Review JN086: Mega Evolution VS Kyodaimax

[Unireon]

Seeing how events are going....

Gengar will Kyodaimax out of the blue, not bothering to give any explanation.

And still job/be the fall-guy, because the writers seemingly hate it.

Satoshi's team being mishandled is what I hate the most about Journeys, Lucario is a close second.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

As of this episode, Tracey is now the only original series protagonist who hasn't used Mega Evolution.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Ash: has two fights where he learns that getting in close with Grapploct is a bad idea
Also Ash: tells his pokemon to get close to Grapploct, then acts surprised when they get ensnared a third time

Also REAL dick move to tell Pikachu to relax and submit to Grapploct, shortly followed by it getting brutalized by Close Combat

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Okay, to get the things I didn't like out of the way first... darnit, Journeys why you gotta be so mean to the underused members of Ash's team? First Gengar and now my beloved Sirfetch'd. Look, I have absolutely zero issue with Lucario taking out both Grapploct and Machamp, because that's pretty much exactly the outcomes I was expecting anyway, but if anyone should have been the designated jobber in the fight, it's Pikachu. He's literally the only Pokemon participating in this match who actually got to beat one of Bea's Pokemon in the past, and in general has participated and won far more PWC battles than the rest of his team, so he really didn't need a win here. Why not just let Pikachu take the fall but let him greatly weaken both Grapploct and Machamp so that Lucario then taking them out with so few hits afterwards looks and feels more believable? Or heck, why not just let all three of Ash's Pokemon get one win each if Pikachu losing without KOing something first is really so sacrilegious a concept? Sure, that would have meant that Lucario wouldn't have gotten even with Grapploct, but that would have been by far the lesser evil to making Sirfetch'd job.

Now, that negative aside, I enjoyed the battle overall, as there were several cool strategies and visuals employed here, such as Lucario using Reversal through his feet rather than his fists to break free from Machamp's grasp, or how Sirfetch'd now executes Brutal Swing via a Captain America-style shield throw (which in turn makes me hope that he doesn't forget that move because dang it looks so cool!), and Pikachu using Quick Attack while rooting his tail to the ground to repel Sky Attack. Gigantamax Machamp vs Mega Lucario was also pretty awesome, and I love that Lucario finally learned a new move in Steel Beam. I admit I would have much preferred Meteor Mash or Flash Cannon, but Steel Beam at least synergizes well with Reversal and is still an offensive Steel-type move, which is something we haven't seen a Lucario use since Maylene's.

Overall, great episode and great battle that is only marred pretty much solely by Sirfetch'd getting jobber duty.

 

[Soniman]

Gengar will Kyodaimax out of the blue, not bothering to give any explanation.

Well I mean....because there really isn't much explanation? Some Pokémon just have it because they have it and that's about it, they didn't explain Pikachu's for the same reason probably

 

[Alola]

When it eventually Gigantamaxes.

A shame though it has to be for a contrived occasion. It would be nice to see it just win in an everyday situation; if Gengar's only victories in this series are from its battle debut and Dynamax debut, that will be quite sad. All the more reason Sirfetch'd should have gotten a win here, somewhere, given their similarities.

 

[VetProf]

Rewatched the episode with subs to get a better idea of how the battle went. Here's my thoughts on it.

• Funnily enough, even Gou was surprised that Ash didn't use Dragonite in this battle... though that was specifically in response to Ash bringing out Sirfetch'd. Guess he doesn't think Pikachu being used here is weird, which makes sense from his perspective since Pikachu has always been Ash's ace.
• Leon asking the announcer to shut up and focus on the battle instead of interviewing him was lowkey hilarious.
• Already talked about this in my previous post, but Sirfetch'd missing the shield throw was just super disappointing. It genuinely looked like a pretty cool trick, too bad Hawlucha just effortlessly dodges it and then charges up another Sky Attack completely uninterrupted. Seriously though, Hawlucha being able to launch all of its Sky Attacks completely uninterrupted was probably one of the more unbelievable things in the battle.
• It's nice to see Pikachu using Iron Tail defensively again, with Gou remarking that this is similar to what happened in the Visquez battle. Yes, Pikachu being used in basically every battle is a bit annoying, but at least it's doing something interesting here.
• Overall, the Machamp vs Lucario battle was quite good. Early on, it was nice seeing Machamp making full use of its 4 arms to immobilize and pummel Lucario, who eventually managed to get away by attacking with its legs. Later on, Gigantamax Machamp and Mega Lucario both looked quite menacing, and this was the first time we saw a battle continue after Dynamax/Gigantamax wore off. Machamp retaining its critical boost from its G-Max move was nice, even if it ultimately lost to Lucario's Steel Beam.
• Speaking of which, giving Lucario Steel Beam is definitely an interesting choice, since most peeps were probably expecting Meteor Mash or Bullet Punch as Lucario's Steel-type move. On one hand, Steel Beam is a newly-introduced Steel-type move that would theoretically synergize well with Reversal, so giving it to Lucario makes a lot of sense. On the other hand, people already have a hard time believing how much damage Lucario can tank, and I don't think giving it a recoil move is gonna help much with that. When you remember that this move deals recoil damage equal to half of the user's health, it kinda feels like this battle should've ended with a double KO.

