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Review XY019: Madame X's Plot! The Scary Calamanero!!

No other pokemon other than expected appeared.

Jessie and James were hypnotized in the flashback. Pikachu before the reak Clemont and Bonnie after the break, Serena a bit after.

Madame X identify is Officer Jenny.

No Team Flare at all in this episode. Malmar was acting by his own.
 
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I mean I have only seen the episode pics, but it seems like this was a quality episode, my only problem was that officer jenny should not have been madam x. Also a highlight al of team rocket trio terrified of inkay at the end of the episode that was funny.
 
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Well, apparently there was no hint of Team Flare in this episode, I have no doubt Malamar will at least be recurring.

What is that "master plan" all about tho?? :uhoh: Is Malamar trying to conquer the world by its own? I don't think so.

Hahaha the funny moment was TR scared of poor Inkay at the end! :XD2:

Overall it was a great episode, one of my favorite so far in XY, 9.5/10.
 
I am waiting for subs. Can't wait to see Malamar in action, easily one of my favorite Generation VI Pokémon.
 
Different version of The Legendary Pokémon Awoken was used before the commercial break.

Haha, Nyasu was offering his Fury Swipes to Serena but she declined it. :D Also, the "zombie" Pikachu...or should I say sheep? It sounded awfully like sheep.
 
So after this, is it still reasonable to say that no Pokemon is ever evil (there are just evil trainers)?
Because this Calamanero looked pretty bad to me. Of course cannot wait for the subs so then a full review can be conducted.
But this was a really cool episode! And the fact that Team Rocket are scared of Maiika at the end was priceless!
 
Team Rocket at the End of the Episode Scared of Inkay LOL THAT IS JUST TOO PRICELESS
 
So after this, is it still reasonable to say that no Pokemon is ever evil (there are just evil trainers)?
Because this Calamanero looked pretty bad to me.
Well, that's in the anime: in Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, there was that one Darkrai...but it was in different canon, so I don't think it really counts here. Pokémon anime is usually so happy and all, so themes such as pure evil Pokémon are not used in it.
 
Spiritomb was played straight as a purely evil Pokemon.

The gang even had to seal it back in its prison by the end, there was no misunderstandings or friendship to be learned, it was a force of evil that needed to be contained.
 
Spiritomb was played straight as a purely evil Pokemon.

The gang even had to seal it back in its prison by the end, there was no misunderstandings or friendship to be learned, it was a force of evil that needed to be contained.
Lampent and the four Litwick in BW026 were quite evil also. They were "sealed" in some sort of alternate dimension by the end of the episode.

So yeah, I think Pokémon can be "evil", exactly like humans.
 
Enjoyed the episode and most things about, hands down one of the best of XY thus far. Very fast-paced stuff and it wasted no time moving along things, I feel this could have benefited from being a two-parter. We could have gotten extra things like more focus on Malamar, more Ash/Meowth tag teaming, actually seeing the XY Quartet put up a fight before being taken control of. Wouldn't it have been great for Malamar to slowly encounter each member and them trying to fight back only for their Fennekin, Chespin and Dedenne to be taken control of in their efforts to take down it down?

The music in this episode was great, so grave and intense in most scenes. Really brings out a lot in a lot of scenes for me, like the PokeDex for example. Bonnie was great as usual, love that girl. I like how she had so many fun facial expressions and how she seemed to be pretty suspicious of Meowth. You would think a little kid would be naive but she proved otherwise. I couldn't help but giggle that Serena would rather lose her freewill than have that pretty moneymaker scratched up.

