To Thine Own Pokémon Be True! (Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl)

To Thine Own Pokémon Be True! is the 124th episode of Pokémon the Series: Diamond and Pearl, and the 590th episode of the Pokémon anime. It first aired in Japan on April 23, 2009, and in the United States on September 12, 2009. This episode has been hated by many Pokémon fans and is considered to be one of the worst episodes in Pokémon history.

Summary
Ambipom learns about its talent at table tennis, so Dawn, Barry, and Ash enter the tournament; table tennis expert O offers to train Ambipom to be the best.

Why Ambipom Should Have Stayed With Dawn

 * 1) This is another episode that is unfortunately cannon, which makes it worse.
 * 2) NONE of the characters are likable here:
 * 3) * Dawn is very unlikeable in this episode, as she plays pointless ping-pong, and makes the wrong decision of letting Ambipom join pin-pong and abandon contests.
 * 4) * Ash, Brock, Nurse Joy, and Barry are all boring and don’t help make the episode better.
 * 5) * Team Rocket are the least unlikeable here but are still not funny and more boring and uninteresting.
 * 6) * O is a boring character who plays pin-pong and is the one who takes Ambipom to pin-pong.
 * 7) * Ambipom, while probably more likable than most characters here, doesn’t seem to care about her trainer's contest success and seems to care about pin-pong more than helping Dawn out.
 * 8) The plot about the gang playing pin-pong is uninteresting.
 * 9) The comedy falls flat in this episode, with many unfunny moments, like James’ talk with Brock.
 * 10) Many boring parts, like the gang playing pin-pong, especially at the "intense" moments.
 * 11) Many annoying parts in the episode, like Jessie being a sore loser when Meowth breaks the rules.
 * 12) There are no battles at all in this episode, which is very disappointing.
 * 13) Continuing the boring pin-pong story from the previous episode wasn’t a good idea at all.
 * 14) After the boring pin-pong, after resting at the Pokémon center, O asked Ambipom if she wants to train with him to be a pin-pong star, and tells Dawn to think about it. This was not a good moment, as Ambipom was made for contests, and not pin-pong.
 * 15) When Ambipom was pin-pong training, and Ash and Brock said to Dawn that she needs to choose what’s best for their Pokémon, this was not good.
 * 16) Dawn decided to let Ambipom choose, which while respecting her Pokémon’s wishes, it wasn’t the best choice.
 * 17) After an annoying juggling section, Ambipom decided to play pin-pong. This upset many fans of the anime, as Ambipom’s contest talent and development, were completely ruined at this moment, and that’s why many fans declare this as the worst episode of Diamond and Pearl, as well as one of the worst episodes of the Pokémon anime ever.
 * 18) The ending was very heartbreaking, and not in a good way, as O and Ambipom leave on the bus, as the gang wave goodbye to her and she waves back. This was overall a very bad farewell to Ambipom.

The Only Redeeming Quality

 * 1) The animation and voice acting is still good as usual.