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Review JN010: The Kairyu Paradise and Hakuryu's Ordeal!

Honestly this would be a million times better than Kiteruguma 2.0 which is what a lot of people suspected, so I'm hoping this happens!
Yeah, I never liked the idea of Dragonite being a clone of a popular character from the previous series since it reminds me of Trip feeling like an attempt to clone Paul, but one of Ash's Pokémon being incredibly affectionate towards Meowth would be more unique and potentially entertaining.
 
I admit that I haven’t exactly watched the episode yet, per se, so much as saw the screencaps for it, but I still must say that I too agree that it is a very nice change of pace for Ash to finally catch his own Pokémon and nice little change in the series for it to actually be a Dragonite. You know, technically speaking, this means that he has been known to capture more dragon-type Pokémon in his career as a trainer (Gible, Goodra, Noivern and now Dragonite) than a certain self-proclaimed, up and coming “Dragon Master” and “Dragon-type expert” from the Unova region, who has only been shown to capture about three Dragon-type Pokémon (an unevolved Axew, a Dragonite of her very own and recently captured Gible). Who’s the ‘little kid’ now, Iris?

But, in all seriousness, though, I am still quite glad that Ash finally captured a Pokémon like Dragonite. Not only because I am growing increasingly sick and tired of nearly all of his Pokémon being so small, easy to carry, maneuverable and...grrr...cute. But also because it just honestly felt like it was one of those certain types of Pokémon that Ash probably should have captured instead of just encountering in one way or another (others of this category would include; Growlithe/Arcanine, Eevee, Bagon, Riolu/Lucario, one of Stoutland line Pokémon, Braviary, Frou-Frou and Litleo/Pyroar)
 
Had to watch this episode since I knew Ash was finally making a capture. It was by no means a great episode, but it was a vast improvement over what we've gotten so far, which I will absolutely take!

First off, congrats to Gou on blowing all his poke balls catching the Brock of the Pokemon world! I'm still annoyed that they're sticking with "Gou is only gonna catch Pokemon by throwing poke balls at them" but at least this time it failed a good number of times before he finally succeeded. Hopefully this means they'll expand more upon that in the future and Gou won't just be effortlessly catching Pokemon all the time.

The second half of the episode was purely focused on Ash, and I absolutely loved it. Gou's gotten a majority of the focus thus far, so I was happy to see Ash finally get some spotlight. And it was perfectly, wonderfully in character of him to go out of his way to help Dragonair; going so far as to electrocute himself over and over again just to teach it how to fly. I wasn't exactly keen on Ash catching Dragonite at first, but it's so sweet and I love how Ash bonded with it, so I'm not too bothered. Also, at this point, Ash could've caught a freaking Weedle and I would've just been happy he actually caught something.

They let Team Rocket have a bit more personality this time, which was nice! I still hate that dumb machine though. Interesting that they only got one Pokemon this time. I wonder if it'll do any other quirky things like that in the future. Doesn't make me like it any more than them having their own Pokemon, but at least there might be some curveballs every once in a while.

Also, since I've been ragging on them since the beginning: the lab assistants actually kind of did something for once! I still find them to be pretty bland and useless, but at least they actually contributed to the plot this time around instead of just standing around in the background. If they're gonna be in the show, have them do something!

Easily the best episode we've gotten since the second one, in my opinion. More like this, please!
 
Dumb capture is dumb. Dragonite was shoved down our throats so much during BW I've had my fill of it for an eternity. Ash getting any of the new gen mons would've been SO much more interesting. Now it's just... meh, seen it all before.
 
This was a great episode with a nice plot on a mysterious island and Ash getting a Dragonite, which sure was the best thing about it all!
Not only is Dargonite a truly powerful Pokemon that Ash clearly deserved to catch after all his journeys and achievements, but this episode also proves Ash won't go through the typical power and personality reset at the beginning of a new adventures. He's finally making progress and that's awesome.
Now that he's got three powerful Pokemon at his disposal just after 10 episodes, let's see what the future holds for him in Pokemon 2019.

And finally they stopped Go from catching every Pokemon just by throwing a Pokeball at it. Let's hope that'll be over once and for all!

To sum up, a really nice and entertaining episode and certainly one of the best ones so far. I hope Ash will train Dragonite very well and show he's worthy of being its trainer!
 
Dumb capture is dumb. Dragonite was shoved down our throats so much during BW I've had my fill of it for an eternity. Ash getting any of the new gen mons would've been SO much more interesting. Now it's just... meh, seen it all before.
I thought the capture made sense, given how well Ash and Dragonair's relationship was built up throughout the episode. And it's not quite like Iris's Dragonite: we can clearly see that Ash's Dragonite has a vastly different personality compared to it, so I wouldn't see this being the same thing we saw with it.

I can understand wanting to have Ash catch a Galar mon, but given the region hopping nature of this series, this capture isn't an issue for me. I'm perfectly content with waiting for Ash's first Galar capture for a bit longer.
 
Finally, an episode I loved to re-watch after a lengthy string of disappointments.

:bulbaLove:- Pros:
  • Gou's catches being easy, effortless and numerous is finally addressed, he didn't have it easy while attempting to catch Dewgong and had to waste his entire stock of Pokeballs on it. I just hope this factor remains consistent and hopefully he changes for the better. Though I'm doubtful about the latter given the murderous faces he made regarding Dewgong's capture, the eagerness to capture Dragonite immediately upon waking up and the preview of the next episode showing him tossing all those balls at Gengar. It's really annoying that neither did he even bother to battle it nor did Ash point it out... what's the point of having Scorbunny tag along when it's not allowed to do anything and slowly becoming irrelevant? I also wonder how Gou is not in crippling debt from all the wasted Pokeballs.
  • Felt like ages since we had an actual research episode and the research assistant angle this series had first touted being given proper focus. For the first third of the episode, we're only shown various aspects of the Dragonite evolution line, their quirks, rituals, day-to-day life, Dratini's molting etc. Nice to see the writer put in a touch about how Dragonite sticks out from it's pre-evolutions while Milotic feels more like a natural evolution of the first two, and how that aspect of sticking out is connected to Dragonite's general disposition and tendency to help people (Iris' one is not a Dragonite, it's an ill-tempered and misbehaved Ditto :wynaut:).
  • From what looked like it would be another undeserved Gou episode judging by the promotional material, we get a one of a kind reverse bait-and-switch with the episode being mostly about Ash being the main focus and in his usual element. The episode showed Ash being Ash like always, going out of his way to help other people for no reason other than being a good person, without ever expecting anything in return. In this case, helping Dragonair train and learn to fly using Dragon Dance. Like I mentioned, he didn't expect anything in return but deserved it and which takes us to the next point...
  • Ash catches a Pokemon in the series and a Dragonite at that! Of course, they stayed true to anime tradition and ended up giving him a flying type but I digress. I was a bit skeptical of Ash getting a Dragonite right off the bat (given the bad memories I have of Iris' ill-tempered Ditto) but the way this episode handled the evolution and capture completely alleviated my concerns and was actually quite decent. So far, Ash's Dragonite is nowhere close to Iris' in terms of personality, if anything then it's the complete opposite. Now the hopes are that they keep developing Ash and Dragonite (as well as Ash's other Pokemon regardless of new or old) down the road and not waste any opportunities.
:bulbaFacepalm: - Cons:
  • Somewhat of a semi-pro, semi-con... TRio's lootbox is still a valid concern that I believe will ruin their characterization down the line and just stagnate them. Although the lootbox allows a wide variety of Pokemon to emerge and situations to arise, ends up harming them in the long run and doesn't allow their characters to grow especially like they did in SM. It was nice to see a lootbox capture backfiring on them, and who would have guessed a Wailord to only know the move Splash. I wonder how Giovanni in his right mind can even consider that lootbox to be his "ultimate weapon".
  • What is the composer even trying to do? At this point I don't know if he is being extremely lazy or just trolling intentionally. Like seriously, cowboy/hillybilly music during a damn storm, which is supposed to be a serious situation? The only decent bits were the tracks that played during Dragonair's training with Ash, and later during the TRio segment. I can't recall if the latter two are from the games though, anyone can help me with this?
:confused: - Extra:
  • Does anyone else believe that Marina Aicholtz is being very annoying with her pretentious way of speaking and ending sentences with 'as-sssse'?
  • Nice touch with the storm surrounding the island being created as a result of the Dragonair and Dragonite utilizing their power, reminds me a bit of Mewtwo creating the storm around New Island, although the intentions behind both scenarios are completely different.
Verdict: Not a perfect episode by any means but definitely a vast improvement over the garbage we had so far, I consider it the second best episode in this series so far and give it 8.5/10.
 
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Dumb capture is dumb. Dragonite was shoved down our throats so much during BW I've had my fill of it for an eternity. Ash getting any of the new gen mons would've been SO much more interesting. Now it's just... meh, seen it all before.
You might want to change your name. Also, this is clearly a very different Dragonite and I don't remember Iris' one accomplishing much.

The only decent bits were the tracks that played during Dragonair's training with Ash, and later during the TRio segment. I can't recall if the latter two are from the games though, anyone can help me with this?
I'm pretty sure that the only tracks from the games are the wild Pokemon and trainer battle themes. Even the Raid theme is original.
 
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I feel like what people aren't realising is that by pretty much giving Ash a Dragonite right away instead of giving him a Dratini, they indirectly admitted that they won't have that much time to develop it since it really isn't an Ashnime. But I had no problems, they gave him the Pokemon by making him bond and evolve with it however if they continue to do that, add that to the laundry list of problems this series has. Hopefully this is a start of the trend of good episodes because this series had a really boring start. At least Koharu looks cute in the next episode.
 
I'm pretty sure that the only tracks from the games are the wild Pokemon and trainer battle themes. Even the Raid theme is original.
That's an outright shame. We've had game soundtracks play like what... 2-3 times in this series so far?

