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Mallow the Runaway and Oranguru! (982)

TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
...Was Ash turning into a totem supposed to be funny? -_-
It's just sad how Mallow is literally the only character to get absolutely nothing out of her focus episodes. And even sadder how the TRio easily stole the show.
Mallow had a point though, her dad was annoying. They really need to do more with this poor girl, less Lillie and Lana, and more Mallow please.

7/10

Mallow does need more which is the only part of your post I agree with. Lillie is literally the deuteragonist, she was always bound to come out on top in focus episode amount and Lana has a starter that is not comic relief, unlike Chespin or Oshawott, so her amount of episodes was also going to be high.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
Mallow does need more which is the only part of your post I agree with. Lillie is literally the deuteragonist, she was always bound to come out on top in focus episode amount and Lana has a starter that is not comic relief, unlike Chespin or Oshawott, so her amount of episodes was also going to be high.

I'm kind of hoping that we'll get an interval in between the AF arc like in the games where they travel to the remaining islands for the trials. Lana and Kiawe got a fair skill and limelight boost in Akala, maybe Mallow and Sophocles will get one in Ula Ula or Poni.

Lillie is the deuteragonist with her and Snowy the key woobies, Kiawe and his team are the ensemble dark horses that hold up well even in minor roles, and while Lana and Sophocles fade into the background a bit too often, their limelight episodes tend to be pretty solid (while Togedemaru is primary comic relief). Mallow struggles to get anything noteworthy even in her own (rare) episodes while smacking Meowth or Rowlet tends to be the high point in Steenee's career.
 
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LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
I'm a bit astonished that people are basing the worth of this episode entirely on whether Mallow got a big battle or a new pokemon. I thought most criticisms about her were that she didn't have episodes dedicated to her? If nothing else this is an episode largely about her, that should be worth something. Instead it sounds more like some of you had really off expectations.

Thank you. I fully agree. Place this episode in previous generation, and the filler would have been a COTD having this problem with her dad, which people would have labeled as a boring COTD filler. Now, we have meaningful character development for our main character instead of a COTD, and people are complaining? I don't get it

And if it's the fact that it's a filler that bothers you, how can you really let that bother you after we've just had NINE straight episodes that weren't filler? After all that time, to finally get a filler but it's meaningful character development for a main character rather than a COTD filler... what a welcome surprise!

I guess I used the wrong word there, sorry. I meant to say 'fell over'.

No you didn't. You meant tripped. It's very easy to mistype tripped as stripped, especially if the latter is a word you use frequently and it's in your autocorrect bank. It would be very weird to have mistyped "fell over" as stripped. I'm not even sure how that can happen

I liked Oranguru but this episo

Excuse me?
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
Thank you. I fully agree. Place this episode in previous generation, and the filler would have been a COTD having this problem with her dad, which people would have labeled as a boring COTD filler. Now, we have meaningful character development for our main character instead of a COTD, and people are complaining? I don't get it

And if it's the fact that it's a filler that bothers you, how can you really let that bother you after we've just had NINE straight episodes that weren't filler? After all that time, to finally get a filler but it's meaningful character development for a main character rather than a COTD filler... what a welcome surprise!?

I think that's half the problem though, it's basically the same formula of old but with one of the main characters. Sure it offers a bit of development, but it suffers the same problems with Team Rocket and a guest Pokemon stealing the show halfway in and Mallow feeling like she lost a chance to gain star appeal and put her own flare into a story by solving a unique dilemma rather than being pin balled in a predictable battle more primarily between those two fractions. Like with the COTD episodes, the plot stops being about their own dilemma and cuts off to a predictable unrelated TR scheme. The fact the battle lasted so long considering the total lop sidedness and one-note gag of it also made it feel like padding. You can tell they don't know what to have Mallow do a whole episode.

Even just putting in TR in a more unique role like as rivals through their own fast food business who take advantage of the moment, and perhaps the Oranguru helping Mallow patch things up earlier into the episode, and she goes back and shows her stuff to get all her customers back, that could have been a way better, more character defining climax. Hell just cutting the TR curb stomp down to half it's time so we can have that last bit could have worked. Something to make what Mallow's about halfway interesting. We've already had the Pokemon restaurant plot line in said COTD stories, and Mallow's is ironically one of the least developed and vibrant.
 
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TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
I think that's half the problem though, it's basically the same formula of old but with one of the main characters. Sure it offers a bit of development, but it suffers the same problems with Team Rocket and a guest Pokemon stealing the show halfway in and Mallow feeling like she lost a chance to gain star appeal and put her own flare into a story by solving a unique dilemma rather than being pin balled in a predictable battle more primarily between those two fractions. Like with the COTD episodes, the plot stops being about their own dilemma and cuts off to a predictable unrelated TR scheme. The fact the battle lasted so long considering the total lop sidedness and one-note gag of it also made it feel like padding. You can tell they don't know what to have Mallow do a whole episode.

Even just putting in TR in a more unique role like as rivals through their own fast food business who take advantage of the moment, and perhaps the Oranguru helping Mallow patch things up earlier into the episode, and she goes back and shows her stuff to get all her customers back, that could have been a way better, more character defining climax. Hell just cutting the TR curb stomp down to half it's time so we can have that last bit could have worked. Something to make what Mallow's about halfway interesting. We've already had the Pokemon restaurant plot line in said COTD stories, and Mallow's is ironically one of the least developed and vibrant.

Yeah, why don't they just have a direct competition on food related things? TRio seem competent enough at malasadas and the kids did play baseball with them willingly
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
Yeah, why don't they just have a direct competition on food related things? TRio seem competent enough at malasadas and the kids did play baseball with them willingly

That's the annoying bit, the anime has made inventive food competitions (yeah Pokepuff baking wasn't amazing but it had some flash to it, especially Meowth's ones), Mallow should have no problem standing out or using Steenee in some intuitive way to her occupation. Even her previous episode, while also a bit underwhelming, did at least toy with Mallow being rather eccentric in food making, what with how she utilised Pikachu. Here there wasn't really anything particularly entertaining about the restaurant angle. Sure Mallow's disposition was pretty relatable (bosses pushing work and showing zero gratitude for it) but otherwise it was pretty mundane and relied on a by-the-numbers climax.

Even under the premise of it being a lazy straw loser type face-off it didn't really work because Steenee actually suffered badass decay in this episode and needed help against even Meowth.
 
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Leonhart

Imagineer
...Was Ash turning into a totem supposed to be funny? -_-
It's just sad how Mallow is literally the only character to get absolutely nothing out of her focus episodes. And even sadder how the TRio easily stole the show.
Mallow had a point though, her dad was annoying. They really need to do more with this poor girl, less Lillie and Lana, and more Mallow please.

7/10

Mao did seem to receive the short end of the stick here, but since she isn't exactly proactive to begin with given her lack of a major goal in SM, we should've always expected a lackluster plot for her.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
It's okay to cry, Mallow.

...After all, your j****** of a dad stole the whole development for himself from you. AND the screen time. Literally.

Man. This episode was this close in involving drunk people complaining about their relationships, but the implications are very obvious.
 
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