• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Review JN109: VS Kibana! Battle for Masters Eight!!

By the way, does anyone else think that the opening sequence where the narrator says "Ash's goal is to defeat Leon" will be replaced? Now that Ash is in the Masters Eight, it would be pretty weird to just show only Leon, Raihan, and Bea there. We could get a new version of that sequence where Ash looks to the other seven Masters Eight members instead. That would be really hype.
 
The episode was okay in a general sense I guess. Gengar felt like the highlight in this.

The Lucario battle seemed pretty underwhelming, he was called out, Duraludon was called out, immediate GMAX, Lucario tried a few ineffective moves, don used one move, Lucario got hit, then used spirit bomb for the KO.

This battle felt more like an appetizer for the M8 main course. Raihan was pretty much just a stepping stone.

It was weird that they did that montage thing with Lucario at this point and not at the very end or in a more high stake battle. Maybe this is opening up the way for him calling on his reserves since it felt like that Aura Bomb was closing Lucario’s training arc.
 
Last edited:
That the anime broke the patterns before does not guarantee that it will do it again with this (as with SM), at the moment I only see the glass half full with a possible victory of Ash in the PWC. :unsure:

I'm surprised that you say that, I say because of what I see here in most is that there is no narrative in question in "Journeys" or something like that. :confused:
Funny, because the writers made it clear that Ash will asking himself about "What does it mean for me to fight Leon?" as well as the question that Leon asked when it comes to being champion.

Also, narrative is how I know that Ash was going to win the Alola League. The director says that everyone who participated in the League would gain something to learn when they lose, as handling loss is a big part of becoming better. But the only person who doesn't benefit from that is Ash because he already handled his losses well in the Kalos League. We already know the answer with Ash, but we don't know how Gladion would handle loss. Thus, the scale tips from Gladden to Ash.
 
As a big Goodra fan, it was such a breath of fresh air to see one actually moving and going on the offensive. Sure, it only managed a draw (what’s with the species and draws?) and it was kinda awkward to see it get oneshot after the supposedly frailer Flygon took so many hits, but I’ll chalk that up to Raihan simply investing too much in Goodra’s power while Ash’s focused almost entirely on defense. It still put up one hell of a fight, so I’m content :bulbaLove:
 
Interesting thing to note, seems that they finally acknowledged Lance as a Champion based on the ranking announcement. Wonder why he was only deemed an Elite 4 member back at the start of Journeys.
Just because Ash doesn't age doesn't mean time stands still

Plus, league conferences go on without him, so Lance rose to champion status during one of them (or maybe he pulled an Iris and took it because no one else was using the title at the time)
 
Interesting thing to note, seems that they finally acknowledged Lance as a Champion based on the ranking announcement. Wonder why he was only deemed an Elite 4 member back at the start of Journeys.
Because they didn't entirely know how they were going to handle the climax of Ash's goal at the time, most likely. As they began to cement to it, Lance was allowed his game counterpart's status as Champion to fit the eventual Master's 8 reveal.
 
Interesting thing to note, seems that they finally acknowledged Lance as a Champion based on the ranking announcement. Wonder why he was only deemed an Elite 4 member back at the start of Journeys.

I'd say it is probably a case of the world moving when Ash isn't around. Lance probably reclaimed the title offscreen. From whom....who knows. Maybe Jon Dickson or something.
 
Solid battle overall, Flygon’s battles were my favourite cause of all the strategy involved. Love how Ash countered sandstorm via draco meteor and inhaling it lol. Though since that took so long, Goodra’a and Duraludons ones felt rushed imo. They fainted in like 2 hits and although they’re strong attacks they are meant to be bulky mons unlike Flygon. Still the powered up Aura sphere was awesome, I like that it’s not just Ash and Greninja, but literally everyone’s power being channeled through. It lost some impact cause him and Sirfetch’d trained offscreen but yeah

But Raihan taking a selfie after was perfect. This could’ve definitely been a two parter tho. Ash vs Volkner is still my favourite battle this series, but M8 will surely change that
 
This was a pretty cool episode with a pretty cool battle. It certainly had its flaws, but I think its strong points were more numerous and make up for the downsides. Firstly, I loved how Raihan's weather strategies were portrayed here and how he took full advantage of their effects to give his team the edge, especially with how it essentially forced Ash to desperation Gigantamax Gengar as a counter when his original plan going into the battle was to Mega Evolve Lucario against Duraludon. That did a great job of showing just how strong Raihan is. Dragonite getting her first actual loss so Gengar could finally shine was also neat and pretty overdue. Also, call me selfish, but I'm quite happy that Flygon (one of my absolute favorite Pokemon) is the species that was granted the honor of giving one of Ash's powerhouses her first loss. As someone whose favorite Pokemon tend to get pretty godawful treatment (yes, Origins, I'm talking about you), I absolutely love that I got this humongous bone throw and I will take it :bulbaLove:

