Review JN034: The Solitary Fighter Saitou! The Threatening Otosupus!!

[L-05308]

The XY fans on Twitter seem to start mocking Ash's "Alola Champion" tittle after his lost to Bea.
Well, there's not much he can do when the 2 Pokemon he used are still inexperienced.
Actually, it would be a big BS if he won.

Urgh, exactly - these two are his newest and perhaps weakest Pokemon he has. Ash probably would have won with Pikachu, Dragonite, Gengar, Charizard or Incineroar but he was using his baby and silly duck.

 

[KrspaceT]

The XY fans on Twitter seem to start mocking Ash's "Alola Champion" tittle after his lost to Bea.
Well, there's not much he can do when the 2 Pokemon he used are still inexperienced.
Actually, it would be a big BS if he won.

People doing that when Ash loses, even when he arguably deserves it, gives me flashbacks that I really don't need.

 

[VetProf]

Some early thoughts regarding this episode before I watch it with subs:

1. I understand that they're trying to showcase how powerful Bea, a newly-introduced Gym leader is, but as much as I love continuity, having Korrina lose twice in the same series felt a bit overkill. Poor girl. I wonder if Bea was using Dynamax/Gigantamax or not when she was battling Korrina's Mega Lucario, because if she wasn't, then that's a very brutal loss for Korrina. It doesn't help that she probably won't have any more chances to make up for those losses too.

2. Something that I really like about this battle is that, from my perspective, it's clear that the only reason Ash lost is because his Pokemon weren't strong/experienced enough. As Gou pointed out, Ash used quite a few smart strategies and creative tricks in this battle (noticing how dangerous it is to rush towards Grapploct head on, using debris to distract Grapploct, Riolu escaping Octolock by using its legs, trying to use Reversal at low health to deal huge damage to Grapploct), but ultimately, he still lost. Ash's skills as a top-level trainer can be evidently seen in this battle, and his tricks and strategies most likely would've worked if his Pokemon were stronger. But alas, these babies still need tons of training.

3. I haven't watched the episode that the Fighting Dojo first appeared in, but I really like how it's portrayed in this episode. Nice to see the Hitmonchan/Hitmonlee feature from the games is brought back here, with Gou earning a Hitmonchan after battling the dojo's master. On one hand, I'm glad that the Gou subplot didn't detract too much screentime from the Ash vs Korrina battle, but on the other hand, I feel like this is probably Gou's most important battle so far, so I am a bit disappointed that the battle was off-screened.

Overall, I really enjoyed watching this episode. Great animation, great battle, and with Ash's first loss so far, great plot progression.

I was rather disappointed that Bea was only shown using two Pokemon when an image showed her with 11

Really gives me hope we'll see her again

1. Hey, at least the choices of Pokemon that she brought with her are great. I'll take a Gen 6 Pokemon and a newly-introduced Gen 8 Pokemon over the entire Machamp line any time of the day.

2. The fact that Ash lost to her + she's still competing in the World Championships means that she's guaranteed to appear again in the future.

 

[BigDocFan]

1. Hey, at least the choices of Pokemon that she brought with her are great. I'll take a Gen 6 Pokemon and a newly-introduced Gen 8 Pokemon over the entire Machamp line any time of

True, was good to see a Gen 8 Pokemon which seems very rare this series

 

[VetProf]

Not sure if Gengar would have helped here. Korrina took down Gengar flawlessly despite her Pokemon being weak/resistant/immune to it by typing, by catching both it and Ash off guard.

Gengar's performance depends heavily on how much the writers want to abuse Psychic.

 

[Egakor]

2. Something that I really like about this battle is that, from my perspective, it's clear that the only reason Ash lost is because his Pokemon weren't strong/experienced enough. As Gou pointed out, Ash used quite a few smart strategies and creative tricks in this battle (noticing how dangerous it is to rush towards Grapploct head on, using debris to distract Grapploct, Riolu escaping Octolock by using its legs, trying to use Reversal at low health to deal huge damage to Grapploct), but ultimately, he still lost. Ash's skills as a top-level trainer can be evidently seen in this battle, and his tricks and strategies most likely would've worked if his Pokemon were stronger. But alas, these babies still need tons of training.

