Review BW052: Satoshi VS Champion Adeku!

[Jukain]

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what Ash will become when he grows up, assuming he ever gets that far. Seriously, I see this guy, and he is an older Ash. I'll take back what I said earlier, if this is what they intend, then maybe Ash still has a chance, but it will still be flipping lame.

 

[TPrower]

Alder seems like a really likeable guy: goofy, fun-loving, even if he is forgetful. Is it me, or is Trip a little disillusioned after seeing his "hero" after all these years?

 

[Caseydia]

This is the best Ash and Trip episode so far I've seen and yet people are still complaining.

 

[Hellwarden]

Haven't actually watched the episode yet, but did anyone else find it hilarious that the reason Gigalith was rampaging was because of a nail in its foot? Gigalith, the supposed Compressed Pokemon?


Oh Pokemon anime, don't ever change.

 

[Hurricane Kishore]

U know, I don't get why every time the main rival get more Badge than Ash
Like today's episode,
I hope Ash beat Trip next year rather than have us wait for 4 year
I would like to see Trip shouting at Ash & Alder for not being serious
Writer should show Trip more like Asuza (K-on) who act rudely toward her senior but hide's a great admiration
If Writer try to show him like Paul than most people will end up hating him
So writer should have a another trainer as a main rival with a brand new personality or bring other rival character back
As for Alder, I hoped he might spot a weakness in Ash or give a a advice for improving his skill but he did nothing
Instate he lost Trip's respect toward him. I wonder when he gonna regain it
U know, I was wondering if Alder is married
He probably the oldest champion so far.
Well, this the end of the interesting episode this year,

 

[Raves]

Wait, did Alder suplex a fucking gigalith!?

This old guy is batshit insane, and it's something I like.

 

[WatcherMark]

I'm curious... does anyone know what Adeku said to Satoshi-tachi at the end of the episode?

 

[Cybersai]

Yeah, so Trip is barely in this episode. What is the point of this kid, again? He's now like a more bland version of Gary.

At least Ash wasn't totally pummeled by the Champion in this ep, like I was fearing. It was just a nice for fun battle.

 

[Super Chao Maniac]

Woah, Trip has fake badges? So maybe after he won against Lenora, he went to the wrong gyms and got unofficial badges.

 

[AshK]

Ladies and Gentlemen, this is what Ash will become when he grows up, assuming he ever gets that far. Seriously, I see this guy, and he is an older Ash. I'll take back what I said earlier, if this is what they intend, then maybe Ash still has a chance, but it will still be flipping lame.

Ya for sure. I can definitely see Ash act the same way as an adult (not dress the same way though lol :s).

Seems like a pretty good episode and I would love to get a translation of that convo between Ash and friends and Alder.

 

[Aestivate]

I can't really sing the praises of this episode enough, actually. It combined awesome, lulz, more lulz, personality, awesome BGM, originality, and humor and a sense of -profoundness- that I'd never actually seen before in the anime series.

I loved how Adeku was really trying to tap into "purpose" and what exactly what a person wants to do with their goal. Asking the kids what they wanted to do with themselves after they achieved their goals was very, very insightful. It's something I haven't ever seen before from the anime, and would like to continue to see. You need to understand the dialogue to really, really get the full effect of the episode... I would be back in the camp of Best Wishes if it continues to explore the meaning behind a character's "road."

It was also a nice contrast between Shootie, whom I finally really felt for (and hadn't at all throughout the course of the series before) who had misunderstood Adeku from the beginning. Santa really wasn't real and he wasn't getting his Hogwarts letter. That's what it felt like, and the subtle breakdown was nice to see and I'm finally finding myself even a little bit invested in.

 

[Hellion]

I really really liked this week's episode. It was funny and it's one of the first episodes where I have no negatives to point out... well... one or two lukewarm points.

Good points:

+ Adeku. He was just hilarious from the first moment he came on the screen to the last moment he left the screen. I love his womanizing, his forgetfulness, his carelessness, his falling asleep in a battle and slapping a bison's ass, but I liked that all that didn't deter from him being also more reflective and quite the philosopher, asking the gang what they planned to do after reaching their goals, caring like he was with the Gigaiath and also badass.

+ Buffron. Pokémon with personality? In BW? This is... wow... a rare sight enough that it warrants being brought up. I loved the friendship with his trainer and the humour that came from him. Why can't the writers do the same for the pokémon on the main cast? ; ___ ;

+ Shooti. I liked Shooti in this episode. I thought he was entertaining in a "let's laugh at the kid whom you just told Santa isn't real" way. It was great to see him actually care about something and really be affected by the characters. My thoughts as I watched the episode were, "He's so tsundere for Adeku" XD But I also liked that he was annoyed with Satoshi, that they argued, that there was some back and forth between the two. I like that he was a drama queen and stormed off. Still, I feel that the writers did good with Shooti, but had they gone just a bit further and really had him talk more to Satoshi, they could have done great.

