Having been extremely good and worked hard enough last week to increase my overall article buffer, today I am treating myself, and you know what that means – we’re heading back to Alola, where the seas are blue and the skies are clear and the pokemon all have adorable mannerisms that make you wanna just squish their little faces. Sun and Moon’s last episode was brimming with just that sort of charming character acting, as we watched Ash and his pokemon engaging in some genuinely grueling training in order to beef Rockruff up for his big fight. And with Rockruff now on his team, Ash might now possess the proper poke power to continue his island pilgrimage, or at the very least solidly trounce Team Rocket. But whether this episode advances the larger narrative or just luxuriates in slice of life reveries, I’m just happy to be back in Alola, and hope you’ll join me for another episode of Sun and Moon. Let’s get to it!

Episode 16

We open along the shoreline, with Popplio about to unveil a new trick. The lightly lapping waves of this first shot immediately impress a sense of calm through their soothing repetitive movement. Tonally, the default “aesthetics of the shoreline” contain a variety of elements that inherently soothe the mind, from their repetitive motion and noises, to the clean lines of the horizon. It’s no surprise they’re not just seen as a place of relaxation, but also frequently framed as the end of a journey or venue for self-reflection in fiction

Ooh, terrific spinning cut of Lana as she announces Popplio’s move. There’s a playful sense of volume to her hair – her bangs bounce around fluidly, rather than adhering to their simplified, unrealistic normal shape. Yasuhiko Akiyama’s work, apparently!

Popplio can now blow a bubble strong enough to carry himself inside it!

Is it weird that I feel like I’m beginning to understand Pikachu? I definitely parsed Pikachu’s “Pikachu” here as “well, can I try it then?”, even before Ash explained it

I mean, the real answer to that question is that an enormous amount of language’s intent is carried through tone and body language rather than words, and Pokemon exploits that truth as much as humanly possible

Oh god, now both Rowlett and Popplio are getting swept away in a bubble. Wonderful reaction shots from Lana and Mallow

Terrific use of exaggerated shading and thick lines for this final, aghast group shot. These designs’ flexibility continues to impress

“A Tiny Trio on a Big Adventure!” This episode is gonna be so good

The character animation is so good for our trainers chasing them. I love how Lana’s whole posture changes when she gets really serious; shoulders pulled low and forward, feet stomping, hands balled into fists. There’s so much personality coming through in her shift here

Also, Lana just going into defensive Mama Bear mode when the Popplio she rescued is threatened is wonderful

Interesting. The show at last makes a concession to necessity in terms of pokemon language, with Rowlett’s intent being illustrated through a series of goofy illustration bubbles. Normally we have enough context clues to gauge a pokemon’s intent, but it’s much harder when they’re talking to each other with no humans present

Holy crap, the animation of Popplio and Rowlett tumbling through the sky is excellent – ambitious, energetic cuts as they tumble past the camera, the distortions in their forms offering comedy even aside from their impressions and freeze frames. Apparently this was production prodigy Isao Nanba’s first episode as animation director, and he is absolutely killing it

We are getting an absurd array of expressions out of Rowlett and Popplio as they apologize for breaking Team Rocket’s radar. I love the little details like Popplio pushing Rowlett’s head down to bow to them

Even sequences that might be still in other episodes are beautifully fluid here. Jessie and James really vamping up their devilishness here

Popplio just bouncing the ring-bound Rowlett along like a beach ball. Frankly, this is probably for the best – every time Rowlett attempts to do anything, it usually makes the situation worse

Our lost pokemon are saved from Team Rocket by the arrival of Litten!

These cuts of Meowth and Litten clashing are so wonderfully fluid. Pokemon frequently uses bank footage for its attacks, but we’re not getting any of that here – instead, each clash is illustrated through ambitious new cuts that draw maximum energy out of the camera’s movement, creating a sense of impact by pulling back and then having the characters leap at the retreating frame

The three starters have a balanced set of personalities – Popplio is the nervous, analytical one, Litten is the proud, tough one, and Rowlett is the total idiot

Dang, the main town of this island is actually pretty huge

Litten takes them back to his Stoutland sensei, who is now living under a bridge in the city. We get a bit of exposition courtesy of the narrator to explain their relationship for anyone who missed that episode – a necessary concession to this episode’s unusual degree of continuity. It’s funny to me that the episode about three pokemon bumbling around in the forest is actually the most “lore-dense” episode so far

Stoutland paces around Rowlett and fills the entire background, emphasizing how intimidating he is

Oh my god, this is such a good Popplio episode. They’re doing a remarkable job of conveying Popplio’s role as the plan-maker of the group, and also the one prone to anxiety. I love all of these panicked Popplio faces as he seemingly rants about the impossibility of finding their way home in this massive city

Rowlett’s fallen asleep, so Popplio smacks him awake. The two of them have even developed a boke-tsukkomi routine, all without words

Back at the human party, Rockruff actually has to prompt Ash to use his own sense of smell to find the missing pokemon, and then also points out that Ash’s backpack would naturally smell like Rowlett. The pokemon are really doing all of the damn work this episode

Very nice shots around the town as we montage our way towards sundown. Like with the Litten-focused episode, it’s interesting to receive a pokemon-eye view of human society

Team Rocket, who seem unusually competent this episode, end up catching the three travelers with a giant crane

Litten heroically demands that Team Rocket let the other two go, while meanwhile, Rowlett has fallen asleep again. This really is a remarkably balanced adventuring party, and I’ll be kind of sad to go back to the usual dynamic after this

Popplio is dazzled by Litten’s bravery

Oh my god, Litten’s tragic backstory is prompting a rebellion among the Team Rocket pokemon. This episode is amazing

Meowth getting sentimental is just the best

What a full adventure package we’re receiving here. We’re even getting a dramatic last-second reversal, as Litten agrees to join the enemy, presumably in order to double-cross them at the perfect moment

Incredible JoJo-style freeze frame for Team Rocket’s shocked looks of betrayal

Team Rocket’s frustration at being defeated seems less substantial than their elation at finally getting to say they’re blasting off again

I love that Litten has essentially become this town’s local superhero

And Done

Oh my god, what an incredibly good episode that was. The base concept of “the three Sun and Moon starters go on an adventure by themselves” is already a great pitch, but this episode offered so much beyond that. The animation, for one, was head and shoulders above this show’s already impressive standard, offering an incredible buffet of charming, energetic character acting, plenty of exciting new cuts for the action sequences, and a wide array of inventive expressions. And the amount of storytelling this episode was able to convey entirely without words was remarkable, as it effectively built up Popplio, Rowlett, and Litten as a team with an excellent balance of personalities. An episode like this embodies so many of Sun and Moon’s strengths, demonstrating the power of animation as a force for storytelling, characterization, humor, and so much else. What a terrific show.

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