Review JN139: Takeshi and Dent and the Forest Witch!

[Twilight-Kun]

Really not liking that they turned Brock into someone who would attack someone's fiancé

That's absolutely disgusting behavior

 

[Gabo2oo]

I'm going to put aside my worries regarding this final arc as a whole, and judge this in a vaccum.

It was a pretty darn fun episode. It was fast-paced and comedic, but the hostage Brock element still had that sense of urgency to it. There were so many things going on I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. If you'd told me yesterday I'd be watching an episode featuring Ash, Misty, Brock, Cilan, Team Rocket, Delia, Ingo and Emmet in some form I wouldn't believe you.

The episode being crammed with stuff comes with some disadvantages, though. For example, Misty and Cilan bounce really good off each other as expected, but I don't feel like they had as many chances for personal interactions as they could, since the plot kept gravitating towards Brock. Or Steelix not greeting Ash and co. and not paying any mind into attacking them either, because the whole thing had to be kept going on fast.

Re-introducing both characters also meant Cilan's one episode couldn't be as much about him either, with Pansage getting very little screentime (why couldn't he be outside his Poké Ball from the beginning to alleviate that?). Overall though, the positives outnumber the negatives by far, Cilan still got to shine a lot (him doing that in an episode that features Misty and re-introduces Brock speaks tons about how great of a character he is), and they managed to balance things and flesh out all the characters pretty neatly, something the illusions helped a lot with.

Team Rocket's scenes were also fun and without interrupting the main plot. A great move because the episode was already overpacked as it is. Quite interesting how they refer to Cilan as "sommelier boy" instead of something more disrespectful or impersonal, by the way.

As for the BGM, man hearing the Fortree City theme from AG while Cilan and Misty met was amazing. I love how the anime is finally feeling connected as a whole rather than isolated by series like it had been since BW. Speaking of, Cilan's "Tasting Time" theme played at least three separate times and I wouldn't have had it any other way.

I just wish the group coming back together felt a bit more natural, rather than them coincidentally running into each other and any prior obligations are just not relevant anymore.

I second this, Brock and Cilan were already shown together a few episodes prior, so it would've been way more believable that they had ran into each other as pairs instead. It would've also helped with the introductions taking a bit less runtime.

Really not liking that they turned Brock into someone who would attack someone's fiancé

It was iffy territory, but the illusion had Kathy explicitly asking Brock to help her away from him.

 

[Alola]

This absolute mess of a thread shows us once again why opining based on raw episodes is and will always be a terrible idea.

I mean, it isn't like these opinions are completely baseless though. Misty specifically asked Brock about his career/dream of becoming a Pokémon Doctor, only for him to reply he's decided to dedicate his life to Kathy and helping her. So much so, he got hired as her restaurant's manager (and apparently a chef) for an undisclosed period of time. That said, Brock has decided to forgo it all for women before, so I guess you could argue it's a gag older fans should know not to take seriously. But, again, I don't think being too critical of the aforementioned thoughts is necessary either when the character explicitly said he has a new dream.

Anyway, I digress about that. I enjoyed the episode - not as much as Misty's return episode, but still quite well nonetheless.