Team Rocket were good in this episode, Meowth's concern was nice enough and he wasn't annoying. Jessie/James weren't annoying or unnecessary thankfully. I got to see Inkay which was nice, I've been missing it for a while. Meowth wasn't Episode N competent but the use of Fury Swipes to save his and Ash's skin several times throughout the episode was a large step up from the usual and he showed some great personality here and interactions. I also like how he did the translation job with such intensity and how the Rockets actually took stuff seriously. They didn't do anything ridiculous like try to capture Malamar and Pikachu at the land second. I actually thought it was really amusing how they all were scared that Inkay could become one of those malicious mean things. I don't want Inkay to evolve either way because I really like it a lot the way it is and I feel if it became a Rocket Pokemon it would cheapen the value of the species. I did mind it amusing that of the mind-controlled temporarily evil Pokemon at the end there was a Beedrill among them, Kalos loves its Beedrill doesn't it?

Downsides for me? More Pikachu mind control, I've seen it a million times already. I know Ash/Pikachu have a strong bond. Why not Froakie or Fletchling and Pikachu has gotten a bit of focus already recently. But the scenes were nice, seeing Ash get through to Pikachu like that and the music, voice acting and constantly getting battered held my attention well. Definitely hoping Malamar appears again, wasn't too surprised Madame X was just a puppeted Officer Jenny. You could tell by the blue hair strands, but I hope this episode is totally setting the way for Team Flare. Of course I'm entirely okay with Malamar operating on its own, could be interesting to have a PokeVillain who isn't misunderstood or working for a human.

I still can't believe Meowth was the highlight of this episode for me and the BGM. Pretty good episode.
 
Spiritomb was played straight as a purely evil Pokemon.

The gang even had to seal it back in its prison by the end, there was no misunderstandings or friendship to be learned, it was a force of evil that needed to be contained.
Lampent and the four Litwick in BW026 were quite evil also. They were "sealed" in some sort of alternate dimension by the end of the episode.

I disagree about those Litwick and Lampent being evil. Feeding off the life energy of others, according to their pokedex entries, is simply what their species does for survival. It's macabre alright, but they were merely acting on the behaviours that come naturally to them.

Spiritomb, meanwhile, is apparently comprised of 108 wayward spirits which are doomed to be bound together for eternity. Who can blame it for being a little psychotic?

So yeah, the Togepi from DP is still the closest we seen to an "evil" pokemon imo (although I haven't yet seen this particular episode).
 
Another great episode.

Malamar was so terrifying. Its voice was so creepy and malicious. But the hypnotized voices of all of the other characters? THOSE were some of the creepiest voices I've ever heard. Especially James.

I liked how Bonnie, Serena, and Pikachu were a bit suspicious of Meowth when he started explaining what happened to him. Also, I liked how Meowth found some way to prevent himself from being hypnotized. And lol at Malamar just lifting Pikachu off Ash's shoulder and flying away with him.

Clemont's invention was amazing. I loved how enthusiastic he and Ash were about it, while Bonnie and Serena were kinda...I dunno confused by it. It was so funny to see Clemont take off behind Ash with Serena and Bonnie behind him, only to end up in the back as usual. My gosh did Pikachu really just stand their and let himself get hypontized. Geez...even Meowth was able to avoid that.

Now infiltration time. Can I just say how hilarious it was that Dedenne pointed out Malamar to Clemont and Bonnie when that thing was right in front of their faces. Almost as hilarious was Serena being scared of being scratched by Meowth and ending up hypnotized.

Best thing about this episode, Clemont's invention freakin' smashing into Malamar and breaking everyone of their confusion! Never expected that. And then Malamar just blows up the room and flies into space. Now I'm really interested to see if this leads to something in the future.

Overall, a really great episode. Can't say there was much I disliked other than how easily the group was hypnotized. I think it could have been a bit more interesting if they tried to battle Malamar first. But other than that, it was really great. 9/10.
 
I've heard a lot of hypnotized characters by now, but... Jessie and James' voices when they first appear are definetly nightmare fuel. Excellent performance.

