Sweet Baby James (424)

[Eric Cartman]

This is seriously ****ed up. I knew the writers were dense, but I can't believe it has gone to this all time low.

[Ethereal]

I really fail to see the big problem with James dumping Chimecho for Manene. Let's face it, Chimecho didn't do a dang thing other than do a cry after the Team Rocket motto....And its Heal Bell like, once during its lifespan.

Other than that, the dumb thing was dead weight....Just like in the games. It takes WAY too long to find that thing, and then you discovered it's crap. Not just Parasect crap, but LUVDISC crap. Yes, Chimey is THAT bad.

But back on topic, Chimecho just served no purpose. The writers saw that they screwed up with it, so they decided to give James a Manene, a Pokemon that they can do a lot with. They also see the same with Mudkip, apparently, judging from what we're hearing about the episode after this. ;/

[Wind Waker]

Yes, chimecho did nothing, but I well appreciated it being there. The idea did take me by surpise, and although i hate it, kudos to the writers, not too much though. manene better very well do everything chimecho couldn't, and the ep better damn well bring me top tears when i see it,

[Chatsy]

Did James decide to leave Chimecho behind because it was still ill, or didn't he want to take the risk of it getting hurt anymore?

Either way, Munchlax was ill too, but otherwise it got no honorable scenery. 8D
I am a little "WTF" at James willing to team up with Ash to blast Jessie and Meowth away. He must've really had respect for the old couple and their mansion.
From what I could see of James' flashback of his childhood, he seems to have met the old couple before. Guess that explains the respect for them.

The animation truly has improved lately. What happened, did the budget go up or the animationcrew win a bet or something?

[Lupin]

Well, that was unexcepted. James leaving his Chimecho behind. After he made such a big deal about getting it in the first place. It didn't even stay that long (well longer than some of Ash's pokemon, but you know what I mean).

How long do you think it will be before Jessie asks if she can borrow it for a contest?

[The Big Al]

Anyway... Manene coming along was kinda an accident. James was trying to get Chimecho's Pokeball for the caretakers to have when a couple of empty Pokeballs fell out of his pocket. Then Manene walks up to one and hits the capture trigger button, and then you know.. it's captured.

You have got to be frakking me! That stupid clown pulls a Psyduck? Oy oy...*many oys later*...oy oy oy. This looked ike such a good episode but now it looks like a horrible one.

[Flamez]

Seen the episode, and the farewell james and chimecho had was very emotional, they had flashbacks of how chimecho came with james and when jessie used it in the contest. We got to see a new side of james. Cacnea beat the living crap out of seviper.lol. It was confused when james told it to attack seviper. Manene was cute i dont like the fact that they left chimecho but i like it that james got manene although it imitating people could get annoying at some point, it got quite attached to james already. In my opinion a very nice episode you people should definetely watch it. Also i think james is the best damn character made.lol.

[Thriller]

This must be the first time in the series James has made TR blast off even though he wasnt with them.

Who wants to bet that when 4Kids gets a hold of this episode they will have the twerps call James by himself 'Team Rocket' like they do all the time when they see either him or Jessie alone.

There was a Weepinbell in a flashback scene, could this be the same Victreebel we enjoyed during Johto?

[Serebii]

No as we saw the Flashback where James caught that Weepinbell using Weezing

[Dogasu]

I have a request guys; can we keep the memorials to Chimecho in our sigs and user titles to a minimum? When people who are trying to not get spoiled see sigs with people mourning the loss of Chimecho, they're going to figure out what happened. It's not fair to the people who are trying to avoid spoilers.

Thank you.

[Haunter Hunter Sohrab]

I just saw the Pics and wow that was one nice episode.

[Revolutionary Destiny]

I just saw the Pics and wow that was one nice episode.

It really was a nice episode. The animation was really beautiful and the scenes between James and Chimecho were especially beautiful, as well as emotional. But I'm still confused as to why he left Chimecho behind even though he was crying over it.

[JazzJazz]

But I'm still confused as to why he left Chimecho behind even though he was crying over it.

From the pictures it seems as though chimecho was still bed-ridden and was probably still needed time to recover.

[The Big Al]

So Chimecho might come back once it's regained its health. Though then TR's team will be a bit Psychic heavy.

[Pikachu Fan Number Nine]

I just read James' character bio and I was thinking this: I was hoping Ash would get Manene so he could eventually have a Mr. Mime, just like his mother.

[CyberCubed]

That would be repetitive. (But then again May getting a Bulbasaur, Squirtle, AND Munchlax are also repetitive since they're all Ash's Pokemon...but what the hell)

And yeah, if Chimecho is still in the opening with next weeks episode, at least we can hope to see it again sometime.

