I review Pokemon Episodes

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 30 "Xatu The Future"
** "Wow, it's so round"
Man that's a hard hole.
* Classic Wobbuffet
Ash should be told his fortune: "You will remain ten forever"
So Xatu just predicts the weather? Why does this draw large crowds? Do they not have The Weather Channel
"It's pouring rain" says the Xatu girl as No Rain falls
Gotta love that clearly looping background
** More Wobbuffet fun
* Jessie at the weather station
* Xatu looking at Jessie's past
Man Xatu girl's getting surprisingly existentialist with her speech about the future.
Also shocked that 4K!DS didn't edit out the Xatu being near-death.
** Good action scene.
** Wobbuffet's very large mouth
*** VERY well-done climax, the dramatic music really helped the mood.
I like how she abandons being a fortune teller to...being a weather forecaster.
Closing Thoughts:
A great episode!
The premise was very interesting. The group (plus Team Rocket) meet some girl who uses Xatu to predict the weather, and they find out that a great flood has been forecast for...tomorrow! A very high-concept and intriguing plot, as said before I love when the "mythical" aspects come to the fore. The direction in the episode was very nice too, the climax was especially well-done and captured the intensity of the situation well. The darker elements of the plot (Xatu being near death) were kinda surprising too.
The action scenes were good as always.
And there was also a lot of good jokes this time around, which is always nice.
Overall, a highlight of Master Quest. 8.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

I see red
And it hurts my head
Geddy Lee of Rush, "Red Lenses"
Time for Red Gyarados arc.
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 31 "Talking Bout An Evolution"
Huh why are all the Pokemon getting sick.
* A nice action scene, but brief.
Woah it's more Team Rocket guys. Glad it wasn't Jessie and James. I'm sick of that Motto.
Why does Dragonite sound like a dog?
** Good old Wobbuffet
Huh what language is that on the computer monitors? Looks like Greek or something
** More Wobbuffet fun
Pikachu looks cute when it's angry!
** Good, tense action sequence.
Huh if Pikachu had been hit with that ray it could have become a Raichu! Shame it didn't. Ash should finally just evolve his Pokes.
Closing Thoughts:
Fine episode.
The premise was very interesting, with the gang meeting a group of Team Rocket members who have invented a way to forcefully evolve Pokemon using a laser beam. First victim is a Magikarp, forcefully evolved into a Gyarados. Very nice movie-ish plot.
Action and humor were typical for the show.
Overall 7.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 32 "Rage Of Innocence" (Man this title's SO COOL)
** Meowth looking dead
* More Wobbuffet fun
Apparently Lance is "soon to be an X-man" Crossover?
** Good action sequence
* Wobbuffet's anguished scream
"This Pokemon can just barely fly above the ground!" I love how they state that like it's exciting
** Very nice action scene
* The spiral eyes
*** Man, the climax to this episode is intense! Lots of great battling throughout.
** More intensity with them trying to stop Gyarados.
*** The ending of the episode was REALLY well-done, from Lance's speech ("I'll cure your pain, your anger" etc), to the very well-done direction and intensity throughout. Bravo!
Closing Thoughts:
Great episode!
The story was very good. Ash and the gang try to stop the Team Rocket group and rescue the red Gyarados, while also trying to calm it down and stop it from causing any damage. It was very intense and a suitable finale to the mini-arc.
The action this time was the highlight to the episode. The fight scenes were super-well done throughout, especially the final one, which was movie-quality.
Humor wasn't a highlight. But it wasn't trying to be.
Overall, an 8.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 34 "Nice Pryce Baby!"
** Misty's sick slam
* More Wobbuffet fun
** Good action scene.
* Dewgong's swirly eyes
Woah they're going to make ice cream out of ice Pokemon? that's screwed up.
** Meowth's weird eyes
* Jessie lashing out at Wobbuffet
Woah that was a super-intense cliffhanger.
