Galar Fossils! Stick 'em Together!! (1139)

[Rune Knight]

That Rookidee looked like it would've gladly joined Ash if given the chance.

...porque...?

 

[mystreon]

Pros

• Koharu rubbed Yamper, but couldn't tell that Eevee wanted the same thing. Shows that, even though she and Eevee get along, she still doesn't know it as well as she does Yamper.
• Eevee's mimicry schtick was utilized well a couple of times.
• Boldore was utilized after its capture.
• Dracovish was great. I also loved how it "sang" after it was created. I hope we get more of that in the future.
• Go and Koharu realize that something's fishy with these fossils reconstructions.
• No Lucario.
• Dracovish is such an oddball, and its actions make it even weirder. I freaking love when derp Pokemon are added onto the cat. Bonus if they're powerful and not just a gagmon.

Cons

• Go got Arctozolt instead of the superior Dracozolt.
• I wish Koharu got to do more. I know she's just starting out and this episode was more about introducing the fossils to the cast, but it would have been nice to see her do more than get randomly attacked three times.
• Making lunch didn't need to take up so much time.
• I feel like they could have gone more into the bad aspects of these fusions, at least for jokes, like how Arctozolt always has a cold. Hopefully we'll see more of those in the future.
• Woulda been nice to see more of Ash's Pokemon, or have Go bring in Aerodactyl. Though I did like how Aerodactul seemed to just be staring at Arctozolt in confusion, knowing that its existence is an abomination against nature.

Other

• I missed you, Iris. But please, tell me Axew or Gible evolved. Axew especially, since it was so annoying.
• Gary, cool to see you. I wouldn't mind seeing him as a recurring rival again, or maybe have the series shape him up to be Viridian's new Gym Leader.
• With Iris, Gary and Go, I expect the smug levels to go off the charts. Any combination of these three would have amazing chemistry, but I especially want to see Go and Iris interact.
• Oops I'm mixing English and Japanese names.
• There's a Rookidee in the opening. They made sure to have a Rookidee land on Ash's head twice this episode, much like how the Rookidee in the opening sat on Dragonite's head. I don't want to get my hopes up, since it could just be a small nod or something. But the fact that Rookidee appeared twice with Ash this episode has me speculating.

Gary stopped being smug, he had character development and went down the road to gain his real dream of being like his grandfather oak, a pokemon professor, so if they change that i aint gonna be happy.

bea is ashs rival, gary does not need to be.

 

[Dragonsoldier77]

I didn’t particularly care about them before the ep, but i have to admit mr.fish ended up being quite the cute goof.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Gary stopped being smug, he had character development and went down the road to gain his real dream of being like his grandfather oak, a pokemon professor, so if they change that i aint gonna be happy.

bea is ashs rival, gary does not need to be.

Gary didn't entirely stop being smug. He's still got a bit of that in him. But yeah, he doesn't need to be the rival. Though he might be a Gym Leader simply for the sake of Viridian actually having one again.

 

[British Soul]

Got around to watching le episode, and re-watched the OP for analysis, though it is a shame I had the new OP spoiled for me via my YT recommendeds, thanks YT, then again it was about time for a new one.

Spoiler: new OP thoughts

- Looking at the group of pokemon 10 seconds in, and whilst I'd like to say that Koharu would end up with Galarian Ponyta in the future, it wouldn't shock me if Go got it instead, and that's way more likely to happen. The Rookidee sitting on Dragonite's head and the events that transpired in the episode makes me think Ash will catch one. As for the rest, I was going to say we haven't seen East Sea Gastrodon since Paul used it in DP, but it did appear in SM.
- Grookey is seen playing around, and I'd say that like the others, it'll go to Go.
- Wasn't expecting to see Wikstrom tbph, and it'll be nice to see him in the series as he's the only member of Kalos' E4 that has appeared in the anime to NOT have appeared in the main series (Yes Siebold was only in the Mega Evolution specials, but tha's connected to the main series in terms of plot).
- I'd have been more surprised to see Gary if he wasn't in the flipping thumbnail of the video that popped up in my recommendeds, and from what I can tell, he's now using his HGSS attire (like Lance when he reappeared), and as for Iris (which I think was also spoiled for me), let's see how much stronger she's gotten, though I'm not looking forward to her "little kid" remarks, but that's months down the line, in dub town if anything like that happens.

Onto the episode thoughts:
I appreciated Koharu initially prioritising school over going to Galar and after the U-Turn (don't get me started on U-Turns regarding schools, especially after this week smh, and Koharu's was quicker) she gets an email requesting a report on what happened in Galar, so at least she's still thinking about her education.
Cara Liss' character was on point as per my expectations, forgetting her pickaxe, bringing chocolate instead of another curry ingredient, and on that tangent it was nice to see the group cook a curry together, though I will admit to cringing upon seeing the end result as whipped cream on curry is such a weird combo, but in Galar, weird combos are A-OK, I mean look at the fossils, however I don't think the cooking/consumption took the two hours needed to wait for the restoration of the 'mons, and as for the fossil restorer, my immediate thoughts were "I've seen more impressive ones" (and Sinnoh's was the first that sprung to mind weirdly enough).
The first thing in the episode that proper surprised me was Go catching Boldore, especially since the premise of the episode leaned more towards the fossils and plus points for it being utilised in the episode as well.
In all fairness, I'm not surprised Ash ended up with Dracovish given how good it is competitively, and I liked how it tried to bite his head, similar to how James' pokemon like Victreebel and Carnivine liked to do the same, re-hashing an old gag can have its merits I suppose. Though I never would've thought that Dracovish would be Ash's first non-regional variant Galar-mon (and it's the longest gap bewtween the beginning of a new series and Ash catching a 'mon from the concurrent gn that isn't a regional variant), and it's also his first fossil 'mon too and first Water-type since XY.
As for Go's fossil, I didn't mind what pokemon he ended up acquiring, I figured he would get a fossil 'mon though out of Arctozolt, Dracozolt or Arctovish, I had no preference as to what he'd end up with, though I enjoyed his Aerodactyl look confused upon seeing it at the end of the episode.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