[Gravy]

Despite Chimecho departing for who knows how long, and no real mention of past characters associated with James, this was a really good episode. Probably the best that the Battle Frontier saga has offered thus far infact. There were some really memorable scenes, and the music pieces chosen for them were perfect. Not to mention the animation was on top form. Character expressions, movement and attacks all looked splendid.
And of course, there was that huge chunk of character development for James, which deserves two thumbs up~

The emotional scenes between Chimecho and James, especially when they finally part ways, really did pull at my heartstrings. It was all very touching, and was a big breath of fresh air from the usual endings we get lately.
And my god, Manene is freaking adorable. I absolutely love its voice and imitations, especially when it copies James throwing Cacnea's pokéball and ordering attacks. Watch it shoot to the top of my favourite pokémon list. Best prevo ever, 'nuff said.

Jessie and Meowth's whole attitude really stunk I might add. I really wanted to strangle the both of them at times. Speaking of which, Cacnea pwning Seviper = awesome. Heh, they really did deserve that thrashing this time around :P


One thing I'd like to know is, how the hell did Ash know Phanpy has Hidden Power in its arsenal? He didn't have it use the move in a previous episode did he? Truth be told, I haven't really bothered to look into the one or two eps I managed to miss ^^;

[S.Suikun]

Good to see James finally stick up for himself against Jessie. Probably the only time Cacnea will ever be victorious in battle. Chimecho looks absolutely adorable in the final few minutes of the episode. Unfortunately, this looks to be another flashback sequence which 4Kids will tinker with for absolutely no reason at all.

[vaporeon89]

What attack used Cacnea to Seviper with phampy?

[wobbanut]

*squeals* A sweet Team Rocket ending! Wow, we haven't had one of those in SO long. I'll really miss Chimecho so badly, but at least it's where James knows it's safe, and we'll still see it here in the U.S. for another year.

Also, wow, Cacnea attacked Seviper?! I mean, I know it did that in "The Bicker the Better" too, but this was different.

This episode looks AWESOME, even though I know it'll mean Chimecho's departure. Hey, the two groups getting along for a while, great TR material, and a sweet ending looks like it'll make 5 stars in my book.

[Murgatroyd]

A few of the main points of the episode, c/p-ed from my post at BMG. A lot of them don't seem to have been covered in this thread yet:
-The mansion was one of Kojiro's family's "cottages". He used to love going there because it was the one place he could really get away from the "proper" upbringing his family was trying to inflict on him.
-The old man and woman are old servants who are quite good at taking care of sick and injured pokemon.
-Not wanting to disappoint the people who cared for him so much when he was a child, Kojiro tries to hide the fact that he's in Team Rocket, claiming instead that he's running a company, and that Musashi and Nyasu are his assistant and manager. At the end, he does admit the truth, and they are not disappointed in him.
-The episode deals something of a severe blow to Rocketshipping, or at least that subship which claims they'll ever get married. Kojiro is utterly appalled at the servants' initial assumption that Musashi is his wife. (His panicked denial includes something that translates more or less as "ANYTHING but that!")
-Kojiro gets the Twerps to agree to a truce: He, Musashi, and Nyasu won't do anything bad here, and the Twerps won't reveal that he's in Team Rocket. Musashi and Nyasu, however, keep doing or trying to do things, and this culminates in the battle where Kojiro rather handily defeats Musashi before asking Satoshi to deal the finishing blow.
-There are several good scenes showing how Kojiro interacts with people when he isn't being part of TR.
-Chiriin is left, after a well-done (if fairly standard) farewell scene, because TR can't afford to wait around any longer, but Chiriin isn't yet healed to the point that it can travel safely.
-As Kojiro is getting Chiriin's ball out to leave it with the servants, an empty ball falls out of his pocket, and Manene promptly jumps in.

[greatfire]

I found very funny when James imagined how will be his life if he marries Jessie.
Also another good joke is that James called Ash by his nickname (Jari-Boy in japanese) and Ash actually responded to it.
The animation is good, especially when TR depart from the castle, but I found a mistake, or maybe a last minute change: When Ash & Co are departing in the wide shot James is clearly there, but not in the close-up shot. Look at the pictures.
The only problem lies in the plot: Ash & Co does almost nothing in this episode and their appearances are all a bit forced, it would have been better without them.

[Murgatroyd]

The animation is good, especially when TR depart from the castle, but I found a mistake, or maybe a last minute change: When Ash & Co are departing in the wide shot James is clearly there, but not in the close-up shot. Look at the pictures.

I think the third figure in the wide shot is Manene, not James, and is not visible in the close-up because of camera angle.

[The Big Al]

Episodes like this make you wonder why James remains with Jessie and Meowth. He's a brilliant Poke Ringer and would probably be an okay trainer or coordinator. He could make an honest living and actually get of his family's and Team Rocket's shadow. Jeesie and Meowth are what is dragging him down and making him a loser. I'd love to see him actually defect from Team Rocket and become a recurring character in the league or contests. Perhaps becoming a revival of Ash's or May's. How could such a kind soul be trapped in TR?

[Geodude]

Exactly. This episode provides interesting character development for James, emphasizing his soft, caring side, and his love of those close to his family. Well, those servants practically are family to him, but you get the idea.

So Manene's shtick is that it imitates everything James does. Very cute.

I loved the part where James sent out Cacnea and it faced Ash & co, and James told it to attack Seviper instead, and Cacnea had this surprised reaction as if to say, "What?? Are you sure?"