+ Dent. Hilarious as always and engaging as always. I loved his faces, his attitude throughout the episode he was great. I love Dent's "I'm so embarrassed expression" XD

+ Iris. I don't know what they put in the water of Raimon City but ever since the gang got to Raimon City, she actually feels like she's friends with Satoshi and Dento as opposed to be in complete Kill-me-I-hate-traveling-with-these-two-cause-they-are-the-worst-people-on-the-planet mode. This is starting to feel like a trio. Still not on a Satoshi/Dent/Bel level, but still... And Iris' snarkiness worked for once. The reason why it works, she's given a reason to be snarky. Usually, you see a character be hilarious, but also engaging and endearing, then you see Iris act like that character is the most worthless person on the planet, which makes her look like a bitch. But in this episode, you have an equally hilarious character, but who's hilarious because of his flaws and it makes total sense to have Iris react the way she did, unlike the other 50 episodes or so preceding this one. I will say this though, in the conversation with Adeku about goals, her questioning felt really really hollow. She's already there on the Dragon thing since the writers don't seem to bother giving her problems in reaching that goal, and she was the one whose answered I cared about hearing the least.

Lukewarm points

- Satoshi. I kinda thought the writers got lazy with Satoshi in this episode. He had his moments and he was entertaining at times but at the end of the day, this doesn't feel like it affected him at all, that he was really engaged in the episode.

- The name gag. I liked it at first when Adeku forgot the name of that kid he met years ago. But then the writers overused it and killed it. Still, it made sense based on Adeku's character, and I can't help but feeling that if we hadn't been desensitized to the gag by Kenyan, I wouldn't have minded it at all.

So overall, a great episode, one of the most memorable BW episodes to date, but more Dent and a Satoshi that's more engaged in it would have taken it to that amazing level. :3

 

[Zoro]

Woah, Trip has fake badges? So maybe after he won against Lenora, he went to the wrong gyms and got unofficial badges.

If you guys actually watch the anime, you guys would know he said he wasn't going to wait for Arty gym to be fixed, so he left Hiun and probably went another route and probably beat gym leaders from other cities, just like Shigeru, Jun and Shinji did.

 

[DynoStretch]

Aha ha, so that's how Trip has been getting more badges and still staying ahead, he's just going to whatever gym's the most convenient. Lazy corner-cutter.

Looking at his badge case though... note how the badges have different designs and holes for them to perfectly fit in? What's going on here, do they make different gym badge cases for any possible combination of badges throughout Unova? Who had time to make that many? Could it be the real Elesa who was abducted and locked up, by the doppelganger Ash and Bianca met, is being forced into making these cases?! There needs to be a mini-arc where Skyla busts into the Nimbasa Gym with an airplane, saves Elesa from her fake and this nefarious badge case-making scheme, and then they have hot lesbian nom noms.

So anywho, now Trip has finally met Adler again, but seeing who he is, he's disappointed in him an- hey, where you going Trip? This is supposed to be a character development moment! Hey, hey! Get back hereeeeeeeand he's gone. I guess he feels like the odd one out in this episode since everyone else has an actual personality.

Adler... just... wow... I think I've found another reason to still like this series. He's just all sorts of awesome, not just some "I'm going to stand here with a slight smirk and folding my arms while I mentor young trainers by almost killing their Pokemon, then offer vague philosophical advice on Pokemon training" type of E4/Champion character. Pimpin' it out with the sweetie nurse and the butch cop, slapping his Afro-Buffalo's ass like it's his bitch, falling asleep standing up, getting Afro-Break'd in the face, and throwing around a Gigalith like it's Kate Moss, he almost makes up for the flat characters we've seen throughout this arc. Hope he shows up more.

The Gigalith bit at the end though... am I the only getting flashbacks of the Bruno episode back in Kanto? This time it felt a little silly considering a monster with a rock-like body somehow got a nail in it's foot... not saying an Onix somehow getting a Sandslash stuck in it's nether-regions wasn't weird, and a bit innuendoish... but... ...

What was I talking about again?

Oh look, everyone's saying goodbye at sunset! Cause Ash and his friends have to get back on the road at dusk instead of say, staying the night at a hotel or the Pokemon Center while they're still in town... Jees, everything at sunset, you'd think we were watching a Micheal Bay movie, except this was actually entertaining.

 

[Ampharos King]

I don't know how to feel about the start of the episode. It feels like a massive repeat of how Ash and Trip have interacted before, flashback and all: Pikachu spotting Trip in a crowd, Ash calling out Trip's name, Trip being pissed off and reluctantly meeting up with the main group, Ash challenging Trip to a battle, Trip refusing to battle, Ash showing off his gym badges to Trip, Trip one-upping Ash by revealing he has more badges...

