Review XY035: Champion of the Forest! Luchabull Appears!!

[Neo Blaze]

XY035 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

 

[Handy Man]

It was pretty obvious that Ash was going to catch a Hawlucha at some point, seeing as Hawlucha is in quite a few episodes after this one alongside this year's movie and its short film, so I'm glad that this episode finally confirmed that.

 

[Sakuraa]

This episode was so awesome. Hawlucha is so cool!

Okay, ignoring the clichéd beginning of an Ursaring stealing food from smaller Pokémon, I thought it was great that Bonnie was the one who went to scold it first. Hawlucha is such a badass. Not sure about that mask through. I love how he slammed Ursaring to the ground with his f*cking legs! I also like how the music in the background had a Hispanic them to reference Hawlucha's concept. Am, I the only one who thought it was weird that Ursaring tried to defeat Hawlucha with a rock as opposed to...an actual move?! Whatever.

Okay, am I also the only one who thinks this Ursaring is a wimp. He needs to go round up a Conkeldurr and lie to a Machamp to fight Hawlucha for him. What the hell? Anyway, the training session between Ash and Hawlucha was cool.

Hawlucha's battle against Machamp was awesome. He was was holding him off with one hand. Though, I'm really confused about this whole altercation and why Ursaring and Conkeldurr all of a sudden began attacking Hawlucha and then Machamp had to stop them. Did they just want Machamp to weaken him, cuz he really didn't do that much. The way they were hammering him, you'd think they could handle him themselves.

I loved the battle between Froakie and Hawlucha. It looks like Froakie was using those techniques he learned with Frogadier. I think he was running up that waterfall, but I'm not sure. Either way, it was cool. I was a bit disappointed that Fraokie got knocked out too, but at least Hawlucha mastered Flying Press. And man did it look badass. I'm glad we finally have a new team addition after like 25 episodes.

I can't say there was much I disliked about this episode. 9.8/10.

 

[SamurottMan]

XY hasn't disappointed so far, has it!

The background music in this episode was awesome. I think we got some new music, Lysandre's theme a theme from a Kalos road and many other that fit the scene.

About the episode. The episode was a really different one. Different than the other capture episodes (in a good way). It was good that the training session wasn't stretched more. And Ursaring trying to knock out Hawlucha with a boulder instead of an attack (that's just cold, dude). But at the end Machamp being wise and on Hawlucha's side was unexpected (at least for me). It was nice that Hawlucha mastered the move during the battle with Froakie and both Pokemon fainting, shows that they are strong and Froakie is stronger than before.

The pokeball bro fist when capturing Hawlucha was epic.

Fun episode and a really nice capture episode: 9.6/10

 

[Lluksonak]

I actually liked how TR was absent this episode Usaring and Conkeldurr being their substitutes. That 2v1 against Hawlucha looked brutal. So, it only has three moves? Karate Chop, Hi Jump Kick, and Flying Press. I hope it learns a new move in the Sky Battle episode, like Aerial Ace or something.

I liked how Machamp and Hawlucha were best buds, like that battle was just a sparring session(like the 2v1 never happened), and that Machamp will be in charge of protecting the forest when Hawlucha decided to go with Ash.

11/10

 

[EliteTrainerXeos]

This has to have been the most hyped up XY episode so far, and it certainly did not disappoint at all.

It seems every time there's an Ursaring in the Anime, it's always portrayed as a bad one, and this is no exception. Stealing berries from the younger Pokemon reminded me of the Steelix episode from D/P for some reason. it wasn't really interesting until Senior Hawlucha arrived!Okay, I have to say it now before I burst. This thing is Absolutely fantastic, amazing and cool in every single way. Like seriously, it's full of life, personality and charisma and seeing Ash so captivated over how it likes to show off was nice to see. Also, I got Mystery Dungeon vibes when Conkeldurr and Urasring went to get Machamp, like they were talking to each other and plotting to get revenge on Halwucha.

The fights this episode were really well done. The one with Urasring where Hawlucha used it's legs to bring it to the ground was awesome, and then the follow up with Machamp was a little boring, but it was good to see some intense fights between wild Pokemon. The music complimented really well with what was going on and the fact that Halwucha got it's own theme was awesome too.

Ash this episode was great, charging in to stop not only Urasring, but Conkeldurr as well as the former later on when they gang up on Hawlucha means that he really want's to catch it. The training session where he helped it to practice Flying Press was well done, using himself as a target to focus on and the log so it doesn't make direct contact. Ash giving advice on how to properly pull off the move kind of makes it a unique way for Hawlucha to use the move while having enough speed.