Like other people have said, though, I do wish Lucario had dealt at least a bit more damage to Duraludon instead of essentially one-shotting it. I know he did land a couple Aura Spheres prior to the Big One, but from the look of things, they basically didn't do anything, so they might as well not count. Granted, this is at least rather accurate to gameplay due to how insanely broken Dynamax is as a mechanic, and the Spirit Bomb Aura Sphere actually was pretty freaking cool. Speaking of which, I really liked just how... literally-a-Spirit-Bomb-reference it was what with Lucario being powered up not just by his bond with Ash and the latter's aura, but by his teammates, Greninja, and even Goh and his Pokemon. Idk, that to me was just funny and wholesome.
 
Still kinda shock that iris is in master 8 (since satoshi already defeated her before).... I expected Paul but oh well
Honestly, I’m not too surprised that she’s there given her Champion status. However, following the classic trope of things like this, I wouldn’t expect Ash to battle her again in the tournament. She’ll likely be in a separate bracket than Ash and get eliminated before they have a chance to battle again either in round 1 or 2 before cheering Ash on from the sidelines with his friends.
 
Funny, because the writers made it clear that Ash will asking himself about "What does it mean for me to fight Leon?" as well as the question that Leon asked when it comes to being champion.

Also, narrative is how I know that Ash was going to win the Alola League. The director says that everyone who participated in the League would gain something to learn when they lose, as handling loss is a big part of becoming better. But the only person who doesn't benefit from that is Ash because he already handled his losses well in the Kalos League. We already know the answer with Ash, but we don't know how Gladion would handle loss. Thus, the scale tips from Gladden to Ash.
I don't think that guarantees Ash's victory to be honest!

but Ash has lost in 5 other leagues before Kalos, basically it's the same if he doesn't win the PWC in the end!
 
Honestly I think the main issue was the Gigantamaxes. The things are generally slow, and the non-maxed mon moved about all right. Everything else was pretty solid, the massive ones were just problematic cogs with everyone else's performance.

Also I do hope we get another reserves of Ash episode, even if it is just the Alola team, so Lucario's Spirit Bomb Aura Sphere can get stronger. IDK, I'd be happy if Charizard went down to the combined aura of Ash's entire roster...
 
I don't think that guarantees Ash's victory to be honest!

but Ash has lost in 5 other leagues before Kalos, basically it's the same if he doesn't win the PWC in the end!

The same Leagues that saw him climbing higher and higher in the ranks?

Let's not assume the patterns return when Journeys crush them into smithereens.
 
Been a while, but as many have stated, the battle was fine, particular the early portions. Strategies were on point, Gigantimax was actually used well (on top of Ash deciding against his original plan and going with the option to do so). As a Dragonite fan (though also a Flygon fan), Dragonite looked fine in defeat (like Gengar did vs Volkner). Also pointed out, the battle, while still fine, dips a decent bit after Flygon's defeat because of the lack of strats. The "spirit bomb" Aura Sphere at the end was cool (also should get rid of the notion that offscreen training wasn't a thing in this series). The Masters' Eight reveal was sweet as well, though, while I do like Alain, I don't know why he's here outside of fanservice, but the in-universe reason was a nice callback. Hopefully the tournament is good. Oh, and Ash/Raihan/Leon character moments were on point too.
 
Saw it again with subs and I liked it more. The quicker matchups had good character moments substituted in, like Raihan questioning Ash's motivations throughout. I like how Ash was originally gonna use mega evolution, but switched it up with dynamax when things didn't work out as well. It's nice that he also carries his dynamax band (and probs z-ring) just incase, being able to adapt his game-plan on the fly. I bet he'll need that improvisation for future matches too. Funny how he apologised to Lucario as well and didn't switch Gengar cause he wanted to battle. Just classic Ash stuff

Also I think Lucario absorbed Gmax Depletion as well, which helps explain it to me. I wanted Duraludon to battle more in base form (maybe a steel beam collision) but gmaxing immediately makes sense. Raihan said he wanted to go all out and he would've weakened Lucario early, then finished it off. Overall a good fight, was initially disappointed that Raihan would be knocked out early but now Ash can fight Alain in M8
 
Them showing Ash's face when Iris was revealed. He was so happy she made it as well.

Technically however, Ash did cheat a little bit, by using a Gigamax Aura Sphere.
True. However, I was a little surprised Ash wasn't shown reacting after Alain was revealed. Just like Iris this is a person Ash has a very personal connection with (more than the other trainers who Ash knows personally I think).

Also, is it realy cheating? Lucario was able to do a move and it used the move. Ash didn't use any of his gimmicks a second time. In my opinion it was okay. ;)
 
Please note: The thread is from 2 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom