Preview JN108: Lucario and Gekkouga! The Wave Guidance of Destiny!!

[Kurolegacy]

Was that a.......Dragon Ball Z abridged quote? If so, nice. Props.

That it was.

 

[Unireon]

I doubt that Pikachu, or anyone, would defeat Lizardon.

Knowing the writers, they may succumb to shill the Orange Lizard once again.

It is pretty obvious that Satoshi is going to lose.

I imagined Gekkouga getting a Tv to watch the match, and acting like anyone watching a soccer game.

 

[Daren]

It is pretty obvious that Satoshi is going to lose.

It was also pretty obvious he was going to lose to Gladion.
I appreciate being cynical--I was calling Alola a probable loss later than many--but Sun/Moon tore the bandage off. He really does stand a chance, even if he might get Tobiad'd or something and lose to someone else after Leon.

Leon's also a game character and one who I imagine any professional writer would understand is a really bad candidate for an undefeated rival for thematic reasons.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I've considered the idea, but honestly I suspect Pikachu is going to beat Leon's Charizard if anyone does. There's a precedent since Drake, Brandon, and Kukui were all finished off by the 'chu (each of Ash's major victories), we already saw Mega overcome Gigantimax (but not Z-move VS Gigantimax), and Leon being the "world's strongest" means it would be thematically fitting for Ash's starter to overcome him.

Also instead of a weakness Pikachu had an advantage against Charizard but we all know that doesn't matter much, heh.
Although depends on who writes that episode I might change my mind (I have a bit of a conspiracy theory that Tomioka doesn't like Pika much so if he writes it I consider it a bit less likely Pikachu beats Charizard).

Yeah, out of Journeys's current lineup, Pikachu is the one who makes the most sense to take Leon's Charizard out, and not just for the reasons you've already stated: Lucario is at a type disadvantage and currently has nothing in its moveset that hits Charizard for even neutral damage, so it winning would be unrealistic at best; I believe very strongly that Dragonite is going to be the fall guy in the match against Leon in order to establish him as a threat, especially if its undefeated record is kept until that fateful battle, plus if Charizard is the one who KOs Dragonite it'd be an interesting reversal of the Drake battle where a Dragonite defeated a Charizard, though I get the feeling that Dragonite losing to one of Leon's non-ace mons would create far more narrative tension because it'd make everyone go "jeez, Dragonite's 100% winrate streak just ended! And if that was one of Leon's mere fodder mons, then imagine how much more powerful his Charizard must be..."; Gengar would actually be a decent candidate to take Charizard out due to it being the designated Gigantamaxer, but it's been too out of focus and has nowhere near the necessary development and setup that ace mons typically get, and the anime isn't exactly known for pulling dark horse aces and I'm certainly not expecting them to start now; and finally there's Dracovish and Sirfetch'd, who have zero gimmicks and have by far the least focus of the Journeys team, so they're easily the least likely to beat Zard. Sirfetch'd especially, since he has the type disadvantage and seems to be the weakest of the team at that.

All that said, I'd actually be okay with Pikachu winning if they do it in a similar manner to how he beat Drake's Dragonite in that it was made abundantly clear that none of Ash's Pokemon would have been able to beat it 1 on 1, but their combined teamwork slowly wore it down, meaning that effectively two thirds of the team took it down together. And I think this has a reasonably high chance of occuring, since there's no way they won't let Leon's Charizard knock out at least a few of Ash's mons (I'm personally expecting it to beat half of Ash's team at minimum), and in turn it's unlikely that they'll make Ash's mons go down in one hit like complete chumps due to how the writers are clearly aiming to make the Journeys team the strongest team Ash has trained, so by the time Pikachu comes out, Charizard will more than likely have taken a ton of damage.

Was that a.......Dragon Ball Z abridged quote? If so, nice. Props.

The reference is highly fitting for this specific scenario too, because Lucario (as a species) is essentially a dog version of Goku. To the point that the very first Lucario to have an onscreen appearance was voiced by Goku's VA in the English dub.

 

[Daren]

You know there's been some talk about them clearing up the vines so Greninja can go to Oak's lab and reunite with Talonflame, Hawlucha, and Noivern, but the dark and horrible part of me wonders if they might clear up the vines but find some other excuse to force him to stay away.

the anime isn't exactly known for pulling dark horse aces and I'm certainly not expecting them to start now

I think Swellow is probably the closest we had to one, and I'm not sure the staff realized he was an ace considering he never had that kind of narrative focus even if his record in AG was consistently great post-evolution.

