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Description
What a lovely episode this was, easily a series highlight (and not just because Misty appeared). The character interactions just sold it, like Pikachu refereeing, Leavanny tending to Rowlet, or Psyduck being Psyduck. Even Clauncher had an interesting personality in spite of being a character of the day; I'd missed those days when some wild Pokémon were invested in the Trainers' abilities and would test them in different ways.

Ash acting so bratty towards Misty could've looked like a bit of a character regression for nostalgia points, but instead it felt like they've grown so close they just keep friendly teasing each other. I loved the Cilan mention too, it was pretty natural and they finally aknowledged the lure connection (something that was 12 years overdue honestly). As for the Rocket side of things, I didn't mind the starving gag much here, they didn't overdo it and it wasn't even obnoxious Morpeko causing it, my mans were just genuinely hungry lol. Not to mention, the best Rotom ever got a brief appearence. Pokémon aknowledged as potential food was certainly a callback I wasn't expecting.

The Politoed vs. Corphish battle was really good for its runtime and it had better animation than I was anticipating. Misty winning and getting a catch was a great decision, makes the world around Ash feel as alive as him, in that his friends keep growing and getting stronger off-screen, something we didn't get much during Journeys since his rivals were more static in comparison to previous series. A believable loss too, we know Ash hasn't battled with Corphish in a while, and we don't know how much Misty and Politoed have been training as of late. Yet another advantage of having Ash rotate his team.

Overall This Episode is Great Episode!

Rating:8.5/10(Great)

Description
What a lovely episode this was, easily a series highlight (and not just because Misty appeared). The character interactions just sold it, like Pikachu refereeing, Leavanny tending to Rowlet, or Psyduck being Psyduck. Even Clauncher had an interesting personality in spite of being a character of the day; I'd missed those days when some wild Pokémon were invested in the Trainers' abilities and would test them in different ways.

Ash acting so bratty towards Misty could've looked like a bit of a character regression for nostalgia points, but instead it felt like they've grown so close they just keep friendly teasing each other. I loved the Cilan mention too, it was pretty natural and they finally aknowledged the lure connection (something that was 12 years overdue honestly). As for the Rocket side of things, I didn't mind the starving gag much here, they didn't overdo it and it wasn't even obnoxious Morpeko causing it, my mans were just genuinely hungry lol. Not to mention, the best Rotom ever got a brief appearence. Pokémon aknowledged as potential food was certainly a callback I wasn't expecting.

The Politoed vs. Corphish battle was really good for its runtime and it had better animation than I was anticipating. Misty winning and getting a catch was a great decision, makes the world around Ash feel as alive as him, in that his friends keep growing and getting stronger off-screen, something we didn't get much during Journeys since his rivals were more static in comparison to previous series. A believable loss too, we know Ash hasn't battled with Corphish in a while, and we don't know how much Misty and Politoed have been training as of late. Yet another advantage of having Ash rotate his team.

Overall This Episode is Great Episode!

Rating:8.5/10(Great)