With Pokémon Scarlet and Violet nearly upon us to usher in the ninth main generation of the franchise; I give you my penultimate Pokémon Chronicles review, tackling all the Pichu brothers specials for the series in one review before I do the Christmas one I haven't before. Let's get this started and open them up. First up is "Big Meowth, Little Dreams."
This is the first of several that combined (to an extent) a couple 11-minute shorts into one 22-minute story. The first half starts with Meowth having a picnic in a city park; with him imagining a gold statue of himself. OK, I'll give them that one- the monster is based on the maneki neko after all.
However, a Kecleon absconds with Meowth's sandwich; though since I haven't seen the JP version; I can't verify if that was originally a rice ball. I can verify with the recent addition of Zorua and Zoroark in Pokémon Go; I can only imagine that Kecleon is only a matter of time.
Overhead, the Pichu brothers are gathering berries in a tree; and all things considered, the animation in this first half isn't too bad. After multiple off-model episodes; I will take the wins where I can.
Then, they drop from the tree and give chase; running afoul of an Azumarill preparing for the arrival of a visiting Azurill. The Kecleon trips on a rock, and the sandwich falls into the mouth of a Teddiursa. This is the first time I will be dealing with shenanigans in this review; and since I'm doing all three shorts here, it won't be the last.
Anyway, Meowth sees a mysterious print in the grass; and sets about finding the real thief. This actually isn't the worst story; just not sure why it had to be part of this spinoff as opposed to just a short on its own. Everyone chases Kecleon, and it hides in an alley covered in graffiti that matches its zigzag pattern.
Turns out it's an art installation being worked on by a Smeargle; but Kecleon outs themselves when they steal an apple from Smeargle's fruit basket. The chase resumes, and this first half honestly isn't the worst. Smeargle then splashes paint everywhere, and Kecleon is caught.
Turns out Kecleon was just watching over the Azurill that was coming in for a visit. OK, that's actually kind of cute.
With that mystery solved and a banquet held to celebrate, we move onto the second half of this short. Azumarill is setting the table, and Azurill is frolicking in the park with the Pichu brothers.
Elsewhere, Meowth is wandering the city searching for a new purpose; and while I am still contemplating a piece about that subject, he vows to find one himself.
He starts pining for a Skitty in a window sill, and since Azurill has been in hiding; the Pichu brothers round up a search party. They find Azurill bouncing around through traffic, and I'm again reminded of the Buttons and Mindy skits on Animaniacs.
Because the other monsters have a bit more self-awareness, they take the crosswalk to give chase after Azurill. Back with Meowth, he decides to give Skitty some roses- which he steals from a dress in a wedding boutique.
Moving right along, Azurill bounces across a river and onto the back of a Feraligatr... whose lower jaw is mistakenly colored blue like the rest of its skin instead of its usual cream color. For the most part, the animation in this short isn't as bad as other Chronicles episodes I covered; but there's still the occasional error like that.
After that encounter, Meowth takes a ladder to climb to Skitty's window; flowers in hand and mouth. Azurill then bounces into the air and over all the clotheslines in the vicinity. It's amazing how many people in this part of the city don't have dryers.
Because of Azurill's shenanigans, Meowth's ill-gotten bouquet is replaced with the laundry. Meowth remarks that no one likes being romanced by a pile of boxer shorts as Skitty scratches him. Personally prefer the spring-loaded boxing glove like in Lupin III.
Meowth, undeterred, tries again with a piece of cake; but Azurill snatches that too; leaving Meowth with a smashed plate and a window closed on him.
Meowth then goes for the Hail Mary on his last attempt; serenading Skitty with a variation of the Meowth's Party song. Of course, Azurill has to get in on that too, and Meowth then mistakenly smashes his guitar on Skitty. To think people thought Liam Gallagher had issues with requests.
As Azurill skitters off, the Pichu brothers nearly save the bouncy ball from falling off the roof! Azurill lands safely, and Meowth is bounced back to the ground. After being flattened by a Snorlax, Meowth just decides to take a rest. I think I will do the same before I start the next part- this wasn't too terrible; but I need to pace myself.
We're back with the second part of this trilogy, "Trouble in Big Town." Yes- yes we certainly are going to be in big trouble.
The narrator is trying to sell the setting; but it's just not working for me. As someone who has an appreciation for the Pikachu shorts; it's a shame the Pichu brothers haven't had as good a track record. I didn't care for this short in the past, and I still don't.
I mean, not only is my good friend Mike Pollock trying to punch up their call to action; but it's inherently clear the budget and animation limits are quite obvious. On top of that, this short doesn't really make that good use of the letterbox format. Reminds me of how much my Sega CD had to compress and shrink the video clips to get them to work.
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| This is legitimately the highest quality copy I could find to take this screenshot. |
It doesn't matter how many quips Mike tries to insert into the narration; it feels like a lesser version of "Pikachu and Pichu," which it is. I'm also describing an abridged version of events, there's still 15 minutes left in this part.
A Wooper follows Pichu into the park on a roller skate, and with that; shenanigans ensue as they roll by an Azumarill. Do you understand how little there is here? Though I liked previous Pikachu shorts, even they had some structure to fall back on and could convey the plot without having the narrator spell everything out.
