Kids' WB! Talkback: "Pokémon" - April (Spoilers)

[Duke]

http://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/kwb.jpghttp://library.toonzone.net/talkbacks/pokemon.jpg


Pokémon Advanced Challenge

April, 2005


Gotta catch 'em all! Ash, Brock, May, and Max continue their adventures in the Hoenn Reigon, all while staving off Team Rocket and newcomers Team Aqua and Team Magma!


Time: 10:00am

(All times in Eastern)


4


April 2nd, 2005

The Bicker the Better http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/new.gif


While heading to Fortree City, Ash and May participate in a 2-on-2 Tag Match against two trainers with a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen. Unfortunately, things don't go very well, resulting in Ash and May parting ways. Jessie and James aren't on best of terms either, and the gang decides that the only way to settle their conflicts is with a Pokémon Battle!

Comments: Ash and James vs. May and Jessie. This should be awesome.


4


April 9th, 2005

Grass Hysteria! http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/new.gif


While traveling around even more, the gang encounters a wild Skarmory, who steals Skitty away! May chases after the little kitty and finds herself in a field full of Bulbsaur! One particular Bulbsaur becomes good friends with May, but is rejected by the other Bulbasaur! While May and Bulbsaur try to regain peace, Ash and the others have to sneak in.

Comments: Gee, I wonder what happens in this episode...


4


April 16th, 2005

Hokey Poké Balls http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/new.gif


May's Bulbasaur likes to act up and wander on its own. Not unlike several other Pokémon the gang has captured before. Thinking that another of the same species will help it behave, Ash has his Bulbsaur transferred to Hoenn! But Team Rocket is re-enacting their plan from "Electric Soldier Porygon" (without the seizure or ReBoot-ish stuff), and is stealing Poké Balls!

Comments: Yay! Ash's Bulbasaur returns for an episode! How I miss the little guy...


4


April 23rd, 2005

Whiscash and Ash http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/new.gif


Ash is polishing his badges when they become captured by a very large Whiscash! Then he meets a Fishing Guru who has been trying to catch that very same Whiscash for a long time now! As if that wasn't enough, Team Rocket is after that Whiscash as well! Will the good guys succeed? Will the Fishing Guru capture the Whiscash? Will Ash ever find a way to keep his badges secure?

Comments: Seriously, Ash loses his badges way too much.



4


April 30th, 2005

Me, Myself, and Time http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/new.gif


Ash is separated from the others due to a blinding mist, and finds a young trainer searching for a special treasure. However, they meet a young woman with a Xatu who has lost a Baltoy near where the treasure supposedly resides! Will Ash and the trainers find the treasure, or will Team Rocket win out in the end?

Comments: Yet another Ash-only episode. Wow.


4


NOTES

As far as I know, all new episodes this month!
Debuts this month: The Hoenn debut of Nidoking and Nidoqueen, as well as the TV series debut of Whiscash and Baltoy!
May, Jessie, and James participate in their first 2-on-2 Tag Battle! Against each other!
A new Pokémon capture!
Bulbasaur returns from Professor Oak's lab for one episode only!
The first appearence of the real Master Ball!
Ash loses his badges for the 143943430th time!
Next month: May enters a new contest, Drew truly becomes the new Gary (aka a pimp), Bulbasaur gets to show off, Spoink searches for its lost pearl, return of the Magikarp Salesman, James defeats May, and Taillow gets spotlighted!
To see what episodes are playing during weekdays, check out the Toon Zone Schedules (http://www.toonzone.net/schedule/index.php?seriesID=1). You can talk about episodes airing during weekdays along with the Saturday new episodes.

[Duke]

Ash and May arguing was funny. Veronica Taylor arguing with herself is even funnier.

Umm, 4Kids? You need to brush up on your Battling.

Ariados: ARI!

Duke: Onix, Earthquake!

Ariados: X_X

Duke: Onix, Rock Throw!

Ariados: X_X

Duke: Blaziken, Fire Blast!

