Review S12 EP03: Ancient Family Matters!

[Queen Cynthia]

I really looked forward to this episode, especially to the showdown between my two favorite fossil Pokemon of all generations so far, and the waiting paid off!

First of all, Byron's voice was AWESOME as it perfectly underlined his most outstanding character traits. Among these are being somewhat creepy but also powerful, commanding and impressive. I do love such chararcters and so, both the writers and the US voice actor did me a big favor by inventing Byron and giving him such a fitting voice!
But not only did I like Byron's voice but also his design in general. A fearless, muscly man with a cape is a promising concept and matches the definition of a successful gym leader, if you ask me.
You've certainly figured out by now that Byron sure made a big impression on me! One thing you can say for sure: So far, all of Sinnoh's gym leaders have been great and definitely deserve their titles!

Let's continue: Byron admiring Team Rocket's holes was priceless. Some guys love fast cars, others appreciate good food and our friend Byron is crazy about fossils and digging perfectly round holes. There's no accounting for tastes!:XD2:

Unfortunately, I also found one point of criticism:
I expected Rampardos and Bastiodon to be presented far stronger. I'm not referring to their duell but to the battle against Team Rocket's machine. Are we really supposed to believe that all those mighty behemoths could do was causing two little scratches (or holes if you like) in that machine, a ridiculously small damage compared to their true powers? If they faced Hunter J, for instance, it would've been somewhat understandable, but this is Team Rocket we're talking about... Don't get me wrong, I really like them and Pokemon could hardly go without them, but their machines are so weak (and today's maschine wasn't really huge or strong in particular) that normally even one of the two fossil Pokemon, either Rampardos or Bastiodon, should've finished them off with ease. But that's water under the bridge now and it can't be helped. (Nevertheless, I'm still interested what you think about it)

Did I forget something? Well, we also got a nice little family conflict, but fortunately with a happy end.
Finally, Byron protecting Roark's very first fossil like his most precious treasure was so moving and the icing on the cake in an entertaining and great episode without mistakes apart from one weak point mentioned above.


I'm looking forward to witnessing an epic battle next week!

7.5/ 8 out of 10 points

 

[poke07]

Pretty good. Byron was a little annoying but also humorous.

The PUSA battle BGM annoys me a lot...it's by the same composer as 4Kids so why does it sound so much worse? It is not very melodic or energizing! Then again, I really liked the PUSA music used during the flashback towards the end of the episode.

I'm glad they showcased those two pokemon, but why did they make the battle so boring? They should have used more powerful/interesting-looking attacks!

Overall: B

 

[Musashi]

The PUSA battle BGM annoys me a lot...it's by the same composer as 4Kids so why does it sound so much worse?

I believe someone said that PUSA wants a more modern/hipper sound. Things never turn out well when any company attempts to be hip.

 

[poke07]

That was me That's what John Loeffler himself told me when I e-mailed him asking about Pokemon BGM.

The odd thing is that the new BGM, if anything, sounds more orchestral than the 4Kids BGM...certainly not "hipper." Maybe he thought I meant the theme songs? That would make sense.

Anyhow...back on topic...

 

[ii kanji]

God, some of the new BMG is practically baroque -_-

But yeah, great episode. What? Brian Blessed is voicing Byron?

 

[ShinyAeon]

What? Brian Blessed is voicing Byron?

:lol:

The original "No Indoor Voice."

:-D

 

[Mooites]

:lol:

The original "No Indoor Voice."

:-D

I thought that was Billy Mays.

 

[ii kanji]

I thought that was Billy Mays.

Brian Blessed is 21 years older than Billy Mays He is clearly the original!

 

[Lil Brother]

Okay, that was painful. We have the perfectly good reason for Roark and Byron to be at each other's throats right there and we're going to ignore and instead have their fighting based on "OMG I AM A MORE HARDCORE FOSSIL DIGGER"? Sure, you could easily argue that was just a dumb excuse, especially since the two settled their differences when Byron revealed his reasons for leaving, but it was really annoying.

And the battle was just a Mew/Mewtwo-esque ramming contest until TR's antics interrupted. Yuck.

Don't get me started on Byron. '_'

I liked Byron's love for Team Rocket's holes and the dirtiness in that "That guy's got some stones" line or whatever it was, but I hated the majority of this episode. D: Waiting for the Iron Island episodes, kthnx.

 

[Cybersai]

] and we're going to ignore and instead have their fighting based on "OMG I AM A MORE HARDCORE FOSSIL DIGGER"? Sure, you could easily argue that was just a dumb excuse, especially since the two settled their differences when Byron revealed his reasons for leaving, but it was really annoying.

What else would you have done? They would have just ranted about which fossil Pokemon was better otherwise. It was meant to be a comedic father/son argument, I think you got the wrong impression to take this too seriously.

And the battle was just a Mew/Mewtwo-esque ramming contest until TR's antics interrupted. Yuck.

It wouldn't be right to see one Gym leader win over the other, as it would prove either Byron or Roark were wrong. So having a no win was fine, and the battle was decent unless you were expecting some long-drawn out fight.

Apparently giving Gym leaders more character development and backstory than ever before is a bad thing now? Might as well go back to giving the Gym leaders 1 episode again, like Falkner, Bugsy, Chuck, Lt. Surge, Koga and whoever else I'm forgetting. And let's stop old characters from re-appearing again, Roark could be ignored like Sabrina was in the re-visit to Saffron.

But nah, we don't want that. Naaaaah.

 

[Lil Brother]

Oh, tch, ironically, a lack of explination makes my whining in the first paragraph seem more bitchy than I meant. Going back:

Okay, that was painful. We have the perfectly good reason for Roark and Byron to be at each other's throats right there and we're going to ignore that and instead have their fighting based on "OMG I AM A MORE HARDCORE FOSSIL DIGGER"? Sure, you could easily argue that was just a dumb excuse for Roark to take out his frustrations with his father, especially since the two settled their differences when Byron revealed his reasons for leaving, but they should have clarified that, because otherwise it was pretty annoying to listen to.

So having a no win was fine, and the battle was decent unless you were expecting some long-drawn out fight.

Not really, but it was a chore to sit through. They could have done something to make it feel more like an actual battle.

Apparently giving Gym leaders more character development and backstory than ever before is a bad thing now? Might as well go back to giving the Gym leaders 1 episode again, like Falkner, Bugsy, Chuck, Lt. Surge, Koga and whoever else I'm forgetting. And let's stop old characters from re-appearing again, Roark could be ignored like Sabrina was in the re-visit to Saffron.

But nah, we don't want that. Naaaaah.

Mmm, nope, never said any of that, nor even hinted at it. I'm saying that their little "who loves fossils more" competition felt completely out of place and that the episode wasn't nearly as entertaining to me as it could have been.

 

[KantoBoy]

Good Ep.

I LOVE THIS HOLE!

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Did anyone notice my indirect attempt to start a nice litte discussion about the performance of the two fossil Pokemon?:naughty: It's somehow still bothering me a bit
You see, I'm always eager to finish the weekly episode with a good feeling and contentment. It's as if, after finishing the work of one day, you look at it and say: " Yes, great job again! (Mission accomplished ;-))"

I expected Rampardos and Bastiodon to be presented far stronger. I'm not referring to their duell but to the battle against Team Rocket's machine. Are we really supposed to believe that all those mighty behemoths could do was causing two little scratches (or holes if you like) in that machine, a ridiculously small damage compared to their true powers? If they faced Hunter J, for instance, it would've been somewhat understandable, but this is Team Rocket we're talking about... Don't get me wrong, I really like them and Pokemon could hardly go without them, but their machines are so weak (and today's machine wasn't really huge or strong in particular) that normally even one of the two fossil Pokemon, either Rampardos or Bastiodon, should've finished them off with ease. But that's water under the bridge now and it can't be helped. (Nevertheless, I'm still interested what you think about it)

 

[Luxio2k8]

I enjoy this one. Having Dan Green voice Byron was a smart move and was it just me or didn't chibi Roark sound like a little girl?

 

[Hyasynth]

it just me or didn't chibi Roark sound like a little girl?

He sounded like Dawn.
But then again, so does everyone else. Especially in flashbacks.

 

[Geodude]

In response to ash_forever's post, my guess is that they could only do relatively little damage because they were somewhat worn out from all the battling they had been doing that day.

 

[JB88]

DAN MOTHERFUCKIN' GREEN. That's all I have to say. His voice clouded my thoughts on this episode. How does he do it? Must be icing his voice right now. Sounded rugged and fierce, just like Byron should, so I'm glad.

It's nice to see a gym leader's backstory now and then. I can't believe it's been two years since Ash's battle with Roark, whom he lost to the first time. The feud between Roark and Byron was funny, but it was Byron who I was concentrated on. Heh, first Alan, then Cyrus, and now Byron.

"Just because you're my son doesn't mean I won't whip ya." lol I love that line coming from Byron. XD Dawn, you've seen Rampardos already. Or is she doing it because Ash did the previous one? Everytime Byron was calling off attacks, I kept thinking of you-know-who. Can't help it.

Aah!! Remastered G/S/C trainer battle music! Wonder if this is a hint to the remakes. And they play it again! Sweet!! Wow, what a weird cackle from Meowth. Yeah Pikachu, aim for the hole, not horn this time. lol, cute lil Roark with his own helmet. And it seems Byron was less fierce back then.

The episode itself was meh, apart from Byron's fangirling of holes (which I can't blame) and the early feud between Roark and Byron. But the lack of more fighting made me a tad bit disappointed in this episode. The TR fight I didn't like well, and I especially hated the end when Roark reconciled with Byron and everyone else was thinking of their own parents. Yeah, that only happens when something related comes up, right? *sighs*

I did like the flashback when Meowth was saying to use the ressurrection canisters from Oreburgh City. Also good to hear Brock be reminded of his own father's similar attitude as Byron's.

I'm eager to see the Iron Island episodes in two weeks, knowing the next one's just a filler.

 

[Geodude]

One glaring thing that whoever wrote this episode forgot to account for: They usually at least mention type advantages during battles, but for some reason ignored the one here. Bastiodon's Steel type is strong against Rampardos' Rock type, but that was neither mentioned nor did it even seem to factor much into the battle.

 

[PDL]

After thinking about what Brock said about the two Pokémon, how Rampardos represents a spear that can pierce anything and Bastiodon representing a sheild that can't be pierced by anything. It actually relates to the Irresistible Force Paradox. There is a chinese idiom which relates to the spear-sheild allusion. Which basically means it's self-contridictory.

 

[Ashfangirl22]

My favorite bit of this entire episode had to be the dad admiring Team Rockets hole digging and than getting upset that they used a machine. So funny and Team Rocket I love it when they find some guy to be an odd ball, what is with this guy and holes? Weird LOL. Over all a very so and so episode.