Throwing the Track Switch! (523)

[Blue Snover]

I think they made the right choice in trading, i don't think Aipom was ever completely happy with Gym battles and Buizel was never going to change it's style to suit contests.

[Ash-kid]

I think they made the right choice in trading, i don't think Aipom was ever completely happy with Gym battles and Buizel was never going to change it's style to suit contests.

I think that Aipom was happy in Gym Battles,even beat Geodude and Roseraid.

[Deicario]

This episode was alright, with quite a big twist and we got to see the personalities of each pokemon. Some bit were just plain boring though, seeming to be heading nowhere (mabye because i missed a bit of the episode?). Nevertheless, it was an okay and slightly predictable episode.
7/10.

[squirtle soup]

pretty good episode i had a feeling that they would back out at the last second and not trade

[Littlemyuu]

Nice to see that Ash and Dawn trade Pokemons together....they really fit

[Ciccone]

Wow I never thought I'd see the day where a main character trades Pokemon with another main character.

I thought it was none of Zoey's business and she shouldn't have interfered with Ash and Dawn. By trading away their Pokemon, they also traded away their memories basically.

Buizel might look better on Ash's team, but at what cost to Dawn? She was given Aipom who wasn't so strong to begin with :/ 2/10

[dman_dustin]

Buizel might look better on Ash's team, but at what cost to Dawn? She was given Aipom who wasn't so strong to begin with :/ 2/10

The same aipom who knocked out Roark's Geodude, and Gardenia's Roserade?

[DaAuraWolf]

I like the trade in this episode.It was a great idea.We got A Pokemon that likes battles on they right side and a Pokemon that likes contest`s on the right side.Good Call.

10/10

[KGB13]

I think the Aipom & Buizel trade made a lot of sense. Buizel is obviously more of a fighter and fits better with Ash doing Gym battles,especially considering it's background before it was captured, and Aipom is more jolly and has a more "center of attention" personality which goes well with contest. So all in all I think it was a good trade and a good episode.

[IkagorePT]

Well, before Chimchar intro, my favourite Ash's pokemon was Aipom.

Whatever, now it's my favourite Dawn's Pokemon. Aipom has really skills in the contests as Buizel in fighting.

Plus... both pokemon/trainers are in the same team so, good trade !

[Janovy]

I saw the episode today and I must admit that I really liked it. Obviously, it was hinted from the start that Aipom likes contest and now finally writers got a chance with a Buizel more interested in battles rather than performance.

Anyway, I liked how the Pokemon payed more attention on the opposite training than on their own, but I just wish Ash had some kind of farewell with Aipom. Ah well, they ARE still together. (at least until Ambipom leaves) And one more thing...I LOVED how writers broke the rule which implied 'Ash will never trade Pokemon' by doing it with the female protagonist. That's just one of many rule breaks anime is going to do.

[Willow's Tara]

I thought the trade was a good idea since Buizel liked battling more and since the GF in Kanto Aipom has always liked contests, so I see why Zoey suggested it not a bad idea. And plus it's not like they aren't ever going to see the traded Pokemon again or aleast while Ash and Dawn are traveling together Dawn will still see Buizel (Aipom on the other hand is a different matter since it's gone later on huh).

In a way it was a bit sweet for Jessie and Meowth to try and get a Pokemon for James so he could be happy again (Nice to see that he didn't completely forget about it and was still upset in this episode, although wouldn't stealing Turtwig be better then Buizel considering he seems to favor grass types)

[wind21]

After 6 intense, emotional episodes in a row, this episode comes as a bit of a relief. It's a peaceful episode, with Ash and Dawn trading pokemon with each other.

Zoey has a pretty good appearance here. She is the one who suggests that Dawn and Ash make a trade, but she does not try to force them when they initially cannot do it. It's a nice little touch of sensitivity from her.

The beginning of the episode continues the trend of Zoey finding our heroes in a weird, slightly embarrassing situation. Ash and Pikachu do their best Shaggy and Scooby impersonations (Pikachu's smile gives the impression that it's in heaven, ha ha). But I wasn't as bothered by it this time since the recent Chimchar episode began with Brock snapping at Ash for complaining about lunch (a funny moment; see, Zoey is not needed to get a laugh); so the scene in this episode did not feel so much out of character.

Zoey smiles at Ash's encouragement of Dawn when Dawn gets intimidated by the tv news of Kenny winning 2 contests (in a row? Shame on me for not taking good notes), and I think it reinforces what happened at the beginning of the Tag Battle Arc, when Zoey asks Ash and Brock to convince Dawn to enter the tournament rather than doing it herself. In fact (hope this is not just a dubbing thing), Zoey remarks that Kenny is really on a role to make the gang aware of her presence, and that really is not what Dawn wanted to hear right then. Ash comes to the rescue by telling Dawn not to worry, as she will catch up and then be better than Kenny, causing Dawn to smile in appreciation (sorry, another one of my favorite Ash/Dawn moments). Zoey's smile in response shows that she is glad Ash can provide that type of support, b/c she's incapable of doing it herself (seems to be against her nature).

To end this review on a bit of a light note, there are a bunch of fun ideas you can apply to Aipom's and Buizel's expressions during the training. My favorite one is when Aipom is watching with a frown as Glameow uses Buizel's water attacks to make a sparkly appeal, as if Aipom is in disbelief that this appeal is being used for what feels like the millionth time. To show real creativity, Aipom makes a swift appeal (and it looked nice, too).

[Painkiller2001]

I'm glad this trade happened.

Buizel and Ash are just a better fit.

Same with Aipom and Dawn. They just click better.

[Lance The Champ]

Buizel fits perfectly in Ash's team....Although it would fit into Paul's team as well

[G50]

This episode was ok... It was interesting to see Buizel training for contests and Aipom for gym battles, but really paying attention elsewhere to what the other Pokemon were doing. I'm glad Ash and Dawn finally had a Buizel/Aipom trade, it really is fitting in the end. Although it was odd to see Aipom on Dawn's head.

50/100

[BurningSociety12345543210]

Buizel could have stayed on Dawn's team longer. I think it would have helped with her team's development. I would've just given Ash a Bibarel or Shellos or something.

:/

[CyberCubed]

This episode had terrible animation, Zoey looked deformed.

[SlimeStack]

Wow interesting piece of history in this topic. Had no idea that this episode had backlash back in the day.

The story wasn't that interesting and the animation wasn't great, but the actual trade was sensible and expected. I haven't seen BF but Aipom has been very interested in contests for all of DP so far. Plus Ash having two monkeys seemed a bit weird to me. It would have been nice if Dawn got a bit more time with Buizel. Maybe she should have tried to use it in the Hearthome Contest and have her loss affect the decision, but it's much better off in Ash's hands either way. It was an interesting and unique way for Ash to obtain his obligatory water Pokémon too.