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Review SM043: Gym Battle! Z-Move VS Mega Evolution!!

Is it just me, or is Geodude way more expressive in this episode? I haven't watched OS in a while, but I don't recall it having any distinct personality traits. It sure looks pretty cheerful here!

kantoskies said:
This would be really cool but at this point I feel like the whole "they were called back to HQ for a meeting" thing was just an excuse to get them in the episode. Which is fine because I'm glad they were included but it seems like it was meaningless. But who knows, if they're in SM044 maybe something like this could happen?
Click to expand...
Meaningless or not, it'd still look pretty weird if this wasn't acknowledged the next time they contact headquarters.
 
I'm really glad they didn't go the "Z moves are the hot new thing and Mega Evolutions are joke now" route. The battles turned out really well IMO, hopefully we get more like that.

I'm thrilled that Jigglypuff hopped on the plane to Alola. I want a Jiggs vs. Bewear episode now.
 
Wait a minute... that thing Brock was doing with Gyro Ball... was it really freaking Counter Shield?!
I mean he did mention he learned that battle style from Ash but... is it really possible that they were referencing this?
As if the episode wasn't perfect enough already?

By the way, I think Ken Sugimori aknowledged the Gen I sprites reference on Twitter.
Can anyone get the gist of what he's saying?

View: https://twitter.com/SUPER_32X/status/911404024447959041
 
good episode , hoped for a little more battles but maybe in future that will occur.

Turtonator vs mega Stelix was nice.

Alolan Marowak looked like it deserve some more battle attention.

The geodude vs togedemaru was too short the same of with psy duck.(Golduck should get an alolan form really)

Pikachu vs mega gyardos, good and now over, hoped rather for a other of Ash pokemo but maybe in future.

Do you think Misty and Brock will re-visit them in Alola?
 
It warms my heart to see how Brock and Misty have progressed. I wasn't really into the first 2 battles, mostly because they were really short and relatively uneventful (it was nostalgic to see Psyduck's headache-induced power, though).
As for the other 2 battles though, that's where the real action is. They writers obviously put more work into these because they are the best SM has had so far (which isn't saying much because SM battles so far have been mediocre at best, but nonetheless these were a joy to watch). Brock vs Kiawe was pure awesomeness. Brock taking his shirt off is new, though. I know it's more of a game reference, but I thought this was more of an anime anniversary, than a game one.
Misty vs Ash was good too. Well, mostly good. Am I the only one who thought that Pikachu using electricity to escape the Hurricane was at Thunder Armour level?
Overall, these episode were a sweet trip down memory lane mixed with new elements. A wonderful mixture of the past meeting the present in hopes of a better future.
Be seeing you, Brock and Misty. May we meet again, regardless of how many years it will take.
 
They did actually promise to visit Ash while he was in Alola at the end of the episode. I don't think we should trust those three with promises, considering he still hasn't visited Pidgeot, but since they now have actually reintroduced Brock and Misty I think it would be likely for them to show up to cheer for Ash during the league. Or at least make more cameos watching from the screen or something.
 
Gabo2oo said:
Wait a minute... that thing Brock was doing with Gyro Ball... was it really freaking Counter Shield?!
I mean he did mention he learned that battle style from Ash but... is it really possible that they were referencing this?
As if the episode wasn't perfect enough already?

By the way, I think Ken Sugimori aknowledged the Gen I sprites reference on Twitter.
Can anyone get the gist of what he's saying?

View: https://twitter.com/SUPER_32X/status/911404024447959041
Click to expand...


I am not a professional translator, but he says something about "never thinking they'd use the costumes in the anime," and 20 years later, because of the animation transition, "it was interesting to see the poses used from the games in the anime."

That's a rough translation.... Hopefully, @Dogasu will come by with a true translation.
 
Small anecdote about Pokemon:
I was introduced to the series when I was like 3 1/2-4 years old from a friend who was like 6 at the time who got his hands on somd VHS Bootlegs of the OS in Japanese. Freaking Mezase! Pokemon Master made this episode *so* much better. And it was already a 10/10 episode.
EDIT: Forgot to mention that this was circa 1997, so you can understand why the bootlegs were on VHS and why I am mentioning this.
-Freaking Sprite Poses for the mega evos was genius. Its an obvious thing to do, and I am surprised Sugimori found it surprising. I mean seriously, a PWT with the previous leaders striking their sprite poses is a fanservice no brainer.
-A league in Alola! I can see Ash becoming the first champion because of how unequipped Alola Trainers seem to be. On the other hand I can see them having Ash lose because he has only 5 Pokemon after Nebby is gone, if he has Nebby. I can only see one or the other, not both, and I dunno which is more important.
-The megas were badass, and everyone freaking out was great. I love the portrayal here more then the XY Anime which had really unsettling cries, like they were in pain.
-Asspull Ash is best Ash. I love that its his character trait, I love how the gym leaders supposedly learned from him that moves can be used not just to hit but environmentally, and I LOVE that the RotoDex basically blue screened along with his classmates when they all realize Ash is on a whole nother level.
-Comedy was great. Bewear running for three days, Ash being called out on how he won the badges, again RotoDex bluee screened at the hack level battles, it was top notch. Now that things are getting slightly more serious, they hopefully will balance this out for something special.



Man, SM so far has been like BW if it didn't suck. New artstyle that doesn't suck, continuity nods that don't suck, a novice angle that doesn't make ash suck, new twists on old habits that doesn't, how are they managing this.
 
