Pokemon Sun and Moon: Episode 12 Talk

Yes, odd thing for me to finally make a journal of after all this time, but whatever.

Sooooo, who saw episode 12 of Sun and Moon... where Team Rocket actually managed to best Ash's Rowlet and Pikachu? Very, very intriguing if you ask me. See, when we first saw Team Rocket set foot on Alola, we basically knew that they were there to work for the team itself and get Pokémon like usual. Then we saw the same Bewear that Ash and Pikachu first met in the forest sort of take a liking to them, in which it now serves as:

A.) Deus ex Machina, where it literally stopped them from taking Pikachu (and Mimikyu brutally attacking Pikachu for that matter) and helped Ash not have to ultimately regret what he could have lost aside from just a battle that happened by chance.
B.) Comedic relief as well as a way to break a specific common trope regarding Team Rocket. So far, Bewear always has been the thing that interrupts them blasting off again. Though honestly, I do not mind this, as I know that back in Unova (at least in the first half of the series where they truly made a new reputation for themselves) they did not blast off for a while, and actually made a professional exit.

Honestly though, episode 12 of the anime definitely was meant to be this way. I'm not sure what everybody's opinion of Ash's loss is, really. But I think that episode was meant to build Team Rocket a little. James getting a Mareanie is an interesting touch, being as it has been a while since Jessie and James got a Poison-type Pokémon on them. Not only that, but Mareanie obviously fills in the trope of James getting a Pokémon that usually hurts him unintentionally when sent out to battle. And to be fair, James' Mareanie is almost like an equivalent to Brock's Croagunk. At least, that's what I see. Not only that, but the setup at the end is definitely made it interesting. I never imagined that they'd think of using Bewear's tree as their now-current secret base of operations! Plus, it adds to the possibility that they just might catch Bewear after all.

Now in terms of Ash, I don't think this is the story people making him weak again. I feel that with him being able to beat the Normal Trail and Hala's Grand Trail as he did, he still is likely in good form, similar to how he was in Kalos. (But where the heck was Ilima?) But remember, he still only has two Pokémon so far. Pikachu is Pikachu, no duh. Rowlet on the other hand (while absolutely being one of the cutest teammates Ash has caught ever) still has room for development. Will he evolve though? Eeeeeeh, I would hope not. Don't get me wrong, I love Decidueye! I just think that Rowlet is cute as he is. But I do believe that like Ash's Scraggy, he is capable of eventually learning better moves.

Now, you could say that maybe Ash could've used a Z-Move against Team Rocket. But the most effective strategy in using a Z-Move during then was Pikachu using Gigavolt Havoc on Mareanie, because her Water-type (I believe Mareanie is obviously a girl) makes her weak to Electric-types. If Rowlet were to use Breakneck Blitz, the only effective use for it would've been Mareanie because Mimikyu's Ghost-type protects it from Normal moves. And yet one thing about Mareanie is that I doubt a sane person would want to physically attack it. Just look at it, and perhaps its moveset too.

But wait! That's not all. One thing I always liked about the anime was that Pokémon battles were more in the form of a real-time thing, and not like how the games were turn-based. Ash vs Team Rocket here was a Double Battle. You can use Z-Moves in Double Battles, yes. But the fact that the Z-Moves have quite a bit of length to its duration, and that this was 2-on-2, I'm led to believe that Ash having Pikachu use Gigavolt Havoc could've left Rowlet wide open to an attack. Not only that, but it's been made clear that Z-Moves here aren't always meant to be convenient plot devices.

So overall, I think I've fine with this outcome. Not only does it possibly set up development and new moves for Rowlet, but I think this also may give Ash the incentive to finally catch a third Pokémon here in Alola. Now I'm sure that won't be the case for episode 13 (so I assume), especially by its title. But I'm sure it may happen soon. Also, who thinks James' Mareanie could evolve into Toxipex? Just wanted to throw that out there.

Anyway, that's all I needed to say here. Other than that, yes, I've been busy with college. What can I say? But yeah, I'll try to be a little more active and whatnot. Other than that, I hope I helped fight your curiosity/boredom here. Until then, see ya next time!

-Steve

(Pictures made by Metamine10 and BelovedWithKindness)
(Skin made by Nessie-Noodlez)