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Review JN115: Opening! Masters Tournament!!

Leon is suppose to be the best of the best of the Champions. Despite people hating on him for being “unbeatable” he’s the only one of the Champions who does NOTHING but battles and is honestly the most realistic one of them to be at the top. I say this as a complete Cynthia simp. Story wise Leon should not struggle at all against Alain and they were additionally paired up for a Charizard match up (Alain admitted he enter to surpass his Charizard) and to not oversaturate the league with similar Pokemon. We already have 3 trainers using Dragonite.

Ultimately the problem comes down to how over the top the Mega Specials were written to portray Alain’s strength with his Charizard specifically.
However, with that being said, the more that they hype Leon up as this unbeatable obstacle, it’s just gonna result in it being all the more unbelievable that Ash pulls it off as that’ll be the moment that his plot armor runs out. Also, if the writers were concerned with redundancy, they wouldn’t have made use of 3 different Dragonite for this tournament in multiple different battles.

And even if the Mega Evolution specials wrote his Charizard in an over the top manner, that’s still anime canon and so, as a result, it going down in its mega evolved form like it did without even so much as making Leon’s sweat is both a terrible inconsistency and an insult to Alain who made it to the stage of top 8. Alain wasn’t gonna win but at very least have him go down in a way that’s respectful to the character, giving a good battle. That’s the bare minimum the writers should have done yet they couldn’t even bother with that much.
 
However, with that being said, the more that they hype Leon up as this unbeatable obstacle, it’s just gonna result in it being all the more unbelievable that Ash pulls it off as that’ll be the moment that his plot armor runs out.
This is why I don't think Satoshi has any chance to win.
His choice to exclusively use the current team just makes it even more implausible.

And I will refuse to acknowledge it if it ends up happening.
 
However, with that being said, the more that they hype Leon up as this unbeatable obstacle, it’s just gonna result in it being all the more unbelievable that Ash pulls it off as that’ll be the moment that his plot armor runs out. Also, if the writers were concerned with redundancy, they wouldn’t have made use of 3 different Dragonite for this tournament in multiple different battles.

And even if the Mega Evolution specials wrote his Charizard in an over the top manner, that’s still anime canon and so, as a result, it going down in its mega evolved form like it did without even so much as making Leon’s sweat is both a terrible inconsistency and an insult to Alain who made it to the stage of top 8. Alain wasn’t gonna win but at very least have him go down in a way that’s respectful to the character, giving a good battle. That’s the bare minimum the writers should have done yet they couldn’t even bother with that much.
Despite it being inconsistent, they’ve arguably done much worse with Ash, like what happened between generation 4, and 5 and how Pikachu’s performance varies.

I personally just think the Mega Specials were just not written too great from a foundational standpoint, so if they want to retcon that whatever. It seems they totally retconned Ash-Greninja for the sake of it not taking focus way from Lucario. In this case they decided to retcon Alain’s more exaggerated feats and sacrifice him to drive the plot. We have to accept that the writers want to illustrate that Ash has surpassed Alain at this point without a direct battle.

Similar to Todd, he’s kind of served his purpose as the poster boy of Mega Evolution so there’s really no reason to keep him around much, especially since his story is over.

I think the thing they kind of foreshadow with Leon vs Ash and how Leon reacts to Ash in battles is that Ash does unpredictable things. If they focus on that aspect of how Ash battles and that’s the key to him defeating Leon, I’d definitely accept that route.
 
As it turns out, they saved the interactions between Ash and Alain for the, you guessed it, the after-episode comics...



I get that this is probably down to budget and time constraints, but I would really much rather these comics be presented as animated epilogues in the show itself, similar to the way Pokemon SM did it.
 
As it turns out, they saved the interactions between Ash and Alain for the, you guessed it, the after-episode comics...



I get that this is probably down to budget and time constraints, but I would really much rather these comics be presented as animated epilogues in the show itself, similar to the way Pokemon SM did it.

Seriously, why don’t they just do omake shorts after each episode to present these kinds of things? Still, it’s definitely annoying that they don’t present these kinds of interaction in the actual episode.
 
