Review JN072: Shuffle Panic in the Underground Labyrinth!?

[PkmnTrainerV]

Pikachu seemed to stupid this episode, using Thunderbolt on the ground type Seismitoad. At least Ash didn't command that. On the bright side, he stopped Goh from catching it.

At this point I want to see a ground type shrug it off and violently OHKO Pikachu with a ground move.

Romance between Meowth and Chloe would be strange I feel, Meowth leaving Team Rocket to join her would be a good idea

Yes, a random Pokémon-Human relationship being teased in a random filler (yes, I think Go capture episodes are for filler, and yes, it’s not up for debate for me) is enough to leave a well established gang with a bond spanning over 23 years of irl time.

 

[VetProf]

Why does Pikachu hate Goh? Is it going through some kind of midlife crisis or something?

It doesn't seem like Pikachu disliked Gou, it was simply rushing into action on its own before waiting for Gou's orders, with Gou remarking that Pikachu's actions remind him of Ash.

 

[Jewel the Quaxly]

This episode was pretty good, not going to lie. It was a little slow in the first few parts but it began to pick up around the midway mark, where things went by faster. No surprise, the best interactions were with Meowth and Koharu and Ash and Morpeko. And Ash was so well characterized in this episode! Immediately jumping in, determined to help Grookey and Eevee, trying to calm down and cooperate with Morpeko with food, the clever way of escaping those ground pokemon, and I actually find him to be nicely animated in this episode too. It would be really nice if Journeys continued this trend. Team Rocket and Eevee were pretty decent, and I liked that Eevee showed off its tendency to copy others with Copycat. Jessie felt more than a little uncaring in this episode, but it wasn't that noticeable and I really enjoyed her-especially in the last scene and her typical banter with her teammates.

The animation felt low quality, no surprise there. The score wasn't anything particularly impressive this episode, but I did like the music that played in the background when the group got separated. As I said earlier, the first half of the episode felt really slow and the only enjoyable interactions were with Meowth and Koharu and Ash and Morpeko, but the better interactions didn't show up until AFTER the midway mark, which put this episode down for me.

Unsurprisingly, I didn't like the Goh/Pikachu pairing at all. Why would Pikachu use Thunderbolt on a ground type and why would he immediately listen to Goh? It's an insult to those like Serena and Lillie who actually struggled with commanding Pikachu for him to just do it no problem. But I digress, the only thing in character about Pikachu here was his recklessness, but it's once more a showing of only a negative trait and there's nothing to balance it out, so...surprise, surprise.

Wobbuffet and Grookey were HILARIOUS once they started interacting, especially in the last portion of the episode. When Grookey grabbed Wobbuffet's net, I choked because of how silly it was when the latter began chasing the former around. Poor Wobbuffet.

I liked seeing Meowth and Chloe's interactions especially, and the fact that Meowth formed a crush on her was so ridiculously cute and funny that I couldn't stop smiling every time it showed up. Alas, this is only a one time thing. On to Project Mew!

Overall, it was a pretty funny filler episode. Goh caught one of the pokemon from underground, by the way, but it was like one pokemon and lasted ten seconds, so it isn't really that relevant. The beginning was far too slow, though, and I think that if the episode improved on certain things like the more unique character pairings, animation, score, and the pacing, I would score it higher, but until the subs come out, for now, I give it a 6.5/10.

 

[VetProf]

Why would Pikachu use Thunderbolt on a ground type and why would he immediately listen to Goh? It's an insult to those like Serena and Lillie who actually struggled with commanding Pikachu for him to just do it no problem.

Probably because it either didn't know or simply forgot that Seismitoad is a Ground-type. It's not the Pokemon's job to remember the type-combinations of every single Pokemon out there or how the type chart works. That's... what the trainer's for. If this was Ash commanding Pikachu to use an Electric-type attack on a Seismitoad, then yeah, it'd look pretty dumb. But here, we're simply witnessing Pikachu using Thunderbolt on a Pokemon that just jumped out of the water, which honestly isn't that weird.

Also, I wouldn't say that Pikachu immediately listened to Gou considering that it was basically ignoring him throughout most of the episode. In fact, Pikachu not listening to Gou is precisely the reason we saw it use an Electric-type attack on a Ground-type Pokemon in the first place.

 

[Unireon]

No idea Pikachu didnt like to be commanded by Gou, but is fine when Serena and Lillie do it. He like females better I guess

He also obeyed Citron once, though the command was to retreat.

Another episode in which the party got separated.

 

[nickdt]

Probably because it either didn't know or simply forgot that Seismitoad is a Ground-type. It's not the Pokemon's job to remember the type-combinations of every single Pokemon out there or how the type chart works. That's... what the trainer's for. If this was Ash commanding Pikachu to use an Electric-type attack on a Seismitoad, then yeah, it'd look pretty dumb. But here, we're simply witnessing Pikachu using Thunderbolt on a Pokemon that just jumped out of the water, which honestly isn't that weird.

Also, I wouldn't say that Pikachu immediately listened to Gou considering that it was basically ignoring him throughout most of the episode. In fact, Pikachu not listening to Gou is precisely the reason we saw it use an Electric-type attack on a Ground-type Pokemon in the first place.

How could Pikachu forget, its teammate was literally a Palpitoad.