Ariados: X_X

[AnimatedSnow47]

"The Bicker, The Better" was very hilarious. Reminds me of the old Ash/Misty arguments of the earlier seasons. Almost all of the bickering was hilarious. The quirky couple of Andie and Oscar was bizzare, but effective. And, of course, Brock had to hit on them. Overall, an excellent episode. A+ or "Super Effective!" :D

[CyberCubed]

Yay, it's been awhile since the last comedy episode. I also love that old Kanto Pokemon still get showcased in Hoenn, especially ones that haven't appeared all that much, go Nidoking and Nidoqueen!

Very funny episode helped by the anime expressions. I love the big head arguments, the word bubbles with the characters faces in them, etc. They're one of the things that made this episode so funny.

The battles were hilarious, Ash and May's first battle with Skitty making an Ice scuplture out of Corphish was great. Then the last free for all match was insane, but still well orchestrated.

Lots of Males Vs. Females stuff in this episode, and Brock's "the battle of the sexes will continue" line.

I have to admit that Ash and May scenes were cute, you can tell that Veronica Taylor was having a lot of fun in this episode, voicing both characters and having them constantly yelling at each other. I also like Veronica's more sultry voice, which she used for May at the end when she was apologizing.

Veronica Taylor = Best voice actor 4kids has on Pokemon. Veronica Taylor > Eric Stuart.

[Freedom Fighter]

- Lot of parallels to a certain Orange Island episode... which back then featured a male Nidoran and a female Nidoran. And Ash and Misty fighting over whether they had a relationship or not. Today... a Nidoking and a Nidoqueen. And Ash and May fighting over whether they had a relationship or not (though not as convincing).
- Now aren't we glad Veronica Taylor managed to soothe May into a distinctive voice instead of what she started with at the beginning of Advanced? Now, instead of 'Ash arguing with himself,' we have 'Ash's VA arguing with herself.' Which is quite more entertaining, mind you.
- "Fighting's the first sign of love." Why must that always ring true?
- A battle of the sexes on Pokémon? Even Brock referring to it as one afterwards? How interesting this dub can be sometimes.
- Cacnea's first use of sandstorm, maybe? I need to keep better notes... :p

I'll give it a 7 out of 10. Once I got past the battle-of-the-sexes/tag-team battle concept... there wasn't much else. The battle itself between Ash/James and May/Jessie wasn't all that exciting... if only 'cause it was particularly one-sided.

[Dogasu]

I really enjoyed this episode. I don't see how people can say that Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation is inferior to the Kanto episodes with gems like this one.

[lostrune]

1. Ash + May = lovebirds. What is it with "lovebirds" today? It's like the 10th time I heard it used, and it's not even Toonami yet! :anime:

2. Oscar (boy) + Andi (girl) = reversed Rose of Versailles Oscar (girl) + Andre (boy). :)

3. Nidoking and Nidoqueen again?! One could've thought those 2 were the 2 kids before but all grown up... except Ash hasn't grown an inch! :sweat:

4. Boys vs. girls tag team... Damn! The girls were being shown their place! :eek:

5. Heh, Brock and Wobuffet copycat act. :D

[Duke]

I really enjoyed this episode. I don't see how people can say that Pocket Monsters Advanced Generation is inferior to the Kanto episodes with gems like this one.
Some people miss the quaint and smaller feel the originals had, a feeling which the show will never be able to recapture.


4. Boys vs. girls tag team... Damn! The girls were being shown their place! :eek:I think a large part has to do with Corphish being the best Battler Pokémon by far out of the 4. It completely owned Skitty, while Cacnea and Seviper were (for the most part) even.

[Dogasu]

Some people miss the quaint and smaller feel the originals had, a feeling which the show will never be able to recapture.
I think this episode did a damned good job of recapturing that "Kanto magic" everyone goes on about.

[Duke]

I think this episode did a damned good job of recapturing that "Kanto magic" everyone goes on about.
It did, but like I said, some people miss the small-time feel the original season had. Pokémon can never be a "quaint" series again, and some people miss that.

