Review SM073: Rocket-dan's Island-Visiting!? Get the Z-Ring!!

[Nanu Schmidt]

I meant sub.

 

[BigDocFan]

So Mimi-tan is the ghost of a dead Mimikyu, wonder how the dub will get round that, I sense censorship

 

[MaahirMomtaz12]

So does this episode confirm that Jessie's Mimikyu is a male? And Acerola's Mimikyu is clearly a female because of the flower on her head

 

[ShadowZone1996]

So does this episode confirm that Jessie's Mimikyu is a male? And Acerola's Mimikyu is clearly a female because of the flower on her head

No it does not confirm it anywhere.

 

[Vincent Schmidt]

It’s most likely that Jess’ Mimikyu is male, judging from context.

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

Uh, don't you think the man with a nugget looked a bit familiar with a character from Magikarp Jump? His name was a man of mystery or something.

 

[frankenstomp]

Uh, don't you think the man with a nugget looked a bit familiar with a character from Magikarp Jump? His name was a man of mystery or something.

Yeah, that was definitely a cameo.

 

[ii kanji]

Me right now:

That, Pokeani, is how you write a good episode.

Yuka Miyata hadn't really impressed me till now (although that bizarre Rocket toddler get-up from the Jijilong episode is unforgetable...), but looking back this is her first proper opportunity and boy did she grab it by the horns. There were really only 6 characters in this episode: Musashi, Kojirou, Nyasu, Kuchinashi, Acerola and Gangar. Everything and everyone else was just padding, and knowing this, she didn't (or wasn't forced to) waste time on the utter nonsense that plagues the average episode.

Of course the standout moment was the TRio using the Z move. The way Musashi & Nyasu encouraged Kojirou to do it but then organically joined in the pose so they'd do it together was like the ultimate wish fulfilment scene for a Rocket fan!

*sigh*

The way Musashi dropped Kojirou in it in the post-episode segment narration was top class and given how he cracked up I wonder whether Miki genuinely flubbed it.
Also, is it me or is this the first episode title in SM which has not been read by Satoshi? (It's certainly the first one the TRio have gotten to read!)

Most important note: the Sakaki/Kuchinashi connection is confirmed. Bring on the seediest romance 2k18

 

[kantoskies]

Having Satoshi appear for like 10 seconds at the end and have maybe 10 words of dialogue is probably the smartest decision this show has made.

 

[Nanu Schmidt]

I can't understand the episode still. The google auto-translate subs suck.

 

[Almonds]

I saw screenshots on twitter about the Nugget Man from Magikarp Jump omg. They're using characters from a phone game? That's nice

 

[frankenstomp]

It seems like Nanu is confirmed to be Acerola's guardian from the subs.

 

[Mayla]

SO GOOD. The writing, the gags, animation, the TRio achievements, everything! This is about as feel-good as the show gets for me. Can't decide on what was my favorite stand out moment, but those Rocket-bots were peak TRio comedy.

Spoiler

DA FACES.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Like I'm not even going to question how not only Jessie but also Meowth are capable of lending Z-power to another Trainer's Pokémon because the three of them performing a Z-Move together is simply the perfect choice. I also love how Jessie gets a Mimikium Z right out of the blue, I didn't see that one coming.

Also, even if minimum, did we just get a slight background on Giovanni? When was the last time that happened?! Nanu is a great character in the games, so I'm really interested in this. Especially why he and Giovanni seem to be on sorta-good terms with each other,

Spoiler

considering he used to be a top member of the Interpol.

 

[Zyar]

Good things come to those who wait. Almost fifty episodes/a year later since they got that Z-crystal, but the glorious moment of Team Rocket finally using a Z-move did not disappoint! Hidoide learning Knock Off came out of nowhere but it was hilarious and original (lol at her attacking Musashi to save Kojiro's food). They set the premise for this episode in only three minutes and, in general, I though the pacing was quite good. Nothing felt unnecessary here (except, you know, Satoshi at the end).

I couldn't stop laughing when I saw those dummies they left at their base to fool Kiteruguma... those robotic voices were perfect! (Also, what's with Nyasu trying to get in everyone's good graces with malasadas? First Matori in that Kanto episode, now Kuchinashi...) And it's so fitting the three of them got to perform their first Z-move together, that's all my heart ever wanted. Although, I wouldn't have disliked it if the focus was a little more on Kojiro and Hidoide.

Acerola is so cute and so is her Mimikkyu's voice lol (so feminine). I'm so glad Mimi-tan gave the Mimikkyu Z to Musashi so easily at the end of this.

And can I just say how cute it was the narrator said "the team rocket trio and sonansu" and not just "the team rocket trio"?

 

[Rudrarocks]

This was a great episode. Why did ash appear in the end

 

[Kurolegacy]

So Mimi-tan is the ghost of a dead Mimikyu, wonder how the dub will get round that, I sense censorship

I don't really think that they'd censor the fact in the dub. After all, the dub isn't done by 4Kids anymore and didn't pull its punches with Litten's capture episode.

 

[Gard81]

Seriously, that last part with Satoshi just really clashes with rest of the episode. It's like: "Oh and btw, Satoshi decided to go to the next island and we suddenly remembered there's a trial or something." Like seriously, no set-up, no excuse to travel, just directly on a boat, just him and his Pokemon. Maybe his classmates are also on the boat, I wouldn't know because we just randomly jumped into this scene. Meh, I lost interest in the Trial itself a long time ago. If the anime doesn't treat it with decency,why the heck should I?
Normally, I'd question Team Rocket getting a Z-Ring so easily, since it basically cheapens how hard it is to get one (nevermind that it's an upgraded Z-Ring which the writers went to a lot trouble to show how special creating one is), but I'll give it a pass since it was given by a Captain that somehow has connections to Giovanni and is the most laissez-faire among the Captains.
The story is not that impressive, but TR comedy is always good for a laugh or 2, especially James' reaction to seeing a real ghost.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Well, can't wait for the TRio to use Black Hole Eclipse to knock out one of Ash's pokemon, only for Mimikyu to want to use Let's Snuggle Forever on Pikachu and fail at it because there's only one move allowed, especially if the entire TRio joins in when performing it

I hope they learn to swap the Z-Ring between Jessie and James depending on which move they want to use, because having that kind of tag battle would be a lot of fun

 

[Cookiefication]

Iwane truly blessed this episode