Preview JN039: Satoshi VS Saitou! Conquer the Octopus Hold!!

[Max1996]

Could be. I can also see Ash figuring out a countermeasure for Octolock by scouting it with Pikachu and being more observant to the move than last time.

We'll see. Only 5 days to go, though!

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

We'll see. Only 5 days to go, though!

The hype is real!

 

[Panky..]

So I've been replaying Dark Souls 3 and after fighting a certain boss called 'Vordt of the Boreal Valley', this theory came to my mind. Vordt is basically a giant wolf/dog-monster with some powerful attacks that can cripple you if you're not careful, but it's weakness is that it can't hurt you if you're literally under it. Then there's also the fact that Ash was hesitating to have Riolu go for close range attacks and having it pull back if it got too close, in JN036.

Taking both those points into consideration. I believe that his strategy may involve using Pikachu to scout out any weaknesses in Grapploct's physiology while hurting it in the process, followed by using Riolu's agile nature to 'get underneath' Vordt Grapploct and get its tentacles all tangled up, basically leaving it exposed.

This post is sponsored by the "Boost JN039 Preview's post count" gang.
The above line is a joke, don't kill me because of it.

 

[Max1996]

So I've been replaying Dark Souls 3 and after fighting a certain boss called 'Vordt of the Boreal Valley', this theory came to my mind. Vordt is basically a giant wolf/dog-monster with some powerful attacks that can cripple you if you're not careful, but it's weakness is that it can't hurt you if you're literally under it. Then there's also the fact that Ash was hesitating to have Riolu go for close range attacks and having it pull back if it got too close, in JN036.

Taking both those points into consideration. I believe that his strategy may involve using Pikachu to scout out any weaknesses in Grapploct's physiology while hurting it in the process, followed by using Riolu's agile nature to 'get underneath' Vordt Grapploct and get its tentacles all tangled up, basically leaving it exposed.

This post is sponsored by the "Boost JN039 Preview's post count" gang.
The above line is a joke, don't kill me because of it.

That sounds fascinating...

 

[BigDocFan]

Really looking forward to this episode, really glad its not Hawlucha and Grapploct vs Farfetch'd and Riolu as it gives us more variety, we haven't had much action from Hitmontop in a while so this will be good

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

I said it back at Melmetal vs Incineroar and I’ll say it again: not pitching Galarfetch’d with its Brutal Swing against Hitmontop is a missed opportunity for a beyblade battle.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Well, as Visquez’s Electrode proved, Hidden Abilities do exist in the anime outside of Zen Mode, so maybe Grapploct’s Ability will be Technician — or maybe Ash will TRY to have Grapploct be paralyzed by Static, only for Limber to be revealed and then he’ll have to think of a new strategy. Either way works for me, really.

Has Pikachu’s Static ability even come up once since Ash’s battle against Paul where it was used against Pikachu to trigger Ursaring’s Guts and turn it into a juggernaut?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Has Pikachu’s Static ability even come up once since Ash’s battle against Paul where it was used against Pikachu to trigger Ursaring’s Guts and turn it into a juggernaut?

Yes. It was activated during his Virbank Gym battle.

 

[BigDocFan]

The last one of Ash's team to use their ability was Fletchinder using Flame Body to help hatch Noibat. Wish the anime used abilities more, would make battles more fun

 

[Beary]

The last one of Ash's team to use their ability was Fletchinder using Flame Body to help hatch Noibat. Wish the anime used abilities more, would make battles more fun

Doesn’t pikachu have static?

 

[DynamicFusion]

Wonder if that Electroweb Blocking Strategy Ash & Pikachu used VS Team Rocket in the Recent Episode will make a comeback here. It would be nice to see it and that would make that episode somewhat of an important progression towards Ash's Rematch.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Doesn’t pikachu have static?

Pikachu does, but it rarely ever comes up. It has a few times, though not often.

 

[Beary]

I’m kinda gonna be disappointed going into this episode knowing that we didn’t see any training and ash will probably beat bea. It’s so stupid that goh literally catches two amazing pokemon in ash depression arc and they give like to attention to ash. The win is underserved and honestly i’ll be happy if ash loses because this could be a way to give ash more screentime and actually take training seriously

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I think its another big problem with this series. There's clearly an imbalance between Ash focused episodes and Goh focused episodes, leading to Ash's story suffering because Goh needs to catch all these Pokemon he doesn't even need.

 

[Daren]

From a realism standpoint, subbing in his uber powerful Pikachu over the comparatively untested Galarfetch'd is a logical reason for Ash to win even without too much training time--if Pika beats Hitmontop then does good damage to Grappoloct it would seem reasonable.
It does increase my worry that this is really just about Riolu making up for his wounded pride and Galarfetch'd's defeat is unimportant.

I think its another big problem with this series. There's clearly an imbalance between Ash focused episodes and Goh focused episodes, leading to Ash's story suffering because Goh needs to catch all these Pokemon he doesn't even need.

It probably sticks out worse since Ash's storyline is getting less focus at the same time he's finally moved on and is aiming for the big leagues.
That's one reason I've grown sort of cynical about the PWC. With the way things are currently going it may not feel earned if Ash beats Leon (and even before the full PWC started I was worried that would be hard to do because of how ludicrous Cynthia or Tobias were portrayed as with Leon or whoever was top of the PWC would supposedly be the best).

Still, the series has a good amount of time to make a turnaround.

 

[R1ke]

When you're left out of the rematch

 

[BigDocFan]

When you're left out of the rematch
View attachment 136486

Lol, part of me does still hope that Ash will lose this match, either that or Bea will be keen to challenge Ash again in the future as she makes a worthy opponent, probably the best next to Korrina

 

[R1ke]

Lol, part of me does still hope that Ash will lose this match, either that or Bea will be keen to challenge Ash again in the future as she makes a worthy opponent, probably the best next to Korrina

I'm not against him losing either. But imagine getting clapped by Grapploct again, even after weakening it with pikachu this time. That's gotta sting.

I'd really like to see more Bea in the future. This episode makes her more likeable so perhaps she becomes more of a rival here. This match is more about settling the score with Riolu, but she still has a plethora of other pokemon (G-max Machamp) that she can use in future matches to keep things interesting.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

This episode makes her more likeable so perhaps he becomes more of a rival here.

The WCS format doesn't need rivals IMO. After Ash has cleared an obstacle, another, more powerful Trainer will eventually appear to hinder his progress. Sure we may see Trainers like Korrina again, but I doubt we'll be seeing many characters as actual recurring rivals in this series.

 

[R1ke]

The WCS format doesn't need rivals IMO. After Ash has cleared an obstacle, another, more powerful Trainer will eventually appear to hinder his progress. Sure we may see Trainers like Korrina again, but I doubt we'll be seeing many characters as actual recurring rivals in this series.

I'd really like to see at least 1 recurring trainer who constantly puts Ash to the test and brings out his best in the PWC. I feel like Bea would be a good candidate for that, given her appearances so far (she's powerful, determined, competitive but still has room for growth). Maybe they're less of a rival in the traditional sense, but it'll get kinda stale if Ash only faces new challengers over and over again in my opinion.