And I think this has a reasonably high chance of occuring, since there's no way they won't let Leon's Charizard knock out at least a few of Ash's mons (I'm personally expecting it to beat half of Ash's team at minimum),

I actually wonder if the champion match might waive the "only one battle special" rule, partly so Leon can reveal to have all three to make it the "ultimate battle" like that interview said, but also so they can show Charizard requiring all three of them to go down just to make clear that Charizard is still the best and it requires superior numbers and tons of firepower to drop them.

 

[Unireon]

I appreciate being cynical

It is less about cynicism and more due to lack of development.

This team doesn't have enough focus and continuous growth to make it believable.

Satoshi winning would come more as a DeM/Asspull/Plot-Armor.

Regarding the Alola Finals, I was rooting for both.

Edit: I want the Vine-thing being done to have Gekkouga rejoin the team, not going to the ranch.
If the mentoring becomes recurrent; I may start tolerating, or even liking again, Lucario.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I actually wonder if the champion match might waive the "only one battle special" rule, partly so Leon can reveal to have all three to make it the "ultimate battle" like that interview said, but also so they can show Charizard requiring all three of them to go down just to make clear that Charizard is still the best and it requires superior numbers and tons of firepower to drop them.

The opening does show Ash wearing his Z-Ring, Dynamax Band, and Key Stone simultaneously, so that could be hinting towards him using all three gimmicks in one battle eventually. Though, granted, openings have lied to us before (hi, Charizard vs Reshiram), so it's certainly far from a 100% surefire confirmation.

That said, if Leon turns out to have all three gimmicks too but Ash ends up using all of his against Charizard, then that kinda creates the connundrum of what Leon might use his possible Z-Move against, since those can only be used once unless the Tapus reset the Z Energy and one would expect a clash of Z-Move vs Z-Move in a battle like this, and it's highly unlikely that the Tapus are gonna show up to make that reset, so it's not like Pikachu can use 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt against both his Z-Move opponent and Leon's Charizard. Mega Evolution is obviously not an issue, since the effect is permanent even if the user switches out, so Mega Lucario can easily fight and defeat Leon's potential Mega and still face off against Charizard later on in the battle while Dynamax lasts for three moves in the anime, meaning Leon's Charizard could take Gengar out with just one Max Move (only an acceptable outcome if Gengar took prior damage) and still retain the form for the rest of Ash's gimmicks. Maybe Leon ends up using his Z-Move against Dragonite?

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

The opening does show Ash wearing his Z-Ring, Dynamax Band, and Key Stone simultaneously, so that could be hinting towards him using all three gimmicks in one battle eventually. Though, granted, openings have lied to us before (hi, Charizard vs Reshiram), so it's certainly far from a 100% surefire confirmation.

That said, if Leon turns out to have all three gimmicks too but Ash ends up using all of his against Charizard, then that kinda creates the connundrum of what Leon might use his possible Z-Move against, since those can only be used once unless the Tapus reset the Z Energy and one would expect a clash of Z-Move vs Z-Move in a battle like this, and it's highly unlikely that the Tapus are gonna show up to make that reset, so it's not like Pikachu can use 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt against both his Z-Move opponent and Leon's Charizard. Mega Evolution is obviously not an issue, since the effect is permanent even if the user switches out, so Mega Lucario can easily fight and defeat Leon's potential Mega and still face off against Charizard later on in the battle while Dynamax lasts for three moves in the anime, meaning Leon's Charizard could take Gengar out with just one Max Move (only an acceptable outcome if Gengar took prior damage) and still retain the form for the rest of Ash's gimmicks. Maybe Leon ends up using his Z-Move against Dragonite?

I think that bit in the opening is just meant to show that Ash has access to all three, rather than him using all three. The openings aren't 100% of an indication of what will happen.

And if any of Ash's Pokemon are going to defeat Leon's Charizard, if they even let him, its gonna be Pikachu. Its not gonna be Lucario. Lucario will probably take down one of Leon's Pokemon, but its not gonna be Charizard. If they want Ash to become the world champion, its gonna be with Pikachu. Generally most of his biggest accomplishments have been with him. Drake, Brandon, and Professor Kukui were all defeated with Pikachu.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I think that bit in the opening is just meant to show that Ash has access to all three, rather than him using all three. The openings aren't 100% of an indication of what will happen.

