Vanity Affair! (378)

[wobbanut]

I think this was a pretty good episode. It did smell like a slight rehash of "The Mandarin Island Miss Match", with Ash being taught *again* not to be too overconfident in pokemon battles, but at least Ash wasn't nearly so arrogant as he was in the second season episode. He has matured, at least. I guess I could say this episode shows how far he has come, and how far he has to go. He's matured, but he's still prone to falling back on his old attitudes.

On the more positive side, I liked how Team Rocket got to stand by quietly for most of the episode. Any time they get to share space with the twerps and get along is great. Chimecho was cute as always in this episode too. I smiled when James called it simply "chime" too. It was interesting too how Wobbuffet shows up in the fantasy sequence of them blasting off. They really have gotten used to him being out all the time.

Overall, 8/10. I do wish Ash's battle against Drake had gone a little better, but at least it was a decent episode. So far this season has been pretty good apart from the Relicanth episode.

 

[Silver Ryu]

Also, sorry if this question is dumb, but I know that TR stands for Team Rocket, but what does TC stand for??????

TC is Trainer's Choice.

 

[Pokemon Fan]

I just want to shoot the TV every time I see Ash have a "lesson" that he should've learned several seasons ago. The next fic I write will blatantly espouse my belief that even a toddler like Molly could beat Ash ...

oh wait...

she did... (well, she would've had she not quit).

See below for how this wasn't Ash relearning a lesson from several seasons ago, too many people are judging it be something its not.

As for Molly, did you ever think that her ability to win came from the fact she was using illusion pokemon that could NOT be beaten? The Unown altered reality enabling her to win regardless of how strong the opponent was.

I think this was a pretty good episode. It did smell like a slight rehash of "The Mandarin Island Miss Match", with Ash being taught *again* not to be too overconfident in pokemon battles, but at least Ash wasn't nearly so arrogant as he was in the second season episode. He has matured, at least. I guess I could say this episode shows how far he has come, and how far he has to go. He's matured, but he's still prone to falling back on his old attitudes.

Indeed, far too many people seem to have bad memories. Ash "overconfidence" in this episode was nothing compared to early seasons.

This episode was all about using confidence correctly, not another "OVERCONFIDENCE IS BAD!!" life lesson. This is the first episode were it was explained in detail how various types of confidence help and hinder you. No one before (not AJ or Prima/Lorelai) had ever given Ash a play by play lesson on why he lost various matches and errors in his thought procesesses. It was much deeper than usual, noting things that hadn't been before. I especially liked how Drake worded the points that knowing your own Pokemon's strength is only part of the equation, that you must gauge the opponent's strength as well (i.e Ash assumed Shelgon was taking more damage than it was), and that he needs to battle strong opponents without being concerned about such paltry things as losing.

And, not to spoil anything but Ash does remember this lesson for some time, at least in the Japanese version.

On the downside this is one of those episodes with good art but fairly bad animation...

 

[FlamingRuby]

I know I'm a bit late, but here are my notes after watching it on CD:

--Yay! Ash won!
--Oh, I'm unbeatable!
--With Team Rocket...
--Chimecho's cute...
--Drake sounds cool!
--Peppermint milk...I'll have to try that!
--Drake's ship is beautiful!
--Ash, if I were you, I would've used Grovyle for Shelgon...
--Game Set!
--You should've saved Pikachu for Altaria, Ash...
--Game Set! This match's winner is...DRAKE!
--Oh no! Team Rocket!
--Enter Salamence!
--Pikachu riding Salamence=cute and cool!
--See ya, Team Rocket!
--Dinner with Drake...
--The End!

 

[Kabuto]

The episode was good. A Hoenn Elite 4 trainer finally made a cameo except Steven whose cameo was mediocre. The episode had many great battles, and one of my favorite pokemon salamence. Ash learned the lesson once again that he learns by every elite 4 trainer, do not be too overconfident.

 

[grovile]

Grovile VS Altaria Again but this time he lose.
Good episode.

 

[Ash's Pika Pal]

I liked this episode's moral lesson,don't get to big of a head or you will end up loosing. The pepperment milk was priceless.

 

[Ashy Boy]

I didn't like Ash being too overconfident. It made him no better than Gary during the very first season.

 

[eonteam123456]

This was a brill episode, i loved the battle, it looked so fierce I switched channels so I didn't get to watch all of it.

 

[Battra]

Nothing like a member of the Hoen Elite Four to put any overconfident trainer in their place. Very nice to see Drake even if he's the only member of the Hoen Elite Four to make an appearance. Ash's battle with Drake was definitely one for the record books and that ship that Drake owns is very cool.

 

[uber gon]

I always thought Dragon Claw would look a bit more....savage.

The writers could've made three claws form from the glow effect.

 

[penngrade6]

I thought it was a fine episode to introduce Drake, but I thought the battles could have been better. And the Peppermint Milkshake was pure classic. I liked how it also teaches you not to be too be overconfident.

 

[bhrettzerda053]

The previous episode got banned, right? Here, it reminds me of Drake, the last Elite trainer do beat in the past games.

 

[CyberCubed]

The previous episode got banned, right?

Um, no it never did

 

[Tadashi]

Can Ash prove his worth against this Elite Trainer?

Yes and no.

No, certainly not in the battle outcome. But he got some good advice and experience in battling Drake, so perhaps Drake sees the potential there.

We can only hope that next time Ash battles an E4 member, he'll use that advice and get better in that battle.

 

[Igottapoo]

This was a good episode. It's no replacement for a real Elite 4 saga, but it's gets the job done. Great battle.

 

[(s.i.e)]

nice episode it had a great battle in it, let's say 8/10.

 

[Littlemyuu]

Nice episode, E4 battles are always great imo

 

[Surfer_Dude]

Yeah! Drake is awesome! SO is his slamance and altaria!
Altaria's sky attack looked awesome!

 

[Lorde]

I am so glad that Drake of the HoennElite Four showed up in the anime! While he isn't my favorite Hoenn Elite Four member, it was still quite the treat to see him in this episode. While his appearance was cool, I was disappointed that he battled Ash. It was like the Prima episode all over again, since Ash didn't stand a chance against a member of the Elite Four. The Elite Four should never face Ash, that's all. They're much too strong and Ash just ends up making a fool of himself. 6/10.