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

Recap: The Bicker The Better.

Hello everyone, it's Pokémon Advanced Challenge time again. I have a great

love of Pokémon. Though my favorite anime series is Gurren Lagann, my second favorite

anime is Pokémon.

I fully admit that the concept is ridiculous and it's every bit about marketing the video

game series (which I also love) as it is about storytelling; and the episode structure can

be quite formulaic. However, when I'm asked about why I still enjoy the series, I simply

reply, “because it's fun.”

I also state that I really did not want to watch the Advanced Generation series or

the Diamond and Pearl series. When I finally did decide to get into them, I came off as an

even bigger Pokémon nut than I was with the original series.

As I stated in my other recaps, every TV series has to have a bad episode among the good. My first recap was of “Love, Petalburg Style,” an episode about an inferred extramarital

affair involving Norman the gym leader and Nurse Joy.

In the meantime, I am going to recap an episode that really grinds my gears. That episode is “The Bicker The Better”; an episode that is such a blatant and contrived attempt

at a “battle of the sexes” plot that some countries have even banned the episode, putting it

in the same line as “Electric Soldier Porygon” (the infamous seizure episode), “The Legend

of Dratini” (the one with the guns and the 30 Tauros), and “Beauty and the Beach” (a lost

episode that I decided was best not to explore until the glorious invention of YouTube made

it possible so everyone could, 8 years after its only airing on Kids WB).

Before I get into this, let me explain something: people are free to like and hate

what they want. One person making fun of a work should not affect the enjoyment of

said work or said person. My scathing dislike of this episode should not drag down your

perception of it if you do like this episode. Disagreements are a large part of any fandom.

I mentioned Dogasu, a Bulbagarden contributor who operates his own website of changes

made in the dub. I recommend checking it out, his work is very insightful; and he has a snark

that effectively makes him the Pokémon equivalent of Red Letter Media's Mr. Plinkett character

(the guy who made exhaustively detailed reviews of the Star Wars prequels).

Still, there have been times where I disagreed with him. He felt that Team Rocket

actually becoming good at their jobs in Pokémon Best Wishes took away their charm, I said

that making them a threat gave them a drive and a new outlook on the series. He said that

the Don Battle/Club Battle arc was a waste of time; I found it to be one of the most entertaining

tournament arcs I've seen in an anime. In that same instance, when he complained about Zorua

being shoved in everyone's face; I found Zorua's antics to be one of the things I enjoyed most

about that arc.

I bring this up because he praised this episode in his recap of it. I am going to be the iconoclast and deconstruct this episode's flaws; giving a detailed explanation as to why it doesn't work.

We open on a beautiful morning at the Pokémon Center, as Ash and his friends are on

their way to Fortree City. I haven't played Ruby and Sapphire in a while, but I can say

that Fortree City is one of my favorite locations in Hoenn for virtue of being built entirely on

treehouses. Having seen the episode it was featured in when I was 19 first, it reminds me of

the Wookiee homeworld of Kashyyyk in the Star Wars films.

They are all set to go, but Pikachu chimes in and they notice they forgot May. She is packing up her belongings, and Ash rushes back into the Pokémon Center and starts yelling

at her about it. Oh boy. Here we go.

Ash leads her out of the center, but May then stops to check herself in the mirror. You

know, in some cultures, vanity is considered a sin.

Ash again chews her out for her ladylike traits of admiring herself. May replies that

men almost never check their hair or clothes. Personally, I thought the costume design in

the Advanced Generation was reminiscent of the video game Jet Grind Radio, and I say that

as a guy whose fashion sense is just a step over hobo.  

As they exit the center and get on their merry way, May says words to the effect of

calling Ash a geezer. I can just imagine Ash replying, “Don't mock me! I'll be around for years!”

Once again, we get our theme song of “This Dream.” I stated that was a good theme

song, though my favorite theme of the Advanced Generation is “Unbeatable” in the following

season, “Advanced Battle.”

Next, we get our title card. Let this be an indication of what's to come in this episode,

why I have a deep hatred for it.

