Review S20 EP23: Getting the Band Back Together!

[abcboy]

SM023 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

The episode is available on the Watch Disney XD site and app. Please keep future events in spoiler tags.

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

I wonder who does the Who's That Pokemon? in this episode? I mean, Lana and Lillie don't appear here so I believe Ash, Mallow, Sophocles, Professor Kukui, Kiawe and Mimo do the WTP segment.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

Probably one of the more lower points in the series, easily an episode that can be passed off as filler and no one would still care.

Sorry episode but even sticking Dugtrio wigs on everyone didn't make me chuckle.

 

[Wishy-Washy]

This is the most filler episode of S&M so far, even has Team Rocket in their usual filler roles of stealing a Pokemon using a disguise and then blasting off with little effort on the heroes part.

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

This is the most filler episode of S&M so far, even has Team Rocket in their usual filler roles of stealing a Pokemon using a disguise and then blasting off with little effort on the heroes part.

It was a filler episode, but Lana and Lillie do not appear in this episode and not doing the WTP with everyone, so who did the WTP for this episode? I want to know it.

 

[abcboy]

I wonder who does the Who's That Pokemon? in this episode? I mean, Lana and Lillie don't appear here so I believe Ash, Mallow, Sophocles, Professor Kukui, Kiawe and Mimo do the WTP segment.

The closed captions say "LEO/ASH/SOPHOCLES/MALLOW/KIAWE".

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

The closed captions say "LEO/ASH/SOPHOCLES/MALLOW/KIAWE".

Good to know! But for some reason the page doesn't include that at all which is weird.

 

[Islander Princess]

I actually liked this episode. Definitely not the best of SM but it entertained me well enough.

I love Kiawe. His reactions in this episode were so funny. I love that they gave a reason behind it as well (his love for the culture of Alola was basically represented by the music.) Nice to see they're not just throwing in random outbursts as gags and putting a little thought behind them. He also looked fabulous in his blond bowl cut wig!

Dugtrio is one of my favorite Alolan form Pokémon solely because of the hair, so they were a big part of why I liked this episode. I just really enjoyed seeing them in action. And the fact that they were a band just made it even funnier. It was also cute that DJ Leo was a childhood friend of Kukui's.

I do have it say, it's pretty sad that Meowth pretending to be a rapper doesn't actually sound any different than his normal dialogue. So cringey. The whole Team Rocket scene was, honestly. I don't understand why they can't dub them better.

 

[Muur]

Wait so... is that Dugtrio a hermaphrodite? two female/one male and all.

Kiwae has a sister complex, who knew.

Would Lille's have worn a wig? she's already blonde.

Jesus Christ Kiawe.

Sand floor is a weird house choice, even if you have a Dugtrio.

Each head having a personality is always weird. They need to explain how the evolution works, like do three Digletts in Diglett school have to agree to evolve together? do two extra heads just form like when Beldum evolved in the show? and if the latter is the case, then that's even weirder since they have their own personalities. Just so weird.

Damn Dugtrio turning on his owner just like that. Harsh.

Lmao at that Iron Head animation.

I don't think Leo should accept Dugtrio back that easier.

Okay episode I guess. Still think Alola Dugtrio is dumb

 

[Sakuraa]

I love that Mimo showed up again. I was worried that wouldn't see her again until Ash offically started traveling on Akala. Still wondering when that's going to happen though... The wigs that everyone had on were hilarious. I love that Mimo actually made Kiawe get a wig just by being cute. I love these two I also loved how Rotom had on his own Detective Laki wig for the concert. And Sophecles telling him the wig had nothing to do with the concert was hilarious I thought it was really weird how 2 of the Dugtrio had female names, but then the 3rd one was named Micheal. I don't see why they didn't just name her Michelle. But anyway, I wasn't too fond of the dub-trio's singing. The original was cuter.

I'd just like to interrupt this review to state that Ash's "yo" was hilarious.

