• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Review JN066: Flabebe's White Flower

An awesome episode without involving battle and at the same time teardropping with Goh releasing the newly evolve Floette in order of her Duty to maintain the flower blossom if any Flabebe in need of that.

Overall rating: C+
 
So instead of focusing on a Pokemon that actually needs the attention (Gengar) we're getting an episode focused on one of Goh's five Flabebe.
I can't bring myself to care about this one, skipping it.
I think you should watch it. The ending alone makes the episode worth the watch, IMO.
 
This was... actually really good. Like, really really good. I didn’t really have very many expectations for this episode – and I’m kind of thinking about how the previews really set me up for a surprise – the way the previews were done, we all expected something dull.

But this was really great, I felt this is the most we’ve seen of Goh having a relationship with a Pokémon - we’ve not even seen Goh and Cinderace’s relationship focused on like this!

This is the kind of Pokémon focus episode I’ve been waiting for in Journeys - the kind of thing we’d see much more often in previous series. I was thinking it’s a shame that after this great episode, Floette was going to go back to flying around the lab in the background - which made the release so much more relevant and poignant. And really organic, we got a lot of good lore on these Flabèbè flowers - which ones are rare and how they prosper - and it was genuinely emotional, because the episode had put the work into Goh and Floette’s relationship (imagine if they tried a scene like that with Dugtrio)

One thing I didn’t expect to be praising about this episode, something I’ve never really thought on before is the lighting - it seemed like every scene, moved between day, evening, night and the morning giving so many wonderful and varied shots. Around the campfire and even in the room at the Pokémon centre – how apt that an episode in Kalos would look so beautiful!

And finally, I love that Grookey gets to constantly exude its own character and personality - it does this better than Scorbunny and especially Sobble ever did. Personality - in episodes not specifically focused on them - is usually something lacking in Journeys but it’s been quite good all round for the last few episodes. I maybe wish we could have seen Dragonite take to the skies for a bit to help look for the flower, but The episode gave me so much in terms of trainer Pokémon relationship, I can let it slide.

This will probably annoy a lot of people, but I like this more than last weeks episode.
 
12A1E9EC-9CBF-4BB6-A55A-C05C1C98CCF7.png


Kind of funny how Goh has a nice moment with Flabebe here, which is quiet and serious, and about six years ago, Ash was flailing around with his Kalos team, to the point where no-one had a clue what was going on, at the same exact spot...
 
Maybe it’s just me but, the emotional feel just falls flat for me. This is maybe the third time that we’ve seen this Flabebe and the first full episode that it’s had. And while the anime establishes that Go bonds with his Pokémon offscreen, that doesn’t translate to an audience connection to the Pokémon. Instead, they basically shove all of the emotional connection of a long staying cast member into this single episode and it just doesn’t work because, for all intents and purposes, it might as well just be a Pokémon of the Day. You can make a character feel however you want, but if you want the audience to feel the same, you have to establish the Pokémon over time otherwise it just feels artificial.
 
Maybe it’s just me but, the emotional feel just falls flat for me. This is maybe the third time that we’ve seen this Flabebe and the first full episode that it’s had. And while the anime establishes that Go bonds with his Pokémon offscreen, that doesn’t translate to an audience connection to the Pokémon. Instead, they basically shove all of the emotional connection of a long staying cast member into this single episode and it just doesn’t work because, for all intents and purposes, it might as well just be a Pokémon of the Day. You can make a character feel however you want, but if you want the audience to feel the same, you have to establish the Pokémon over time otherwise it just feels artificial.
I feel you. This is how I feel too.
 
This is yet another episode that makes me question why should I care? They spend all this time trying to develop a connection between Goh and his Floett, but the release falls flat because the audience has very little connection to Goh's Pokemon to begin with. Even though Goh spends all this time with his Pokemon off screen, we aren't given the same oppritunity to connect, which is why emotional moments like this fall flat. Maybe I'd feel something with someone like Darmanitan or Scizor, but this one? Nope. This might as well have been any other Pokemon of the day.
 
This is yet another episode that makes me question why should I care? They spend all this time trying to develop a connection between Goh and his Floett, but the release falls flat because the audience has very little connection to Goh's Pokemon to begin with. Even though Goh spends all this time with his Pokemon off screen, we aren't given the same oppritunity to connect, which is why emotional moments like this fall flat. Maybe I'd feel something with someone like Darmanitan or Scizor, but this one? Nope. This might as well have been any other Pokemon of the day.
I think in this case, the quality of the connection makes up for how little we've seen of it. At least enough for it to actually tug my heartstrings.
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom