Review S17 EP29: Heroes - Friends and Faux Alike!

[Neo Blaze]

XY029 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

This dub episode has been officially aired in the UK.

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

 

[Sweenix]

Lmao, are they going to keep airing the episodes in this order? because the dub will be ahead of the original in a few weeks.

 

[Sakuraa]

This episode was actually better than I thought it would be.

The beginning of this episode just reminded me why I love Clemont so much. He doesn’t even need a Pokemon to help fend off TR. I don’t even care that the invention blew up at the end, he still protected the group perfectly and allowed Ash to save Pikachu.

I'm not even going to lie, TR actually had a good plan here. They got Bonnie, Serena, and Ash blamed for crimes so they could get Clemont alone and have him build not only a robot to attack him and his friends with, but also a machine to steal Pikachu. But if Jessie mentions her non-existent acting abilities one more time, I’m going to flip out. Also how the hell did they know Serena and Bonnie’s names? In XY14, Jessie didn’t seem to know that Bonnie even existed or that Bonnie was a name in general. So how do they now know both of their names? Not only that how do they know where Serena is from and that Bonnie says “cute” a lot?

I like how Serena had to hold Bonnie up to the phone to call Clemont. Just thought I'd note that. And of course TR now magically know Clemont’s name. Ya know, I’m just going to assume that they’ve just been spying on the group for so long that they must have heard their names, hometowns, and Bonnie saying "cute" mentioned at some point.

I like how it seems that they specifically chose a Helioliskbot to lure Clemont in with his love for electric-types. Not sure how they’d know that but once again, I’m not asking any more questions. But geez Clemont must REALLY love inventing if he didn't see anything weird about building this stuff in a secluded garage at night with no one else around. Ya know in the earlier episodes I thought Clemont’s invention names were okay, but now I’m really starting to agree with Bonnie because his names are getting worse by the episode.

What the hell is wrong with Ash? Why would he even think to use electric-type moves on the “electricity has no effect on me-a-tron”? Anyway, Clemont was so boss here. I love how shocked and upset he was at TR for tricking him. Good thing TR didn't know about Clemont's invention record or else they probably wouldn't have trusted him to build that bot anyway. I just knew the Helioliskbot was gonna blow up and that was actually a good thing. I lolled when TR was like “what’s the problem?” and Bonnie said “the problem is that my brother made it”. Also, why did Clemont have to borrow Serena’s map? Didn’t he have one in the 3rd episode?

And I'm glad Bunnelby got to handle TR instead of Chespin. It's been a while since he's done anything. Even though Clemont's other invention blew up again at the end, I'm glad it also worked to repel TR first. And I love the end where Ash puts his arm around Clemont. I love their brotherly friendship.

All in all a very impressive and entertaining episode for Clemont. 9.7/10.

 

[Darth Darkrai]

LOL, the ONLY thing I could think of when James was Pretending to be Ash, I heard Gary LOL.

 

[Muur]

they were very convincing as Ash and co. Psybeam shouldn't hit Pancham though, should it?

Jenny is nice to let them off... what if they aren't imposters :O

damn Clemont really is a genius aha

okay episode

so who's paying

 

[Shadao]

they were very convincing as Ash and co. Psybeam shouldn't hit Pancham though, should it?

Well technically, Pancham is a pure Fighting-Type. It's Pangoro who is a Fighting/Dark Type.

 

[Muur]

*pours salt into wound*

 

[Team Gaara]

Starting off the episode with a Team Rocket battle is never a good thing. How the hell did they get Pikachu? What happened to lead up to this? Who the hell knows?

And so Clemont has this random OP Deus Ex Machina invention, too? This episode is not starting off very well. It’s just a whole bunch of “Whos? Whats? Whens? Wheres? Whys? And Hows? ”

So Pikachu is easily freed, easily KOs Team Rocket, and that’s it. But it’s a good thing that invention exploded, because I was getting worried for a minute there about what kind of direction this episode was going in.

Well, I suppose this isn’t too stupid of a scenario. It’s not like Jessie and James know Clemont’s inventions blow up 5 seconds after they’re used. But then we get into Jessie’s “acting” again…after last week’s near non-existent focus on acting despite it being the only thing Jessie attributes Diantha to, I can’t say I’m looking forward to this. They are really forcing that onto both Jessie and us and it’s really not working out.