Alain using the Mega Ring from Lysandre, which absorbed Mega Evolution energy to strengthen Charizard makes sense now. He was getting pelted by Legends and super effective moves and nothing. The new Mega Ring doesn't strengthen so he had to lose to the best trainer.
 
Alain using the Mega Ring from Lysandre, which absorbed Mega Evolution energy to strengthen Charizard makes sense now. He was getting pelted by Legends and super effective moves and nothing. The new Mega Ring doesn't strengthen so he had to lose to the best trainer.
The ring just collected the energy. It wasn't used to empower Charizard.
 
Watched thhe epiaode twice, even combined the length of the matxh was too short. I think the fact first clash of Grass types with Gmax was good foe the most of it, with Alain making moves to counter the Gmax and losing to the most skilled pokemon. But the rest realy.. was not great. maybe too little of the real thing. If it was Ash's fight we were getting 1 or 2 episodes just for the Charizard clash.

But then again it was necesarry cause of they wanted it to be short openning match. They made the best by showing us Alain did not have a chance just like any other trainer before him. And his dream to show his Charizard as the most powerful in the world will not be the writers interest in any future.

There were good moments to pump the hype, though not a good episode overall. We can move on with the bitter taste because they already told us the return of Alain will be just to be crashed in a short time in the episode.
 
There will be meltdown here no matter what happens in the final. If Ash wins it will called plot armor, if Ash loses, then back to XY&Z days.
That’s what happens when they write Leon in such a way that he’s treated as an unstoppable force that just tramples over everything in his way. Between how the writers have handled Ash’s team this saga and how they’ve handled Leon, they’ve written themselves into a corner that’s pretty much gonna test the limits of willing suspension of disbelief.
 
Legendary vs non Legendary. Very sick. Eventually Tobias dont matcht in the Top 8 because hes like Paul and dislikes Festivals and will mess with Leon private. Tucker and Spencer can come also to Galar with new Pokemon for example Galar-Darmanitan and for Tucker a nice Obstagoon and Perrserker but that ones are not so good for Tucker. What Pokemon Tucker should have? Eldegoss, Dubwool, Galarian- Weezing:confused:?
 
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As it turns out, they saved the interactions between Ash and Alain for the, you guessed it, the after-episode comics...



I get that this is probably down to budget and time constraints, but I would really much rather these comics be presented as animated epilogues in the show itself, similar to the way Pokemon SM did it.

If anyone's wondering what they're saying, it's something like...
Alain: "I've entrusted you my thoughts."
Ash: "I accept them!"
 
Finally got around to watching the episode. It sure was an episode!

I'll start off by saying that the introduction to the tournament was really, really cool. It actually did a good job of building up the excitement of the PWC. The way all the Masters Eight were gathered in one place, the introductions...it was so good. Especially when Ash decided to watch the battle from the stands instead of in the room with his fellow competitors. Very in character for him and fun to see!

And then the Leon and Alain battled ruined the whole thing. I'm seriously concerned about the way this tournament is gonna go if every battle is presented the way this one was. Was Alain getting pretty much one shotted by Leon kind of funny? Yes, because I don't care for Alain. But it was also kind of insulting. I said it in the preview thread, but really, what was the point of bringing Alain back just for Leon to wipe the floor with him? How can anyone fault the fans for seeing Alain and assuming he was going to have a rematch with Ash? If Leon was just going to embarrass his first opponent no matter what, they should've brought in someone else. Keep Raihan in the Masters Eight if that's what you're going to do.

This is exactly where nostalgia dumping just for the sake of nostalgia dumping doesn't work. I can fully admit I'm one of those people who loves to see old characters return, and in the past, have never cared if their returns have no real impact on the series. But that only applies when it's a short arc or only one or two characters at a time. This has kind of been Journeys' MO with older characters this entire time, and the fact that it's now bleeding into the PWC is so disappointing. It just feels like a lot of buildup for absolutely no payoff.

