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Review JN085: Rival Showdown! Satoshi VS Saitou!!

Not sure why they had Ash bring his full team this episode. Seems like it would make it difficult to justify leaving them behind in "research episodes" going forward.

I can't give a final verdict on the battle choreography, but I'm not big on the way Ash's party gets pummeled to the point one would expect them to be KO'd.
 
My, my, what an episode this was! Solid all around with quite a few surprises and highlights such as the hilarious fakeout with Korrina and Bea (and I love that they actually turned out to be close friends here) and virtually all the Pokemon interactions (which is especially great because Ash actually let out his entire team! About frigging time we got moments like this!): Machamp was so wholesome playing with Pikachu and Grookey, Sirfetch'd hilariously failing to pull off a trick, and of course the Lucarios being typical Lucarios and wanting to throw hands like immediately XD

Also, Falinks looked so adorable training with the others! :bulbaLove:

I enjoyed the battle as well. Bea cycling through her whole team and not allowing Ash and Lucario any breathing room is certainly an interesting change of events: normally in situations like this it's the trainer under pressure who cycles through several Pokemon (granted, that's also largely due to being forced to), but here the exact opposite is happening. It's a nice strategy that shows off Bea's not only got an aggressive battle style, but also a calculated one that keeps her Pokemon as fresh as possible. It actually reminds me a lot of Paul's battle style in a weird way.

One issue I do have with the episode is that the actual battle is animated rather stiffly, and many of the attacks looked a bit too slow, which at times kinda made the whole thing feel a lot less intense than it really should, since Lucario is being pummeled into paste here. Granted, since this is a two-parter it's highly likely that the animation will get a major uprade in the next episode. And I'm honestly pumped to see the conclusion.

I thought that was Close Combat from Lucario against Hawlucha, but it did seem that it had Aura Sphere, Double Team and Force Palm, whilst Reversal seemed like the last move it used before the end-stilt. Wow. Lucario still has that dry move-set. I’m quite shocked they kept that even here…
Yeah, I'm itching for a change of moveset too because three Fighting-type attacks plus a status move is a beyond dull moveset, especially on a Lucario of all things. Presumably the moveset is staying the same here so that when Lucario takes the win, it symbolically does so in an "honorable" way so to speak: by beating other Fighting-types strictly as a Fighting-type itself. But after this, yeah, please give Lucario some new toys and please give it non-Fighting coverage.

No Z-Ring or Dynamax Band?! Okay, Ash.....you brought your entire team, so why not your two other 'in case of problem, BOOM!' techniques. You can use a Z-Move and a Mega in the same battle in game, so nothing
The announcer stated that the rules of the tournament only allow each trainer to use one of either Z-Moves, Dynamax/Gigantamax, or Mega Evolutions. Presumably because the battles are all 3-on-3 in this stage of the PWC, meaning that if all three gimmicks were allowed things might get a bit too chaotic. It's possible that if we eventually get full 6-on-6 battles all gimmicks will be allowed, though, but obviously we'll have to wait and see.

Am I the only one disappointed with how little of a fight we saw (in this episode, at least) between Lucario and Grapploct?
I personally found it a little funny that the usual "let's get revenge now!" trope of rivalries that Pokemon loves so much was minorly subverted here, mostly because I didn't see it coming... but yeah, Lucario should still get to fight Grapploct (and beat it) later down the line. Hopefully it happens next episode.
 
I can't give a final verdict on the battle choreography, but I'm not big on the way Ash's party gets pummeled to the point one would expect them to be KO'd.
We still have the 2nd half, but yeah, I'm really not a big fan of this. Please. Please just show Lucario actually dodging attacks, finding creative ways out, and actually landing a few blows. The Volkner battle had the same problem. Its getting old. Like the amount of damage Lucario is taking is kinda ridiculous, especially considering all of this should have KO'd Lucario.
 