** Cyndaquil's swirly eyes
* Pikachu slipping on the ice
--- LAME ending. So Pryce just forfeits the match and gives Ash the victory? Pathetic! They were building up for a great climax.
** Good action scene until that point though.
Closing Thoughts:
A typical gym battle episode, with good action and some nice humor as well. However, the pathetic ending weighs it down. 7/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Anyway the wind blows
doesn't really matter to me
Freddie Mercury of Queen, "Bohemian Rhapsody"
Time for another ep.
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 35 "Whichever Way The Wind Blows"
Aww the Oddish eating looks cute.
* Pikachu's swirly eyes
Vileplume is a rare Pokemon that is cuter than it's pre-evolved form.
** Ash's bizarre reaction to the fighting.
** Team Rocket's faces when they see the Vileplume/Bellossom fight
* And their swirly eyes afterwards
Jessie and James hug! ROCKETSHIPPING!
The boss won't care for grass Pokemon huh? That's kinda racist, or in this case, type-ist
Huh how did Team Rocket recover so fast?
** Fan of Meowth's imagination
Jessie and James hug again, ROCKETSHIPPING!
Aww look at the Oddish playing with Togepi.
CRITICAL flaw: Steven says "The Vileplume are evolving already" Vileplume doesn't evolve.
* As usual storm scene is nicely directed.
** Team Rocket's odd ideas for schemes, and Ash's reactions.
** Team Rocket's swirly eyes
"And i'm surprised Meowth knew what an identity crisis was!" Sick slam
** Meowth speaking Pokemon language
** And a nice action scene closes things out.
Closing Thoughts:
Good episode. Nothing extraordinary however.
The story was interesting. The gang finds it's way to a plain where sun and leaf stone fragments fly in the wind, which means depending on the wind direction the Gloom evolve into either Vileplume or Bellossom, which causes fighting between the two sides. The premise was quite enjoyable.
There was also quite a few good jokes in the episode. Action wasn't really the focus here.
Overall, a 7.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Here's the Ashachu ep!
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 37 "Hocus Pokemon"
** Witch's reaction to finding Pikachu
I'm glad she finds Pikachu cute too.
* The gang's reactions to Lily's rants.
I like Misty's starry-eyes
** Misty getting Spinarak'd
* More Wobbuffet fun
Jessie and James hug again! ROCKETSHIPPING confirmed
And James also says to Jessie "I love you"
** James' attempts at making Aipom cry with laughter
* Meowth's awful puppet show.
** Wobbuffet's applause to the play.
** Great intense battling scene.
The whole them trying to make Aipom cry thing is amusing. Reminds me of the opposite of when they tried to make that Marrill NOT cry.
* Ha Ash's face when he's getting potion'd looks like he's stoned.
And it's Ashachu! The first time anyone on the show has become a Pokemon. Of course this should've been the plot of the whole episode but OH WELL maybe this was just a lead-in...
I like how he looks like he's dabbing upon being a Pikachu.
Closing Thoughts:
A Very strong episode.
The premise was very good. The gang help some Pokemon magician get ingredients to a spell that makes people understand Pokemon's mind. The premise was quite entertaining, but Ashachu would've been better.
Action was fine, but the humor was great, Team Rocket gave lots of good laffs throughout.
Overall, 8/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 38 "As Clear As Crystal"
--- Ash turns back ALREADY? Seriously? We don't get to see any of what Ash did as a Pikachu, or how it was for him? I think that would be really interesting and a nice break from the mold. What a waste.
** Good facial expressions throughout the opening scene.
"Besides Misty, you don't need beauty sleep" Could This Be a Pokeshipping hint
Good thing they got Team Rocket out of the way early.
Aww, Pikachu looks so cute in the water.
Why would Jessie want to sleep on a Crystal bed? It would be pretty hard, wouldn't it.
* Jessie's very large eyes
Nice, it's Zapdos! Things are getting real.