Ash and May are still fighting after we segue into the episode proper. Max and Brock

comment on how this fighting has been going on for some time. This is going to hurt, isn't it?

How do you even begin to deal with an episode like this?

The worst part of this is, they're played by the only
voice actress who will still have a career after this show.

Then, in come two characters that made sure I would have no chance of liking this

episode: Oscar and Andi. They are characters parodying the leads of The Rose of Versailles,

an 18th-century romantic drama.

These two keep insisting that Ash and May are in love. I'm simply going to call them

out right now: They're idiots. Do you want more proof? They say that Ash and May fighting

is the first sign of love. No, it's the first sign of domestic abuse.

Max and Brock point out there is something weird about them. Now that I agree with.

There must have been something in the water where they came from.

Oscar and Andi suggest a battle. That's good, I could really use some action right now.

Ash and May agree to it. I'm just going to come out and say that Oscar and Andi are way too

happy about this. Maybe it's because I haven't seen the show they're parodying, but every

Rose of Versailles joke makes me more lost. I have a tendency to reference obscure shows like

Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, and I could use Saw Boss and some Monster Minds in this.

More on the way Oscar and Andi talk- their politeness contest just isn't working for me.

Brock, despite the fact that Andi is clearly in love with Oscar, hits on Andi. I definitely

needed his unsuccessful Romeo to make this stinker of an episode more tolerable. Max drags him away. I will talk a bit about Max. I used to really not like him, but after I branched out in

anime, I discovered there are far worse characters than him and loosened up about him.

Oscar and Andi declare it a tag battle, so Ash and May can put their love to the test.

Maybe they'll even put their love on whammy.  

Ash and May send out Corphish and Skitty. Oscar counters with Nidoking (Like a BOSS!) and Andi sends out Nidoqueen. Nidoqueen always looked like she was wearing a bikini

to me.

May ponders what move to use, which drives Ash nuts. I'm sympathizing with him

right now.

Oscar and Andi, however, are in perfect sync. While Ash and May's Pokémon attack each other, theirs lay devastating combos on them as they get stars in their eyes.

Ash breaks down on the situation.

Dinosaur King, Tai Chi Chasers, Little Bee, why was I in them all?

Oscar and Andi keep going on about their love. Take your love to a showing of Magic

Mike, and keep it away from my Pokémon.They finish them with a Submission combo that makes a heart. You know, JRR Tolkien once said that sometimes disbelief must not be suspended so much as hanged, drawn, and quartered. Here, I'm all for giving my disbelief death by lethal injection. These two are completely out of place in a series like this, and it just pads a generic “Battle of the sexes”

story.

Enter Team Rocket, with Jessie complaining that they haven't done anything typically

Team Rocket. Like overtake Silph Tower, sell Slowpoke tails as delicacies or attack Olivine

City.

Oscar and Andi then challenge Team Rocket to a battle. God, I thought we were done

with these “1776” castoffs.

They accept the battle, and also get Team Rocket fighting. These two are total Mary

Sues. I think the only reason these two existed is to make the pre-established characters look

bad in this “battle of the sexes” fanfic poorly disguised as an episode.

They beat Team Rocket, and this argumentative drivel is still going. I am now convinced

that Oscar and Andi are total Sues.

Among the few notable things in Team Rocket's arguments are that Jessie doesn't like

James' blue hair, though it is now lavender thanks to the switch to digital coloring. James

replies with a song consisting of nothing but the word “ugly.”

Ash and May, having a massive argument over their loss, come across Jessie and James

and still try to cram this moronic theme down our throats.  

Another tag battle occurs, with guys VS. girls. Now this is a joke. It just devolves into

a bunch of random attacks rather quickly. The episode has given up. They have thrown up

their hands and said, “we have no idea.”

It devolves further into Meowth shaking his rump. Why did Dogasu like this episode?

While this could have been funny, Jessie and James get the idea to steal Pikachu. You got

all that from interpretive dance.

Pikachu is stolen, and they give chase, with Skitty's Assist having it use String Shot.

Apparently, Assist sometimes turns Skitty into Spider-Man.

Kiss her, you fool!

