Review JN025: A Battle Festival Exploding With Life! VS Mega Lucario!!

[ChampionAsh]

Ba

Not gonna lie, wish Iwane got to animate Ash vs Korrina battle. And I actually say this ever since JN024 came out, because as much as Iwane loves to animate Team Rocket, his animation here would’ve personally made this battle much better for me. It was lacking for a high awaited battle like this one.

Poor Gengar, they really did him dirty. Hope they give him justice in the next battle he has, won’t be able to cope with another Torterra case.

People speculated so much about Korrina giving Ash a Key Stone and a Lucarionite in this episode, but at the end it was obvious it wouldn’t happen. I still think he’s gonna end up with an exclusive Gigantamax of some sort, since Lucario is a very popular ‘mon.

Ash’s Dragonite is literally such a baby. I simply can’t with how happy he got being praised by Ash.

Overall, an okay episode for me. I thought it would hit harder but didn’t find it disappointing. Hopefully next week’s episode isn’t a boring filler but an enjoyable one like JN024, they need to get the audience prepared for JN027 which I think will be great.

JN027 is gonna be a dynamax fest that's all. Tbh the battles in this series have been quite disappointing as even a battle episode less than 50 per cent screentime is given to the batlle itself.
Gengar seems to be going in the torterra direction . Its defence is terrible and is usually made the spacegoat for others to shine which was dragonite in this case and was infernape twice in torterra's case

 

[CometCartoons]

It was good to see Korrina, Gurkin and their Lucario return

Was rather disappointed that Ash didn't lose as I was curious to see what might happen

Go catching Pokemon way too easily again

Was great to see Dragonite battle

Wonder if Meinshao was Korrina's Meinfoo or a different one

Pretty sure her mienfoo evolved time has passed since they lasted battled after all.

The episode was stellar imo, but I'm disappointed we don't know Ash's rank. I'm assuming he's in the Super class by now.

What are ya talking about he’s rank 921 now.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

What are ya talking about he’s rank 921 now.

Schemer99 already corrected themselves. The stream they watched just skipped over that bit.

 

[Daren]

Counter Shield.
Probably a one-shot wink to the audience but cool to see.

 

[Charcoatl]

Such a great episode. One of the best Kalos characters return (no, I'm not talking about Gurkinn) with an evolution no less, Lucario with best moveset return and becomes an inspiration for Ash's Riolu, Counter Shield return, Dragonite gets to shine in a battle, Goh added some of the best Kalos Pokémon to his collection, no unnecessary references were shoehorned. I only feel sorry for Gengar but I'm sure it will make up for it in its next battle. Now I'm waiting for the inevitabile Alola episode.

 

[Handy Man]

I haven’t posted on here in forever, but I watched all of XY and was really excited for today’s episode. I thought it was cute how much Riolu looked up to Lucario, and I thought the battle was well done. My only complaint was that Gengar fainted way too quickly. The main goal of this episode was to showcase the Korrina battle, and it did a good job. I’m not expecting too many references to past companions in general until closer to the end of Journeys, as they want to focus on the dynamic of Ash and Goh. With that said, seeing more minor characters like Lt. Surge and Korrina get referenced or shown is great, and I would love to see some more similar characters in the future. It’s a great way of showcasing Ash’s past without completely overshadowing Gou’s presence.

 

[L-05308]

Ash and Goh were clearly observing social distancing on the plane but gave up on it once they got to Kalos...

This was great; we got Dragonite’s first proper battle and clear-as-day continuity! (just makes all the previous episodes that avoided continuity all the more glaring)

I really hope we get to see Goh’s Flabebe soon- otherwise it’s gonna bug me whether or not he got the white flower.

 

[VetProf]

The only good thing about Gengar's appearance in this episode was that it went down to a super-effective move. Aside from that, Gengar really got the short end of the stick. Psychic got nerfed hard compared to how it was used in the Visquez battle, and Korrina basically took Gengar down for free since neither of her Pokemon took any damage at all. Yes, Dragonite absolutely deserves its time in the spotlight after its long absence from battles, but at what cost?

Speaking of Dragonite, its battles were... decent. Not sure if the spinning Dragon Dance was an intentional reference to Counter Shield or not, but it was nice to see Ash use a stat-boosting move defensively regardless. Seeing Mega Evolution again was hype, I really hope this won't be the last time we'll see it in this series. Subpar animation aside, my only real gripe with the Mega Lucario vs Dragonite battle was that Mega Lucario went down to one not-effective attack. Yes, that was after two Dragon Dances, but after watching Dragonite tank multiple not-effective attacks from both Mienshao and Mega Lucario, it was kinda underwhelming to see a Mega go down to one resisted attack. More screentime would've really helped improve the battle, but I guess watching Gou catch the same Pokemon five times was just as important as Ash's rank-increasing battle with a returning Gym Leader.

I'll wait for subs before I watch the episode again (some of the move names were unclear to me), but overall, this was a decent episode. Yeah, it could've been better, but I wasn't exactly disappointed either. Battle-wise, I definitely enjoyed the Visquez battle more than this battle, but it was still a fun battle to watch.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I don't personally see a problem with Gengar going down fast. Its moment in the spotlight was with Visquez, now it was Dragonite's turn.

Overall, a very solid episode. May have felt a teeny bit rushed, but with the level of animation we got, I don't mind. Also, Riolu looking up Lucario was so great foreshadowing that my heart is going crazy just thinking about it.