*** Very nicely directed, intense scene with Zapdos.
What's up with the French-sounding music in the background
* Victreebel eating James
** Team Rocket throwing an inflatable Wobbuffet
** Solid action scene.
*** The climax to the episode was super well-done, and almost movie quality! very intense/emotional.
Closing Thoughts:
A great episode.
The plot was very nice. In this episode the gang find a lake which has a crystal in it that replenishes electric Pokemon, but Team Rocket steals the crystal. The first half of the episode was good, but things than really kick into high gear when Zapdos is involved, and the rest of the episode borders on movie quality at times, especially the ending.
The action scenes were very nice throughout, and it was a very funny episode as well. So an 8.5/10 is in order.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 40 "Enlighten Up!"
** Brock's casual "I think" after describing Enlightenment.
* The picture of Jessie and James in the hole
** Slowpoke's wandering
Wow it's a side character who has a Normal hair color
Woah, the Slowpoke is wondering why it's a Slowpoke. Things are getting deep.
Now the side character questions what Ash's True Essence is. Getting REAL deep.
This is nicely Philosophical.
Wow Gary is back
* Misty and Ash's reactions
* More classic Wobbuffet
Aww Pikachu meditating looks So cute.
** Pikachu and Togepi cheering them on
MAJOR ERROR Jessie and James clothes disappear and then reappear.
Aww I like how Pikachu's ears go down
** Team Rocket's swirly eyes
Closing Thoughts:
Overall, a nice goofy episode. It's disappointing the opening philosophical bits were shelved, but the rest with them "being enlightened" was quite goofy. 7.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 42 "Wish Upon A Star Shape"
Aww look at Phanphy and Cyndaquil nuzzling eachother
** Phanphy getting crushed
Aww it's a Cleffa! I love them
* PMC's casual "I really hate when that happens"
The Phanphy/Cleffa interaction throughout is so cute!
Wow Team Rocket have a GIANT ROBOT. Nice.
* Phanphy's swirly eyes
** Nice giant robot battle.
FLAW James' eyes are drawn In Front of his hair
* The Clefairys taking apart the mechs
** Emotional goodbye scene with Phanphy and Clefairy
** And a funny ending scene.
Closing Thoughts:
A fine episode.
The premise was unfortunately less interesting than the premise made it sound, but was still a nice sci-fi plot with the return of the Clefairy ship from "Clefairy Tales", and had some cute bonding between Cleffa and Phanphy, including an emotional goodbye at the end.
There were also some nice humor bits, and a silly Giant Robot Battle. So overall a 7/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Three eps till Heroes!
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 47 "Fangs For Nothin'" (These pun titles continue to worsen)
So now it's time for a gym battle against a woman with blue hair. WHAT IS IT with these weird hair colors.
* Good action scene.
** Meowth's interruption.
Ah yes classic 4Kids replacing Manju with Jelly Donuts
** The Wynaut stealing the food.
** Wobbuffet jumping ontop of them.
Shocked 4Kids kept the phrase "HOLY land" in. They usually take out religious references.
Closing Thoughts:
Decent episode.
Started out as an ordinary gym battler, and unfortunately got into a kinda dull Team Rocket plot, but ended interestingly. 7/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Welcome back Charizard!
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 48 "Great Bowls Of Fire!"
Charizard's licking Ash like a dog. Why?
Brock remarks "I Can See For Miles" nice ref.
** Entertaining scene with Team Rocket
Jessie and James hug again! Rocketshipping confirmed
** More funny with Wobbuffet.
*** The lengthy Charizard/Dragonite battle sequence, compromising most of the second half, was FANTASTIC- can hold it's own against some of the movie battle sequences.
** We also get a very nice emotional sequence at the end, plus some good bits with Wobbuffet.
Closing Thoughts:
Not much to say in terms of in-episode comments. But this was a very fine episode.
