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The New Normal - OMAKE - Pokemon: The Animation - Public Reactions 2
🕑 Added 2025-09-03 16:12:02 +0000 UTCThe New Normal – OMAKE – Pokémon: The Animation – Public Reactions 2
[Pokémon: The Anime – ‘The Dinner Party’ Episode Summary and Review] by Earlier Access
[Pictures of the dinner party, with Ash, Gary, Silver, Giovanni, Ariana, Petrel, Karen, John, Whitney, Sabrina, and Janine all in attendance]
Just like most of you probably did, when I saw what this episode was titled, I was fully expecting to watch through one of your typical filler episodes where nothing really gets done and its all just for fanservice. Truthfully, I didn’t mind too much, as the anime had been pretty respectful with our time so far.
I mean, Ash and co. have just defeated the fourth Gym. So with Erika’s defeat, I felt like some downtime was justified.
However, I think this might be one of my favourite episodes so far, and it doesn’t have a single bit of action in it. It was all dialogue, but it was so good at allowing us to learn more about the Gym Leaders and Elite Four of Indigo.
Frankly, I was pretty shocked to see some of the people in attendance. Who could have expected to see Giovanni, Ariana, and Petrel (who have historically been villains back in the old games) sitting next to people like Whitney, Sabrina, Janine, Karen, and John – who are all trusted members of authority. And for them to be just happily chatting and eating dinner together no less – it was a crazy sight.
That being said, I was smiling throughout the entire episode. The whole dinner was so cozy and the conversation between everyone actually felt like they were friends that had known each other for a long time. I know it was hinted at in the recent games, but I really didn’t expect for John and Giovanni to get along so well together.
Speaking of John, he really was the main character of that episode – Ash and co. were just there as spectators. Giovanni might have hosted the party, but it was John that dominated the conversation. Rightfully so, considering just how involved he is in so many different things. He really does seem like he has a finger in many, many pies.
It’s no wonder that Ash, Gary, and Silver all look up to him so much. To them, John’s probably more than just a great trainer – he’s probably like a beloved politician as well.
Not only that, but we also learn so much about Silver’s backstory with Whitney, Sabrina, and Janine. Turns out, the rude brat’s not so rude to his ‘first friends’. It was actually so funny seeing the usually sarcastic and snarky Silver transform into this meek little boy when he’s talking with the girls. Oh, I doubt it’s anything romantic, but he clearly sees them as like the sisters he never had. Honestly, amusement aside, it’s pretty cute.
Okay, this post’s gone on long enough. What did you guys think of the episode?
Comments
MadCuzBad
Fuck, if this is the quality for the ‘filler’ episodes that we get, then I’m not going to fucking complain. This shit was so good. It was like a slice-of-life episode, but instead of boring fanservice like unwanted beach episodes, we get proper backstory development that makes the world feel so much more alive.
It reminds us all that, while we focus on Ash, Gary, and Silver, they aren’t necessarily the ‘MC’ of the world itself. Everyone else’s got their own part to play, and that’s a good thing.
DubSuperiority
The VAs killed it for this episode. They really made it feel like a genuine conversation. The back-and-forth was so good.
EDIT: I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Ariana’s VA sounds hot af.
LocalEGirl
I mean, I know it’s unrealistic since Sinnoh is so far away and all, but I really wanted to see John and Cynthia interacting in a more private setting. They’re one of the few canon relationships specifically mentioned in the games, and this was a pretty good time to showcase that.
Still, at least we get to see why John keeps fucking cockblocking us everywhere in the games. Because as this episode shows, the man is literally juggling so many different things at once. It really reaffirms the fact that while Lance might be the Champion, John’s no less politically active than he is.
NoGameNoLife
What this episode also shows is that Ash’s goal to “become the very best, like no one ever was” isn’t as simple as just becoming the greatest and strongest trainer out there, and I think he even realises that in the episode itself. As John and Giovanni show, there’s a lot more to becoming a famous trainer than just battling skill.
As strange as this might sound for what is technically a children’s TV show, politics is also an incredibly big part of becoming ‘the greatest’. I’m not sure if they’ll ever go into more detail on that, since it might be too complex for kids, but I really hope they do. I’d love to learn more about the world of Pokémon.
BackseatGamer
I mean, the fact that they were willing to give us an episode like this probably suggests that we’ll learn more about the other aspects of being a Pokémon trainer. But personally, I hope they take it easy on the politics. I came here to watch Pokémon, not the news.
