Grooming Furfrou (811)

[the1stpkmnfan]

This episode still proved that Ash still has that battling spirit. This is the Ash Ketchum I miss.

Jessica was good too, voice and design wise.

Not much to say about the episode, that hasn't been said, but I like it.

 

[NPT]

"Grooming Furfrou!"

Whoa, even though poor Bonnie scrapped her knees, she didn't cry and still was full of energy. That was kinda impressive and it made her more likable to me. It's so cute when Bonnie asked Jessica to marry Clemont, that sparkly background set the mood during that scene. LOL, Clemont sounded so funny when Bonnie proposed to Jessica! Wanting to get someone to look after Clemont had a sweet intention behind it, but he still doesn't come off like he really needs someone to look after him.

Jessica was a nice character of the day and seeing Furfrou being groomed like they are in the game was nice. Serena was clearly interested in grooming, but Ash was too confused with all the talk about the berries they use. I appreciate that they’ve given Ash back some of his comedic traits. Team Socket Rocket, as usual, trying to steal Pokémon. Wobbuffet's disguises were funny though, especially the Mona Lisa disguise.

Ash's battle aganist Team Rocket was the best part of this episode. When Inkay sprayed mud at Pikachu, I thought he was done. But they didn't give up and still put up an awesome battle with Team Rocket. Despite with ink covering Pikachu's eyes, Ash having the confidence to battle with him was simply spectacular. It showed their connection, Ash's skills as a trainer and the battle animation was well-paced to make the whole battle sequence pretty engaging. THIS is how Ash should be! Even Jessica admited that Ash and Pikachu were awesome. Speaking of Jessica, I liked her. She was really cute, and hot too. Not to mention, she has a nice personality. It's cool how Ash's bond with Pikachu inspired Jessica to trust her Furfrou more than before, and it certainly worked. It was awesome when she destroyed Furfrou's cage with a stick, that sure showed her character development. Jessica gaining her Furfrou's trust and finally being able to groom was nice. Serena seemed to admire that Jessica could be that devoted to her goal, so hopefully that can lead to her exploring more during this journey to find her own goal.

Overall, this is a great episode. Episodes like this are the reason why I enjoy the XY series more than OS/BW. dub-wise, I think it was pretty good. I'm happy that they kect Jessica's name same in the English version. Her voice actor was nice, and she did a good job portraying the character. The script was close to original, which is great. The bgm, I'm kinda disappointed that TPCI replaced the Lumiose City OST with their not-so-good dub music.... but at the same time, I'm glad they kept the awesome battle music during the battle between Ash and Team Rocket.

 

[Zoruagible]

I liked this episode. I loved the part where Ash told Pikachu what to do after Pikachu got ink over his face.

 

[SerenaForTheWin]

I liked this episode. I loved the part where Ash told Pikachu what to do after Pikachu got ink over his face.

surprisingly pikachu ws still able to fight despite of the ink on its face.

 

[Shneak]

I didn't care enough to watch this episode when it aired in Japan but I actually enjoyed it a lot. Team Rocket's fashion show was pretty funny and I laughed when Ash got overwhelmed with all of the grooming procedures. Pikachu's fight against Team Rocket was also a great showcase of the Ash-Pikachu team without making Team Rocket look incompetent.

 

[zhixun]

Good filler. Amazing how Ash can still battle with Pikachu with its inky face. Wobbuffet cos-playing was hilarious, even as Mona Lisa.

I agree with you here. One minor flaw about this episode is that the crew did not even notice something strange when Kojiro shuts Musashi's mouth when she wants Pikachu rather than Fokko.

 

[STICKTOPIA]

Is it just me or is Ash getting more and more strategic in battle? The way he handled Pikachu when it couldn't see was amazing!

 

[The Pokemon Broadcast]

With Ash being Pikachu's eyes when it was blinded, I thought of something.
It's not that Pikachu is over powered (that is, when I hear this said (fortunately, those times are few and far between)), it's that him and Ash have been together for so long each battle can sometimes be like a walk in the park.

 

[Bill Cipher]

An episode about a dog that doesn't want to be groomed, huh? I have to say, the conflicts in some episodes of this show can be too simple to care about. I enjoyed the scene with Wobbuffet, but that alone isn't going to make the episode good.

I don't blame that Furfrou though; if I was a dog I wouldn't want a grooming either, especially from someone I don't like.

 

[TheGamerBro]

Ash acting as Pikachu's eye brought tear to my eyes. It was awe inspiring *sob*

 

[Pikachu52]

This was a great episode for one reason and one reason only - It's very very Pikashippy. Ash and Pikachu demonstrate the strenght of their bond and trust in each other when Pikachu is blinded by Inkay's ink and Ash effectively becomes his eyes. It's really cute and sweet. I almost want to cry. If it were not for that one scene this episode would be mediocre.

The premise of this episode is that Furfrou doesn't want to be groomed and the sole issue Ash and friends help resolve is "How do we get Furfrou to trust Jessica enough to let her groom it." I have to admit that is a weak premise, although it does fit neatly into the main theme running through the anime - the importance of friendship and trust between Pokemon and trainer. However I would have thought that part of loving someone is to respect their choices and not to force them to do something for your own satisfaction. There is a certain vanity to the premise of this episode - Jessica, Serena and Bonnie place a huge amount of value on the physical appearance of the Pokemon which distracts from their personality.

