Review XY022: Fish up the Golden Koiking!!

[G50]

XY022 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Animation: Team Kato
Screenplay: Yukiyoshi Ōhashi
Storyboard: Ken'ichi Nishida
Assistant director: Ken'ichi Nishida
Animation director: Mai Tsutsumi

 

[Ashs Battle Coach]

Entertaining Ep. It was nice to see Serena actually show some interest in catching something haha. Too bad Fennekin's a little wimp lol

Also glad to see Ash didn't catch Clauncher. I was worried he might.

 

[Moe]

The start of the episode reminded me a lot more of the Marine Tube from Unova than the comparatively boring Ambrette Aquarium, especially with the Mantine going overhead.

I certainly like the wide variation of Pokemon we get to see in episodes like this, even if it seemed to make Clauncher the least interesting Pokemon shown, the focus on Magikarp didn't help that either.

Not sure why this was designated as an 'Ash' episode, Bonnie was the star of it for me - her reactions to all the different water types, like the imitation of the Wooper and making Relicanth seemingly the only Pokemon she doesn't see as cute; as well as the later side-plot with Dedenne, all made her the one with the largest role in the episode.

Would have been better just to have a Magikarp slide in...

The episode was mostly made good by getting a chance to see more Pokemon than usual, catching a uniquely coloured Pokemon is hardly an exciting episode plot and it wasn't a particularly interesting introduction to fishing either.

Wouldn't Team Rocket have been better off stealing the gold statue of the Magikarp than whatever they were attempting here?

 

[Solar Beam]

Ash made a reference to Dawn's Piplup when he saw those Piplups. Serena said that Piplups are friendly and Ash replied that a Piplup he knows is a bit (I don't know what Ouchoushimon means in English) but he did make a reference to Dawn's Piplup. (sorry, I adore reference to the older series) I also like how he's like "It's a Maggyo (Stunfisk)" when he saw one. I'm sure he's reminiscing.

Yay to the return of Team Rocket's Magikarp Submarine.

I also like how Ash and Clemont both taught Serena how to fish. I'm also surprised she fished out a Corsola seeing how hard they are to fish out. (for me…) She's interested in catching it but Fennekin is too much of a wimp to fight it. Well, it was a bit smart since it has a disadvantage. I hope Serena can catch another Corsola or another pokemon in the future seeing how Ash and Clemont both have three pokemon each (Dedenne is still Clemont's pokemon since he caught it in his ball, emphasized in XY021 where Clemont said that Dedenne isn't Bonnie's pokemon).

Well, I'm looking forward to the Amaura episode since I had one in my X version.

 

[Piplup]

PIPLUP!!! that was the highlight of the ep for me lmao
Serena FINALLY tried to catch a pkmn for the first, only took her 22 eps... and even that was suggested by Ash and Clemont rather than coming from her... and wtf at Fennekin didn't it express a desire to battle back in XY7 ? what happened to that?! now it's a coward who's too afraid to get its fur dirty... sigh

 

[Garren]

Man, there definitely seemed to a lot of "catch flags" for Clauncher looking through the pictures (plus a summary I saw alongside a scan, which I guess was fake, I saw mentioned it was in the Skrelp Episode); bonding with one of the main character's Pokemon, a "tragic" back-story, saving the day, and belonging to an old dude whose life goal was completed by the end of the episode thus he wouldn't need it anymore. I thought Clemont was going to catch it and it'd be Bonnie's pseudo-Pokemon like Dedenne. Oh well.

 

[Alola]

Wow, this was a really neat episode.

~The gang arrives where there is a body of water. So glad they had Froakie play in the water, as well as Bonnie

~The aquarium was really cool, seeing all of those Water Pokemon. Also, homage was payed to Cilan's Stunfisk and Dawn's Piplup! We also got see Starmie, who once again wields Thunderbolt, so that was pretty nice.

~Once again Ash & Co set out to help a COTD with their goal that seemingly cannot be accomplished in one day. I appreciate the gesture though. The old man letting them keep the rods too was also generous.

~Clauncher! I loved its personality here, and I think if one of the gang had captured it, it would have been a colorful addition to the cast. It's interactions with Bonnie & Dedenne were hilarious. I'd say Dedenne is very mischievous. Also, it looks like Water Gun matches its in-game description now.

~Serena! Finally, the moment you have all been waiting for. After 21 episodes, our female heroine finally makes an attempt to capture a Pokemon (while learning how to fish along the way. Oh where is Cilan when you actually need him)...only for it to, naturally, go wrong (you didn't think it would be easy for her, did you?). I liked the fact that she tried to capture a Corsola (a la shout out to Misty!). And I actually liked Fennekin's reaction to it:
a. It doesn't want to get dirty, or in this case wet.
b. It was a water type move, meaning a super-effective hit.
c. If you think about it, Fennekin still technically hasn't been in a battle. So it might not know how to react regarding how the opponent acts (hence it running behind its Trainer, rather than continuing to dodge the move until it finished).

~Team Rocket. I liked them this episode, although they were blasted off way too quickly. I hope that doesn't become a staple in their XY COTD appearances. I want to see them at least battle a bit more. And for once, they weren't trying to antagonize Ash & Co (initially).

~I really like how XY gives us remixes of the bgm. I really do.

Overall, great, fun episode.

 

[Sakuraa]

A really enjoyable episode. It was much more entertaining than I expected, so that's great.

