By JC
Hey guys! I will be summarizing and reviewing the 19th episode of Pokemon Black and White. Last episode, we met Burgh, the gym leader of Castelia City, in Pinwheel Forest. Ash, Cilan, and Iris come out of the forest and arrive at a newly made Pokemart. They wander around, notice the store’s marked up prices, and are in awe of the wide selection. After browsing for a while, they see a Pokemon Connoisseuse evaluating trainers and their Pokemon in a tent. We find out that there are 4 classes in increasing order of prestige—C, B, A, S—and that Cilan is a Class A connoisseur. He insists that Ash go get an evaluation.
Ash goes to the back of the long line, when a voice from a nearby tent tells him that he doesn’t need to wait and that he can just be evaluated by her. The voice belongs to Burgundy, a girl that looks to be around Ash’s age, who is excited to begin. She shares her opinions, but her rude remarks are met with disdain. She receives a String Shot from Sewaddle, gets Vine Whipped by Snivy, an Ember from Tepig, a Water Gun from Oshawott, a Head-butt from Scraggy, and finally a Thundershock from Pikachu. Ash becomes fed up and completely disregards Burgundy’s words. Cilan and Iris find them and Burgundy freaks out upon seeing him. He exposes her to be a Class C connoisseuse. It turns out she and Cilan have a history. She challenged him back in Striaton City, but lost and recalls that he said terrible things to her, which he claims to be false. Fueled by revenge, she challenges him again to prove herself as a connoisseuse.
Before they battled, they placed a wager. If Burgundy won, Ash would have to replace all his Pokemon—which was the evaluation she gave to him when he told her that he wanted to become a Pokemon Master. If Cilan won, Ash doesn’t have to replace his party and she must accept that his evaluation is right. The two combatants agree without Ash’s consent. Burgundy sends out her Dewott and Cilan sends out his Dwebble. She is cocky and leads with Water Gun. Dwebble uses Protect and uses it again against Dewott’s next attack, Fury Cutter. Dewott uses Water Pulse and it seems to have hit Dwebble directly, but Cilan reveals that it knows Sturdy, which allows it to withstand the Water Pulse. Dwebble finally attacks with X-Scissor and knockouts Dewott. Burgundy recalls it back and sends out her last battler, Sawsbuck. Dwebble is switched out with Pansage. Pansage is too fast for Sawsbuck and wins the match relatively easily after employing Dig and using Solarbeam for the knockout.
Ash is relieved, but Burgundy is even more disheartened and angry after the loss. The sun sets as the episode comes to a close. Our three heroes say their farewells to Burgundy. Cilan offers some encouragement to her, for which she looks thankful, but quickly goes back to her defensive, angry demeanor, and vows revenge against him in a comedic, friendly-rivalry sort of way.
I felt as though they would have arrived at Castelia City in this episode, but I was wrong. I don’t remember there being a character named Burgundy in the video games, but I suppose it was nice to have her to provide Cilan with some backstory. Plus, you can never have enough female characters, which is why I liked that the S Class connoisseuse in this episode was a woman. Burgundy was very harsh; the only nice thing she said was that Pikachu was a rare Pokemon, which she later claims is not always a good thing. I have to give her props for being able to ascertain that Sewaddle’s ability was Swarm. Now whether or not it’s better for it to have Swarm or Chlorophyll is up for debate.
Iris took a backseat in this episode, and so did Ash in a way. We get to see some cute scenes of him and his Pokemon, but the episode focused on the newcomer Burgundy and Cilan. We get to see Sawsbuck for the first time and get to see Dwebble battle (I think for the first time since he was caught). We see nothing of Team Rocket, in case you were wondering. This episode is about teaching a young upstart a lesson, but also doing it in a way that is encouraging and gentle. If you are looking for laid-back fun, watch this. If not, don’t worry, you won’t miss anything critical to the main story.
Tags: Pikachu, Pokemon TV Show