Frozen on their Tracks (598)

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

Before I watch it on CNw on Direct TV, what time does it appear on? 9:00 or 9:30? I wish they could just do those recaps later in the afternoon again like they did in the summer. How bad does Looker sound? Well, I won't let myself down when I hear him! Also, today's Halloween, thus lets enjoy our treat PUSA has given out to us.

[Vern]

It was a pretty enjoyable episode but not a lot happened in it. I liked how Handsome sounds and that he acts the similar to the way he acts in the games. Ampharos was a pretty cool Pokémon as well. I wonder what role Handsome will play later on in the Galactic plot.

[Dattebayo]

How bad does Looker sound? Well, I won't let myself down when I hear him!

If you hate Jason Griffith, then Looker will sound terrible for you as he is voiced by him.

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

Looker sounded handsome, even if it wasn't the way I had in mind (since it was a bit deep) and I quite enjoyed hearing and seeing him. Today's episode was quite the treat to us all. Now all we need is someone to rip that scene with Happiny twirling that boulder with Piplup on it.

If you hate Jason Griffith, then Looker will sound terrible for you as he is voiced by him.

He was terrific! I bet he'll voice Palmer within the next ten weeks.

[Ciccone]

The dub version of this episode was absolutely amazing compared to some of the previous dubbed versions. The voice of Looker sounded great which I was glad to hear; most voices sound bad or just lacking emotion. Still one of my favorite episodes in DP since we got to see Looker in action on the hunt for Team Galactic.

[Alpha Gamer]

Meh this episode was okay. My favorite part was when Piplup tried to move the boulder and then Happiny waddles over and lifts it up with one hand and throws towards the sun and it falls in the river. That thing is on steroids!!!

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

Was anyone else mesmerized by the water. Gosh, just looking stream of water flowing compelled me, just like looking at Looker in the ending of the episode, or perhaps the sun setting in the wood lines. Also, where are the other members? Shouldn't they appear at this moment like that one user posting a very long (and hilarious) synopsis? So that's how you pronounce Ampharos.

[Alpha Gamer]

Was anyone else mesmerized by the water. Gosh, just looking stream of water flowing compelled me, just like looking at Looker in the ending of the episode, or perhaps the sun setting in the wood lines.

Yes I have to agree that the environment and setting in this episode was very beautiful.

[Ciccone]

Was anyone else mesmerized by the water. Gosh, just looking stream of water flowing compelled me, just like looking at Looker in the ending of the episode, or perhaps the sun setting in the wood lines. Also, where are the other members? Shouldn't they appear at this moment like that one user posting a very long (and hilarious) synopsis? So that's how you pronounce Ampharos.

I noticed that. And since the episode was in HD, it looked like a movie.

[milenadrg]

Episode was good. It was cool seeing Looker in Anime and Sudowoodo learning Hammer Arm, too... Ampharos really needed some sreentime, too...

[JohnLee]

I thought that the episode was very well done. I liked when piplup chose which path to take when they all got separated and Happiny just followed. It was like they were singing a song, but it didn't last long when they came running back. I liked the Looker plot going on at the same time as Team Rocket was doing their usual thing. The animation was amazing as well!

[WaterDragon trainer]

This episode was ok. I thought Looker was creepy looking. Like how Happiny could easily lift the giant boulder with one hand. It was awesome to see Sudowoodo learn Hammer Arm, although it was unoriginal to see.

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

Yes I have to agree that the environment and setting in this episode was very beautiful.

Needless to say, Looker is correct with his perspective on his surroundings.

I noticed that. And since the episode was in HD, it looked like a movie.

That's because Pokemon is now both HD and widescreen and yes it's magnificent!

Episode was good. It was cool seeing Looker in Anime and Sudowoodo learning Hammer Arm, too... Ampharos really needed some sreentime, too...

When was the last time we saw Ampharos? It was nice to see the feller in action, like thunder punching the boulder.

I thought that the episode was very well done. I liked when piplup chose which path to take when they all got separated and Happiny just followed. It was like they were singing a song, but it didn't last long when they came running back. I liked the Looker plot going on at the same time as Team Rocket was doing their usual thing. The animation was amazing as well!

Piplup and Happiny singing reminded me of another episode with Pikachu and Piplup singing. What's next is you know they'll have a Pokemon Musical!

