Review JN147: The Rainbow and the Pokémon Master!

[El Squibbonator]

Well, that's it I suppose. It sure didn't feel like the ending to a 25-year-long TV show. I expected a lot more gravitas.

 

[Mr.Snack]

I´m crying my eyes out right now, but just a few observations.

The episode certainly managed to be emotional, especially for those of us who have been around since the begining. However, it was a dreadfull finale to this piece of so many people´s childhoods.

I at least am happy with TR´s conclusion. This is their dream: catching Pikachu and becoming executives. It as been since they first appeared 26 years ago. I never understood why so many so called «TR fans» wanted them to quit TR. In my opinion, it shows they never quite understood these characters even after 26 years. The trio was always about charging towards your dreams and, no matter how exausted you are or how tempting giving up and changing your dream are, you should never give up. Takeshi Shudo wanted them to be the characters adults could follow while watching the anime with their children. And, despite the criticisms I have to some of the decisions the staff made towards the years, they atleast kept this vision (yes, even in BW). Only in SM were their characters botched (remember how they forgot their dream to keep doing malasadas in some episodes?), something that thankfully was corrected in Journeys, despite it´s many flaws. TR shows that adults have dreams and an inner child and that, no matter how hard the situation, you should never give up. That´s why I love them. This episode, despite it´s many flaws ,nailed this message.

The conclusion to a 26 years old journey and MPM as a whole were an abomination and a spit in the face of old fans. I know I sound entitled, but I dont care. I´m tired of being bullied for my opinions (not is this site!). We old fans who have been here since day one are the ones who built this franchise and the show should cater the us as well, not to some edgy teenagers on social media who are obsessed with battles and Ws and Ls. There was no reason why they couldn´t give us new protagonists while keeping Ash and TR as supporting characters.

As a side note, The TR VAs still haven´t said anything. I guess they really parted ways with the staff in not so friendly ways. If so, I hope that, sometime down the line, they spill the beans of what went on behind the scenes.

As the franchise, especially the anime, strays from the things I fell in love with, I will stop being a «whale» for this franchise. My life can be garbage, but I at least have lots of money (ironic) and I spent quiet a huge amount on this franchise. Again, I´m entitled, but I should be catered to. Not a group of «fans» who watch the series online and don´t spend a penny on it, but still cry and ruin the experience for everybody else. And no, showing the same nostalgia pokemon like Charizard is not it. It´s keeping characters that have been with us since the begining.

I will give the new series a chance. What they showed us does look interesting and, despite everything, I´m still not ready to fully part with this piece of my life. I just don´t trust the execution. And yes, as horrible as it may sound, I still hope the new series crashes and burns. It killed one of the only things that gave joy to my dull life. At least they will lose the thousands of dollars I would spend in merchandise for the series.

 

[Antiyonder]

We can't say they walked back on Ash losing tournaments. I mean, they walking back would mean they make Ash lost another regional League after he win the Alola League.

The examples you mentioned are them being willing to change and adapt. That's the opposite to walk back.


Honestly, if they want to walk back, it's more likely they will use reboot/AU Ash as a protagonist. That way they could start from zero.

I mean in fairness it took 2 decades for them to have Ash winning a game based competition and almost 3 for him to be departing. Something that arguably only happened cause even the intended audience didn't respond well to what worked for years.

 

[El Squibbonator]

The conclusion to a 26 years old journey and MPM as a whole were an abomination and a spit in the face of old fans.

Agreed. This was pretty much down there with the ending to Game of Thrones in terms of how NOT to end a popular, long-running TV show.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Satishi already had a conclusion: he became the world champion.

 

[Antiyonder]

Can’t say I agree, they walked back on Ash always losing major tournaments (a status quo they heavily stood behind, that some fans also justified/defended), they walked back on Goh, making his captures more digestible overtime, along with his goal being modified to being more realistic.

Also with Team Rocket where the trio slowly went back to the preferred portrayal when making them "serious" didn't pan out or even keeping Team Rocket as a whole after the arc in the middle of BW where I believe their loss was suppose to be their last episode.

 

[SlyGecko]

In all honesty, this episode will most likely be the last episode of pokemon I ever watch as I have no interest in watching Horizons as it's another world tour series just with two new characters that I have no interest in.
That is why I have to say, this episode disappoints me. While yes, we do get to see pidgeott again and Ash continue to travel, we won't there for his adventures anymore. If in three years they do bring back Ash, I'll gladly pick back up the anime. But if they go with the Digimon and Yu-Gi-Oh route with a new protagonist in every series, then I'll never come back to anime. Because one day, pokemon as a franchise will end, and if I live long to see that happen, I want to see it end with the main character that brought multiple fans of different ages can recognize, not some random new main character.
So goodbye Ash, Pikachu, and my time with the main pokemon Anime.