 

[cjd1207]

How could Pikachu forget, its teammate was literally a Palpitoad.

Well if you looked at how writers did nothing with Palpitoad I would forget that it existed to

 

[Eitarou]

How could Pikachu forget, its teammate was literally a Palpitoad.

If a creature with sharp fangs gets attacked, its first instinct is likely to defend itself with said fangs. Same principle. An Electric-type is gonna shock the foe. Also, has Pikachu even fought Seismitoad before?

 

[swiftgallade46]

For all Pikachu knows Palpitoad could have a different type than Seismitoad. After all, Tympole does.

 

[BigDocFan]

How could Pikachu forget, its teammate was literally a Palpitoad.

Ash had a Palpitoad, I never knew that lol

As expected, this episode featured no returning characters, no Clay, not the Accelgor superhero. Why visit old places but not feature old characters

 

[swiftgallade46]

As expected, this episode featured no returning characters, no Clay, not the Accelgor superhero. Why visit old places but not feature old characters

It would be nice, but I don’t see it as an absolute necessity. Visiting old regions and locations is still cool either way.

 

[Craiden]

Alright, this was better with the subs. On top of fun, the interactions I guess were to show how the characters interacted both with different Pokemon, but also highlight in some instances how important particular members were to a Team unit in this case, Ash and Meowth to Pikachu and TRio. It was particularly interesting seeing Ash and Morpeko (which surprised me a bit, as I thought that would be the least relevant interaction prior to) as Ash did indeed feed Morpeko when he could, but wasn't taking Morpeko's behavior later on in the episode. Also, it doesn't happen very often, but it was fun seeing a "full" blastoff.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

whoof, what an actual dumpster fire of an episode

- no plot
- no characterization
- no animation
- thirsty meowth
- Go gets a pokemon by doing absolutely nothing

Also, incredibly messed up that he gets the lone survivor of a genocide

 

[SonansuMan]

Figured I'd wait for subs to review this one because of how dialogue heavy a lot of it was.

First things first, I enjoyed how the episode naturally brought in all of the main cast and I liked that we got to see Chloe casually traveling before meeting up with Ash and Goh. We get introduced to the dynamics very early on in the episode, and I thought each of them were pretty enjoyable. Ash and Morpeko's banter was hilarious, and I love how he used its temper to escape danger. Goh and Pikachu's segments were interesting in showing the contrast between Goh's style and Pikachu's, and I liked how Pikachu first and foremost prioritized on keeping them safe, though Pikachu disobeying Goh was weird. Jessie, James, and Eevee's group were more entertaining than I expected, and I love how indifferent Eevee was towards joining Team Rocket. Chloe and Meowth's dynamic was probably my favorite part of the episode, and I like how it tied in with the bickering between Jessie and Meowth earlier within the episode. Chloe being nice to Meowth out of all characters was not something I thought I'd see, but I liked the interactions the two had, minus the love subplot. Lastly, Wobbuffet and Grookey's antics were hilarious (Wobbuffet's run animation gives me life everytime I see it,) and I liked how it led into the climax of the episode which involved the Heatmor. My only wish is that the two got more scenes but the other ones made it up. Having it all end off with a goofy blastoff that wasn't shy towards the protags either was fun and overall I think that the separation hijinks were cool

However, one of my biggest issues with the episode was how OOC Team Rocket felt, and I think that their appearance could've been much stronger. Not having Jessie or Meowth show a shred of care towards each other during the separation scenes over pronunciations was weird., and having James barely object to Jessie's idea of replacing Meowth was a little odd. James in general was strange here, as he didn't even have any reaction let alone acknowledge that Morpeko disappeared. Mind you, this is the same guy that went ballistic when Mime Jr. went missing.. Lastly, I thought that Morpeko immediately going back to its hangry gag after being captured was disappointing, and I wish that it would get more chances to show characterization beyond being hungry. I almost forgot James even owned it with how little they actually interacted this episode, and if the only difference in the status quo with it being caught is that the hungry gag can appear anywhere now, I'm kinda let down so far

OVERALL SCORE:
5/10

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Yeah, this wasn't that special of an episode. I mean, some interactions were decent, but ehh...not much special at all, and another pointless easy capture for Goh. Nothing special at all really.

 

[Johtohfiller]

I didn't like the Jessie hating Meowth bit (seemed like one of those "stuff happened offscreen" things Journeys likes to do) but otherwise I thought this was a good Rocket filler, I got some good laughs out of it. Bonus: no Gachat!

 

[Fiamette]

Man, at this rate Pikachu going after ground types might as well be considered a running gag of Journeys.

It was cool seeing Goh use him for a little bit, I kinda like it when those moments happen.

"If it worked for Rhydon, I'm sure it'll work again!"
Pikachu, probably.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

Pikachu was like: nah Gou I am not going to listen to you. You are unworthy.

 

[Rockapheller]

The little detail I like in this episode is how Ash acknowledged Durant since he met them before in BW74, but Team Rocket's reaction was like "What are they?!" since they never saw Durant in person during the run of BW series or later (barring movies).

 

[BigDocFan]

"If it worked for Rhydon, I'm sure it'll work again!"
Pikachu, probably.

It was wet from being in the water so should work like Mudsdale