Review JN017: Hibanny, Use Your Flaming Kick! Face Tomorrow!!

[KrspaceT]

I wonder if Satoshi is ever going to encounter his old Pokémon again because we’ve been to almost every region and he keeps catching Gen 1’s. Why not have them meet his old crew? That aside, I agree that Go had this shade coming. He hasn’t been very kind to Hibunny.

The use of older mons is one of the two big questions I have right now about this Ash story: the other is if we'll see a return to the BW era team rotation.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

The use of older mons is one of the two big questions I have right now about this Ash story: the other is if we'll see a return to the BW era team rotation.

Given that Ash's has four Pokémon in his team within less than 20 episodes into the new series, I wouldn't count rotation as an unlikely option.

 

[dman_dustin]

Yeah, they were at Sakuragi's when it ran away, but, for all they knew, Scorbunny could've run off anywhere. We, as an audience, can guess that maybe it's still within the park based on the design of the place (though, to be honest, all forests look the same to me, so it could've been somewhere in one of the city's green spaces for all we know), but Ash and Go didn't know that. For all they knew, Scorbunny could've run somewhere into the city. And, considering that they haven't seen Scorbunny since it took off and that they reunited with it somewhere in the city, they should've been alarmed and concerned that Scorbunny might've run away and even gotten lost in the city and, the fact that not only do they not go to search for it because it will come back when it's hungry, but the moment it comes back, they don't show any concern for its well-being, nor do they wonder where it's been and what it's been up to and all three of them proceed to just ignore it is honestly appalling (even downright disgusting).

IF that was genuinely a fear, then Go's Pokemon wouldn't be free to do as they please which they are, they're just chilling not being observed 24/7 (well mostly obviously there are times they are being observed), why would Scorbunny suddenly be the important Pokemon that needs an eye on it, but Go's million other Pokemon don't?

Again when it actually mattered Ash pushed Go to look for Scorbunny.

I'm just pointing that the Sakuragi Lab is where they keep their Pokemon to do as they please, its understandable why in that context they would just let Scorbunny be.

As for leaving without Scorbunny, Go leaves plenty of Pokemon at the lab without bringing them along, Go could just be thinking Scorbunny decided to do the same.

I agree ignoring Scorbunny was infuriating but I don't know why you insist on throwing Ash under the bus for all of it. I mean the only thing I'd criticize Ash for would be not pointing out how incorrect Go is, but as I said, I don't quite understand how Ash could do that without being antagonistic towards Ash.

He didn't have to be a dick to him, but he could've been and should've been a little more proactive and actually voiced his concern regarding Go's behavior (something he's done numerous times in the past), which could've acted as the wake-up call that Go desperately needs.

I suppose but I can see how that would just cause tension between Go and Ash and we already had tension between them especially in the Ivysaur episode.

I mean the only reason why Go even was willing to agree he may have made mistakes is because of Ash and his gentle chiding and pushing to go after Scorbunny.

Sure a figurative kick in the shin would've been nice, but I don't know how you would do that without being a dick to Go like angrily yelling at him or even heavily chastising him for treating Scorbunny like he did. I mean Ash played it off gently and managed to get Go to where he needed to go. Yes too late to really fix things.

 

[MegaGreninga]

IF that was genuinely a fear, then Go's Pokemon wouldn't be free to do as they please which they are, they're just chilling not being observed 24/7 (well mostly obviously there are times they are being observed), why would Scorbunny suddenly be the important Pokemon that needs an eye on it, but Go's million other Pokemon don't?

Again when it actually mattered Ash pushed Go to look for Scorbunny.

I'm just pointing that the Sakuragi Lab is where they keep their Pokemon to do as they please, its understandable why in that context they would just let Scorbunny be.

As for leaving without Scorbunny, Go leaves plenty of Pokemon at the lab without bringing them along, Go could just be thinking Scorbunny decided to do the same.