They're back. Corphish knocks Team Rocket down and Pikachu out of the net. They

shockproofed the net, but didn't give it a top. That's actually pretty funny.

Ash and May muse they could have battled like this against Oscar and Andi. Oscar and

Andi can go screw themselves.

“The Bicker the Better” had absolutely no point. You could cut it out and it would have

absolutely no impact on the story. There were at least Johto filler episodes that were entertaining, and I'm in the minority that liked Johto. What I'm really astounded by is that

Dogasu liked this episode, but gave several legitimately good episodes lower ratings. These include the Misty-centric two-parter in Advanced Challenge, “Pikachu's Goodbye,” “Maxed

Out,” “March of the Exeggcutor Squad”, and “Showdown in Dark City.”

I know for certain that now I can bash “A Double Dilemma” as a horrible episode, but

you still must wait for that. Next time, I will take on Magical DoReMi, with an episode that

cemented the show as the Blue's Clues of magical girl series.

Recap: Love, Petalburg Style!

My first recap is on its way.

The first subject I will cover is Pokémon Advanced Challenge.

I concede that I never watched the Advanced Generation of Pokémon when I was young, instead watching it years later, when I was more willing to.

However that does not excuse the fact that sometimes there were just bad episodes in it. Nowhere is that more apparent than with “Love, Petalburg Style.”

We begin with Ash, May, Max, and Brock arriving in Petalburg City from North Petalburg, which was the subject of the previous episode, “A Double Dilemma.” That episode was also infamous amongst fans, but that will be a matter for another day.

What is notable is that this is May and Max's home, as they are the daughter and son of the gym leader,

Norman, and his wife, Caroline. This clearly lifted from the Ruby and Sapphire games, where Norman is the father of you, the player; while you and your mother live in Littleroot Town. With this tidbit in mind, you will find out in this recap why I consider this episode to be so offensive.

Ash is here to get his fifth gym badge. May notices all the new stores in town. I personally did not enjoy the fact that May was given this stereotypical obsession with shopping in the anime; as her game counterpart, Sapphire, did not exhibit this type of behavior.

Anyhow, the gang notices a poster of Norman adorning a window. Max notes that it is cool that there are big posters of his father in town, and May says she is proud of him. I will now give an aside to talk about Max. At the time the Advanced Generation series was airing, most of the older Pokémon fans were growing up and moving onto other things. More than often, they still played the games, but drifted away from the anime in favor of other adaptations, such as the Pokémon Special manga. As such, Max was added to the anime in an attempt to attract more children to the show. He was based off the schoolchild NPC (Non-Player Character) class from the games. He is considered to be a major point of contention among fans. Some consider him to be cute, others hate him for supposedly ruining the show with his constant know-it-all personality. At first, I was irritated by the character to the point of wishing he was dead. As the years went by, though, I softened up a bit and put him in with other anime nerds, such as Conan Edogawa or Izzy from Digimon Adventure.

But I digress. Ash says that when he wins his badge, it will be from someone famous. I will talk about “A Double Dilemma” at another time to address this notion, but I must move along. Ash then states that he may have lost to Norman last time, but this time will be another story. I personally considered the match he had with Norman in the third episode of the Advanced saga to be an unofficial match; as he did not have the minimum three Pokémon required to make it an official one. He only had Pikachu with him at the time, and wanted to use only Pokémon caught in Hoenn. Team Rocket then interrupted the match anyway.

Brock says that Norman will be pretty tough to beat. Max chimes in that his father has gotten a lot stronger since his last battle. This is one of the reasons why many of the older Pokémon fans considered Max a nuisance of Scrappy-Doo proportions. Ash retorts that he has been practicing pretty hard himself. The element of Ash and Max bouncing off each other is actually a pretty entertaining side of the Advanced Generation. You have a trainer who has a large amount of experience and a kid who only knows of Pokémon by what he's read in books. This is actually what Ash would do if he had a protégé to take under his wing. He then tells his friends to go on ahead while he takes his Pokémon to the Pokémon Center to heal.