 

[nickdt]

So... this is truly the end of an era with Ash as the Anime protagonist.

Thank you for livening up my childhood and the Pokemon anime memories, which i will cherish for eternity. While i do know i will see Ash someday again when he makes a cameo and i do think its not the last we haven't seen of Brock, Misty and Team Rocket either, since they are way to iconic not to at least make one cameo in a special, movie or the new anime, its a sad day for all of us. Now its time to make new Pokemon memories with Liko and Roy and am i a looking towards what they have in store for us.

ALSO PIDGEOT REJOINED HIM AND PIKACHU ON THEIR JOURNEYS.

 

[VetProf]

Some early thoughts about the episode:

• I'm pleasantly surprised that they managed to squeeze in some voiced roles for Tracey, considering they've adamantly kept him unvoiced throughout his past few cameos.
• Venomoth was a nice added bonus, it helps reinforce the idea that the world and its characters are constantly growing even when we're not actively looking at it.
• Seeing the trio begrudgingly working together in the cafeteria was kinda cute. I'd like to imagine that there were plenty of other available jobs at the headquarters, but they naturally got attracted to the same place together. Or they were already intending to make up after the fight, but were being tsundere about it.
• It's nice to see that the trio basically have full access to their on-hand reserves now. Episode 9 made it seem like they just... abandoned their Pokemon in the middle of nowhere after their fight, so I'm glad that's not the case.
• I also appreciated getting a more concrete statement for what Ash's goal is, though it was quite obvious based on what he's doing these past few episodes. Sure, it's basically as unachievable as his original goal of becoming a Pokemon Master, but at least it's not as vague anymore.
• I'm personally not bothered by Ho-oh's absence in this episode. As I've said before, Ho-oh had zero relevance/significance throughout Ash's entire journey beyond its appearance in the first episode, so I don't think it's necessary for it to appear here. I'll admit that the episode title is a bit clickbaity, and they definitely could've fit in a small cameo if they wanted to, but that's about it.

Overall, I think this was an alright sendoff for Ash. I was already expecting an open-ended ending from the get-go, so I'm not disappointed by the lack of closure. I'm looking forward to the next series, as well as any possibilities for the old cast to make cameos in it.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Well if there’s one thing to take away from this it’s this; if Pidgeot can rejoin Ash’s team after 25 years, there’s hope yet for him to get Greninja again once the vine situation is dealt with in Kalos.

 

[Nikita Dracovish]

Talk about hyperbole. Usually a finale has some kind of conclusion, this is literally how every between region episode plays out formulaically. It is perfectly reasonable to expect a series running over 25 years to have something better than whatever this was.

Its very clear that this episode was designed mainly because they don’t have complete faith in retiring Ash and Team Rocket. Heck, they couldn’t even give up Pikachu being a part of the main cast in the new series. The episode was serviceable in a vacuum, not as the conclusion to a show that spanned generations of Pokemon fans.

Yeah, this screamed "we're still doing the reboot movies, guys!"

 

[nickdt]

Probably also one of the reasons they didn't bring back Pidgeot sooner, as people would have expected it to deal some serious damage during the Masters Eight.

 

[Srebak]

I’m just gonna come right down to the point and say, for some reason, I just don’t feel upset about Ash and Pikachu’s time as the main characters coming to an end. Which, again, is strange, since the two of them have always been pretty good main protagonists in my eyes (more or less). And while, from a narrative point of view, this would probably be the best time for Ash’s story to come to an end, given just how far up the ladder that he is right now, the initial writer in me feels like more stories could have been told using both him and Pikachu.
Maybe it’s just because, given how many times that this show has left me feeling… neutral, so to speak, since “Sun and Moon”, as well as my mild dissatisfaction with the way that certain ideas and story aspects were ultimately executed, that I wasn’t really feeling all that satisfied with this series’ swan song. But, in any event though, for whatever reason, this finale was unable to leave much of a real impact on me at all, and that’s a little concerning.
Any thoughts

 

[Mr.Snack]

One thing I can at least say about this episode is that they nailed TR. It doesn´t erase the fact that retiring them and Ash is complete nonsense that I hope will blow in their faces, but it´s almost funny how they got a much better ending than Ash.

They were perfect. I also love that they added the cafetria work scene since that hopefully shows the so called «TR fans» that wanted them to leave the organization that this is their true happiness. TR weren´t satysfied with their work on the cafeteria, which proves that they wouldn´t be satisfied in any job other then chasing Pikachu, even if they stayed together. This is their true dream.

The episode also had lots of small details that felt special to me. If you notice, when TR blasts off, they usually have their backs against the sky and are facing the audience. Not this time, Today, they were face to face to the sky, with their backs to the audience, This was their goodbye. Also, the way they hold hands was just... I have no words. Only tears.

