Turtwig, Rest In Peace.
This episode is so kino. Paul was so good this ep, you get to see a side of him that before this hadn’t been featured to this extent. Of course the infamous orange juice, but he was still himself while also being more chill and understanding; letting his Pokémon relax outside and opening up to Brock a bit. Getting quick followup as to why Reggie doesn’t have the Brave Symbol and why Paul resents him for it was very interesting for their relationship and great setup for Brandon. It’s also quite cute that we get to see how he definitely favors and loves Torterra, it doesn’t have to be said but it can be seen from how he gets TR to trim its tree, praises it and even lets it go help Grotle. It’s his starter after all yes, but it adds to getting the audience to understand him further.
Everytime Paul brings up Ash being a hypocrite he doesn’t really retort back, like he’s aware of it and can’t say anything lol. Ash not wanting to rely on Blaze is crucial for what’s to come and his character, this whole battle was really. Grotle losing its speed and Ash still pushing it to dodge showed his immaturity still, wasn’t until Honchkrow KO’d and Paul berated him for not taking into account Grotle’s new traits he even realized what was going on. Ash does recognize this later, but Torterra being the one to help Grotle on its own accord was very nice and shed more light on the variety of the personalities in Paul’s team.
While Torterra does get mistreated and the jobbing gets to be a letdown, I think the premise of Grotle being known for its speed and suddenly being handicapped by factors outside of its control was very solid and something new for Ash’s ‘mons. Disappointing this wasn’t completely followed through with in a satisfying way, but I see the initial attempt.