Recap: A Double Dilemma

Hello again. Well, the time has finally arrived. I've been telling you about it all year,

now I'm finally going to do it. I am going to recap what is charitably the worst episode of Pokémon I've ever seen, “A Double Dilemma.”

I've always had a fondness for Pokémon. I just feel that it's directly tied to my fascination with anime, being the first series I ever watched. The Pokémon anime has been

a strange bird, changing very little in story structure since its inception; yet remaining popular

despite its infamous reputation for filler in the Johto arc. However, I've always been baffled

how people consider Johto or Sinnoh the worst arc in the series but always manage to give

Hoenn a free pass.

I am in the minority that likes Johto, and also find Sinnoh to be one of the most well- plotted arcs in the show. I feel quite indifferent to Hoenn. Not that I hate it, I just feel that

people talk about how much they like it in comparison to other arcs of the show. In fairness,

it did introduce the idea of contests to the show, and helped Pokémon remain relevant in an age

where to like it was to be ridiculed and belittled by those around you.

However, it did occasionally produce some very bad episodes; almost as bad what you'd

expect from something like Space Thunder Kids or Beauty and Warrior. Therefore, let's open

up “A Double Dilemma.”

We open on Ash, May, Max, and Brock arriving in North Petalburg; a suburb of Petalburg City. Ash expresses his excitement for his upcoming gym battle with Norman.

Once again, the theme song is “This Dream.” I've talked about “This Dream” before.

No need to talk about it again, I have bigger fish to fry.

We get our title card, an indication of the emptiness this episode can leave in a person;

and the void it left in me.

The gang enters into the local Pokémon Center, and Brock once again does his schtick

of hitting on Nurse Joy. Max pulls him away by his ear. I'm not going to talk much about Max,

I have bigger concerns tonight.

A vegetable merchant sees May and Max; and notes that people are going to go crazy

once they find out they're here. The merchant's name is Rosa, not to be confused with the female player character of Pokémon Black 2 and White 2.

Sure enough, May and Max are hounded by a mob of people and a couple reporters

as they get out the door. I have a few rants prepared for what they'll do later. For now, I'll point

out this stinker was written by Junki Takegami, who also wrote some really good episodes; like

Bianca's first appearance, the departure of Jessie's Dustox, and two-thirds of the Sabrina arc.

I wonder what the Japanese term for Alan Smithee is.

Is it true that Chewbacca and the other Wookiees do not come from Endor?

The male reporter's name is D. Dunstan, a less-than-subtle reference to Darren Dunstan.

And people thought that Stephen Colbert wanted to get his name on everything.

Anyway, they ask May and Max questions about what it's like to be the children of

Norman; a famous gym leader. Way back in my recap of “Love, Petalburg Style”, I mentioned

how I would need to talk about this. The notion that Norman is famous is incredibly overblown

and unnecessary, and it goes to ludicrous levels in this episode. I shall continue to talk about

how North Petalburg's perception of their idol negatively impacts the episode as a whole.

May replies with her status as a Coordinator; and goes on to say that she's not very good.

Well, you look like any sane person would when mobbed by a gaggle of creepy hangers-on.

Mainly because you're one of the few sane people in this episode. She shows the crowd the two

ribbons she has won through that point. The crowd then stares in awe.

If you look closely, you can see the franchise slipping away!

Ash interjects to show the crowd his badges; as well as announce his challenge to

Norman. It always baffles me how 4Kids demanded that the Poké Ball symbol on his badge

case be turned into a red line. It's the same symbol on his hat, for corn's sake!

The crowd shoves Ash away; talking down to him. All right, folks. The first time I did

an entry on this show, I was criticizing cluelessness of adultery. Now, I'm criticizing the fact

that an entire town appears to be acting like arrogant dillweeds to a person they barely know.

I'm going to keep at it too.

Enter Team Rocket, the resident Wile E. Coyote types; wandering through North Petalburg looking for something to eat. They notice the popularity of Norman and get an idea

about how to exploit this.

So, Team Rocket decides to disguise themselves and sell autographs. James is Norman,

Jessie is Caroline, Meowth is May, and Wobuffet is Max. Oh my god. Even by Pokémon

standards, this is nonsensical. This is going to be a long half hour.

For some reason, the other citizens of North Petalburg bite. They do question how Max

is all blue, but quickly brush it off. Meowth also notes how “she” shrank on “her” journey.

Like the Wii! It lost its Gamecube backward compatibility and online capability when it shrank!

Dunstan continues to hound May about her accomplishments. She shows off a contest

move and Dunstan notes he could use it for his articles. North Petalburg News! Fair and Balanced Towards All Pokémon Trainers!

Max says that they should get out of there. May, listen to your brother. These people

are like shoppers hunting for toaster ovens on Black Friday.

Meanwhile, Ash is approached by a group of kids. They immediately start talking down

to him, saying he isn't worthy to challenge Norman. What's with these droogs? Did I mistakenly

put on my copy of Akira?

Here is what I hate about this episode. The citizens of this town are so blind in their

devotion to their idols that they'll project upon anyone who they deem isn't up to snuff. This

is simply deplorable; given how society in Pokémon has previously been established to accept

any challenge, no matter who it's from.

