I have been waiting a long time to address this, and to use that Mr. Freeze line. I have made no secret of my dislike for Pokémon Chronicles; and how out of all the anime adaptations in its quarter-century run; I can now say it's my least favorite. Some people like it, I get it; and maybe you should all sit this out, since this is definitely going to be the start of maybe the biggest examination of an entire series I've done since Code Geass R2. I may kind of like this one, but even I will admit it's got issues. Let's open up "A Family that Battles Together, Stays Together" and address them.
Taking place roughly in between the events of the original series and Advanced Generation; Brock has briefly returned home to Pewter City, as narrated by my good friend Mike Pollock while Rodger Parsons is away. I also kind of like the callback to "Showdown in Pewter City" as Flint (no relation to the later Sinnoh Elite Four member with the fiery afro) tries to warn Brock the city is cursed; to no avail. I will address this as we go; but Legend of Thunder notwithstanding; it seems like more effort was being made with this spinoff near the beginning. That said, we still have issues right off, as Flint comes clean that Brock's mother, Lola "happened to the gym."
This element has been a contentious one; with many explanations for what's transpired since the original series about her coming back. Some say it was a mistranslation from the Japanese dub. Others claim that her character simply hadn't been written yet (like those novels suggesting that Flint wasn't Lola's first husband). I will go with Occam's razor, where the simplest explanation is probably the correct one. Essentially, 4Kids lied, and by proxy; so did Flint.
So, we are introduced to a very much alive Lola formally; and she is not Kath Soucie or Zendaya, or even Amy Poehler. She is however, very much into extreme remodeling for both the gym and their home. More on that in a few moments; since all of Brock's siblings come to greet him, including the eldest, Forrest. Let's just say that I think Flint's traits were dominant.
She's also into outsider art, hanging a picture of a "Smeargle masterpiece," though she refers to the monster as "Smeagol" instead. It's like confusing Golem with Gollum. (sighs) To think some people are still huffy about the rice ball jelly donuts.
Brock initially thought it was his sibling Toko's crayon drawings; and also reveals Lola is into astrological signs (haven't checked mine in ages beyond finding out which Gym Leader, One Piece or MHA character I am). Additionally, I'm not certain what "Yu-Yu sticks" are (every attempt at a Google search just returned people asking the same question as me); but if I had to guess, they'd be juggling sticks; which got referenced in Craig of the Creek as well as the Robot Chicken sketch on GI Joe Extreme. Here's a listing of some.
After mentioning how he missed her yodeling phase, Brock tries to justify Lola's behavior as being her "usual bubbly self" (interesting sentiment as this is the first time we've seen her onscreen). Flint responds by showing him the gym renovations, and it's a bit of a garish mess. Time to pull out that Doctor Who clip again.
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| "Oh, you've redecorated! I don't like it." |
The whole thing looks like an outsider art project; and Brock calls out Lola for turning the rock-type gym into a water-type gym. Wait till next time- I have some choice words for then too. This also is a bit of wasted potential for her character and his: more on this later, but instead of wacky art projects; they could have detailed how her absence affected Brock and his siblings, which it clearly has. Not saying we need to go to levels of a YA drama on the CW, but it is something that this spinoff could have delved into and chose not to. At most, Forrest mentions he, Flint and the other children tried to talk Lola out of it; to no avail. As previously mentioned, her art projects and other quirks are basically treated as little more than a joke and not much else.
After that, the two attempt to battle their differences out; also to no avail. The family then has a meal together; and this also highlights one of my major issues with this spinoff: it plays less like an actual part of the Pokémon franchise and more like a campy sitcom. The fact you could put a laugh track in between the scene where Brock and Forrest are helping do the dishes and it wouldn't be out of place proves this. When another sibling asks Forrest if he likes every girl in class as opposed to one; I seriously have to resist the urge to say that's "more of a Chandler question."
Likewise, the scene where Flint and Lola are talking in the gym is one scene that could have worked- instead of focusing on the wackiness of her hobbies; they could have confronted how their absence affected their children, and how Brock had to grow up much quicker than anticipated. Conversely, instead of just feeding into their cycle; Brock should call them out for acting so childish instead of caring for their actual children.
Yet, the episode doesn't seem interested in that; more into them making moon-eyes at each other at dessert. Not sure whether the drama or the meringue is richer. Brock then decides he's had enough, and challenges Lola for control of the gym on the grounds that it's not a water gym. That's a matter to discuss next time.
Flint proposes merging the two types together, an idea that Brock is opposed to; and a motion seconded by Forrest. Moreover, the latter seeks to make a play for the gym in his parents' stead; which honestly should have been a bigger focus than Lola's outsider art obsession. Instead, it's just splashed into the last few minutes of runtime. I reiterate that a focus on different characters should not come at the expense at telling a story that's coherent on its own. It would be like trying to force a subplot about the War on Terror into Turning Red.
Brock sends out Onix against Lola's Mantine, and uses Dig to drain the pool that was made. Somehow, that makes even less sense than being defeated by the fire sprinklers and his own ego. That aside, this episode somehow has worse editing and less dynamic animation than "Showdown in Pewter City;" despite airing years later on both sides of the pacific.
"A Family that Battles Together, Stays Together" may not be the worst episode ever, especially in comparison to others I've done; but it's still a key example of how even the more decent episodes are riddled with issues. It's kind of like how Bethesda's games can be rough from a technical standpoint, but can make up for it with engaging story and world-building. On that note, while it is nice to see what happened with Brock in between the end of Johto and the beginning of Advanced; it's marred by how the episode handles his parents (and not just because of how the dub lied about Lola's death). Excluding the Christmas specials, this is actually one of the episodes of Chronicles I found somewhat decent; and if the spinoff had improved over time instead of getting worse, maybe I'd feel differently about it now.
As I have stated before, there's no point in having a spinoff outside the main series if you can't justify its existence. My plan is to go over every single episode I haven't previously made a post on; finishing on the one Christmas episode I haven't addressed yet. I like that one, so you can be sure of that at least. Also, as you will see from the next paragraph, the influence SF Debris and the Agony Booth (going to carry that torch especially since the latter went dark earlier this year) have had on this blog shall be especially evident in this series.
Post-review follow-up: most annoying characters of the episode go to Flint and Lola. The former gets it for how skittish he acts around his wife being back in town, the latter for acting so inattentive and childish when she should care more for the children she has.
The next Chronicles review will be "Cerulean Blues," the other early episode I found somewhat decent (if uneven) before I get into the real mess of things. Not right away, though: I have something else in mind. That will be all for now.
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