>>53043571-Team Rocket are portrayed as their usual pathetic/almost sympathetic selves, and Pokemon being food is actually touched on, very oldschool.
-Ash to Misty: "You tried to hook Clauncher and he hooked you instead" Misty to Ash "Arg, like YOU'VE even hooked anything!" the subtext grows by the minute, of course.
-Clauncher refuses to be caught in a contest of fishing, but rather, of battle and the two face off.
-Team Rocket thrusts themselves into the fray, leading to a humerous rendition of their classic catch phrase, a rude hello to Misty, Corphish saving Clauncher and becoming bros (or more?) and a quick blast off again.
-Clauncher continues to be a not so subtle allegory to a relationship, as James remarks "Oh well, there's plenty of Clauncher in the sea" as they're blasting off. Misty is horrified that they'd selfishly hurt Clauncher and cast him aside when they're done with him as well.
-Ash chooses his Corphish over Pikachu because he recognizes that Corphish has something to fight for and that matters more to him than winning or getting a new pokemon.
-Corphish and Clauncher are shown to have a loving bond with two hearts (heh, gay), this is another teasing moment as both Misty and Ash are given a side with a heart. Naturally, Misty sees it for what it is, and Ash, the eternal brick wall, sees it as a friendship.
-I like Politoad being billed as the "Guardian Diety of Ceruleon Gym", gives a nice sell of his ace status.
-Good fight, you can tell they went all out. Misty actually wins, which I think is more interesting. She earns her spot as a member of the travelling party here, she can keep up with the big dogs (albeit, with a hand tied behind his back) and that's good for her.
-Ash's reaction shows he doesn't care about losing, it was for Corphish. Clauncher seeks to teach his friend/love interest how to punch better, because it was the punch that lead to its failure.
(4/?)