This episode was ok. I thought Looker was creepy looking. Like how Happiny could easily lift the giant boulder with one hand. It was awesome to see Sudowoodo learn Hammer Arm, although it was unoriginal to see.

I just realized today he reminded me of my friend for years and looks like a monkey....holy crap....that is just beyond bewildering. Also, the creators of gamefreak thought of Looker as an inspiration thanks to their old childhood show Lupin the 3rd where some detective resembles his personality.

[JohnLee]

Piplup and Happiny singing reminded me of another episode with Pikachu and Piplup singing. What's next is you know they'll have a Pokemon Musical!

Hmm, I don't ever remember Pikachu and Piplup singing before. It was just really funny to me for some reason. Haha you're probably right!

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

Also, I noticed Croagunk's voice today was in its Japanese version during the picnic scene. Man I just love easter eggs PUSA just throws at us. I just wonder if they're even errors at all. Thankfully I updated that information on the bulbapedia page. Yes I am a member there.

[ash_forever]

What?? Only one page so far for such an awesome episode?

What I expected to be a "filler" first, actually turned out to be a great episode which was definitely worth watching. I enjoyed it a lot.

Of course, half of the episode consisted of the good old "search and rescue" plot. This alone would have been a bit dull, so I'd agree with anyone who'd say that. (Though we can't deny either that the part when the Pokemon had to find their way back to their trainers certainly had some funny and entertaining elements as well). But fortunately, we also had the great and highly exciting Looker-investigates subplot, too.
Man, you may be laughing at me now, but heck, today's episode was nerve-racking and thrilling: The train stops right in the middle of the landscape for no obvious reason, it turns out that somebody manipulated the track switch and finally an abandoned track...mysterious, mysterious!!
And then the part when Looker investigated that old abandoned cave in that mountain. Truly nerve-racking!!
I know that so far, DP has proved us wrong with regard to many things, but I would never have expected such a plot line and above all, such a setting in Pokemon. This was at least as exciting and surprising as the appearance of the pure evil in the form of that little ghost-girl in "Ghoul Daze"!

The episode also reminded me of two famous movies: Firstly, "Under Siege 2" because of the motif of a train being stopped in the midst of the prairie and "Operation Broken Arrow" because of the hideout in an abandon cave in a mountain.

Did I mention yet that this subplot sure was thrilling? I guess I pointed it out more than often now ^^

But I mustn't forget to say that I was surprised and delighted to see how strong Pikachu's Volt Tackle was. Writers, THAT'S how the strongest attack of Ash very first Pokemon (and thus one of his strongest ones) should look like!
But tell me why I just can't get rid of the feeling that they will have forgotten about how to draw a decent attack after a few episodes again.

Ok, another important fact which I realized while watching the episode:
Right at the beginning when Dawn smiled because of Ash being so hyped up and said "No surprise there!", she sounded almost exactly like CYNTHIA! Especially the way she pronounced and intoned the "No" dispelled all doubts. As far as I know Cynthia has the same voice actress as Dawn, so that's no big deal, but nevertheless, it was soooo wonderful to be reminded of Her Majesty's voice


All in all, a great episode for great Saturday evening entertainment! Ok. I'd exaggerate if I said that it was Pokemon at its best, but today's episode at least showed the almost infinite and undreamed of potential of our favorite series!

7.5/ 8 out of 10 points!


Btw. one important question:

Has Looker reappeared in Japan since this episode? You see, I'm going to deviate from my habit of not watching Japanese episodes during the next two weeks. I'd like to watch the Galactic finale and therefore I need to know if Looker has played an important role again since then and if you should know about it in order to understand the ongoings in said finale.

[Yuppirox]

Btw. one important question:

Has Looker reappeared in Japan since this episode? You see, I'm going to deviate from my habit of not watching Japanese episodes during the next two weeks. I'd like to watch the Galactic finale and therefore I need to know if Looker has played an important role again since then and if you should know about it in order to understand the ongoings in said finale.

Answer:
    Spoiler:- spoiler:

Show Spoiler

 
DP 136 - Mt. Coronet Ruins! Team Galactic Conspiracy!!