I agree with Bubble Frog in that this should have been a two-parter, in part. I mean, the pacing was great (I've noticed the pacing being much better played in recent episodes overall), but the problem is the amount of stuff going on in the episode. Hypnotized Rocket and twerps just stood there when Pikachu was attacking Ash, we could have seen a bit more of them; the hypnotized Pokémon in there didn't really do much at all; Madame X's introduction to Team Rocket was a bit sudden (not rushed per se, though); etc.
My gosh did Pikachu really just stand their and let himself get hypontized. Geez...even Meowth was able to avoid that.
It seems that Clemont's mecha responds to Pikachu's electricity, so the fact that they successfully used it to track him means that he was probably putting a fight offscreen. Another reason for this being a two-parter could have been better. I say could because I'm not sure the plot would fit in two episodes either, it's more like a one-episode-and-a-half worthwhile scenario, which is just impossible to do. But again, the pacing was really great, so I don't actually mind that much. The lack of more Pokémon taking part bothered me a little bit on the logic side of things, as in the writing side of the things, there would've been too much happening.

I also love how serious everything is played after they enter the building. You know this is serious bussiness when Wobbuffet's antics are nowhere to be seen. The BGM is good as well, I like how they played the Route 8 music instead of the overused Route 4 music when Clemont shows his invention. As of the animation, well... uh, fine, I guess. Should have been a little better for an episode like this, in my opinion.
 
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This episode has a plot twist that is bigger than Shamalayn...Shamayaln...Shama-Oh fuck it, that guy who directed The Last Airbender.
 
Spiritomb was played straight as a purely evil Pokemon.

The gang even had to seal it back in its prison by the end, there was no misunderstandings or friendship to be learned, it was a force of evil that needed to be contained.
Lampent and the four Litwick in BW026 were quite evil also. They were "sealed" in some sort of alternate dimension by the end of the episode.

I disagree about those Litwick and Lampent being evil. Feeding off the life energy of others, according to their pokedex entries, is simply what their species does for survival. It's macabre alright, but they were merely acting on the behaviours that come naturally to them.

Spiritomb, meanwhile, is apparently comprised of 108 wayward spirits which are doomed to be bound together for eternity. Who can blame it for being a little psychotic?

So yeah, the Togepi from DP is still the closest we seen to an "evil" pokemon imo (although I haven't yet seen this particular episode).
Except they don't really need to do that, Trip has a Lampent and it doesn't try to suck his soul for nourishment. On top of that they also tried to imprison everyone in the Ghost Zone.
I also remember that trio of Dwebble bullying Cilan's own in its debut for no reason other than they could.
Pokémon can be pretty evil if they want. I see no reason for why this Malamar would be an exception, but I will wait for a sub to make a proper judgement because I don't understand a word of Japanese.
 
Except they don't really need to do that, Trip has a Lampent and it doesn't try to suck his soul for nourishment.

I suspect because, being a trainer's pokemon, he's domesticated and gets nourishment served to him on a plate. Wild Litwick/Lampent have to live by their wits.
 
Ok, Review Time, and I HAVE BEEN WANTING TO LET LOOSE WHAT I THINK OF THIS Episode and Here We Go. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH, OH MY GOD, THIS EPISODE WAS AWESOME.

Team Rocket WERE AMAZING HERE, I'M SPEECHLESS, for a while they have been just Bad and Annoying Me, but now they were AWESOME. Meowth Stole the Show I Thought. Wobbufet Possessed was HILARIOUS, Creeping Bonnie there was Funny.

Ash was Alright, Pikachu was Pikachu, they were alright. Serena Meh. Bonnie Ok. Clemont GREAT. His Invention was AWESOMELY GREAT. Funny how when it Blew Up the First Time, I Saw Meowth's Charm Sideways LOL.

OH MY SURPRISE, Madame X IS Officer Jenny Sarcastic Tone, REALLY OBVIOUS, the Moment I Saw the Trailer before New Years I Knew this was Officer Jenny Possessed by by the Malamar.

WHAT WAS UP WITH THESE Random Pokemon? An Exploud, Scolipede, Pangoro, Noivern, AND WE NEVER SAW THIS Beedrill in the previews so I was like "WHHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTT??????????"

Malamar WAS AWESOME. VERY EVIL. I wonder if it will Appear or NOT?

