Over in the real world, COVID is still ravaging the globe, protests are raging worldwide in response to my country’s racist, murderous police force, and government officials are calling on the military to cut down citizens with absolute impunity. If these aren’t the end of the days, they are the very least a brutal crucible through which all of us must pass with tremendous hardship, emerging into a future that bears little resemblance to the untenable past.

In light of all that fire and brimstone, I think we could all use a brief trip back to Alola. Staying involved and fighting for a better future is important, but we have to keep our spirits up as well, and recently, very little has given me as much joy as Pokemon Sun and Moon. Both Sun and Moon’s heroes and villains are utterly charming characters, the islands themselves are an inherently relaxing destination, and every episode demonstrates the strengths of this production’s animators in new ways. Last episode was entirely taken up by Lillie learning how to pet a Vulpix named Snowball, and I’d be perfectly happy with an equally fuwa fuwa premise this time as well. Let’s set aside the concerns of the day for just a moment, and enjoy some Pokemon Sun and Moon!

Episode 15

Kukui tackles the pokeproblem this week, which I’m guessing means “ensemble episode,” or perhaps one that pushes the main narrative forward. So far, Sun and Moon’s adult characters have been pretty simplistic – they’ve acted more like guides than fully realized people, so I’m not expecting a “Kukui deals with his insecurities regarding his father’s legacy and son’s dreams” episode or anything like that

Not that I’d be against that! One of the great things about Ojamajo Doremi, which is as of now probably the best children’s anime I’ve seen, is that it consistently emphasized the humanity and fallibility of its adult characters, not just its children

Nice nighttime shot of Ash’s cabin. As usual, the exterior shots look significantly better than the interior ones – Sun & Moon’s reliance on CG modeling for buildings is probably its biggest visual weakness

Before watching this show, I was tragically unaware of Pikachu’s ability to attach every single emotion to the word “Pikachu”

Oh no, Rockruff’s hurt his leg!

Bless the Pokemon world, where you can just spray Health Juice on any sort of injury and have it be immediately resolved. Cuts and scrapes? Health Juice. Poisoned pet? Health Juice. Broken bones? Health Juice will clear that right up

DON’T LECTURE THE ROCKRUFF KUKUI IT IS LITERALLY CRYING

“Scratch Mark Hill, Iwanko, and Lugarugan!” Welp, time to look up whatever Lugarugan translates to

Ah, it’s Lycanroc, Rockruff’s evolution

This overhead shot entering the school actually looks quite nice, using a dynamic angle and foreground pole to create a sense of space

Apparently the Rockruff isn’t actually Kukui’s pokemon, it just hangs out with him

We’re learning some interesting tidbits regarding pokemon behavior in the wild. Apparently even wild pokemon train and “level up” on their own, which explains why there are wild pre-evolved pokemon. And Rockruff’s behavior seems to imply he might be close to evolving

I hadn’t considered that even wild pokemon might engage in training and battles as a natural form of play. That certainly mitigates the cruelty of “forcing them to fight,” if battling for fun in a positive spirit is something they normally like to do

Rockruffs apparently also seem kinda solitary about their evolutions – they’ll wander away to choose their evolved forms themselves

As is often the case, exposition offers a natural opportunity to pull off some visual comedy beats, as the other pokemon get drenched by Popplio. Visual comedy helps mitigate the inherent slowness of exposition, and when the “plot” is being conveyed entirely through dialogue, your team is free to dedicate the actual screen to wordless comedy

Ooh, lovely aerial shot of the beach house

Rockruff and Pikachu chasing each other’s tails, oh my gosh

Kukui gets Rockruff a stuffed animal, which he tries to tear to pieces the moment they leave. Absolutely a Puppy Pokemon

They’re really nailing that classic pet behavior of being totally absorbed in one activity, then apparently forgetting what they were doing and instantly transitioning to something entirely unrelated

Oh my god, the pokemon have their own midnight fight arena called Scratchmark Hill. Yeah, I think pokemon like to battle

A cry from the Lycanrocs sends all the pokemon into battle. After all, if it’s your first time at Scratchmark Hill, you have to fight

This actually has turned out to be a genuine Kukui episode – though it’s still as a mentor to Ash

As usual, lessons regarding pokemon ownership apply equally well to friendship. Here, Kukui urges Ash to figure out why Rockruff is engaging in this behavior, rather than immediately condemning behavior he doesn’t understand

Rockruff’s nemesis is apparently a Magmar

Lovely, fluid cuts of flame animation for Magmar

Ooh, terrific extended cut of Magmar fighting this ridiculous panda pokemon. Sun and Moon’s greatest strengths in action here – the curving, fluid forms of the pokemon allow for lots of dramatic camera movement, following the arc of each of their attacks in turn, so we really feel both the momentum of the swipes and the impact of their landing

Though it’s technically a fox, Snowball was definitely animated as a cat last episode – you can easily see the contrast between its proud, deliberate movements and Rockruff’s convincingly dog-like clumsiness and enthusiasm

Magmar is just named Boober in Japanese. I can see why they changed that one

Oh my god, Ash is actually trying to demonstrate how do a Rock Throw attack. Ash, I appreciate your enthusiasm, but your neck is not going to magically manifest rock projectiles

While Ash gets more excited, Pikachu is slowly melting

This episode feels more fluid in general than the show’s standard – little flourishes like Rowlet stumbling as it flies after them add so much character to this sequence

Oh my god, Pikachu is doing little side shuffles and pushups. This episode is a masterpiece

Jeez, their pushup form is terrible, though

“Put your heart and soul in your butt!” Ash. Ash

Dang, Ash just ate the rock attack in order to help Rockruff learn it. He’s certainly proven his dedication – and it’s great to get an episode demonstrating that Ash is actually an excellent, passionate trainer, and not just a destined hero

Looks like the team are having pancakes for dinner. I guess everyone just eats pancakes all the time here, which I guess, if you can get away with it, why wouldn’t you?

Hell yeah Rockruff, put that juking practice to work!

Rock Throw lands! MAGMAR IS DEFEATED!

Kukui accepts being replaced with absolute grace, and suggests Ash catch Rockruff

And Done

Alright, third pokemon acquired! Ash is finally starting to build something resembling a real team here, with flying, grass, rock, and electric all currently represented. I’m actually getting pretty excited about Ash’s own future battles, but in the meantime, this episode served as a perfect compliment to last episode’s “aren’t cats adorable,” offering an emphatic “but dogs are also adorable” rejoinder. It was also a rare treat to see Ash actually demonstrating his excellence as a trainer, and the animation of this episode felt particularly impressive, with both the training sequences and battles elevated through plenty of energetic new animation. Thank you, Sun and Moon – I know I can always count on you to offer a wonderful getaway.

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