Preview JN109: VS Kibana! Battle for Masters Eight!!

[Schemer99]

Special preview:

I have a feeling after seeing this trailer that Ash isn't going to lose. He may have a mini-crisis of faith while battling, but I think he'll probably pull through in the end. I would've preferred if it was a double-battle, but whatever. I also like the Pikachu-less roster here.

 

[MimeyTheKeeper]

...wait. So if Raihan is still in Master Class, what reason does he have for accepting a battle with Ash who is in Ultra Class?

I mean, Raihan gains absolutely nothing regardless the outcome of the battle: if he wins, then it's just the status quo for him; if he loses, then he for sure loses his place in the Masters Eight... Seriously, Raihan has nothing to gain and everything to lose in this battle!

Not to mention, I thought trainers can only challenge other trainers in the same class. Did they explain this at all in the episode that just aired?

We will probably see in the episode itself, it may be retconned somehow in-universe like "yes we stated that trainers only battle in-class, but because of reasons, Raihan as n.8 will battle Ash n.9..."

Others and also yours faithfully have addressed this in couple of posts in last few weeks.
Practical and storytelling reasons (if they go this way) are obvious - whole system is very complicated and non-intuitive to explain, especially regarding class switching. The highest member of lower class squaring it off with lowest member of higher class works much better.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

The presence of a Goodra already elevates this a little.

Also, it seems Dragonite did keep Draco Meteor.

 

[Sai]

Animation looks better than the Drasna fight at least. Maybe Ash will lose here, but then Lucario's power up won't have as much impact. Guess we'll see.

 

[VetProf]

Honestly, I'm glad that ranking up into Master Class is different than how ranking up works in the lower classes.

It makes sense for the lower classes to follow the system that they're currently using due to the sheer number of trainers there. Whenever Ash ranked up into a higher class by beating trainers from his current class, someone from the higher class has to drop down to make room for him. The show never brought any attention to that poor trainer that dropped down because they're probably just some random trainer on a losing streak that no one cares about. All that matters is that there's now a free slot in the higher class for Ash to get into.

But now that we're nearing the top of the pyramid, it'd be weird for Ash to rank up in the same way. If Ash gets into Master Class by beating someone from the Hyper Class, then it would be hard to ignore the random Master Class trainer that's gonna be bumped out of Master Class to make room for Ash. Of course, this wouldn't be an issue if Ash gets into Master Class by beating and replacing someone from Master Class. It'd make Ash's entrance to Master Class feel much more rewarding too.

...wait. So if Raihan is still in Master Class, what reason does he have for accepting a battle with Ash who is in Ultra Class?

I mean, Raihan gains absolutely nothing regardless the outcome of the battle: if he wins, then it's just the status quo for him; if he loses, then he for sure loses his place in the Masters Eight... Seriously, Raihan has nothing to gain and everything to lose in this battle!

By that logic, why does anyone in the Master Class have to battle anyone? They're already in the Master Class, so why can't they just sit there and wait for the end-of-season Masters Eight tournament to arrive? The obvious answers I can think of are that either they have to continuously battle other trainers to maintain their positions in the Master Class, or everyone in the Master Class is confident enough in their skills to accept any challengers coming their away.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Something people on Twitter have noticed: Ash is wearing both his Dynamax Band and Key Stone in this battle.

Spoiler

 

[Articfoxgamez]

Something people on Twitter have noticed: Ash is wearing both his Dynamax Band and Key Stone in this battle.

Spoiler

I can think of 3 reasons.
1. Rules are different for master class (and people challenging to get into master class) and they allow multiple Gimmicks.
2. Ash is wearing both so Raihan wont know which he uses (And more importantly us the viewer wont even though it feels obvious)
3. Ash is just keeping his options open in case he can't mega lucario in time (If its this one then he probably actually wont)
And i suppose there's option 4. He is wearing the dynamax band because it Galar so the artists figured he needed to have it on (Doubtful but possible)

 

[Yuukii]

Man the animation looks terrible. Why put Shinohara(?) on what should theoretically be Ash's biggest battle yet when he consistently outputs slideshows.

 

[Articfoxgamez]

It's a real reminder of my inability to tell quality when i think something looks good and then turn around to see multiple people saying it looks terrible.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

It's a real reminder of my inability to tell quality when i think something looks good and then turn around to see multiple people saying it looks terrible.

I personally think it's looking perfectly fine. Might need some rewatches, but I've definitely seen worse animation.

 

[KrspaceT]

I worry that this may end Dragonite's rank up clenching streak.

 

[Sai]

The only major battle with lackluster animation was the Drasna one where it was really noticeable. Bea, Marnie and Volkner looked great animation wise and hopefully this will look more like those and not like Drasna's

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

The only major battle with lackluster animation was the Drasna one where it was really noticeable. Bea, Marnie and Volkner looked great animation wise and hopefully this will look more like those and not like Drasna's

Really? Perhaps I don't have an eye for animation, but I liked that one.

 

[Sai]

Nah the animation was really bad, compare to the way the Pokémon were animated in Marnie/Volkner/Bea and even Korrina and Iris' battles and there is a world of difference.

 

[Adelon]

It's a real reminder of my inability to tell quality when i think something looks good and then turn around to see multiple people saying it looks terrible.

I bet they are the same type of people that complain about Sword and Shield graphics. Have these folks never played a crappy mobile game? Like Dragon Simulator or something? That mobile game is an example of genuinely bad graphics.

 

[puddleths]

I see they're having Raihan use his Galarian Star Tournament team, but I think I would've preferred seeing the auto-weather setters. It's just been dragons, dragons, and more dragons...

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

I see they're having Raihan use his Galarian Star Tournament team, but I think I would've preferred seeing the auto-weather setters. It's just been dragons, dragons, and more dragons...

Well Raihan IS a Dragon Type Specialist

But agree that I'm tired of Dragons

Can we see a FAIRY Specialist in the PWC?

 

[Beatsy Ray]

...wait. So if Raihan is still in Master Class, what reason does he have for accepting a battle with Ash who is in Ultra Class?

I assume Master Class battles are predetermined and not optional, like in Hyper Class. Otherwise there would be zero incentive for Leon to take any challengers. For example, Ash would have lost by default and ranked down if his missed his match with Marnie.

Why did they show Flint drop to 8th place in a recent episode only to reveal here that Raihan is in that position? I'd almost consider that a continuity error. Obviously they can explain anything they want with "it happened offscreen", but still it's such a pointless detail.

 

[Sai]

Why did they show Flint drop to 8th place in a recent episode only to reveal here that Raihan is in that position? I'd almost consider that a continuity error. Obviously they can explain anything they want with "it happened offscreen", but still it's such a pointless detail.

Not at all, Master Class members battle each other off-screen. Raihan could have lost to Flint or Flint could have fallen out of Master Class. It's obviously something the writers did purposely because episode 100 was only 9 eps before this one.

 

[puddleths]

Well Raihan IS a Dragon Type Specialist

Of course. And Duraludon was a given, so no escaping it completely. Just would've been nice to have Gigalith, Torkoal, and/or Sandaconda for some type diversity.