One of the kids challenges Ash to a battle, sending out a Golduck. Ash counters with

a Grovyle, and beats the kid handily. You know, this episode feels like a bad day at work or school. You just want to get it over with and do something else.

Anyway, more kids decide to challenge Ash. What is this, The Warriors? Why does an

entire town want to fight one 10-year-old on his adventure?

For a moment, it cuts back to May continuing to do things for the amusement of the crowd; such as making her Skitty juggle. Another thing I'm bringing up here- the pacing is

all over the place. Normally, the episodes have a solid idea of beginning, middle, end.

Here, it's like someone's film school project on Adderall.

Soon enough, a whole caucus of kids has lined up to challenge Ash. Well, that escalated

quickly. Why not just have them take place in a crappy parody game while you're at it?

The remake of Oldboy got hit with production troubles right out of the gate.

Oh dearie dear, we're only halfway through this. Even so, Ash decides to take them all

on in a show of courage. Amazingly, he wins.

Rosa catches wind of Ash's display, and proposes that May face Ash. Perhaps there's something I'm missing here. Maybe there's some sort of social commentary beneath all this. Maybe the fact North Petalburg puts their stock in Norman and his family is that their town is an otherwise dead district of Hoenn and having a connection to him brings in tourism money. Maybe their city was ravaged by Team Magma or Aqua and they need something to believe in. Maybe they hold Norman in such a high regard that to sway to anyone else is unthinkable! Maybe I'm just over-thinking this.

So, Rosa-I'm not kidding-actually brings May and Max in on a Palanquin to face Ash.

Rosa, Annie Wilkes called, she thinks you're crazy!

The moment they reach Ash, the townsfolk accuse him of causing trouble solely because

he wants to face Norman. Oh, for the love of Mew-he's not the problem here, you are! Hard to

believe you actually have to resort to Neo-McCarthyism just because the lead character wants

to challenge your beloved Norman! You hear me? Red scare stuff!

Ash and Brock remark on the illogic of the situation. Even the people in the show know

this makes no sense! It's like if you can't have him, no one can!

Dunstan remarks that if May wins, it will make a great article. So now you're bringing

yellow publishing into this? … Look, I know the “Dubya” years were tough, but I just can't

fathom this coming from him!

Max makes a remark about the battle. He points out this whole battle is just feeding

into their ego, and it's already the size of the Goodyear blimp. Rosa is going to be the judge,

which is not what that woman needs. Some estrogen would be of more use.

Ash says he feels all tired out. I'm tired out too. Watching this episode will do that to

a person. The bias the town holds gets no better throughout the battle, constantly jeering Ash

just because he's not May and therefore; not related to Norman. This town needs an enema.

Combusken ends up roasting Ash, and Rosa declares May the winner because of this.

I'm sure on some planet, Rosa's judgment is sound. The only problem is, this is Earth.

They then realize that they've been had; as Team Rocket reveals themselves. Dunstan

exclaims, “who the Pokémon are you?” … That has to be the worst possible thing you could

say right there. Dunstan, if I had my way, you wouldn't be able to get a job reporting on bake

sales in Toledo. Thankfully, we only have three minutes left, so I'm going to get through this.

Ash decides to show them what he's really made of; getting a second wind and having

Pikachu attack Team Rocket. They blast off without much of a hitch, and I like that; it makes

the episode shorter.

The crowd approaches Ash, and it looks like they've finally come around. Instead, they give credit to Pikachu, and write Ash off as “snotty.” … What? You spent an entire day harassing a boy you had just met, and you're saying HE'S snotty? OK, I'm convinced. I would actually be glad if North Petalburg met a foul end at the hands of Team Magma and Aqua due to how absolutely bigoted they are towards Ash. This is like that Avatar: The Last Airbender episode "Avatar Day", only not funny.

Anime fall downs-because this is just too stupid for words.

Yet, as Ash leaves the town, he takes the complete prejudice by these people surprisingly

well. If you ever decide to go on TV Tropes, be sure to look up Unfortunate Implications, and

you'll get a solid idea about why this is the worst episode of Pokémon of all time.

“A Double Dilemma” is among the worst episodes I've chosen to recap this year; and

among the worst I've ever seen. It's needlessly mean-spirited; and the behavior of the North

Petalburg citizens goes against Pokémon's messages of friendship and teamwork. It's also one

of the reasons why I do not understand why people value the Advanced Generation so highly.

So, why even bother recapping it then? Well, by explaining why I don't like something,

you get a solid idea of why I do like something. Pokémon is one of the most venerable things

I've gotten into in my life; but there are always going to be bad episodes of any TV series, and

bad aspects of any franchise. If I had the opportunity to strike one episode from the record out

of the 750+ episodes that have aired, it would be this one. I admit that I don't hate the Advanced

Generation like I used to, and I consider Pokémon to be intrinsically tied to my fascination with

anime, video games, and Japanese culture. Now that I've finally recapped this episode, I'm going to take a break while I ready the next recap. Until then, I leave you with my favorite

Pokémon song of the Advanced Generation, “Unbeatable.” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_wHzfKQZ6E