I agree ignoring Scorbunny was infuriating but I don't know why you insist on throwing Ash under the bus for all of it. I mean the only thing I'd criticize Ash for would be not pointing out how incorrect Go is, but as I said, I don't quite understand how Ash could do that without being antagonistic towards Ash.



I suppose but I can see how that would just cause tension between Go and Ash and we already had tension between them especially in the Ivysaur episode.

I mean the only reason why Go even was willing to agree he may have made mistakes is because of Ash and his gentle chiding and pushing to go after Scorbunny.

Sure a figurative kick in the shin would've been nice, but I don't know how you would do that without being a dick to Go like angrily yelling at him or even heavily chastising him for treating Scorbunny like he did. I mean Ash played it off gently and managed to get Go to where he needed to go. Yes too late to really fix things.

Shouldn’t Gou other fire Pokémon have profile page it did shown personality “it’s very powerful and quite bulky Pokémon as it teased Gou Scorbunny,”

 

[Egakor]

All episodes of the new series have been uploaded in the official Youtube channel. Too bad it's region-blocked.

View: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLBE2D9BnJJUpjQYqPFeWbrcBmpnJG5vns

 

[Pulsaro23]

IF that was genuinely a fear, then Go's Pokemon wouldn't be free to do as they please which they are, they're just chilling not being observed 24/7 (well mostly obviously there are times they are being observed), why would Scorbunny suddenly be the important Pokemon that needs an eye on it, but Go's million other Pokemon don't?

But this isn't the same as leaving your Pokémon somewhere/with someone to train and relax. We're talking about a Pokémon who got very emotional, very angry and ran off to who knows where to do who knows what. Not just any Pokémon, mind you, but Go's main Pokémon, his starter, his partner, his supposed best friend. You'd think that he would be slightly concerned about its well-being, especially since the last time he saw it, it ran off after the guy who kept mocking it, which is a recipe for disaster.

I'm just pointing that the Sakuragi Lab is where they keep their Pokemon to do as they please, its understandable why in that context they would just let Scorbunny be.

As for leaving without Scorbunny, Go leaves plenty of Pokemon at the lab without bringing them along, Go could just be thinking Scorbunny decided to do the same.

Except Go didn't leave it at the lab, like he did with the others. It's still supposed to be in his active party (and the only member of his party). So, again, it's not the same as Ash leaving his Pokémon at Oak's or Sakuragi's or Go leaving the at the park and letting them do as they please and them not being able to help their Pokémon if they get into trouble. And I'm sure that if something like this did happen at Professor Oak's place and one of Ash's Pokémon would angrily ran off after getting in a fight with someone, either Tracy or Oak (or even Bulbasaur) would go look for it to make sure that it's fine, since that Pokémon is in their care and their responsibility. And the same goes for Go: Scorbunny is his starter, his closest friend, the guy who's always by his side and, most importantly, it's his Pokémon. It's Go's responsibility, as its friend and trainer, to take care of it, to make sure that it's alright. Storming off after being provoked and it possibly running away anywhere in the city (since, again, Sakuragi's Park isn't this impenetrable dome from which Pokémon can't escape (as we see in this very episode)) should be cause for concerne for the boys.

I agree ignoring Scorbunny was infuriating but I don't know why you insist on throwing Ash under the bus for all of it. I mean the only thing I'd criticize Ash for would be not pointing out how incorrect Go is, but as I said, I don't quite understand how Ash could do that without being antagonistic towards Ash.