[Blue Beetle]

Kids WB continues to piss you off? ;)

[Duke]

Kids WB continues to piss you off? ;)
Kids' WB! will always piss me off, no matter what they do.

[Freedom Fighter]

Hey, no fair! I already asked him that last month! :p

[Dudley]

Hey, I remember watching that ep in Japan, forgot how long ago it aired, though....

Anyhoo...yesterday, Japan aired a 2 hour special of Pokemon, where they aired the Pikachu short, "Gotta Dance" (the best Pikachu short EVER), revealed new info on the 8th movie, and May entered the Pokemon Contest Festival, and lost to the guy with the Roselia, who, like every other tournament where the main character gets beaten, lost in the next round. And Ash's Snorunt evolved into a Glalie. I didn't see that coming!

[CyberCubed]

May's Bulbasaur doesn't have exactly the same voice as Ash's as far as I can tell. It sounds similar, but it's not as deep. Maybe in the next episode we can compare the voices accurately, but for now May's Bulbasaur does sound a bit different.

It was a good episode, been awhile since the writers had a lust for attacking grass pokemon again, especially the ever showcased Oddish, who's been in a billion episodes as a backround pokemon.

The scenes with Ash and May reflecting on Bulbasaur were great. Ash saying it reminded him of his Bulbasaur was a nice touch. Veronica Taylor once again did a good job, she made Ash sound more aggressive in this episode while making May sound more concerned for the pokemon.

This ep seemed like another Ash and May bonding moment, right after the Tag battle match ep too. I'm still debating whether the writers gave May Bulbasaur just to have one more thing for her and Ash to have in common or not, it had to be done more than just to promote FR/LG.

I also liked the ending moment where Bulbasaur jumped into May's arms, thank goodness they didn't pull another Swablu! (Which she better find and capture that thing one day)

[NozeNuggets]

Okay, let me recap the last two weeks.

* The Bicker, The Better: Did anyone but me notice that those two lovers were dressed in the same outfits Jessie and James wore in their battle at Salon Rocquet and the Pinkyland dream sequence in "In The Pink"? They must've raided their costume closet or something.

Anywho, the one-person interaction Veronica Taylor had arguing with herself was hilarious. Maybe Grey DeLisle can do it better in character. And Rachael Lillis and Eric Stuart again prove they can play the bumbling idiots that are Team Rocket.

* Grass Hysteria: Nice to see May getting a grass pokemon for a change. Next week's episode, titled Hokey Pokeballs! should be a good look to see Ash's Bulbasaur interacting with May's.

[Mighty_Bojingo]

I haven't thought about this until I saw those 2 guys with the cloaks, (honestly, thought they were from Team Magma.), But for once i'd like to see Team Rocket pick a disguise where Ash and the gang isn't the ONLY ones who are fooled. I'd like to see an episode with a twist where Team Rocket actually fools the viewers too. The past disguises were way to obvious. How can Ash and the gang NOT tell that the lady is really Jesse? Never seen anyone else with that hairdo before. Its kind of a dead give away.

[Draven]

The past disguises were way to obvious. How can Ash and the gang NOT tell that the lady is really Jesse? Never seen anyone else with that hairdo before. Its kind of a dead give away.
Law of anime #46
Law of Flimsy Incognition (http://www.abcb.com/laws/law_46.htm)

(from Conrad Knauer)

Simply changing into a costume or wearing a teensy mask can make you utterly unrecognizable to even your closest friends and relatives. This is also known as the fake mustache rule.

While we, the viewer can tell right away that the new shop keepers/pokemon groomers/old couple/construction crew are Team Rocket, the simple fact that Team Rocket is in disguise is enough to fool Ash, Brock, May, and Max. They are within the anime universe, and therefore honetly have no clue that Team Rocket is RIGHT in front of team, until their theme music swells and they recite their usual battle mantra.