Anyway, once the younger brother realizes his sibling is missing; the search is on. Honestly don't know how two minutes can feel like two hours; but this short finds a way.
One admitted highlight is a Wooper that's part of the Pichu brothers' posse this time around. I'd even go so far to say this short should have been about Wooper; and we'll come back to that in a bit.
After finding the skates from earlier in the park, an Azumarill (no word whether it's the same one from before) points the search party in the direction of Pichu the elder. This may be a pretty mid short; but I might as well get it over with quick- like ripping off a bandage.
Teddiursa also runs afoul of a Murkrow after poaching its stash of acorns, because it would be a while before they came up with Greedent or even Pachirisu. I mean, shiny objects are fair game; but even anime crows don't really eat that many acorns to my knowledge.
Halfway through this short and this review, Pichu comes down from some balloons it grabbed in an earlier scene; and on its way down, it knocks over some paint cans on the Houndour from the third movie's short; and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if this was stock footage from said short.
The Feraligatr from last time looks on from a pipe; and I am at least glad that its lower jaw is the correct color this time. The errant Murkrow from before pops the balloons Pichu was holding, though Wooper is able to save him and scare Murkrow off. I reiterate this special should have been about Wooper.
Returning to their hideout, the Pichu brothers reunite and have it out as the narrator lets off a few more bad puns. Magby runs off to fetch Azumarill to referee, to no avail. At least Azumarill raging makes for one of the few amusing moments in this short not related to Wooper.
A fight ensues, and further underscores why this short didn't need to be made; let alone be included in this spinoff. Somehow, their fight results in an ice sculpture and the short ending on a song that sounds like the infamous Mac Tonight (I'm more into the Mooninites anyway). Just as well- I can definitely say I have had my break today, right now.
Now, after all that business; we reach the third and final short (thank Arceus), "Of Meowth and Pokémon." This is easily the weakest of the three, so let's get to it.
This last short also combines two vastly different sketches into one; so let's get to the first half. Meowth starts riffing on the Pichu brothers and their posse; which does nothing to help the situation in the slightest.
Seriously, there's a whole lot badgering about Meowth's stay in Millennium Town; and Meowth has an automatic Rube Goldberg coffeepot. I still prefer Pee-Wee's breakfast machine, to be honest.
Of course, Meowth still has a plan of wanting to make a giant gold statue of himself; and orders his split personality to make him lunch. ... Neglecting how it's not really proper to play DiD for laughs anymore, this part just makes me want to shut this off and rewatch Moon Knight instead.
As Meowth fantasizes about his monument in the city center, Teddiursa bumps into him. He also ends up swapping baskets with Smoochum; and I will do my best to grin and bear it over the next 15 minutes. He gets a basket full of party favors, while Smoochum got his order.
Meowth then busts into the Pichu brothers' hideout, and a game of pickle with his picnic ensues. I've been trying to hold off on this for a while; but it's enough to have Michael Palin go "Alright, stop that: this has just gotten silly!"
Meowth does reclaim his basket; but he ends up ticking off the Houndour from before. The basket again falls into Teddiursa's claws in the scuffle; and I would once again suggest this would be better on its own instead of being inserted into this spinoff.
The next day, Meowth begins a search for employment until more gainful opportunities arise. For now, he'll have to make do with being a pizza delivery driver.
Some of the group members Meowth enlists to help get jumped by the Squirtle Squad, though it's nowhere near as entertaining as before.
Elsewhere, the Pichu brothers continue exploring the city, and this second half may not be terrible; but it's beyond dull. I may have built a lot of analyzing this franchise; but there are times when I'm not given much to work with. This is one of those times.
After once again bumping into Houndour (seriously, maybe their trainer should consider breeding it at a kennel); the Pichu brothers run out into the streets. Also not sure how Magby did enough damage to cause an explosion, as Houndour technically has 1/2 resistance against its own type. Needless to say, Meowth's tenure only ended up slightly messier than Papa John Schnatter.
Undeterred, he takes another job as a street cleaner; and everyone else lends a hand. Hijinks ensue, and everyone is somehow caught in a whirlpool via a destroyed fountain; leading to this memetic shot of Wooper smiling as everyone else nearly drowns.
Shockingly, Meowth's employers don't look kindly on flooding workspaces; especially in such a bizarre way, and he's fired. The Pichu brothers and their posse at least offer condolences and gifts to Meowth. Least they could do, and glad I'm finally done with this.
You know, looking at these specials in this post and in relation to the Pikachu shorts did at least make me realize how much I like the Pichu brothers... in supporting roles. While it may not be possible to officially watch it anymore; the one that opened the third movie did do a decent job of introducing them without making them overbearing. Though I can claim Pokémon Channel as my least favorite game in the series; the short they had there was easily the best part of the game. Here, these aren't characters that would justify having a whole special focus on them; let alone three.
All I have left to say is that I'm glad I only have that last Christmas special to cover in December; then I can officially be done with it. I will be picking up Pokémon Scarlet and Violet on launch day, and you should see my first impressions not long after I start playing. That will be all for now.
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