It is now that I get to talk about the theme song. The Pokémon Advanced Challenge theme song, “This Dream”, is consistently among the most well-regarded theme songs in the Pokémon franchise. It does a good job of getting one pumped up for what will happen in a given episode, as any good theme song should.

Then, we get our title card, an indication of what lurks ahead.

Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.

Cut to Petalburg Gym, as Max remarks they are home, with May remarking it hasn't changed a bit. We then get their gym's caretaker, Kenny, who is dressed in a blue gi and sandals with green cuffs.

Max asks if his mother and father are home, and Kenny completely flips out, stuttering and tripping over his sentences. I have no idea why 4Kids decided to dub him this way, but we will soon discover that is not the main problem with this episode.

Brock asks how Kenny has been, and Kenny states that he has been doing well, and is glad May and Max have returned. Kenny then whispers that there is a bit of a problem going on; to which May and Max ask if it is serious. Kenny states that is is probably nothing they need to worry about.

Are you ready for why this episode lives in infamy among Pokémon fans? I'm not sure I am, with how hard it was to watch this episode the first time around.

Caroline comes out and says she's glad May and Max are home. Keep in mind that we are only about 2 ½ minutes in, and the reason why this episode is remembered for the wrong reasons comes on like a train.

I will spare you the rest of the banter between May, Max and Caroline to talk about what follows. Max makes on offhand question about his dad; but Caroline brushes him off. This is going to hurt.

Kenny then goes nuts again, and starts maniacally sweeping the front porch, creating a large cloud of dust.

I better keep up my pace, I don't want to be shipped to "Mew Mew Power!"

May asks what's wrong; but Caroline again denies that something is amiss. Anyone can see that this is not a normal reaction, and further exemplifies that this episode was not made with the best intentions.

Kenny then scoffs of the situation, while May looks around dumbfounded as to what is going on.

Cut to the Pokémon Center. Ash enters and sees Norman with Nurse Joy, talking and giggling like children. Nurse Joy asks if Norman is sure, and Norman replies that he trusts her 100%

This symbolizes the unfortunate implications rising further. I will not stop you from turning back now.

Norman then notices Ash and welcomes him back, as does Nurse Joy. Norman asks Ash if he has any new Pokémon, and Ash gleefully responds that he does, and is ready to win. Norman agrees to a rematch and says he will follow up with Nurse Joy. Joy replies that he can depend on her anytime. I know that I have been building up the major reason this episode is so infamous; but I don't blame you if you haven't already guessed.

Anyway, Ash asks what the big secret is, and this is the face that Norman makes when he claims that he has nothing up his sleeve.

You sure you don't want to turn back?  I'm sure Everything Is Terrible has something interesting!

It is now that I bring up what is the main problem with this episode: the conversations between Norman and Joy are played similarly to an extramarital affair, hence Caroline attempting to avoid the issue. In fact, this was the actual plot of the Japanese episode. Understandably, 4Kids attempted to tone this plot down, but parents and adult viewers could still put it together that Norman was possibly cheating on his wife.

With that on the table, I will ask you this question: what do you think of when you think of Pokémon?

Battles? Contests? Ten-year-old children wandering the country unsupervised with small creatures that contain otherworldly powers? Evil organizations that want to rule the world with said creatures?

You may notice that implied adultery is not on my list, nor did it cross your mind. So, I put this to the anime staff-why? Why would you make an episode that has such an unsavory topic at its core? I can understand using a tactic like this to attract more 18-49-year-olds, but I just don't see where a person like Norman cheating on his wife would fit in this type of show! IT MAKES NO SENSE!

Oh dear, I daresay I'm getting off on a tangent again. So, how far am I into this episode? (Checks loading bar) Four minutes. Wonderful. Not even halfway through the episode and I've made three pages of detailed notes of what's wrong with it. Well, since you've stuck around this long, I might as well keep going.