The first half was kinda dull, and prevents me from giving it a higher score. Charizard returns and all, and there were some nice "mythical" elements put in, but the plot elements lacked cohesion and felt kinda flat. But the second half, with Dragonite being angered and battling with Charizard, was fantastic- if it was the full episode we'd be likely looking at a 9. Almost movie quality battle sequence there, and one of the highlights of the season. Overall, I give this a 7.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Time for the last episode before Heroes!
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 49 "Better Eight Than Never!"
** Kingdra pushing Snorlax's fat
I like how Pikachu's sitting on Brock's shoulder
** Kingdra's spiral eyes
** Very good battle sequence so far.
** Snorlax's swirly eyes
*** The Gyarados/Pikachu battle was really intense! Nice job.
** Gyarados' swirly eyes
I like the mech Meowth.
* More Wobbuffet fun
** Pikachu's swirly eyes
Aww I like the gym leader petting Dragonair
Apparently now the battlefield will incorporate Earth, Wind, And Fire. Does this mean we get to hear "September"? Hope so.
*** Nicely done intense climax.
** Dragonair gets swirly eyes.
Closing Thoughts:
A top-notch gym battle episode!
As usual, the emphasis was on how good the action scenes were, and it really delivered. The fight scenes this time around were much more intense compared to some of the others, and had a lot more effort put into them as opposed to just using the stock color backgrounds, and this alone made it a cut above many of them. We also had some nice bits of humor throughout, Team Rocket's subplot was also quite entertaining. Combine all this and we get an 8.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Time for a MEGAreview!
Pokemon Heroes:
*** Really nicely done story-book style intro, the art-style in this part is really nice, and atypical for the anime. Looks really good.
It's another Team Rocket pair, one of which has a hyperweird hairstyle.
**/-- Good race scene marred by awful background music.
** Team Rocket eating really fast.
* Team Rocket getting splashed
Aww Pikachu getting a shower looks so cute!
Why was human Latias ominously circling Ash?
** Annie brushing her hair in the background
* Pikachu's gasp
The animation throughout this entire movie looks absolutely stunning, some of the best!
Latios sounds really different than what I expected.
** AWW Latios licking Pikachu's cheek
*** The entire scene in the garden with Latios and Latias looks amazing. In fact, pretty much every single scene is dazzling.
Espeon's voice is really bad.
** Now things are really picking up. Well-done action scene. Also like how the more "mythical" aspects come to the fore
** Misty and Brocks' insanely shocked reactions
-- Though the animation is super-good the CGI with the defense machine is Painfully obvious.
** Very good chase scene.
*** Very nice scene with them stopping the out-of-control defense machine, though it was dampened by the constant Latias/Latios noises
Woah, Latios actually died! That's pretty rare for Pokemon...
*** WOW-WEE! The climax scene with Latios' final sight sharing of the whole earth...absolutely gorgeous. Of all the wonderfully animated scenes in the movie that was the best. In fact the entire climax scene was super good. The music, animation...it combined perfectly.
Wow, Ash got a kiss! But was it from Bianca or Latias... the world may never know. The fanfics do, though!
** Misty's jealous reaction. Come on she's in love with Ash.
**/-- ending song would be good without horrendously bland lead singer.
Closing Thoughts:
Quite good.
First thing's first. The animation was OUTSTANDINGly beautiful. The atmosphere of the Venice-esque Alto Mare was captured beautifully, and pretty much every scene in the movie looked lovely. The climax was the best part, of course, but almost every scene was a winner, and made it possibly the best animated one yet.
The main storyline started out as a generic "Team Rocket captures legendary Pokemon" thing but quickly got interesting once they steal the Soul Dew, which controls all the water in Alto Mare and can give them Unlimited Power. Things really picked up after that.
Along with the nice action there was some very nice bits of humor throughout the movie.
Overall, while not up to the standard of 1-3, still worthy of a 7.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 52 "Lapras of Luxury"
They now meet a one-off character with Pink hair. WHAT IS it with Pokemon and unusual hair colors
Wow Meowth said the episode title
** Good action scene
* Classic Wobbuffet
*** The entire direction of the last 5 minutes of the episode was really good, the climactic action scene was also quite good.
