Recap: A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition

Hello again. Given all the circumstances with my grandfather; I have decided to switch up my plans to detox from Yo-Kai Watch. You will still see one of my planned pieces to do so after I go see my extended family in New York; but I thought I would do something to tie into that.

By that proxy; this is my first Pokémon episode recap in months, since I did “The Fires of A Red-Hot Reunion” to help kick off the festivities for the 20th anniversary in February. It’s also, as promised; an opportunity to explain how I don’t really fit in with the current trend of bashing Generation V on principle. I can honestly say I enjoyed the Black and White segment of the franchise; as it played a large part helping shape the resurgence in the popularity of Pokémon we have now.

Personally, even though I initially had issues with parts of Generation III; on the whole, I can definitely say it had a similar impact. Hell, even Johto and Sinnoh had their fair share of detractors before people mellowed out about them. While it remains to be seen whether or not this notion of throwing shade at BW will fade away; I intend to do this recap as someone who never had all that many issues with this anime, and still doesn’t. There are a handful of episodes from Best Wishes that I disliked; but there’ll be another time to cover them. So, let’s open up “A Fishing Connoisseur in A Fishy Competition” and take a look.

Please note that this episode had to be reworked because of the disaster in Tohoku; resulting in it being an episode that was banned temporarily due to the tragedy. The original Rocket VS Plasma 2-parter, on the other hand ended up being indefinitely postponed because of the disaster; and was subsequently rewritten into Episode N when the Black 2 and White 2 games were released. So let’s get started.

We open with Ash, Iris and Cilan on their way to Nimbasa City for Ash’s next gym battle. I am also considering doing a gym battle showcase next year; but my priority is still on the movies. This is just me needing a breather for now.

They walk by the riverbank as they go along their way. What could possibly go wrong?

Surprise surprise! He’s knocked into the river by his good friend, Bianca! No relation to that lady from Heroes (which I will cover soon); this one is a bit of a goofball.

We then get the BW opening, which I still think is very relaxing as the TCPI themes go (though I am enjoying the hard rock sound of the XYZ theme, “Stand Tall”).

After that, we get the title card; and I rather like how the BW title cards are simple, yet showy at the same time.

We then see Ash and Pikachu drying his clothes right there in the middle of the sidewalk. I’ve seen some weird stuff; so the sight of a 10-year-old kid in his underwear in a stand-in for a city with at least 16 million people doesn’t really faze me anymore.

Let's be honest, this is not the worst thing you've caught me doing.

When Bianca tells them about the fishing tournament; Cilan is ecstatic. There we go! This version of the character took his game counterpart’s relatively timid persona and turned it into a man who gets genuinely enthusiastic about whatever he talks about! Much prefer that to how dull Alan is (unless the remainder of XYZ can do something with him; my chance of liking him has essentially dropped to zero).

We then get an imagine spot detailing his love of fishing; and regardless of which version you’re watching, you can really get a sense of how much he enjoys whatever is on tap for that day.

Cilan then declares his intent to enter and win the tournament. Atta boy! Again, my exact words were that I don’t do tournament arcs. Informal tournaments like this episode are doable in the time I have set aside for this blog.

Bianca wonders if there’s such a thing as a “fishing connoisseur” when Cilan mentions he’s one. Why sure. It’s like how the term “otaku” can reach far beyond the traditional association with anime, manga, video games and Japanese culture in general. You could technically declare yourself an otaku of something like Star Trek and your enthusiasm would have the same level of impact. Google it sometime; I’m sure you’ll be surprised at what you’d find. 

Naturally, the whole tourney is a setup by Team Rocket so they can-what else?-take over Unova. 

I must say; the animation of this anime definitely showed off the fact that it was the first fully-HD saga of the series. I particularly like how a lot of the facial expressions are handled; such as Cilan’s smirk at the Poké Ball in his hand.

I say, this will be a jolly good show, lads!

Whoever catches the biggest water Pokémon wins a golden fishing rod; and Jessie and James wish everyone the best of luck.

Cilan, of course, has his own rod and reel that can fit in a pen! Isn’t that something?

Bianca tries to cast, but accidentally snags Ash’s shirt. Wouldn’t be the first time he’s been catch of the day.

Naturally, Cilan is more than willing to help Bianca as a first-timer after he unhooks Ash. I kind of like moments like this that show off how each series has its own unique character dynamics. Even if not everything is perfect; at the end of the day, they’re still good friends.

At the end of his demonstration; Cilan has got a blue-striped Basculin!

Now, the real challenge begins as CIlan demonstrates the dance of fishing, as he calls it.

He sends out Pansage to battle; but Basculin quickly gets the upper hand.

Passage is able to turn things around with Bullet Seed; overcoming Basculin’s edge in the water!

With one last Solarbeam, Cilan captures the Basculin! 

