Pokémon Journeys: Aim to Be a Pokémon Master 1×138 Review: Ash vs Misty – A Seaside Showdown

Pokémon Journeys: Aim to Be a Pokémon Master anime episode 138, titled ‘Ash vs Misty – A Seaside Showdown’, had Ash and Misty battle it out once again to see who got to catch a powerful Clauncher.

Even though the fandom is understandably sad about the recent news that Ash was being written out as the lead of the long-running anime series, there’s also a sense of excitement because a whole bunch of episodes will have Ash reuniting with his previous companions. The writers want to give Ash a proper farewell. And with how things have been going, I think the writers will accomplish said goal.

Episode 138 of the Pokémon Journeys anime brought back Misty. And not only that, but from what I know, Misty will continue traveling with Ash and the two will reunite with Brock in the next episode. So, yeah, the original trio (that many of us grew up watching) will get to go on one last journey together before the fandom is introduced to new co-leads in an anime arc that will be set in the Paldea Region.

As a huge Misty fan, I was looking forward to seeing her return to the anime and I have to say that the current episode didn’t disappoint. The last time we saw her was during a handful of episodes in Pokémon Sun and Moon. She only had a couple of cameos during the Pokémon Journeys series set before the events of the ‘Aim to Be a Pokémon Master’ arc.

‘Ash vs Misty – A Seaside Showdown’ opened with Ash spending time near the seaside with Pikachu, Totodile, Rowlet, Corphish, and Leavanny. Pikachu’s curiosity caused the group to encounter a powerful Clauncher. And of course, Ash wanted to catch it. However, there was one issue. After making a fun little entrance, Misty revealed that she’s been trying to catch the same Clauncher for a while now and she just can’t let Ash catch it, because according to Misty fate wanted her to be Clauncher’s Trainer.

One of the things the fandom’s been missing over the decades was Ash’s sassy nature. Ash used to be sassy as heck during the original anime series. But he mellowed down over time, especially due to traveling with companions who more or less looked up to him due to Ash being an experienced Trainer. However, Misty’s different. She was with Ash during the beginning of his journey. So, the two weren’t hesitant about throwing shade at each other. And I loved seeing their dynamic again.

I really enjoyed Ash’s expression when Misty explained why she thought fate had bonded her and Caluncher. And I also enjoyed Misty’s response when Ash said he wanted to catch Clauncher because he could feel it had struck a friendship with Corphish.

The anime team added a whole lot of comedic moments throughout the episode and I thank them for it.

Even though Misty and Ash threw shade at each other, they were still the best of friends. It made sense that Misty would congratulate Ash on becoming a Champion even though she later called Ash a Battle Freak when letting Clauncher know she would take better care of it than Ash.

Seeing Ash’s battles on TV made Misty go on a journey of her own after handing the Cerulean City Gym over to her sisters. Good for her! My girl needs to travel more!

An unexpected twist was Team Rocket wanting to catch Clauncher so they could eat its giant claw, which was supposed to be a delicacy. People do eat Pokémon in the franchise’s (quite dark) lore. But it was still weird to see that being brought up in the anime.

With Team Rocket being sent flying away due to Clauncher and Corphish teaming up, it was Clauncher who wanted Misty and Ash to battle each other. The winner would get to catch Clauncher.

For those who might not know, this wasn’t the first time Ash and Misty had to battle each other to catch a Pokémon they were interested in. They battled it out to decide who would get to keep Togepi (while it was still an egg). They also battled over ownership of Totodile. So, seeing the two fight each other for yet another Pokémon was a nice callback.

With Ash having won the Master Eight Tournament, his battle with Misty would be his first fight after becoming a Champion. And yes, I was a bit worried about Misty’s chances. Ash could have easily used Pikachu to defeat her Politoed. However, Ash decided to use Corphish instead to make things interesting and also due to how excited Corphish was to battle.

Even though Corphish gave Politoed a tough time, I think it was obvious Misty was going to win. She did mention that Politoed was being called the Guardian Deity of the Cerulean City Gym. Misty’s statement meant that Politoed had been through lots of battles compared to Corphish (who had been enjoying life under Professor Oak’s care and had become one of Ash’s numerous reserve Pokémon).

Also, I don’t know about you, but in my opinion, even though the lead character is supposed to be powerful, their supporting cast should get some love, too. For example, Naruto’s OP. But he can’t do what Sakura’s capable of when it comes to Chakra Control and Medical Ninjutsu. Similarly, when talking about Avatar: The Last Airbender, Toph’s mastery of Earthbending exceeded Aang’s even though he’s the Avatar. So, yes, Ash is a Champion. But when it comes to battles using only Water Pokémon, Misty should always have an edge over Ash.

With Misty being the first ever Trainer to defeat Ash after he became a Champion, I couldn’t help but smile. I love her!

Anyway, Misty finally got to catch Clauncher. However, her newest Pokémon had a mind of its own. I was surprised when Clauncher came out of the Pokéball on its own and then proceeded to train Corphish. I wonder if we will get to see the relationship between the two Pokémon progress in the upcoming episodes or if Ash will decide to go with a different batch of reserve Pokémon in every episode that’s to come.

In a surprising yet pleasant reveal for the audience, unknown to Ash, the Latias he helped in the previous episode was still following him. I don’t know about you, but I think the Latias will offer Ash to become her Trainer by the end of the current arc. And you know what? I’m okay with it. Ash deserved to own such a Legendary Pokémon.

What did you think of Pokémon Journeys: Aim to Be a Pokemon Master episode 138? Are you excited about Misty coming back?

Let us know.

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

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