Review BW094: Seigaiha Gym Battle! Mantain VS Daikenki!!

[Hellion]

I don't think so

That comment is really deep and really invites discussion. Now, how to counter your plethora of arguments...

Can Meloetta leave now? Seriously so annoying..

Three weeks... just three more weeks...

...Unless they throw in an OS like they did with the Marowak trainer by making him not show up in the league, then I'd agree.

It is a pointless character regardless of whether or not he appears in the League, which by all intents and purposes he will. He brings nothing to the table in terms of story, he's just there to be there. Kinda like Naoshi in the Sinnoh League. Sure he was established before, but... would it have made any differences if you'd replaced him with any League only character? No. I don't see him being the one to beat Satoshi in the League, I don't see him having any kind of impact on the characters, so yeah... kinda pointless.

 

[Blue_Drifblim]

Well... They've started using music from the Victini movies. And, as usual, that includes music that wasn't released on their respective soundtracks (Like that Daikenki VS Mantine piece, for example).

You know, tracks that will probably never be available to have. At all. Ever.

....Why must they continue to torture me like this? ;_; I swear they do it on purpose...

 

[Le Chat Noir]

It was a good episode, I liked the bonding parts and the battle was good, even though it felt pretty rushed.
They used music from the 14th movie, I think this is the first time.

 

[Hellwarden]

A decent, but flawed ep, that like many Best Wishes episodes in the process of doing too much, accomplishes too little.

Kotetsu is a character that I really don't mind, but at the same time don't feel much pull towards either. If anything he reminds me of Richie, minus the focus. Which isn't a bad thing, it's just I really don't know where they're gonna go with him as a character.

Still, if nothing, Samurott was pretty badass.

 

[DynoStretch]

Well, allow me to show my thoughts towards this episode with an appropriate jpg.

Spoiler

I admit I kinda like Kotetsu. He has a one-track mind like Ash, but pulls it off in a more amusing way, rather then frustrating like Ash. Plus, he actually seems to know how to evolve his starter Pokemon beyond the plush-toy stage, not to mention he can actually teach his team clever, unexpected moves like Ferrothorn's Thunderbolt.

I also feel this guy might turn out be Mr. I-Only-Exist-To-Beat-Ash-In-The-League, due to him showing up at the last minute. Unlike Morrison in Hoenn Ash has other rivals in this region he has to beat, this guy could very well be the one to kick him out of the league.

As for the gym battle... it managed to be fast-paced and boring at the same time. Hard to believe the writers could pull off a combo like that.

Like others had said, the Ash-Kotetsu bonding should've been an episode all itself, rather than shoe-horned into a gym episode (or is the gym battle shoe-horned into a bonding episode? :V).

Well, I suppose the writers had no choice. After all, a filler episode about a Rufflet and Vullaby in yet another daycare is far more important, right? :V

 

[Ampharos King]

I inserted spoiler tags in my review post for those of you that don't want to read it.

Warning: My review for this episode is very long. If you wish to read this review, please do so at your own discretion.

Spoiler

Call me crazy, but I felt that the first half of this episode was actually better than the second. Obviously the events in this episode allow a friendly relationship between Ash and Kotetsu to develop, and they highlight Kotetsu’s on-screen battling debut. Unfortunately, the writers’ attempt at doing all of this during a GYM BATTLE EPISODE is where the plotline just turned sour for me.

Like I had mentioned above, Kotetsu is the main subject of this episode. He debuted in the middle of the previous episode, and his presence (and annoying pun-based parlor tricks) shrugged away what little amount of time the writers had in giving Dawn a proper sendoff. I had disliked the writers’ choice to debut a character that adopted personality traits from Ash and some of his more notable rivals near the end of an important story arc. Not surprisingly, I did not like Kotetsu at first, and I felt that his character would quickly become dull.

Even though my impression of Kotetsu as a “been there, done that” type of character had not changed that much after this episode, I am still glad that he is actually the first BW series rival to truly interact with Ash on a deep personal level. For once, Ash had interacted with a major character that was just as dense, if not even more so, than he was. I might have disliked the writers on past occasions for putting Ash in situations that exaggerates his relative stupidity (and/or lack of practical knowledge) compared to his peers, but Ash’s notable personality trait had actually worked to the writers’ advantage for this episode. Ash and Kotetsu’s shared impatience to arrive to Seigaiha City ironically led the two characters astray on a separate path from their more competent travelling partners. This allowed Iris and Cilan to stay out of the picture for the first half of the episode so Ash, Kotetsu, their pokemon, and Meloetta can finally interact with one another on their own.