** Meowth's swirly eyes
* Team Rocket's swirly eyes
Closing Thoughts:
Unfortunately this episode wasn't too good.
The main story was kinda eh. It was nice to see Ash's Lapras again, but as a whole the plot was mostly a generic Team Rocket steal Pokemon story. It's hard to make that good.
But it did it's best. The last 5 minutes of the episode were very well-done, and had a good sense of intensity. The action scenes were also strong and there were good jokes.
But as a whole it was just mediocre. 6/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 53 "Hatch Me If You Can"
** Ash's singing
** Delia's monster face
** Nicely done atmosphere with the rainstorm. The show has always excelled at that.
* "Plus the real Nurse Joy is beautiful, and her mouth moves when she speaks!"
Man Larvitar could die! this is high stakes stuff.
** Elm and Oak brandishing their forks and knives while fighting
The atmosphere of this episode is very well-done and nicely directed.
** Ash's very odd nightmare where he's trapped in a Pokemon egg.
Huh.
Ash- "What are my mom and Professor Oak doing here?"
Delia Ketchum- "You must be so hungry! Let's go have breakfast"
Is this evidence Oak is Ash's dad? I hope not. That would make Ash Gary's uncle. That would be weird.
Huh, apparently Ash and Larvitar had the same dream. That's interesting.
Aww Pikachu lying in the grass
** Very good action scene.
Closing Thoughts:
This was a great episode!
The story was very nice, with Ash having a Larvitar hatching from an egg, but the joy is quickly dampened when the Larvitar falls ill, due to something happening while it was still in the egg. The premise was more serious than usual, with the Larvitar being in grave danger, as well as it seeming that it experienced trauma while it was inside the egg. The mood was amplified by the very nice stormy atmosphere throughout the first half of the episode, and the threats such as cut power and good ol' Team Rocket. The second half, with Larvitar healthy but still not opening up to the world, was nice too with some cute scenes of Ash explaining the world to Larvitar, and the conflict added an interesting dimension to what would otherwise be an ordinary ep.
The action scenes were as always strong, and the jokes were as always on point.
So overall a very strong episode, and worthy of an 8.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 54 "Entei At Your Own Risk"
* Ash babying Larvitar
Damn Entei-kid has a really annoying voice.
** Psyduck being Psyduck
Why does Wobbuffet always salute? Mysteries of life
** Good action scene
This is a disappointing episode! Where's Entei?
** Phanphy's swirly eyes
** Very nice action scene with good intensity.
*** Excellent action scene at the end, and Entei finally appears!
Closing Thoughts:
A quite disappointing episode!
The premise was a lot weaker than I expected. Entei only appeared in the last couple minutes of the episode, the remainder was just a generic episode with Ash doing stuff in the hot springs and Team Rocket stealing the Pokemon, which was a real shame.
The action scenes were as always quite good, especially the ending, but were not able to lift it above a 5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 55 "A Crowning Achivement" (Yay not a lame Pokepun)
This is the last cel animated episode. The end of an era!
** Oh BOY Brock's eyes open very wide and it's amazing
* Brock's face
** Very solid action scene, as always.
Huh before this episode I didn't know Slowking and Slowbro was a branch evolution
I like how the Slowpoke has a name ("Arthur"). Most Pokemon don't have names
** Nice emotional scene
** Very nice action scene with Arthur evolving into a Slowking.
I kinda get bothered with almost EVERY Pokemon saying it's name
"Are we gonna turn into Slowbro now?" Asks Meowth. That would be a neat episode.
** And we end with another nice emotional scene.
Closing Thoughts:
This was a very good episode!
The story was very interesting, with a nice "mythical" plotline, revolving around the legend of the King's crown, which can evolve a Slowpoke into a Slowking, and how the Slowpoke who will get the crown will lead Slowpokes to paradise. I like the more "mythical" legend plots of the show and this one delivered nicely.
