You may (though probably haven't) noticed that I have yet to put up my review for this episode (and for those who hang out in the Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds forum will notice the same for that show's episode). The reason for this is because I'm frankly tired of doing these reviews as they feel like a chore to do and I have had enough of the criticism I get for doing them. Every time I do one of these reviews my PMs are swarmed with messages from all over the Pokemon community saying I'm the worse troll they have ever had the disgrace to read a review from and all other sorts of horrible things. Well, is that the way you treat people who want to share their opinion then FINE! I quit! I'm through watching these shows as the fanbase had become so filled with people who will bash anyone if they see even the smallest bit of a negative comment! YOU ALL CAN HAVE YOUR DUMB SHOW ABOUT ILLEGAL ANIMAL FIGHTING! But let me just tell you one thing...

(BELATED) APRIL FOOLS!

Come on now, do you really think I would ever act like this? And before you ask, no, no one has sent me any PMs. Anyway today's episode (which I believe is our first filler unless you count the Team Rocket thing is important) is okay though there are a few gaps of logic which I point out. While eating lunch Ash & co. stumble upon a pair of Darumakas who steal their food and badly injure Oshawott. They head to the Pokemon Center and after healing Oshawott are told that these Darumakas used to hang out with a Darmanitan and were friendly with the town until they one day started stealing food. Upon stealing food from the Pokemon Center, Ash & co. start chasing the Darumakas to see why they have started to steal food with the chase leading them to the town's old clock tower. Meanwhile Team Rocket get a rendezvous who gives them a briefcase and their next mission. Why are the Darumakas stealing food? What is Team Rocket's next mission? Will Ash & co. ever get to eat? Read on, the answers await!

Double Flaming Trouble:
We begin this episode with Ash moaning if lunch is ready (our protagonist, ladies and gentlemen). Iris serves some berry kabobs saying it's a full moon tonight so she seared some berries and cooked up... I think she said moon washed dumplings? Anyway Cilan tells her that isn't exactly cooking but Iris doesn't care as long as tastes good its fine. Ash tries to dive bomb for a kabob (that's the only reason why he smashed into the table after missing) but Cilan takes them saying his vegetable... something with a "P" will be done soon but had finished Pikachu's and Axew's Oran-flavored Pokemon food and serves it to them. However as soon as Cilan goes back to cooking a Darumaka walks past them and after Iris asks what it is it stops to pose. An opener later the narrator tells us what we could have figured on our own (come on narrator, you're not a Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's episode recap) Ash pulls out his Pokedex as Iris goes over and begins pulling on Darumaka saying its cute... only to get a face full of flames. Cilan mentions that Darumaka never loses focus and people consider it a good luck Pokemon, unknowing behind them what looks to be a Darumaka's hand steals Pikachu's bowl and when Pikachu notices its food is gone it begins shouting.

Everyone goes to see what's wrong and Ash says that Pikachu said Axew stole its food, however Iris says that Axew said it didn't and suggests that Pikachu ate all its good and just forgot (note that the bowl is missing too so unless Axew/Pikachu also ate the bowl Pikachu's/Iris's assumptions don't make sense). Ash asks if Darumaka saw anything but it had gone to sleep quoting what the Pokedex said about it never falling over when it does and Iris starts poking it (yes, because the last time you touched Darumaka it worked out so well ). Luckily for Iris all that Darumaka does is bob back and forth like a punching bag, however once again a Darumaka's hand grabs Axew's bowl this time but Pikachu noticed this just in time to see what looks to be Darumaka taking the food and runs hiding into a bush. Axew sees that its food is gone and pounces on Pikachu having to be separated by Ash and Iris. Iris notices that Axew's food is missing and she says that Axew said Pikachu took it. However Ash says that Pikachu said it was Darumaka who took it and Ash goes over to try and wake up Darumaka with only having it bob side-to-side.