Ok Cons, Very Few but I have Issues. For One, THIS IS sort of a Knockoff of Pikachu Re-Volts, Ash and Pikachu Plot Felt VERY CLICHÉ To Me, but still, LOVED THIS Episode. 2nd, When Ash and Meowth Got Away, Malamar made a Scream and IT REALLY SOUNDED LIKE IT WAS Imitating a Nazgul Scream IMO, I just Found that Weird.

Pikachu Robot Thing Crashing the Party WAS HILARIOUS.

Part I LAUGHED MY ASS Off the most was at the End where Team Rocket is Afraid of Inkay because it Evolves into Malamar LOL!

Overral My Rating BAM 10/10 MY FAVORITE EPISODE OF XY so far I Think I Loved this Episode SOOOOOOOOOOOOO Much.
 
Okay, so, Team Rocket are renewing their singleminded desire to capture one young kid's Pikachu by reviewing some strangely-captured footage of the thing, when it turns out they're being spied on by some lady and her Malamar. Quick introductions, then Malamar turns up its mind-control glow at them. What happens? Well, as a disoriented Meowth explains to the group after the intro sequence, Jessie and James interrupt it by shouting, then send out Inkay and Pumpkaboo so they can get mind-controlled as well.

Meowth seems somewhat more reluctant, and has the neat idea of slashing his own face a few times. This is apparently such a novel resistance attempt (seriously, what the hell was he attempting here?) that a dumbfounded Malamar lets him be, and he runs off from the zombified Team Rocket, into the arms of his other travelling companion.

Moments after this story is told, zombie Team Rocket turn up to cast doubt on his story for about half a second, and then manage to participate in a Pikachu capture. Seems that they somehow communicated the intense value of this yellow rat to their psychic overlord. Malamar floats off pretty quick. How will we follow this flying creature? Will we get Fletchling to- Oh, no, Citron's going to design, assemble, paint and explain a Pikachu-hunting robot in front of this technically competent Meowth with an interest in -- nay, life-dream of -- capturing Pikachu.

Well, off we go, and the thing actually leads them halfway to Pikachu before it blows up because it got stuck in a fence. Citron stops to partially reassemble it for some reason, and then they all head inside, immediately drawing the attention of the zombies and their leader. Nobody thinks to bring out any of the creatures trained for battle which they carry on their belts, that would be mad. No, we just split up, so the blonde half of the group can be immediately hypnotised.

When Malamar pops out on him and Serena, Ash calls on Meowth to use his face-slashing magic again. Meowth complies, hurriedly crosshatching Ash's and his own face. Serena protests (perhaps that there's no sane reason that this should work, probably somewhat motivated by not wanting to gain horrific scars in front of her crush), so Malamar zombifies her. That's what you get for questioning the narrative devices(/vanity), girl.

Ash continues to forget he owns any Pokemon, and starts leading Meowth around the complex in a short trip that sees him end up in a room where Pikachu gets to while away a few minutes electrocuting him while he tries to plead with it, to a backdrop of an assortment of other creatures Malamar has hypnotised. We've never seen Pikachu under the control of an outside force like this before, of course, so everyone's very emotionally invested in the outcome. Turns out Citron's robot has woken up, and it comes in and explodes in Malamar's face.

In the aftermath of the explosion, everyone's de-hypnotised, including the shadowy figure calling herself Madam X, who turns out to be nothing more than a local law enforcement bioloid who got zapped by the Malamar and was being used as a decoy. The real bad-guy is Malamar itself, as it no doubt explains clearly via Meowth rather than just re-hypnotising everyone while it had their attention.

Inkay and Pikachu blast it with some juice, and it runs off to its Room of Evil, where it explains some more stuff, then blows the roof off this joint. The roof being shortly followed by everything else, everyone runs outside, the career criminals fortuitously separating themselves from the police officer and their victims. The episode ends with Team Rocket wondering if Inkay could turn out like Malamar. It's okay, though, there's little risk of them ever getting a team member that competent.
 
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