We cut to a greenhouse, whereupon Team Rocket makes their entrance. When Takeshi Shudo was head writer of the show, Team Rocket did lose, but were still fairly intimidating. When he left, they effectively became the coyote to Ash's roadrunner. It wasn't until the recent Best Wishes/Black and White saga that they became a threat again. Meowth quips that this is Norman's greenhouse. While this would normally be unremarkable, I always admired Maddie Blaustein's performance as the snarky “top cat” of Team Rocket. Every time I watch an episode dubbed with her in it, I always know we lost someone great when Maddie Blaustein passed on. The roles weren't always the best, but she'd give it her all, like any good actress would. Jimmy Zoppi does his best in the episodes dubbed by The Pokémon Company International, but what Blaustein left behind will last forever.

I'm sorry for the gushing, but I must get back on track. Jessie and James think nothing of the greenhouse, despite the fact that a gym leader owns it. You'd think they'd be more impressed with it, but I'm not one to judge, me recapping an episode of a children's anime and all. Meowth then states that “the twerps” will battle in the greenhouse, setting them up to steal their Pokémon. James whines about what happened last time they tried to steal from Norman, but Meowth claims he is worrying too much.

There is a bit about who's the dumbest for attacking the same place twice, but I'm skipping it; for there are bigger fish to fry.  

Cut to indoors. Apparently, the Petalburg Gym is connected to a house in the anime, but they are two separate locations in the games. Max finishes a story about being attacked by Team Rocket. Caroline asks if they were in trouble, but Max snidely replies they could take care of themselves. I am really trying to resist the urge to bring up “A Double Dilemma,” but with all the references this episode seems to be making to it, trust me when I say its day will come.

So then I told him, "Yeah, I have a place where you can put your plans
for Dinosaur King, but you won't like to hear it!"

May replies that if he says things like that, they won't be able to leave again.

I have to record lines for April O'Neil in a couple of hours, so don't push it!

May once again brings up when Norman is coming back, and she coolly replies, “Not today.”

Anyone who's gone through their parents breaking up will inevitably cringe at that line. I know I did.

And once again, Kenny goes cuckoo at that notion. I am sparing you a screencap, since his antics are not enough for this episode's subject matter to be softened.

May brings up she caught a Beautifly. Well, it actually evolved from her Wurmple, but that's beside the point. It is at this time that Caroline reacts to what her daughter says in a condescending manner. Max mentions Beautifly again, and Caroline further seethes inwardly. Caroline then starts stirring her pot of soup faster and faster as her anger grows. She then attempts to handwave it as working exercise into her housework. I wouldn't be surprised if she starts showering her children with gifts and attention in this situation.

Caroline then attempts to justify this statement by doing squat thrusts with the soup ladle still in her hand. This is the stuff that turns a woman into Annie Wilkes, folks.

Kenny then herds everyone into the greenhouse to talk. You know, this episode is awkward enough. It really doesn't need your help.

You're sure this Chris Hansen person won't find us here?

Max then butts in, commenting on the Vigoroth in the greenhouse. May states that Norman keeps his Pokémon he uses for gym battles in the greenhouse. Max runs up to hug Vigoroth, and May says that Norman never let them watch any of the battles in the gym. Er, wasn't that fight in episode 3 one you were watching? Never mind, I'm getting off track again. She then states it was because Norman thought they would distract the challengers. Wouldn't this mean all the times that Brock and Misty watched Ash battle would be distracting? Here I go again. Brock replies it must have been frustrating not being able to see their dad in action. May retorts that a good gym leader is a strict gym leader, and he always played with them after the battle was done.

You know, given how Norman was quite laid-back in his previous appearances, I'm not convinced of this whole “strict” trait.

Moving right along, Max notices a Slakoth, and may scans it with her Pokédex, which in the Advanced Generation has a female voice, which fans have dubbed “Dextette.” I felt that the female voice never really sounded right. I know it's a machine, but the “Dextette” voice always sounded so listless in the way its lines were read. For a good female machine voice, I suggest that one watch “2010: The Year We Make Contact” and listen to SAL 9000.

I apologize. Once again, Kenny freaks out at the distractions, but then Max points out a Slaking. My word, did the writers have ADD when the script was being written? I know they had to dress up this plot, but this is only making things harder to swallow.

So finally, at 8 minutes and 15 seconds into the episode, Kenny finally addresses that there is something “weird” going on between Norman and Caroline. Kenny states that Norman is at the Pokémon Center every day, and Caroline is constantly yelling at him over nothing.