However it doesn't take too long for Pikachu to prove its story as another Darumaka shows up behind them holding not only Pikachu's and Axew's bowls but also the berry kabobs. It starts running off and Ash & co. start following it but the first Darumaka "wakes up", jumps up high, and uses a Flamethrower right in front of Ash & co. which stops them before rejoining its partner in crime and running off. Ash throws out Oshawott and after Cilan remarks about it having the type advantage Ash tells it to do Water Gun. But the Darumakas wall jump off a brick wall to dodge it and do a double Flamethrower which hits Oshawott knocking it out. As the Darumakas climb over the brick wall, Ash picks up Oshawott with Iris saying it's knocked out (no really, I couldn't tell from the swirly eyes they use for practically all Pokemon when they get knocked out since this series started ) and with Cilan saying double Flamethrowers would do a lot of damage (so much for type advantage, huh?) and they rush into town to find a Pokemon Center.

A Pair Of Heavy Eaters:
Not forgetting our main antagonists, they're at a cafe when they decide "it's time" and call over the waiter asking for a "cappuccino, rocket fast" which the waiter then gives a cappuccino with a glowing symbol in it as Jessie stirs it. Whatever this is leading up to though we'll have to wait as we go back to the Pokemon Center to see Oshawott has fully recovered.

Ash recalls Oshawott back into its Pokeball as Iris complains about the Darumakas which Nurse Joy had heard about and explains they live in town with a Darmanitan and were friendly until one day the Darumakas began stealing food. Ash explains they knocked out Oshawott as they were trying to stop them from stealing their food and Iris suggests that maybe they're stealing because they're hungry but Nurse Joy said that they never stole food before. As they figure out why the Darumaka's are stealing the food, Iris notices a clock tower and Nurse Joy explains it's the oldest building in town but the clock and bell doesn't work and it's going to be torn down soon (why not fix the clock and bell and declare it a national landmark?). Ash's stomach interrupts this preservation chat and Cilan point out that because of the Daruamakas they didn't get a chance to eat (what happened to your vegetable "P" thing?) and Iris suggest they stay for the night for dinner. Cut to Ash and Iris stuffing food down to fast that it'll even make Kirby jealous.

Cilan *chuckling*: You know what, you two are actually a lot alike.
Ash & Iris *angry*: WAIT! YOU THINK I ACT LIKE HER/HIM?
Comment: Yes yes writers, we get you're trying to "push" NegaiShipping just like you did with Pearlshipping and Advanceshipping. Note that this ship will also end just like those. POKESHIPPING FOREVER!!!

Luckily for Cilan, before Ash and Iris can kill him Nurse Joy comes out and announces that because it's a full moon they'll be having those moon washed dumplings (if this is a Japanese, I would like to remind everyone that Unova is suppose to be based on NEW YORK) Iris has mentioned earlier and Ash volunteers to help Nurse Joy give them out. But as they go into the kitchen they see that the Darumakas had taken the dumplings and though Ash and Iris try to stop them they jump out the window and run away. Ash throws out Pidove and tells it to follow the Darumakas before he jumps out the window to follow behind, Iris and Cilan ask what he's doing and Ash responds he wants to find out why the Darumakas are stealing food. They're all soon together following behind Pidove following the Darumakas who reach a fork in the road and split up with Pidove, Ash, and Iris following one and Cilan following the other (poor Cilan, already you see the writers are having him do things which Brock would have done if this happened in previous seasons). But this splitting up is all for naught as Ash and Iris lose their Darumaka around a corner and Cilan had lost sight of his before we even cut to him (he says "they got away" even though he has no way of knowing Ash and Iris lost track of their Darumaka). They meet back up and Pidove flies up to them pointing to the clock tower which the Darumaka are seen entering (they must have pretty good eye sight to have seen that being the clock tower is halfway across town from where they're standing).

Ding Dong, The Darmanitan Is Fed:
Meeting up with Team Rocket on a foggy bridge (did you already forget the scene with them earlier? ), James says that HQ is being cautious setting up their rendezvous this way. The rendezvous appears (also wearing a the same dark trench coat and sunglasses their wearing, for acting cautious HQ sure wasn't worried about someone possibly thinking 4 shrouded figures meeting in the dead of night as something to tell the authorities about) and gives them the briefcase she was carrying telling them to head to Nacrene City next (why didn't Giovanni first contact them to go to Nacrene City and give them the briefcase there? Now they have to smuggle the briefcase with them which is presumed is very important to Giovanni's next plan all the way to Nacrene City hoping no Officer Jennies which they must know are on the lookout for them spots and arrests them or at least warn Nacrene City's Officer Jenny they're heading her way).

