are the only characters designed by the anime. Other characters' designs are directly based on their game designs.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

We don't see Ash disagreeing one bit when Go mentions him feeling the same way either. Whatever the writers were going for with this, they could have worded it better, assuming there wasn't something missed in translation of course.

To be frank, no one really responded to Goh's lines there. So we don't know if they were in agreement, disagreement, or indecisive.

 

[Gabo2oo]

To be frank, no one really responded to Goh's lines there. So we don't know if they were in agreement, disagreement, or indecisive.

Yeah, that's why I don't dismiss the possibility of this being tackled later. But I really think if that was the intention, we would've gotten a more explicit reaction from Ash.

He and Team Rocket are the only characters designed by the anime. Other characters' designs are directly based on their game designs.

That doesn't explain certain cases like Professor Oak, whom they updated to match FRLG back in the Best Wishes series, but they keep slightly re-designing him every time to match the art style. So on second thought, it's not just Ash like I said earlier, but that only makes things even more inconsistent.

 

[Moe]

So happy to see even a tiny bit of follow up to the Lillie/Gladion storyline - especially the bonus of Gladion's amazing outfit in the scene. I'd obviously like a full sidestory episode on continuing that, but hopefully the future Alola episode promised here might be significantly about that.

Obviously trying to squeeze too much into this episode, would have been really good to have Riolu face off against Lycanroc - or even just to have Gou fangirl a bit over the rare Pokemon Ash has, like where else would someone see a Melmetal!? I suppose at least it's implied the Pokemon got to know eachother a bit with the food eating scene, but there's a lot more they could have done there.

I suppose everything else was fine - the issues with the episode are only musing on what could have happened with more time, don't really have too much to complain about with what was in there.

 

[VetProf]

It seems like a lot of people found Gou's "friends shouldn't support each other's dreams" statement to be quite jarring, and while I had a similar reaction when I first heard it, I think I kinda understand what Gou's trying to say after thinking about it a bit. He's not saying that friends shouldn't help each other at all (which should be quite obvious considering all the times Gou's already helped Ash + Gou saying he'll try to "look after" Ash at the end of the battle this episode), he's just trying to say that friends shouldn't have to constantly/actively help each other to achieve their dreams (to the point of ignoring their own dreams), and that dreams should be something that's mainly achieved through your own efforts.

"Just because Ash's goal involves becoming a good battler, that doesn't mean I have to actively help him by being his rival/also being a good battler." I think that's what Gou was trying to say. Then again, I might be reaching a bit here, and there might be some confusing wording involved (either with the subs or with the original dialogue), so who knows. This is just my own interpretation and attempt at trying to rationalize Gou's words.

 

[nickdt]

It seems like a lot of people found Gou's "friends shouldn't support each other's dreams" statement to be quite jarring, and while I had a similar reaction when I first heard it, I think I kinda understand what Gou's trying to say after thinking about it a bit. He's not saying that friends shouldn't help each other at all (which should be quite obvious considering all the times Gou's already helped Ash + Gou saying he'll try to "look after" Ash at the end of the battle this episode), he's just trying to say that friends shouldn't have to constantly/actively help each other to achieve their dreams (to the point of ignoring their own dreams), and that dreams should be something that's mainly achieved through your own efforts.

Except there is a problem with that, since Ash does help Gou achieve his dreams by actively looking for Pokemon for him.

 

[Sheep]

i'm so excited to finally get to watch

- their decision to go to Alola was very quick, but I'm not complaining since it means more time for Alola itself
- sees kukui and screams on the inside!!!
- "The Professors are my Alolan family, as well as Pikachu's." ;__;
- Go is really cute with his blushy reactions here, I love it! He's so pure.
- The scene with Ash and Rei is adorable. And Burnet's expression when she called Ash his 'Big Brother'....awwww. Glad to see they've been keeping in touch, Ash clearly knew about the baby already! As it should be.
- Missed Ash's team so much! So happy to see them tbh!!
- let this be a lesson for raboot not to mess with random pokémon it finds, poor boy got decked lol
- Still wish Sandy had evolved into Vaporeon, especially since Let's Go came out almost two years ago now so there's less reason to keep it around for marketing, but I won't complain. Eevee is cute.
- TR mons and Bewear/Stufful cameo!! would've wanted more screentime for them but I'll def take this over nothing.
- Go is so introverted, reminds me of myself when put into situations like that haha. cuuute
- I love Lillie and her family's sense of fashion. Where can I get that dress??
- Wow, I really missed Kiawe's awesome z-move animation, and that side step he does at the end. Super cool.
- pouty Go awww, but i see they are now besties
- Yes, please go to Alola again. Stay for a few episodes! Please!

