Review XY055: The Weakest Dragon! Numera Appears!!

[R!ck]

Goomy is so kawaii <3 one of the greatest XY episodes so far.

 

[Steel_Justice]

It just bugs me that he caught yet another pokemon without really doing much. Sure he saved it by beating team rocket but he does that pretty much every episode and let's face it beating up TR isn't much of an accomplishment since he's done it hundreds of times. It also kinda undermines how most trainers catch pokemon by defeating it in battle with careful planning and strategy. It just feels cheap to me that Ash is getting another free pokemon for little work because of his god-like charisma (which if you did it in a fanfic with an OC you'd have thousands crucifying your character for being a mary sue). Considering that Goomy is going to evolve into Goodra (and quickly by the looks of it) it worries me that this will be like Iris' Dragonite all over again and we all remember what happened that time.

I always thought the Pokemon the fans liked the most were the ones that Ash befriended and allowed him to capture them.

Not with most people I know. Then again they take game logic far more seriously than I do. It's fine once or twice but this makes it the third time he's done it in this season.

The problem with using game logic is that beating a Pokémon to weaken it in order to capture it kinda makes sense from a gameplay perspective since there are many Pokémon in the wilds that can either be used for training targets or potential companions. But in the anime, that kind of method would look cruel and unnecessary unless the Pokémon in question wants you to battle and catch it to prove your worth, or is the aggressor in the situation (Fletchling, Primeape, Snorlax, and Pidgeotto come to mind). Considering that Goomy consider is even afraid of the Poké Ball being thrown at it, I think it would be very cruel for Ash to simply battle and weaken it for capture. Maybe for an aggressive wild Pokémon that is strong and unafraid to engage in battle.

I strongly agree with this but I do have one concern.

Now I very much agree, that Pokemon is far more realistic in the games and therefore actually have personalities, and therefore you can't argue battling to capture a Pokemon makes sense simply because of the "games"

The method of capture ALWAYS depends on the actual Pokemon itself and the circumstances surrounding it's capture.

Goomy being caught the way it did makes sense for Goomy's personality and the circumstances.

Likewise Ash capturing Palpitoad in 5th generation by battling it, makes sense given the circumstances.

However the one thing that I will say is disappointing is that most captures are not battle captures, and assuming Ash doesn't use "Pikachu" it is a little disappointing that some Pokemon don't get some kind of battling experience battling said Pokemon Ash is going to catch. So there is that to consider.

At least with Hawlucha Ash actually battled and then later caught Hawlucha because Hawlucha wanted to go to Ash.

So there was nothing wrong with the way Ash caught Goomy because it made sense. It was a weak (well not really weak but fragile), scared Pokemon, so battling as already said would have been extremely cruel.

I'm not saying Ash should beat up a pokemon like Goomy due to its nature, it's just Goomy was designed in a way a freebie catch was the only solution. Goomy could have easily been a spirited pokemon who wants to prove its strength despite being called the weakest dragon type or it could be shy and timid but is tired of it and wants to battle Ash to make sure it can become much stronger with him. It seems to me it would speak greater things for Ash if he catches pokemon through battle. My favorite catches are where he does something good and the pokemon in question asks to battle like with Turtwig, Bulbasaur or Treecko. When Ash wins he not only has proved his strength of character but also his strength as a trainer. Pokemon generally want to go with strong trainers in both categories. Ash could be a saint but he won't really get anywhere with that alone, otherwise he would have done better in the past leagues. In short I'm weary of him having to get his hand held so often by the writers.

 

[Cresselia92]

I'm not saying Ash should beat up a pokemon like Goomy due to its nature, it's just Goomy was designed in a way a freebie catch was the only solution. Goomy could have easily been a spirited pokemon who wants to prove its strength despite being called the weakest dragon type or it could be shy and timid but is tired of it and wants to battle Ash to make sure it can become much stronger with him. It seems to me it would speak greater things for Ash if he catches pokemon through battle. My favorite catches are where he does something good and the pokemon in question asks to battle like with Turtwig, Bulbasaur or Treecko. When Ash wins he not only has proved his strength of character but also his strength as a trainer. Pokemon generally want to go with strong trainers in both categories. Ash could be a saint but he won't really get anywhere with that alone, otherwise he would have done better in the past leagues. In short I'm weary of him having to get his hand held so often by the writers.

Hmm... I understand your point of view and I'm one who prefers the "befriend first, battle to catch later" scenario, but since they have decided to follow the "weak becomes strong" route with Goomy, who has also shown to be a quite shy Pokemon, a more "traditional" catch would have made Ash look like a jerk in this case.

