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Pokemon Elements: Collection 2

Score: 80%
Rating: ALL
Publisher: Viz Media
Region: 1
Media: DVD/5
Running Time: 5+ Hrs.
Genre: Anime/Box Set
Audio: English

Features:

  • Volume 6 - Dark:
    • Absol-ute Disaster!
    • Pop Goes the Sneasel!
    • A Bite to Remember
  • Volume 7 - Psychic:
    • Abra and the Psychic Showdown
    • Pearls Are a Spoink’s Best Friend!
    • Address Unown!
  • Volume 8 - Dragon:
    • Let Bagons By Bagons
    • Fangs for Nothin’
    • Enter the Dragonite
  • Volume 9 - Ghost:
    • The Tower of Terror
    • Take This House and Shuppet
    • A Ghost of a Chance
  • Volume 10 - Rock:
    • Mother of all Battles
    • Winner by a Nosepass!
    • It’s Still Rocket Roll to Me

Pokemon Elements: Collection 2 collects five element-themed Pokemon volumes, each with three episodes, into a nice-sized package that seems to give you a bit more bang for your buck than buying these volumes individually.

The collection consists of Dark, Rock, Dragon, Psychic and Ghost-centric episodes and range from some of Ash's early adventures in the Kanto region (Indigo League) to a few in the Pokemon: Advance Battle series which all but wraps up the Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald portion of the show. The earliest episode includes "Abra and the Psychic Showdown" and its follow-up episode, "The Tower of Terror." While these episodes appear in two different volumes (one is Psychic and the other is Ghost), having them in the same collection really works out.

In "Abra and the Psychic Showdown," Ash, Misty and Brock have arrived in Saffron City and Ash is pumped for his next gym battle. What he doesn't realize is that he isn't really equipped to handle the gym leader's Psychic pokemon like Abra and Kadabra. When he doesn't earn the Marsh Badge, he is told about Ghost-type pokemon and he goes to Lavender Town and investigates a haunted tower. This is the "Tower of Terror" episode and by the end of it, Ash has a new Haunter and he heads back to Saffron City for a rematch. The third-part to this set of episodes, "Haunter versus Kadabra," isn't in this collection, but that isn't really the focus of this group of discs.

There is another set of back-to-back episodes that happen to fall into this collection across 2 discs. The first one is "Address Unown!" (on the Psychic disc) where an Unown falls out of the sky and sends the whole group into an odd alternate dimension. Actually, it turns out the world they are traveling through is inside the mind of the Larvitar that they are transporting back to it's home in a pokemon preserve. While delving into the baby pokemon's mind, they learn why it is so aloof and distant. As it turns out, it is very much aware of being stolen from its mother by poachers while still an egg. The other episode, which shows up in the Rock volume, is called "Mother of All Battles" where the group finally gets to the preserve to return the Larvitar to its mother Tyranitar only to find she is being harassed by the same poachers that took Larvitar in the first place.

Other good episodes include "Absol-ute Disaster," and "Pearls Are a Spoink's Best Friend!" In "Absol-ute Disaster," the group has to convince a town that the presence of a foreboding Absol isn't bringing disaster, but trying to warn the town of a disaster, while the Spoink-centric episode has the gang stumbling upon a Spoink that has lost its pearl. As they try and find it, the Spoink attempts to use various other spherical objects in its place, often times resulting in somewhat humorous side-effects.

There are several major battle episodes in this collection as well. A few are basic gym battles like Ash's first in the Honnen region where he goes up against a powerful Geodude and a Nosepass in order to earn the Stone Badge, or his fight against twin gym leaders, one sporting a Lunatone and the other a Solrock. In the Dragon volume, Ash also faces off against Clair of Blackthorn Gym where she uses not only a Gyarados and Kingdra, but also a Dragonair that Team Rocket's Jessie developed a bit of an attachment to in the previous episode (not included in this collection).

One of the biggest episodes in this collection is "Enter the Dragonite," where Ash continues his final battle in the Orange League against Drake. This six-on-six battle is already halfway through when the episode starts and Drake sends out a Gengar to go up against Ash's Tauros. During this episode, Drake will also send out his Venusaur and Electabuzz and Ash will show off his Lapras and Bulbasaur, but the battle really heats up when it comes down to Charizard and Drake's Dragonite. When Dragonite takes out Charizard, all that is left for Ash is his tired Squirtle and Pikachu. Of course, no one expects the little pokemon will be able to defeat the Dragonite, but when they are able to whittle down the bigger pokemon's strength and Pikachu delivers the final attack, Ash wins the Orange League tournament and gets a place in the Hall of Fame.

Pokemon Elements: Collection 2 is a good mix of episodes. There is a nice mix of episodes from the Kanto, Johto and Honnen regions that gives fans a nice slice of the first two series in the show, and while there aren't a lot of episodes on each disc, bringing all five together really packs a lot of punch. Any fan, who doesn't already have these episodes in other collection, should find this boxed set a good buy.



-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications
AKA Chris Meyer

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