There isn’t really anything new in the third episode relative to the second episode. The main point of interest remains Sealeo, although now, Pokémon Concierge is more concerned with Uncle Dan, the old, retired guy who now works at the resort solely because it’s an environment he considers appropriate for Sealeo’s energy level. There’s a sort of capitalist critique innate to this whole set up. Some offhand dialog suggests that the resort is understaffed but that that no more employees can be hired than the four they already have. Uncle Dan, not motivated by money, is thus easily added to the payroll. And Sealeo itself, big as it is, soon proves to be an effective source of unpaid labor.
That’s a pretty cynical take about what’s going on here though. The broader, more heartwarming point being made through this episode of stop animated Pokémon adventures is that Uncle Dan wants to feel useful. He tried to abandon Sealeo last episode because he thought he couldn’t take care of it. He framed his relationship with his adult children in terms of their checking up on him, less than their having a relationship with him. None of this is especially mean-spirited. There’s every indication that Uncle Dan’s family likes him. They just don’t have any reason to see him that often.
Tyler, for example, one of the four existing permanent employees, likes Uncle Dan, and was even willing to go so far as to promise to take care of Sealeo for him. But he didn’t have an especially serious relationship with Uncle Dan, because how can we have relationships with people we never really see? And that’s pretty much what this episode is all about. Uncle Dan building a rapport with Haru, and Haru in turn struggling as usual as to whether she’s doing her job right, resistant as usual to the typical lesson of Pokémon Concierge that as long as you’re trying to do your job right, and the outcomes are good, the exact way you go about it isn’t that important.
I’ve discussed the old school Pokémon games even less than usual in this largely character-based episode but there’s actually a pretty decent metaphor at play here. This is why people liked the Pokémon games in the first place- the relative freedom. Yes, there’s a certain order you’re clearly expected to play the game in, but relative to other role-playing games of the nineties and even beyond, there are many, many ways you can play the game. You can focus on catching all the Pokémon, or winning all the battles, or just wander around looking for secrets. The Pokémon you choose to use in this quest further magnify the infinite ways the game can be played- even choosing a different starter can be enough to force you to use an entirely new playstyle.
So it is that when we see Uncle Dan yell at Pokémon to stop fighting, despite this being against the ethos both of Uncle Dan himself as well as the entire franchise really, it still feels appropriate. Because Uncle Dan is, at the end of the day, just an old guy trying to find his place in the world. Try as he might, though, the only place that matters to him is by Sealeo’s side. This makes for a true ode to pet lovers, if not Pokémon lovers.
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