Like I had mentioned above, this plotline had been incorporated numerous times in the past. Like Morrison, Kotetsu had a main pokemon who stayed beside him outside of a Poke Ball that interacted with Ash’s Pikachu. Like the relationship that Ash and Richie had before, both characters had bonded over their shared goals and love for pokemon (they even featured Ash and Kotetsu looking at a starlit night sky and making out pokemon-shaped constellations out of them). Like the relationship that Ash and Gary had, both characters were willing to save one another from close death once they gained complete respect for one another.

So yes, very little of the “Ash and rival bonding” dynamic had changed over the past fifteen years. The way that the writers handled Kotetsu is a reminder that the generation of children who is currently watching the anime was not the same one that had initially watched similar episodes in previous series. Still, an episode where characters are actually seen bonding even on this level is quite rare these days, and I am glad Ash and Kotetsu actually have a genuine connection with one another that extends beyond the tournament arcs.

And for once, Meloetta doesn’t just stand around and cheers its name, or disappears when it gets startled. Meloetta had actually contributed to the plotline of this episode. It still retains its affection towards Ash, as evidenced when Meloetta had held and protected Ash’s hat when he fell into a sinkhole. Meloetta had also risked its life to gather fruit for Ash and the others to eat. There were also brief moments during the episode in which Pikachu, Meloetta, and Riolu had played with one another. Meloetta even cheered for Kotetsu during his gym battle.

The second half of this episode is where everything just becomes bad for me. After spending an entire night in the middle of a forest, Ash and Kotetsu just happen to find their way to Seigaiha City. And much to the audience’s amusement, Iris and Cilan have been sitting in front of the gym for almost a day, and annoyed that they have not met up with Ash or Kotetsu yet. When Ash and Kotetsu try to find their way to the gym, the Gym Leader (Marlon) just happens to show up with his Wailord and reunite the two characters with their friends. This felt like a lazy way for the writers to resolve this separation. Why bother spend eight or so minutes with Ash and Kotetsu struggling to get to the Seigaiha Gym if its Gym Leader was going to bring them there anyway?

Unfortunately, because the writers spent the first half of this episode with the Ash and Kotetsu separation plotline, the gym battle during the second half felt rushed. Kotetsu’s inevitable win here—we know Kotetsu’s important because he replaced Dawn in the opening—would have made Marlon’s anime debut into an underwhelming “COTD” appearance. Considering that the other Gym Leaders in the Unova Region have appeared for more than one episode (like Kotetsu, Drayden is also destined for an important appearance soon), I was disappointed that Marlon was treated as a second fiddle here.

Since this battle had to be resolved in less than seven minutes, the writers decided to make what would have been a 3-on-3 battle into a 2-on-2. And considering that the first match in this gym battle (Ferrothorn vs. Jellicent) ended within forty seconds, this is not saying much. Jellicent got knocked out by just one attack, something that made the eliminations during Bianca’s gym battle against Elesa appear longer in comparison. Similarly, Ferrothorn got knocked out by Mantine by just a few attacks (and Mantine apparently did not take any damage from Ferrothorn’s ability).
There was absolutely little strategy during this gym battle, which was a negative for me. Kotetsu simply went with his gut and used a pokemon that had a type advantage, without taking the battlefield or his opponent’s pokemon into account. (Again, Kotetsu’s lack of common sense is his main selling point). The only part of this gym battle that entertained me so was Jellicent’s pseudo-seizure reaction once its Cursed Body ability activated.

The battles in this match had resolved so quickly that it made me wonder if Ferrothorn would have been able to sweep the entire gym if its Thunderbolt were not sealed away by Cursed Body.

The second half of this gym battle (Samurott vs. Mantine) also failed to deliver anything spectacular for the record books. I was impressed that both characters used the underwater component of the battlefield for a while, but like before this match-up was not truly fought on even terms. Kotetsu’s Samurott, supposedly his ace pokemon, was made out to be ridiculously overpowered here. Just one Aqua Jet from Samurott was enough to almost completely render Mantine unable to continue battling. Samurott’s well-timed double Razor Shell attack to deflect Mantine’s Bullet Seed near the end of the match was cool, but the match had been established in a way that Marlon had absolutely little chance in fighting back. Of course, it is natural for Kotetsu to be a skilled trainer, as he already earned seven badges in the Unova region.