• Ash & Misty recognizing Brock's cooking by taste was a neat way to reintroduce him; I'm pretty sure we've seen those triangular sandwiches before too. Speaking of food, it was a shame that we got both the resident chefs of the group in another episode together, but no sort of cook-off. Maybe next time.
• Brock coming back is nice, but I guess since we saw him recently in that Arceus special, Misty and Cilan's returns just stand out more for me. I think this episode had so much to fit in, but not enough time; as such, things like Brock and Cilan's interactions suffered, Pikachu and Pansage not interacting, and Steelix attacking Ash & Pikachu without hesitation was unnerving. But that's one of the things I liked about the episode though - I feel like they tried their best to use the 22 minutes somewhat fully, for what they were going for.
• I was never a big Cilan fan, and found myself nodding with Misty's assessment of his character (gosh, I wish Iris was there to join her in the commentary), but I still enjoyed his return. We got to see the basic aspects of his character, Misty got to meet the man behind the lure, and children everywhere have now been subjected to the pointless career option that is being a Pokémon Sommelier. His VA had a wonderful delivery of that "Did you get/understand that?" line after Pikachu's "translation;" I got a good chuckle out of that. I also enjoyed him challenging Misty's fear (which would have been a lovely opportunity to reference Iris' own) with the existence of Dewpider. Which also makes me wonder how Iris feels about the Baxcalibur line and Kyurem...
• The Hatterene line is one of my favorite Pokémon lines from Galar/Gen 8, and in general, so them getting a proper focus episode (and the reappearance of the Glimwood Tangle!) after the lackluster showing via Gary's was awesome! We got to see the traits of all three and I love how the anime didn't shy away from Hatterene being known for ripping apart emotional people; Ash's sense of urgency to find Brock at that revelation felt substantial and it's a great reminder of the potential dangers of Pokémon that sometimes the series can really diminish.
• Misty being afraid of a Joltik now makes me wonder if her earlier comfort around Leavanny was an oversight...
• Misty meeting Cilan makes me excited for her to meet with Dawn, Iris, Clemont, Bonnie, and Serena (along with Brock). I'm excited where these episodes will go regarding that.
• None of Ash's other Pokémon appeared! Which I guess makes sense given the four main characters and wild Pokémon being spotlighted... I see they're making up for that in the next episode, though.

 

[R1ke]

Decent ep but not as good as last week’s. I enjoyed the gags but some of the got a bit repetitive. Would’ve liked to hear more from Cilan too, bc of the plot we didn’t get to catch up with him much tbh. Shame there’s no reserves here but they’re defs building up a Latias capture. Brock not doing much is alright tho cause he’ll stick around anyway

 

[Rockapheller]

This episode reminds me again how the writers would go over-the-top for Brock's crush gag back then, and how light and refreshing it felt when Brock had been replaced. I don't hate it, but dislike would be a better terminology.

I have really missed Cilan in the show. Probably a not so popular opinion, however, Cilan has been one of my favorite characters in the show. This episode also reminds me how much I have missed him in the show, and seeing in flesh and bones with actual dialogue is music to my ear.

The episode was overall fun and entertaining. I was never bored. Although the show seemed to be in an "unknown region", this episode was in Galar. Does it mean that the previous episodes were also in Galar? Kind of confusing writing if you ask me.

Also really funny how in the past I have seen online users posting about Dewpier on the forums, and how Misty would react to it, and this episode actually questions it. Even Misty has no idea.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Pretty sure Misty would only see the spider aspect and none of the water-type, so she'd be scrambling up the nearest tree to get away from it

Which would of course put her in range of the bug-types living in said tree...

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

It made sense, but it did feel like a lateral move and an excuse to just write him out of the series.

I think it made no sense because, other than the Joys, there was no such thing as a "pokémon doctor" until they decided to rid of him. And breeders are already work like vets, so there is no reason for him to quit being breeder because he wants to heal pokémon. But as you said, it was an excuse, just like how Misty's sisters suddenly decide to quit being gym leaders to take a vacation.

 

[Rockapheller]

other than the Joys, there was no such thing as a "pokémon doctor" until they decided to rid of him.

We've had a Pokémon doctor as a CotD back in Johto, and also another one in Hoenn.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Misty being afraid of a Joltik now makes me wonder if her earlier comfort around Leavanny was an oversight...

Misty also didn't hate Butterfree back in season 1, so I think she has some standards regarding what kind of Bug types she hates.

 

[Gard81]

I appreciate that Cilan brought up an important question: What happens when Misty encounters a Pokemon that's both part something she loves, but also part something she hates?

 

[VetProf]

Misty being afraid of a Joltik now makes me wonder if her earlier comfort around Leavanny was an oversight...

The Leavanny belonged to Ash and stayed a respectable distance away from her throughout the previous episode, so I think it's understandable that she didn't visibly react to it. Compare that to this episode, which had a wild Joltik dropping down a few inches away from her face and jumpscaring her, classic spider style. Another possible explanation is that she was too busy thinking about the Clauncher to have time fretting about a bug that wasn't anywhere near her.

Even if you still consider it a small oversight, the episode was already jam packed with Misty interactions and screentime that I don't think it really matters.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

We've had a Pokémon doctor as a CotD back in Johto, and also another one in Hoenn.

Which episodes?

