Episode name: Balance of Power (an actually okay title for once
)
Animation: Not the best but well done in a few scenes.
Things of note:
TR spend the whole episode attempting to build an underground secret base. However, since they worked so hard to get money for materials they don't want to work any more and end up spending much of their time arguing over who should work. Everything's ruined when Jesse makes the mistake of kicking a rock at a Dugtrio and the incredibly irritable arcade-game pokemon proceeds to chase them in circles. :-?
Still, James gets a funny line:
James: "Team Rocket is against outsourcing!"
Slakoth, the Matrix Pokemon, runs rings around poor Pikachu without ever actually moving from it's original place.
It seems that in the anime the laziness trait of Slaking, which causes it to skip turns in the game, is actually a benefit in the anime, as it makes it absorb attacks easier, and a good pummelling gets it warmed up to fight more powerfully.
It may be odd but at least it's consistent, as Norman's Vigoroth, despite being incredibly strong, seems to have physical attacks that consist only of an uber Scratch attack (i.e Scratch was the only move it used in its previous vs. Pikachu battle).
Ash has Pikachu take the tactic of letting Vigoroth hit it so it can hang onto and paralyze the hyper sloth using the impact as a stimulant. Nice reflection to the games, though in the anime it appears to be a matter of skill to pull off the Static ability, rather than the 30% success rate of the games (in the anime it seems the pokemon has to be strong enough to take the attack, stay conscious, then allow its internal electricity to flow into the body of the attacker).
Grovyle show's his Charizard-like potential quite well in this episode. Although its attacks did little to Slaking early on, it almost felt like watching a Charizard battle once Overgrow activated. Grovyle of course has a flair for the dramatic, flinching after the classic "final strike" scene to make Slaking think it is about to fall unconscious, only for the huge ape/sloth-thing to realize its internal organs have been eviscerated and to take a needed dirtnap. ^_^
"Overgrow" Grovyle was IMO the coolest part of the episode. The green aura looked great, and its voice even seemed to improve, becoming more "dangerous" sounding. Plus his Leaf Blades doubled in size, reaching Darth Maul lightsaber proportions, which looked VERY cool as he raced at Slaking while Slaking rushed him with Focus Punch. ^_^
Max and May switch maturity levels, as Max reveals in some ways he is just a little kid who thinks his dad is invincible. He actually takes Ash's badge, runs off and locks himself in the greenhouse. Makes you realize, for better or worse, why Norman never let Max (or May) watch the gym battles before. :-( Ash for his part shows amazing maturity, not getting upset and even telling Max he can keep the badge, though I would assume he was thinking Norman would give him another as does technically NEED the badge for the league. Or it was just an attempt at sympathy and reverse psychology, whatever it all worked out.
So, not the best by far but a pretty good battle episode, I just wish the animation had been more detailed and fluid in a couple of scenes (really, Grovyle's movements were pretty poorly done until Overgrow activated) and maybe that Torkoal wasn't knocked out in one blow (though I guess they just wanted to show again how powerful Vigoroth was and have Torkoal be tired from its beam war with Slakoth).
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P.S. Judging by how well Max took it one wonders if the people of North Petalburg will mourn for forty days and nights or commit mass suicide when they find out that Norman not only lost but that it wasn't their beloved Pikachu that ultimately won but rather the Grovyle owned by the trainer they had the nerve to call a "novice." And a part of me wants to believe they did have a frightful reaction. ^_^