Undeterred, Iris declares Cilan will not be ahead for long!

She goes to another spot, and decides that she’ll make a bigger catch than Cilan; but as she finds out, the waiting is the hardest part.

Dramatization of me waiting for me to upgrade my phone to one that can play Pokémon Go.

Tired of waiting, Iris then decides to take another course of action. As for this Redakai bumper at the bottom of the screen: that was a terrible show. I encourage anyone who has issues with this anime to watch a lot of that before ever issuing a complaint about a merchandise-driven series again. It also has me seriously considering making a list of Top 13 Worst Anime-Influenced Western Shows in the near future. Don’t worry, I’ll also do a Top 13 Best Anime-Influenced Western Shows to offset it.

She takes off her pants and shoes to get ready to dive in the water and catch a Pokémon with her bare hands. Before you get any ideas: to my knowledge, she’s 10. Get your mind out of the gutter!

She dives into the water and actually does manage to catch a Basculin, which unfortunately gets her penalized by James as a result. I know I could make a joke about this, but I’m above the one I’m thinking of. So, here’s some music I’ve been listening to lately instead.

Bianca then bags a female Frillish! It’s so cute! I want one!

Yet, Ash’s reaction is less than stellar. Come on! She just wants a hug!

Even so, Ash is writhing and twitching in her tentacles. No comment there.

His friends try to free him as Bianca looks on. Good grief, it’s a running gag. I just got back from the new Ghostbusters; so I’m not particularly inclined to start making jokes of this caliber right now. Besides, I laughed my ass off at it, vitriolic backlash be damned.

Pikachu manages to free everyone with a thunderbolt. One of my few disappointments with this episode was that Ash didn’t catch that Frillish. Still, I simply do not share the vitriol others have towards Best Wishes. Again, while there were some episodes I didn’t enjoy, that can wait for now. 

Team Rocket then catches wind of this scuffle, and decide to simply get out while the getting’s good. One thing I like about this series; as well as something that could potentially be used for a more straightforward Pokémon live-action film if the Detective Pikachu movie is a hit: Team Rocket are depicted here as competent villains rather than the ineffectual sympathetic villain character type they usually exhibit. While some people prefer their usual Wile E. Coyote infused schemes; personally, I found this to be pretty refreshing. It got downplayed as the saga went on; and as of the XY series, they’re back to their usual selves (to the point where I’m glad Team Flare did away with the campier aspects of their game personae in favor of embracing the malice of their leader, Lysander. Would have been redundant otherwise.).

Then, their getaway boat is sent upstream by the same mischievous Frillish!

Needless to say, everyone is surprised at their judges’ attempt at a sudden exit.

Bianca then points out all the Poké Balls in the bags. Well, what were you expecting? The dirty laundry? The whites? 

With their Unova motto, I rather appreciate how faithfully they translated their motto. As for the confusing continuity their exit creates: it’s simply due to circumstances. After the events of the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami; many people, myself included; were not in the mood for a silly animated TV series. 

As for the Rocket VS Plasma two-parter: there’ll be another time to address what led to their being blacklisted.

They try to make off with their captures, but leave it to this goofy Frillish to set them all free! Now that’s something that they should have factored in: one pink jellyfish to screw up their plans.

At that point, they decide to just cut their losses and escape on jetpack.

You think this was absurd? Wait till Universal gets someone to so shout "Action" on Detective Pikachu!

Cilan then finds the prize rod in the wreckage of their shack; and discovers it’s just an Old Rod spray-painted gold! Well, that was a bigger ripoff than Robopon! Go watch J-Wittz’s review to see what that game was like.

So, we close on Ash, Iris and Cilan continuing on their way to Nimbasa City; and Bianca bids them farewell for now. She also joyfully declares to catch up to Ash in his journey. Well; still prefer that to Alan being so downbeat all the time. Don’t worry, that’s probably the last time I’ll be throwing shade at Alan till I’m back from vacation in New York.

“A Fishing Connoisseur in a Fishy Competition” is a great example of how I don’t consider Unova to be that bad a chapter in the Pokémon canon. Far from it. I have not changed my positive appraisal of the series that initially had, and it’s highly unlikely I’ll do so given how this year has been so far. While it is clear the episode had to be reanimated and re-edited because of what happened in Tohoku; it still manages to give us plenty of colorful animation and amusing antics from the characters it was given. I mean, who would you rather talk to: a laid-back young man or some depressing emo teenager?

I do have other episodes I want to address, including some bad ones; but they can wait. My next big Pokémon-related recap will be my look at Pokémon Heroes, along with some of the other Pokémon movies. I’m not sure how many I’ll be able to do; but I at least want to keep going until Sun and Moon come out. You should see it after I come back from New York. I’m also going to be upgrading my phone to one that can run Pokémon Go, so I’ll let you know how I feel about that game as a lifelong fan. See you, space cowboy.