Review AG132: Enishida and the Battle Frontier!

[Rocketshipper]

I agree with Archaic about Ash and Misty meeting eachother. The fact that she didn't throw herself at Ash doesn't prove that she's over her crush. I think the generally non-shippy Johto league showed that Misty can hide her feelings for Ash pretty well, especially since she believes he doesn't like her back ("Heart Break of Brock" line) As for the Orangeshipping thing, It's not just Tracey giving Misty a pokemon, it's that + the very suspicious blush Misty has in the AG 133 preview + Sakura and Nanako acusing Misty of dating Tracey in the hosous + that weirdo fantasy sequence of Tracey and Misty playing the love interests in that play in the Luvdisc hosou. Seems to me that the writers might be putting the idea of Orangeshipping into the viewers heads, even if there havn't been any real hints from the characters yet.

 

[Sabonea]

So let me get this straight, Pokeshipping now hinges on how Ash and Misty said "hi" to each other... right -_-;;

On the other hand, if Misty ended up with Tracey I wouldn't be upset. Poor unloved bastard.

 

[Murgatroyd]

You mean he believed them when they said they took down Team Magma/Aqua? XD Is he ever gullible!

The general vibe I got from him (not that he actually said anything to imply this beyond a basic "Really") was "I know you're greatly exaggerating your role, but I do know from independent sources that they're gone, and I don't particularly care how it happened, so I'm not going to call you on it. Just get out of here and don't come back until you have more good news."

 

[Habunake]

Did anyone notice Brandon was missing from the silouhettes, and since he has the Regis in the game..........

 

[Kthleen]

And Brandon's the nicest-looking one!

_______ no hana

((something involving a flower))

Could Musashi be saying something about "kenage"? Although I'm far, far more of a reader/writer than a listener/speaker, it does sound to me to be something like, "Kenage ni saita aku no hana". According to Animelab.com, kenage means "brave/gallant/courage/manly/heroic/praiseworthy/industrious/pure/lovable" and Infoseek just gives me "manly." If that sentence even really makes sense (read: did I get it wrong and does my Japanese suck?), it... hmm... kenage has too many options for me to just insert one. Maybe it's something like, "Evil flowers who have courageously bloomed".

I'm afraid I'm totally guessing on Kojirou's part, but maybe he's saying "haato de suiito," something like "sweet at heart." "In the role of the villains who are sweet at heart," perhaps? ... -_-

 

[Argy]

I also heard Kojiro say "haato de suiito."

 

[Kthleen]

So I'm not alone. At first I though he was saying "hard," but that didn't make any sense, so I though it must be "heart".
So those are my guesses:

Kenage ni saita aku no hana/Evil flowers who have courageously bloomed
Haato de suiito na katakiyaku/In the role of the villains who are sweet at heart

(Please see this....)

 

[Zhen Lin]

Their use of katakiyaku is interesting - it corresponds to villain (even by itself) quite well - it demonstrates a certain meta-conciousness -- villains only exist in drama, indeed, it's a word for characters, not real people. But then again, they seem to have always known that there is a world beyond their own.

 

[BenRG]

Some suggestions

Here are some of my thoughts, based entirely on near-non-existing knowledge and a five-minute browse through the previous comments on this thread:

Squirtle and Battle Fronteir
I may be wrong, but in Emerald-version, don't you have to teach a kid how to battle in Battle Fronteir? If so, Squirtle may be a loan Pokémon to Max. Ash then takes him to BF as his apprentice. As this will probably be the 'filler' mini-season until the 4G games come out, it would explain why Squirtle is in the next movie - he is there with Max (who is there as Ash's current sidekick).

Azurril and Tracey - OrangeShipping issues
So, Misty has taken on Marril's little boy (or girl). Is it me or does Misty have mothering issues? First Togepi and now Azurril! I hope she teaches that thing to fight, or Ash and Brock (or, possibly, Tracey) are going to have to get used to a whole new "Misty's Baby"

That aside, it is odd that anyone could consider this to be a Shipping hint. Tracey has been having an on-off relationship with Misty's older sister, Daisy, IIRC. So it is probable that, when Marril went into season, it would have mated with one of the Cerulean Gym Pokémon, as Tracey would likely have been there at that time. Given that most of the Gym Pokémon belong to Misty, she would quite rightly end up with the Egg if Tracey didn't want to raise it himself.

