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Review TW02: Training

I liked seeing the pressure that some gym leaders felt to be the very best, the animation was top-notch and there were some cute moments. However, introducing her motivations and backstory would have made her more relatable and I'm not sure if she learned the leasson that winning isn't everything. Also, the favoritism for Gen I mons really got on my nerves, specially after 8 out of 16 episodes of the new series have dealt with Kanto or its Pokemon.
 
I think I would have preferred an episode about Allister. He seems like he could have an interesting and unique backstory.

Bea is a little too similar to Maylene in the Pokémon Special manga. She didn't get any backstory either. Although it's nice to see a tough girl again since Serena and the Alola girls are very feminine in comparision (not that there is anything wrong with that).

I also wonder why they keep showing Hop at the end of every episode? I must admit that I'm tired of both Hop and Leon and would rather see other characters like Bede and Opal get screentime.
I'm pretty it's implying Hop will have his own episode and it's next.
 
Really enjoyed watching the episode, an episode focusing on one character and her team of Pokemon as they train

Wish the main anime series would give us something like this

Really wish Bea was a main character whilst they traveled around Galar instead of all regions
 
Another dull episode to add to the list. If they were trying to imitate Snow Way Out, they didn't do a very good job. There's really nothing relatable about a gym leader desperately pushing herself and her Pokemon to defeat the champion. Quit your job if that's how you feel, girl.

I'm beginning to appreciate Generations a little bit more than I did before.
 
There's really nothing relatable about a gym leader desperately pushing herself and her Pokemon to defeat the champion.

That is the beauty of it. Her realization of that fact.
In life there will be moments where random things or actions will make you reflect your own.
This episode showed us her looking upon the beauty of minerals whilst remembering she was losing that same glow in the eyes of her pokémon for the way she was behaving.
A good story is when characters develop and grow. In 6 minutes they did that.
But some things are just not meant to please all.
 
Her realizing something so basic every gym leader should know, just isn't compelling in my book. They should have focused on her backstory with her parents and had her tell them off or something. Also, I am not a big fan of Galar Pokemon, but Sirfetch'd and Falinks would have been nice.
 
Her realizing something so basic every gym leader should know, just isn't compelling in my book. They should have focused on her backstory with her parents and had her tell them off or something. Also, I am not a big fan of Galar Pokemon, but Sirfetch'd and Falinks would have been nice.
You're just more a fan of the dramatic huh?
 
As expected, my theory about the ending montage from the first episode showing which Galar characters are the CoTD for each episode seems to be holding true.
so do you guys think Milo's going to be next? or Hop? tbh I'll really enjoy it either way, I'm excited to see any of the characters lol... ;_;

edit: also, bea's VA was awesome. i wonder what hop's voice will sound like (i think something like gou). milo will probably speak softly and have the "kind character" voice like suga from haikyuu lol
 
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so do you guys think Milo's going to be next? or Hop? tbh I'll really enjoy it either way, I'm excited to see any of the characters lol... ;_;
Hop seems more likely given the ending of this episode, but the order doesn't really matter much to me so long as the episodes keep being this high quality.

I am fairly confident that it'll end with Leon in order to bring things full circle, maybe John will finally get to go to one of Leon's matches seeing as we saw the Letter from last episode.
 
Is it bad that only two 6-minute episodes in and this series is already running rings around the train wreck that is the actual Gen VIII Pokémon anime with Ash?

After watching this episode, I'm now hit even more by a sense of "what could have been", thinking what a Sword & Shield anime with Bea as the female travelling companion (as many people were speculating would happen back in the summer of 2019) would have been like. It would've been an interesting dynamic between her & Ash to say the least!
 
I’m curious, did she not want to trained afther her Pokémon helped her out? No rematch
They shown to be exhausted but she didn’t want to stop
She took the lost big compared to her Pokémon did
Maybe in end she realizes that her Pokémon team spirit is more important then wins
 
Now I'm wondering what the chance is that we'll see a sequel to this series in 2021 involving the other Gym Leaders, or maybe Marnie & Piers? I think it'd be cool to see episodes about Melony & Gordie as well.
 
SOUUUUUUULLLLLL

Beautiful episode, like others said I’m disappointed this couldn’t be its own seasonal thing. I think what I absolutely adore about Twilight is just how...”organic” everything feels. The main anime is obviously written for children first and foremost hence the constant expressiveness and cartoony style it conveys. Twilight on the other hand treats characters and more real people, fragile and grey. It’s amazing how that much can be shown in 6-mere minutes. Did it feel good to have a nice, heavy dose of some battle-loving, straight up training female Pokémon battler for the first time in nearly a while. I didn’t realize how much I had been craving this until I watched it.

This episode made me glad I got Sword because Bea is fantastic, a disciplined young woman who trains hard. She’s flawed in the aspects of her own insecurities about losing to Leon as well as pushing herself and Pokémon too hard (comparing her methods to someone like Shinji from the main anime who was completely irredeemable she’s much more human and flawed). In the end what helps her see herself for what she is was the fact she saw a beautiful sight that opened her eyes, only then did she return to apologize to her Pokémon and find the (literal) light at the end of the tunnel. She’s very strong in will, physique and heart but not perfect by any stretch. She emotionally and physically injured herself. Her Pokémon stuck by her side and protected her throughout thick and thin.

