I've neglected to even write a review about this episode since I didn’t have time before, but I'll suck it up and write one today since I saw the episode at long last. So we finally get a Kibago-themed episode in the anime. It seems like the writers have purposely neglected to give us much back story to Iris and how she got her Kibago in the first place. As a result, I've often said that Kibago is a bland Pokemon and that I don't even notice it's in the anime since it's always just hiding inside of Iris' long hair. That was in the past though. Now, after watching this episode, I've come to respect Kibago a lot more and I think I might have even found some new respect for Iris. I didn't think much of her before but she sort of impressed me in this episode. Ok then, this episode starts off differently than others in several ways. There's a battle at the start of episode, however, this one isn’t like previous battles, since Ash isn't involved in this one! What a concept; have Ash sit out so he doesn't hog all the battle spotlight. Instead of Ash battling, we got to see Dento and Iris locked in a battle for some reason, though it might be explained later. Dento had his Yanappu out and Iris had her little Kibago out, which is like a first in Best Wishes so I was glad to see it playing a role for once.
As Ash was complaining about Iris battling Dento, we got some nice music in there but I don't recall where that plays in the games. When the focus shifted back to Iris and Kibago, we saw them getting pumped for the match which was a surprise. Like I said before, I didn't think Iris and Kibago had much fight in them but Iris looked ready to take charge and Kibago looked ready to fight. Dento told Yanappu something about going easy on Kibago and Yanappu understood. I guess Kibago is still too small to be in a serious battle. After the Opening credits (which were updated to include Darumakka and Hihidaruma btw), we had Iris tell Kibago to attack Yanappu with Scratch. We got some nice Isshu Wild Pokemon music there just as Kibago went forward to attack. I laughed at how cute it looked marching towards Yanappu without much haste. Dento then had his Yanappu use Bullet Seed, gently, on Kibago. It was funny watching Yanappu just walk to Kibago slowly haha. I almost fell over when Yanappu launched Bullet Seed and only one tiny seed hit Kibago's head at a time. Even Ash seemed surprised. Kibago apparently got hurt despite the attack being nothing more than tiny seeds and Iris had to rush in to rescue it from harm which was just sort of embarrassing but still kinda cute.
Apparently the battle was being fought to train Kibago since it didn't have much battle experience but the way things were going, it was just sort of hilarious to watch Kibago cry so easily. After Iris explained why she had asked Dento for the battle, she had Kibago use Scratch on Yanappu once more though Yanappu was able to grab Kibago by the horn and stop the attack from even hurting it. Dento then had Yanappu charge Solarbeam which I thought was a bit much for this practice battle. Iris didn't know what to do but then Yanappu launched the Solarbeam! Unfortunately, it was the smallest, weakest Solarbeam attack ever yet Kibago still got hurt. I laughed even harder when Kibago fell down in slow motion and it's voice was all slow haha. It just sort of fell and tumbled away. Ash tried giving Iris battling tips but she said she already knew what to do. Sure Iris, sure. Iris stunned me when she told Kibago to use Dragon Rage on Yanappu though, since I thought she was bluffing about it having a super-powerful attack. Ugh. That was short-lived as Kibago's attack didn't go off too well and it created a crater right where it was standing and Dento, Ash, and Iris were all left with burn marks everywhere. Haha, Ash looked so freaking funny in his
pose. Anyway, Kibago had power, but it wasn't able to control it yet apparently. I guess the battle was supposed to help it learn control.
Meanwhile at some old-looking abandoned building somewhere, Team Rocket were checking their e-mail, I mean, checking for their mission update from Giovanni. Giovanni told them that their next mission would be at the Resort Desert, which is located north of Hiun City. Giovanni then talked about a meteor that apparently collided with the Pokemon World a long time ago and we got some nice animation of it right there. He then continued by talking about how the meteor caused the main continent in the Pokemon World to split and about how the area where the meteor landed, the Resort Desert, was emitting energy waves that Team Rocket was supposed to research. Wow, tough mission there. At the end, Giovanni gave Team Rocket information about some guy they needed to talk to, and he looked a lot like Takuto from Sinnoh. Odd lol. Anyway, back in the forest Iris was feeling down about Kibago not having perfected it's Dragon Rage attack yet. Ash and Dento arrived to try and cheer her up which was really sweet. Iris yelled at Ash though for some reason. Iris explained more about how Dragon Rare works and we got a glimpse of an Ononokusu during her explanation. A hint, perhaps? Kibago then went to pick some apples from a nearby tree, and Pikachu followed it. It then used it's tusks to carry then over to Iris which was interesting to see. Kibago seems like a nice Pokemon even if it can't battle.
Kibago and Pikachu went off again and then Ash asked Iris if he could help battle against Kibago to get it to learn how to control it's Dragon Rage attack. Iris refused though, since apparently, she didn't want to lose against Ash. Well, I guess Ash would have won the battle so it makes sense to refuse to battle him to begin with. Ash then asked Iris how she got Kibago to begin with and she said something about an "Obaba-sama". Iris then explained about her home village and we got to see a village with wild Kibago and Onondo running around. I had to wonder if that was near Souryuu City though, since it was dragon-themed. An old lady gave Kibago to Iris and then explained how Kibago would make a great Ononokusu someday. Iris then went on her journey apparently. Well at least now we know more about Iris and Kibago. Ash then asked Iris the question I was wondering as well; was this Obaba-sama, her grandmother, but Iris said she was only the village leader. Hmm. Iris then noticed that her Kibago had suddenly disappeared! Back at some trees, Kibago was trying to pick an apple while Pikachu tried to call it to come back. However, Kibago fell off the tree when it got the apple, and landed on a Pendoraa's head! The Pendoraa then woke up and started trying to shake Kibago off of it's head. I was amazed though, that Pendoraa could be so large; I had expected something a little smaller.
