Review DP186: Rival Decisive Battle! Satoshi VS Shinji!!

[Queen Cynthia]

Judging from the episode pictures I must say that this episode somehow is a two-edged sword.
On the one hand, it sure has been a great and above all intense and exciting battle and I was surprised that Ash has been able to stand his ground so far.
But on the other hand, it's this very ease which Ash defeated two Pokemon of arguably one of the strongest amateur trainers in Sinnoh with that bothered me!
That theory about Paul having his Pokemon lose deliberately is probably the biggest nonsense I've ever heard (sorry guys, no insult intended!). I'll explain why:
First of all, Paul would NEVER do this simply because it should have become clear by now that he absolutely hates losing. Secondly, IF he had really wanted his Pokemon to lose because he wanted to pull some psychological tricks out of the hat, he wouldn't have battled with them seriously in the first place. Look at his demeanor and expression during the battle! It clearly indicates that he's taking the battle extremely seriously.
So let's assume for one moment this crazy scenario that he wanted Aggron and Gastrodon to lose deliberately was true:
Again, the very fact that he fought seriously contradicts this assumption. Furthermore how in the world could he have ensured that his Pokemon actually faint in order to put his alleged psychological tricks to practice? After those fierce battles there would be only one way to ensure a defeat: He would have to tell his Pokemon all of a sudden: "OK Gastrodon/ Aggron, it's enough! Now, don't defend yourself anymore and faint instead"... See how ridiculous that would sound?

This allows only one conclusion: Aggron's and Gastrodon's defeats were by no means deliberate!!

And this brings me back to my initial statement that this episode was a two-edged sword:

This was definitely NOT the same Paul we used to know. No, this was a cheap copy of a random trainer whom Ash usually encounters during his tournaments.
The way the writers portrayed Paul and his famous strength was almost insulting for every honest fan who expected THE big showdown, the FINAL great rival battle the whole Sinnoh adventure has been leading to since the very first episode.

To cut a long story short: I don't get it, I just don't get it what happened to the Paul who used to regularly sweep Ash.
If I remember correctly Ash has never been shown to train so intensely over a long period of time(!) that this sudden power boost could be explained. On the other hand, I can't imagine that Paul's performance deteriorated that much either.
This leads me to only one conclusion, namely that this episode we've been waiting for excitedly had major inconsistencies and inexplicable mistakes.
"Good" job writers, I hate you....


Well at least I got a glimpse of my beloved Queen Cynthia.. You make up for everything, my dear angel from heaven:crush:

 

[Cybersai]

LOL, what are you talking about?

Aggron almost KO'd Pikachu and Gastrodon almost defeated Staraptor. Saying those Pokemon are weak is utterly ridiculous.

Try watching the episode instead of looking at screenshots.

 

[Iteru]

Judging from the episode pictures I must say that this episode somehow is a two-edged sword.

I think we all realised that your post is ridiculous from then on.

 

[Duckgon Z]

Honestly, there's no way this battle would make everyone happy.

"Ash got too strong!"
"Paul got too weak!"
"Gliscor's here/not here!"
"Drapion isn't Paul's!"

Nothing has ever lived up to expectations in this show, so can't we just enjoy what they gave us?

 

[Ampharos King]

To each their own. People are assuming that, since Ash currently is leading the match 6-4 in his favor, the pokemon that were defeated (i.e. Aggron, Gastrodon) were weak.

Aggron used an ability and its high defenses so it can protect itself against physical attacks. It was only because Infernape's Flare Blitz inflicted burn status that Aggron was caught off guard. Infernape also used Mach Punch, a high priority move, to win. Aggron's Luster Cannon, if it was fired, could have made a difference in the result.

Gastrodon, on the other hand, has the counter shield which is suited to counter against aerial pokemon like Staraptor. Staraptor put up a good fight, but its scuffle with Gastrodon proves just how much of a target it can truly be while on ground level. Buizel was able to win primarily because of Ice Aqua Jet (Paul does not know of the improvised move when he ordered Gastrodon to use its Ice Beam). This caught Gastrodon off guard, and Buizel won with Ice Punch.

Basically, Ash and Paul's pokemon are suited for or against certain matchups. This is a team effort, I agree. Paul is not insisting on switching this time around, a strategy he had used often in the full battle in Lake Acuity. Now Ash is the one switching; when a strategy with a certain pokemon fails to work, he will switch to another.

This is more that people are surprised how Paul was able to defeat trainers like Barry 3-0, wheres Ash has defeated two of Paul's pokemon without losing any of his.

 

[Blazaking]

"Drapion isn't Paul's!"

Wait, so it is Reggie's?

 

[Iteru]

Gastrodon, on the other hand, has the counter shield which is suited to counter against aerial pokemon like Staraptor. Buizel was able to win primarily because of Ice Aqua Jet (Paul does not know of the improvised move when he ordered Gastrodon to use its Ice Beam). This caught Gastrodon off guard, and Buizel won with Ice Punch.

Actually he does. Shinji watched the Mikuri Cup.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

LOL, what are you talking about?

Aggron almost KO'd Pikachu and Gastrodon almost defeated Staraptor. Saying those Pokemon are weak is utterly ridiculous.

Try watching the episode instead of looking at screenshots.

I know a site which has way more pictures than serebii. So looking at those pictures almost equals watching the episode!

