Review JN085: Rival Showdown! Satoshi VS Saitou!!

[PkmnTrainerV]

And people have been wanting moments like this, when Ash's Journeys team just hangs out together.

A kind reminder that this used to be a standard fare and happened almost every third episode in any other series.

 

[Craiden]

At the same juncture though, people really romanticize the Pokemon "hanging out" (not that I disagree with the notion PM 2019 needs (ed) more of it).

 

[L-05308]

Yeah, I will say that while I’m happy to see the Pokémon interacting and showing personality - this wasn’t a rare thing in any other series, especially Sun and Moon

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Do I have permission to ship these two?

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

The Korrina/Bea fake out legit threw me off lmao. I got distracted for a moment wondering when was the last time people threw hands in this show and had the same reaction as Ash and Goh.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Do I have permission to ship these two?

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The ship no one knew they wanted.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Do I have permission to ship these two?

View attachment 151864View attachment 151865View attachment 151866View attachment 151867View attachment 151868View attachment 151869

Let’s be real. If it wasn’t a thing before, it’s definitely a thing now.

 

[KrspaceT]

Won't lie, when the idea of Korrina x Bea is shown, I could probably toss a few of the same ideas I might use with Ash x Bea out there with the more spirited, lively, emotive personality bouncing off Bea.

The main differences would come in more specific stuff, like the fancy chocolates seem to be a Korrina thing while with Ash it would be much more playing off a hard training normal and a Aura user who doesn't train it out but has instinctive skills. Technician versus Performer.

Let’s be real. If it wasn’t a thing before, it’s definitely a thing now.

Haven't seen Bea x Korrina before now.....when's a good moment to check the fanart?

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Haven't seen Bea x Korrina before now.....when's a good moment to check the fanart?

This person already called it from over an entire YEAR ago!

https://twitter.com/moa151/status/1297910037122125824?t=A0QFy7pkqhSCsYlWCWxjUw&s=19

 

[KrspaceT]

....I'm going to look at Pixiv or Reddit and see a bunch of stuff with those two when?

(....I'll presume that, being characters tied to Ash, they will get more attention than the Project Mew duo that seem to get a ton less of it, for good and for ill. They aren't exactly Hisuin Zoroark....)

 

[Kurolegacy]

This person already called it from over an entire YEAR ago!

https://twitter.com/moa151/status/1297910037122125824?t=A0QFy7pkqhSCsYlWCWxjUw&s=19

Where’s this artist’s time machine? I could use some lotto numbers and sports championship winners.

 

[Keith]

Going into this episode, I completely forgot Korrina was on the VA list. Not only was I shocked to see her, but the affectionate greeting to Bea was also unexpected

Lucario is trying to give Dragonite a run for its money with that endurance. I’m glad it convinced Ash to hold off on mega evolution.

Can’t wait until next week. Mega Lucario and Sirfetch’d will surely be a treat!

 

[Max1996]

Am I the only one disappointed with how little of a fight we saw (in this episode, at least) between Lucario and Grapploct?

 

[Sai]

I’m really surprised all the recent eps have been tied together as I mentioned. Leon’s recent return since the Opal episode, Korrina’s returns, Bea keeping tabs on Ash since the Volkner episode, Ash’s Mega stone, etc. Between that and Cynthia appearing and tying it into her previous ep, there’s a lot of strong continuity lately.

If only we had more Pokémon interactions regularly like in this episode it’d be nice going forward.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I did like the setup for the battle. The Bea and Korrina interaction was just great. Also it was great to see all of Ash's Pokemon getting some screentime, and a chance to show some more personality. The battle seems to be using a lot of switching like the battle with Volkner, and I did like Pikachu's battle with Grapploct. I really don't like though how we're constantly showing Lucario taking all these attacks without landing a single hit. I was kinda annoyed he didn't hit Grapploct with Aura Sphere after surprising it from behind. Like the animation is great here, but can Lucario ever have a battle where he's not getting hit by several attacks before getting a lucky critical hit? Pikachu managed to trap Grapploct and deal damage with Electro-web, though Lucario hasn't been able to do much. Lucario got like a kick in on Hawlucha, but that was it. Really excited for the next episode though. I do have high hopes for the big Mega Lucario vs Gigantamax Machamp battle with the dream team in charge.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Spoiler: I thought this moment was cute/wholesome

 

[nickdt]

Korrina and Bea mimick eachother in another way as well.

Kalos Ash has Hawlucha - Korrina does not
Journeys Ash has Sirfetch'd - Bea does not.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Spoiler: I thought this moment was cute/wholesome

This is the content I waited for.

 

[Alola]

• The Korrina and Bea fake out in the beginning was pretty cool! I should have known better than to think Korrina would actually punch Bea or say something confrontational, but it seemed plausible with how they set it up! Them actually being friends that respect one another is something I never thought I needed, haha; it also makes sense given they are both Fighting-specialists and Galar and Kalos are close to each other. Korrina practically gushing over Bea during the first half of the battle was sweet, too.
• Those Laverre City chocolates are based on Kalosian Fairy-types along with Kalos' Fairy Badge - a nice detail in world building; also, seeing someone outside of Serena provide Poke Puffs was neat. Look at Korrina repping her region~
• I already praised how Machamp was handled earlier, so I won't repeat that. Instead, regarding the first half of the battle, I'll focus on what I didn't like - Lucario tanking those attacks from Hawlucha and Machamp. It just...feels quite cheap. We know it isn't going to get knocked out before clashing with Gigantimax Machamp (in which it will most likely win) and Ash seems set on it also defeating Grapploct as well, in which it is most likely going to take even more damage in the process - it just looks incredibly infallible at this point and I really would have appreciated Pikachu and Sirfetch'd doing a large part of the heavy lifting in the first half, to prevent that. I really don't know why they made it touch gloves with all three of Bea's Pokémon.
• The party scene was nice to see, even if it was brief; whereas Lucario used to fanboy over some good confections, it now somewhat jokingly mocks Grapploct for doing so - if Journeys made moments like these more often with Ash's party, they'd be more memorable.
• Look! A contrived ruling in the PWT - apparently Trainers can only pick one of three features to use (Z-Move, Mega Evolution, or Dynamaxing) in battle once. Guess that clears up any hype about Ash performing all three in his battle with Leon...
• Speaking of Leon, I think the announcer had the right of it - Ash and Lucario weren't in sync regarding to Mega Evolve; that didn't come off as an explicit example of their deep bond as Leon tried to paint it, unless one is referring to Ash listening to Lucario and acquiescing to its wish to not Mega Evolve. Just seems like a reach...and we all know Ash has barely interacted with Lucario until now anyway.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Seems a bit silly that they had to use a third of the episode to remind the audience that yes, Ash and Bea are in fact rivals

Don't blame them, given how long it's been since Ash has done any battling or remembered the PWC existed

Also got a good laugh out of Ash refusing to train onscreen with Bea