Indeed. I hope he will train them more so that he can use his strategies more effectively.

 

[Silktree]

Bea being superior to Korrina with her Mega Lucario, and no Dynamax/Gigantamax on Bea's end (it's a regular arena), is contrived game promotion. But oh well, I am not exactly a Korrina fan. I am also very unconvinced that Ash would have lost had he used Dragonite and Gegar, but Tomioka can pull off whatever he wants and there doesn't have to be much logic to it. The point being made is that Ash was cocky about Riolu's abilities and paid a price for it, not to mention the lack of Galarian Farfetch'd love. These two are clearly meant to evolve and will not get any major wins until then.

I would have preferred a double battle between Ash/Go and Bea/Karate Master; Ash will get a rematch, anyway. I think that a Sabrina reference would have been more appropriate than the Korrina one, considering the setting and the Karate Master's rivalry with Sabrina in the games (he lost the gym title to her). The AG episode deserves to be forgotten, honestly.

 

[bea18119]

I refer to the episode that came out today in jap where bea appeared. there is a scene of bea and Grapploct from the opening but that did not appear in the episode, here is the video:
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46SxcfjolOw


you see the scene from minute 1:15 to minute 1:17. it would be the scene of bea and Grapploct doing that kind of ballet or attack or victory scene, let's say I don't know what it's called. Maybe it will be a scene from an episode where ash challenges bea again for a rematch and they have yet to show it.

can you help me please

 

[nickdt]

Was it confirmed you could only use fighting types? If so, it makes sense he only used Riolu and Galarfetch'd and then Goh most likely used Heracross.

 

[KrspaceT]

Was it confirmed you could only use fighting types? If so, it makes sense he only used Riolu and Galarfetch'd and then Goh most likely used Heracross.

...I am reminded of the Nami episode where we originally thought the writers were deliberating forgetting that Ash had reserves, but it turned out the contest was age gated for those younger than Ash.

A scenario like that changes the situation a bit...

 

[Twilight-Kun]

So no, he wasn't "rewarded a free Pokémon" "out of nowhere."

Yes he was

Because we didn't see the battle, so how do we know that Go didn't lose and was given it out of pity so he could have a strong pokemon similar to Ash's dragonite and gengar?

 

[nickdt]

People are complain Goh got a free Pokemon because the battle happened off-screen.

However, if the battle happened on-screen, people would have complained about Goh taking away screentime from Ash again in a battle focused Ash episode. So the Goh battle happening off-screen, was for the better.

 

[game3524]

They could actually hold their own if Ash would use them...

I haven’t watched the episode yet, but does it say somewhere that Ash is only allowed to use fighting type Pokémon? If not then the attention taken away from Gengar and Dragonite feels a lot more obvious since they’re both resistant/immune to fighting.

I didn't hear that in the episode, but this would be a smart justification for not using Dragonite and Gengar.

Anyway, I hope we get some more variety when it comes to the strength of notable old characters if they go up against gym leaders from Galar. Leon beating Lance made sense and Bea beating Korrina is a bit off-putting, but I get what they are going for. I just hoping we don't get things like Milo beating Erika or Gardenia etc.

The XY fans on Twitter seem to start mocking Ash's "Alola Champion" tittle after his lost to Bea.
Well, there's not much he can do when the 2 Pokemon he used are still inexperienced.
Actually, it would be a big BS if he won.

lol, Korrina got destroyed by Bea. So what does that say about Kalos?

Seriously though, Riolu is a baby and Farfetch'd has just been captured. IMO, Ash wins if he uses Dragonite, let alone using a more experienced Pokemon like Pikachu, Charizard etc.

 

[VetProf]

Was it confirmed you could only use fighting types? If so, it makes sense he only used Riolu and Galarfetch'd and then Goh most likely used Heracross.