Yeah, this is mainly a Go issue, but Ash acting like an amoeba for most of the episode, instead of being the driving force that lead to them looking for Scorbunny, isn't exactly praiseful. I'm not blaming Ash for everything that happened (Go is the one most at fault here), but Ash not caring about one of his friends' Pokémon (he'd rather eat food and go look for Pokémon that his friend could catch, while also saying that Scorbunny will come back when it's hungry) is rather bizarre, not to mention very out of character. Whenever one of his friends' Pokémon would disappear to who knows where, he and Pikachu would always go look for it. It never mattered where it happened or when, he would always help his friends look for it. But, in this episode, he would rather do anything else but look for the missing guy and, whenever Go would wrong Scorbunny and show little care for it, Ash would barely do anything and his responses would be that of a complete idiot, rather than those of an experienced trainer who's dealt with things like these multiple times throughout all of his journeys. Ash just... barely acts like the Ash we've know for so long.

 

[Daren]

Maybe Ash feeling off is because the screenplay writer is new to writing Pokémon? Their only other episodes so far are 4 and 7.

 

[Charcoatl]

Since when Ash acting different than his previous incarnations is not a character development anymore?

 

[Panky..]

Since when Ash acting different than his previous incarnations is not a character development anymore?

When it directly contradicts his established character and comes out of the unknown blue, then it's not character development but just the writer being stupid. Examples: the episode where Ash tried to cheat at a school presentation (Ash has never believed in taking cheap shortcuts), another one where he tried to forcefully capture Rotom against its will (Ash always respects and loves Pokemon) or the recent ones where he's disinterested in an entirely new region or its Pokemon (just go watch every first episode of AG, DP, BW, XY or SM and see how excited he is when he steps into a new region with XY and SM literally having him run off to explore and see new Pokemon). None of these are character development in any way.

An example of proper negative character development for him would be the losing streak he had when failing to master the Bond Phenomenon and the subsequent frustration and depression he felt. Or the doubts he started to have about himself and his training method when Paul curbstomped him at Acuity.

 

[Pulsaro23]

Since when Ash acting different than his previous incarnations is not a character development anymore?

Since when was Ash (or any character, in general) being inconsistent with how they've been portrayed before and them going against their well-established character and set of morals for no reason considered character development? If anything, that's more like character regression (or, in some worse cases, character assassination).

 

[MegaGreninga]

When it directly contradicts his established character and comes out of the unknown blue, then it's not character development but just the writer being stupid. Examples: the episode where Ash tried to cheat at a school presentation (Ash has never believed in taking cheap shortcuts), another one where he tried to forcefully capture Rotom against its will (Ash always respects and loves Pokemon) or the recent ones where he's disinterested in an entirely new region or its Pokemon (just go watch every first episode of AG, DP, BW, XY or SM and see how excited he is when he steps into a new region with XY and SM literally having him run off to explore and see new Pokemon). None of these are character development in any way.

An example of proper negative character development for him would be the losing streak he had when failing to master the Bond Phenomenon and the subsequent frustration and depression he felt. Or the doubts he started to have about himself and his training method when Paul curbstomped him at Acuity.

Did anyone read what I said

 

[Panky..]

Technically, it's still a Thursday for me since it just struck midnight.

Pros:

