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Review JN019: I Am Metamon!

A nice depiction of TR here. I do like it when they do the right thing (helping Ditto), even if initially it was for the wrong reasons (their schemes). Seeing Ditto's happy face at the end did warm my heart a little. I could have gone my entire life without knowing James' method of destressing, though.
 
I just saw a YouTube comment pointing out kinda nifty: in Sinnoh, when a Ditto transformed into Pikachu, Ash couldn't tell them apart, but here, he's able to see that Ditto wasn't Pikachu.

Were they trying to imply that Ash is smarter now? Or that it suddenly counts as progress because Ash is better at retaining information in this saga than he was in DP?
 
This episode and the Growlie and Blissey ones from 20+ years ago prove that Team Rocket are at their best when they help Pokemon that aren't meant to lose to Ash time after time.

Yeah, right... let's just forget all the episodes that focused on Jessie and James' relationships with their own "weak" Pokémon, which often highlighted their goodwill and caring nature (like this one, this one, this, this, this and this, to name a few). Nope, none of these episodes were great or did an amazing job of showcasing the TRio's character, despite focusing on Pokémon that were "meant to lose to Ash time after time".
 
Most of those episodes are departure ones. Too little, too late. Mimikyu is an exception because of its hatred for Pikachu and ability to win at least once.

And I am not going to apologize for my opinion. If TRio care about their Pokemon, they shouldn't use them against superior trainers who blast them off. The reason I point this out is because I actually wanted Ditto to join them, but realized that it was better off acting.
 
If TRio care about their Pokemon, they shouldn't use them against superior trainers who blast them off.
By that logic Ash shouldn’t have used his Litten/Torracat against Kukui’s Incineroar because it would get curbstomped and Kukui is a superior trainer, and he should’ve forfeited the entire Tobias match if he cared for his Pokemon.
 
Well, this might be the first episode of this series that disappointed (?) me. I liked that this was a TR Trio focused episode after they were mostly absent in this series, and Ditto was just overall very cute. This episode was cute but very pointless to be honest, out of all the episodes up to this point, this not one I'd revisit.
 
I’ve held out on making this post because of the April Fools “prank” theme that was forcefully enabled for every user, it was nigh impossible for me to type anything lengthy with that color scheme. Anyways, re-watching the episode with subtitles helped me understand a lot and made my opinion of the episode even better (x2).

Pros:
  • I was somewhat upset with the way this episode turned out the first time around, but after actually knowing what was said and done, I’m glad it turned out the way it did. Happy to finally see TRio get the type of development and focus that they had in Sun/Moon, with more character focus and them just being their good-natured selves. Although I’m a bit salty that James gets shafted most of the time with Jessie being given special treatment, despite her being in the focus here making sense due to the actress and stage confidence themes. Here are TRio with a Pokemon who ran away and has endless potential due to its ability to transform, and instead of capturing it to ‘take it back to the boss’, they decide to help it with no reason to do so. They even go as far to the point of having Ditto return to its real owner at the cost of blasting off after throwing one last villainous act, they deserved better to be honest. What’s even cooler is not stealing any of the Pokemon during the magic show they put on despite intending to and having every chance to do so, most of those trainers did come off as helpless after all. This episode only proves once again that the TRio are best off not being a part of Team Rocket, but instead being characters with their own goals, hopes and dreams that they want to pursue actively alongside their Pokemon. It also proves that TRio shouldn’t be used just to become fall guys and get blasted off like the past few episodes have done. THEY STILL DESERVE THEIR OWN CAPTURES THOUGH, WHEN ARE THEY GOING TO GET ONE?
Cons:
  • At this point, I believe they’re shoving in random and irrelevant Gou captures in every episode just so that they can say “oh hey, it’s not a filler”. These captures serve absolutely no purpose at all, they’re just time wasters that don’t help him in any way for his goal and only give us a few seconds of annoying voice acting (by you-know-who). Not to even mention how those captures are automatically fine with Gou, no issues whatsoever which other normal trainers would have faced. Then there's the issue that these captures have a very low chance of appearing in any capacity that develops them. I mean, where's Cubone? You know, the Pokemon whose capture by Gou was the best so far? And considering some people actually believe that random and insignificant Gou captures = not a filler despite everything else about the episode saying otherwise, I guess their 'strategy' is working. Sad. The animation was very choppy and painful to watch as well, but I wouldn't really expect better with multiple animators/interns working on a single episode.
Additional thoughts:
  • Those failed Ditto transformations were outright hilarious, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get the chubby Glaceon out of my mind now.
  • That Director was an absolute a-hole, that’s not how you treat protegees at all. If you take someone under your wing, you’re expected to help them (like how Jessie did) instead of scream at them for their mistakes.
  • Ash being able to realize Pika-tto wasn't his Pikachu was chuckle inducing despite Ditto having transformed properly, especially when you consider what happened the last chaotic time a Ditto transformed into a Pikachu.
  • I don’t think I needed to know about James and his sock smelling, or Wobbuffet's feti… fantasy of having Ditto transform into a female of his species. I won’t be able to look at them in the same light anymore.

