By JC
Hey guys! I will be summarizing and reviewing the 10th episode from Pokemon Black and White. Ash and the gang stop by at Luxuria Town and enter the nearby Battle Club. Ash bursts in and goes to the nearby computer to look at all the prospective trainers and to his delight finds Trip. The Don George of Luxuria greets them and contacts Trip. Trip arrives at the Battle Club and Ash is determined for a rematch. Trip initially blows Ash off, but due to Iris’s heckling, agrees to a 5-on-5 Pokemon match. Meanwhile, Team Rocket is surrounded by Officer Jenny and the police.
The battle starts off with Trip’s Tranquil versus Ash’s Oshawott. Tranquil easily defeats Oshawott, forcing Ash to send out Tepig. Tepig is also defeated in a similar manner. Ash decides to send out Pikachu next. The lightning mouse is rested and ready for this rematch and knockouts Tranquil in exciting fashion. Trip sends out Servine next. The episode switches back to Team Rocket. The police go in to arrest the shady trio when a semi-truck busts through and rescues them. They ditch the truck and get away with jet packs. It turns out the driver was the contact, who goes by Pierce, and he hands James a briefcase.
Pikachu is ready for his rematch with the evolved form of Snivy. Pikachu battles valiantly, but eventually loses to Servine. Ash chooses Snivy next and the two go toe-to-toe. Snivy is able to land Attract and pummels Servine to a knockout. Trip is surprised, but quickly sends out Frillish. Ash allows Snivy to rest by switching her out for Pidove. Pidove attempts to battle, but Frillish uses Water Pulse and ends the match seconds after it began. Dismayed, Ash is forced to send out his only remaining Pokemon, Snivy. Snivy is able to dish out pain, but also endures a lot of punishment. After an excellent combo of Water Pulse and Hex, Frillish finishes off Snivy. Trip walks out of the Battle Club as Ash says that they should battle again sometime.
If you like Pokemon battles, you’ll love this episode. The entire episode is one long match and you see the conclusion too, none of that “to be continued” stuff. Team Rocket is shown just briefly as well. I was waiting for this rematch ever since Pikachu (wrongly) lost against Trip. So, I’ve got to say Trip’s opener with Tranquil was pretty impressive and was a bad omen for Ash. I feel like Ash’s Pokemon seldom evolve. I also respect the fact that he chooses not to evolve Pikachu. Anyways, Tranquil absolutely demolishes Oshawott and Tepig. They both lose to pretty much the same move, Aerial Ace (Tranquil uses Work Up and then Aerial Ace against Tepig). I know that some of the battles had to be quick, in order to fit the entire 5-on-5 match in one episode, but c’mon.
Pikachu notches his first victory against a trainer in Unova against Tranquil. Hurray! Tranquil actually ends up hurting Pikachu more than I expected. Personally, I think Ash uses Volt Tackle way too much. Come to think of it, Pikachu hasn’t been able to hit anything with Thunderbolt lately. I want to see Thunder Wave! So after Tranquil goes down, Trip sends out his Servine. Pikachu’s winning streak is stopped at one after a heart-wrenching loss. Servine dodges everything, while Pikachu just kind of stands there, getting hit by Leaf Tornado. The two have a showdown, resulting in Servine remaining untouched by Pikachu’s attempted Volt Tackle.
So at this point, I’m pretty sure Ash is going to lose, since all he has left are Snivy and Pidove, and we have yet to see Trip’s other 3 Pokemon. Anyways, I’m happy to say that Snivy defeats Servine. It seems like Attract is an automatic knockout. In the anime so far, the opponent is good as done if Attract works. It was quite satisfying to see Servine get beat up with Vine Whip and Leaf Blade. I think Frillish and Trip make a perfect pair. To me, Frillish came off as arrogant. It takes care of Pidove quickly.
The battle between Frillish and Snivy is definitely the highlight of the episode. We see lots of new animation and a pretty intense battle. After this episode, I’m going to lessen my standards of Ash. I know the Black and White series isn’t a complete reboot, but it’ll be easier for me to just believe it is. He’s actually doing pretty well for a 10-year old. If I were Ash though, I’d get my Charizard and stomp all of Trip’s Pokemon.
Tags: Pokemon TV Show