Now, as for your suggestion of a disguise that will fool even US, the viewers. I agree, that would be a sweet twist. But, anime being anime I don't see this happening. The animators would have to resort to the usual mysterious-figure-with-a-barely-lit-face trick. We know the characters so well, it would be QUITE difficult to be fooled by even the most elebrate of Team Rocket disguises. Maybe someday though...maybe someday...

[Duke]

I haven't thought about this until I saw those 2 guys with the cloaks, (honestly, thought they were from Team Magma.), But for once i'd like to see Team Rocket pick a disguise where Ash and the gang isn't the ONLY ones who are fooled. I'd like to see an episode with a twist where Team Rocket actually fools the viewers too. The past disguises were way to obvious. How can Ash and the gang NOT tell that the lady is really Jesse? Never seen anyone else with that hairdo before. Its kind of a dead give away.I thought their hula costumes from the first Saffron City episode was pretty good.

[Dogasu]

The team does manage to pull off some decent costumes from time to time. Musashi's (Jessie's) and Kojirou's (James') disguises as Senri (Norman) and his family were quite good. So were Kojirou's Adan disguise and Musashi's Tonpei (the fat Coordinator in the Grand Festival episodes) disguise.

They also make fun of the guys' costumes sometimes, like the absurdity of Nyasu (Meowth) and Sonansu (Wobbuffet) dressing up as Haruka (May) and Masato (Max). And then there's Musashi's Sirnight (Gardevoir) costume and Nyasu's Whaleoh (Wailord) costume.

If nothing else, the animators are able to make fun of the fact that Team Rocket's costumes can be really ridiculous sometimes.

[PowerZord]

Both Great Pokémon eps. The Nidoqueen and Nidoking one was great. Ash and May, In love? Wow, how quickly Ash moved on from Misty!

The Bulbasaur one was great, it reminded me of "Bulbasaur Mysterious Garden"

Great episodes. Altough I expected this Bulbasaur to go in the same way as Ash Bulbasaur

[CyberCubed]

So, who thinks Ash and May's Bulbasaur make a good couple? Methinks they should leave the two in a daycare and let them breed for awhile.

A highlight of this episode was James, his plans were pretty funny. The big wall covering the house which stops TR from escaping, and then James at bat. :sweat: I found that incredibly amusing that James was hitting the pokeballs out the window to let Ash get hit by them. TR trying to fight off the vines "Touche, enguarde!" was pretty amusing.

The two Bulbasaur worked well together, and it's always a good thing to see Ash's Bulbasaur again.

And did Brock just admit he does very little anymore? "My part may be small, but I did it for love" - Brock. I guess even Brock is realizing he doesn't do much.

[Freedom Fighter]

Be afraid. Very afraid. For fans who might see the closeness between the two Bulbasaur and take it to mean a similar connection between Ash and May. I'm just glad we don't have those kind of shippers here... at least I think we don't. :sweat:

- May's Bulbasaur was really cute in this eppie... something I didn't catch onto when it made its debut last week.
- Funny-looking balloon-like jets popping out of the bottom of Team Rocket's basket? Now I've seen everything...
- You know, I actually thought Team Rocket would be real intelligent for once and get the teleporter to transport the Pokémon directly to TR Headquarters. Guess I'm asking too much out of our favorite bumbles, aren't I?

I'm giving "Hokey Pokéballs" an 8 out of 10.

[Duke]

Wow. That was one of the worst Trainer's Choices I've ever seen.

Meditite, for thos who don't play the games, is a Psychic/Fighting type. The first choice was Beautifly (that, for some reason, was called Nuzleaf instead), while the second choice was Combusken. The other choice sucked. Combusken, who is part Fighting-type, was chosen as the best Pokémon against Meditite, never mind that Combusken is actually weak against Meditite. Beautifly would've been the better choice, as its Bug-type nulls Psychic-types and its Flying-type nulls Fighting-types.

Oh yea, the actual episode was good, though the "Grass- and Water-types fight 5 minutes after Bulbasaur leaves" excuse is REALLY getting old.

[Dogasu]

So no one watched today's episode? This was one of the better ones, too.