They wouldn't have given Ash a Pokemon that would not have been able to function outside of an a specific environment.

Yeah. Just ask Grant and his no-show Amaura.

 

[Almighty Zard]

Yeah. Just ask Grant and his no-show Amaura.

let's just be thankful the galar fossils haven't shown any negative symptoms then.

Cause personally that annoyed me that they did that, I thought Amaura was a cute pokemon, and despite it's typing was something I actually wanted Ash to get, but then they did that.

Really hope if we ever see the thing again, they retcon that "it can't be outside of the cold" thing and chalk it up to not restoring it properly or something.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Honestly I never took the "can't breathe on land" pokedex entry all that seriously for Dracovish, given that pretty much all Water type pokemon can breathe on land in some way or another in both the games and anime. Not surprised that Dracovish is happy and derpy either, as that's it's personality in the games too when in camp and following you.

 

[Dragonsoldier77]

Looking at it again, it’s kinda funny that ash was randomly on top of a tree when go and koharu was having a little moment after catching boldore.

Third wheel much?

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

I wouldn't say it's promotion but a visual cue she is getting a slightly bigger role this time.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I do wonder, what if these are the only appearances of Dracozolt and Arctovish, as pictures in a tablet as their pokedex entries and names are talked about.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

They're just going to milk Chloe just because she has Eevee, really. Boy, imagine if Serena had Eevee first.

 

[XXD17]

So are we just going to ignore the hippopotas in the water lol? I thought the whole point was that it's a hippo that swims in sand rather than water ha ha.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

They're just going to milk Chloe just because she has Eevee, really. Boy, imagine if Serena had Eevee first.

Serena would have been better off if she had Eevee first lol

 

[i2i]

I do wonder, what if these are the only appearances of Dracozolt and Arctovish, as pictures in a tablet as their pokedex entries and names are talked about.

Personally I believe the other two will appear later in the series.

 

[divinepokemonXZ]

Koharu almost dying three times in a single day and then calling it "fun" is incredibly Pokemon though

I'm not really sure what they are going for with her character. She seems to act OoC sometimes but it's hard to tell which is her true personality since it seems dependant on whether the writers want her to be a blunt depressive or a jerkass.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I'm not really sure what they are going for with her character. She seems to act OoC sometimes but it's hard to tell which is her true personality since it seems dependant on whether the writers want her to be a blunt depressive or a jerkass.

Um what? Lmao. It seems to be pretty clear where they are going with Chloe. A character with a cynical view on Pokémon due to people always assuming she must love them coz her dad is a professor, causing her to not care for them much, viewing Ash and Goh's adventures as pointless, until she slowly and slowly starts to embrace being a Pokémon trainer more. First realising how much she means to yamper and fighting with him, dealing with his jealousy as she takes care of some other Mon, witnessing Ash and Goh having fun and sometimes tagging along where she learns more about the bonds between a trainer and a Mon and appreciated it, like the feebas episode. As she goes on more and more trips she states she's actually having fun and then she finally meets Eevee and loves it so much she ends up actually capturing it. With Eevee, she's now going even more on trips with the boys and is loving her experiences. It isn't being OOC, it's called character growth

 

[divinepokemonXZ]

Um what? Lmao. It seems to be pretty clear where they are going with Chloe. A character with a cynical view on Pokémon due to people always assuming she must love them coz her dad is a professor, causing her to not care for them much, viewing Ash and Goh's adventures as pointless, until she slowly and slowly starts to embrace being a Pokémon trainer more. First realising how much she means to yamper and fighting with him, dealing with his jealousy as she takes care of some other Mon, witnessing Ash and Goh having fun and sometimes tagging along where she learns more about the bonds between a trainer and a Mon and appreciated it, like the feebas episode. As she goes on more and more trips she states she's actually having fun and then she finally meets Eevee and loves it so much she ends up actually capturing it. With Eevee, she's now going even more on trips with the boys and is loving her experiences. It isn't being OOC, it's called character growth

Feels a little sudden, but okay, as long as they have her do something badass instead of just being a damsel in distress.

 

[DuskAstral]

Is Chloe the first supporting character to be promoted to a main?

Koharu is still a supporting character. The latest episode clearly shows that she hasn't dropped out of school. You also have to take into account that it is not in the announcement of the next episode.

 

[Sham]

Koharu is still a supporting character. The latest episode clearly shows that she hasn't dropped out of school. You also have to take into account that it is not in the announcement of the next episode.

She doesn’t have to drop out of school to be a main character. My question was hypothetical rather than actually claiming she’s been promoted.