I highly doubt there's an actual restriction regarding the Pokemon that Ash and Bea could've used. Their World Championships battle had absolutely nothing to do with the Fighting Dojo; they simply fought there because it was convenient. The only other possibility is that the restriction is imposed by the Rotom Drone (or the officials who manage this entire thing), and I don't recall hearing anything like that when watching the episode. Also, even if the Rotom Drone did impose a restriction like that, it would make absolutely no sense considering that it would give an unfair advantage to the trainer who not only specializes in the chosen restricted type, but is also already ranked higher than the other trainer.

Gou using Heracross would've been extremely fitting... if we actually got to see the battle. Yes, I know, giving Gou more screentime would've detracted from the main focus of Ash vs Bea, but I think it would've been fine if we got a 5 second glimpse of Gou's Heracross knocking out the dojo master's Hitmonlee/Hitmonchan near the end of the episode.

 

[Eclipsical]

Great episode! Bea is ruthless, she didn’t hesitate for a second. The fact that Bea insulted a trainer Ash holds with such high regards by calling them naive and then wiping Ash completely perfectly sets up a rematch where Ash can prove himself to Bea. Bea beating Korrina makes sense, coming from the game version of Bea. Bea is an Elite 4 level trainer when she’s not holding herself back for the sake of the Gym Challenge, and even then, the Galar Gym Leaders are said to be the strongest in the world.

I feel bad for Farfetch’d and Riolu, but they never stood a chance anyways. It was a brutal loss. However, hopefully Ash can work on Farfetch’d’s weaknesses now, the leak really weighs him down, and he can’t control his Brutal Swing very well because he can’t stop the momentum. Riolu put up a good fight but he was ultimately no match for Grapploct. I wonder how Ash will counter Grapploct’s tentacles since Double Team won’t cut it. He could use Gengar’s intangibility to phase through them.

I do wish we could’ve seen Goh’s win, as his opponent was actually skilled and trained for battles. They are slowly showing that Goh has been improving his battle skills. Hr has been watching almost all of Ash’s battles, after all, he’s bound to have picked up some skill and strategy by watching him. Many episodes could be improved by splitting them into two parts. I probably would’ve had Goh fight the Dojo Master this episode to really start off the “Goh gets good at battles” storyline, and then have Ash vs. Bea next episode. But it’s not really that big of a complaint.

 

[KrspaceT]

...Anyone half expecting people to complain Ash didn't get a Hitmonlee at some point?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Bea being superior to Korrina with her Mega Lucario, and no Dynamax/Gigantamax on Bea's end (it's a regular arena), is contrived game promotion.

It makes sense. Bea is as strong as an Elite Four member, so it would make sense that she's able to beat Korrina even without Dynamax.

 

[VetProf]

...Anyone half expecting people to complain Ash didn't get a Hitmonlee at some point?

This episode shows that the two Fighting-types that Ash currently has on hand are in dire need of proper training.

He absolutely does not need a third one.

 

[Max1996]

It makes sense. Bea is as strong as an Elite Four member, so it would make sense that she's able to beat Korrina even without Dynamax.

Where was that said?

 

[Kurolegacy]

People are complain Goh got a free Pokemon because the battle happened off-screen.

However, if the battle happened on-screen, people would have complained about Goh taking away screentime from Ash again in a battle focused Ash episode. So the Goh battle happening off-screen, was for the better.

People in this thread literally suggested the prospect of making this a 2-parter as a simple solution similar to the Kalos episode which would eliminate such a thing. And honestly, I agree with the people who take issue with that plot point happening off-screen.

Here we’re just expected to just nod and move on from the prospect that Go, a person who has never won a trainer battle beyond the eternal losers that are TR and hasn’t shown any real proficiency in improving in trainer battles, is suddenly strong enough to beat the Karate Master. Something that should have been a pretty big milestone for Go was glossed of and all simply so that Go can be given another new Pokémon in a tell-don’t-show manner. It’s honestly just lazy. We don’t need to see every battle Go has, but his first win was something deserving to be shown.