Review JN123: The Semifinals II: "Dazzle"

[flowerfun]

The thing is, the actual effort was always planned to be invested in Ash's battles. The original Masters 8 plan was to animate only Ash's fights (a poor decision imo); it wasn't until late in development that they decided to do everyone's battles, which partially explains the overall lackluster quality of everything outside of Ash's battles.

Source?

 

[Alola]

Source?

Reddit - Dive into anything

www.reddit.com

 

[Kurolegacy]

Source?

It was in an interview around the time that the Masters 8 started. Don’t remember which thread it was brought up in though.

 

[Imtnt]

Excuse me but that debris caused minimal damage at best. That was nothing. Cynthia's Pokemon could definitely survive it considering how Gastrodon was unfazed by those much stronger attacks from Iris' Excadrill due to its tanky stats and its flexible body that can easily shake off physical impacts.
It was pretty clear to me the writers thought they had to give Ash at least one moment to shine somehow, so it didn't look completely like he was at Cynthia's mercy. Unfortunately, it was they only moment in the battle that wasn't written well if you ask me because we know from Cynthia's battle against Iris how tough Gastrodon actually is and that it would have finished off Excadrill if the latter hadn't been lucky with his Horn Drill.

Don't know.. I thought it was a very good way to state Pikachu is in a higher level. And one of the momwnta Cynthia wasn't expecting Ash's next move (add to that Pikachu blocked Hypnos..). Though in general she knew Pikachu will stay till his very end.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

 

[Gabo2oo]

I always complain about slow-paced battles and lack of dynamic choreography but this is an example where it's perfectly justified. The whole thing felt very tactical and planned from Cynthia's side, and with all the switch-ups there wasn't any chance for anyone to really get "into it", so to speak.

I wasn't too fond of Cynthia messing up against Counter Shield at first (how could she not predict the electricity would stop Hypnosis?), but now that I think about it, Ash using Counter Shield before Hypnosis rather than as a response to it gives us a moment where he's actually planning rather than improvising. So I think it's for the best in that sense.

My only real issue with the battle was how passive Ash felt when Dragonite fell asleep. Just snuck up a small line about him not wanting to switch or something, but come on, three Dream Eaters in a row with little to no action from his side is ridiculous.

Shoutouts to the animators for giving the illusion that Tracey is actually vocalizing at times.

 

[Reborn Talonflame]

Another thing I’ve enjoyed is Pikachu’s involvement so far in the PWC.
I think it’s nice they are showing that Pikachu is Ash’s go-to enforcer when things are rough, turning the tide, providing many versatile moments with alternating strategies, and genuinely being enjoyable to watch. It’s like Pikachu here is the personified structure of Ash’s techniques, experience and moments all compiled into one for these moments.
What’s more is that people in the audience acknowledge this, they establish that they’ve come a long way. Sure, other members need their time to shine, however Pikachu playing a pivotal role in Ash’s toughest moments makes me happy.

Not entirely related to what was just said, this is more-so praise to S&M; giving Pikachu Electroweb in place of Electro-Ball is one of the best decisions the writers have ever made.
Electro-Ball was basically just Thunderbolt…except, in the form of a ball…so you had the same move in essence.
Electroweb has utility, really freshening things up, and I’ve seriously enjoyed watching Pikachu over the course of S&M and Journeys, with the latter making some really cool uses of it.

 

[Sai]

https://twitter.com/TBlader497/status/1566520318457483268

While people wondered about this, if you watch the clip, the two boulders explode in Gastrodon's face right after the Quick attack. So I don't see why people are surprised it went down.

Good thing the writers didn't have Pikachu use Thunderbolt on a ground type.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

https://twitter.com/TBlader497/status/1566520318457483268

While people wondered about this, if you watch the clip, the two boulders explode in Gastrodon's face right after the Quick attack. So I don't see why people are surprised it went down.

Good thing the writers didn't have Pikachu use Thunderbolt on a ground type.

Gastrodon should still be able to take those.

 

[Gabo2oo]

While people wondered about this, if you watch the clip, the two boulders explode in Gastrodon's face right after the Quick attack. So I don't see why people are surprised it went down.

The fact you've been rewatching it quite a few times pretty much explains it. It makes sense, but it could've been shown more clearly.

 

[Knightwolf09]

Gastrodon should still be able to take those.

Pretty sure two rocks hurled right into your face isn't something you can just shake off. Then have those 2 slammed into your face once more but something tackling it

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Pretty sure two rocks hurled right into your face isn't something you can just shake off. Then have those 2 slammed into your face once more but something tackling it

But it’s bulky

 

[Sai]

The fact you've been rewatching it quite a few times pretty much explains it. It makes sense, but it could've been shown more clearly.

I pretty much figured the weight of the boulders plus Pikachu's attack smashing into them contributed to the blow back of it. I guess for some the way it was animated wasn't as clear though.

 

[Imtnt]

I pretty much figured the weight of the boulders plus Pikachu's attack smashing into them contributed to the blow back of it. I guess for some the way it was animated wasn't as clear though.

I know if Pikachu blows the rocks with his attack it must be powerful one.. so The animation was ok, mabe not from the side of Cynthia not respoding to all of this

 

[Knightwolf09]

But it’s bulky

It's still rocks to the face. That crap hurts

 

[Twilight-Kun]

It's still rocks to the face. That crap hurts

Not when your entire gimmick is absorbing blows:

Gastrodon! Sea Slug Pokémon! Water/Ground-type! Although its body is squishy, it's remarkably resilient! The softness of its body helps absorb the force of impacts!

The heck kind of force is Pikachu hitting them with to cause them to explode like that though? Usually it needs Iron Tail to pulverize rocks to that degree

 

[Sai]

Retroactively I like that this makes the Excadrill vs Gastrodon battle make fit more. Excadrill kept bouncing off Gastrodon barely delivering damage and Iris had to use Horn Drill to take it out.

Pikachu's power level >>>>>>> Excadrill.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Not when your entire gimmick is absorbing blows:



The heck kind of force is Pikachu hitting them with to cause them to explode like that though? Usually it needs Iron Tail to pulverize rocks to that degree

This! 100%
It would have been OK and understandable if they had given Ash that one moment to shine and to impress Cynthia with Counter Shield. But that quick win over Gastrodon was really unnecessary and cheap. As @Twilight-Kun already pointed out by quoting the Pokedex, Gastrodon's strength is to absorb physical impacts.

 

[Alola]

The heck kind of force is Pikachu hitting them with to cause them to explode like that though? Usually it needs Iron Tail to pulverize rocks to that degree

The same force it used when its Quick Attack against Bea's Hitmontop caused an explosion during its battle with it, apparently.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Did someone from these forums join the writing team?