And…what? Just…what? First of all…FIRST OF ALL…how the hell do Team Rocket know Serena and Bonnie’s names and where they come from? Hell, they didn’t even know “what” a Bonnie was, last time, so WTF is this even? Plot-wise, it makes no sense. Then where did they get those clothes? And why did they need Pikachu and Dedenne “replicas”? It’s not like this Pancham kid knows Ash has a Pikachu or that Bonnie has a Dedenne…so why the absurd props? But, of course…people in the Pokémon World…IQ of a sheep…so, I can’t be all that pissed…

I have to say, though, James is a pretty good Ash to say, “Special Trainin’” like that (even though he shouldn’t really know Ash says that). But he’s way too light skinned. It looks so awkward. But still, he’s a damn funny Ash. How can your Pikachu float and use Psybeam? We trained real hard! Seems legit. And the Dedenne puppet is hysterical! This plan…I have no idea what the hell it is or what it’s supposed to accomplish, but it’s funny as hell. James is a much better actor than Jessie is, just saying.

Ah, classic. Gotta be specific about which Ash, Serena, and Bonnie you are and say where you’re from each time. Also, what’s that dude’s deal? When do Ash and goons ever pay for anything? Does food only cost money when it’s Team Rocket? Ash is broke.

Similar to James, how the hell would Meowth know Bonnie always says “cute”, which she doesn’t even do that often? But, if this plan is to frame these goons, sans Clemont, then it’s working horribly. If it’s that easy to convince these idiots that they aren’t the guilty ones, then people should do this type of stuff more often. You get free food and the real people end up getting no blame. Win situation for everyone!

Did this dumbass Officer Jenny just ask Pikachu if he was Pikachu? Anyway, Team Rocket really went through a lot just to separate them, but…I mean, they did get free food. I thought it was cute how Bonnie was the one who called Clemont, but I can’t help feeling like her voice sounds a bit different when she’s on the phone with him.

Now why would Clemont help someone who was looking at him the way Jessie was? -_- Anyway, I don’t know why, but I LOVED watching Clemont write in that weird-ass Pokémon script! It’s so cool to see them use it~ And what the hell was that Electric-type Pokémon? More than that, I can’t believe Giovanni was happy to hear that those idiots had two Kalos Pokémon. In 29 episodes, that’s beyond pathetic.

Oh please don’t let Clemont name the robot! Why would they let Clemont name the robot?! DX

…And Serena would say that the clothes that are identical to hers are trashy. But, for once, Jessie nailed it with the “ta-da” stuff. And James just straight up called Ash a buffoon. Of all the ironic…

Actually, scratch that. Ash is a damn buffoon. They already told Bonnie with her pencil-legs self that the machine was called “The Electricity Has No Effect On Me” and this dumbass decided the best thing to do is to spam Electric attacks. On the bright side, Clemont’s agony is hilarious.

So Pikachu’s been transported a maximum of one and a half miles away. DEDENNE CAN SENSE PIKACHU’S ELECTRICITY. WHY DID CLEMONT SEND OUT BUNNELBY?! I mean, yes, it was smart to see which direction the machine went by digging, but wouldn’t Dedenne have been able to do that much quicker? And since Team Rocket seem to have gotten really good at directing themselves in the direction they want to blast off in, every second does count.

…Aaaannndd they’re back to where they started with Clemont’s damn OP machine. And Team Rocket shows their intelligence by attacking anyway. Oopsie doops. Yep~ No need for Wobuffett this time, it seems. And the Youtube video cut off the very end of the episode, but it was just the narrator babbling on about Clemont being the hero, so whatever. Go Team Clemont~

Well, for an episode that started out pretty badly, it ended up being a pretty good episode. Team Rocket were actually good actors for once, though it is questionable how they came to know what they did about Serena and Bonnie. Team Rocket’s plan did end up being okay and actually pretty smart in the end, but at the same time, they made it so much more difficult than it needed to be. I liked this episode focusing on Clemont, and it didn’t really bother me that Ash, Serena, and Bonnie were rather out of it during the episode, though it did feel odd that Meowth was. The only real complaints I have were the first few minutes of the show that begin in media res. It just makes me question too many things about how they ended up in that situation and I just don't like that it isn't answered. Not to mention, Clemont just so happens to have the perfect machine to get them out if that random scenario. It just makes an unknown situation worse by adding DEM on top of it. But it was a rather enjoyable episode. I give it a 9.8/10~

they were very convincing as Ash and co. Psybeam shouldn't hit Pancham though, should it?

