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Review JN004: Let's Go to the Galar Region! An Encounter with Hibanny!!

Well I can say that I enjoy this episode for what it was because I am trying each week to enter with no expectations. It was a fun episode for the most part, if not a bit slow. It this were the 4th episode in the Galar region, and set in some filler non-game city (after we already experienced a lot of game locations the previous 3 episodes) I think it would have been received a lot better.

Since Nickit is one of my favorite Galar Pokemon, I was very happy with their portrayal in this episode, they were very cute, fun, and I do hope we see more of them. Hoping to see more of them is probably too much at this point, considering with the style of this series most Galar Pokemon (and locations for that matter) aren't even going to get this level of exposure, which is very concerning to me.

I agree with others that Ash is extremely out of character here when he cares more about food than new Pokemon/new region. It just goes to show that they will do whatever they want to make the episode they want to without worrying about what has been previously established, which is very disappointing.

The worst thing about this episode is just how little of Wyndon and Galar is shown. The train stations look like they do in the game, and that's about all that was recognizable. I didn't know Shoot city was Wyndon, and in the beginning of the episode I was thinking about pausing and checking Bulbapedia, but then I thought "I'm sure I'll be able to recognize what city it is based on the episode" since I've already played the entire game, but no, there were no landmarks of any kind. Its pretty unbelievable, think back to the first several episodes of XY and how much Lumiose was showcased, this is a really stark, disappointing difference. It is even more troubling when thinking about the exact premise of this series, showcasing every region. If this is their idea of showcasing a region, then it really won't matter if we're in Hoenn or Unova or Johto, because we won't be seeing landmarks or native Pokemon so the series could pretty much exist anywhere except for some detail from the minor quest of the day, rendering much of their promotion moot (just like their idea of appealing to older fans is a complete whiff).

I still hold out some hope that they are saving Galar for some longer return later, but its a little late to add to the new game excitement that we normally get from the anime. Anyway, I will continue into next week and beyond with limited expectations, which make the episodes enjoyable in an episodic sense, but the series doesn't seem promising to me on the whole.

Side note: This is the first time I have ever played through the entire game of a region before seeing the region in the anime (although I kind of feel like I still haven't seen Galar in the anime). I wonder if this is true for others as well since we got to Galar so late?
 
An overall adorable episode. <3

Also, rotom phone is unusual. I believe previous Pokedexes recognized Meowth in other pokemon disguises before. So dexes can scan over clothing/costumes, but the supposedly super advanced rotom phone can't scan over dirt?
 
I'd call it a decent story for the first episode in the Galar region.

Scorbunny is both funny and clever and so this little tough guy seems to be a very good choice for Go's first Pokemon. Compared to the two other Galarian starter Pokemon that don't really appeal to me, Scorbunny sure is my favorite one.

What I didn't like, though, was the cities in Galar in general. Obviously, they're modeled after old industrialized cities in England, but all those massive buildings built from stone, all that narrowness and dark alleys can easily make you feel depressive I guess. Honestly, I wouldn't want to live there and all the other regions, especially Alola, had a much more relaxed vibe. I just hope Ash and Go will move around to different and more beautiful places frequently.
(But maybe, I'll develop a liking for the Galarian cities sometime in the future. Who knows...)
Speaking of moving around: So we can assume Ash and Go will travel between regions frequently? An interesting concept for sure. Let's just hope it won't be too rushed, meaning that in one episode they'll be in one region and in the next episode they'll already be in a totally different one all of a sudden.

Well, it's only been four episodes so far, but I've already started to like Go as Ash's new companion very much. He seems to be a mature and determined guy and he and Ash simply match perfectly.

But do you want to know what's the best thing about the new series from my point of view? The fact that it's the first time Ash hasn't been given the annoying and painful character reset, neither when it comes to his personal behavior nor when it comes to Pikachu's strength. Thank God, what a relief!

So, next episode Dynamax will be shown? Very nice! I'm looking forward to it!
 
I still find it incredibly weird that Ash seemed far more interested in food than seeing any new Pokémon at all the moment he immediately set foot in Galar. You would have thought that he'd be totally over the moon and wanting to see all sorts of them like he did with the other regions (and even Yamper which he was surprised about two episodes earlier) but nope, apparently he considers scones more important than that.

Really odd writing.
 
I just noticed someting interesting in the openingscene when the starters are shown: Kanto: Bulbasaur closest to Ash - got it first (However, doesn't matter much, since Ash got all three anyways)
Johto - Chikorita - Got it first (Doesn't matter much, all three)
Hoenn - Treecko - only starter closest
Sinnoh - Oddball, Piplup is closest, Turtwig is farthest away
Unova - Tepig (closest, second capture). However, doesn't matter much, all three
Kalos: Froakie - only starter, closest
Alola: Rowlet closest, after that comes Litten (Rowlet was first capture)
Galar: Sobble is closest, so he might get Sobble first and after that Grookey.
 
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In that case, you'll be missing a lot of plot. Reading summaries isn't the same as seeing the actual episode

Yes I will, but like I said before, I'm not interested in the overall plot of this series. I only care about seeing Galar. I'd rather read quick summaries of episodes I have 0 interest in, than sit through them.
 
Then again, he saw a Wanpachi and Armorgaw in Kanto and didn't even bother reacting to the second one so I guess Satoshi is over the whole fanboying over new pokemon thing. I don't really like it.
Remember when Ash fangirled over Diglett and Butterfree though?
-

I also like how Scorbunny was able to keep ahead of Pikachu and knocked itself out by running into a dumpster hard enough to dent the metal
 
Big improvement over last week's episode!

I was much more invested in this week's plot than last week's. I honestly feel like it fared better because it wasn't as heavily "research" based and felt more like something that was happening naturally. I suppose it also helps when the Pokemon have distinct personalities. Scorbunny and Nickit are two of my favorite Galar Pokemon (I had both on my team!) so I'm very happy they were the first Galar Pokemon we got to see on the show, and I really enjoyed them! They were mischievous without being annoying, although I can already see what this series' physical gag is going to be (Scorbunny kicking Ash and Pikachu getting defensive about it).

Speaking of Galar, man was it beautiful! I was a little worried they would neutralize the unique design, but I think they did a nice job of capturing it from the games. I do hope we get more episodes that focus on exploring the cities and the different aspects of them. The wild area episode next week might be a better indicator of what's to come in terms of that.

Gou and Ash are still such a delight. They really are the highlight of the series for me right now! I just love how their personalities clash and blend, and how they co-exist as a duo. It's so nice to see different variances between the two: sometimes they're getting along and helping each other out, other times they're at each other's throats and teasing one another. It's a nice change of pace that I'm glad they've kept up thus far.

Good to see the professor's assistants are still nothing but background art :rolleyes: That probably shouldn't bother me as much as it does...but it just does. Hopefully they do something down the line other than sit at computers or stand behind the professor for a phone call.

Overall an enjoyable episode!
 
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I also can't figure out where the anime is going, unless it's point to just to explore the entire Pokemon world, but maybe mostly Galar??

IN ANY CASE, very cute episode, and I loved Hibunny and Kusune.
 
To be fair, a Pokédex's being unable to identify a pokémon completely covered in mud makes more, much more sense than it being able to identify a pokémon that literally hides itself within a costume. So, I don't see any problem with that.
 
So, I'm pretty late to the party (curse you, exigent university professors Dinkleberg), but I'm finally free and able to write a review, so let's do it to it. Though I can't help but feel like this is a bit... I don't know, redundant? I mean, most people have already pointed out what's wrong with this episode. But, hey, whatever. Another post pointing out this episode's problems won't hurt anyone... hopefully.

So, first of, let start with Mimey. As much as I liked its first mime gag with the imaginary broom, the fact that they're trying to turn it into the core aspect of the Pokémon is starting to become really annoying. If this episode is any indication, Mimey's new habits tend to be unhelpful and cause inconveniences, which contradicted its preestablished character. Mimey was always shown as someone who enjoys doing chores and helping the Ketchums around the house (to the point of even getting into fights with Brock over who gets to help Delia with her chores). But now, I guess it finds miming to be more important than actually helping around and taking care of the boys like Delia asked it to do. Which, at this point, makes me wonder what's even the point of having Mimey stay to look after Ash. If they were gonna completely revamp its personality, they might as well have introduced a new Mr. Mime (maybe have it even be Sakuragi's, since he's already pretty good at pulling Pokémon out of nowhere), instead of having Mimey stay behind for no reason other than shallow jokes and have its behavior completely rewritten.