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At least the 'one tactic per battle' rule makes Ash seem less of a dumb guy for not constantly wearing the things...though that rule could also just be for Ultra Class and below. Maybe Master Class is different.

Still....it's a rule that feels like it catches only Ash. I mean....outside of Ilima, few people really use more than one method in the animeverse.

(Heck, gameverse has people doing that readily. Surprised they'd go against that. Or did GF regret the Mega and Z metagame of SM for some reason.....not sure why.)
 
They are absolutely going to waive "only one regional gimmick item per match" for Ash vs Leon

Gotta show off how amazing and cool and unbeatable and invincible and unstoppable and unassailable and indefatigable and unyielding and indomitable and dauntless and unflinching and unbending and awesome Leon is, after all
 
how amazing and cool and unbeatable and invincible and unstoppable and unassailable and indefatigable and unyielding and indomitable and dauntless and unflinching and unbending and awesome
I just learned a bunch of new words today. For that, I thank you, my friend.
 
Awesome setup for this fight man. Finally we get to see Ash's full team actually interacting with other pokemon, outside of battle. The Lucario brofist and Kamon missing the poffin next to Hawlucha were my favourite ones lol. Adding Korrina and Leon as spectators adds a lot more tension to the fight. I especially like how Leon stood up for Ash when the announcer was doubting their bond. It's a nice moment to show that he genuinely cares for him. Glad that Ash also couldn't successfully mega evolve right away, him telling Lucario that he lost his temper reminds me of his fight with Nanu. Ash and Bea are now gonna battle even harder than ever and both wanna try and impress him (to an extent). It's undoubtably going to lead to a more tense fight.

Also like how Lucario cycled through all of Bea's pokemon, this is really gonna be his time to shine. Bea's also packing some brutal tactics - improvising with her pokemon (like Grapploct's spinning liquidation), constant switching and Machamp's trapping almost makes octolock look tame. It really should've been her ace from the start hey? Given that it's her 'true' ace, I wouldn't be surprised if it's revealed to be the one who defeated Korrina's Lucario tbh. Him losing to Ash's would also feel more cathartic.

One thing I'm noticing though is Lucario's endurance. For a frail pokemon, he's really taking a lot of damage and surviving. This also happened with Volkner, but I let it slide due to the switching. Like bullet punches are fine, but he's taken a sky attack and cross chop. I just hope they don't get too crazy with it, especially now that Ash should have got it together and try more tactics. Otherwise the battle is good so far.

Great episode overall, they've really taken the time to set-up this atmosphere and make it great. Next week can't come soon enough. 8/10.
 
This episode clearly showed why we do need more two-parters as a vital element of the show. Two-parters for such important battles (or other important story elements) make the plot so, so much better and more exciting (That said, I'm already looking forward to the two Dialga vs. Palkia episodes!) It was a great way of preparing for the big showdown between two rivals: First, we got to see Bea's training which proved her determination. That was followed by some entertaining social interactions between people and Pokemon. And finally, we got the beginning of a battle that promises to be very intense and exciting.

Let me focus on the battle a bit more: I like the concept of rotating Pokemon in quick succession because it's a surprisingly "new" idea compared to the common battle style that we've seen for many years where Pokemon are sent out one after another. I wonder if Ash will adapt to that style.
One thing striked me as odd, however: The fact that Lucario took a direct Sky Attack, followed by countless hits through Machamp wasn't all that logical and a bit exaggerated if you ask me. In a "normal" battle I swear Lucario would already be down. So, I would have preferred if the writers had done it in a more comprehensible way instead of giving Lucario extreme stamina (out of thin air so to speak) just because this is a PWC battle.
Also, I could have done without Leon to be honest. That guys really doesn't have to appear or be mentioned in almost every second episode or so. I mean, there are much greater champions who would clearly deserve his screetime (you know who I'm talking about).

Apart from those two minor issues I had with the episode, I totally enjoyed the build-up and the actual battle and I'm really excited for next week!