Pikachu never was on the verge of defeat. How can you say that Aggron and Gastrodon were not weak? They were knocked out after ONE attack (Infernape's Flare Blitz doesn't count as it was basically neutralized)
In addition, this is PAUL we're talking about, not a random CoD...I expect way stronger Pokemon than in everyday battles.
One Ice Punch against a Water/ Ground-type Pokemon which in addition can be considered as some kind of a physical staller...come one
And that Fighting -type attack (Mach Punch?) against Aggron shouldn't immediately KO it either

 

[Dexter]

Alright wooo I gotta say this battle was quite interesting and well played out so far. It's gonna be really good definitely something I'd watch again. And its better than the battle at Lake Acuity. The best thing about the battle is that nothing felt forced. It had a natural pace to it.

And was Drapion Reggie's or not?!?!?

 

[Cybersai]

If Pikachu stayed in the match it surely would have lost. Ash recalled it because there's no way it would have won.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

If Pikachu stayed in the match it surely would have lost. Ash recalled it because there's no way it would have won.

So what? That doesn't change the fact that both Aggron and Gastrodon went down too easily.
Paul could have done the same and could have switched Pokemon against Buizel and Infernape.
Don't get me wrong, I was highly impressed and surprised by Ash's awesome performance and I also liked the episode, but I didn't like how bad Paul and his Pokemon were today. That's not the original Paul

 

[Cybersai]

So what? That doesn't change the fact that both Aggron and Gastrodon went down too easily.

Neither of them went down easily. Staraptor was struggling and was on the verge of defeat. Only reason it didn't lose is it was recalled.

Aggron went toe to toe with Pikachu and took no damage from it.

What are you watching?

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Neither of them went down easily. Staraptor was struggling and was on the verge of defeat. Only reason it didn't lose is it was recalled.

Aggron went toe to toe with Pikachu and took no damage from it.

What are you watching?

To answer your last question: I'm talking about the battle "Scott vs. Piplup" (*irony intended*)

You keep repeating that Ash's Pokemon were recalled. And I'll keep asking you: so what? Paul could have done the same if he had been clever enough. when Paul saw that his Pokemon were on the verge of defeat he could have recalled them as well to avoid them being defeated. But firstly he didn't do that (which was pretty stupid of him) and secondly, his Pokemon were basically OHKOed. So that's why I keep insisting that both Paul and his Pokemon haven't lived up to my expectations so far and that is pretty shocking to me.

 

[Chaosblazer]

I'm not sure what to think of Aggron and Gastrodon to be honest, it is true that in offensive terms they were strong, but thier defense is rather questionable since it only took Infernape and Buizel two hits each to beat them down.

I am wondering why Paul's opted for such heavy offense instead of balancing it out with tactic moves like he did before, using the counter sheild was a good twist, but then he's seen Buizel use the Ice aqua Jet before so don't ya think he should've had someway to counter it.

The flaw of the new team is apparent, other than Electrivire i don't think any of the pokemon paul chose for this match has the defense to stand up to Ash's attacks, offense yes but defense no.

 

[Ash6K]

I'm not sure what to think of Aggron and Gastrodon to be honest, it is true that in offensive terms they were strong, but thier defense is rather questionable since it only took Infernape and Buizel two hits each to beat them down.

I am wondering why Paul's opted for such heavy offense instead of balancing it out with tactic moves like he did before, using the counter sheild was a good twist, but then he's seen Buizel use the Ice aqua Jet before so don't ya think he should've had someway to counter it.

The flaw of the new team is apparent, other than Electrivire i don't think any of the pokemon paul chose for this match has the defense to stand up to Ash's attacks, offense yes but defense no.

^ Drapion might prove to differ. It's taking Ash 5 pokemon to beat it (true it could always dodge a lot of the moves from Ash's team, but it seems to be the pokemon that's the hardest to take down).

 

[Chaosblazer]

yeah cause in the preview Drapion didn't seem to thrilled about taking Leaf Storm like it did, and other than that shot it's only shown attacking.

add in the fact that when Ash tries to send Pikachu against it Paul switches it out via the summery i'd say it's like the rest.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Yeah let's hope Paul will get stronger next week. God, I almost felt pity for him today...

 

[Ash6K]

yeah cause in the preview Drapion didn't seem to thrilled about taking Leaf Storm like it did, and other than that shot it's only shown attacking.

add in the fact that when Ash tries to send Pikachu against it Paul switches it out via the summery i'd say it's like the rest.

We can't really judge the effects of Leaf Storm from a preview. And even it is more offensive than defensive it's the pokemon that seems to have the most staying power at the moment. It's not gonna go down like Gastrodon and Aggron did.

 

[Sombra29]

Yeah let's hope Paul will get stronger next week. God, I almost felt pity for him today...

Paul looked really strong here. He was even capable of swallowing his pride and adopting the counter shield strategy(witch, by the way,is a defensive tactic).What? did you honestly expect this battle to be as one-sided?I am sorry.Like it or not, Ash HAS improved too and in this episode, they were showed as if they were on the same level.

 

[CommanderPigg]

Whaa? Why do people think that that Drapion is Reggie's? That makes no sense, I'm pretty sure Paul wouldn't use a pokemon he didn't drill his battle strategies into >_>

Arceus help me if I'm proven wrong...

I also thought that Gastrodon and Aggron went down a bit quickly...slight bias since I really like that slug I'm surprised that he wants this to happen. All according to plan, Paul? Nice that his bro can read his mind to be a perfect Mr. Exposition XP