Meanwhile, it seems like the composer thinks it's an absolute priority to play that shitty hillybilly tune in every one of the past few episodes. I swear if I hear it in SS012, I'll flip.
It's outright lazy, does Yuki Hayashi even realize that what he's doing is just... wrong?
I feel like what people aren't realising is that by pretty much giving Ash a Dragonite right away instead of giving him a Dratini, they indirectly admitted that they won't have that much time to develop it since it really isn't an Ashnime. But I had no problems, they gave him the Pokemon by making him bond and evolve with it however if they continue to do that, add that to the laundry list of problems this series has.
Not necessarily true. Not every Pokemon's character development and progression have to do with and revolve around evolving, if anything then the evolution can come off as a bonus reward for that aspect (Ash's Dragonite and Incineroar).

But yeah, if they continue to give him fully evolved Pokemon right off the bat then I guess you're onto something.
 
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I feel like what people aren't realising is that by pretty much giving Ash a Dragonite right away instead of giving him a Dratini, they indirectly admitted that they won't have that much time to develop it since it really isn't an Ashnime.
I don't think that'll be the case. I have a feeling the challenge level for Ash will just be higher from earlier on, like at the Battle Frontier.
 
  • Gou is becoming a Psychopath :wynaut:. I wonder what how his fans can defend that evil and gravelly voice during that entire Dewgong capture segment :wynaut:. Also, does anyone else believe that Marina Aicholtz is being very annoying with her pretentious way of speaking and ending sentences with 'as-sssse'?

Maybe you're projecting your own issues with Go? I remember you posted something in a sadistic way along the lines of "crushing pokemon like meat candy" (seriously, what the heck is wrong with you) sooo since then you're saying Go is a "psychopath" without any basis (it seems you invented that claim) and don't come with that bullshit that is for "laughs and jokes" because you and a few others are prominent haters of his character, educate yourself: Sociopath vs. Psychopath: What’s the Difference?

Bulbagarden is the only place I visit I've seen Go being called a "psychopath", it's not a good look, he has never displayed any trait of that behaviour so it's outrageous and idiotic and a delicate issue regarding mental health.
 
what chances that we will get a trade between Ash Dragonite and his friends Scorchbunny before leaving to Galar journey in future?
taking its around 26episodes a season? I hope it will go eventually the way gen 4 and gen 6 anime went. But with more battles, training, gym and league battles and pokemon and funny elements.
 
what chances that we will get a trade between Ash Dragonite and his friends Scorchbunny before leaving to Galar journey in future?
taking its around 26episodes a season? I hope it will go eventually the way gen 4 and gen 6 anime went. But with more battles, training, gym and league battles and pokemon and funny elements.

Extremely low, if not straight up impossible. What reasons would they have to trade both Pokémon, to begin with? Scorbunny likes Gou and Dragonite likes Ash, so they have no reason altogether to swap Trainers.

It would feel like a big cop-out and kick in the butt if this scenario happened, but the chances are next to none.
 
Extremely low, if not straight up impossible. What reasons would they have to trade both Pokémon, to begin with? Scorbunny likes Gou and Dragonite likes Ash, so they have no reason altogether to swap Trainers.

It would feel like a big cop-out and kick in the butt if this scenario happened, but the chances are next to none.
I remember there were a lot of people strongly against the Buizel Aipom trade back in DP, but the seeds were set early; Aipom showed interest in contests very early, and from Buizel's first appearance he was a warrior; he'd obviously be more interested in a Gym challenge than contests.

Scorbunny likes Gou and Dragonite likes Ash, and Scorbunny doesn't seem interested in battles to the point that he'd want to leave Gou for them.
 
I remember there were a lot of people strongly against the Buizel Aipom trade back in DP, but the seeds were set early; Aipom showed interest in contests very early, and from Buizel's first appearance he was a warrior; he'd obviously be more interested in a Gym challenge than contests.
The difference here is that Scorbunny is Go's starter. The anime characters don't give away their first Pokémon. Period.
 
The difference here is that Scorbunny is Go's starter. The anime characters don't give away their first Pokémon. Period.
That's another point, but my post is agreeing the trade is very unlikely; I was pointing out the main character trade we did see was because it suited the Pokémon better, and there's no such indication from Scorbunny.
Plus, Dragonite suits a regional champion's team.
 
I don't think that'll be the case. I have a feeling the challenge level for Ash will just be higher from earlier on, like at the Battle Frontier.
We'll just have to wait for Episode 12, I guess. With the format, they're going on at right now, I just feel it's impossible for any Human & Pokemon to have a Character Arc except for Gou. If Episode 12 does lead to something then I guess you are right.
 
We'll just have to wait for Episode 12, I guess. With the format, they're going on at right now, I just feel it's impossible for any Human & Pokemon to have a Character Arc except for Gou. If Episode 12 does lead to something then I guess you are right.
I wouldn't be surprised if we got a Dragonite v. Dragonite rivalry.
 
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