This episode portrayed all three characters as being a little vane - especially Serena. Serena's desire to have her Fennekin groomed leads her to hand it over to Team Rocket who then attempt to steal it. What's interesting is that Fennekin showed no desire to be groomed and evne looked nervous about it. Compare this with Ash and Pikachu - When Jessie offered to groom Pikachu he became very weary and it was clear that he didn't want it. Then Ash said no I think Pikachu is best the way he is by which he means I love Pikachu the way he is and I respect my best friends wishes. It's his body and not mine. If Serena or Jessica had taken the same approach with Fennekin and Furfrou Team Rocket would never had gotten their hands on Fennekin.

This episode also begins the series running gag of Bonnie trying to find Clemont a dependable wife - Well that just set femminism back 10 years. It seems that Bonnie assumes that 1. Clemont is straight, 2. Clemont wants to be in a relationship 3. The girl in question is straight and is interested in Clemont and 4. She is entitled to arrange other peoples marriages for them.

The other main down point of the episode is that it was Bonnie whom wiped the ink of Pikachu's face. It should have been Ash who cleaned Pikachu - Ash is Pikachu's partner not bonnie, Pikachu trusts Ash not Bonnie and it would have improved the tenderness of the moment. It was also disappointing that there was no hugging or nuzzling or kissing between Ash and Pikachu after they had defeated Team Rocket.

 

[munchlaxboy]

Following an excellent episode featuring Rhyhorn Racing and significant character development, Grooming Furfrou is a bit of a letdown. The first true "filler" of the XY saga involves a groomer named Jessica who struggles to groom her own Furfrou, as it does not seem to trust her. As the episode develops, Ash and co. learn about Pokemon grooming and are later duped by Team Rocket, who are disguised as Pokemon groomers themselves. The best part of the episode was seeing a blinded Pikachu beat up on Team Rocket through Ash's instruction, displaying the pair's insurmountable bond. Observing and learning from this amazing display of trust, Jessica gathers the strength to rescue her captured Furfrou from Team Rocket's clutches. Through this ordeal, she is able to gain her Furfrou's trust and her poodle partner allows her to groom it to close out the show.

Overall, this is a tame and rather boring episode. Pokemon grooming is far from interesting, and the episode's sole entertainment value rested with Wobbufett's fashion stylings and Ash and Pikachu's strong-bonded battling. And I don't know if it was just the English dub or what, but this episode's dialogue and interactions came off as somewhat bogus and forced. Essentially, it is not a very memorable 21 minutes.

Grade: C

 

[*Frank*]

Fufrou-centric episode.

The plot seemed too generic in this one. It started with the usual plot of a Pokémon not approving its trainers assumed skills, and ended with the Pokémon trusting it thanks to some DISTURBANCES. I liked Jessica, though.

 

[wobbanut]

This episode was pretty good, even if it reminded me a bit too much of past episodes like "Pokemon Fashion Flash" and the miltank one from several seasons ago. Furfrou is not a pokemon I'd battle with, but it's one of my favorites to just own from generation 6, like vivillon. I liked seeing Wobbuffet don all the different disguises too. ^_^

7/10

 

[JudySpell]

Furfrou grooming ended up being much less fun than it should've been and my fondest wish was to see someone add Furfrou to their team. 6.5/10

 

[DatsRight]

It was a standard plot, but I think it stood out for the climax. Team Rocket, despite being as clownish as ever, actually looked dangerous and intimidating, and it took Ash being smart and strategic (and the disaster dominoes occurring with Furfrou's capture) to stop them. They even showed them outmatching Officer Jenny and having gotten away with tons of Pokemon beforehand (though for some reason didn't give them to da boss). The characters' astonishment throughout really punctuated how long the two sides have been going at it and that Ash and Pikachu could only run rings around them not because the trio were incompetent but because they were THAT damn good. I also loved the focus on Wobbuffet this episode, both in comic relief and his importance in the scheme and battling. He was blatantly enjoying it as much as the trio too. XY's really improved his usage, definitely the true fourth member of the trio now.

One thing that maybe bugged me was that when Jessica had Team Rocket blasted off, was it just lucky coincidence their steals and Fennekin didn't get hit too? In fact I'm pretty sure this happens a lot (one time Pikachu DID blast off with them and just conveniently was more heavy, Ash should have got Thundershocked for that).

I have to also agree the original was better than the dub. The English voice actors and dialogue were decent enough (and I loved Kayzie Rodgers' voices for Wobbuffet during the style montage), but the original just came off as more tense, both from the acting and music (or lack of when it fit). Jessica sounded way more frantic and hysterical when Furfrou got captured and for some reason I just love the more menacing version of Meowth's dare to Officer Jenny in the sub I watched ("If you think you can steal them back, steal away!") I also like how deadpan and smooth Jessie sounds commanding Wobbuffet in the Japanese version. After eras acting as her dud, it's interesting seeing him in practically the same role as Arbok when he started, her closest ever dependable Pokemon she sends in with pure confidence.

 

[Wednesdayz]

Eh, this filler episode was an enjoyable one to me since we got to see a Furfrou, who I was genuinely hoping that Serena would end up catching, but whatever. The XY series hasn't let me down yet since there is not one boring episode at least.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

I'm not really interested in Furfrou itself, so what I liked seeing here instead was Team Rocket being so stylish ha ha. Wobbuffet dressed like the Mona Lisa was funny and I was surprised that Jenny owned a Manectric.

 

[Leonhart]

Trimmien not trusting Jessica since they hadn't properly bonded enough yet made sense, and it was good to see that Jessica saving Trimmien from the Rocket-dan changed its opinion of her. What I felt was a bit thick was how Serena left Fokko at the Rocket-dan's salon when she shouldn't have trusted strangers.

 

[Alloutℯ]

Ash using that brain of his, so far the writers are doing job of balancing out his comical side with his serious tactics side. Every one in this group has been great, Bonnie continues to be adorable. I seriously love how this group admires Ash.