... This episode is bad... And I don't mean good bad, I mean bad bad... And worst yet it's an IMPORTENT episode, but for a sad reason! What is this sad reason you ask? AMBIPOM leaves! Know what, here is the episode review, I'll take when I come back:
It's Only Ping-pong:
* Ash, Barry, save the paddle swinging until you're at the Pokemon Ping-pong Contest, you kind of look dumb swinging in the air like that.
* Here's the basic rules of Pokemon Ping-pong Dawn: it's normal ping-pong, but your Pokemon is playing with you. If you ask me, I think Pokemon Ping-pong should have been like the "ping-pong" match your Ambipom and Kenny's Prinplup had.
* The Pokemon isn't given a paddle? But what it is a Pokemon which doesn't have a steel flipper as a paddle? I guess Pikachu coudl use it's tail but what if you want to enter with a Oddish or Seedot?
* Isn't this like the 3rd time it was hinted was going to be in the Ping-pong Contest? When it was first mentioned it sounded like Dawn planned on joining, after her contest is sonnded like she planned on joining, and now this!
* So Brock isn't joining? Come on, Brock barely participates in anything, and being this is an out-of-the-ordinary Contest I don't see any reason for him not to join! Any Ash chooses Pikachu as his partner and Dawn chooses Ambipom.
* Hey, it's Dawn Coin Flip Poketch Application, haven't seen it in awhile (though I do wish they did more with the Poketch, or at least update Dawn's Poketch model to the Platinum one.
* Ambipom smack the ping-pong so hard it lit on fire! That guy sure had a lot of guts to just grab the flaming ping-pong like that (but how he didn't get burned I don't know...)
* So being that guy they talked with was on a magazine serving a ping-pong, I'm guessing he's the champion of this sport of something? Anyway looks like if Ash and Dawn win their first round they'll be up against each other next round!
* As for Barry, he's all the way on the end so Ash/Dawn will be versing him in the finals most likely. Oh, and there is that guy again and he is the champion... and his name is O... okay...
Knocking Out Most Of The Main Cast:
* And as Brock takes his seat he's next to none other then James... I'm guessing Jessie had entered the Ping-Pong Contest too with her Serviper most likely. Calm down James, as long as you're in disguise you're practically another person.
* It's kind of odd how Brock and James get along quite well whenever they are sitting on the sidelines without Ash, Dawn, Jessiem or Meowth next to them... hold it, where is Meowth?
* Oh, Jessie is teamed with Meowth, that's interesting (I guess maybe they wanted to practice their team work before the next Pokemon Contest Meowth volunteered to do).
* Those Gold Ping-pong Balls look like how Nuggest do in the game. Interesting the years'supply of Pokemon food is the supplementary prize which I think means it'll go to 2nd place... hm...
* Ash, you've met and faced Gym Leaders, Frontier Brains, Syndicate Bosses, Elite Four Members, Champions, Legendary Pokemon, Rivals, and have been in all sorts of competitions... AND IT'S A PING-PONG CONTEST THAT HAS YOU NEVEROUS!
* Jessalinlin? You've come up with better disguise names Jessie. Anyway this is my point about not allowing certain Pokemon to hold a paddle, Meowth has normal paws and can't use his tail like Pikachu can, only way for him to play is to use a paddle. Unfortunetly Meowth uses his claw to slice the ping-pong ball in three pieces and got disqualified (which I think is unfair in this case).
* I'm beginning to notice how most of the competitors have a Pokemon who has an item (or at least the ones Ash, Dawn, and Jessie faced). Anyway it looks like Ash lost his match but Dawn got through and beated the one Ash lost to.
* Okay, I don't care how "cool" you make it look, it's still NORMAL ping-pong. When I think of Pokemon Ping-pong, I think of something quite different and possibly better. Oh, and Barry also got through his two matches.
Losses Everywhere:
* Yay... I don't think Jessie and Meowth really make a good team, maybe they ought to think about having Meowth being in the next Pokemon Contest Jessie is in. Also I'm not too sure if they will or will not steal the gold ping-pong balls being they won't have a giant robot. Intesrting to note, Meowth apparently is the one who builds the robots.