I was expecting her to cry as she watched her Pokémon protect her, the animation was so fluent. Did they animate and draw it that way? It made my eyes a little steamy alongside the music as well. I find it super relatable as a person that reviles in physical training, stretching and fighting myself. Speaking of which the portrayal of Leon as being a fearsome force in the shadows (not super overly idealized) despite his champion angle. Plus Rose’s humanization continues to shine well. He knows why Bea left, he cares and is concerned, he trust and understands and respects her agency. Between going to the hospital to see those children meanwhile showing an investment in the Galarian characters like Bea, it makes his motives seem much more investing. He really does care a lot.

EDIT: This was so good I forgot to mention my only irking point was all the KANNNNNNNTTTTTOOOO
Pokémon here sans Corviknight.
 
EDIT: This was so good I forgot to mention my only irking point was all the KANNNNNNNTTTTTOOOO
Pokémon here sans Corviknight.
You can spot a few Braviary near the start of the episode. That's all, though.
 
I thought that this was another really solid short. I was also surprised that this continued on from the previous one. They even showed John's drawing of Leon and his Charizard and Bea was training to deal with her defeat. I actually already liked Bea from playing Sword. She seemed pretty cool and more likable than I initially expected. I'm not sure if she's my favorite of the version exclusive Gym leaders, but she is pretty neat. This short made me like her more since we got to see a lot more of her personality. She was still upset over her defeat and as a result, pushed herself and her Pokemon too far. It was pretty cool to see how involved she was with training her Pokemon though. She'd jump into battles with them, do so much physical exercise and sparred with her Pokemon as well. It really showed her determination and dedication to becoming stronger. The Wild Area also really felt dangerous. That does fit with how Pokemon can charge up to attack you in the games, but it just seemed so intense here, especially with that cave-in.

I do think it was disappointing that she just had the Machop evolution line. They aren't overexposed per say, but they're kind of the generic lineup of Fighting types that I've seen used in the main series, more so with Machop and Machoke than Machamp though. I assume that the Machamp is the one capable of Gigantamaxing, which would be reasonable for her to have, but I usually find it kind of boring for a character to have an entire evolution line as part of their team like that anyway. She has a Hitmontop in the games and I wonder if part of the reason they didn't include it was because it would be more tricky to animate it spinning around on its head. Even so, it was still sweet to see her Machop trying to encourage her to eat and her Machamp being worried when it hurt her arm. It still showed a nice bond between them and Machop looked pretty cute too.

I liked Bea's reaction upon seeing that beautiful part of the cave. I think that made her realize that she needed to calm down and just breathe. Pushing herself beyond the breaking point wasn't going to help her or her Pokemon to become stronger. Only once she started to relax a bit was she able to find a way out of the cave. I also thought that it was pretty nice how the Corviknight Taxi Driver spent so much time trying to give Bea's phone back to here.

I think that I might like the first short a bit more, if only because John struggling to get his letter to Chairman Rose had a bit more emotional impact for me, but this was still really good. It told a complete story within its short time frame, so that's still really good and makes me still excited about this mini-series. I honestly wish that they could have a few more shorts in this series to give every all of the major characters from the games a focused short, or at least all of the Gym Leaders plus Hop and Leon. Not only because the shorts thus far are really good, but also because I like nearly all of the Galar Gym Leaders. All of them stand out design-wise and/or personality wise. I don't remember the last time I like the Gym Leaders in a generation this much. Keeping it focused on just a handful of them with their limited episodes is a smart choice, but it is a shame that they couldn't focus on all of them. That being said, I'd be thrilled if the next short is going to focus on my boy Hop. He's easily one of my favorite rivals and I'd love to see what kind of story they could tell with him within this series.
 
comparing her methods to someone like Shinji from the main anime who was completely irredeemable she’s much more human and flawed
Paul wasn't irredeemable. His training methods weren't cruel, just harsh. Most of the time, at least. The whole DP series was about Ash being challenged about his own training methods' effectiveness compared to Paul's, with him eventually proving that they can be effective too.
EDIT: This was so good I forgot to mention my only irking point was all the KANNNNNNNTTTTTOOOO
Pokémon here sans Corviknight.
You can spot a few Braviary near the start of the episode. That's all, though.
Not quite. We also have some Galarian Zigzagoon and a few Tranquill in one shot.
 
Another fantastic output. The music, the art, the animation and the way that minimal dialogue works to tell a cohesive story in just 6 minutes is pure artistry, simply a delight to watch. I can't put my finger on what or why, but this one delivered a little emotional gut punch as well, didn't it? I definitely got a little choked up towards the end!

One thing I particularly liked was how Goriky/Machoke was portrayed as being distinctly "wimpier" (physically/emotionally less resilient) than its evolutionary line mates. It's a small detail demonstrated in subtle bits of acting that shows how much thought is being put into each short story.
 
There's really nothing relatable about a gym leader desperately pushing herself and her Pokemon to defeat the champion.
Being outperformed in the field you like the most is unrelatable? Trying to be the best is unrelatable? Let me introduce you to the concept of competitive exams, and the goal of our very own protagonist from the original opening: "To be the best like no one ever was".

It’s much more relatable to me than collecting creatures which will somehow magically lead me to get a mythically rare creature without any rhyme or reason.

Quit your job if that's how you feel, girl.
Quit your job after you feel hopeless and are desperately working to improve after being outperformed by someone? I don’t think that’s a healthy lesson.
 
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