Verdict: A much needed episode for TRio after having them become fall guys for so long, it's a 7/10 from me. I really wish this were a non-filler or had a TRio capture though.
 
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Ash being able to realize Pika-tto wasn't his Pikachu was chuckle inducing despite Ditto having transformed properly, especially when you consider what happened the last chaotic time a Ditto transformed into a Pikachu.
I think Pikachu would have acted different after the magic show instead of just sitting there smiling at Ash, which might be what tipped him off. I feel he'd have jumped up onto Ash's shoulder instead or something similar.

  • I don’t think I needed to know about James and his sock smelling, or Wobbuffet's feti… fantasy of having Ditto transform into a female of his species. I won’t be able to look at them in the same light anymore.
I have some weird headcanons about Meowth but I never wanted something like this to make it into the show itself.
 
Most of those episodes are departure ones. Too little, too late. Mimikyu is an exception because of its hatred for Pikachu and ability to win at least once.

These are just some of the episodes that came to mind. There are other episodes involving Team Rocket and their Pokémon that don't end in them releasing their Pokémon. Like, how about that episode where James fought Mareanie's former lover in order to make her happy. Or how about the one where Jessie's conflicted when it comes to trading her Pumpkaboo for a Mega Evolvable Pokémon and later decides not to give it away because it's always been loyal to her and because it deserves better. Or the episode where the TRio gets separated from their Pokémon and we see them interact with Ash's Pokémon and learn more about their way of thinking and their relationship with their trainers. And so on and so forth (and I'm sure that, if I were to look through all of the TR-focused episodes, I'd find more examples, but I'm busy with some other stuff and don't really have time to do it).

But even if none of these episodes existed or we dismiss them as inconsequential because they happened too late, what would stop the writers from coming up with some good ways to develop these characters and their Pokémon? And why is it that them rarely winning a battle means that they better off without Pokémon of their own? Don't get me wrong, I do wish that Team Rocket would pose more of a threat and that they would come up with some better ways to have them be defeated that don't involve "Pikachu! Thunderbolt!" (seriously, Ash one-shoting Tem Rocket with ease, even when they have fully-evolved powerhouses, is beyond ridiculous). But them loosing most of the time doesn't mean that they can't have some wonderful character development that also involves their Pokémon (just look at the examples I already gave). In fact, I'd say that Ash and some of his Pokémon (like the newly-evolved Grotle or Chimchar or Greninja or Rowlet) got some great development because they lost a battle/were on a loosing streak.
 
I'm just gonna agree with everyone who said Team Rocket made this episode. Seriously, if it was an Ash and Gou focused episode, I wouldn't have made it through 10 minutes.

First of all: Gou's freaking phone screaming is the worst possible way to start an episode, accompanied by a weak capture that probably no one will remember. I really wish they would stop shoehorning them into these kinds of episodes...this is a great example of one where we really didn't need a capture.

The good news is that Team Rocket really shined this episode. I think the writers have done a great job with the trio in PM (whenever they appear) and this was no exception! They were pretty funny, and Jessie's bond with Ditto was very sweet. I was honestly a little disappointed they didn't get to stick together. I understand why, but honestly I just felt bad for Ditto when it was on the movie set. No one seemed to treat it very nicely or understand its feelings at all...except for Team Rocket. Honestly, it never even really came across that Ditto wanted to be an actress.

The whole "Ditto not being able to transform correctly" is pretty overdone at this point, but I still laugh whenever it transforms incorrectly and keeps that dumb look on its face so I guess they're doing something right? At least they threw some different gags in there this time to keep it somewhat fresher.

I also always find it really funny when Team Rocket calls Ash out on being dense. The fact that they put up their guard for Gou specifically so Ash and Pikachu could blast them off (as he didn't get the hint) was fantastic!

Ending on an interesting note: I'm normally not a BG music person...it doesn't really affect me one way or the other. But the music when Team Rocket is talking about how they calm their nerves...I don't know if it's because I've been playing the game nonstop, but serious Animal Crossing vibes. It was way too loud and distracting. I get that the scene itself was a little more quirky, but the music was too overpowering there. Considering the fact that I noticed it and didn't like it...yikes.

So...yeah. Basically a 10/10 for the Team Rocket content, but an otherwise supremely mediocre episode.
 
Great episode, but I failed to understand why they needed to be defeated by Ash and co.
 
Great episode, but I failed to understand why they needed to be defeated by Ash and co.
I think it was because they wanted Ditto to go back to the director without giving it the choice of staying with them. Better than the whole, "we don't want you anymore," rubbish Brock did to the Stantler.
 
Lets REWIEW!!!
The Start and the Mid were Boring with Team Rocket's Boring Crap :sleep:
The End Was Good with Them Heping Ditto and Bonding With İt:)
Not Much to Say About The Ep I'll Just Give İt A 5/10
 
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