I know that it has been over 20 episodes since Alder was featured in that flashback, but everything else prior to that shows that Ash's interactions with Trip are merely based on a formula that had been recycled from previous episodes.

Alder appears to be an interesting character on the surface, arguably the one member of the Elite Four/Champion group with the most defined personality, but even his character has been constructed according to a number of gags that had been recycled from previous episodes. For example, Alder being so absent-minded that he cannot even pronounce Ash and Trip's names correctly. It was cute when Lyra had done it with Dawn in DP, but seeing a grown man who should have the mental capacity to recognize other people failing to do so is completely ridiculous. I really cannot sympathize with a character who calls Nurse Joy "MY HONEY!"

Personally I believe his Bouffalant is a much more entertaining character in this episode. Alder's absent-minded and carefree personality was only able to work here because he was given such a serious and battle-oriented pokemon to work with. He is clearly not as focused in battle as Cynthia was, and I love how his pokemon's anger reflects that.

Everything else about how Alder was handled in this episode, from his brief display of an introspective demeanor when he asked the main characters about their goals, to helping out a rampaging pokemon who happened to be in pain, seem to have been taken out of Bruno's notebook.

Is Alder an interesting character? Well, I can't say for certain that his antics have caught me by surprise. Alder clearly cares about Pokemon in an unexpected way, can be wacky and soft outside of battle, and teaches the main characters an important life lesson... Again, these were things that almost every other E4 and Champion trainer featured in the anime had done. Alder is simply an exception to this rule because he is the first Champion to utilize all three at once. Other Champion Trainers in the anime were very serious, but Alder was 80% comic relief from start to finish.

Although he had been seen for a good eight minutes or so, I actually liked Trip in this episode. Even though this had not been the jumpstart to Ash and Trip's rivalry that I had wanted to happen, I love how Trip's personality and goal to surpass the Champion have been justified by his reactions against Alder. Trip viewed Alder as a powerful trainer, worshipped Alder as if he was a God, and was horribly disappointed when he wasn't taking his battle against Ash seriously (even if he were to hold back, it was sad to see him sleep the battle off).

I am hoping that Trip becomes a more determined and serious trainer in battle after this episode. When Trip asked Alder if he wanted to become stronger, Alder said no; that was the major blow to Trip's ego and his pride as a Pokemon Trainer. It is interesting that Trip had left Alder's presence before he was able to see the Champion take down a Gigalith by himself, so he only assumes that Alder is a joke Champion without anything else to back it up. I want to see if his preconceptions about Alder will shape his battles in the future.

 

[Cybersai]

The Gigalith bit at the end though... am I the only getting flashbacks of the Bruno episode back in Kanto? This time it felt a little silly considering a monster with a rock-like body somehow got a nail in it's foot... not saying an Onix somehow getting a Sandslash stuck in it's nether-regions wasn't weird, and a bit innuendoish... but...

That part reminded me of the old Bruno ep from Kanto too.

In fact if you remember Bruno acted really silly too and Brock said his image of him was "shattered" which is a lot like Trip's of Adeku's here.

In fact, this episode was yet another "remake" of an old Kanto episode, its almost exactly the same as the Bruno one. At least it was still a good one though.

 

[TPrower]

I'm surprised that Gigalith rampaged because of a nail in its foot. Not because of the overuse of that scenario, but because I can't imagine a nail being sharp enough to penetrate and pain a quadrapedal rock creature that eats minerals.

 

[PDL]

Finally, a Champion who isn't some young slender brooding "bishie" character that everyone seems to fawn over (I honestly don't see what's so appealing about these kinds of people). Yeah, this guy is all about keeping things in perspective: Battles are fun and all, but they don't need to be the be all and end all. Just being with a Pokémon has it's joys. I found it amusing how even his Buffolant got impatient with his trainer not giving it commands.

Anyway, I really do get the feeling that Trip's purpose is basically the same as Cheren's in the game. He starts off with the idea of "might is right" and that's all that matters, but eventually he should figure out that that's not really what Pokémon journeys are all about.

 

[Every Breaking Wave]

Aha ha, so that's how Trip has been getting more badges and still staying ahead, he's just going to whatever gym's the most convenient. I thought they quit with unknown gyms after Kanto. Lazy corner-cutter.

Eh? I thought anime-only badges appeared in Advanced (Morrison) and DP (Jun) too.

 

[DynoStretch]

Eh? I thought anime-only badges appeared in Advanced (Morrison) and DP (Jun) too.

Eh, I dunno. I retract those nine words.

I am hoping that Trip becomes a more determined and serious trainer in battle after this episode.

You mean he wasn't being serious enough this whole time? Anymore seriousness and he'll end up looking like a concrete block.