Also, what's the point of bringing in Hop this late? It's nice to see him, I loved him in SwSh, but at this point the impact is kind of lost. The game has been out for nearly 3 years, this series has been running for nearly 3 years. He shows up for Ash to mop him in one move and then just sit there to watch the tournament with Goh? The only thing more insulting than that is the fact that I'm now seeing Galar Pokémon just tossed in the background so they can make their anime debut without being properly introduced to them.

Everyone apologize to Iris, because she was probably the best character in this episode for me. It was fun to see her excitement for the tournament, and her interactions with Cynthia and Diantha were super cute. It was also cool to watch her interact with the rest of the Masters Eight. I know she's more than likely losing to Cynthia, but I really appreciate the personality being shown off. It brings a lightness to this big stakes tournament that I really appreciate.

Hopefully the next few battles pick it up, because this one was a disaster and the PWC is on a very dangerous road if this continues.
 
Hopefully the next few battles pick it up, because this one was a disaster and the PWC is on a very dangerous road if this continues.
I wouldn't personally call it a disaster. It definitely wasn't perfect, but it was good enough that I could personally enjoy it just fine. But I'm sure the next battles will be better, since we can have entire episodes dedicated for them. This episode just suffered from the opening ceremony and the first battle being crammed into 20 minutes. The writers did what they could with the time they had, which quite obviously wasn't enough for a universally beloved opening battle.
 
It took a hit Ancient Power too
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I'm gonna say it: they killed off any sort of excitement they had managed to build up with this battle. The backlash is real and people are more cynical than ever regarding JN as a whole.

Also, as I've said here before: whatever credibility they had left was destroyed on a cataclysmic level.

Anyways, I wanna see how they will do this, because I'm now curious.
 
I'm gonna say it: they killed off any sort of excitement they had managed to build up with this battle. The backlash is real and people are more cynical than ever regarding JN as a whole.

Also, as I've said here before: whatever credibility they had left was destroyed on a cataclysmic level.

Anyways, I wanna see how they will do this, because I'm now curious.
All the other battles are getting full episodes, so they obviously won't be as rushed as this one.
 
However, with that being said, the more that they hype Leon up as this unbeatable obstacle, it’s just gonna result in it being all the more unbelievable that Ash pulls it off as that’ll be the moment that his plot armor runs out. Also, if the writers were concerned with redundancy, they wouldn’t have made use of 3 different Dragonite for this tournament in multiple different battles.

And even if the Mega Evolution specials wrote his Charizard in an over the top manner, that’s still anime canon and so, as a result, it going down in its mega evolved form like it did without even so much as making Leon’s sweat is both a terrible inconsistency and an insult to Alain who made it to the stage of top 8. Alain wasn’t gonna win but at very least have him go down in a way that’s respectful to the character, giving a good battle. That’s the bare minimum the writers should have done yet they couldn’t even bother with that much.
Couldn't agree more! You're completely right.
Alain's Mega Charizard X being (almost) OHKOed was extremely illogical and forced. But you know what will probably be even more unrealistic? Ash defeating Leon, the allegedly "unbeatable obstacle" with a super-duper, hyper, atomic bomb-like Aura Sphere from Lucario. I bet you that's exactly what will happen. Plot armor at its worst...

There will be meltdown here no matter what happens in the final. If Ash wins it will called plot armor, if Ash loses, then back to XY&Z days.
Tell me why I'm not looking forward to the post-PWC era....


Apart from the Leon vs. Alain controversy I noticed two things:
  • Isn't it kind of strange and disrespectful alike that Ash prefers to watch the battles from the stand instead of being among the greatest trainers on earth?? I mean I would literally die if I could be in that room and I think Ash should do the same, even if it's only out of respect for Cynthia :notworthy:, Lance and Steven
  • Could there be two different, unofficial groups in the Masters Eight? The renowned and experienced Champions (Cynthia, Steven, Lance, Diantha, Leon) and the "rookies" (Alain, Iris, Ash)? I thought so first because Iris was so eager to get a photo of Cynthia and Diantha and second because Steven was concerned about Alain not getting overwhelmed in his first battle. Maybe the the first group consider themselves as mentors for the others?
 
Please note: The thread is from 2 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
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