EDIT: I think I found whom you refer to, but no, they are not "pokémon doctors". Johto one is a woman that claims to treat humans by using pokémon, and the second one is some alternative medicine practitioner.

 

[BigDocFan]

I appreciate that Cilan brought up an important question: What happens when Misty encounters a Pokemon that's both part something she loves, but also part something she hates?

Reminded me of Trip asking Iris why she isn't afraid of Dragon types as they are weak to one another lol

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

Misty also didn't hate Butterfree back in season 1, so I think she has some standards regarding what kind of Bug types she hates.

She usually doesn't hate the ones belonging to her friends, like Heracross and Venonat for example (who both look verry insectoid.)

 

[Mr.Snack]

Time for my weekly rant where I discuss the episode and then go off-topic, because I am an emotional mess. I will try to keep it short, but sometimes I go overboard.

Once more a delightful episode. As Cilan would say, a sweet vintage that transported me right back to the pre-SM era, where this show had a soul and wasn´t a «Yokai Watch at home». I was worried they would struggle to pack so much in one episode, but they did it. It didn´t feel rushed at all. Also, I´m beyond happy that Team Rocket appeared. People were afraid they would ruin the episode by stealing screentime, but this episode proved how nonsensical those fears always were. They were amazing. They didn´t interfere at all and gave joy to their fans.

Why coudn´t the writers do these in the past 6 years? Couldn´t TR have a bigger episode count by getting appearances like in this episode? They didn´t affect the plot in any way like some people like to make them up as some boogeyman and satiated their fans hunger for screentime. It is actually quiet similar to some episodes of the XY series. In that series, some episodes were overpacked but they still managed to give TR a little screentime that didn´t detract from the other characters at all. A good example is the ninja village 2 parter. Oh god, as the years pass, the more I appreciate XY for what it tried to do. It had the shounen vibe that would fit like a glove in the sunday time-slot with shows like Boruto and One Piece and had lots of funny moments despite what some people like to claim. If only they didn´t panic with the meltdown from the Kalos league. Instead of trying to learn what worked and what could be improved, they just decided to rip-off Yokai-Watch because it was popular (a short popularity I might had). It´s funny how a completely different show ruined Pokemon. In my opinion of course. The new writers and higher ups don´t have the passion of the old ones. I´m not saying they aren´t good writers, but they are definetely unfit for what pokemon used to stand for.

Going back to the current series, it reminds me a lot of Decolora Adventure. I know people usually hate that arc because filler, but, as a huge fan of Team Rocket, that was a love letter to us. Tomioka realised what he did to Team Rocket and appoligized to the fans by giving us 20 episodes to bring them back to full glory, improving even more in XY. What a marvelous time. This current series looks like a love letter to old fans. The difference between the two arcs is that while Da! was a heartfelt love letter, the new series is anaesthesia and a false love letter. I have no doubt that Tomioka and the other writers, especially the older ones, are putting their heart and soul into this final episodes, and it shows. The problem is that the powers that be only allowed this series for two reasons: to try to pacify old fans so thay don´t go to hard on the new series and, more importantly, to have time to finish the new series which is obviously behind schedule. They don´t share their passion and it also shows.

I only pray that my beloved Team Rocket appears in evey episode and that they don´t mess them up b,y some reason, having them quit the organization. In my opinion the only thing Journeys got right about TR was that their place is in the organization going after Pikachu forever. Some people disagree, but, to me, no matter how good or happy they are at other jobs, this one is the one where they are the happiest.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Instead of trying to learn what worked and what could be improved, they just decided to rip-off Yokai-Watch because it was popular (a short popularity I might had). It´s funny how a completely different show ruined Pokemon. In my opinion of course.

I recall hearing that the similarities between SM and Yokai were purely coincidental.

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

I recall hearing that the similarities between SM and Yokai were purely coincidental.

Really? I remember hearing they changed the style of the Pokemon anime in order to compete with Yokai.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Really? I remember hearing they changed the style of the Pokemon anime in order to compete with Yokai.

I'd guess that's a rumor, but I can't remember where I heard my info from, only that I have a mental image of it being from an official source.

 

[Imtnt]

Boring ep

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

I recall hearing that the similarities between SM and Yokai were purely coincidental.

Rotomdex is basically a rip-off of Whisper.