I liked the beginning of the episode where Ash let out Froakie and he, Pikachu, Bonnie, and Dedenne played in the water. Once again Bonnie's proposal is hilarious. The scene of everyone looking at the water Pokemon was also entertaining, particularly Bonnie's. Falling down upon seeing Relicanth and impersonating Wooper's face. A cute way to make what could have been a boring scene funny.

I loved that guy with the Chatot. Simply because he had a Chatot. Wish it would have talked through.

Serena learning how to fish was nice. I'm glad she actually tried to catch the Corsola. Too bad Fennekin didn't get to use any attacks, but I can understand it not wanting to battle a water-type. But at least Serena seemed pretty enthusiastic about it. Hoping she's getting closer to making a capture.

The old man an Clauncher were more interesting than I thought they'd be. I loved the mini-plot of Bonnie and Dedenne trying to befriend Clauncher. Dedenne can be kind of annoying, I mean repeatedly poking Claucher with his tail. I probably would have done the same thing. And lol, Dedenne Nuzzle shocked Bonnie again. These two are too cute.

Last but not least, Clemont's inventions were...actually a bit unimpressive. It was cool that he made two things in that short time span though. Also liked how he designed the Chinchou and then a Lanturn as if to show that the second was was intended to be stronger.

Clauncher rescuing Dedenne and then attacking Team Rocket was so cool. I like how it finally warmed up to Bonnie and Dedenne.

A finally, the golden Magikarp appeared. I was beginning to think the episode would have gone through without us seeing it in person. Loved everyone's high-fives, jumping, and cheering about it. Overall, a very entertaining episode. 7/10.

 

[Dogasu]

Wouldn't Team Rocket have been better off stealing the gold statue of the Magikarp than whatever they were attempting here?

They actually address that in the episode, saying that a real golden statue wouldn't just be sitting out in the open like that and so it therefore must be a fake. So why bother wasting their time on it?

now it's a coward who's too afraid to get its fur dirty... sigh

OR...it's a Fire-Type who doesn't want to get blasted by a super effective stream of water.

 

[Piplup]

OR...it's a Fire-Type who doesn't want to get blasted by a super effective stream of water.

I get the impression it was over the "get dirty" thing rather than "weak to water"... I'm not going to argue over it now so I guess each can view that scene like they want to, but imo they did enough to justify me thinking it was the way I think it was (plus it still lost all of its supposed desire to battle from XY7)

 

[Gabo2oo]

I'm not sure if I liked this overall or not, but plot-wise, it seemed to me that everyone was just loafing around in this episode...

 

[Trainer Gabriel]

Maybe it's just me, but there seemed to be something about this episode that screamed "classic." Maybe it was the plot: a fisherman fishing to catch a glimpse of an unusual (colored) Pokémon. That did remind of me older episodes; and it seems like it's been a while since we've had something similar to that.

Anyway, it actually felt nice to have another fishing episode. I liked that this episode both showcased old Pokémon - namely Magikarp, including a shiny, and a Starmie with Thunderbolt/Thunder (sometimes it's rather hard to tell exactly which) - and a new Pokémon Clauncher. There were other great scenes, too, such as how Bonnie tried to befriend the Clauncher and that Serena was unfamiliar with fishing and needed to learn how.

Overall, it was just a fun, "relaxation" episode.

 

[Aestivate]

This episode was a pretty fun run-in-the-mill episode, actually. I'm surprised that Satoshi referenced all the way back to DP wrt Potchamas. He specifically says "The Potchama I know is very proud."

Dedenne and Eureka continue to be adorable, and I like Satoshi and Citron acting as kind of like big brother mentors. IIRC Citron denies that he's a genius during the episode as well. Maybe he gets that he's just a dork xD

 

[Dogasu]

I would just like to say "BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO" to the Koiking Salesman not showing up at all.

I get the impression it was over the "get dirty" thing rather than "weak to water"...

I'm not sure why considering what happened in the climax of the previous episode.

 

[Master Cyrus]

I was hoping for Ash to try and fight the golden magikarp and get his ass kicked in the process, but for a filler episode this was not bad at all. From the looks of the corsola scene I doubt Fennekin will ever be fighting a water, ground, or poison pokemon ever outside of an emergency. The Piplup cameo was very cute and nicely done, and Ash suprised me when he actually remembered something that happened before the series started. In BW that didn't happen until like 80 eps in.

THe clauncher was amazing when he refused to put up with Bonnie and Denden's crap and he proved to be a strong and capable water type that Ash could have really used. Still wish we could have seen more of the Golden magikarp.

 

[Johtohfiller]

No salesman.

Otherwise, I liked it. Not terribly eventful, but it was still fun. Clauncher was awesome.

I was hoping the Sharpedo scene was going to turn into a Sharknado reference, but I doubt that movie is on the writers' radar.

 

[G50]

This episode was ok. It was nice to see Serena try and battle to catch a Pokemon, which showed that she is willing to try and catch something. Clauncher was very cute in this episode, with all of its facial expressions around Bonnie. It was nice to see Clauncher battle and help defeat Team Rocket.

It was nice to see the Golden Magikarp come out of the water in the end, instead of going the entire episode without one appearing. It was funny when the Sharpedo appeared due to the machine Clemont was using and then attacked it.

 

[Satoshi Da Ze]

Fun episode. I also liked that Serena was tauch how to fish and tried to catch something.

The only thing I didn't like was the aquarium's director. With the region being based on France they should have given him a normal hat or a fisherman's... I know it's a japanese series but I'm sure they could try harder.