Overall, aside from Sirfetch'd's disappointing performance, this was a pretty good battle. I'm looking forward to the next Hyper Class battle.

 

[R1ke]

Quite the rollercoaster that one was

Best parts had to be with Lucario. What a beast honestly. Channeling reversal towards his legs, overpowering liquidation in one blow, mega evolving and converting force palm/steel beam conversion with Ash at the end. Like finally, he's got a new move! He's really got his time to shine in this fight. I loved seeing the aura energy/sparks come back throughout. After seeing Dragonite's performance against Iris, he feels like Ash's ace again.

But damn man. Kamon got shafted hard. He had good tricks, but it barely lasted. I really liked that Captain America-esque shield throw (hope brutal swing stays now) but it's a shame it didn't pay off. Like surely he could've used that to intercept sky attack and then hit a night slash. Should've used detect as well. Making him lose to Hawlucha again was so cruel as well. That cut deep. I'm proud of him for making Machamp (Bea's strongest) switch out though, just wish it lasted longer.

That being said, the rest of the battle was sick. Love to see how Pikachu can still invent new strategies on the fly. The Gmax portion in particular had some beautiful shots (reminded me of 10,000,000 vs Tapu Koko, you know the one) and was enjoyable to watch. Stuff like mega Lucario running up G-max machamp and hitting his head with Aura sphere was so cool. The music as well was incredible - I say this a lot nowadays but they're really going hard with it. Remixes of old tracks and the new tracks mixed in are amazing to listen to. Or maybe I'm used to hearing the same soundtrack for so long so these new ones are just a shock to me.

I would like to see more strategy (compared to brute force) and less move tanking from Ash's end though. Sometimes it feels like he just gets lucky with his hits. I'll see how that plays out. Also tbh this series uses a lot of static shots and the animation could be better, like during collisions for example (when one pokemon is just flying there).

Gonna take a while to process this whole two-parter, but it was relatively well done. Hyper class has been a blast so far and I hope the next matchup is something new and fresh (both character and type wise). I'd like to see other mons getting the big kills and it looks like Gmax Gengar is gonna change that. 8/10 for now.

 

[mehgoespoke]

does anyone know what is the OST when Pikachu uses Thunderbolt and misses Hawlucha when he does his sky attack? and the one that starts when Pikachu is knocked out and Ash brings him to the side and continues through Lucario and Grapploct's battle?

 

[nickdt]

So after having seen the battle, i can see it was an amazing fight. Only wish Sirfetch'd would have taken down Hawlucha, then it and Pikachu soften up Grapploct (Since basically that one hit KO from Lucario was BS) for Lucario to take it down.

I also think we have seen some future movesets for Sirfetch'd as well.
I feel like Brutal Swing is Staying and that either Fury Cutter or Night Slash are gonna be turned into Meteor Assault and the way Sirfetch'd used its Shield to block moves, i think its gonna learn Iron Defense as well at some point.

I also think Force Palm is there to go now Lucario has learned Steel Beam, with Double Team, Aura Sphere and Reversal staying (I think Lucario having Steel Beam alongside Reversal makes a lot of sense).

 

[Craiden]

Alright, I get the popular issues (Sirfetch'd not getting a win, using Pikachu, though against someone like Bea, I don't get that one really, and Mega-Lucario) but, for the most part, that was quite an interesting battle. I don't care for the -max gimmick, but this is the best it's been done in an animated medium to this point battle-wise, and Machamp able to still battle post -max was really nice to see. Ash probably felt...the most familiar to many past series viewers here as well with some of the tricks we saw here, so that's probably a good thing as well, but primarily, the character work in this episode was really good all the way around (and if I'm not mistaken, Leon's comment on wishing to see more of the battle was probably a self-aware one by the writers).

 

[PikachuSmasher]

Just watched the episode and I felt it kinda let me down. Let's start with the first thing, Sirfetch'd. We all knew it was Ash's third Pokemon yet it didn't do much losing to Hawlucha again. That's just pure disrespect to the whole arc it went through and I really hope it doesn't become the new Gengar. Also I hate Pikachu got the win, it's in the most PWC battles and has the second highest win rate in Journeys at around 75%, I would have liked a Gengar or even Dracovish win here because they haven't done anything. Next is the Lucario vs Grapploct showdown. Very anticlimactic. Considering Lucario's biggest rival is Grapploct, it one hit KO'ing it really sucked. The thing that really saves the episode is the Gmax Machamp vs Mega Lucario showdown. Seeing my childhood dreams fufilled really hit hard for me and the battle really was well animated. The last part where Ash and Bea promise to battle again may foreshadow she'll return again in the series. Overall, it was a decent episode that was saved by Mega Lucario. This episode is a 7/10 for me

