Once again, Team Rocket's attempt at thievery results in one of Ash's Pokemon evolving; in this case, Grotle.

Great episode!

So, now, both of Ash's Sinnoh starters are fully evolved. Has anyone noticed that the starters Ash has that are evolved/fully evolved are his Grass and Fire Types? What? Ash's Water types aren't entitled to evolution. Granted, he only has two and one of them doesn't need to evolve, but they should just as well make the other one evolve.

I loved this one. Seeing Grotle evolve made me happy (: But seeing how Brock got more energy after seeing Nurse Joy made my day xD Oh Brock. (:

And now theres only one othere thing to "reveal"

This episode... is kind of jarring... specifically with the structure of Sunyshore Tower. So did Volkner make it so it had rocket controls? I mean if Team Rocket was the one to have built the controls, then why did Volkner tell Ash to calm down and remind him that he "did build this tower". From that quote it made it sound like Volkner had installed the rocket controls into the tower already! Another thing was with the Pokemon Center's way of getting power when the back-up generator shuts down: bicicyles. But you know what, I pretty much ranted about that below in my review, which you can read as soon as I finish this very sentence you are reading at this moment waiting for me to finish and are possibly wondering "is he making the sentence long on purpose" which the answer to is yes but not anymore:

The Battle We've Been... OH COME ON:
* Finally the battle between Ash and Volkner for the eight badge will begin! And the first match is Luxray against Grotle!
* As Brock notes, Grotle has the advantage with Grass-types resisting Electric attacks, but a Spark from Luxray once again proves Electric-types don't play by the game rules.
* Oh, looks like the match is airing in the Proprietor's bar... I mean cafe. And though a few people are watching TV, I wonder if those who aren't watching their town's Gym Leader is battling once again from after, you know, just giving away badges for free.
* But before Ash could call out another move, the lights goes out, no, power throughout the city goes out! Volkner tries flipping a few switches (geez Flint, calm down, you're as bad as Barry is with waiting) but no luck.
* Flint and Volkner pry the Gym's door open with Flint pointing the problem out about having everything in the city being automatic with apparently nothing being manual (makes you wonder if several people are trapped inside a building).
* Officer Jenny rushes up to Volkner and tells him power is out throughout the city... but Brock could care less and begins floating with her. Thank you Croagunk, hopefully that'll teach Brock not to flirt with somone when there is a CRISIS GOING ON! Seriously Brock...
* We're again told that how everything is powered by the solar panels connecting energy and transporting it to Sunyshore Tower, but before Volkner could go there everything begins to shake and the tower is put on wheels!
* Do I really need to tell you who is responsible? Also were James and Meowth going "da da da" along with the motto? Oh, great observation Officer Jenny, did you figure out it was Team Rocket's doing during or after Team Rocket clearly stated it!
* Officer Jenny, it's a moving tower on wheels going a moderate pace through a city with three incompetent grunts at the "wheels", it's not going to be that hard to stop. BTW, nice seeing that you're not also chasing after it despite it being your job to arrest criminals like Team Rocket.
* Nurse Joy comes running up to Officer Jenny (thank goodness Brock already ran off) and... okay, we'll just jump back to Team Rocket in the Sunyshore Tower.

So Don't You Also Need The Solar Panels:
* Okay Team Rocket, here's a question: You have the tower on wheels, Sinnoh is an sea across from Kanto, how exactly do you plan on getting it back to headquaters?... Oh, they made it into a rocketship... guess that'll work, sorta.
* When did Team Rocket had the time to change Sunyshore Tower's control room into one that is like a spaceships? Anyway Ash & co. just barely got to the rocket and Flint, Volkner, Raichu, Ash, and Pikachu had somehow gained spider powers as they are just sticking to the tower's solar panels.
* Geez, Brock and Dawn are lucky they aren't fried being that close to the rocket's boosters!
* Anyway back to Jenny and Joy, the Pokemon Center's power is also out and the back-up generator isn't working. But back to the Sunnyshore Tower rocket, now they are climbing the spaces between the solar panels, however Flint is unable to hold on and falls into the ocean below despite them flying up straight.
* Ash too begins to fall but Volkner grabs him with thme gaining back the spider powers and are now sticking to one of the rocket boosters. Luckily there is an entrance right next to said rocket booster as below Brock and Dawn meet up with Flint.
* Ash and Volkner walk through the tower when it "levels out" over to its side, with us getting a short explanation why Team Rocket remains to be horizontal (why now begin to explain the plotholes?).
* Back at the Pokemon Center... Brock, you didn't learn with Officer Jenny, did you?... one Poison Jab later we find out the back-up generator is still down so Joy says there is only one thing left to do, use Electric-type Pokemon who have unlimited electricity to provide the power...
* NO! I'm just messing with you. Logically they're going to use bikes instead (good thing Pikachu isn't around)! As Flint and Brock pedalling, Dawn asks what she could do because even if they wanted to use Electric-types it's not like they have any, besides the fact this town's Gym Leader is an Electric-type one and Dawn has a Pachirisu.
* Volkner out of the blue apologizes to Ash about the Gym Battle with Ash being the one to point out that saving the Sunyshore Tower is a tad bit more important. Back in the Pokemon Center, Brock is running out of juice but after a plead from Joy picks him right back up and tops the energy bar!
* As Ash and Volkner are about to enter the Observatory, they get caught in a cage and try using Pikachu and Raichu to shock it (now Volkner doesn't know any better, but Ash should know by now that isn't going to work).
* But Team Rocket also seemed to have forgotten Ash has other Pokemon, and Ash throws out Gible who not only breaks through the cage, but also through the door and begins eating the controls before Ash returned it. Ash and Volkner then try again to shock Team Rocket only to have the electric attacks absorbed.