Kenny, a man possibly having an affair is not nothing. Don't try and sugarcoat the situation, it's not worth it. Max retorts that lots of people go to the Pokémon Center every day and yell.

Cut to Caroline packing her bags, laid over with Kenny continuing to talk with the kids about the whole situation. He adds that Beautifly being brought up is a trigger for a bad mood. Caroline then turns her picture of her and Norman over. This is a point of no return. The next step would be Caroline putting her ring on the ground and hopping a taxi.

Kenny claims the situation does not make sense, and she won't talk about it.

Kenny, I will put this to you bluntly: You're an idiot.

Ash then meets up with everyone, and cut to Team Rocket, who whine that they have gotten lost in the greenhouse. They then spot the “twerps” and wish to grab Pikachu, but Meowth states that Slakoth, Vigoroth, and Slaking would be much better targets as three evolutionary levels. He elects they should catch them instead and give them to the boss.

Cut to what is a staple of the Advanced Generation: The Boss fantasy. This is when Meowth imagines what use the Pokémon they seek can be of to Giovanni. These are the most insane skits they have on this series, and they are the funniest to watch in otherwise unremarkable episodes like this one.

We begin with Giovanni in bed.

He awakes to see a Vigoroth swinging above his belfry.

The Vigoroth then envelops Giovanni in a massive hug.

The Vigoroth also almost crushes Giovanni in said hug.

Giovanni then falls on the floor, and cuddles up with Slakoth and Slaking.

Giovanni then vows to reward Jessie, James, and Meowth handsomely for.

Cut back to the greenhouse, where Ash states he just saw Norman at the Pokémon Center.

It's too late for this episode, but you can still back out of Tai Chi Chasers.

May asks what they will do, and Brock says to “leave it to the original love doctor.” I admit that Brock is a good breeder, but he couldn't be a love doctor for Lisa Ortiz. Kenny then flips out AGAIN for Brock calling himself the “love doctor.” They then go after Brock. I think you may want to eat a breakfast cereal with less sugar in it, Kenny.

Vigoroth then jumps on top of Ash. Okay.

Cut to the Pokémon Center, where the gang is too late, as Norman is seeing Joy again. So naturally, they react the way any normal person would when they discover someone is an adulterer-they are horrified.

May and Max are visibly distraught at this fact as Norman asks them what is wrong. Then Brock asks to speak with Norman. You know, of all the time Brock was on the show, I was hoping there would be a potion that would turn him from an awkward person around women to a smooth Casanova; like the one Sherman Klump used to become Buddy Love. Alas, no such story came to fruition.

Anyway, Brock sees Joy, and as usual, he goes nuts.

Kenny drags him away, and we cut back to the greenhouse. We have passed the halfway point, and the tone has been all over the place in the last minute and a half. The episode is going further downhill, but I must press on.

Team Rocket is still lost in the greenhouse, and they are arguing until they come across a door.

I had to screencap that to show how insane this is. Let me get this straight. There is a door on this climate-controlled greenhouse that anyone can just waltz through? I am beginning to question the sanity of Norman, and not just as someone who would throw away years with his wife for a Joy.

The door leads to more greenfields.  

I can't shake this feeling that we've been here before...

Team Rocket discovers a gadget hidden in the bushes, and ponder what it is. Jessie doesn't care, and orders them to turn around.

Ash comes across a Slakoth, and he and Pikachu say hello. He also notices the Slaking, and determines they are Norman's Pokémon. I've indoctrinated myself to this episode, and even ate a piece of cheesecake while watching it.

Back at the Pokémon Center, Brock notes that when Norman married Caroline, he said to love her and hold her, in sickness and in health, or words to that effect. He then orders Norman to apologize for not keeping that promise. Norman doesn't even bat an eye at this, and asks what Brock is saying.

Then Brock goes right back to fawning over Nurse Joy.

My word, Brock makes Pepé La Pew seem chaste.

May then complains that Brock is creating more problems, and Norman again asks what is wrong. Mark from “The Room” wasn't this oblivious to having an affair.

