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Review JN065: Dragon Battle! Satoshi VS Iris!!

I guess that when all is said and done, ‘development’ for Iris and Dragonite aside, it’s just so frustrating that the implications of this episode’s battle not only implied that Ash’s Dragonite would have been defeated by Iris’ (which already does not sit right with me all on its own, since it already seemed like Ash’s Dragonite was at least strong enough to give Iris’ a difficult time), but also that Ash would have lost the match as a whole had Iris not interfered. How does that make Ash look after all this time. He should not be this easy to overwhelm, even with newer Pokémon, since he has a knack for training his Pokémon to become very strong rather quickly. I would have enjoyed a battle between Dragon-type Pokémon and I would’ve enjoyed watching a battle between Ash’s and Iris’ Dragonites, and this is what I wind up getting?

Yep. Sorry you didn’t enjoy it, dude.
 
implications of this episode’s battle not only implied that Ash’s Dragonite would have been defeated by Iris’ (which already does not sit right with me all on its own, since it already seemed like Ash’s Dragonite was at least strong enough to give Iris’ a difficult time
Was that really the implication? From what I recall, all she was doing was helping Dragonite understand that if he had fun battling then Ash would, because Dragonite loved Ash. Her words of encouragement towards the end were her cheering on Dragonite for enjoying himself, and it inevitably had nothing to do with a difference in skill level. Dragonite was doing perfectly well, despite having taken on many hits, and the only reason Iris helped was because she wanted Dragonite to have fun.
 
Galar Gym Leaders are established to be around Elite Four level when going all out in the games. And it's not an excuse. All Trainers start at the bottom, so Iris wasn't simply done climbing past the Great Class yet. It doesn't mean that she's not able to do it.

The problem isn't that Iris and Ash meet at the start of the Ultra Class, the problem is the implication that Ash is already better than ALL of Unova, and using only Pokemon that definitely have less battle experience than the champion's. Using logic you only have two conclusions:

1) Unova is the weakest region (though some BW haters would agree)
2) Ash should be equal or better to other Elite 4 and champions and all gym leaders (even Galar's, Raihan aside we have no evidence that they are revered as specially strong in the anime).
 
Was that really the implication? From what I recall, all she was doing was helping Dragonite understand that if he had fun battling then Ash would, because Dragonite loved Ash. Her words of encouragement towards the end were her cheering on Dragonite for enjoying himself, and it inevitably had nothing to do with a difference in skill level. Dragonite was doing perfectly well, despite having taken on many hits, and the only reason Iris helped was because she wanted Dragonite to have fun.

So what, are you saying that even if Iris hadn’t intervened Ash could have still won? Because a great deal of the fans and the episode itself implied that it was only because of Iris’ little chat with Dragonite that Ash gained a victory and that feels like a problem
 
So what, are you saying that even if Iris hadn’t intervened Ash could have still won? Because a great deal of the fans and the episode itself implied that it was only because of Iris’ little chat with Dragonite that Ash gained a victory and that feels like a problem

I don’t think the episode implied anything, really. And, just as a word of advice, a great deal of the fans tend to misunderstand things that happen in episodes or even twist the events of episodes in their heads to fit their own preconceived notions, so don’t take their interpretations as gospel.
 
The problem isn't that Iris and Ash meet at the start of the Ultra Class, the problem is the implication that Ash is already better than ALL of Unova, and using only Pokemon that definitely have less battle experience than the champion's. Using logic you only have two conclusions:

1) Unova is the weakest region (though some BW haters would agree)
2) Ash should be equal or better to other Elite 4 and champions and all gym leaders (even Galar's, Raihan aside we have no evidence that they are revered as specially strong in the anime).
In all fairness, the last time we saw a League in Unova, a kid who gave two free KOs to his opponent in the same battle and forgot to bring a full team managed to place in the Top 4, and the guy who won the whole thing was a ranger who was mostly using the League as a casual exercise to strengthen his team (in other words, a hobbyist), so there is some credence to the idea that Unova is less powerful competitively to the other regions :p

Okay, but to give a serious answer, I don't see what the big problem is: Ash has multiple regions of experience under his belt and became a Champion himself just last saga, so this battle was effectively a Champion vs Champion showdown much like Leon vs Lance a while back, the difference being that these are two "rookie" Champions while Lance and Leon are veterans who've had their positions for years. And it's not like Iris went down like a total chump either: her Dragonite effectively had Ash's dead to rights had the latter not switched, and when she saw how dangerous it was to fight Dracovish up close she immediately changed tactics and used long-ranged attacks. That's a pretty big improvement if you ask me and showcases Iris's newfound experience quite well.

Also, yes we do have evidence that Galar's trainers (or at least Raihan) are especially strong, since Leon is actually stronger in the anime than he is in the games: in the games he's implied to be more powerful than other Champions, sure, but nowhere is it claimed that he's the strongest trainer in the world. In the anime, though, Leon is the strongest trainer in the world, period. For Raihan to be able to trade blows with Leon he'd obviously have to be pretty tough, especially when you remember that his Duraludon is at somewhat of a disadvantage typewise against Leon's Charizard.
 
That just goes to show that she's more mature now.

Ash isn't really the type of person to brag about his achievements.
She did call Ash a kid though. "Maturity" isn’t an excuse. I didn’t personally mind it but let’s not twist logic to give characters weird justifications for their actions which don’t apply. Ash did look fully ready to brag in that confrontation. Ash has bagged at numerous occasions throughout many series.

A. As it has been established time and again; ASH IS A CHAMPION TOO,
I’d like to point out a distinction: Ash isn’t using the team that made him a champion.

Okay, but to give a serious answer, I don't see what the big problem is: Ash has multiple regions of experience under his belt and became a Champion himself just last saga, so this battle was effectively a Champion vs Champion showdown much like Leon vs Lance a while back,
Okay... so this highlights a issue I have with this thread as a whole... They never advertised the battle as Champion vs Champion. Ash's status as an Alola Champion is never acknowledged in this episode. Not targeted at a specific person, but it’s weird that people are shifting to and fro from "Is Ash a Champion?" to suit their arguments.
 
Okay... so this highlights a issue I have with this thread as a whole... They never advertised the battle as Champion vs Champion. Ash's status as an Alola Champion is never acknowledged in this episode. Not targeted at a specific person, but it’s weird that people are shifting to and fro from "Is Ash a Champion?" to suit their arguments.
Ash not being advertised as a Champion is something that's imo an issue with Journeys as a whole. I'm pretty sure it's just done to highlight Ash's humility, but I do think it does get pretty ridiculous at times (such as this episode, for instance). If it helps any, I do personally consider Ash a Champion. I'm sure there's plenty of fans that don't, and they'll have their valid reasons, but as far as I'm concerned, him winning Alola's first ever League and then going on to beat its strongest trainer and one of its patron deities simultaneously more than qualifies him for the title.
 
She did call Ash a kid though. "Maturity" isn’t an excuse. I didn’t personally mind it but let’s not twist logic to give characters weird justifications for their actions which don’t apply. Ash did look fully ready to brag in that confrontation. Ash has bagged at numerous occasions throughout many series.
She only called him a kid once. In BW, she would often do it multiple times an episode.
Ash not being advertised as a Champion is something that's imo an issue with Journeys as a whole. I'm pretty sure it's just done to highlight Ash's humility, but I do think it does get pretty ridiculous at times (such as this episode, for instance). If it helps any, I do personally consider Ash a Champion. I'm sure there's plenty of fans that don't, and they'll have their valid reasons, but as far as I'm concerned, him winning Alola's first ever League and then going on to beat its strongest trainer and one of its patron deities simultaneously more than qualifies him for the title.
My guess is they're saving the revelation of his Champion status to something big. At the very least, I'm 90% certain it'll be listed among his other achievements when the final tournament arc of the series rolls around.
 
She only called him a kid once. In BW, she would often do it multiple times an episode.
That’s changing the goalposts. You said she didn’t call Go a kid because she’s too mature for the insult now, but she does use it so she isn’t mature enough to avoid it. It’s okay if she likes to insult Ash for fun imo, but again, the excuse that she’s too mature to call Go a kid doesn’t work.
 
That’s changing the goalposts. You said she didn’t call Go a kid because she’s too mature for the insult now, but she does use it so she isn’t mature enough to avoid it. It’s okay if she likes to insult Ash for fun imo, but again, the excuse that she’s too mature to call Go a kid doesn’t work.
Her using the insult notably less counts as maturity IMO. And she's more mature in battles too.
 
I still keep my posture regarding Satoshi's 'Champion Status', and he's only a 'League Conference Winner' to me.

Have the feeling that the staff came back to their senses and are regretting giving that Title to him. Now they're trying to bury it in hopes that people would eventually forget.

I think Iris couldn't resist to tease Satoshi, who is her friend; and didn't attempt it with Gou, who she doesn't know anything about.
 
Galar´s gym leaders are portraied as more powerfull than the others in the anime, and even in the games. They are E4 level.
Unova really had the weakest league, and Alder was the dumbest champion. He slept in his battle against ash, and not even his pokemon respected him. We only saw Alder winning againts Trip, a guy that lost on his first match in the unova league. Kukui has more feats than Alder. Kukui was the stronest trainer in Alola, but kukui was not an official Champion because Alola didnt have an E4. Ash wasnt battling for a title when he battled kukui. It was an exibtion match. But it still showed that Ash was the strongest trainer in Alola.

But defeating Iris was important to show that Ash is in the same level as some champions. So , his goal to defeat Leon seens more realistic.
 
But defeating Iris was important to show that Ash is in the same level as some champions. So , his goal to defeat Leon seens more realistic.
Especially when he starts out by defeating a "junior" Champion. He can work his way to the "senior" Champions from there.
 
Possibly. But we don't know how much experience Iris has exactly gone through since leaving Ash. Her Champion status doesn't come without experience.

We do know how much time of experience she could possible have. Ash had more experience than Iris when they first met, so ash has much more time as a trainer than Iris.
 
Absolutely loved this episode. I honestly had no idea how much I missed Iris and how refreshing and innocently carefree she was. Call it extreme Unova bias, but she's just great and seeing her progression (and finally become Champion) made me happy. Those :3 blushy faces, little bickers with Ash, Pikachu cuddles, and how kind she was to Dragonite (+ other Pokémon) just made the whole thing for me. Aoi Yuki always does well delivering her lines too - so cheerful and expressive! Really hope we'll have more episodes like this in the future.

Agree that it could've benefitted from a two-parter since I did feel their reunion as well as certain parts of the battle could've been fleshed out more, but I still heavily enjoyed the episode and will probably be rewatching several times. :'D
 
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