And It's Also Half Ground Meaing Electric... Oh Wait, This Is The Anime:
* Seviper then knocks Pikachu and Raichu back with a Poison Tail, but before they could continue Ash throws out Grotle which knocks back both Seviper and Carnivine. Ash calls out for a Razor Leaf and... GROTLE BEGINS GLOWING! Could it be? I mean Ash already has one fully evovled starter... But Sinnoh has been famed for breaking tradition so...
* YES! GROTLE HAS EVOLVED INTO TORTERRA! And of course with a new evolution comes a new attack, and Torterra uses Leaf Storm to lift Seviper and Carnivine back at Team Rocket! And Ash, I think it's more cooler that Torterra JUST EVOLVED, not just learned a new attack!
* Sudden Evolution? Oh Jessie, like many of us you think the video game mechanics actually mean anything in the anime, ha ha ha, what a silly notion! Though actually evolving while in middle of a battle has been a feature many players have been demanding to be in the games over the years...
* Anyway one more Leaf Storm blasts Team Rocket off but that punctures a hole in the wall causing everything to be sucked out... good going Ash. That would have happened, if Volkner didn't press a button which seals up the hole. Though I'm confused on what Volkner meant by saying "we still have Team Rocket's rocket"... were you planning on getting the tower back to Sunyshore another way?
* Back at the Pokemon Center, Brock needs another Joy boost as Dawn comes out saying they need more power (because Electric-type Pokemon Pachirisu couldn't give... you know what I've exhausted that joke already). Anyway Joy comes out and Brock got his boost.
* Though that doesn't seem to matter anymore as Sunyshore Tower is seen coming back... RIGHT TOWARD THEMS! Oh, they pulled up, and now the Pokemon Center has power again, wow they landed it fast... oh, they just fixed the back-up generator.
* Back to the wild rocket towering looking to begin losing power, how exactly do they plan on landing the tower without damaging it? I mean there is no way they can land it vertically... oh you have got to be kidding me...
* Inside the rocket Ash and Volkner actually reveal they have brains and are using Electric-type Pokemon to power what they need powered (you know Ash, you can return Torterra, it did gained SOME weight afterall). And Volkner, yay, you build the tower... BUT I DON'T THINK YOU BUILT THE ROCKET PART OF IT! And if you did for some reason, why?
* So they landed PERFECTLY VERTICAL back to where Sunyshore Tower used to stand. Brock and Dawn see that Grotle has evolved into Torterra... DANW WHY ARE YOU USING YOUR POKEDEX ON TORTERRA! Yay, I know Ash was the only one to have scanned a Torterra... but still we've seen Paul's Torterra PLENTY of times before, so it's not like she hasn't seen a Torterra before!
* Worst yet, Ash's Gym Battle with Volkner has to be postponed until they can fix the damages done to the Sunyshore Tower! Oh well, so it sounds like we'll be going through the Sinnoh Grand Festival first. *sigh*

no it wasnt...

Wow, I just realized how big of an episodegap that separated Candice and Volkner! Well, this episode was mainlya throw-away episode, except for Grotle's evolution of course. Can't wait for the REAL battle between Ash and Volkner... And plus Dawn's Grand Festival.Oh Team Rocket... they never win. xD

The Fleeing Tower of Sunyshore! receives a 7.0

it took an entire year from ash's 7th gym battle to ash's (real)0 8th one in japan