Review JN138: Satoshi VS Kasumi! Seaside One-on-One!!

[LeonMagnus]

Not gonna lie, I actually like that they had Ash lose here. Not only is it nice to see Misty catch something new but it helps dispel the notion that just because Ash won the PWC that he has to be this nigh invincible god of a trainer as that’s what made Leon so boring.

I think thats why they did a 1 vs 1 as well, its just not realistic that he would have lost anything else. I can understand why they are sunsetting him.

Even in that battle she basically got out played and saved by her Politoed figuring out how to get out of the jam by itself. Though I’m not really a fan of those kind of things even when Ash’s Pokemon does it.

 

[nickdt]

Ash losing here actually means they could have kept him on as the main protag, since this episodes proves that he is only as strong as his Pokemon (Meaning he could have gotten an all rookie team in Paldea for example and still needs to work to make them better).

Its actually kinda poetic Misty used Politoed here... since she used Poliwhirl against Ash when Tototdile was at stake... and now it got the win instead of the loss.

 

[LeonMagnus]

Ash losing here actually means they could have kept him on as the main protag, since this episodes proves that he is only as strong as his Pokemon (Meaning he could have gotten an all rookie team in Paldea for example and still needs to work to make them better).

Its actually kinda poetic Misty used Politoed here... since she used Poliwhirl against Ash when Tototdile was at stake... and now it got the win instead of the loss.

Actually you make a good point, maybe the writers just don’t want the added pressure of the long time fans of the show on their back and starting fresh will relieve some of that pressure. I don’t know.

Pikachu would probably be an issue though.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Ash losing here actually means they could have kept him on as the main protag, since this episodes proves that he is only as strong as his Pokemon

Wasn't that already obvious? His pokémon are the ones who do battling.

 

[Reborn Talonflame]

Nice to see this side of Ash’s personality after so long. I can’t remember the last time he consistently had several jabs/jokes and banter with another companion, and not sickeningly sweet 99% of the time. Made me remember how fun the OS was.

I have mixed feelings about the battle. Whilst it does leave the door open for possibilities in future episodes (possible battles against Gary/Tobias/Insert Character Here) where he could theoretically lose and thus give suspense, it does feel a bit odd it’s the battle right after he beat Leon.
Then again, Corpish hasn’t battled with Ash for ages, plus he hasn’t received the same training as his PWC squad. Politoad has at least been with Misty for ages, being regularly trained (I assume), and of course Misty isn’t a pushover. It’s not like Corpish was made out to be weak or anything.

So, I think I’m leaning on the side of the result being acceptable. Overall, a good episode that captures the fun interactive style of characters that made the OS.

 

[Emelie]

Interesting how Ash pretended not to care about Misty's handmade lure. In DP he got mad when Dawn wanted to borrow it since it had emotional value to him. Is Ash now the tsundere of their relationship?

The scene at the end of the episode is also interesting since Misty is shown to be nervous when asking Ash if she can tag along. Just a reference to OS for nostalgia's sake or does this imply that she still has romantic feelings for him? Makes me curious where they are going with this if Serena will eventually return and meet Misty.

Pokeshipping aside... I wonder what role Latias will play in this series. I hope it will actually add something to the plot. Since it's just a random Latias and not the one from the movie I hope that it won't eat up too much screen time that could be spent on more important things since there are only a few episodes left.

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

So this episode proves that powerscaling doesn't mean jack.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

So this episode proves that powerscaling doesn't mean jack.

Politoed is Misty's ace, Corphish is one of Ash's less developed pokémon.

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Politoed is Misty's ace, Corphish is one of Ash's less developed pokémon.

So her Gyarados that used Mega Evolution isn't her strongest?

Corphish may not have been used for a long time but don't his pokemon train on their own on Professor Oak's ranch?Plus this is the same Corphish that Ash first struggled to catch in early AG,it also helped Ash earn 8 badges,get to the Top 8 of the Hoenn League and get a win against Frontier Brain Tucker.

 

[Jez]

Team Rocket literally wanted to kill and eat pokémon! :O

They only wanted Clauncher's claw... The lobster claws grow back...
Clauncher wasn't going to die or have a limb permanently amputated… Team Rocket character development has repeatedly shown that they aren't heartless…

I wonder what sick pleasure these writers have in starving the Team Rocket into skeletons… Oh yes, in their eyes they are just some flat characters so stupid and unsympathetic, then, they just deserve to be punished and unhappy… >_<‘! and …….. where is Morpeko?

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

So her Gyarados that used Mega Evolution isn't her strongest?

That one belongs to her sisters.

They only wanted Clauncher's claw... The lobster claws grow back...

Ah, I misunderstand it then.

I wonder what sick pleasure these writers have in starving the Team Rocket into skeletons

Maybe they'll finally decide to resign from TR after experiencing too much pain, and that's what Tomioka is planning to do with them.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

That one belongs to her sisters.

Nah. It's hers. It became hers in its debut episode.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Nah. It's hers. It became hers in its debut episode.

Nah, watch it again. Her sisters left it with her so she can use it for gym battles.

 

[-PokemonBattleFanatic-]

Misty still has Staryu and Starmie. Her Psyduck is OP whenever it decides to use Psychic.

 

[PTOldMan]

If Ash is bringing his reserves, let Team Rocket bring their reserves too, please! I was hoping that at the end of the episode we would see Team Rocket going to the HQ to grab their Pokémon. I want to believe this is a sure thing (if this is also their big farewell they have to reunite with their old Pokémon), but as things stand right now I am having my doubts... The way the writers go around having them need to battle will get tiresome in the future (still, I love that they are appearing every episode so far, even though I was expecting more).