* Don't worry Ash, I don't think Pikachu is heart broken over losing a Ping-pong Contest. Besides, Dawn is still in it.
* There is O again, and don't be too surprised all of Ash and co.'s Pokemon have odd quirks to them that makes them really good at stuff the first time they ever done it. Anyway Dawn beats the guy who Jessie and Meowth lost to.
* So O is also in the contest (then why was his image seperated from all the others? It made it look like after you won he would be the person you had to face off against). But after getting a point off Barry, we pretty much skip to the end with Oand Shiftry winning... and onto the match of him against Dawn and Ambipom.
* Nope, not even playing Season 1 battle music and putting in some "drama" changes the fact that you're just playing NORMAL PING-PONG. Oh, and now Dawn's paddle broke (I don't know how, a ping-pong ball is light enough to float) but Ambipom is still in the game.
* Hold it, if there was an extra paddle behind Dawn all this time, why didn't she get it after Ambipom scored against O the first time? Instead Dawn let Ambipom win an entire match for her, infact I think she should have let Ambipom play the entire 3rd match too...
* Dawn and Ambipom lost?... why do I have an empty sense? Oh yay, because it now makes this episode COMPLETELY POINTLESS! At least we didn't have to see O win against Dawn and that other guy. Yay, O won, making this episode's "COMPLETELY POINTLESS" moment even more so!
* HOLD IT RIGHT THERE O! You just beaten Dawn and therefore knocking Ash and co. out of the tournament and winning anything (even the Pokemon food), and now you want Ambipom too! UH-HUH! NO WAY!
* And now Ambipom has vanished off somewhere (What is with Dawn's Pokemon running off?)!
* Oh, Ambipom just went to the back of the Pokemon Center to play handball with a ping-pong ball. You know what, my next post will just skip to the end of the episode.
* Nice juggling trick Ambipom. Skipping all this, Ambipom chose to go with Pokemon Ping-pong. Interestingly, O's Ping-pong Training Center is in Vermillion City. But don't count of Ash going their to visit Ambipom even though he's from Kanto even though he knows where it is. Why do I say this? ASK ASH'S PIDGEOT!
Now, I wouldn't be as angry about Ambipom leaving if Dawn won or got 2nd place (actually, with them introducing the Pokemon Food being for second place, I thought this was going to be exactly the case with Dawn getting second place as Ash and co. need Pokemon food WAY more then gold ping-pong balls). But NO, instead Dawn was knocked out before then so As hand co. get absolutely NOTHING! In addition with that, Dawn gives Ambipom away meaning they got LESS THAN NOTHING! You maybe saying "Well Dawn didn't get anything for losing against Kenny in the Pokemon Contest and you didn't complain". Yay, but there is a differance. Pokemon Contests are part of the main storyline and Kenny is a rival, so him winning some Pokemon Contests makes sense as he's expected to get into the Sinnoh Grand Festival. Oh, and DAWN DIDN'T LOSE A MEMBER OF HER PARTY!
Before whne I heard about this episode, I thought "Oh, it sounds just like the episode Ash released Primeape", but now actually seeing it, comparing it to the Primeape release episode is an insult to Primeape (Sure, Primeape didn't do anything UNTIL its release episode, but that was Primeape's "Crowning Moment Of Awesome" and won the P1 Grand Prix in the process)! but bringing up the point that Primeape didn't do much, that's another difference, we actually got attached to Ambipom! We saw Ash and Dawn struggle to train Ambipom since Ash caught it as an Aipom... AND THEN THEY GO AND GIVE IT AWAY FOR A CONTEST AHS AND CO. GOT NOTHING FROM! It wasn't even Ambipom's "Crowning Moment Of Awesome" as it LOST after beating O in the 2nd game.
All in all, this episode is one I'd rather forget about... BUT CAN'T BECAUSE IT'S AN IMPORTENT EPISODE! Dawn has 2 slots in her team now, she BETTER get a Cherrim now...
I am going to miss her REAL bad! Though I don't understand why it is still in the High Touch Opening? 
Damn SOBZ & Barry!
