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Review S15 EP09: The Mighty Accelguard to the Rescue!

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garrison-san

someone in the dark
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BW057 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

Having finally arrived at Driftveil City, Ash is disappointed to discover that local gym leader Clay is presently unwilling to battle him. Soon after, Ash and friends meet a motorcyclist named Charles and his Accelgor. Charles offers to accompany them to the Driftveil market, which they discover is being targeted by a gang of theives. That's when a "mysterious" superhero named Accelguard shows up and saves the day...but could even he have met his match with the sinister going-ons at the city's Cold Storage?
 
Oh great, you just had to make all the other traveling companions look stupid by comparison when they immediately figure out who he really is. "That sounds like a scheme tailor made for a little kid." Fourth wall, Iris? This was still a neat episode, though
 
Pretty good episode.Really liked Charles's character, glad to see an anime version even though he looks nothing like his game counterpart. Kind of expected Clay's dub voice to sound something like that. For once the dub has a good pronunciation of Pokemon. Really like that pronounced Accelgor "Ah-cell-gahr" and Cryogonal "Cry-yog-ahno". Not sure what Team Rocket's plotting but it was pretty oddly delivered. Could of explained Team Vanilite's goal a bit earlier. Is Iris calling everyone a "little kid" some kind of motif? I haven't seen anything of the first BW season, just Rival Destines. Back to the pronunciations, "Tor-nay-dus"? Really? I always read it as "Tor-Nah-Dus". Oh well.


adyniz said:
What was Professor Tsuraraa's dub name? a.k.a the leader of "Team Vanillite".
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Doctor Ferrara
 
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I really liked this episode. I like how they made a superhero story in a Pokemon episode (Has this ever been done before? I'm sure it has)

Charles is an interesting guy. Not much the "heartbreaker" he is in the games. Accelguard was plain epic. As well as his namesake Accelgor. So the girl is his sidekick?

I disliked the fact that Ash was pretty dumb in this episode. He just barely found out Charles's other identity.

As an above poster said, I like the pronunciations of the names in this episode.

Team Vanillite kinda reminds me of Heinz Doofenshmirtz from Phineas and Ferb. Like how they have an outrageous plan to take over the Unova region/Tri-State Area.

Team Rocket also was epic. I'm still not sure as to why they went to those islands to get the kami trio. Do they plan to wreak havoc with those guys?
 
This would be one of those cases where Iris calling Ash a kid... is actually justified, when he couldn't link Charles to the Accelguard. Of course, this is Ash we're talking about, and the Ash that we all know. It was funny when she called it out to Team Vanillite and Doctor Ferrara in particular.

Kouzan said:
Back to the pronunciations, "Tor-nay-dus"? Really? I always read it as "Tor-Nah-Dus". Oh well.
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You didn't think of tornado when you saw the name?

Serperiority said:
I really liked this episode. I like how they made a superhero story in a Pokemon episode (Has this ever been done before? I'm sure it has)
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Gligarman. And I think I liked this episode more than that one.
 
'Twasn't just any superhero episode, the distinct tokusatsu aroma this episode had screamed Kamen Rider to me.

And Ash not getting that Charles was Accelguard didn't really come off as "stupid" to me, taking into account that he believes in space aliens and has no concept of Cottonee mating and believes they're just best buds, all that blends together to make Ash into, well, such a kid. He's particularly akin to a young boy in this series, thus far. Into aliens and Power Rangers and being oblivious to romance.

But I got words for Iris, talkin' smack about Team Vanillite. That was NOT a stupid plan for a kid! Introducing foreign agents into the environment to tame and brainwash Pokeymans? That is a very SOPHISTICATED and MATURE plan! Plans like that get the job done when pulled off correctly, and strike fear into the hearts of police forces, and they'd work too, if the boys in Lavender Town didn't drop the ball when Red showed up!

So none of Iris's high and mighty catty comments, she obviously just doesn't get Pokeymans. >:U
 
Ash has always been a little slow on the uptake... remember how he didn't piece together that the guy who helped him defeat Sabrina was her father, or when Whitney told him she could allow him into the closed Goldenrod Gym for a battle and he thought that it was because she was the cleaner?
 
WatcherMark said:
Ash has always been a little slow on the uptake... remember how he didn't piece together that the guy who helped him defeat Sabrina was her father, or when Whitney told him she could allow him into the closed Goldenrod Gym for a battle and he thought that it was because she was the cleaner?
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Another one of many "Ash, get on the freaking ball" moments.
 
As I loved this episode when it first came out, I was so excited to see it now.

The dialogue was every bit as hysterical as I remembered; even Iris's "you're such a kid" comments that usually annoy the crap out of me were generally more tolerable. Clay's voice is pretty much what I expected (strong, gruff Texas stereotype accent) so no problems there, and I look forward more than ever to his gym battle. Dr. Ferarra and his plans for regional domination with frozen treats was... quite hysterical. It was so ridiculous that I kind of want to see it work. Just to see what would happen. And I hope Dr. Ferarra catches his Cryogonal someday.

Team Rocket felt out of place in the generally upbeat, nonsensical atmosphere of the episode. They could have appeared entirely at the end of the episode, or not at all, but instead got shoved awkwardly in the middle where it didn't make sense for them to have been there in the first place. I know they were "doing evil stuffz omg!!!1" but not in the middle of the episode, kthx.

