I’m sorry everyone, but nothing you can do will stop me from treating myself to another episode of Pokemon Sun and Moon. I personally feel like I’ve been very good these past weeks, and have been doing my level best to introduce more of the ambitious projects like One Piece, Evangelion, and Land of the Lustrous into my active writeup rotation. But along with those projects, anime to me represents comfort and adventure, and few properties embody those concepts more than Pokemon. Pokemon Sun and Moon is a lively, lighthearted day at the beach, a trip to get burgers with friends, a warm walk in the park; it is comfort incarnate, and blessed with flexible character designs and gifted animators, it’s also a lively visual adventure as well. I’m happy as ever to be writing for you folks, and hope you’ll join me as we explore another episode of this lovely show!

Episode 9

Ash himself is handling the introduction this time, which I assume means we’re finished with character-specific episodes for the moment, and moving the main narrative forward a bit. But Mallow didn’t get her own episode!

Also Kaki, but eh

As we enter the episode proper, the narrator is summing up Ash’s journey so far, basically confirming my suspicions. The entirely episodic character stories don’t really demand any context; but to push Ash’s main adventure forward, it’s helpful to establish the platform he’s moving from

Some nice dynamic layouts around their apartment. These low-angle shots help align us with Ash and Pikachu on an emotional level, echoing the intimacy of framing in slice of life shows

Incredibly good sleeping Pikachu face

“The Totem Pokemon is Dekagoos.” Aw hell yeah, a new challenger approaches

Pikachu agreeing with Ash through a mouthful of food is also excellent. Pikachu really is one of the greatest mascot creations of all time, huh

There’s no external motivation for Ash deciding it’s time to compete in the Island Challenge – he apparently just woke up today and remembered that was his actual motivation for being here. Then again, that itself kinda embodies Sun and Moon’s appeal and ethos; if you’re getting distracted from victory by having adventures with friends, you’re actually doing it right

Rotom getting annoyed at someone else taking over exposition duties is pretty cute

Pokemon is naturally pretty good at camouflaging straight exposition, as watching Pokemon simply hang out is a great part of the show’s appeal, and so it can contrast the purely visual entertainment of something like Pikachu gorging himself on kibble against the needed expository dialogue. Visual humor tends to naturally compliment spoken exposition for this reason, and you’ll see the combination of the two in all sorts of shows

Meanwhile, a plague of Rattatas and Raticates are descending upon Alola’s pineapple and lumber industries

Officer Jenny’s got a nice new design for Alola

And we also meet Ash’s ultimate opponent for this island: Island King Hala

Every Pokemon society seems to have a ready supply of Machamps, who basically just act as a crew of supportive body improvement bros, ready to lend their many hands to any manual labor projects, or maybe just spot you during your weightlifting

Hala apparently built the Z-Ring Ash currently possesses, and which Kapu-Kokeko at some point flew in a window and snatched

Ash being some kind of “destined warrior” feels like an awkward fit with this show’s general philosophy. Perhaps it’s more that Kapu-Kokeko understood that Ash embodies the positive spirit of Pokemon training

Yeah, that seems to be it. Hala asks how Ash would handle the Rattata situation, and when Ash responds with “I’d battle them,” Hala tells him that the Island Challenge is not just about raising strong Pokemon fighters, but about becoming a person that loves and protects all that exists. The attitude that the Pokemon anime works to define as the true “spirit of Pokemon” is a positive mentality that applies not just to playing Pokemon with friends, but also to becoming a productive, considerate participant in society at large. Just as battles should be embraced as sources of communal fun regardless of the victor, so should our resolution of larger community issues be approached from a spirit of ensuring mutual happiness, rather than simply exerting our will on others. The Rattatas are a part of this community too, after all

Ooh, beautiful establishing shot from outside the school. The natural foliage of Alola and treehouse-esque architecture of the school buildings build off each other wonderfully

Lilly offers a useful hint: “if we were well versed in the Rattata’s way of life, that knowledge might have hints to the solution hidden in it.” A message that applies equally well to interpersonal conflict; often our disagreements stem from fundamental misunderstandings about each other’s motivations, where we often apply our own perspective to the unknown feelings of others. Pokemon battles continue to work as a natural metaphor for making friends and coexisting in society

In this case, that answer seems to be “terrorize them with those awful Trumpweasels”

Aw shit, someone gave Togedemaru too much juice again

Incredible expression work for Team Rocket as they finally seem to have escaped from Bewear’s cave. It really feels like this show’s animators shower Team Rocket with a disproportionate amount of visual love, which is fine by me, because I love them too

Team Rocket are knocked aside by the Rattatas, and seem to actually revel in getting to “blast off” for the first time this season, before promptly getting swept up by Bewear again

Oh my god, is that going to be their sole contribution to this episode? I really feel for you, Team Rocket

Ash wonders if his answer to the question is still acceptable, even though he came up with it together with his friends. But consulting with friends is itself a quality that marks him as a successful Pokemon trainer – he is not driven by personal ego, and is willing to admit when he lacks knowledge, and seek help from others. It’s a good lesson for children in general, and also specifically a good way to make friends through Pokemon battles. “How did you pull off that cool move” is one of the easiest ways for competition to turn into friendship

And community-building aside, admitting when you don’t understand something is basically the only way to improve. Whether it’s playing games or working on any sort of project, it is those who are able to acknowledge their weak points who will ultimately get better, while those who claim fault with the game itself tend to languish at their current skill level. I have played so many rounds of fighting games against people whose immediate response to defeat is “that character is unfair” or something similar, which probably helps massage the ego, but will never lead to you actually improving

Hala explains that “Totem Pokemon” are particularly strong Pokemon who tend to be associated with an island’s guardian deity

“Once Totem Pokemon acknowledge your strength, they will support you.” The Totem Pokemon embody the attitude towards battle and friendship this episode is promoting

It’s kinda funny that the answer to this conflict was just “battle a different Pokemon, who will spook the Rattatas for you.” There’s only so much you can do to walk around the fact that Pokemon is ultimately constructed around fights

God, these weasels are hideous, even without the Trump combovers. Some Pokemon were a mistake

It’s nice see a concept like “Sand Attack lowers the opponent’s accuracy” translated into actual visual conflict, through this dust cloud diverting Pikachu and Rowlett’s attacks

Also nice to see Pikachu and Rowlett collaborating. Some ambitious cuts of animation as the Totem Pokemon itself takes the battle, and the camera swings to follow the curve of its mighty attacks

As in last episode, they’re able to translate the spirit of Pokemon’s turn-based battles into active combat with some clever embellishments. Pikachu’s Quick Attack making use of the opponent’s own Sand Attack doesn’t really make game design sense, but makes for terrific visual conflict. Medium often dictates your effective styles of conflict

Ash immediately rushes over to ensure his opponent is okay after winning, once again embodying the right spirit of Pokemon battle

I wonder how invasive species like Rattata actually fit into the Alolan ethos

Ah, they kind of don’t – the Trumpweasels just beat the shit out of them and make them run away

And Done

That sure was an action-packed episode! After a varied assortment of slice of life adventures, Sun and Moon finally commenced its Island Trials, culminating in perhaps the most visually impressive battle sequence of the season so far. I haven’t actually expected this show’s battles to be a highlight, as Pokemon battles are frankly just not that conceptually exciting, but this episode’s clever fiddling with the mechanics of Pokemon battles led to a genuinely tense team-up between Pikachu and Rowlett. I’m now eager to see what the Grand Trial has in store!

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