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Some could say snarky Ash is OOC, but I love that he can loosen up around an old friend with no hard feelings. A pity that Corphish lost, but the battle was… shockingly energetic and well animated for something this low stake and I’m glad this old bastard could stretch his little crab legs again. A bit odd that this random Clauncher was able to school him, but oh well.

Leavanny is the unspoken hero of this episode with its adorable little snippets cuddling with Rowlet and patting Psyduck. Even Totodile, who didn’t do… anything, looked so cute when Politoed came out.

 

[Gabo2oo]

What a lovely episode this was, easily a series highlight (and not just because Misty appeared). The character interactions just sold it, like Pikachu refereeing, Leavanny tending to Rowlet, or Psyduck being Psyduck. Even Clauncher had an interesting personality in spite of being a character of the day; I'd missed those days when some wild Pokémon were invested in the Trainers' abilities and would test them in different ways.

Ash acting so bratty towards Misty could've looked like a bit of a character regression for nostalgia points, but instead it felt like they've grown so close they just keep friendly teasing each other. I loved the Cilan mention too, it was pretty natural and they finally aknowledged the lure connection (something that was 12 years overdue honestly). As for the Rocket side of things, I didn't mind the starving gag much here, they didn't overdo it and it wasn't even obnoxious Morpeko causing it, my mans were just genuinely hungry lol. Not to mention, the best Rotom ever got a brief appearence. Pokémon aknowledged as potential food was certainly a callback I wasn't expecting.

The Politoed vs. Corphish battle was really good for its runtime and it had better animation than I was anticipating. Misty winning and getting a catch was a great decision, makes the world around Ash feel as alive as him, in that his friends keep growing and getting stronger off-screen, something we didn't get much during Journeys since his rivals were more static in comparison to previous series. A believable loss too, we know Ash hasn't battled with Corphish in a while, and we don't know how much Misty and Politoed have been training as of late. Yet another advantage of having Ash rotate his team.

By the way, they went full-on with Miyazaki's soundtrack, still mixing in some of Hayashi's stuff too. This was peak BGM management.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Having watched this episode with subs I’ve really gotta say that I’m absolutely loving this mini series. Whereas Journeys had felt so sterile and corporate, these episodes thus far feel so full of heart and soul. You really get to see Ash and Misty being so expressive in their interactions in a way that we haven’t seen in years. While Sun and Moon did expressiveness, you can genuinely feel the dynamic between the 2 that exists because they’ve known eachother for so long. The episode honestly felt like something right out of my childhood and hit all the right notes. You can honestly feel how this mini series is basically a love letter to the older fans and I’m all for it.

 

[Mr.Snack]

Loved the episode! Once again was I transported back to the pre-SM days. A shame it only happened at the very end of the show, because they felt the need to innovate in the last few years instead of sticking to the formula that worked for decades. If you have something that works, stick with it. The higher ups, especialy the writers and producers who came during SM, have just no idea how to manage this anime and now they will kill it instead of facing their own incompetence.

As a user said above, this episode proves there would be absolutely no problem keeping Ash around, as this episode proves that he can still lose battles. Having him battle gyms in Paldea woudn´t be a problem. He could have a rookie team of new Pokemon, like in previous seasons, where Pikachu is the only veteran and that would make any defeat believable, like it always did for previous seasons.

Each day I understand less the reason for retiring Ash. This episode proves that the so called formula can still keep going. No matter what the circunstances, the new series wil be formulaic as well, since they appear to want to follow an episodic format instead of a serial, as mentioned at the beginning of Journeys, s, why not keep the characters people already love around. It never stopped new viewers from joining during this 25 years, so why now? Honestely I feel petty, but I really wish this decision blows in their faces and they regret what they are doing to Ash and Team Rocket forevermore.

You can honestly feel how this mini series is basically a love letter to the older fans and I’m all for it.

This isn´t a love letter to older fans. It´s anaesthesia so those fans don´t complain to much about the absulute insanity of their decision to retire Ash. Does anyone, after watching this episode, believe that they had no way to keep Ash around for generation 9? They can try to pull wool over my eyes, but I can see very well through their lies.

Some genius saw how terribily received Go was (just to clarify, I don´t mean to offend Go or his fans, I myself didn´t dislike him, I´m just expressing what appears to be the major opinion abou his character, especially in Japan) and concluded that the problem was Ash. I don´t even have words. Add the fact that the Ash storyline was actully well received (exept how out of nowhere this world tournament came), and you can´t find a sound reason for this decision. What people complained most about Ash was the lack of screentime his pokemon got outside batles. This problem coul easily be fixed by making the Team Rocket schemes of the week more frequent, like in older series (XY found the perfect balance with their appearance rate). As much as people like to complain and badmouth TR, their funny schemes were essencial to give these pokemenon much needed screentime and, above all, quirks and personality.

All very solvable situations, without the need to write off Ash. They are basically keeping everything people criticised about Journeys and taking everything people actually liked and use a new main character to see if it sticks. If this isn´t business incompetence and malpractice I don´t even know in wich world I live anymore. Getting rid of your golden goose who is stiil laying golden eggs after 25 years. Absolute insanity. I literrally never saw anything like this in my life.

 

[BulbaTCG]

Nice to hear Katsuyuki Konishi come back as Corphish - just love that "Hey hey!" schtick. Also a big fan of hearing the original soundtrack in places here. Never thought I'd hear the 'Get Pokemon" theme ever again.