All in all, I really can't fault this one and it's getting a perfect 10/10.

 

[Alola]

Hey, look! Its Dawn's Pachirisu!

Anyway, such a great episode! One of XY's best so far.

After watching it, Hawlucha is now officially one of my favorite Pokemon. It's a wonderful thing when the anime makes Pokemon that appear so-so in the games, 100% better.
Also, it has its own theme music! Theme music! Especially for Hawlucha! I mean wow! Bad! Ass! I really like it, and hope it is eventually released. It reminded me so much of the Espada music from Bleach. So now, whenever we hear it, you know someone is about to be pwned.

Boring COTD who lives in a cabin in the middle of nowhere by himself; I honestly felt that he was completely unnecessary. The forest full of Fighting types, "Champions of the Forest" etc could have all been flavor text in Serena's Town Map (with the gang eventually deducing that Hawlucha is the current Champion and such). The Pokemon villains were interesting though. I'm glad Machamp realized it was duped before things got worse for poor Hawlucha. Also, shame on that Ursaring. A freaking rock? Really? Have you no moves? What is this, the era of Ancient Greece?

The battles were all really nice and superbly animated. My only complaint is why didn't Hawlucha attack Machamp from above? Clearly Karate Chop wasn't working, so it should have resorted to something else...I am also happy that it is officially confirmed that Hawlucha can fly. Makes the next episode all the more exciting.

Anyway, one of my favorite Pokemon episodes ever. Looking forward to Hawlucha vs Mega Lucario in a few months.

 

[CynthiaLover]

I've only seen the raw version of this episode, but just that alone was enough for now. One of the most hyped episodes of the XY series, and man oh man, did it deliver!

Okay, it's official, Hawlucha is THE MOST AWESOME Gen VI Mon ever! I liked it a lot to begin with, but this episode did it justice to an extreme. I LOVED, LOVED, LOVED it's theme music! That had to be some of the coolest BGM ever. It fit it so perfectly, along with mixing in a good amount of Hispanic flare made it incredible. I hope the dub doesn't screw that up, but I wouldn't be surprised if they replaced it. But if they don't, I will be very happy.

Moving on, once again, Ursaring is a bully Mon, but this time it had a partner in crime: Conkeldurr. While Ursaring being a bully is very generic at this point, the fact that this one proved to be a cunning, underhanded creature was an unusual change of pace. It turned one of Hawlucha's buddies, Machamp, against it with lies is pretty different. Glad to see Machamp wised up and gave those two a knock on the noggin for their dirty tactics. And, come on, a rock!? That's deep freeze cold, ya know! Being a bully is one thing, but that's just low. Glad to see it got what it deserved in the end.

Continuing, Hawlucha was awesome in its own right. It has such a cool personality, yet not overly-proud and willing to learn and improve itself, as well as accept outside help. That's sometime you don't see too often in powerful Pokemon like that. It takes things in stride, not getting frustrated or having to nurse a bruised ego if things don't go accordingly. That's really cool. I liked the fact that, despite being its signature move, it was having some aim problems with Flying Press. The training that it did with Ash was well paced and not dragged out, something you don't see too often. Ash also appeared to offer it good advice, which allowed it to master the move. On top of that, Hawlucha seems to be quite the powerhouse. Champion of the Forest indeed, it lived up to that rep. And I'm glad this confirms that Hawlucha can fly. While it can learn the move Fly, I'm glad this fully confirms that it can do more than just glide.

Moving on to the battle, Froakie and Hawlucha showed off some impressive skill. Both did very well, and I'm glad the battle ended in a draw, as it proved that Froakie is much stronger now and that Hawlucha still needs some work. And I liked how Hawlucha was initially unsure about coming along with Ash, but when Machamp reassured it that it'll take care of things, it agreed. That's really cool. This means it can broaden its horizons, as you can only achieve so much as a champion in one location. I can't wait to see how Hawlucha improves.

Overall, a really great episode. It was heavily hyped, but it didn't disappoint. Easily one of the best episodes to date. The XY series has not failed once so far, which is extremely pleasing. I have no choice but to give it a 20/10 due to sheer awesomeness and very little, if anything, wrong with it.

 

[Darth Darkrai]

Oh WOW THIS IS SUCH A GREAT GOOD EPISODE! I just SIMLY LOVED LOVED LOVED THIS EPISODE!

The Bond between Ash and Hawlucha WAS SOOOOOOOOOO GOOD, some of the BEST MOMENTS I have seen from Ash in SUCH A LONG TIME. Ash could tell that Hawlucha was a Strong Pokemon and Wanted to see it'a Strengths and he did.