EDIT: That being said, I wouldn’t mind more scenes like this. Watching these ‘super famous’ trainers all trying to prepare food together in the kitchen was hilarious.
GitGud
True! Seeing Petrel bitching about how the tea wasn’t made right was so funny. Or how, surprisingly, Sabrina is the picky eater out of the trio between her, Whitney, and Janine. Or Karen being so friendly and always checking on Ash and co. to make sure they’re okay. These small little quirks really let their personalities shine.
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[Okay, so who actually is John?] By LocalEGirl
After that recent dinner episode where we got to learn a bit more about John, I felt like making a post so that we could all discuss the infamous cockblocker and what he actually does.
With how frequently he’s mentioned in the games and anime, there’s no doubt that he’ll take up a larger role in the future. But we actually don’t know all that much about his backstory – or at least I don’t think it’s been explicitly said. So let’s discuss.
Comments
NoGameNoLife
So there’s a few things that should be readily apparent. One, he’s likely one of the strongest trainers in the world – akin to a Champion, or even more so. Two, he has control over Regigigas, somehow. Three, many, many people look up to him with respect and admiration, and he’s apparently very friendly with a lot of people (the dinner scene made that very clear).
I would imagine he’s in the Top 3 most important trainers in the world because of that.
BackseatGamer
Big agree. And don’t forget that his appearances in the games are always when something big is happening. It’s always him too – its hardly anyone else. I suspect that he’s the main ‘fixer’ of the League, and he handles these big problems for them. Because of that, he really does feel like one of the main characters of the Pokémon world.
Also, did anyone catch the fact that in the recent episode Karen said that John was now living in Sinnoh with Cynthia? Since when did that happen?
MadCuzBad
Yeah, I caught that too. They really need to show us how John and Cynthia got together. They’ve been teasing us about this for so long that we really deserve to know. I wonder if this is a political thing?
LocalEGirl
Honestly, I care more about finding out just how he managed to catch Regigigas. Like, after an entire game where you don’t get to catch a Legendary and then this motherfucker shows up with Regigigas next to him like what the fuck how is that fair!?
SpeedRunner
Honestly, I really want to see John vs Ash at some point. We know just how badly he can kick our ass in the games, so I want to see how Ash matches up against him.
GitGud
You’re kidding right? If Ash goes up against John, he’s cooked. Even if all three of the main trio fight him right now, they’re not fucking winning. We need to wait for like 6 more seasons and like 3 special edition movies to come out or something before that becomes a reality LMAO.
Don’t forget that his Slaking DOESN’T HAVE TRUANT! AND HE SOMEHOW HAS A REGIGIGAS BY HIS SIDE! Power of friendship or not it won’t fucking matter.
LocalEGirl
LOL okay now you reminded me I totally want to see him just toss out Regigigas in a random fight now. Just imagine him going up against some young trainer and stomping their ass with the Legendary Titan of all things LOLOLOLOL
MadCuzBad
WAIT LOOK AT THIS – LINK. THEY’RE ANNOUNCING THAT THEY’RE RELEASING SIDE EPISODES FOR THE ANIME THAT FOCUSES ON DIFFERENT CHARACTERS. NO FUCKING WAY!
BackseatGamer
HOLY SHIT THAT’S REAL!! Okay, we better have an episode or two about the Champions. Enough of this talk about John, I want to see a Lance/Steven/Cynthia POV PLEASEEEEEEEEEE.
SpeedRunner
Honestly, seeing the life of a Champion would be super interesting. We know that they’re supposed to be the leaders of the regions, but what do they actually do in their day-to-day? It would be interesting to see!
A.N. Had a spark of inspiration for another one of these chapters, so I hope you enjoyed this. For this ‘anime episode’ I wanted to shift the focus back on John and the other characters (hence why I mentioned the sidestory section at the end). If you guys preferred this over the focus on Ash, then maybe that’s where I’ll focus on next time as well.
Or if you want to see other characters POV in the ‘anime’, let me know as well. If I have the inspiration, I’ll write it up! Hope you enjoyed!
Comments
Pyrrha Mara
This was great, and i do enjoy this random chaps. Seeing reactions to the mc is one of the things i enjoy the most about these sorts of fanfic works. It would be great to see a fan reaction to john and Cynthia’s relationship, and maybe even some backstory to john. It would be interesting to see if anyone manages to clock that he is an otherworlder as well, adding in tiny hint here and there. You already have some from the games as he is the only person actually questioning the worlds logic. 🤣
Grey Heart
I like this chapter