My main problem overall was the music. It really lent very little to the atmosphere, in my opinion; Looker's Theme in the original version being used as Accelguard's theme was one of the things that made those scenes enjoyable. Without it, Charles's Accelguard transformations felt kinda bland and generic, and the battles felt a little... off. I don't know how else to say it. The dialogue was executed well, I thought. But it just wasn't backed up by good music.
 
Hitomi said:
The dialogue was every bit as hysterical as I remembered; even Iris's "you're such a kid" comments that usually annoy the crap out of me were generally more tolerable. Clay's voice is pretty much what I expected (strong, gruff Texas stereotype accent) so no problems there, and I look forward more than ever to his gym battle. Dr. Ferarra and his plans for regional domination with frozen treats was... quite hysterical. It was so ridiculous that I kind of want to see it work. Just to see what would happen. And I hope Dr. Ferarra catches his Cryogonal someday.

My main problem overall was the music. It really lent very little to the atmosphere, in my opinion; Looker's Theme in the original version being used as Accelguard's theme was one of the things that made those scenes enjoyable. Without it, Charles's Accelguard transformations felt kinda bland and generic, and the battles felt a little... off. I don't know how else to say it. The dialogue was executed well, I thought. But it just wasn't backed up by good music.
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This is more or less my opinion of this episode as well.
 
I quite enjoyed this episode originally, so I'm grateful the quality still remained.

- I love Charles, for a CoTD. I just enjoyed his smooth, friendly manner in the Market, and how everyone seemed to like him there, to the point of him having a bit of a priviledge there. However, his childish demeanor was the best, in my eyes; how he acts as such an amazing Superhero even though it's the complete opposite, how he tries to unsuccessfully mask his superhero identity, how he even has his own memorbilia. I think he worked quite well with Ash in a naive dreamer sense, of both of them having large childlike dreams. I also enjoyed how Ash backs The Mighty Accelguard up, and is in awe of his Accelgor.
- Even though it's unsurprising that he didn't, I would have preferred Ash to figure out that Charles was the Accelguard, even at the last minute. That was a pity, especially that he goes to blow Charles' cover, though that wasn't hugely detrimental.
- Team Vanillite, was a great little goofy team indeed, especially with their ridiculious tactics. Maybe it was me, but was the Minions' chant a bit more mundane in the dub? In the original, I could not take them seriously at all when they performed it, however, here it wasn't as bizzare to me. I felt so sorry for Cryogonal Man's Vanillish. That poor thing must feel so inadaquate. Although, he is a villian, so it's not as if his motives are going to have much sentiment.
- I also liked Linda, the snarky childhood friend. Her nonchalance and sensibility, but most of all, that she let Charles know that the one Superhero they needed at the end was The Mighty Accelguard; that was sweet of her.
 
No Pokemon battles on motorcycles? I really wish we could've seen that.

I guess it's too late for me to complain about Ash being stupid, since everyone else has already.

I'm not so sure about how easily Team Vanillite could brainwash wild Pokemon just by feeding them sweeties, unless they spiked them with something to mess with their heads. They were incredibly cheesy, and I think one of them briefly sounded like Serenity from Yu-Gi-Oh: The Abridged Series. At least Iris got to call someone besides Ash a kid, which made it seem a bit less annoying than usual.
 
After a week's break for an episode where not much happened at all - we're back to yet another episode using Ash's stupidity as a plot device. Though granted in this episode it seems more justified, considering there's 100 or so Team Rocket disguises that he couldn't see past, but it's far more grating when even Pikachu can figure it out long before Ash does. Sure, it managed to set up a minor plot point - the accidental reveal of Charles' identity - but there's no need to keep making Ash far more idiotic than is normal even for him.

On the episode itself, it was very funny and well worth watching. Oshawott saving the day by accident was a great twist on the norm - as was Iris having to jump between 'you're such a kid' mode and her fear of ice. The Cryogonal man not having a Cryogonal was probably the best part of the episode - it's funny how the joke Team Vanillite's plots were fairly similar to what the old Team Rocket used to do in a semi-serious manner. Wouldn't Ice types think of frozen food as cannibalism? Particularly if you tried to give one of those Vanillite shaped ice cream cones to a real one.

I wish my local police force had the time to stop a duck stealing apples. I'd suggest that it's not exactly a proportional response to basically ruin a car just for some apples, can you claim on insurance for damage done by a Timburr? Timburr's voice sounded a bit odd, seemed like someone different than Trip's log holder, yet somehow more likeable.

Edit: One other thing - what exactly was Ash doing to Pikachu here?
l1ins.jpg
It seems half protection and half angry toss.
 
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With those sceencaps, it looks like Ash just punched Pikachu or something. xD
 
Ok, I had to log in for the first time in months just to talk about how much I love this episode. The wacky characters and slapstick humor really reminded me of a good old-fashioned Johto episode. Some of the animation was simply stunning too, like when Thunderbolt and Ice Beam collided (this show looks spectacular in HD, by the way).

This is one of many episodes lately that reinvigorates my belief that this show is still awesome. Just a fun, exciting Pokémon adventure. You can never have enough of those.
 
Why are people complaining about Ash being stupid here? That's kind of his personality.

"I'd like Ash if he wasn't so stupid" is basically the same thing as saying "I'd like Ash if he wasn't so Ash."
 
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