New Plot - Old Lot! (450)

[Serebii]

New Plot - Odd Lot!

At the next Town, May decided to enter the contest in order to win her 5th Pokémon Contest in Kanto in order to qualify for the Grand Festival. However when there, May & Co. meet up with May's Rival Harley who still wants to stop May from entering the Grand Festival, and he intends to mess up this contest for her so she cannot get her fifth ribbon. To do so, he teams up with Team Rocket. Will May be able to enter and win?

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[Dreamcoat]

Apparently Harley has still got some 'energy' left from when he defeated May judging by his newfound confidence which, along with Combusken's appeal, makes this episode great!

[JazzJazz]

Apparently Harley has still got some 'energy' left from when he defeated May judging by his newfound confidence

If he had so much confidence he wouldn't need to align with Team Rocket, would he?

[Silent Conversation]

Harley and Team Rocket together is a good idea.

I just want to know HOW Harley will convince Team Rocket to allow him to join them. Maybe Team Rocket respects Harley's mean personality and automatically lets him join. Nobody knows...

Anyways, I MUST see this episode. I can't wait 'till it comes to Canada!

[ghost master]

Harley and Team Rocket together is a good idea.

I just want to know HOW Harley will convince Team Rocket to allow him to join them. Maybe Team Rocket respects Harley's mean personality and automatically lets him join. Nobody knows...

Anyways, I MUST see this episode. I can't wait 'till it comes to Canada!

We're supposed to keep speculation out of this thread. Besides its more of how is TR going to convince Harley to come with us. A few episodes ago he was making fun of them.

If he had so much confidence he wouldn't need to align with Team Rocket, would he?

I think this is part of Jessie's plan. Recall that at the end of the brock vs may contest jessie makes a comment about having an idea for the next contest.

This apparently means Harley is so low and pathetic. Such an evil heart and can't forgive May. He's too proud and his plans always fail.

Thats why he just beat May with his latest confrontation with her.

Just for the sake of not having to make another post.

[Comis Patronus]

This apparently means Harley is so low and pathetic. Such an evil heart and can't forgive May. He's too proud and his plans always fail.

[HoennMaster]

Yep, that's Harley

[Sunain]

Harley and Team Rocket together is a good idea. Anyways, I MUST see this episode. I can't wait 'till it comes to Canada!

Hah, that will be sometime in April of 2007.

This was a great episode. Harley is turning out to be a better rival then Gary ever was to Ash.

[GreenKirby]

I've heard a younger Harley was shown. I also heard Banette appears. From taitofan in the Harley fan club.

[Golden Darkness]

Seen the episode.

Seems the teamup is more than just Harley supporting Jessie with his Pokemon. He gave James Ariados to sabatoge May's Appeal(which failed).

Drew does make a quick cameo.

[FireHead Hank]

I've heard a younger Harley was shown. I also heard Banette appears. From taitofan in the Harley fan club.

Yes it's shown how Harley meets May for the first time as a kid. Harley is having lunch, it seems like he has a favorite piece of foot, so he starts eating his other stuff and saves the "best for the last". As he has eaten everything but the piece(of fish I think, it has the shape of an OCtillery), May appears, takes Harleys "fish" and eats it.
So that's why Harley seems to hate May...

[Jo-Jo]

Seen the episode pictures! This looks like a good'un. Harley is flouncy as ever, with a brand new gay walk(tm) and a delightfully unconvincing childhood flashback to explain why he hates May (personally I'm leaning on the theory that he made the whole thing up to get Jessie's sympathy). Banette, Cacturne and Ariados all make appearances - hurrah! And Cacturne falls in love with Jessie. XD It runs right up and glomps onto her like a crazed fanboy. Banette looks v. amused. Why are the ships in Pokemon so frequently disturbing, I wonder?

There wasn't quite as much plot as I was expecting... the episode covers the Harley/TR alliance and the appeals, but it feels a little bit like the writers had to pad it out to make it last the full twenty five minutes. Possibly I'll change my mind on this when I see the episode properly. Harley gets TR on his side surprisingly quickly, especially Jessie. Well, I suppose she's always been a sucker for tales of childhood trauma. Oh, cuteness note - Chibi!Harley had a lunchbox with an octopus on it, and his rice had a smiley face. Bless!