It was nice to get the small reference to May and Brock through those display wigs. I thought the green one was supposed to be Aaron, but then I remembered that his hairstyle is different. The Diglett was so cute. I love how much it admired Dugtrio and wanted to join their group. I didn't like how they just gave it Rotom's wig though. He's a huge fan of his show; he didn't deserve to have his wig just taken like that. At least Kukui offered to buy him a new one. :/

The issue of "Who's going to be the main singer?" kind of seemed, weird. I mean, they've been performing for all that time with no issues regarding who was singing the lead, but all of a sudden now they do? It was just so forced. If this was an issue Leo had been dealing with for a while, it would have been a bit better. The way it just happened randomly with nothing leading up to it gave of the impression that the issue was last minute decision, imo.

It almost seems like Rockruff is taking the role of the regional bird since Ash didn't catch one this time around. Instead of having a brid scouting in the air, we've just got the dog sniffing on the ground. Anyway, the rest of the episode was business as usual. From here on out, I only really, really, liked the end where Diglett was spinning around while the Dugtrio sang. That was just adorable as hell.

Overall this episode had some nice moments, mainly in the form of Diglett, but otherwise wasn't all that special. I'll give it a 5/10.

 

[Poke Trey]

This episode was meh to me. Not much happened here other Rotomdex getting a new voice function thing and hey Mimo is back! I hope we get to see her later on in the show and Alolan Dugtrio.... worst Alolan form ever especially in the games.

 

[BigDocFan]

Looking at the end credits, the only name not matching a known character is H.D. Quinn so my guess is he voices DJ Leo

 

[technickal]

Alola fillers haven't been exactly remarkable up to this point, but at least they weren't formulaic. What I mean by that is they weren't the cliché "CoTD has a Pokémon and a problem, Ash and friends try to resolve the problem, TRio tries to steal the Pokémon, CoTD leaves with Pokémon returned and problem resolved" kind of filler. But this episode, unfortunately, goes back to that formula. And just as unfortunately, I can only recommend it to someone who wants to watch the whole season or waste some time (or both, like me).

Not only does it feel pointless, it's filled with plot holes. Like, thinking about it, it doesn't make sense at all to give the Dugtrio heads separate names, personalities and voices. Two of them are apparently female, while one is male. I get that the anime isn't supposed to stick close to the games, but could they even be considered the same creature at this point? Apparently so, because unlike what the Japanese title led some to believe, they don't actually physically "split up". I guess even with all the liberties they took, "devolution" is still a no-no.

Secondly, why did the Dugtrio only have a problem deciding who was the lead singer when the Diglett showed up? Couldn't they just sing in a line like they were doing before...? It seemed forced to create more conflict. What would make more sense is the Dugtrio having trouble accepting the Diglett into the group, because they're supposed to be, well, a trio. And then they could learn the same lesson about cooperation in a way that makes more sense.

It wasn't all bad, though. Diglett was pretty cute, and I did like all the crazy wigs everyone was wearing (and how they pointed out Rotom's Laki wig basically can pass for an Alolan Dugtrio one). But my takeaway was that it was a rather cheap way to show off Alolan Diglett and Dugtrio, and the episode had so much more potential.

 

[Harryghost]

Okay, so the group is attending a concert here. That's cool!

That Alolan Dugtrio sounds quite good actually. Though, I still prefer Dugtrio's cry from the original series.

Umm... Not sure why Alolan Diglett was fascinated with Rotom Dex's wig in particular. It wasn't even an accessory from the same franchise to begin with.

OH KIAWE! Your hilarious seriousness is one of a kind for sure!

So, Kukui does not realize till that date that Leo was his schoolmate. Hmm...

Nice knowing DJ Leo and Dugtrio's backstory.

I don't think Diglett wearing a wig is all the more necessary. After all, Dugtrio hair is part of its body, rather than an accessory. I prefer Diglett going natural here.

So, Rotom updates itself with the voice sampling system. That's great.

WHAT?! Dugtrio just randomly walks away with the "talent agency". Leo, that's messed up actually.

Rockruff to the rescue again! Also, I feel Dugtrio could have just burrowed underground to escape from that rope, unless it was so tightly bound that no escape was possible.

That Tri Attack animation though. Oh well, at least it solves the problem that caused the band to break apart.

All in all, I'd call it a decent episode. There was nothing extra-ordinary about it, but it still had some interesting aspects to it.