Next up, we have Wyndon's (and the Galar region's) debut. And, man, what an underwhelming debut this was. Outside of Scorbunny and Nickit, we don't get to see any other new Pokémon from Galar. No regional bird, no regional starters (besides Scorbunny), no regional rodent, no Galarian forms, no anything. As for Wyndon City itself, if it weren't for the captions telling us where Ash and Go were, I wouldn't have even realized that this city was supposed to be the Galarian capital itself. No Wyndon Stadium, no Rose Tower, no Rose of the Rondelands (and, thus, no Big Ben or London's Eye), no Battle Café, no Galarian Pokémon Center, not even something referencing the Galar League (which is supposed to be taking palce in this city on a yearly basis). Even the Rookiedee, Corvisquire and Corviknight statues that were in front of the train station are missing. Heck, even the overall design of the city barely resembles the one from the games. With all of this lack of landmarks and unfaithfulness to the games, this might as well have been a random anime-original city and nobody would've noticed any difference. And why was it so barren? This is supposed to be the capital, the biggest, the most important city in the region. But, compared to Lumiose City's debut (and even Castelia City's and Jubilife City's), this city almost resembles a ghost town.

Then we have Ash going against his character and deciding that, instead of exploring the city to see if it has a gym or try to find out if Galar even has a Pokémon League or even just look for new Pokémon that he's never seen before (like he's done in all of the previous regions), he's instead gonna search for a place to eat. Because food is apparently more important to him than anything regarding Pokémon and Pokémon battles. God, this just reminds me of the worst parts of early Sun & Moon, when Ash would generally hang out with his classmates (and even abandon training with his Pokémon) because he might get something from them (like food from Sophocles and Kiawe or a fishing rod form Lana) rather than doing it because they're his friends and he would want to get to know them better and learn more about them. Actually, considering the amount of funny faces in this episode (as well as Ash being the butt of a lot of jokes and him speaking like a five years old), it almost feels like this was written by people who worked on the Sun & Moon series' comedy-heavy episodes.

And, last but not least, we have the Pokédex not being able to identify a Pokémon because... it was covered in mud... :bulbaFacepalm:. Let me get this straight: the Pokédexes from the previous regions were able to scan and identify a Pokémon, even if the Pokémon was disguised as another one (which is the equivalent of covering itself in mud) or obstructed by another object (such as a bush or a person's long hair), but the newer, enhanced and more advanced models can't even scan a Pokémon because it doesn't look the way it should, despite the fact that it doesn't change the anatomy or even the basic shape of the Pokémon. But they can be inhabited by Rotom and basically be turned into Pokémon's very own version of Navi that will forever bug you as long as you use it. Yeah, what a revolutionary and incredible step forward. :rolleyes:

Now, to be fair, this episode does have some improvements compared to the previous one. For one, there's an interesting conflict for most of the episode that actually leads to something. Scorbunny and the Nickit steal Ash's backpack to get their hands on the scones the he put there (with his backpack also happening to be where Ash put his train tickets), which leads to a cool (yet pretty short) battle that makes Go be impressed by Scorbunny and his battling abilities, leading to him sticking up for it and even lying about being its trainer in order to get it out of trouble (which may or may not be related to Go's past as well) and even giving it a nice and short speech about how it should never give up, which finally lead to Scorbunny wanting to join Go. Speaking of nice things, it was neat to finally see Pokémon of the Day that actually have some kind of personality, as opposed to the Bulbasaur line from the previous episode, which had the charisma of a plank. Made the episode more entertaining to watch and made the interactions between Scorbunny and the gang more lively.

So, overall, while a slight improvement over the Bulbasaur Garden ripoff, it still was pretty weak in a lot of aspects. A lackluster debut for a region, a terrible introduction to its biggest and most important city, an astonishing lack of Gen VIII Pokémon and, combined with some out-of-character moments, you've got a pretty disappointing episode whose saving graces are the characters' personalities and interactions and an alright (but short) battle.
 
Gloria wasn't even in the episodes yet. Also to point things out, Go is going to be referred to as Chase in the international dubs.
 
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Ash and Go are kind in this episode. Even though they stole their food, ran away and caused them much trouble, Go stands up for Hibunny.
I was actually expecting them to catch it :p . (I'm an old gen guy). Then there's this over ambitious starter choice-Mew. I mean, why does Go, who's so much knowledge about Pokémon realize it?
Also, rotom phone is unusual. I believe previous Pokedexes recognized Meowth in other pokemon disguises before. So dexes can scan over clothing/costumes, but the supposedly super advanced rotom phone can't scan over dirt?
The rotom dex didn’t see the Scorbunny covered in dirt
Agreed.
The Nickits finally realised that it's time to bid their brother-in-chaos farewell. ^.^
Overall a good episode
I rate this 4/5
 
Okay so Lets Rewiew the First Galar Episode.
Scorbunny and Goh Development was Good!:)
Pikachu vs Scorbunny was Good!:)
Scorbunny's a jerk :mad:
Pretty Decent. 7/10
 
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