Caroline arrives with a suitcase in hand, and threatens to leave Norman. Norman finally gets the message and is genuinely shocked at his actions.

No, wait, he asks to help with Caroline's luggage.

When words failed, Caroline turned to interpretive dance
to announce her annulment.

Kenny then very carefully explains that Caroline is leaving Norman, but he still doesn't get it and asks Kenny to pick up kitchen detail. You know, Norman, when you act this dumb about a divorce announcement, you deserve to be alone.

Cut back to the greenhouse, and Ash wonders what's keeping everyone.

Did I make the right decision to lend my image
to that horrible parody trailer?

After spending the better part of the episode lost in the greenhouse, Team Rocket finds Ash, Pikachu, and the Slakoth evolutions, and say their motto. And I notice that a lot of these mottos start with the camera panning up, giving us a good, long look at Jessie's midriff and bust.

You can thank me for this screencap later.

They begin to battle Ash, and Cacnea tries to eat James, as every grass Pokémon he has owned has.

We cut away from the battle to show that Kenny has finished laying all the information down on why Caroline is leaving him. And to add to the blow, this day is their wedding anniversary. Even John Edwards would consider this cold.

Max does not take this well, and breaks down. Sorry, but my sympathy for a person runs its course when vows are broken. Norman claims it is a huge misunderstanding. In that case, start talking. I can wait.

Norman proposes they go home and straighten this mess out, and we cut back to the battle. Seviper lands a hit on Pikachu with its Poison Tail, and Cacnea lets loose a hail of Pin Missile on the Slakoth evolutions.

Jessie remarks on her skills, and for some reason, the animation goes into a Dutch angle while she says this.

Wonderful. Now I'm having "Battlefield Earth" flashbacks.

Ash and the Pokémon make a run for it, and the animation is still Dutching as they beat feet.

The episode is sinking! Abandon ship!

Then, the wall explodes for no reason as Ash and the Pokémon are on the ground. What, did they hit one of those special barrels?

Everyone else comes running up at that moment. Ash fills Norman in on the theft attempt, and Norman is quick to label them as clowns.

Team Rocket attacks again, and another explosion destroys the gadget in the bushes; which leads to yet another explosion. What, did Michael Bay direct this?

And if that's not enough, we get another Dutched shot, from the perspective of Norman's boot for some reason.

Yes, I am screencapping an angled shot from
the perspective of a guy's shoe. That's what this episode has done to me.

Caroline exclaims “Good Lord!” at Norman going after Team Rocket.

He wakes Slaking, who promptly uses Focus Punch to send them blasting off.

Lucky ducks.

Norman runs over to the broken gadget, and laments that his anniversary gift to his wife is ruined-a fireworks display.

That's justification for tricking your wife into thinking you're having an affair? Setting up an anniversary fireworks display? Joy adds she can have another fireworks display ready that evening, as she is also a licensed pyrotechnician.

…

No. No! NO!

This is not an excuse for leading your spouse on like that! You should be ashamed of yourself!

I know people surprise their spouses on their anniversary all the time, but you do not lead her on like that! You could have ended your relationship on the day you were supposed to be celebrating it, you jackwagon!

I don't care about this anymore! I'm still angry at you!

And just to top it off, Caroline forgives Norman for the whole fiasco and they celebrate their anniversary like a sitcom couple. Good grief.

It gets even more clichéd than that. The Beautifly are the Pokémon that surrounded them on they day they got engaged. Somebody call the papers, we got a real story here.

Even moreso, she is GLAD that he kept this a secret through days of deception. Then Norman tells Ash of their battle the following day, and the episode mercifully ends.

Boy, this was a hard one. I like Pokémon, and I go a lot easier on the Advanced Generation episodes than I used to but this was crap. “Love, Petalburg Style” is a vile piece of work for taking a ludicrous element like an extramarital affair and trying to include it in a family-friendly series like this. Alarmingly, this is not the worst episode of the season. That honor belongs to the aforementioned “A Double Dilemma.” I will take care of that later, and I shall decide on the next recap soon.