Perhaps I am so used to pokemon trainers battling powerful gym leaders for their final regional badges (Ash nearly lost to Volkner in DP and Roxie in BW Season 1), so these complaints appear to be natural. Marlon simply felt like a gym leader whose battling skill and finesse were average, even though he is the final GL you fight in BW2.

Once again, the writers attempted to do too much in a short amount of time, and the screenplay of the entire episode suffered because of it. I would have wanted the writers to separate the events of the two halves into separate episodes so that Marlon’s anime debut didn’t feel like a shoehorn. Kotetsu certainly had a lot of presence in this episode, but his “partner” Riolu had spent nearly half of the entire episode on the sidelines watching its trainer. This was ironic because it appeared that Kotetsu had wanted to use Riolu during the gym battle.

Overall, this episode was below-average. Next week’s episode appears to be a somewhat comical filler comfortably sandwiched between two main story arcs, so it should be interesting to give a review for it after it airs.

 

[Ishida]

By the way.. why did Iris and Axew get so creeped out by Jellicent?

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

I can agree with many that this episode was a rather big letdown for many (then again, the past few episodes have been like that)

The first half feels like a completely separate episode from the second half as many are saying, and I can certainly agree with that, the entire episode felt like it was two different episodes that were pasted together. The first half is simply Ash and Kotetsu bonding with each other, and it's obvious that the writers spent the entire time focusing on this plot than the titular Gym battle plot in the second half, which feels shoehorned in at the last minute, because if there's one thing the anime writers are experts with a college degree at, it's shoehorning in plots at the last minute.

For the first plot of the episode, it's nice that we get some character development and some time for Ash and Kotetsu to connect, and many of the plotlines were recycled from older episodes in which Ash bonded with one of his rivals, including Ritchie, Morrison, and even Gary. I am glad that they actually had time to focus on their relationship outside of a tournament arc, since anymore, that's the only way the writers can seem to have the rivals interact with each other.

As for the Gym battle itself, I can agree on everyone that it was rather disappointing, since they only had 7 minutes left, the writers basically rushed it to completion, and as a result, the battle was rather boring and lacked substance. Marlon felt like a generic personality-less COTD than a Gym leader, and was barely seen throughout the episode until the later half, and within these 7 minutes, Kotetsu just happens to win the battle.

What really annoys me is that in the opening, Kotetsu replaces Dawn, which considerably annoys me since the writers only put Dawn in BW for fan-service and nothing more, while all the focus in the previous 10 episodes that had her were essentially "The Iris Show", in which Dawn was simply THERE doing barely anything at all, and to me, it seems like Kotetsu is going to be one of those "I only exist to defeat Ash in the league" characters, much like Ritchie and Tyson were before him.

This episode lacked much substance for something that had a lot of potential, but instead, went a completely different direction and shoehorned in the plot the title was about at the very last minute. I'll give this episode a 4/10, as the writers know they can do better than this...

 

[Lafayette Excadrill]

I heard a lot of new music in this episode. It was a nice change

 

[Paulisthebest]

Well I’m just going to skip discussing the first half of the episode because everyone else has pretty much summed it up; “bonding” between Ash and the new rival and it made the episode seem like 2 in one when it should have been separate plots: Ash and rival bonding and then the rival having his gym battle.

Kind of like Ash and Paul in Bewilder Forest and then a few episodes later Paul vs. Roark. It was great development between their first meeting and then the rival’s gym battle.

Moving on to the battle; it was good but rushed, with a lack of Pokémon abilities being used but what else is new? Ferrothorn was lackluster mainly because I use one in the Battle Subway in the games and it is really useful. I mean Thunderbolt was a good strategy but for it to beat Jellicent in one attack?

