Review S17 EP13: Kindergarten Chaos!

[G50]

XY013 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Please keep all discussion pertaining to future episodes inside spoiler tags.

 

[Yash]

The animation in this series has gotten so good. The opening battle with Sylveon and Froakie looks really good even though it's a filler episode and I doubt they spent that much money on this one.

 

[Lugia trainer]

Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't Ash refer to Froakie as he?

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

Yes, he does. It got hit by Sylveon's Attract, which means that Sylveon might be a female. Even though we don't know if Ash's Froakie is a male or not.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Sylveon isn't cute, it's creepy! Something that elvish needs a clouting with an iron bar.

Pretty standard filler fare ... by it's own standards ok, but the whole kindergarten filler episode is a tired format, complete with kid cured of his fear of pokémon. It looks like Fletchling is going to be relegated to the role of scout as per usual for the regional birds. I don't mind Froakie, but I'm beginning to get tired of seeing ninja frog battle

 

[Yash]

Seven pieces were kept in today's episode. Most of it is the standard stuff (battle music, Team Rocket's motto) but Clemont's invention theme was used again, even though it wasn't in that context. TPCI tends to have a handful of tracks that they'll always keep and I'm guessing this is one of them now, which is good because it's used in almost every episode.

 

[DracoMan]

This ep does seem like the obligatory rehash of every other "school episode," and I won't bother listing them all.

The battle was fairly well done, with Froakie taking advantage of random falling fruit to use as ammo, and Sylveon defending...I'm gonna say "herself," since she seemed fairly feminine compared to the masculine frog. And they had to be opposite genders for Attract to work. And after Ash used that so often as a battle tactic in BW, and now it works against him.

Getting beaten by Sylveon's rather girly moves must've been really embarrassing to macho Froakie, which would explain why he was so standoffish. And later getting some genuing affection from Sylveon for helping to save her damn near freaked him out. A character trait to be explored down the road, maybe?

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

Yeah, this episode was great, I say. That means Sylveon is a female? And Froakie a male? We don't know nether, because Japanese vesion didn't explain if Froakie was called it or he. Its gender would be unknown.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

As some users already said, it was a rather standard episode and a rehash of the all too familiar kindergarten/ school episodes.

Nevertheless I found Sylveon quite interesting despite her strange design and that battle was pretty exciting to watch,too, especially that part with the apples(?) being used as a decoy and Sylveon's Fairy-type attacks.

As for the rest of the episode, I guess there's nothing special that needs to be discussed in detail, except the fact that we finally saw a courageous, mature Ash again who saved the day. I especially like it when he is portrayed in this way.

Oh yeah, there's one more thing I can't get my head around: Bonnie was hardly taller than all those kindergarten kids. So why in the world is such a young girl allowed to travel around the Kalos region, while those kids appeared to be pretty helpless and inexperienced?

 

[CynthiaLover]

Like most else, this was a pretty standard little kid, show-and-tell, conquer fear of Pokemon episode. However, I did enjoy it more than I thought I would. Froakie was pretty clever, using the fruit as decoys to land a surprise Water Pulse. Plus they displayed the fact that Froakie doesn't seem to like losing, though when it comes to getting hit by Attract, I can understand its embarrassment. Then getting all flustered when Sylveon affectionately nuzzled Froakie when it helped free it from TRio. And I got a kick out of Froakie's brofist. That is one cool frog.

And it was interesting to see how Sylveon's feelers work. That proved they're not just for decoration, they actually act like extra limbs. While I knew Sylveon's feelers could wrap around its trainer's arm affectionately, as stated in the Pokedex, the way they are able to use them, like in the battle, is astounding. They really are quite useful, not at all like I thought they would be. Plus I liked the animation for Moonblast. Come to think of it, the animation has been extremely smooth and crisp throughout the XY series, not at all plagued by things like stock footage.

I'm glad they finally acknowledged that Dedenne was part Fairy. Only took them 10+ episodes. Well, better late than never, I guess.

Glad to see Ash being so heroic and such. He managed to save the day and show off some serious competence. A great distance traveled from his previous BW "incarnation", but let's not go there.

Best part of the episode, however, was Serena getting all flustered and upset, thinking that Penelope was interested in Ash. Though, to Serena's defense, Penelope did make it sound like she was asking Ash out or something if he lost, so I can see how the misunderstanding would occur. Well, someone was obviously upset at the thought of losing "her man" to a total stranger. AmourShippers (like me) got a real fun sample of the true nature behind that little mixup. Made the whole episode more interesting.

Overall, a better episode than I thought. Sure, the plot was fairly standard for its type, but the execution was better than past ones, making it more enjoyable. I give it a solid 8/10.

 

[EvilChameleon]

"Next time I see you we'll have a battle!"

Well that's going to be rather hard since nobody ages in this show.

 

[Paperhorse]

Sylveon is really cute, and one of my favorite pokemon from Kalos. It was fun to see it battle Froakie. Attract is an interesting move. I definitely enjoyed this episode; I like it when they visit a school. I like how Ash's determination and love for pokemon helped that child become less shy.

 

[Team Gaara]

This episode started off in two of the best ways possible. First, they said one of my favorite lines in the series. Secondly, it was En Media Res; no boring, standard, “Our heroes blah, blah, blah” or anything like that. Those are always cool because it feels more like an in-game Pokémon journey of just meeting people in random places and having battles.

Scratch that, it started off in three of the best ways possible; including my favorite Gen 6 Pokémon in the battle with another of my favorites from this generation. This episode is starting off nice and smoothly.

It just gets better from there. I like that Ash said Sylveon looked like Espeon. Can’t really put my finger on why, though. I guess it feels continuous as it relates to the story? It isn’t too often Ash makes a statement like that, and it was appreciated.

So Ash is introduced to the Fairy-type~ And it’s like he doesn’t even really care. Not that he should; they are supposed to be acting as if this type has already existed, in which case, he’s met many Fairies before. I guess it just came off as weird, but honestly, there really was no way to make it…not weird…so it’s fine.

Penelope looks a bit too old to be flirting with Ash and that Fairy Wind looked too strong for Base 40 Power. Moonblast looked amazing and Sylveon was a very good battler. I didn’t realize it could do so much with its feelers. Though, the only other Sylveon we’ve seen only used them outside of battle to just move stuff and pet people.

Draining Kiss looks pretty much exactly like it does in game. I don’t blame them, it would be odd to render it the same why they would for a regular Draining move.

Moving on, Serena was way too jealous of Penelope. Why would she make such a big deal when no one else did? I mean, obviously we know why, but it amounted to nothing but three short dialogues in the entire, what, first 7 minutes of the show? It just felt pointless and forced. I wouldn’t have minded if it was minor and non-forced, but the way they did it felt like they were trying way too hard to show something we already know.

Oh joy, I do so love children and episodes about children. =~=

These kids are actually pretty cool. They aren’t all whiny and annoying like past groups of kids. I love Bonnie’s little Buneary hop when she was teaching them and the chick playing with Clemont’s glasses.

Speaking of Bonnie, she doesn’t look to be that much older than the other kids. If anything, I guess that just shows her maturity.

Glad they remembered they had other Pokémon, but it’s a shame Fennekin can only get some fresh air when there’s no battle going on.

So here’s Randall, our token kid afraid of Pokémon. I didn’t really feel the flashback was done well. It would have been better if they had just shown what Randall saw: the Hoppip using Gust on him and fleeing when he tried to talk to it. It was weird and unnecessary to include the Beedrill in the flashback since he never saw or knew about it. This also bothers me because this incident was never “solved”. He never found out the real reason the Hoppip attacked him, which could have been explained through some means later on and he could have learned it was only defending itself, and possibly him as well. It just feels like it was left undone.

I thought it was cute that Bunnelby carried Froakie to the stage. In fact, I really liked Froakie’s attitude in this episode due to his loss. Granted I think maybe he’s taking this loss a bit too harshly, his expressions were hilarious whenever he saw Randall.

Sylveon’s “Who’s That Pokémon?” music was awesome. I really do enjoy hearing the different tracks they play for each segment.

Did Penelope not see what happened to Sylveon? I mean, the truck was open and the smoke was cleared when it and Pikachu got trapped. What does she mean, where did it go?

Did James say Rick Roll? I could have sworn he did. And why did it take three whole seconds to be concerned about Randall when no one saw him? Not to mention, standing in one spot and calling his name is not looking for him. These teachers in the Pokémon world really need to be reevaluated.

I found it odd that Serena was in the front seat. Normally, the people who plan to jump into the fray would be in the front, so I expected Clemont to be there. I mean, it would have been perfectly believable for Serena to be in the back to protect Bonnie like she tends to do.

I didn’t realize that Sylveon’s feeler thing were so useful. The fact that they can stretch so far is pretty cool. I wish it could have had more animations for them in the games.

So when Team Rocket blasted off, who made sound after Wobbuffet? Pumpkaboo?

Hooray, another Kindergarten kid is now not afraid of Pocket Beasts. Again, looks like they’re trying to get all of the “Kalos versions of episodes from past generations” out of the way early. For some reason, I didn’t find this one too interesting though. We’ve seen this tons of times before, and it doesn’t really offer anything new. The backstory about the Hoppip was pretty interesting, but it was never resolved and just felt odd. Serena making a big deal out of Penelope telling Ash to “go with her” also felt too forced and unnecessary in this episode. Otherwise it was a decent episode. I’ll give it a 6/10.

 

[Sakuraa]

I thought this was an okay episode. Nothing major, but not bad by any means.

Wow, Serena sounded really worried when Penelope said Ash had to go with her. Some nice shipping hints right there. And I loved how Ash literally thought nothing of it and was just like “well I’m not gonna lose”. I am loving Ash more and more. He remembers the Jenny and Joy situation and now he notices how Sylveon and Espeon are similar and figures out that Sylveon is also an Eeveelution. Please stay like this Ash. The battle against Sylveon was good for one that lasted about 2 minutes. What was really amazing was Froakie using the fruit that fell from the trees to attack Sylveon with. Froakie...used fruit...to fight. It's official. This guy is awesome.

I love how we got to see more personality from Froakie. He was cool standing around with his arms crossed all day. I found it cute when Ash actually sat down and nudged him after he rejected Sylveon's food offer. Then he blushed and acted surprised when Sylveon thanked him for saving her. Basically Froakie seemed a lot like Sonic the Hedgehog to me in this episode. And also, did Ash call Froakie a “he”? Didn’t expect that.

Thankfully, the kindergarteners’ voices weren’t as annoying in the dub. It was so cute how Bonnie bounced over to them to tell them that Pikachu likes his tail rubbed and then was showing them all how to feed the Pokémon. I also found it adorable how that little girl was playing with Clemont's glasses and he wasn't the slightest bit bothered. These two always have the cutest scenes. Also, Bunnelby picking up Froakie and bringing him to the truck...adorable.

Figures Meowth would have a crush on Sylveon. As for Team Rocket, the only thing I liked about them in this episode was that they didn't try to overdo it here and only go for Pikachu and Sylveon. But they put up no fight in the battle with Ash so...yeah. Also, I like how Fletchling decided to follow Ash on the truck without being asked. And what the hell Ash, why are you asking a kindergarten child to slam his frail little body against some super hard glass? That’s dangerous and irresponsible. Why can’t you and Froakie do it by yourselves? And am I the only one who found that truck drive to be ridiculously long. In fact what was up with Team Rocket, they spend like 10 minutes driving to this secret hideout or whatever and then put up literally no fight against Ash at the end.

And then there’s Randal. The poor kid didn’t even notice that that Hoppip saved his life. Which makes it odd as to how that could have appeared in his flashback, but whatever. What’s logic? To be honest, the only thing I liked about this kid was his hat. I mean, his story has been done before like twice so there wasn't much spectacular to it. But hey nice hat. Though I did like the little bond he made with Froakie. (Frog fist bump!)

Overall, nice episode overall. The only things that slightly disappointed me were the extreme shortness of the battle and the fact that once again Ash saved the day while the other three didn't do anything at all. I would have liked to see Serena battle again or even Bonnie, but they'll get their time eventually so I'm good. 7/10.

 

[Bland Mango]

Have seen episodes like this a dozen times couldn't actually finish watching it.

And what is it with Ash's reaction upon finding out about the new type, just sort of shrugs his shoulders and says oh a new type, like it's something that happens every other week. Didn't even ask anything about this new type.

 

[Solar Beam]

Have seen episodes like this a dozen times couldn't actually finish watching it.

And what is it with Ash's reaction upon finding out about the new type, just sort of shrugs his shoulders and says oh a new type, like it's something that happens every other week. Didn't even ask anything about this new type.

Don't blame Ash, blame the writers. Also, it's probably for the audience. They probably know about Fairy-type from the games. Also, they might go more into detail in a future episode.

 

[fireflight775]

Nice intro for sylveon which easily my fave fairy type, mainly design wise, nice battle for froakie he is defnitely getting stronger. I always like it when ash bonds with a little kid, which he seems to do at least pnce every region, and I like froakies personality in this episode, trying to be all tough and manly, very nice. Over all great episode.

 

[King Fissamé]

How old is Bonnie, she seemed to be the same age as those kids on the preschool, probably she is 2 years older which is 6 years.
Why doesn't Bonnie go to school.

 

[EvilChameleon]

Well, I mean it's completely possible school is not required in the Pokemon World like it is in ours.

 

[Muur]

Been looking forward to this episode, Penelope is by far the most attractive trainer ever. They need to have her as recurring.

I would've said "I'll come with you even if you win"

As's reaction to the fairy type was disappointing.

Lmao at Froakie kicking apples.

...how does Espeon even look like Sylveon?

Why would you get Slyeon out before Pikachu?

rest of this episode was bleh.

Of course Froakie and him will be friends forever, if you ignore that they'll never meat again.