[Duke]

I missed the first 1/3 of the episode, but I liked what I saw. Having Nemo eat the Master Ball was friggin awesome, especially since it breaks one of the clichés of the series.

[Freedom Fighter]

Anyone find it weird how Pokémon makes episodes involving fishing fun? Now, if they could only do it in real life...

- Sullivan referred to himself as a fishing God! I can't believe he said that!
- Should've known Jessie would find a decent use for her long hair. :D
- I'll agree with Duke... Nero eating the Master Ball was a total surprise! Didn't even see that one coming!

Fun little filler, as the fishing ones always are. 8 out of 10 for "Whiscash and Ash."

[CyberCubed]

It only took 300+ episodes, but they've finally shown the Master ball in the anime! And lmao, that was a great twist to see Wishcash swallow the Masterball instead of being captured by it. I don't think anyone saw that coming.

I really love the animation team who did this ep.

Ash and May looked so vibrant, Brock's hair was blowing in the wind, The fishing god had some of the craziest expressions ever, Flaafy looked like a badass at the end....wow.

Whenever an episode has good animation, it just makes everything so much more exciting to watch.

[Duke]

Now if only Ash & May would get some Great/Ultra Balls (I'm not gonna include Brock since he'll likely never catch another Pokémon again).

I wonder who needs a capture more, Brock or Team Rocket?

[Dogasu]

I love the inconsistencies in this episode. Namazun eats the Master Ball and nothing happens. Gonbe eats a regular Monster Ball thrown by Haruka and it gets captured. CONTINUITY, PEOPLE!!

By the way, Kids' WB! won't be rerunning this episode on Friday. All the TV schedules I've seen list "Zig Zag Zangoose" as airing during the Friday encore spot.

[CyberCubed]

How many episodes are left in this season? They've already aired quite a bit if it's a standard 52 episode season.

Also what episode does the title screen change from the map to Ash/May's Badge case/Ribbon case?

[Golden Darkness]

How many episodes are left in this season? They've already aired quite a bit if it's a standard 52 episode season.

Also what episode does the title screen change from the map to Ash/May's Badge case/Ribbon case?
17 Episodes left.

And the last episode of this season will be the first episode to feature the Badge and Ribbion cases.

[lostrune]

1. The Ash team really knows how to kiss-ass someone who is so vain. :D

2. Geez, I saw that big blob Nero eating the Master Ball from a mile away. It already ate Ash's badge case. :sweat:

[CyberCubed]

Pretty good episode. Out of the usual which makes a nice change of pace.

We've already seen time travel via Celebi in the 4th movie, but I believe this is the first time it's mentioned in the actual series.

It would seem that the future self wanted to share all her discoveries with her younger self so she wouldn't waste her whole life discovering the same things, but did she?

Nice to see a Xatu again after so long, it's last appearance was in Master Quest.

[Duke]

Another Trainer's Choice mistake. Both Crobat and Togetic are good against Illumise, though Crobat has the advantage thanks to its Poison-type.

This episode reminded me of Nadesico, seriously.

Shouldn't Baltoy have used Psychic to move the rocks instead of Confusion?

And at least Ash did SOMETHING this episode, even if it wasn't all that much, whereas he didn't do a damn thing last episode Xatu was in.

[Freedom Fighter]

- Okay, here's a second show today I'm gonna harp about a music selection for. And this one's much harsher. The hymnal-like song which presented the focus of this episode... annoyed the heck out of me. Both VAs who sung it. Ash's one-liner wasn't much better, either.
- And I usually don't mind this, but the first comment really set it off... Ash and company really need walkie-talkies, or cell phones, or maybe go as far as have each other microchipped with tracking devices. The instant I saw the fog in the first second of the episode, I KNEW someone was gonna get separated.

Not even a cute pigtail girl in Calista could save this episode. For once, I actually hated a Pokémon episode (and I think it's been a long while since I last said that). Only a 5 this week, and it's probably getting at least one point in generosity. Yeah, really didn't like it at all.

[PowerZord]

Great Episode, Specially the song