DP022 revealed

[Rocketshipper]

Wow. More surprises. DP is on a role. Episode 20 sounds awesome (I love it when TR and the twerps work together). Episode 21 sounds very amusing too.

Episode 22 also sounds good. But didn't Hikari already participate in the contest for that town? That would be a first too.

 

[Cybersai]

What I want to know is why are the writers rushing the Contest arc? Do they realize this is not Battle Frontier where they were on a deadline?

Assuming Hikari wins this, she'll have gotten her first ribbon about 20ish episodes before May got hers. There is some odd pacing this season because the Contest arc is moving much faster than it used to yet the 5 ribbons deadline is the same.

 

[FabuVinny]

May didn't get hers until after Ash had three Gym badges.

 

[Habunake]

It seems like Hikari might have alot of losses as well.

And I think DP's pacing has been great so far.

 

[Cybersai]

Which means we're going to see far more Contests in Shinou than we did in Hoenn. With how fast they're plowing through the Contest arc, the only way they can stretch it out is by having Hikari lose more than twice.

On another note, if this Contest is part of a 1 hour special, what's filling the second half? Or is this Contest a two-parter? Or...is that Magikarp/Feebas ep airing right before it?

 

[Habunake]

It's a hour-long episode most likely, like the Deoxys special kinda.

 

[Cybersai]

But eh, wouldn't that make it DP22 and DP23 then?

 

[Habunake]

I guess they will just count it as one episode.

 

[Cybersai]

But a Contest episode isn't like a major event like a special dedicated to advertising Ranger was. Seems odd to me.

 

[Habunake]

Just flow with it. XD

I hope we see an Aipom vs. Jessie catfight, Aipom wearing a mask so Ash won't recognize it, and Muskippa eating Aipom.

 

[GreatLiver]

I wonder if we'll actually see Jessie get anywhere with contests. really I doubt it but it wouldn't really be bad to see her get atleast a few ribbons. I mean it could explain why they're already at their second contest.

 

[Cybersai]

Jessie could win a Contest but I doubt it'll be more than that because she won't have enough to get into the GF anyway by the end of the saga.

Now would be the smart time to do it, because Hikari is just starting out and she doesn't even have a ribbon yet while Jessie has all of Hoenn/BF experience on her.

But I find it highly unlikely that Hikari will lose two Contests in a row, so I don't think it'll happen right now.

 

[Arseus Ex Machina]

Yeah, wait until her fourth contest to have her lose again.

 

[Rocketshipper]

I think AG 21 and 22 are aring together as an hour special, just like the Mukkuru and Usohachi evolution episodes a few weeks ago.

I'm hoping that the fast pace that their going through contests is a sign that the Shinou region won't be as long as Johto/Hoenn. I'd be really happy if we got another 85-ish episode saga and then had one or two filler arcs before the next generation, instead of just trying to stretch Shinou out.

 

[Cybersai]

Agreed.

Wasn't Hoenn shorter than Johto though? I think Johto was around 150 eps long and Hoenn was 131 eps long or something, so it was about 20ish eps shorter than Johto.

In Shinou, the Contest arc is going faster but the Gyms are the same length apart. If the Gyms are still 12-15 eps apart like they were right now, then Shinou will be the same length the other were...more or less.

 

[FabuVinny]

I think AG [You mean DP, right?] 21 and 22 are aring together as an hour special, just like the Mukkuru and Usohachi evolution episodes a few weeks ago.

DP21 airs on March 1. DP22 airs on March 8. That can't be what the hour is.

Besides, the writers have to get Aipom to Jessie and then back to Ash along with covering the actual contest so giving it an hour would work better than cramming it all into one episode.

 

[Cybersai]

Which asks the question, why doesn't the Contest count as two episodes then?

 

[Rocketshipper]

Maybe DP 23's title hasn't been revealed yet, and that's what will be airing with 22. Or maybe the contest thing will be like that Deoxy episode and count as two episodes instead of one. When the Deoxy episode title was revealed, did it actually have two episode numbers, or did the fandom just add two numbers?

Hoenn was shorter than Johto, but it was still a three year league (or two and a half). I think it would be nice to go through a story arc quicker than that, and 85 seems to have been a magic number for the first season, since hardly anyone complains about it being too long. Personally, I'd prefer if the writers could keep story arcs at around 50-ish episodes, when they get longer than that I think they start to drag. But I shouldn't be expecting that from Pokemon ^^.

 

[Cybersai]

Hm, how long was Battle Frontier? They crammed in 7 Brains, (including rematches with Anabel and Brandon), 6 Contests, and a Grand Festival all into a one year period.

Although, BF was rushed because the Brains and Contests would have all been two-parters if it weren't, so add about 20 episodes more and that makes a neatly paced saga.

 

[FabuVinny]

Maybe DP 23's title hasn't been revealed yet, and that's what will be airing with 22.

That this comes from Newtype crushes that theory.