This would have really benefited from a two-episode short arc so certain parts didn't feel as rushed (like Ash and Go suddenly ending up back at Cerise's lab with no on-screen goodbyes/proper transition), but I'll take what I can get. Loved it overall and am very happy to see my Alolan babies again. <3 10/10 despite obvious pacing issues. I love Alola.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Yeah, that's why I don't dismiss the possibility of this being tackled later. But I really think if that was the intention, we would've gotten a more explicit reaction from Ash.

Ash was frowning but it wasn't clear if that was specifically a reaction to what Go was saying. We do know that Ash doesn't feel the same way based on his many "I couldn't have done it without you" moments. Retconning Ash just so Go can be right would be the worst thing ever. There's also their disagreement about the Ivysaur in episode 3 which this seems to be building on.

Now here's a potentially unpopular opinion: I don't have a problem with how Kiawe acted. I honestly think that because we're so used to him now, we forgot what he's like when he's not familiar with someone. At the beginning of SM, Kiawe also acted pretty gruff with Ash. He's really passionate and can get super intense, and that doesn't really change until you get to know him. I mean, you could tell the other classmates were kind of used to it. They were all pretty wary with him, but it's not like they were totally thrown. By the end of the episode, he was the sweet, supportive Kiawe we've all become accustomed to. And what do you know: it looks like he became Goh's closest friend there!

Similarly, I don't have a problem with the role Goh played here. I was worried about it, but after watching the episode, I have to give the writers credit where credit is due. Honestly, I think Goh kind of needed a fire lit under his ass. He's relatively passive and kind of awkward; that's his character. But we've never really seen Goh totally pushed out of his comfort zone to the point where he feels he needs to stand up for himself (which is yet another reason I'm okay with how Kiawe acted). And while I will agree that the "friends don't help each other reach their goals" line was pretty jarring, it does fit in with Goh's character, sad as that is. I genuinely feel this is the reason we may see more of Ash's former companions: Goh is gonna learn that actually yes, friends DO help each other reach their goals. Ash did not get to where he is by himself. That's literally the entire point of the show. Ultimately, Goh is going to need more of these experiences in order to learn that for himself.

Agreed about Kiawe, hope you're right about Go. There's potential for a very good story there but it makes me nervous.

I just thought of the Alola/Manalo stuff from the Necrozma arc and how much Go's statement clashes with it. The fact that he said it in Alola makes it stand out even more - hopefully that's a sign that they know what they're doing and Go is actually going to learn something.

 

[Panky..]

SERIOUS WARNING: This post is very lengthy, far more than my previous longest in JN034. Just skip it if it’s too much. But if you do read it, here’s something in advance…

Pros:

• +++ We’re finally back home! Some people may have reservations about it being too soon for an Alolan reunion but since this series is about all the regions, it would only make sense that Alola would be revisited sooner rather than later and given how small the region is, it was inevitable for the Alolan cast to pop up with that visit. Ash reuniting with what he essentially calls his Alolan Family (literally said to Goh with the latter questioning it) and meeting his cute baby brother for the first time was the best moment for me in the entire episode, even more than him reuniting with his Pokemon or friends. It’s a shame that particular segment was cut short because I wanted to see Ash spend more time with Lei and family (if they decide to do a future time skip series and give an older Ash more of a mentor protagonist role with Lei as the lead, then I’ll actually welcome something like that happening as long as they set it up properly down the line). Hopefully, future Alolan episodes are much more fleshed out without any of the rushing issues of this one. On a different note related to this point, Ash apparently knew about Lei and the rest of the Alolan group recognized Goh by name which canonizes the headcanon (by @Daren) that Ash does stay in contact with his loved ones, friends and Pokemon off-screen. Now I can’t get this image of Ash texting on his mobile late at night out of my head.
• + There were so many throwbacks to the first episode of SM (protagonist chasing Grubbin, getting lost in the forest, Lana fishing the protagonist out with the “Mr. Soaked” comment) and while it may seem like blatant fanservice, at least it clicked in this episode in an entertaining way. This episode once again proves that continuity-heavy nature is what enhances the series. I always enjoy watching characters from the past series interacting with the ones in the present (and vice versa), especially if there are interesting scenarios or relations to be seen. It also erodes the fallacy that any form of continuity can be ‘confusing to fans and alienate them’ especially because Goh is the new fans’ PoV into this established universe. I can’t believe they actually had that group photo literally with SM’s artwork though, lol.
• ++ Goh’s initial meeting with the Alolan group, the subsequent awkwardness, reluctance and slight amount of fear was so close to home that I could relate as a fellow introvert (though I’m a bit more on the antisocial side than asocial). Throughout most of the episode, it felt like Goh took a bit of a backseat in terms of interactions, being quite overwhelmed, nervous and even slightly jealous at times of the bonds that Ash has forged with all these outgoing people. These are the type of moments that make Goh more relatable as a character rather than him having unrealistic successes handed to him. These are the moments that make it easy to sympathize and be impressed by Goh rather than his outlandish and contrived goal/path. These are the type of development that he needs and that needs to be built upon instead of being promptly abandoned/contradicted a few episodes down the line. I want to watch Goh grow gradually as a character like I did with Ash, Serena, Dawn etc. and not watch a walking Pokemon GO advertisement.
• + The battle that Kiawe had with Goh was a bit off and seemed like it was just a re-introduction to Z-Moves than anything else. Despite it seeming like Kiawe was bullying Goh, it was fairly in character of Kiawe to behave like he did. Just think back to how he behaved with Ash before they got to know each other. Lastly, that line; “friends should not help each other”; was really strange. I’m not sure if it’s a sub or wording error but it’s kind of ironic and makes Goh helping Ash out in the last episode feel quite off (if it was intentional then it further proves my past points about Goh’s past development being contradicted by newer one). Hopefully it was intentionally given his nature, and it’s set up to teach him the lesson that the anime has been teaching for 20+ years now, with his current stance being eroded the more contact and interactions he has with Ash’s returning friends.
• + Finally, confirmation on Lillie and Gladion’s status on their search for Mohn. That little revelation in the letter should hopefully indicate an arc regarding those characters down the line. It would be quite cool if they integrated some unused plot from the older games, or from the upcoming games/DLC, with the Mohn search arc. The area that the train was traveling through vaguely reminded me of the area near the Mt. Coronet range if my memory serves me right (ties into the potential Sinnoh remakes?). Or it could also be the outskirts of the Crown Tundra region which could factor in the DLC’s plot line.
• ++ Speaking of traveling around, the world building in this episode was MUCH BETTER, if not THE BEST in this series especially compared to what we’ve been getting so far (anyone remember the “major crisis” from the last episode, anyone?). The previously visited locales in Alola were the same here and invoked a sense of familiarity in anyone who last saw them instead of coming off as filler-esque redesigns. Also speaking of traveling the world, I was so glad that Ash took on a role of a ‘guide’ in some aspects in Alola, it’s a shame that they didn’t have him display the same tendency in the other regions especially during the Kalos and Hoenn episodes. The only issue with this particular point was the instant teleporting from Kanto to Alola and vice versa, though skipping of the traveling portions is most likely going to stick for now.
• +++ When I first heard that this series was going to include all the regions, my first thought (aside from it being continuity heavy and having past characters return and make frequent appearances) was that the music from the older generations would also feature again even if remixed in a ‘modern’ way. I was disappointed when it was a bunch of tracks and most of them not even being from the games (and 2 of them being country music of all genres). What I expected for this series when it came to the music was for each region to have their own set of soundtrack respective to that generation, for example; the infamous trumpet music to play during Hoenn episodes, the piano jazz in Sinnoh, the electronic tracks in Unova etc. with some mixing here and there to keep things interesting. So to finally hear the tropical jingles that I became accustomed to during SM, during an episode about Alola itself, was a nostalgic throwback and a pleasure to hear. Hope we see more of these regional soundtracks happen, even if they have to recycle older tracks.

Cons:

• - - As time again stated by me, this series suffers terribly from that horrible self-contained episodic format. What could have been a 2-parter with a lot more development and interactions, ended up being rushed within a time frame of 23 minutes with barely 4-5 minutes dedicated to each segment. While the content within the episode itself was really good, it’s a case of a lot of missed out potential and “what could have been”. Then there’s the lack of any indication on whether the Alolan reserves will be used in the PWC, even if it would be a bit early since we’re not even past that eventual rematch with Bea much less Ash being back in the Super Class, or the fact that Ash’s Champion status was not talked about. Some confirmation of this, even if it’s only ten seconds worth of dialogue, would have helped. I’m also bummed by the fact that outside of the lunch scene, his two Pokemon teams didn’t even interact in any way. The silver lining is that Ash and Goh made a promise to return to the region (obviously, can’t exclude 1 region out of 8 for this series) so hopefully things become much clearer there.
• - I wasn’t bothered by Goh being given more focus in this episode particularly because he’s supposed to be the entry point-of-view for all the new viewers after all, and for him (and the viewers) to become familiar with Ash’s established family and friends. What I am bothered with is how this causes a negative butterfly effect overall and the lack of proper balance between both the protagonists. Recall how I made percentage comparison recently between this series and DP for the first 37 episodes and how the latter was far more balanced and did more in a narrative sense. Between Ash’s crushing defeat in JN034 and eventual rematch in JN039, there’s a string of disconnected Goh focused episodes (and even more before JN034) with barely anything (outside of a poorly handled ‘slump’) regarding Ash actively working with his Pokemon to face off against Bea herself. If they shove in a 1 minute training montage in JN039 then this will only prove this point of mine and will somewhat cheapen his eventual victory (I can’t see him losing against Bea, it’ll make the PWC a bit too centralized and he’s already been beaten far enough as it is). This episode could have been a solo Ash outing/vacation that flowed from JN034 and JN036 following his slump, where his friends and family could have worked him out of his problem. It doesn’t help that the reason both of them went to Alola in the first place was merely so that Goh could acquire an Alolan Exeggutor instead of something far better like a homecoming reunion (that Mallow did plan out in this episode apparently), and said Exeggutor capture was pretty much treated as an afterthought which makes that initial reason seem even more unnecessary (since Goh would have tried to catch one upon seeing it anyways). It makes these regional visits feel a bit odd and like fetch quests instead of being proper memorable adventures.

Additional:

• I know that many people find Rotom Dex annoying (though I believe some of them judge it because of the dubbed voice), but I’ve always loved the guy and today’s episode just made me miss it even more. It’s quite ironic how despite them being just different forms of the same species, Rotom Dex is far more sentient, free willed and its own character (to the point of getting mad after getting its ego hurt by its counterpart) whereas the Phone Rotoms are… just there to be no more than any generic electronic devices without any traits to them. That, and I loved that someone finally interrupted Aicholtz Dex, it was indeed cathartic. They should have just had RotoM Dex stay with Ash in the Phone form instead of having it depart after SM. On an ending note, rejoice with that short cameo of TRio’s Pokemon, TRio fans! I’ll hold out hope for you alongside you all.

Verdict: While not without its fair share of faults that mostly stem from a poor structure for the series, the overall episode was everything expected from one that embraces a chock full of continuity, filled with interesting interactions between various characters and a lot of touching moments. It's easily a 9/10 for me.

 

[Kurolegacy]

You know, one issue of the series that Go’s speech about not being Ash’s rival brings to the table; neither of them have a rival of any kind. Having a rival within the narrative gives some level of stakes as it presents someone moving parallel to the character striving for the same thing and thus forces them to push themselves beyond their limits to not lose. Thus far, we have nothing of that sort for either. Everything just feels super casual as far as both of their goals go. Sure Bea beat Ash, but she doesn’t seem any different from Ash’s loses to gym leaders in the past rather than a recurring rival.

 

[Daren]

You know, one issue of the series that Go’s speech about not being Ash’s rival brings to the table; neither of them have a rival of any kind. Having a rival within the narrative gives some level of stakes as it presents someone moving parallel to the character striving for the same thing and thus forces them to push themselves beyond their limits to not lose. Thus far, we have nothing of that sort for either. Everything just feels super casual as far as both of their goals go. Sure Bea beat Ash, but she doesn’t seem any different from Ash’s loses to gym leaders in the past rather than a recurring rival.

I think Leon is more or less filling the rival role for Ash; a powerful opponent he wants to overcome. But instead of being another competitor like Gary or his successors Leon is already the established top dog.

It's just as well, really; if Ash had a normal rival it would sort of give away this series would probably end with Ash beating them and then losing to someone else in the PWC.

 

[ii kanji]

I think Leon is more or less filling the rival role for Ash; a powerful opponent he wants to overcome.

The only issue with this is that the feeling is not reciprocated. A good, mutual rivalry brings a lot of interesting interactions and potential for bilateral growth. Obviously Satoshi is pushed by aspiring to beat Dande, but until the close of the series he is unlikely to have any impact on Dande's development whatsoever.

 

[Rocket Messiah]

On an ending note, rejoice with that short cameo of TRio’s Pokemon, TRio fans! I’ll hold out hope for you alongside you all.

Thanks friend, pray for us please.

Cause when that happens it will be" The Greatest Pokémon Episode Ever"

I promise.