 

[KrspaceT]

Okay let's see this thing. Without the sister coming home unexpectedly I have time to look this through

• Moving Reversal to his feet, nifty trick Lucario. I wonder if that's what Greninja can do with his Aerial Ace?
• Okay Korrina, thank you for explaining why Ash is doing that. Glad Goh can agree with the fans who think Ash should be using his other Journeys-ace. I mean Gengar would also be pretty good, with only Hawlucha being a problem
• The way that Night Slash worked does, again, seem set to hint at one day having Meteor Assault.
• I swear that Hawlucha exists just for trainers who try to fight Fighting with Fighting....
• You need EXTRA CRAZY IMPROV to fight Bea it seems
• The whole exchange asking about if Ash trains for that improv....is the way to speak of these two as opponents and opposites
• I'm guessing Bea caught what Riolu did last time....good thinking though Ash
• Sirknight and Gengar feel like they are specialized fighters that tend to end up in situations not suited for them.
• Grapploct took enough hits that the way that ended is fine IMO
• Will dub Korrina call Bea 'Bea-Kins' or some other nickname you think?
• Wish Dynamax v Mega was a thing in games.....
• The Lucario mega evolving OST....that an older one?
• The way Korrina talks of the G-Max move makes me think Bea's wins have been in Galar recently. Maybe beating Gordie or something...
• The synched Force Palm reminds me of a Z-move set up
• So I'm guessing Force Palm began Steel Beam. Hopefully Ash doesn't spam it like Force Palm....
• Bea's just....lifting a Machamp....
• And so the respect is earned.

 

[Silktree]

It’s basically the main Pokémon in a time of remakes.

Remakes that lack Mega Evolution.

The last part where Ash and Bea promise to battle again may foreshadow she'll return again in the series.

You might as well say that about Iris, too. There's really no point; Ash won't lose to either one of them, so why bother?

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

The last part where Ash and Bea promise to battle again may foreshadow she'll return again in the series.

Eh, Ash promises that to like 80% of the people he comes across, so I wouldn’t look too deep into it.

 

[Unireon]

The last part where Ash and Bea promise to battle again may foreshadow she'll return again in the series.

Eh, Ash promises that to like 80% of the people he comes across, so I wouldn’t look too deep into it.

Taking that promise as something more is just setting you up for disappointment.

I don't know why anime writers like to add these promises that the characters will never keep.

 

[RetroPokeFan]

I sorta couldn't resist watching the Bea two parter although I'm pretty much done with Journeys and I'm not surprised to see it all fall apart so fast in typical classic Journeys fashion. I know people on the forums are complaining about Pikachu again but if anything he was honestly the best part of it. The rest is either crushingly disappointing (the Mega/GMAX battle and them rushing through the first half to get to the meat and potatoes of the battle) or so awful (Sirfetch'd getting to battle only to have him lose right away) that it makes me think his Journeys team is a mistake.

I'm afraid Iwane's animation magic can't save this either because it's all smoke and no mirrors.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

The rest is either crushingly disappointing (the Mega/GMAX battle)

To me, that was the best part of the battle. What do you dislike about it?

 

[RetroPokeFan]

To me, that was the best part of the battle. What do you dislike about it?

I kinda don't know. I originally said I didn't really like how Lucario avoided all of Machamp's GMAX moves (which kinds sounds silly) but the long and short of it is that it it just didn't click with me at all and felt hollow. The ending to Volkner's battle felt more exciting to me.

 

[Sai]

I actually love that Lucario beat Machamp in its normal form. The 3-turn limit of GMax ran out and Lucario survived long enough and finished it off with the steel attack.

I kinda don't know. I originally said I didn't really like how Lucario avoided all of Machamp's GMAX moves (which kinds sounds silly) but the long and short of it is that it it just didn't click with me at all and felt hollow. The ending to Volkner's battle felt more exciting to me.

Lucario got hit by the first attack when Machamp struck the ground with its foot, but the reason it was able to block the second is for the same reason Machamp blocked Lucario’s first attack on it. The writers likely didn’t want either Mega evolution or Gigatamaxing to look better than one or the other (since Mega’s aren’t even in the current games) and then that followed with Lucario running up Machamp’s arms and beaming it in the face.

It is a real bummer Sir’fetch’d was done dirty but I agree the Pikachu vs Hawlucha fight was a really great part of the battle too people overlook simply due to it being another Pikachu fight. The animation through the whole episode I thought was Iwane at its best. On twitter people made animated gifs of the scenes with Lucario and Machamp and I can’t get over how good those select scenes were. I honestly think this episode is the best Journies has ever looked, the final part was also a throwback to Pikachu vs Tapu Koko.