• The start of this episode had held promise for both Ash/Pikachu and Gou/Scorbunny with their little training session but they cut it far too short. Fine whatever, Darmanitan decides to butt in and plays the bully (I thought it had cardboard personality with how easily it accepted Gou?) by taunting Scorbunny just to move the plot along, though personally I’d have preferred if the issue about the latter's lack of Fire-type moves arose in the earlier training session instead of resorting to jerk Pokemon tropes. Scorbunny’s struggles and inability to use fire type moves (despite using it in a way that its species is not familiar with by default) may have been portrayed as a gag for half the episode, but it wasn't funny after the very first time. On the contrary, it was quite a serious issue which made me sympathetic to it especially when you factor in its trainer (which I discuss in another point). Scorbunny kicking Gou was one of the highlights for this episode, it was satisfying and deserved after so many unnecessary kicks to Ash. There's also the little detail about how Gou got Scorbunny to use Ember as a Pyro Ball that I liked, by making it generate frictional heat using Quick Attack in one place (the only good thing Gou did in this episode anyways). I've always liked these 'move evolutions' and improvisations in the past (Volt Tackle anyone?) and hope to see more of them in the future.
• The evolution of Scorbunny into Raboot itself, like many other folk here stated, was a bit too early and somewhat rushed (fun fact: Scorbunny evolves at level 17 in the games, and episode 17 in the anime. ). On the other hand I actually liked how it was portrayed mainly because I feared that it would be treated in the same light that Gou's captures and evolutions (Cascoon) were treated in, cursed with irrelevancy and unimportance (evolutions and captures were considered important events after all, at least before Gou came along). Raboot's cold behavior and channeling of its inner Sasuke was a long time coming given how Gou has always been treating it, from breaking its heart by blatantly telling it that it prefers Mew to be his first Pokemon, to intentionally excluding and preventing it from participating in the battles it wanted to have with captures. This episode's event were just the breaking point for the bunny. I guess a little too late for Gou despite trying to be nice at the end, he needs to suffer some setbacks instead of having it far too easy every single time, and I hope Raboot will be just that. An interesting development would be if Raboot volunteers or even forces Ash to use it in a battle with Gou being a spectator, just hoping this isn't executed in a poor manner just to exclude reserves like with the entire Mr. Mime issue.
• TRio finally get a decent amount of screen time (at least if you exclude the issue about their screen time that I mention in a point below). We finally get to see their "base" hidden in an old phone booth (which pretty much makes them akin to old school crime thriller lovers or boomers in general, proven true by their 4th wall break about "how kids are nowadays") and then there's the spectacular return of Chewtle who turns out to be quite the powerhouse despite its puny size. I am a bit miffed that Jessie gets special treatment with getting to use Chewtle, not to mention the upcoming Ditto episode and what not. I was hoping James would get Chewtle because it screams his type, and James needs a permanent partner like good ol' Wobby. Hopefully, Chewtle becomes a permanent fixture in their team instead of being a lootbox Pokemon every time. Though it was a shame that they were turned into fall guys for three times in a row with two being in the same episode. Speaking of the Ditto, I guess we know which "base" they return to in the 19th episode, which pretty much slams the doors shut on their older Pokemon at HQ.

Cons:

• At this point, I'm having trouble pinpointing what exactly Gou's canon personality and characteristics are. Is he the sweet, socially awkward and slightly know-it-all boy portrayed in the first three episodes and the fifteenth one? Or is he the inconsiderate and selfish jerk portrayed in every other? This episode makes the latter his canon personality hence rendering the goodwill he gained in SS015 somewhat moot and pointless (either that, or he's bipolar according to how the writers want it because ). In what world does anyone think that a move set for a Fire starter consisting only of Quick Attack and Double Kick is "enough", not to mention thinking that it's not necessary to improve oneself? If Gou was a considerate trainer then he would have gently scolded Darmanitan for bullying, and respected the desires of his Pokemon. Instead, he chooses to give up before even starting and scold the bunny by saying things like "accept that there are some things you can't do" despite Scorbunny clearly being completely capable of doing it, the entire thing would just need a bit of effort from the boy. Or when he says things like "stay true to yourself" despite Scorbunny trying to do the same (granted, he does do it after Ash's pep talk but then it's a little too late). He maybe kind and caring to his Pokemon but this episode proves that those traits are just superficial in nature with him dropping all niceties when it comes to his selfish pursuits. It's really hilarious when Gou claims that he "tried so hard to bring out Scorbunny's strength in battle" which is very ironic because he didn't even do jackshit before Ash talked to him.
• Whenever Ash is made to behave in a way that is contradictory to his nature or outright OOC, I really feel pissed off at the writer and want to hunt down their contact info so I can grill them. And this is the second time the same writer has done it, either he's very incompetent or just doesn't care about anything other than collecting his paycheck. Here we have Ash being more concerned with breakfast, and helping Gou with whatever he does instead of actively looking out for Scorbunny despite being portrayed in a truer light in the episode just before it. Even if Gou is his friend, why does he get free passes from Ash for mistakes he makes whereas past companions often had friction with the latter? Granted, Ash did explain the issue to Gou but I'd personally have preferred if it was in a bit more chiding and mature way, and done more often instead of waiting till now. At the end, both of them weren't even actively looking for Scorbunny and just happened upon it by conincidence. Speaking of friction, what happened to the entire difference of opinion, style and personality as well as the conflict that they had in episode 3? They dropped that little development far too quickly for my (and anyone with a proper sense of storytelling) liking. And why is it that they think that having Ash explain moves or situations in a retarded and childish manner involving unnecessary memefaces and over exaggerated gestures instead of a more practical and proper method/demonstration (you know, like he did with his past companions or even the recent Dragonair episode) is more necessary? I wish to know how many people laughed at that cheap excuse of a "gag", because I know none of my under-10 cousins would laugh at that cheap shit.

