As winter approaches my drafty New England apartment, there’s nothing I’d like more than to escape to somewhere warm and sunny, where the beaches are plentiful and the Pokemon always happy to see you. Pokemon Sun and Moon’s anime has been a relaxing and very charming adventure so far, and really does feel like a little slice of anime vacation. The show’s first three episodes have possessed little sense of urgency, and I actually really appreciate that; instead, the show has held closer to something like a slice of life tone, simply reveling in Ash’s process of getting to know the Alolan residents, and going on adventures with his new friends. The show’s narrative trajectory embodies its ethos: enjoying Pokemon is not about winning or losing, but about the fundamental joys of friendship, discovery, and competition. Let’s see what new adventures await in the next episode of Sun and Moon!
Episode 4
We open on a litten named Nyabby-chan happily eating snacks. See, this is the kind of wholesome, immediate fulfillment I’m here for
I feel like we sort of get culturally trained out of enjoying media without narrative purpose, and often have to “unlearn” that anew to enjoy slice of life productions as an adult. We’re conditioned to see overt plot beats as the “point” of a story, and that assumption can negatively impact our ability to engage with or enjoy works that are more about creating a certain tone, or conveying the experience of a life as it is lived. Fortunately, a lot of anime push back against that assumption of narrative-first art, and some of the industry’s brightest lights are leading that charge – Naoko Yamada’s work is all about conveying a lived experience, and I felt similarly about the recent, excellent Miss Hokusai
A fleet of birds swoop in and start stealing shit from the market, but everyone’s cool with it. “The blessings of nature should be shared among all living things” – an attitude that mirrors the show’s general focus on communal fun over proving supremacy
Wait, is Pokemon basically a vision of utopian socialism?
Ash’s off fighting bugs, as you always do in your first new area
Hah, I love their use of the actual Pokemon battle music for Ash’s fight with this Pokemon
A beautiful cut for Pikachu using Lightning Bolt. The extreme closeup on Pikachu allows them to blur the background in order to facilitate some terrific spinning camerawork
A moment of real tension as everyone waits to see if the Pokemon remains caught. The tension of the Pokemon ball system has to be one of the most brilliant core dynamics in Pokemon; that balance of trying to get a Pokemon low enough to catch without having it faint, and then the thrill of waiting to see if it worked, almost like the tension of watching a spinning slot machine
More great Lillie expression work as she’s startled by the Pokemon
Ash has exactly one Pokemon, and when it gets hit by exactly one attack, he needs to take it back to the Pokemon center. He is really bad at this
Of course, in that way, he’s actually close to the “ideal” Pokemon player. The game and general universe are not designed for competitive min-maxers – it’s designed to kids setting off on their first adventure, making lots of mistakes, but hopefully having a rewarding time in the process
Team Rocket are stuck in the Bewear’s cave, where Jessie is entertaining herself by repeatedly chucking pokeballs at Mimikyu
Oh my god the Bewear has adopted them, what is even happening in this story
Miki and Hayashibara are just such good voice actors that basically any scene where they get to ramble is a treat
Some buff dudes just posing with Machokes at the Pokemon Center, as you do
I love the little nurse caps they’ve fashioned for the nurse assistant Pokemon
All the birds from before seem to be part of some… bird mafia? And then there’s a Rowlett, who hasn’t quite learned the rules here
This episode’s three plots are “Ash fails to catch a Pokemon,” “Team Rocket live with a bear now,” and “Bird experiences bird discrimination,” and I think that’s beautiful
Apparently Mallow’s main Pokemon releases a tasty-smelling aura, which has now attracted our little Rowlett friend
Rowlett is incredibly adorable, and now I want one
Having failed in battle, Ash turns to wining and dining Pokemon in order to win their support
The shitty birds steal all of Bewear’s stocked food, and Jessie decides they need to get it back in order to pay for room and board. I love these idiots so much
Fantastic dramatic closeup for this speech too, making great use of the sharp angles of Jessie’s eyes
“Letting this pass is going against the path of honest villainy!” I did kind of wonder why they always announce they’re going to steal things, instead of, you know, actually stealing them
The toucan Pokemon reflects on his useless Rowlett son
Each new episode of this show is able to serve as a fresh advertisement for Sun and Moon through its explanation of the unique powers each new Pokemon possesses. I now see why we spent so much time introducing Rotom – the process of explaining new Pokemon is actually a pretty key part of the show’s overall purpose and structure
Oh my gosh, Rowlett tucked himself into Ash’s backpack. This creature is too adorable
Ah, I see that Team Rocket introduction is actually bank footage, which I suppose makes it the Pokemon version of a magical girl transformation
One funny repercussion of this show mostly highlighting new Pokemon is that Pikachu ends up looking pretty useless a lot of the time. He’s basically like a jobber in pro wrestling – a character who’s designed to fail in order to make other characters look tough. And he’s certainly making Mimikyu look pretty tough here!
Looks like Pikachu has a few banked cuts as well for his various attacks. This thunderbolt uses the same cut as earlier in the episode, and the iron tail is the same cut as last episode. Interesting to see how different children’s shows distribute their bank animation
So instead of Blasting Off, in this season, Team Rocket just eventually get picked up by Bewear and carried away, like a mom taking her kids home from a playdate. Incredible
Ash decides he’s not actually going to catch Rowlett, since he sees how much Rowlett is appreciated by his family. Once again, Ash is embodying what this show seems to see as the essence of healthy Pokemon appreciation: finding joy together with friends, and sharing in their victories, rather than always seeking victory for yourself. People rag on Ash for being a bad trainer, but there aren’t many lessons to be imparted by “I was good at everything and won all of the challenges.” It’s through failure that we grow, and learn humility, and hopefully eventually realize that victory itself comes in many more forms than proving your own supremacy
As I’ve often discussed while writing about Ojamajo Doremi, the worldviews of children’s shows are very often much healthier and more mature than shows for teenagers, which tend to cater to teens’ narrow adolescent sensibilities. Light novel adaptations often echo the myopia of their audience; in contrast, Pokemon is designed to teach genuinely valuable lessons about coexisting with others, and its world is subsequently a much friendlier, more inviting place
Rowlett’s dad offers his blessing, and Rowlett joins the party!
The only discordant part of this world’s ethos feels like the pokeballs themselves. Actually capturing Pokemon in balls makes sense as a game design conceit, but feels cruel in the context of the show
See, Rowlett living in Ash’s backpack makes way more sense, and is also the most adorable thing in the world
And Done
Another very fun episode! Ash actually succeeded in catching a dang Pokemon this time, but this episode clearly wasn’t just about that. In fact, his most crucial moment of characterization was actually his choice not to catch Rowlett, because he believed Rowlett was better off with his family than traveling with the crew. Pokemon are not prizes to be won in this world – they’re potential friends to be made, or even landlords, as the case may be. Either way, as long as the show stays this charming, and keeps giving Team Rocket so many fantastic scenes, I’m going to keep having a great time!
This article was made possible by reader support. Thank you all for all that you do.