 

[LazySpy]

but I guess watching Gou catch the same Pokemon five times was just as important as Ash's rank-increasing battle with a returning Gym Leader.

No self reflection or change steming from episode 23? That's so Gou...

It's also odd to see Tomioka doing it, of all people. In 18, he had the obligatory Gou capture happen off-screen, and focused mostly on the battle, allowing it to fully breathe (and my God, wasn't that episode perfect).

 

[Daren]

No self reflection or change steming from episode 23? That's so Gou...

It's also odd to see Tomioka doing it, of all people. In 18, he had the obligatory Gou capture happen off-screen, and focused mostly on the battle, allowing it to fully breathe (and my God, wasn't that episode perfect).

I wonder if there's a directive to give Gou some captures in the first episode of a new region? That might explain it.

 

[KrspaceT]

Watching the episode subless (because Youtube titles lie about subs. You hit the sub thing and Goh and Ash will sound like they are talking about Suzaku's fish if you get my drift)

1: Man the planes in this world are not filled up that much.
2: Goh being off on his own thing is fine, seeing as Ash would often do that with May or Dawn's contests. Though the bit with Gurkinn could have been removed (maybe, might mean more with subs) and give Ash an extra battle montage for say, Gengar. Though I do like the aura sense joke with Raboot.
3: Honestly I am not bugged by Gengar's loss. Gengar against Electrode honestly establishes the guy as someone who is bad at taking hits or losing control. If he stays in control he does brilliantly, but get the initiative on him like Electrode or Korrina's mons and BAM. I'd honestly call it a characteristic flaw.
4: Huh, that really does remind me of a Dragon Dance styled Counter Shield.
5: THAT was a mega evolution. And Ash's grin...Points to this Ash for that grin alone!
6: Aura Sphere now looks more like the ones in the BW2 preview and the Masters trailer
7: Not the worst 'take a ton of hits and reverse in one hit' battles I've seen, though all of the Dragon Dancing can at least give that a reason.

I wonder if there's a directive to give Gou some captures in the first episode of a new region? That might explain it.

...When in doubt for strange decisions in a series, blame executive meddling. That is the rule for any series

 

[Johtohfiller]

HOLY SHNIKIES MIYAZAKI MUSIC

I'll post my other thoughts later.

 

[CometCartoons]

Such a great episode. One of the best Kalos characters return (no, I'm not talking about Gurkinn) with an evolution no less, Lucario with best moveset return and becomes an inspiration for Ash's Riolu, Counter Shield return, Dragonite gets to shine in a battle, Goh added some of the best Kalos Pokémon to his collection, no unnecessary references were shoehorned. I only feel sorry for Gengar but I'm sure it will make up for it in its next battle. Now I'm waiting for the inevitabile Alola episode.

Yeah I like how korrina wasn’t messing around ash. She knew gengar was gonna be the biggest threat so she had to take him out first.

Even though I’m glad korrina was back I’m glad I kept my expectations low. Part of me knew the battle wouldn’t be as epic as the gym battle but it was still a good battle. My only complaint is that dragonite knows hyper beam and not another physical move like aqua tail or fire punch because the only move that would benefit from dragon dance is dragon claw.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Really, I don’t get why this show insists on having Ash’s pokemon tank a thousand hits and then turn the tables with a couple of their own. Do they do that to elevate tension? To me, that only makes it feel cheap.

 

[Daren]

Really, I don’t get why this show insists on having Ash’s pokemon tank a thousand hits and then turn the tables with a couple of their own. Do they do that to elevate tension? To me, that only makes it feel cheap.

It's a pretty common fight scene trope in general rather than a Pokémon thing for the hero to be losing for most of the fight then suddenly turn it around.

 

[VetProf]

I don't personally see a problem with Gengar going down fast. Its moment in the spotlight was with Visquez, now it was Dragonite's turn.

My issue isn't with how fast Gengar went down, but how it basically did no damage to Korrina's team at all. Best case scenario, Gengar tired her Pokemon a bit and gave Ash a bit of intel, but damage-wise, Dragonite essentially hard-carried the battle for Ash. Compare this to the Visquez battle where both Pikachu and Gengar made significant contributions to Ash's victory against her. I wouldn't be complaining if Gengar scored at least one direct hit against either of Korrina's team member, but the best I can do is pretend that Mienshao stubbed its toe when it smashed through Gengar's futile attempt at using Psychic.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

It's a pretty common fight scene trope in general rather than a Pokémon thing for the hero to be losing for most of the fight then suddenly turn it around.

I know, but doesn’t make it any less annoying.

 

[ChampionAsh]

So? As long as they give us a flashing, interesting battle like Lance vs Leon was, I’m fine with it. It’s actually better if they end up holding for the “Dande’s Greatest Battle!!” in the title.

I prefer to see a proper battle in which the episode focuses upon battling other than pointless team rocket or Goh scenes . The episode with Lance Vs Leon did that. The battle was also extremely good and competitive until dynamax kicked it in.I don't know what opinion do other people have of it but it's that good. Pokémon just being oversized and standing at one place launching attacks without moving much just doesn't excite me much ... I don't know if this is an unpopular opinion but that's I think .
As far as the title is concerned , we have had misleading titles in the past that actually had no relevance to the episode . The episode of Ash's defeat in the kalos league final was titled as Ash's greatest battle so that pretty much sums up the whole thing that titles can be misleading

 

[thomaswiencek]

Hey, guys. Was Ash's formerly owned Greninja mentioned in this episode?