Additional thoughts:

• I didn't know where to group this, and I know TRio fans might rip me a new one, but some scenes with TRio felt blatantly unnecessary and drawn out. Prime example being the entire Nasty Plot Shiritori game and Jessie's subsequent tantrum. It clearly gives the image that the writer didn't have anything of substance planned in the first place (I guess we'll be seeing a Fujisaku Mk.II in Deko Akao especially when you couple his writing of OOC Ash). Then there's also the wasted screen time where they reiterate Ash and Gou's goal every single time at the start of the episode, is that really unnecessary? There's an entire episode regarding that concept now. I'd have preferred all that wasted screen time being shifted either to give Koharu more focus and having her hang out and observe the boys which unintentionally helps her with her own lack of ambition, or they could have extended the training scene at the beginning into a proper training battle through which the issue of Scorbunny's lack of Fire-type moves could be uncovered like I mentioned above.

Verdict: Jeez, that was quite the lengthy tirade. This episode was a mixed bag, despite having its decent portions related to Scorbunny and TRio it’s still a 6/10 from me for Gou's horrid personality and OOC Ash writing.

Did anyone read what I said

Yes, I read what you said but I don't really know what you expect me to do about it because I don't do much of Bulbapedia editing, at least not to the level that you expect. Ask @FinnishPokéFan92 or @BigDocFan for that.

 

[Islander Princess]

This episode was kind of a hot mess. And I say that part lovingly, part not.

Let's start with the good: Team Rocket was a crack up in this episode. The whole secret base scene was amazing. Team Rocket playing that little game together was super adorable. I know it had literally nothing to do with the rest of the episode, but I don't care. It was super funny and I loved it. It's really telling that nearly every appearance Team Rocket has had in this series so far has been a gold mine.

Also, the faces in this episode were outstanding, especially Scorbunny's. Koharu interacting with the boys was also great. I really felt like I was watching SM at times, which was a nice feeling. Even though it was more because of the exaggerated art style than the actual content, this was some of the most I've laughed during this new series.

Now the not so good: I've said it before, and it bears repeating for an episode like this...the writers have to walk a very fine line when it comes to Gou, because the type of personality he has can very quickly go from making you feel sympathetic to annoying you, and he was all over the place here. I really, really disliked the way they had him treat Scorbunny. The first time around, I kind of got it. Gou really doesn't know how to talk to people the right way and consider other people's (or, in this case, Pokemon's) wants or needs because he's so used to being on his own. But the second time around, when Scorbunny was still trying to use ember and Gou got very defensive about Scorbunny not needing to know it, I got very ticked off. It should've been a little more clear to him at that point that learning that move was very important to Scorbunny, and he should've worked harder as its trainer to help it out. At that point, it looks less about Gou's own personal shortcomings and more about him being, quite frankly, a lazy trainer. Instead of running around the city trying to catch Pokemon (when, by this point of the episode, it was pretty obvious there were none around to catch), focus on training with Scorbunny instead. The longer this got carried out, the less it felt like it was about Gou's own personal development, which is why that line is so easy to cross into the wrong territory.