One last point that has nothing to do with the episode: Based on the preview for next week, are we supposed to think that Gengar has finally paled into insignificance? How sad! It's such a great Pokemon and should deserve much better!
 
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One last point that has nothing to do with the episode: Based on the preview for next week, are we supposed to think that Gengar has finally paled into insignificance? How sad! It's such a great Pokemon and should deserve much better!
Merchandise has confirmed that Ash's Gengar will Gigantamax at some point.
 
They are absolutely going to waive "only one regional gimmick item per match" for Ash vs Leon

Gotta show off how amazing and cool and unbeatable and invincible and unstoppable and unassailable and indefatigable and unyielding and indomitable and dauntless and unflinching and unbending and awesome Leon is, after all
While I'd love to see Ash using all three mechanics against Leon, it's not guaranteed he will.
The thing i find interesting that Lucario didn't want to Mega Evolve at first, but also came lose from Grapploct using its head. Is this possibly foreshadowing Lucario leans Zen Headbutt or Iron Head in the future.
Machamp, not Grapploct.
 
The thing i find interesting that Lucario didn't want to Mega Evolve at first, but also came lose from Grapploct using its head. Is this possibly foreshadowing Lucario leans Zen Headbutt or Iron Head in the future.

If they are trying to lean on a new move being learned in battle, I suspect it would replace Force Palm. Though who is to say at this point
 
From finally seeing Korrina and Bea interact face to face (same for Ash's Pokemon with Bea's) to the "you can only use one special mechanic per battle" rule (which felt too gamey for me, but makes sense), to Lucario refusing to Mega-Evolve...and then that working, learning that's a thing, very good episode with cool elements.
 
Who's to say Gengar achieving Gigantamax couldn't be accompanied with development?
Let’s not count our chickens before they hatch. I’m going off what we have received and it’s non existent. Lucario didn’t get any "development" for Mega Evolution, and Gengar has fainted into obscurity. Giving Gengar a rushed "arc" right before its Gigantamax won’t fix the damage that’s done and that’s the best case scenario. The realistic scenario is we get one episode where Gengar achieves G-Max, a battle episode and it goes to obscurity again.

I'm sorry, but that’s the realistic approach based on precedent now. I really don’t feel invested in a character when the narrative hasn’t given me a reason to be invested in it in the first place and refuses to acknowledge its existence.
 
The beginning was fine, it was cool seeing all those Pokemon interacting and eating some candies. A part of me would've liked to see Bea and Korrina as rivals, but knowing that there wouldn't be enough time to develop that having them as friends is a nice and cute alternative that made for some amusing moments.

The battle was fine too. It was nice to see them not only bringing back Bea's "Trap and attack" strategy coming back but also being improved in numerous ways, and Lucario refusing to Mega evolve. However, I would've liked to see at least one Pokemon fainting. I understand that no one likes fall guys and that both sides are pros so realistically their battle should take hours, but seeing Pikachu, Hawlucha or Grapploct fainting or coming close to fainting (instead of Lucario) would possibly give a chance for the fights in the next episode to shine more.

8/10
 
If they are trying to lean on a new move being learned in battle, I suspect it would replace Force Palm. Though who is to say at this point
If a move's getting replaced, it's definitely not Force Palm. That move has inexplicably become near-equal to Aura Sphere in the anime at least as far as Lucario are concerned. No way would they have a Lucario forget Force Palm.
 
If a move's getting replaced, it's definitely not Force Palm. That move has inexplicably become near-equal to Aura Sphere in the anime at least as far as Lucario are concerned. No way would they have a Lucario forget Force Palm.
I don't think Force Palm is that universal compared to Aura Sphere, though. We've seen plenty of Lucarios that don't have Force Palm in their moveset in contrast to the grand total of one single Lucario that wasn't shown using Aura Sphere. If anything, I'd argue that Bone Rush is more common in anime Lucario movesets than Force Palm is.
 
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