As for Misty's blush? You forget that Tracey loves to tease Misty about her relationship with Ash. "Ah! Ash's Pikachu really loves you Misty! Like Pokémon like Trainer?" *Misty blushes*

On the flip side, those who argue that the current scriptwriting team have been hinting OrangeShipping quite heavily are right. Nonetheless, Shipping of any kind in the animé tend to be a vague and shifting thing. Look how fast AdvanceShipping raised its head and then died of malnutrition. Who knows what next season's fad will be?

To Follow
Beyond the three known Kanto-based episodes, there is apparently going to be at least a two-episode stint at the Battle Fronteir. It seems increasingly likely that this will be a venue for at least some of the inter-region filler season.

Given that Orange was one of the most shippy and character-filled seasons to date, we can hope to see some decent scriptwriting and character development over the next three or four months.

Ain't we gonna have fun? :-D

 

[Adamant]

Their use of katakiyaku is interesting - it corresponds to villain (even by itself) quite well - it demonstrates a certain meta-conciousness -- villains only exist in drama, indeed, it's a word for characters, not real people. But then again, they seem to have always known that there is a world beyond their own.

Mm, I always saw it as just another part of their attempt at being overly dramatic.

 

[Kthleen]

Zhen Lin: If you've seen the episode, do you know if my idea is correct?

Their use of katakiyaku is interesting - it corresponds to villain (even by itself) quite well - it demonstrates a certain meta-conciousness -- villains only exist in drama, indeed, it's a word for characters, not real people. But then again, they seem to have always known that there is a world beyond their own.

Mm, I always saw it as just another part of their attempt at being overly dramatic.

Sometimes they are overly dramatic (I mean, who recites a poem-thing [and one about protecting the world at that] every time they encounter the people they're going to harm and steal from?), but they didn't fall to the tyranny of the Pokémon League. The TRio seems to be transcendent. They know they are just playing roles, unlike poor little Satoshi-tachi, who walk around in a brainwashing-induced frenzied stupor involing catching creatures, often as many species as one can, and making them fight for entertainment. Yet whenever they have the opportunity to leave these... guises, they decide against it. It's kind of strange (but good for fans who want them to stay) how they seem to be able to find jobs that they like but can't turn from their life of crime; however, they are definitely the deepest characters in the show, being rebels even within their own organization. I wonder... ok, I see now.

(Sorry, I'm just feeling kind of dazed from pulling an all-nighter a couple of days ago and reading a fanfic in which the ancient Pokémon dreamtime place exactly matches a weird vision that I have in my head of what appears to be a gentle personal hell.

)

 

[Pokemon Fan]

Um, where'd you get that? Pikachu lost. It was doing fairly well until the end, when it fell to a Hypnosis-Dream Eater combo. (And the move seen in the preview was just Double Team.)

So did Pikachu really try a Quick Attack on Gengar? If so then why? Did they have Ash conveniently forget again about Ghost types? What did Agatha say after the attempted attack? Why did Ash battle Agatha in the first place, did she challenge him, or he her?

 

[Murgatroyd]

It isn't clear why he started off with Quick Attack, but immediately after, he realized his mistake. After the attack, Kikuko chided him for forgetting something so basic.

It's actually hard to say for sure who challenged who. Kikuko asked Satoshi if he'd come for a Gym match. Satoshi replied no, he already had the badge. At that point, Enishida suggested a badge-free match, mentioning that Kikuko was fairly strong. Satoshi asked her if she really was, Kikuko replied that the trainers coming to the gym these days were so weak, and she was really looking for stronger trainers to battle. Satoshi said that he'd placed in the best 8 at the Saiyuu tournament, and the battle was on.

And, something I'd forgotten to mention before. I love Kikuko's body language and facial expressions. She's possibly the most visually expressive character to appear on the show.

 

[Blackjack Gabbiani]

What *is* the deal with her voice, though? She sounded so...masculine.

 

[FabuVinny]

It isn't clear why he started off with Quick Attack, but immediately after, he realized his mistake. After the attack, Kikuko chided him for forgetting something so basic.

So why was Enshida impressed enough to invite him to the Battle Frontier if he couldn't remember something so simple?!?

 

[Misty]

Everything else he did in the battle, maybe?