Pikachu quickly leapt into action and used it's Iron Tail against the Pendoraa but it wasn't very effective due to Pendoraa's scales. Pendoraa then sort of knocked Pikachu into a tree which must've hurt. The Pendoraa then started charging after Pikachu as Pikachu tried to apologize and explain. The Pendoraa didn't listen though, and crushed the tree Pikachu had slammed into. It then proceeded to chase Pikachu around the forest, while Kibago was still on it's head. I was wondering how Kibago would let the others know about it's location but then it used it's Dragon Rage attack and there was a huge explosion. Ash and the others saw it and as they ran towards it, they found Pikachu in the bushes. They asked Pikachu about Kibago and then Pikachu did those old Pokemon impersonations again and I laughed when it tried to imitate Pendoraa since it actually looked accurate. Ash still didn't understand though, but at that moment, the Pendoraa appeared nearby! Ash and friends noticed that Kibago was on top of Pendoraa's head and then Ash did something stupid; he scanned Pendoraa in his Pokedex. I mean really? There's a crisis but you go ahead and act like nothing's happening? Weirdo. Pendoraa then started chasing Ash, Iris, and Dento while sending out a Poison-type attack of some kind. It looked like Toxic but it acted like Acid since it was able to melt solid rock. Geez, a little too violent there, as that attack could've easily killed Ash and friends.
Ash then asked Dento to help him stop Pendoraa which I thought took them long enough to do. Dento
faaaabulously sent out his trusty Yanappu and Ash sent out his Tsutarja to battle Pendoraa. We got some nice battle music again just as Yanappu used Bullet Seed on Pendoraa's feet. Hey, it actually hurt Pendoraa despite the whole type disadvantage thing. Tsutarja then grabbed Pendoraa's horns with Vine Whip, but that didn't work and Tsutarja was just swung around a bit before Ash caught it. Huh. Just as things looked bad, Iris revealed that she had a hidden Pokeball with her! Ash and Dento were surprised but pleased, though Iris looked nervous about using the Pokemon inside. When she finally tossed the Pokeball, a Doryuzu was revealed to be inside. It looked odd though, like a rocket. Ash scanned it in the Pokedex and then noted that it didn't look like the one in the Pokedex. Obviously. Iris tried to talk to Doryuzu but she got mad when it wouldn't respond. Iris then shocked me as she asked Ash and Dento to restrain Pendoraa so she could rescue Kibago herself, since it was her trusted partner. I liked that since she took charge for once haha. Ash sent out Pokabu and had it use Ember while Pikachu used Thunderbolt. The attacks hit Pendoraa's feet, stopping it. Yanappu then used Solarbeam and injured/blinded Pendoraa while Iris swung down from a tree and she grabbed Kibago by it's foot. Kibago was saved! Hooray for teamwork!
I seriously thought things were over by then, but I was wrong again. That Pendoraa turned on Iris and kicked Doryuzu aside like it was nothing. Just as Doryuzu landed on a rock, it starting to use it's drill to Dig into the ground. It then appeared underneath Pendoraa and hit it with it's drill, finally appearing in it's true form which was amazing to finally see. I wondered why Doryuzu was finally fighting Pendoraa but it was obvious after a few moments that it was angry about Pendoraa having kicked it, and it wanted revenge. Anyway, Pendoraa used Toxic against Doryuzu but since Doryuzu is also a Steel-type Pokemon, it didn't even have an effect and Doryuzu just sort of countered that attack with it's claw. Doryuzu was able to attack the Pendoraa with Drill Liner after that which was even better than it's previous Dig attack. Doryuzu then sent Pendoraa flying off into the sky, just like Team Rocket used to back in the old days, which was odd to see. Iris yelled out her apology to Pendoraa though, which was sort of unnecessary. It was Kibago's fault that all of that drama had occurred but still, saying you're sorry after beating it up doesn't change a thing. Just as things looked to have calmed down, Doryuzu shocked me by yelling out in victory after it had defeated Pendoraa. I guess Doryuzu and Iris have more in common than I had previously thought; they both like yelling haha.
Iris thanked her Doryuzu for having defeated Pendoraa for them, though Doryuzu didn't seem to care much about that and only seemed to have done it to get some revenge and maybe some peace and quiet. It then went back into it's inactive state, which surprised Dento and bugged Iris a bit. Iris returned the now-useless Doryuzu back into it's Pokeball and thought about how they would one day be able to battle together. I hope that day doesn't come since we've had enough Pokemon with behavioral problems turning out all right at some point; it's too sappy. Iris apologized to Kibago though he looked happy enough and he looked glad to be back with Iris. How sweet. Ash still wanted to battle Iris and Kibago but Iris still didn't want to so Ash just sort of...battled Pikachu, himself. Yeah, I was shocked to see Pikachu using Thunderbolt and then Volt Tackle against Ash, but apparently that was supposed to be cute or something? It was the oddest ending I've ever seen and I hope they never show that again haha. Anyway, this episode made me appreciate Kibago and Iris at long last after 8 episodes of those two characters being nothing but complete mysteries to me. Looks like Best Wishes will have tons of character development in the future. This episode was really funny in most parts and it served a purpose so I'm going to go ahead and give it a rating of
9/10. Looks like Best Wishes is getting better with age! Well then, stay
faaaabulous~