Nostalgia: Episode 672 - "Here Comes the Trubbish Squad!"

One of the episodes I really like from near the beginning of the Black and White series of the anime is the episode where Ash, Iris, and Cilan come across a school with a group of kids that really like a particularly trashy Pokémon known as Trubbish. The gist of the episode is that the kids like Trubbish but their teacher doesn't, and conflict ensues on whether they can keep and take care of Trubbish; after Trubbish proves its worth, the conflict became resolved.

The kids and Trubbish.

Something I particularly like about the episode is that it indirectly puts Ash at the heart of the conflict. Early on in the episode, Ash loses his cap to the kids as they rush past him on the street; in the middle of the episode, Ash attempts to become a negotiator, then becomes a supporter for the kids. He realizes that what they are doing is much like what he did at a younger age prior to becoming a Trainer. You could say that it brings nostalgia to him; this is one of the reasons I like (re-)watching this episode so much.

"I kind of understand what they're talking about..."

Another reason why I like seeing this episode is because the first time I watched this episode, it was with the Indonesian-language dub, and unfortunately, the Indonesian dub cut out some of the vital parts of this episode, including the beginning of the episode, which explains how Ash lost his cap. This cutting out of parts also resulted in the loss of the part where the middle part of the conflict is, just exactly after the part where (in the English dub) Ash yells:

"TRUBBISH STINKS!!"

After re-watching the episode in English, I finally understood the conflict and how it became resolved, in its entirety. And a good message out of that resolution is to take an opportunity to listen (and understand), no matter which side you're on. I think the world could be a better place if we all take this message to heart. The kids are all right - so I think we can be as well.

The resolution.