Now the Villains of the Episode are actually Conkeldurr and an Ursaring LOL. They were Cool I thought and LOL THE Ursaring Picked Up a Rock to Crush Hawlucha and it was VERY FUNNY, (Hey Bub, do U NOT know any Moves, is that why U DIDN'T use like Hyper Beam on Hawlucha LOL?!) And the Machamp WAS SOOOOOOOOOOOOO DARN COOL AND AWESOME, and at the End when he takes Care of the Construction Working Pokemon and Grizzly Bear, he like BREAKS their Necks and Carries them Like they are Garbage LOL.

I think the Addition of the COTD felt Unnecessary but I get that he was needed to Explain about Hawlucha. Also I am SO GLAD THAT Team Rocket were NOT in this Episode, I think it was a Breath of Fresh Air.

When Froakie Used Double Team, I SWEAR IT looked there were Over 100 Froakie's LOL.

Now I Liked the Flashback Cameos of Sawk, Throh, Croagunk and ESPECIALLY Mienfoo and Mienshao, I Liked seeing them in a Flashback. Also Weord seeing a Bunnelby that WASN'T Clemont's LOL. Another thing, NICE to see a Pachirisu that WASN'T Dawn's either LOL.

Overall I JUST LOVED LOVED THIS Episode, I think it was just an AWESOME EPISODE! I thought the Malamar Episode from so long ago was REALLY GOOD but this Episode JUST TAKES THE CAKE AND I'm Giving it a 10/10, the Hawlucha Episode is AWESOMETACULIAR!

 

[Moe]

Really great episode - nice also that Ash has caught a genuinely strong Pokemon. Will be interesting how much it gets used.

I thought for a split second there near the end after Ash told Pikachu to wait, that he was about to go fight Hawlucha himself, given how willing he was in this episode to get himself hurt - I suppose Froakie was an okay choice instead.

It really makes Hawlucha's flying type a bit pointless given just about every Pokemon seems to be able to jump fifty metres in the air and stay up there to do several attacks - Froakie didn't seem any less mobile in the air with the lack of wings. Does make for entertaining battles though.

I wonder why the choice of Ursaring in this episode - given it's just a Normal type - isn't having a Fighting type generic angry Pokemon the reason we now have Pangoro?

 

[fireflight775]

I have to say its nice to see a pokemon with flair and heart in the anime. Hawlucha is a pokemon designed for Ash in my opinion, strong, brave, determined, and hopeful. Ash was great and we get to see Froakie reach closer to its full potential. Also its nice to see Conkeldurr as a badguy its not quite the badguy pokemon like Ursaring but it is a brute. I would have liked to see hawluvha kick thier butts and the gone with Ash but, this was a better ending. I love that Ash and his pokemon are full of potential in a stronger way than in black and white, even hoen. I love that Ash is catching pokemon with original typing and are similar to him. It would be great to see Hawluchas respect for Ash shown frequently, and its possible defiant streak as well. As a trainer there is something special in Ash now that he has not had in a while, I can't quite name it. Also does anyone else expect to see a greninja in Ash's team by the end of the season? Ash just wows me, with his maturity, heart, and stubborness, the Ash we have known is growing up. Now it would be great to see Serena catch a pokemon and it would be great to see Corrinna use more than mega lucario in the future for battles, and I believe they will. There is so much to do and so much that will happen in this series that I have renewed faith

 

[Dr. Buni]

XY hasn't disappointed so far, has it!

If you mean besides one of the main characters being completely useless, it really hasn't.

Anyway, glad to have a confirmation of Hawlucha's capture. It is clearly one of the most interesting Generation VI Pokémon.

 

[SamurottMan]

XY hasn't disappointed so far, has it!

If you mean besides one of the main characters being completely useless, it really hasn't.

Anyway, glad to have a confirmation of Hawlucha's capture. It is clearly one of the most interesting Generation VI Pokémon.

Haha kind of forgot about that, but there is still a chance!

 

[TPrower]

This may just be because I was following only the screencaps on Serebii, but does Hawlucha smile once in the episode? It may be because he's so stoic and cool-natured, like Snivy, but I just noticed in the screencaps that he never even cracked a grin when Ash had him join the team, except in that imagine spot Ursaring used.

 

[Life]

This may just be because I was following only the screencaps on Serebii, but does Hawlucha smile once in the episode? It may be because he's so stoic and cool-natured, like Snivy, but I just noticed in the screencaps that he never even cracked a grin when Ash had him join the team, except in that imagine spot Ursaring used.

