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

Better than the first matchup.

Chuck's return was very enjoyable and
the callback to Ash's battle complete with Bayleef cameo was beautiful, give me more of this I say!

Pikachu's Electroweb strategy was real nice too, makes me so glad they tossed Electro Ball to the wayside considering it could never do much and Riolu managed to hold his own...
with it ending on a tie too!
 
Great episode and also disappointed that the battle ended up in draw. Despite, how Riolu pull off the new move. At the same time, to see how Bea childhood being trained very stricly by her dad during those days. Also with her Bea in hyper class. Wondering how Ash can chase to there.

Overall rating: B+
 
Good points
1. FLASHBACK CONTINUITY AHHHHHHHHHHH :bulbaLove:
2. Clever Electroweb strategy by Ash.
3. Ash had what seems to be quite a good strategy against Octolock, even if I couldn't really understand it, due to limited Japanese knowledge.
4. Seeing Bea as a child
5. Good battles overall

Less decent points
1. Off-screen rank climb, ok...?
2. Grapploct vs Riolu ending in a draw. I suppose it's less contrived than Riolu winning, but still...
3. An(other) off-screen Goh capture, seriously? :bulbaFacepalm:
 
This turned out better than I thought (and dreaded at first): the callbacks were welcome, Riolu didn't evolve thankfully and won on its own merits, the battle ended unexpectedly and was well fleshed out, and Bea gets some really good characterization.

Feeling sad for the lack of Galarfetch'd, hopefully it shines soon. But at least we got one long term/recurring rival who makes sense and is bound for that G-Max Machamp appearance.

Ash had what seems to be quite a good strategy against Octolock, even if I couldn't really understand it, due to limited Japanese knowledge.
He had Riolu use something akin to a pseudo Calm Mind using its aura, and then had it focus its energy into Force Palm.
3. An(other) off-screen Goh capture, seriously? :bulbaFacepalm:
Wasn't bothered by this one that much because it's a weak Pokemon, and the fact that they didn't waste time with it. The Hitmonchan capture on the other hand is definitely problematic.
 
Good points
1. FLASHBACK CONTINUITY AHHHHHHHHHHH :bulbaLove:
2. Clever Electroweb strategy by Ash.
3. Ash had what seems to be quite a good strategy against Octolock, even if I couldn't really understand it, due to limited Japanese knowledge.
4. Seeing Bea as a child
5. Good battles overall

Less decent points
1. Off-screen rank climb, ok...?
2. Grapploct vs Riolu ending in a draw. I suppose it's less contrived than Riolu winning, but still...
3. An(other) off-screen Goh capture, seriously? :bulbaFacepalm:

tbh, i am not bother with off-screen Goh captures in Ash focused episodes, because that gives Ash more screentime than i am with on-screen Goh captures in Ash focused episodes.
 
I won't be able to fully comment until later, but off the top of my head:
  • Just as I was audibly chastising Ash for not training any of other Pokémon in the beginning, "Dragonite you'll spar with Farfetch'd" he says...yet it did not come to pass. And then he swapped the poor bird out for Pikachu against Bea. The good news is that as this match ended in a draw, there still is an opportunity for Fartech'd to participate in a victorious battle against Bea. I am rooting for this birb and he deserves more screen time (as do Dragonite and Gengar).
    • As for the battle itself, Hitmontop felt woefully weaker than Hawlucha or Grapploct; to be honest, I was disappointed with its performance and it did not match up with Bea's previous ferocity. That said, Ash having Pikachu use Electroweb on the ground was quite impressive; he should utilize that tactic more often.
    • I would have been disappointed if Riolu defeated Grapploct with no on-screen training (as well as due to Grapploct defeating its evolution Mega-evolved) and would not have minded Ash losing once more; especially given how high Bea's new rank is. So rather than a win or a loss, they took a third option with a draw...which...I'll take, for now. At least Ash and Riolu were more calculated in their strikes for the most optimal damage and Pikachu landed a Thunderbolt prior. I'm not sure, and probably am wrong, but I believe that counter to Octolock was toughing out the pain, while waiting for an opening within the constriction-then unleashing as much power as possible in doing so. Much better than wasting energy and effort with struggling (like Pikachu did and what Bea alluded to in their first match). No contrived evolution here either, which was good. However, Lucario Vs. Grapploct looks to be a thing now.
  • I'm surprised Chuck remembered Ash given the fact they interacted for one episode and I am positive the man has had many challengers since; also, wow-his Gym has gotten quite the renovation.
  • For everyone who had misgivings about how distant Bea was prior, I hope the ending scene alleviates that. I was genuinely surprised it came after the battle too, as I thought they would converse rather than jumping right to it. Bea and Ash, along with their Pokémon, interacting warmly like that was great to see; glad there are not any hard feelings between any of them, yet their rivalry remains fiercely ignited.
 
So the strategy was... Using Pikachu instead of Farfetch'd?

Well it was cool and I'm glad with the draw.I knew it hat the third and definitive match will be in Galar with Dynamax.

Oh wait that is not a good thing Dynamax sucks.

I hope for a 4 vs 4 atleast.
 
As for the battle itself, Hitmontop felt woefully weaker than Hawlucha or Grapploct; to be honest, I was disappointed with its performance and it did not match up with Bea's previous ferocity.

Well, keep in mind that it was battling PIKACHU and not Farfetch'd or Riolu, so...
 
Well, keep in mind that it was battling PIKACHU and not Farfetch'd or Riolu, so...
That isn't an excuse seeing how Pikachu has been defeated by many opponents it realistically should not have by your logic (Trip's Snivy, Viola's Surskit, etc.). Regardless if Pikachu was fighting or not, I thought we would see more from Hitmontop.
 
That isn't an excuse seeing how Pikachu has been defeated by many opponents it realistically should not have by your logic (Trip's Snivy, Viola's Surskit, etc.). Regardless if Pikachu was fighting or not, I thought we would see more from Hitmontop.

Look man, power scaling in the Pokémon anime is BS and weird stuff always happens for the sake of plot, but the fact remains that Pikachu is more powerful and experienced than Farfetch’d or Riolu.
 
Look man, power scaling in the Pokémon anime is BS and weird stuff always happens for the sake of plot, but the fact remains that Pikachu is more powerful and experienced than Farfetch’d or Riolu.
Which I never refuted. Regardless of Pikachu's experience, it can defeat an opponent who manages to still give a good showing before going down (which circles back to my initial comment on how I feel we could have seen more from Hitmontop).
 
I knew that Riolu wasn't going to evolve. Would've been a cheap way to win, and I know this creative team simply doesn't do cheap.

The battle was great. Pikachu's Electroweb strategy was interesting and proved useful (once again showing how this move is superior to Electro Ball in every way). And the tie seemed like a sensible conclusion. Ash's strategy of not struggling against Octolock was a really clever strategy I never could've thought of myself.

And then there's, of course, the continuity. We got to see Chuck remembering Ash and telling Goh about their Gym battle. And that Bayleef flashback cameo was really sweet.
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 years ago.
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