Recap / Pokemon S 18 E 21 Beyond The Rainbow

• Badass in Distress: Pikachu (again) is kidnapped by Florges' army at Team Rocket's advice, along with Dedenne and Wooper for whatever reason.
• Bystander Syndrome: Only Ash, Goodra and Florges go battle Team Rocket on board their hovercraft. The rest just look on concerned, only bringing in forces to fly them down after they beat the trio and the hovercraft starts to fail.
• Cassandra Truth: Ash and friends try to tell the Pinsir & Araidos that Team Rocket was manipulating them, but they don’t buy it.
• Character Check: Team Rocket not only act out a thoroughly competent plan, but almost reach their Best Wishes level of sinister and vile, reminding Ash bluntly they can still be a terrifying force.
• The Chessmaster: Team Rocket played both sides against each other the whole time while they drained the wetlands of it's healing water, even tricking Florges into stealing Pikachu as an extra bonus.
• Earn Your Happy Ending: Goodra, after a long duration of hardship from his exile, returns to his homeland at last, redeems the invading Pokemon army and frees his friends, while stopping Team Rocket's Not So Harmless plan to drain the land which started his whole dilemma. Invokes a partway Bittersweet Ending however, since now he must part with Ash.
• Easily Forgiven: There are no hard feelings towards Florges and her kind, despite their violent conquest against Goodra and his friends before. Granted she was an Unwitting Pawn.
• Greed: Team Rocket's motivation for stealing the wetlands healing water.
• Heel–Face Turn: Florges.
• Kick the Dog: Team Rocket, after The Reveal, gloat about having drained the Wetlands and fooling both sides into doing their bidding, even mocking Florges over her weakened child to really twist the knife. In the Japanese edit especially, Ash is utterly sickened by this. Team Rocket ends up facing some massive karma when Goodra and Florges team up.
• Laser-Guided Karma: Goodra and Florges team up against Team Rocket, working together to beat Pumpkaboo and Inkay and sending the former flying into the control panel for the cage holding Pikachu, Dedenne and Wooper followed by Goodra and Florges sending Team Rocket blasting off again.
• Mama Bear: All of Florges' actions were for the sake of her ill Floette.
• Not-So-Harmless Villain: The Team Rocket trio are at nearly their most devious and ruthless in this episode, playing The Chessmaster with Florge's army against the twerps, and then draining the entire land with their massive hovercraft. Even when Goodra (a pseudo legendary) teams up with Florges against them, they put up a short but palpable offence against them.
• Put on a Bus: Ash leaves Goodra at the wetlands, knowing he'd be better off watching over his friends.
• Series Continuity Error: It is never quite explained how Team Rocket, who are constantly shadowing the twerps, could have been around to plot their draining of the wetlands all that time beforehand (which prevented Florges from healing her Florette, and pivoted her invasion that exiled Goomy).
• Unwitting Pawn: Florges, who Team Rocket duped into capturing Pikachu, blaming Ash's team for the drought they caused by draining the wetlands.

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