This is something I noticed too; Luchabull never seemed to be enthusiastic about joining Satoshi's team. It seemed more like "Yeah sure why not?" rather than "Wooo!! ".


Other than that and the random COtD, I thought this episode was good. Luchabll seems to be a very strong Pokemon, so I hope it won't end up like Musashi's Habunake. I also hope that it will drop some of it's current moves, because three fighting-type moves are very repetitive. I would love to see it's future attacks be something like Flying Press, Sky Attack/Acrobatics, Poison Jab, & Swords Dance. Idk, just think that would be a nice set of moves.

Getting back to the actual episode, I think the whole scenario with Satoshi helping a Pokemon and than having it join his team is kind of repetitive, but I suppose I can let it slide. ^^ I do wish that instead of Keromatsu, Yayakoma would have battled instead. Luchaball is most likely going to get a lot of attention coming up, and now that Ash has two flying-types I'm unsure of how well the writers can handle both. I guess what I'm most afraid of is Yayakoma's only use becoming scouting, so I'll just have to wait and see.

Sorry to break the trend, but I have to give the episode a 7/10. Nothing that impressed me too much, but nothing that was bad either. Oh, and also because of this. I really hope that colored-backgrounds doesn't become a thing again.

 

[Alola]

This may just be because I was following only the screencaps on Serebii, but does Hawlucha smile once in the episode? It may be because he's so stoic and cool-natured, like Snivy, but I just noticed in the screencaps that he never even cracked a grin when Ash had him join the team, except in that imagine spot Ursaring used.

This is something I noticed too; Luchabull never seemed to be enthusiastic about joining Satoshi's team. It seemed more like "Yeah sure why not?" rather than "Wooo!! ".

Well they could just be being realistic. What Pokemon is ever completely enthralled when you battle-then-catch it in the wild? I think Hawlucha's demeanor during its capture reflects the realistic scenario for whenever a trainer captures a Pokemon. That love, admiration, friendship etc has to be to earned (on Ash's part). Hawlucha also essentially just gave up its freedom along with the reputation and title of "Champion of the Forest," so it must still be processing that.

That or Hawlucha is just stoic by nature.

And I also noticed the colored background when Machamp used Karate Chop. 35 episodes in and we haven't had one colored backdrop...I too hope they do not become utilized again.

 

[Life]

Well they could just be being realistic. What Pokemon is ever completely enthralled when you battle-then-catch it in the wild? I think Hawlucha's demeanor during its capture reflects the realistic scenario for whenever a trainer captures a Pokemon. That love, admiration, friendship etc has to be to earned (on Ash's part). Hawlucha also essentially just gave up its freedom along with the reputation and title of "Champion of the Forest," so it must still be processing that.

That or Hawlucha is just stoic by nature.

Well, Hawlucha did let Ash catch it, so it's not like it was caught by force. What you said is true, but considering the way the writers have done things for the past four sagas you would think they would continue the trend. It didn't bother me, but just a smile would have been nice so that it wouldn't have felt like Hawlucha didn't want to be caught.

 

[Rohanite]

Hawlucha doesn't even smile in Pokemon amie lol. Although it does smile in the opening so yeah.
I wouldn't worry about the coloured background, it was only for a short moment and it was more like speedlines added to the sky than the traditional coloured backgrounds Pokemon used to have. They did the same thing with Froakie throwing its mousse in episode 1/9 as well as Citron activating the Aipom arm to stop Eureka in episode 5. Speedline backgrounds have been used more often in actual high quality shows like FMA Brotherhood and Hunter x Hunter 2011 than Pokemon XY, I think we're good.

 

[Dr. Buni]

One have to wonder what the writers have against Ursaring. It is always portrayed as a mean/jerkish Pokémon.

Anyways, after this episode, there is only one question I feel obligated to ask: What is your favorite Pokémon and why is it Hawlucha? Seriously, this Pokémon is amazing. I liked its design since it was leaked on 4chan, back in September, even with most people claiming it to be an "ugly fake", but seeing it animated now just make it looks even better.

I have to say Ash was great in this episode. I enjoyed his dialogues and I am pretty sure he would be one of my favorite characters in the series, if he acted in every episode, like he acted in XY035. That Machamp was also really nice, a shame its design is horrendous (seriously!). Oh and the music was amazing in this episode.

I give it a 9.5/10

 

[G50]

This episode was pretty good. I really liked the battle between Hawlucha and Froakie for the capture, even with it only being a tie. It was nice seeing Ash help out Hawlucha with its Flying Press attack.