That's the ep in which Looker appears in again after this one. Oh, and it's the introduction to a somewhat important Galactic member. I guess it is important to the Galactic finale (well, every other galactic ep is important to the finale). Hope that helped. (:
 

I really liked how this episode played out (well, mostly the Looker plot). The part with the Pokemon was cute and humorous. I ESPECIALLY loved the part near the end that basically forshadows a certain episode arc in the near future. Very mysterious indeed.

Oh, and the artwork and quality ARE amazing.

[GaZsTiC]

If Looker was absent from this episode, I would have fallen asleep from boredom.

[A_Merry_Snowrunt]

If Looker was absent from this episode, I would have fallen asleep from boredom.

If Piplup didn't have enough pride in this episode, it wouldn't have been humorous. But, this episode has to be one of my favorites. Anyways, I'm having a rotten time on how to get the youtube video to cooperate with me since I'm trying to make a gif animation of piplup hanging on to the boulder. Then the boulder going into the air and perhaps Pikachu's dazed look with Ampharos since it was funny to look at him.

[wind21]

The primary goal of this episode was to show what seems like a normal day for Ash, Dawn, and Brock while providing clues (and basically spelling it out in the end) that Team Galatic has already taken actions to do some unknown act at Lake Acuity. The story would have worked out okay, except the "normal" day for our heroes wasn't normal. The Team Rocket plot was weird, to say the least. I cannot remember the last time I saw their ballon moving so slowly. I mean, Ampharos, as slow as it moved in this episode, only had to "run" to the train, bounce off it, and it reached the balloon. Of course, the sad part is that the jump was actually believable because the balloon barely moved at all during the long time Jessie and James were talking. Where did the balloon come from, anyway? Jessie and James were on the train with Ash and the gang (don't blame them considering how slow their balloon was). How did they whip it out so fast, and from where? They couldn't have predicted that the train would stop where it did. Ahh, you say, but this is Pokemon, a kid's show. Yes, and this episode had too many of those moments: a bag that stops bubblebeam and thunderbolt on the inside but lets an aerial ace work on the outside, a cage that Pikachu can't use iron tail on from the inside but Amphoras can use thunderpunch and charge beam on from the outside, a flock of Fearow that Pikachu and Amphoras are unable to hit with their electric attacks because their aim is off, and Buneary's and Sudowoodo's ability to find Pikachu and company as quickly as Staraptor does.

Well, the fact that Happiny was laughing the entire time during Team Rocket's capture scene convinced me not to take things too seriously. To be honest, I thought the writers were trying to provide a reason for Ash and the gang to leave the train and maybe stumble upon some clues to Team Galactic's scheme. But not so. After the ballon crashes, Team Rocket basically lets Pikachu, Piplup, Happiny (whose inclusion lets you know this is supposed to be a Brock episode), and Amphoras walk away, and we have ourselves a Pokemon are separted from their trainers segment. Unfortunately, it's inferior to Jumping Rocket Ship because it tries some of the same gags: Piplup's disasterous attempt to be leader of the gang, and Happiny's super strength (much funnier seeing Happiny lift up Grotle than seeing Happiny predictably lifting up a rock in a strength contest). By this time, Happiny's innocent laughing had worn thin with me. We've come too far in Sinnoh for a "cute" act to carry an entire episode, and that's the sad burden Happiny was assigned with.
Side note: This is the first time I can remember seeing Piplup cross his arms.

The gang do find their lost Pokemon, with the help of Staraptor, Sudowoodo and Buneary. The sole purpose of Sudowoodo being out of its pokeball was to give it a reason to battle Team Rocket and reveal that it had learned Hammer Arm. I suppose this is the writer's way of showing character development for Brock, but it feels forced, to be honest. It would have made more sense for Brock to have Croagunk out to search, since it's sometimes demonstrated a good instinct for knowing when Team Rocket is around. Because Brock used a Pokemon to search, Dawn had to use one as well, and Buneary was stuck with the task of being out of its pokeball with nothing to do.

The parts with Looker were well done, and the ending of the episode left me feeling excited, which is great, considering the feeling had nothing to do with Ash's upcoming battle with Paul. Speaking of which, I cringed a little when I heard Ash say he was definitely going to beat Paul.

All in all, the English (and Japanese) episode(s) were not as good as I hoped this week. But next week, they are both going to make up for it.