And if any of Ash's Pokemon are going to defeat Leon's Charizard, if they even let him, its gonna be Pikachu. Its not gonna be Lucario. Lucario will probably take down one of Leon's Pokemon, but its not gonna be Charizard. If they want Ash to become the world champion, its gonna be with Pikachu. Generally all of his biggest accomplishments have been with him. Drake, Brandon, and Professor Kukui were all defeated with Pikachu.

Please read my comments again: I already said pretty much the exact same things about openings that you're saying here. Also, every time I've alluded to Lucario possibly beating Leon's Charizard (which I didn't even do in the comment you're quoting, by the way) were 100% intended as jokes, so please stop taking them so seriously.

 

[puddleths]

I still believe Ash will use all three power-ups against Leon. With Charizard mowing through G-Max Gengar and Mega Lucario and tanking a 10 million volt T-bolt before finally, maybe falling.

 

[BigDocFan]

Summary and Staff list courtesy of Dephender

In order to power up before entering the Masters Eight, Satoshi and Lucario decide to go see the Gekkouga Satoshi once traveled with in the Kalos region. Lucario challenges Gekkouga to a battle, but ends up being absolutely no match for it. However, it appears Gekkouga wants to tell Lucario something? And now, Lucario and Gekkouga's wave guidance overlap!

Screenplay 面出明美 (Akemi Omode)
Storyboard 齋藤徳明 (Noriaki Saito)
Episode Director 碇由衣 (Yui Ikari)
Animation Director 柳原好貴 (Koki Yanagihara)
Animation Director 左加田愛子 (Aiko Hidarikata)

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Satoshi and Lucario decide to go see the Gekkouga Satoshi once traveled with in the Kalos region.

You know, with how absurdly shilled Greninja was in XYZ, the summary being so nonchalant about it is rather cathartic lmao

 

[Enzo]

You know there's been some talk about them clearing up the vines so Greninja can go to Oak's lab and reunite with Talonflame, Hawlucha, and Noivern, but the dark and horrible part of me wonders if they might clear up the vines but find some other excuse to force him to stay away.

I always had this ~personal conspiracy theory~ that the ultimate reason on why these vines were created was because they realized the fandom would never, not once, shut the hell up about Greninja and would be a pain in the butt about him returning.

In summary, they decided on that because it's a way more reasonable explanation on why Greninja just can't return to Ash's team (as, at least to me, it's doesn't sounds that crazy that some remains of the rock are still a thing), as opposed to "Oh, it's cuz Ash couldn't be bothered to got to a Pokécenter and call Oak"

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

I still think in regards to Greninja they should have at least set up a storyline where Greninja stayed behind with Professor Sycamore to help protect the Pokemon at his lab after so many attacks rather than this vine problem.

 

[KrspaceT]

I always had this ~personal conspiracy theory~ that the ultimate reason on why these vines were created was because they realized the fandom would never, not once, shut the hell up about Greninja and would be a pain in the butt about him returning.

In summary, they decided on that because it's a way more reasonable explanation on why Greninja just can't return to Ash's team (as, at least to me, it's doesn't sounds that crazy that some remains of the rock are still a thing), as opposed to "Oh, it's cuz Ash couldn't be bothered to got to a Pokécenter and call Oak"

They didn't do that with the Super Saiyan Ape.

...I just legit think they thought the fanbase had some very different opinions than it actually does.

 

[Rath]

A power level beyond Mega Evolution

 

[Die-Hard Dragon Devotee]

A power level beyond Mega Evolution

And this......is.......to go......even further.....beyond!!!!

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

And this......is.......to go......even further.....beyond!!!!

Its probably going to amount to a DBZ reference in the episode itself.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

A power level beyond Mega Evolution

Think bigger, we can go with Dynamaxed Mega Lucario empowered by Bond Phenomenon performing Corkscrew Crash and still failing to beat that fucking Charizard because we all know he will

 

[Daren]

I have no idea why but when I saw that screenshot my mind immediately went to the Lucavi transformation sounds from Final Fantasy Tactics.

I dunno, I prefer winning the protagonists through good strategy or dedicated training without unlocking a new super mode but I think we've got variants of that pretty much every series since DP starting with Infernape's buffed up Blaze.