My complaint from the previous episode was that the interactions between the original trio felt flat, and that well well and truly remedied in this episode. Shouldn't have expected any less from Tomioka I suppose!

The battles were absolutely stunning to watch (still wish Kasumi had won :p but I accept that this is the outcome which probably made the most sense). I'm trying to come up with something constructive and useful to say, but honestly this episode felt spot on for me!

Kasumi & Takeshi's promise to visit Alola (they're better at keeping these that Satoshi at least) + Kukui's league plans make me hopeful for them to actually show up some time, and really it would make sense and provide for more fun given that they have established relationships with cast members other than Satoshi now.
 
This episode was even better than the last one, and that's saying a lot since the last one stole my heart quite easily. This one felt slightly less nostalgia-filled (though there was still more than enough of it!) and more focused on blending the Alola classmates with the original trio, along with the original trio's relationship with one another.

So, first thing's first, I genuinely cannot believe Misty has managed to tame Psyduck to that degree! It was a very pleasant surprise and really shows how much she's grown as a trainer. And Psyduck as a Pokémon! It was really cool to see him being used in a battle and not solely because he let himself out of his poke ball. I do like that they left some of his signature traits, however, like him being a bit slow.

I thought the writers did a nice job fitting so many battles into one episode. Lana and Mallow's and Lillie and Sophocles' were the shorter ones, but I think it worked out nicely that way since Ash and Kiawe are pretty much known as the battling powerhouses of the group. Still, it was nice that they all got to participate in the battling instead of just the two characters who are known for battling. I really feel like you have to give SM credit so far for character participation. There's not a ton of sitting on the sidelines for an entire episode by almost any of them.

And speaking of the battles, they were all very well done. I am not a battle person, battle heavy episodes tend to bore me. I was completely engaged in every single battle in this episode. The animation was gorgeous and the techniques used were awesome. Misty and Brock's poses from the original games were so cool to see. Every aspect of each battle was just super interesting and I loved it.

Now, for the original trio: I thought their interactions last episode were pretty good, but here they were perfect. Misty and Brock mentioning Ash got the badges out of pity (I love Ash, but it's true and it was insanely funny, especially with how he got flustered and just completely skirted over the topic, hehe), Brock mentioning he learned a certain technique from Ash and not being surprised by Ash's own strategy, and Misty teasing Ash (she's matured a lot, but it's a part of her character and a part of her and Ash's relationship and so I'm totally happy they retained it, especially Ash's annoyance! The boy has feelings other than sheer happiness!)

I have only two very minor complaints: I really wanted to know how Brock and Misty got their key stones! They're the first core characters to have them, so I think it would've been really awesome to know how or where they got them. Also, Kukui mentioning building up a Pokémon League was...random. I know it's from the games, and I think it's cool they do seem to intend to carry it over to the anime, but this was literally the first time he's brought it up. And it kind of came out of nowhere. I wish they would've had him kind of contemplating this before, or at least given some indication he had this on his mind. Like I said, I'm interested in this storyline, but the writers should've done a better job building up to it, because I was kind of just caught off guard and underwhelmed by the "reveal."

Oh, and I'm disappointed Misty didn't beat Ash. They just couldn't let my girl win this time :(

Anyway, I still think this arc could've used at least one more episode at minimum. This episode and the previous one just made me so happy! I haven't had this much fun watching any episode of Pokémon in a very long time, and I honestly felt kind of like a kid again. I'm trying not to get my hopes up about that promise at the end of the episode, but I truly just can't help myself.
 
I love Mega Evolution Battles xD What a way to bring these characters back. And it's so refreshing to see Brock in particular depicted in this kind of light...Not just a nanny, but a strong, cool headed and capable fighter. Very nice.
 
Twice in a row now, I was way more interested in the Brock side of things since I prefer his character tons more than Misty. I loved seeing his rendition on Ash's old Counter Shield strategy of the Sinnoh days and how he wasn't the least bit surprised by Ash's completely nonsensical escape from Mega Gyarados's Hurricane trap.

Turtonator vs Steelix... First off, I was overjoyed to see them actually say that the Fire advantage on Steel was leveled out by the Ground advantage on Fire! I think this is the first time the anime has informed viewers that Steelix isn't completely screwed against Fire types for once. This Steelix has clearly improved many times over since its still respectable appearance in AG too. I daresay that Brock would have worked around Shell Smash with copious uses of Dig if Kiawe tried to go that route.

Not gonna lie, I had to stop the video just to get a laugh out of my system when Brock threw off his shirt. He'd definitely have a girlfriend by now if he weren't making the first move all the fecking time.
 
Last edited:
I am still pinching myself that Brock and Misty returned. I would love to see more of them.

It was great to see the orignal trio poke fun at each other. Yes, they are friends and this is what friends in real life do. They support each other but also tease each other.

It was also amazing to see how much Brock and especially Misty have improved their battling skills.

IMO the writers did as well as they could have in a two episode arc. Yes, i really wanted to see Ash reunited with Squirtle and his other old pokemon. Well, atleast we know we will probably be seeing Squirlte again. For a long time, i wondered if we would ever see the adorable turtle again.

Anyway i am pretty happy. I wish the arc was like 5 episodes or more. That was the only way we were going to see all of Ash's old pokemon. I am still hoping for Ash to be reuinited with all his old pokemon after Sun and Moon is over, just like he reuited with them when Hoenn was over.
 
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