I would also like to talk about their choice of final Pokemon: Carnivine and Gourgheist. I´m sure it was just random, but even so, they were perfect for their swan song because they are embodiments of Jessie and James themselves.

Carnivine was a Pokemon James befriended and caugh during his childhood. It represents James kindness towards Pokemon, whinch sometimes put´s Ash´s own kindness to shame. It also represents his inner child, since it´s a Pokemon directly connected to his childhood. It represents the child that left his home to find a true family and to live an adventure.

Gourgheist, in my opinion, has a double meaning. First, it represents Jessie´s passion and «queenly» deameanor, since it was caught during what I consider the peak of her carrer as a performer/coordinator. It also represents her hidden soft side. In the episode it evolved, Jessie first showed her usual «uncaring» side, but as the episode progressed she opened her heart and we saw her true inner person: a kind woman who, despite a terrible childhood, cares deeply and would do everything, even abandon her own ambitions, to help her friends, her family. Gourgheist is also a special Pokemon to me, because it was relevant in the anime during very hard and peculiar times in my life. The episode Jessia caught Pumpkaboo was the day my grandmother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The episode it evolved was when my despair ridden college life started to improve. The Lance VS Diantha episode were Jessie talks about Gourgheist was when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. As you see, in a strange way, Gourgheist has been an omen of change in my life. My grandmother won her battle against vancer ans is now an healthy old lady so I hope this is a sign my mother will win as well. It really is incredible how, now that the anime is ending and is having a huge impact in my life, Gourgheist appears one last time. Some things can´t really be explained. Even if it is nothing but a coincidence, it is important to me and a fitting end to this chapter of my life.

TR are very deep characters despite what some people like to pretend. They teach us to never give up on your dreams and be true to yourself. To me, this is a life changing message. All my life I´ve been bullied for being fat and a geek. Even now as an adult, I have a feminine appearence and people (often times on purpose) misgender me, calling be a girl, beacause appearently a man can´t look feminine. I´m a guy and I look feminine. I´m a guy I like pink. I´m a guy and I was harrassed by a teacher during college. Why do people have to be catalogued? Why can´t people let everyone live as themselves, as what makes them happy? TR thought me to be alwyas true to yourself, no matter what others may think. They also teach us to never give up on our dreams, no matter how nonsensical they may seem to other people. Unfortunetly, I allowed myself to give up on my own dreams and now am a bitter and pathetic person. When I fully understood TR´s symbolism, it was already too late. Or so I thought. As TR teaches us, it´s never too late to follow your dreams. I´m sad that we don´t have characters like them in fiction anymore.

People will laugh at me from behind their computer screens and a part of me that can´t escape society´s brainwashing feels pathetic, but today I genuilly feel like I lost 4 people incredibly dear to me. Jessie, James, Meowth and Wobbuffet were my friends. Yes, they weren´t tangible, but they helped me in ways that no real person could. They were more real than many people in my life. To me, they were real persons and will always live on in my heart no matter how many time passes. Everytime I look at the full moon or listen to the beautifull sound of the wind, I will remember them. I will see their ballon and I will listen to their banter as they plan their next scheme to capture Pikachu. I will hear their laughter and I will smile or sometimes cry, knowing what they meant to me. Thinking about how they helped me but also how I lost them to an ever changing world that definetly isn´t evolving to something nicer. Evil and despair will always exist and the little lights in our lives is what helps us survive. Unfortunetly, today the light known as Team Rocket faded, but hopefully new lights will emerge.

Team Rocket, to you I only have words of gratitude. Thank you for being part of my life during 26 years. Thank you for supporting me when no one else could or wanted to. Thank you for having existed and for having shaped the childhoods of so many around the world. I never thought I would have to say goodbye, but here we are. For me you are more real than many people I know. No matter how many people forget about you, I never will. You will always live on in my heart and I will cherish every memory. I will alwas be that child than dreamt of being your fifth member. Once more, thank you Team Rocket. With my own hands, I´ll make sure your white tomorrow never ends! Team Rocket is forever!

 

[Gard81]

Literally, all they had to do was include Ho-Oh. It wouldn't have made it best finale possible, but it at least would have it more satisfactory, cycling back to the first episode.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Know what kinda becomes a missed opportunity about Pidgeot rejoining Ash in the last episode? Had they had that event occur earlier in the mini series then the Squirtle Squad episode could have been a reunion of the core 5 OG team that Ash traveled Kanto with (sans Butterfree but really, once he left Ash never did fill that final slot on a permanent basis leaving the remaining 5 as his team he was known for).

 

[BunBunPKMN]

Pidgeot produced real tears. that is all