The humor wasn't particularly prominent this time around, but the action scenes were nicely done, and there was also some very nice emotional bits as well. So the episode gets an 8/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 58 "Address Unown!"
This ep looks REALLY cool, I hope it is.
First digitally animated episode i've seen. Looks good.
** Misty's pantomiming.
I like how they are almost making Unown cute!
* Wobbuffet
** Nice action scene, especially the end bit.
** Woah, it's giant Pikachu and Togepi!
This entire scene in the alternate dimension is without a doubt the single weirdest scene in the show yet. I love it.
*** From the trippy sequences with the Slowking, Elekid, Magby, etc, to the giant Pikachu and Togepi, to the flashbacks of Larvitar's traumatic past (the cries of "Mommy! Mommy!" legit chills) to the scene of them trying to get Larvitar out of the web of thorns which represented his struggle to come out of his shell...the entire scene of Larvitar's mind was without a doubt one of the trippiest, creepiest, coolest, and most emotional scenes in the show. Bravo.
Closing Thoughts:
This was one of the best episodes yet!
The story was awesome. Ash and the gang meet a Unown, which takes them on a trip into the mind of Ash's Larvitar. The episode started out really trippy, cool, and funny (Giant Pikachu!) before transitioning into the chilling scene where we find out about why Larvitar is so emo (He was taken from his mother, and the mom is killed) the cries of "Mommy! Mommy!" really did it. And then we segue into the awesome scene of Ash and the gang getting Larvitar out of the web of thorns, representing his struggle, which was very cool, emotional, and intense, before finally closing out with a cute scene of Larvitar finally opening up. Wow-wee!
Action and humor were not really emphasised. But with an episode like this they don't need to be. 9/10 for sure.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Pokemon Master Quest Episode 59 "Mother Of All Battles!"
It's a Tyranitar! And it doesn't just say it's name.
** "I guess we have no other choice!" *start running scared*
Hmm turns out Larvitar's mom wasn't killed
** Nice chase scene.
* "I break stuff by mistake!"
-- Sigh seems like it's gonna turn into another generic "Pokemon is stolen" ep
* Jessie's phrase+ Wobbuffet
Woah they meet a side character who has a Normal hair color
** Pikachu poking Ash with a stick in the background
* "My brain hurts!"
Man the Pokemon poachers have awful accents
** Good action scene
* The three grunts' swirly eyes
Closing Thoughts:
Just an average episode.
The premise was quite disappointing. Larvitar being released so early was disappointing, i'd prefer if it continued it's development, I quite liked it's arc. But the big problem was six minutes in it turns into a generic Pokemon theft ep. Weh.
Thankfully, there was some good parts, the action scenes were the usual high quality and the humor was exceptionally good, lots of nice parts. But as a whole, only a 6.5/10.

 

[Rick Gastly]

Time to start the eight-part Johto League, not just the end of Johto but the end of the original series!
Pokemon Master Quest Episode 60 "Pop Goes The Sneasel!" (oy)
** Nice flashback. Like when the more "mythical" aspects come to the fore.
I like how the one loose strand of James' hair moves as he walks. Nice animation touch.
Sneasel has a cool voice.
** Good action scene
* Totodile's swirly eyes
Hoo boy Meowth has been fired!
** Machoke and Machamp's swirly eyes
** Another nice action scene
Woah, nice new balloon
* Team Rocket's swirly eyes
Nice it's a Blaiziken! Early appearance.
* Sneasel's swirly eyes
Closing Thoughts:
A good episode.
The story was nice, with Ash and the gang trying to retrieve the flame used to light the torch at the Johto opening ceremony, which is guarded by a Sneasel. An engaging plot that made good use of the more "mythical" elements. The sideplot with Meowth getting booted from Team Rocket was fun as well.
The action and humor were also good, so I give this ep a 7.5/10.