Hello everyone. By the time you read this, I will have had my 26th birthday; and my classes will have started back up again. This month will also see the release of Pokémon Crystal on 3DS Virtual Console, so I thought I would do something simple to get back into the swing of things. This is one episode of Master Quest I’ve been wanting to do for a while, and I thought I would do that before I get to my other content and my potential gym battle showcase later this year. For now, let’s open up “You’re a Star, Larvitar!”
We open at the base of Mt. Silver, where Ash, Misty and Brock are on assignment from Professor Elm! Their mission is to return a Larvitar to its birthplace; since it hatched from an egg he got from a nature reserve! As Elm speaks with everyone over the phone, I must point out this is around the point the show started using digital coloring after previously using cel animation. The movies had done this fairly early on, so seeing the show itself adopt the style actually suits it fairly well.
Elm is also impressed that Larvitar seems more confident than before, since the Pokémon had a bit of a scare with some poachers before it hatched, and also had trouble opening up to people as well. This sort of mini-arc is one of the bits of Master Quest that stood out at me as I got back into the series when I was younger; and this one is probably the one I enjoyed most of all from that.
After the opening sequence, Ash decides to have a battle with another trainer named Satchel, to practice for the upcoming Silver Conference. I am still not doing any tournament arcs, and I don’t want to inundate my blog with as much content of this series as I did last year. I will still talk about the new movie as well as what Game Freak has planned for the Switch, but that can wait until I have more to address.
While Ash’s Cyndaquil has improved since the series began, Satchel still proves to be surprisingly skilled, and the latter ultimately wins with how powerful his Magby is! However, he still wants to train into a Magmar, so it will be even more powerful! I know that feeling: playing Gold and Silver again on Virtual Console; I’m definitely out of practice battling Red. Need to level up my rosters before I take him again since I was 10.
Likewise, seeing a Quilava practice its moves inspires Ash to train more; though ironically he wouldn’t get one himself until Diamond and Pearl. Funny how that works sometimes. Kind of like how my trainers in US/UM can go into a parallel universe on the back of a gryphon or giant bat, but they can’t climb up a ledge.
Nearby, Team Rocket decides not only to make a move on Ash’s Pokémon, but all the ones in the area! They’re persistent: almost as much as these people I saw who were after a mooseberry bush. Nobody there but some shrubs!
Their gadget this time involves a giant vacuum attached to their Meowth balloon! Pardon my French, guys, but your plan sucks! Wordplay, ha!
It turns out the balloon is a decoy, and they’re going to wheel their haul away in a truck! Also, I just love how Quagsire’s expression is the same content look among all their booty. Those throwing shade at the Generation VII player characters need only look here. Koffing may have mastered that same chipper expression through everything, but Quagsire is a close second in my book.
Ash, who was also sucked up along with Cyndaquil, is left tied up and bound in a nearby cabin! I’m not going to question anything, but I am going to play this music.
So, before Team Rocket can drive off with their catch; Larvitar is not only able to puncture their tire by biting into it, but can also dig through the floorboards! Pretty useful moves, and came around quick from acting like a statue to strangers a little bit ago.
After Larvitar chews through Ash’s ropes, even though Ash is disappointed that Larvitar could have gotten hurt; he is glad Larvitar is all right and came to get him.
The next step is freeing the captive Pokémon, and Larvitar is able to provide another distraction by puncturing their tire again! It was probably made by Firestone. Ash’s Noctowl is able to find the truck and lead everyone else to it, and Cyndaquil and Magby are able to burn through the container holding them so they and the others can escape!
When Jessie, James and Meowth; they’re aghast, and state that stealing something that’s already stolen is still theft. Technically, yes; but Ash rightfully calls them out for stealing first in what’s actually one of my favorite reaction images from the series. His face is just fantastic.
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| I AM NEVER GIVING YOU PIKACHU, YOU HEAR ME YOU LIMP DINGUS?! AND YOUR MOUTHWASH DOESN'T CUT IT EITHER! |
All of Ash’s Pokémon and the other trainers arrive, and now the fun truly begins! As a way to commemorate six years since starting this blog and almost ten years since I started getting back into the series; the battle that ensues between Ash, Misty, Brock, Satchel and Team Rocket is just so outrageous that I absolutely love how it speaks to my inner 10-year-old!
With one last push, Satchel’s Magby evolves into a Magmar! With the combined might of Magmar and Ash’s Cyndaquil, Team Rocket is sent blasting off once again! Nice little breather for my birthday, especially with what I’ve got lined up next.
Satchel thanks Ash for his help training, and then we close as he sets off to take Larvitar to the nature preserve! I’m honestly surprised he can carry Larvitar without injuring himself, as its weight in the Pokédex is 158.7 pounds standard, 72 kg metric. Even more in one of the Sun and Moon episodes I saw in Japanese, where (spoiler alert!) he can do the same to Cosmoem despite that weighing roughly 1.1 tons standard, and just a smidge under 1,000 kg metric! I only have a handful more episodes like this I want to cover before retirement, but for now, I’m going to enjoy this.
“You’re a Star, Larvitar” is a very solid episode for me to help lead off another year of doing recaps on this blog; full of sharp, colorful animation and battles that make great use of the Pokémon they have at hand. I only have a handful of episodes like this I want to cover here, but based on what I have planned next; it was either going to be one of these or my 10th episode of Code Geass R2. So, I understandably decided to get a rock kaiju baby out of the way first. Anyway, I will keep trying to preorder Crystal on 3DS eShop; and I will be moving up what I had planned next on account of class starting back up. Next time will be my 10th recap of Code Geass R2! See you, space cowboy!
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