No time to think on this further though as Ash & co. get to the clock tower and head in, catching up to the Darumakas who panic upon seeing them and runs up the stairs faster. Ash & co. reach a room and wonder if the Darumakas kept on going higher up as the two Zen Charm Pokemon hang on a wall behind them. The Darumakas attack with double Flamethrower that Ash dodges but Cilan warns him there is something glowing behind him. Ash turns around to see a large flame and throws out Oshawott to use Water Gun on it, putting it out as the Darumakas try another double Flamethrower which Pikachu stops with a Thunderbolt and Oshawott gets its revenge by knocking the two into their sleep "form" with a Water Gun. Ash & co. walk toward the Darumakas but they wake up and jump behind them who tell them that they're not here to fight and want to know why they've been stealing food.

Seemingly agreeing with each other to let Ash & co. help, the Darumakas point to a hole in the ceiling leading further up the clock tower, unfortunately that double Flamethrower burnt the ladder, oops). Climing on Cilan's shoulders, Ash climbs up through the opening and throws out Snivy to everyone else up with Vine Whip (why didn't Ash just throw Snivy's Pokeball up there and have Snivy lift him up instead of climbing on Cilan's shoulders?). Iris feels an intense heat coming from above and Cilan wonders what's up (I do hope that joke was unintentional) as they climb the stairs to see a Darmanitan in its Zen Mode. Remembering that Nurse Joy said the Darumakas hung out with a Darmanitan, they see it use Psychic to eat the food and figure that's why the Darumakas are stealing food, to feed Darmanitan. Iris wonder why Darmanitan hadn't healed yet and return to its normal form after being fed for so long when the Darumakas give Ash some kind of hook. They then look above Darmanitan and see that above it is a bell being held up by its Psychic. Cilan says that if the bell was to fall it'll cause the clock tower to collapse so Darmanitan must have caught it when the hook broke but the weight of the bell was too much for it so it switched to Zen Mode to use its Psychic powers to keep the bell from falling while the Darumakas stole food to feed it to keep its strength up (so being the Darumakas were friendly with the people in town, why didn't they go up to someone like nurse Joy and bring them up to show her that the bell broke so they can fix the bell and prevent the clock tower from collapsing?). However Darmanitan lights on fire and Cilan says that because Darmanitan is focusing on holding the bell up it can't control its heat and it'll soon burn through the floor!

Ash and Cilan send out Tepig and Pansage as Pansage throws the hook up for Tepig to try and heat up with Ember but it doesn't get hot enough before falling. Darmanintan's flames get hotter and the Darumakas offer their help and once again Pansage throws the hook up as Tepig uses Ember and the Darumaka's use double Flamethrower to heat the bell hot enough for Pansage to use Bullet Seed to bend it into an "S" shape. Ash send out Oshawott who uses Water Gun to cool off the hook (won't the rapid cool down make the hook brittle?) as Pikachu checks to see if it had and they next try to figure out how to put the hook back onto the bell's support pole. Darmanitan uses its Psychic to lift Ash and Pikachu up so they could re-attach the hook but unfortunately can't reach the bell (Ash, you do remember you're FLOATING right? You can let go of the hook). However Darmanitan stops using its Psychic (Ash and Pikachu grabbing onto the bell to not fall) and returns to its normal form (or "Standard Mode" as they put it) and it quickly catches the bell before it falls. It then throws the bell back up, does some acrobatics to the top, and catches the bell by its handle letting Ash and Pikachu get off it and asks if it could place the bell back onto the hook (I could either come up with two snarky comments to that, but because I can't decide which is the better one to use I'll just move on). Darmanitan gladly does so and after re-hooking the bell it jumps back down to be with the Darumakas. They go up to Ash & co. and Cilan wonders what they're saying with Iris saying they're probably thanking them as Ash then tells the Darumakas to stop stealing food, everyone then joining in a group laugh.

Next morning Ash & co. are leaving town when Nurse Joy runs up to them and tells them that they're not tearing the clock tower down after all and instead are restoring it and thanks to Darmanitan and the Darumakas for protecting it they're allowing them to live there (so where did they live before?). Using their super vision they see Darmanitan and the Darumakas waving goodbye halfway across town from the top of the clock tower and as Ash tells them the best of luck out heroes say their goodbyes and head off to Nacrene City.