In this episode, Eevee and Grookey become drug mules, and are either the worst ones ever because they take forever or the best ones ever because who would attack something so preciously stupid that they can’t recognize their trainers behind fake bushes, but also know to look both ways before crossing the street? Either way, this was a very cute episode about trusting your Pokémon with tasks. The bandanas the two were wearing gave me some major Mystery Dungeon vibes!
Team Rocket’s struggles with Morpeko continue to be the weak spot of this episode/series. This is not a likeable Pokémon in the slightest and I was quite heartbroken to see their B-story of tricking Pelipper into getting ice cream for their Apple pie end with Morpeko wolfing the whole thing down. Looks like using Appletun and Vanilite as food decoys didn’t work. But I AM kinda happy to see Pelipper being a bit of a mainstay. I think the Gacha machine solely exists to randomly spew out the Galar Pokémon we’re never gonna see since this season is the first to not take place entirely in Galar. Which works, even though it’s a bit cheap.
Speaking of seeing Pokémon, holy cow, Ash was carrying more than just Pikachu and we finally saw Gengar again. I really liked how Ash was in this episode. He definitely felt like the seasoned trainer/big brother here, doing his best to push Grookey and Eevee onto the right path. I gotta ask though, what was the goal with Goh putting on Ash’s clothes? I mean, I get WHY, it was to probably pull Grookey away from the ice cream truck inconspicuously, but since none of the characters even reached the truck in time, it felt pointless….well, at least the FirstFriendshippers have a new glorious muse. Look out Serena, you’re not the only one to have worn Ash’s clothes now~
One thing I’m surprised no one has brought up yet was that…..moist….bit of Sakuga we got when Grookey was walking towards Goh at the end. That was a genuinely beautiful scene from a character animation perspective as Grookey was definitely walking like he was exhausted, but determined to reach Goh, making that hug all the more satisfying. Was it a tad overdramatic? Sure, but they gave Grookey GHIBLI TEARS, come on, how can you hate on grape-sized droplets of grief?!
But overall, this was a fine filler. Moral of the story is; get Grookey and Eevee an iPad so they’ll stand still for a minute and Team Rocket needs to stop bringing home takeout and just eat out so Morpeko won’t scarf it all when they walk in!
Next time, it looks like TR decides to dump Morpeko on Goh. This honestly sounds like a good idea. Have him catch Morpeko and make him Eternatus 2.0. I hate that gluttonous gerbil more than anything.