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Pokémon Shipwreck (016)

Bianca~

Almost Never Online.
This is one of my all-time favorite episodes of any anime. Forcing TR and Ash+Co. to work together was brilliant. Pikachu showed its dark side, too.

Side note: The voice actors for Jessie and James really did a good job in my opinion. (Dubbed) TR's voices are some of my favorites out of all the anime I've seen. (Mostly subbed)
 

Vernikova

Champion
Watching this episode again, the only part I liked about it was when they were stuck on the raft complaining about how hungry they were. I just felt that this three episode adventure that they have wasn't that strong at all though this episode wasn't the worst of them. You have to love how Magikarp evolves when James gets rid of it.
 

Calamity™

aka Lamia
This episode just oozed brilliance. I loved how Team Rocket and the twerps had to work together and it was quite nice to see that they could put their differences aside to... well survive! It was funny to see how Magikarp evolved into Gyarados as soon as James ditches it. James must have an awful lot of bad luck!
 
James laughing and sending out Magikarp was so epic! James should've called Gyarados back in his PokeBall and give it to Giovanni, then he would have a strong Pokemon, be satisfied and give Jessie, James and Meowth promotion... Keeping Gyarados theirselves would not be an option, Gyarados would never listen to James. 10/10.
 

7threst

Well-Known Member
In my opinion, this episode symbolizes the good aspects of what made Kanto so good. The over-the-top story, the humorous parts implemented within a serious story. This episode was probably another "blockbuster episode" out of the entire Kanto saga. And oh did I like Team Rocket and Ash and his friends working together xD.
 

Blessed

Well-Known Member
Another excellent episode, I wonder if the gang were reported dead to their families though? It's an interesting question/idea to be honest. Anyway It was great to see Team Rocket along with Ash, Misty, & Brock working together to get out of the St. Anne ship. Nice to see Misty take the initiative and lead the gang to safety too. The Magikarp/Gyrados at the end was so unexpected but I suppose it needed to get it's revenge on James for mistreating it. I liked the cliffhanger.
 
So apparently everyone in town thought Jessie, James, Meowth, Ash, Pikachu, Brock and Misty were dead but were their families told? No. No they were not.

As for the rest of the episode, it had potential to be better but it came off as boring at least IMO.
 

Lucille

Well-Known Member
The scenes of everyone imagining how they would eat Magikarp always makes me laugh
 
I would have been the same way as James. I wouldn't have crossed those vines either. If you fall, it's over. (O.O) But, I wish James would have returned Gyarados, it would have been awesome on his team.
 

Steampunk

One Truth Prevails
i love how they made the ash-gang team up with team rocket.

And james' magikarp evolving was priceless XD
"I'm James your master, obey me."
ROOOOOAAAAAAR
"eeehhh!"
"if you're master dont act like you're scared of it!"
"but i am scared!"
 

Kutie Pie

"It is my destiny."
“Holy Titanic!” =_= Narrator, I love you, but... these jokes...

This really is indeed one of my favorite episodes, both from my childhood and now. There is a reason how even after all these years, I remembered what went on in this episode. For starters, this is that rare episode where the characters are actually in peril; they are underwater about to topple into the deep abyss (though that's some luck even for a show for the St. Anne to land on a piece of protruding rock). And yet despite all of that, it still manages to make it one of the funnier episodes—complete with dark humor. Another is that the pacing is well-done in this episode. Everything flowed in a nice way that it made for a great story-telling. Episode 15 was okay, though the catalyst of Team Rocket taking over and everyone fighting back was what led to the rising action of this episode, which would continue into the next episode where we would get a pretty cool climax.

The beginning is very somber for a Pokémon episode, one you would not expect in a children's show, to be honest. They don't directly say they died, per se, but it's very obvious it's a memorial service with somber music and a bouquet of flowers thrown into the water. It's beautiful. (I have to wonder if Vermilion City still thinks they're dead—because I'm pretty sure that was the Vermilion City police.)

And then after that, Ash is woken up to find out he's upside-down, and physics takes over in time for him to land on Pikachu. Classic. Team Rocket's day-dream is just as funny, though James makes it funnier with the “burning” repetition. The sultry way he says it is just perfect. Eric Stuart really makes James pop like that, and this episode really shows it. How it is they didn't burn automatically makes me scratch my head, but this is Team Rocket we're talking about. They can survive just about anything—even drowning. My God, their first drowning scene was pretty graphic, I don't blame Ash and the others from freaking out. But then they drown a second time later on (though it's not as graphic), and their screams of “ZOMBIES” just further proves it was a set up for a small gag and dark humor (a scarcity in Pokémon).

Anyway, after their first drowning, when they get up to fight Ash and Brock and they release their Pokémon, my favorite scene happens. For about a minute, they struggle to keep the ship from tilting with eight Pokémon and five humans all with different weights. Geodude especially gets the honor of actually being funny in how it hops over at one point just to be ordered by Brock to return to him xD. (Though how odd that Onix doesn't make the ship move, yet other Pokémon did... oh well, plot convenience.)

I also love how this is the one rare episode where Ash and Team Rocket work together, albeit hesitantly. But even then they don't completely cooperate. They were basically going to leave Team Rocket behind as they talked to one another how they're never going to leave each other (which is one of my favorite Rocketshipping moments, honestly), and when they cut a hole in the hull and escape with Water Pokémon. Misty could've given them her Staryu, really.

But if she had, we wouldn't have had the honor of the Magikarp Chekhov's Gun for a nice piece of dark humor. James being so proud of having a Magikarp is so funny, he's so confident in it (his eyes say all, which is why I screen-captured it for my screen saver), but then after several seconds, they realize how useless it is. Meowth's joke was great, “Forget swimming, it can barely splash.” I just have to wonder how they managed to get out.

Them drooling over Magikarp while they're on a make-shift raft was great. It was them realizing Magikarp isn't edible was what got James to kick it with his now-infamous magical boot that causes any Pokémon he kicks to evolve. Remember that I did not play the games at this point, though I don't think I've had that Pokémon book that showed all (then) 151 Pokémon yet. So I did not know that Magikarp could evolve into such an awful (as in scary, because Gyarados is awesome) Pokémon. (By the way, “I'm James, your master. Obey me.” X3 Pfft, now he's proud of his Pokémon until it roars and he gets all wimpy.)

Gyarados was shown in an amazing way here, they really wanted to prove that it was as terrible as it was said to be. And you know what, they succeeded. This end of the episode was very nightmarish, it's much more scarier than the giant Dragonite. If Misty, the Water Pokémon trainer of the group, is very antsy about them escaping Gyarados, then you know how much you're in trouble. Dragon Rage in this context was especially frightening, the music being part of it. Misty saying no one's ever escaped Dragon Rage is probably true (though it's possible some sailors have survived a Gyarados attack in order to tell such stories), since its Accuracy rating is 100%.

Damn, Pokémon, you scary. (But I still wish you were real.)

This was a much crueler cliffhanger, that water cyclone at the very end really stuck with me for all these years. I wouldn't say I was traumatized (I've seen much scarier before then), but for a six-year-old, that was something, especially when you've come to like the characters. I guess for the time, we were lucky Pokémon aired throughout the week, so we (unlike the Japanese audience) didn't have to wait until the following Saturday to see if they made it out alive. But hey, the next episode is an awesome episode (and another personal favorite), so no matter if we had to wait for a week, we were in for a treat.
 
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I totally forgot, until I watched this episode again just today, that this, the previous, and the next episode were a... I'll say 'pseudo three-part-episode'.
I always enjoy episodes where Team Rocket and the twerps have to work together on something, even though they're enemies to each other.

...So, apparently Onix is as light as a feather compared to everyone else put together.

Best moment of the whole episode (at least to me): James kicking Magikarp. just to have it evolve in to a Gyarados.
 

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
I really liked the memorial scene at the start; it made Ash's situation seem more intense in my opinion. Seeing the St. Anne upside down was really cool as well; I especially liked how Team Rocket got burned by the upside down stoves as they were dreaming. I felt bad for James's Magikarp when he kicked it, but the Gyarados' Dragon Rage made me scream.
 

Ascended Dialga

Well-Known Member
I had this episode, Island of the Giant Pokemon, and Tentacool and Tentacruel on VHS. I watched it many times back in the day. I gotta say, this episode is very memorable. I liked the tension of the group being in great danger, the element of survival, and every character using their Pokemon to help get them out of it
 

Mrs. Oreo

Banned
I'm a fan of Ash and Team rocket working together so I was pleased to see them work as a team to escape the ship. The Magikarp dish fantasies were funny and Magikarp evolving to Gyarados and chasing the raft was exciting to watch.
 

Mega Altaria

☆~Shiny hunter▢~
A good old favourite episode of mine. At least there was a commemoration of the missing passengers but the most memorable part was James getting a Magikarp. I got excited that it evolved into Gyarados but disappointed that it left.
 

Mrs. Oreo

Banned
That was the worst part since TR had put Ash through hell before. Ash should've let them drown lol.

Well Ash is kind hearted, so I wasn't surprised that his group helped Team rocket even tho Team rocket might not have deserved the sympathy. Ash's group is capable of forgiving villains after all. :)
 

Gillachu

Banned
Well Ash is kind hearted, so I wasn't surprised that his group helped Team rocket even tho Team rocket might not have deserved the sympathy. Ash's group is capable of forgiving villains after all. :)

More like Ash and his pals were being naive, but I'll agree to disagree. ;)
 
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