Anyhoo, brief synopsis: Harley and TR team up to stop May winning, as we all know. During the appeals, James and Meowth are given the task of helping Ariados trip up May and Combusken with String Shot. Ash goes to sort them out, but in the end he needn't have bothered; Combusken's Fire Spin burns up the string and poor Ariados gets a cookin' (afterwards, Harley has a huge snit fit at James and Meowth for letting his beloved Pokemon get hurt. Heeeee). The effect with the Fire Spin and the string looks very impressive, though, and May manages to end the appeal on a strong note, so she scrapes through into the second round. Oh, and Drew randomly turns up for the contest and then... stands around in the corridor leading from backstage onto the stage. Errrrr, what was wrong with the nice comfy chairs in the auditorium, exactly, Drew? Strange kid. XD

I didn't get everything, though, so... couple of questions for anyone who's seen the ep and has a better idea than me of what went on:

- What does Nurse Joy say to May at the beginning of the ep that makes her look so alarmed? Was it something about the Grand Festival being only a month away?

- Where was Harley's flashback supposed to be set? It looked like a school.

- When Lilian shows the ribbon, May has two short flashbacks (flashback city in this episode): one to the conversation she had with Drew at the end of the Grand Festival, and one to something Harley said at the beginning of the ep. What was all that about?

- Why was Jessie's hair a weird shape this episode? (That's not a serious question. It was weird, though.)

- Was it ever explained why Drew was there? And why did he look so serious all episode?

- Did May realise who Jessie was? There's an exchange between them that makes it slightly look that way. Or maybe it was just me.

[Torkoal Stu]

- Was it ever explained why Drew was there? And why did he look so serious all episode?

I would think Drew was there to watch May OR stop Harley because in the next episode preview     Spoiler:

Show Spoiler

 
he looks slightly evil when talking to Harley
 

so it might be the latter.

Well i've seen the pictures as well and all I can say is:

* OMGZ DREW! Yay. We don't see enough of him this season, we mostly get filler Coordinators or Harley these days, am I right? Yes I believe I am.

* Wow Jessie actually did well in her Appeal, you know if they didn't cheat during May's :P

* SUCKERS! May turned it all around, so in the end they ended up helping her or so it looked. But then again Ash was fighting James in the rafters. Or so it looked.

* Drew did seem awfully serious during the appeals, he must of had a hate for Harley ever since the Silver Wind trick he pulled on May in the Hoenn GF.

* That girl better not of been May in the child thing, I mean we've seen character look alikes before but if it is May i'll scream since well in the first episode Harley appeared in he didn't look like he even knew May. So that also kind of proves that it was just a random girl of the writers are really trying hard to find more reasons to make Harley Team up with TR.

Looks pretty good, but Jessie did have weird hair like Jo-Jo said.

[The Big Al]

Why couldn't he just stick with "she insulted us". (It worked for Scotty.)

[Mika_Coyote]

- Why was Jessie's hair a weird shape this episode?

I noticed that too when I saw the pictures(torrent doesn't work for some reason o_O)... But I can answer that! Compare the shading of her hair in this episode with any of the others. In this one, for some odd reason, they put the shading line only on the hair's body, and not on her fringe, where it usually is. That decreases the contrast between her hair and the forehead, so it's highly noticeable. And also doesn't look that good. -.- Gee I sound so boring...

[That Scary Clefairy]

Ok, one thing I don't get though for the flashback. It seems like in the flashback, Harley is the same age as May! o_O WTF??? Did Harly age faster than her at some point? But like Jo-Jo said, "it was probably made up to get Jesse's sympathy.

[V Faction]

And with this episode, Combusken cements its place as May's best Pokemon to date... Again!

That "I Won't Lose!" song played during May's appeal was overly fitting. It's a rather catchy tune.

This episode makes me anxious to see a May Pokemon versus Harley Pokemon face-off one of these days. The likes of Combusken, Munchlax, Squirtle, and Eevee getting into a brawl with Cacturne, Banette, Ariados, and Octillery would be fun.

[Alfonso]

Jo-Jo, Joy told May that this Contest was the 'last chance' (Literally, in Engrish. XD) to get a ribbon for the Grand Festival.

Octan-chan appears on Harley's lunchbox. <3

[CyberCubed]

Jo-Jo, Joy told May that this Contest was the 'last chance' (Literally, in Engrish. XD) to get a ribbon for the Grand Festival.

Same as the Pacidfiglog Contest then.

So are the writers going to raise the stakes in every final Contest for each saga now, with May needing to win a ribbon in the last second?

[V Faction]

Of course, because it's the easiest thing to do.

"Well, May needs her last ribbon. I guess we better make this the last chance to get a ribbon for the Grand Festival then."

It's insanely cheap, but I suppose they don't want to change for headache's sake.

At least this time that importance was played up much more. Brock commented on how the Pokemon were performing at their top levels, and then there was the whole Harley-Team Rocket fiasco.