What's more, when Gou and Scorbunny finally started to battle together as one, and you really start to turn the corner on Gou learning his lesson and see them as a team...Scorbunny evolves and becomes disinterested in Gou. I stand by my previous opinion that it was unnecessary for Scorbunny to evolve at this point in the series. I mean seriously, we're 17 episodes in. Even though I knew it was coming, I was just annoyed by it evolving. And although I'm not against Rabboot having an incompatibility with Gou (honestly, I think it'll do them both some good) it came at a weird time and didn't fit in with where Scorbunny and Gou had gotten together prior to the evolution.

Also, they've gotta calm down with Ash and his way of explaining stuff with sound effects. I normally find it very endearing, but it didn't fit in here at all. Ash should've been helping to give Gou legitimate advice about training with Scorbunny in order to help him out. This just wasn't an appropriate time for him to be pulling a more comedic stunt like that and I felt like it actually took away from the Gou/Scorbunny disagreement.

So...I don't know how I feel about this episode. I feel like it was entertaining to watch visually, but content wise it was pretty bad. I'm solidly 50/50 on this one.

 

[Pulsaro23]

that was quite the lengthy tirade.

Good... Gooooood... Let the long man flow through you!

 

[P_S_B]

When Ash asks Koharu if she wants to come she gets creeped out because he has literally the entire chunk of food hanging out of his mouth while he asks her. Who actually thought that was supposed to be funny? Ash has never been the most refined person ever, but he's never been anywhere close to that bad before. He's less like Ash and more like Dragon Ball Super Goku, which is not a good thing. Dude Deko needs to learn how to write Ash properly because right now it's just a heavily flanderized Goku that just happens to look like Ash.

 

[Pink-Butterfree]

Kinda sucks that even after Go figured out what he was doing wrong when it came to helping Scorbunny, he still gets the short end of the stick by having Raboot distrust him. Go learned his lesson so his Pokemon shouldn't still be sulking.

 

[Daenerys]

Kinda sucks that even after Go figured out what he was doing wrong when it came to helping Scorbunny, he still gets the short end of the stick by having Raboot distrust him. Go learned his lesson so his Pokemon shouldn't still be sulking.

Supposedly dragging this disobedience plot is 'character development' despite the fact that Go already made things right by the end of the episode.

 

[Panky..]

Supposedly dragging this disobedience plot is 'character development' despite the fact that Go already made things right by the end of the episode.

Because proper character development according to you is Gou having absolutely no problem in his life, everything being fine and dandy for him with everyone smiling at his actions, he never does anything wrong. Sure.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Supposedly dragging this disobedience plot is 'character development' despite the fact that Go already made things right by the end of the episode.

Doesn't still balance out all the wrongs he did. He needs to suffer proper consequences from his behavior. He may have intended good, but his social skills are clearly lacking.

 

[Daenerys]

Because proper character development according to you is Gou having absolutely no problem in his life, everything being fine and dandy for him with everyone smiling at his actions, he never does anything wrong. Sure.

Don't put words in my mouth. I have no problem with Go having to go through ordeals if it's actually set up in a way that doesn't drag on for too long and doesn't feel redundant at the end of the day, but this Raboot situation is the epitome of what I dislike about the writing these days. Go was mistaken at the beginning of this episode when he decided not to care about Scorbunny's eagerness to train and by the end of the episode he realized that Scorbunny learning Ember was a big deal for him, so the problem was resolved there.

This continued subplot with Raboot sulking even after Go learned his lesson is stupid because it focuses on something that's a non-issue at this point. It's the equivalent of beating a dead horse, primarily because like I said Go already learned what he did wrong and showed remorse, so I fail to see how Raboot still holding a grudge over something that was already fixed is meant to be 'development.'