Well technically, Pancham is a pure Fighting-Type. It's Pangoro who is a Fighting/Dark Type.

Not to mention, James’ Inkay trains real hard. It’s hit Dark-types with Psybeam before.

 

[demonta4]

Why does Officer Jenny ask Pikachu if he's Pikachu?

 

[Beth Pavell]

Oh well, time to recycle an old gripe - if it's just a scene setting battle, why does it have to be Bubble frog again? Fletchling really is a butt monkey here, it's worse than Pidgeotto

A clever plan from Team Rocket without sacrificing comedy? Well done indeed. I really likes this episode, I reckon it'll rank as one of my favourites from this season

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

Nice to see Joy not be stupid. It was actually a pretty good plan by team rocket except why do they need help with protection against electricity.

 

[Team Gaara]

It was actually a pretty good plan by team rocket except why do they need help with protection against electricity.

...Because the one Pokemon they are repeatedly trying to catch is an Electric type and always defeats them with Electric-type moves...

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

It was actually a pretty good plan by team rocket except why do they need help with protection against electricity.

...Because the one Pokemon they are repeatedly trying to catch is an Electric type and always defeats them with Electric-type moves...

Yeah but they have used anti electricity tech before MANY MANY TIMES.

 

[Team Gaara]

Yeah but they have used anti electricity tech before MANY MANY TIMES.

But it isn't something they just have permanently to use, so it's still a concern of theirs.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

@Team Gaara; They didn't ask for the money or the resources they asked for help making it. Kinda of a big difference. I guess you can argue that they needed a new available way of doing it but anti electricity is still kinda Meowth's specialty.

 

[Johtohfiller]

@Team Gaara; They didn't ask for the money or the resources they asked for help making it. Kinda of a big difference. I guess you can argue that they needed a new available way of doing it but anti electricity is still kinda Meowth's specialty.

I think it's because Clemont defeated them with one of his inventions; they were impressed with his skill and wanted to use it for their own ends.

 

[Pattyman]

Odd how Ash and the others don't take a break from doing stuff to recover after getting into trouble with the town even though Team Rocket were the ones disguised as them.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

A really creative episode for sure!
Having Team Rocket disguise as the twerps was a great and interesting idea and I can't remember if this has ever happened in any Pokemon episodes so far. I particularly like that, after countless episodes, the writers still seem to be capable of bringing up something new. The whole plot was clever and well thought-out, except for one thing:
As @Phoenixphlare already said it, TRio have a lot of expertise when it comes to building robots and they've already proven themselves capable of building anti-electricity devices as well. So, it makes no sense to me why they would need Clemont's help of all people.

But apart from that, the episode was entertaining, clever and nicely done. Sure, they could have spent more time for the final battle but that's only a minor point.

All in all, an episode that definitely belongs to the better ones in Kalos.

 

[DracoMan]

I gotta say, this episode did not go at all the way I'd expected. I was bracing myself for Team Rocket fooling everyone with one of their worst disguises yet (a floating Pikachu?), but surprisingly, everyone else knew that something wasn't right. This included Officer Jenny, who showed far more competence than I've come to expect of her breed. (The fact that TR kept shouting out their "names" after each act of villainy was kind of a major tip-off, IMHO.)

As for Clemont, the energy-absorbing thingy would be useful if it didn't friggin' explode, especially the Mark II. (So much for Clemont learning from his mistakes.) Though Mr. Genius still fell for the TRio's scientist design. (And apparently, in this world, the term "stranger danger" doesn't exist.) I was actually expecting his improvements to TR's gizmos to explode as a bit of karma, which the mecha-Heliolisk did. I do have to ask, though--why did TR need Clemont's help in shock-proofing anything? They've been doing this for 16 years. Shouldn't they know what they're doing by now? Oh, wait, it's Team Rocket...never mind.

 

[Team Gaara]

This included Officer Jenny, who showed far more competence than I've come to expect of her breed.

Yep. Asking a Pikachu if it's a Pikachu while looking at it is clearly a moment of sheer intelligence. I myself have never really thought of the Jennys as stupid, but if there were ever a more face-palm worthy moment, it would have been this.