Besides, I think that so far in XY he didn't get many "freebies", and when the Pokemon joined him was because they found some traits in Ash that they liked. Also, he still had to work with them in a way or another:

Froakie> Was fascinated by Ash's heroism and decided to join his team. Later, Ash learned how to battle in sync with Froakie in order to catch Fletchling.

Fletchling > Classical capture.

Hawlucha > Ash befriended it and helped it with its Flying Press. After that, Hawlucha and Froakie battled, in order to see if Ash was strong enough. Despite the draw, Hawlucha joined Ash because he really wanted to go with him.

Goomy > Ash, Pikachu and the others befriended Goomy and Ash asked it to join him, which it gladly accepted.

Honestly, I think this episode was handled well, both in terms of showing Goomy's personality and unique traits and the capture itself. Also, I think that there may be some catch for Goodra. It may evolve quickly, but who knows what will be the price for having such a "strong" Pokemon relatively soon. But that's a question for another thread.

 

[BlisseyandtheAquaJets]

Did Goomy wet itself?

Because that yellow-green fluid may be...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I'm calling it, that scene will be censored in the international versions...

 

[Gard81]

Did Goomy wet itself?

Because that yellow-green fluid may be...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I'm calling it, that scene will be censored in the international versions...

It was sweat, and it had that colour because of the ground.

 

[Perpetual_Phoenix]

Did Goomy wet itself?

Because that yellow-green fluid may be...

Ewwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww....I'm calling it, that scene will be censored in the international versions...

It was sweat.

Goomy was extremely nervous if you didn't notice.

 

[novalysis]

Honestly, I think this episode was handled well, both in terms of showing Goomy's personality and unique traits and the capture itself. Also, I think that there may be some catch for Goodra. It may evolve quickly, but who knows what will be the price for having such a "strong" Pokemon relatively soon. But that's a question for another thread.

If indeed, there's a price to pay, we've seen the story arc with Charizard itself. I would be very disappointed if the anime simply rehashes Charizard's story with Goomy/Goodra. Of course, Goodra being disobedient could be precisely the trigger to reintroduce new viewers to Ash's Charizard, by pointing out to the audience that Ash has been there before, and this time, Ash is far more better equipped at handling post-evolution disobedience. Goodra's arc either could be Charizard 2.0 with Ash learning nothing, or it could be a rarity in the anime - an arc that actually shows just how much Ash has learned and matured as a trainer ever since Kanto.

The good thing with Goomy evolving fast... is that we don't get a repeat of Ash's Gibile being stuck as Gibile for merchandising reasons.

Speaking of this episode, I'm waiting to see the day when James orders Inkay/Malamar to use psybeam on Greninja, only to realize it's completely useless, and Ash's Greninja pwning the living daylights out of Inkay/Malamar That would be a sweet sweet day after a season of Ash being foiled by Psychic Hax.

 

[PrinceSonicWindStriker]

OMA this is an awesome episode. Goomy, or Goodra, may just end up having a rivalry with Bayleef down the road.

 

[Steel_Justice]

If indeed, there's a price to pay, we've seen the story arc with Charizard itself. I would be very disappointed if the anime simply rehashes Charizard's story with Goomy/Goodra. Of course, Goodra being disobedient could be precisely the trigger to reintroduce new viewers to Ash's Charizard, by pointing out to the audience that Ash has been there before, and this time, Ash is far more better equipped at handling post-evolution disobedience. Goodra's arc either could be Charizard 2.0 with Ash learning nothing, or it could be a rarity in the anime - an arc that actually shows just how much Ash has learned and matured as a trainer ever since Kanto.

The good thing with Goomy evolving fast... is that we don't get a repeat of Ash's Gibile being stuck as Gibile for merchandising reasons.

Speaking of this episode, I'm waiting to see the day when James orders Inkay/Malamar to use psybeam on Greninja, only to realize it's completely useless, and Ash's Greninja pwning the living daylights out of Inkay/Malamar That would be a sweet sweet day after a season of Ash being foiled by Psychic Hax.

I am disappointed that they redo stories like this in general and I hope it doesn't happen again. Especially in a case like Pignite who as a fire type starter is already compared to Charizard. It feels like they have much less to set them apart from the other pokemon in terms of characterization. Goomy evolving fast may not be a problem if handled well. Unlike most of its kin Goodra isn't overwhelmingly powerful being more like a support pokemon. If Goomy's core personality doesn't change it would probably be just fine with that.