Ridiculous considering that it has nice Sp. Defense stats in the games. And only Shadow Ball? So many other great moves could have been used but oh well the clock was ticking on a 22 minute show…

Ferrothorn losing to a bunch of not-very effective moves was also a disappointment. Wing Attack was neutral since it was used on a Pokémon that was half Grass. Even if it was a barrage of moves too bad Iron Barbs didn’t damage Mantine…

Finally my favorite Unova Starter had an awesome battle!!! Ash should take notes; that is how you evolve a Pokemon and all of its moves were incredible! I really loved Aqua Jet ramming its horn into the opponent and Razor Shell being used for defensive and offensive techniques. What I really enjoyed was how Samorott could “stand” while using its shells.

Why do I have a feeling that Ash will use Miju against its fully evolved form in the Pokemon League???

The whole time the match was going in the 2nd round, I couldn’t help but think that Ash’s new rival would have been screwed if Mantine’s Special Ability was Water Absorb…

 

[BladeLight52]

Looks like they are finally using music from Movie 14, Black-Victini and Reshiram. The music during the Mantine vs Samurott fight is actually "Zekrom vs Reshiram (Reshiram version)". Unfortunately, it's unreleased. It's a shame. I like that version better than the released Zekrom version.

 

[Eitarou]

Wow. It felt like two separate episodes were spliced into one.

Seeing the ever-badass Samurott kick butt was a lovely touch. Although, it should have been longer.

Since my internet hates, me I missed last week's episode and thus, this is my first exposure to Kotetsu and his Riolu with a terrible voice.

 

[Cybersai]

Ash was so out of character in this episode. How could Ash NOT want to challenge a Gym leader, even if he already has all 8 badges?

It's just so.....wrong.

 

[pharaohyami5000]

Ash was so out of character in this episode. How could Ash NOT want to challenge a Gym leader, even if he already has all 8 badges?

It's just so.....wrong.

Yes, a huge contrast to the 1st Gym where he fought against all 3 different Gym Leaders.

This episode... I like the bonding of Ash and Kotetsu, although that split up part to me was puzzling. The least they could have done is have both boys and Iris and Cilan converse with each other a little more not knowing they split apart. This one seem awkward to me, from the silence and from the little time they start to split apart.

I would have liked the Gym battle more if it got more focus. Samurott was incredible and it really stabs me the possible thought Ash may not have him.

I guess so far BW plans not to have any 1 hour specials. This would be appropriate for it to show the 8th Gym Leader's power other than what was displayed.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Ash was so out of character in this episode. How could Ash NOT want to challenge a Gym leader, even if he already has all 8 badges?

It's just so.....wrong.

How is that OOC? He never had an urge to challenge more than eight gyms.

 

[Robo-Floatzel]

Ash was so out of character in this episode. How could Ash NOT want to challenge a Gym leader, even if he already has all 8 badges?

It's just so.....wrong.

I can agree with you there, if Ash came across another Gym, even with 8 badges already, he would have challenged it, this however, was probably one of the biggest OOC moments he has ever had, even worse is that it used what could be considered a forgettable character to battle against a Gym leader that was simply shoehorned in. Honestly, when BW2 first came out, I expected Ash to battle Marlon once he reached Seigaiha, instead, we get Ash watching a considerably forgettable character battling him in under 7 minutes in a battle that was poorly coordinated as a result of the writers rushing things to completion.

 

[Winterdaze]

While I loved the episode overall, I have mixed emotions about the battle between Kotetsu and Marlon. I was ecstatic to see both my favourite Pokemon Samurott, and favourite Unova Gym Leader debut in the same episode. However while one looked amazing, slick and powerful, the other came off looking weak and redundant. Like others have said, if this episode wasn't so rushed, then maybe Marlon wouldn't have been shafted so badly. I really hope we get to see more of him, but unfortunately it doesn't look like time will allow it.

 

[Gengarzilla]

I'm sure the writers had Ferrothorn with Thunderbolt just to activate Cursed Body and show how smart they were because they got it right this time around... Yeah, no school style rewards from this forum, now off to the naughty corner with you...

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

So after going through the entire series without treating type advantages with a shred of dignity a non stab thunderbolt one shots a Jellicent. Why didn't they have Ferrothorn use power whip kids need to know about more moves isn't that the point of the show. Writers should be forced to look at any pokemon they put in their episode Jellicent is known for his special defence and Ferrothorn has bad special attack.

 

[Dr. Buni]

It would have been a good episode if not by Kotetsu. I can stand this character.

Really, the only good part was to finally see Daikenki battling.