Preview JN125: The Semifinals IV: "Impact"

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

I feel like they made Aura way more powerful then they should have with Ash’s Lucario, because Lucario has two OP gimmicks while everyone else has one. Aura plus Mega Evolution automatically makes Lucario better then every other Pokémon. Like if Ash used Aura plus Mega against the Articuno he could of one-shot it.

 

[JinksChow]

Oh Cynthia, why would you go for Dynamax/Gigantamax over Mega Evolution...

The only trainers we have seen in the anime who have won with Gigantamax Pokemon are Leon and Ash, while Goh was the only trainer in the anime who has ever won with Dynamax Pokemon. Everyone else who attempted to use this gimmick would go on to lose their battle, and it seems that Cynthia will be no exception...

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Oh Cynthia, why would you go for Dynamax/Gigantamax over Mega Evolution...

The only trainers we have seen in the anime who have won with Gigantamax Pokemon are Leon and Ash, while Goh was the only trainer in the anime who has ever won with Dynamax Pokemon. Everyone else who attempted to use this gimmick would go on to lose their battle, and it seems that Cynthia will be no exception...

Is Dynamax cursed lol.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

You can count on that And as I already said, I will also be one of those using that argument because it's absolutely legit, reasonable and I can't see what's wrong with it.

It's not that there's something wrong with the argument that I have a problem with. I just have a problem with people trying to push the "Cynthia is the REAL Strongest Trainer In The World" narrative all the time. Yes, I get that the way Leon is written is frustrating, sometimes excruciatingly so, and I get that Ash's battles in Journeys have had their share of problems, but bad writing doesn't automatically invalidate Ash's or Leon's achievements.

Because typically such important Ash "victories" only work because of plot armor and suspension of disbelief but not because our 10-year old boy from Pallet Town was actually capable of defeating Cynthia.

We don't know how this one is going to play out, though, so you can't claim "plot armor" until everything is said and done. Granted, I get why you'd be worried, since quite a few of Journeys' battles have had Ash's Pokemon survive a truckload of punishment only to KO their opponents in one or two hits, and Lucario is an especially egregious offender, but there's still a chance that things won't go that way.

 

[Vengeful Ghost]

It's not that there's something wrong with the argument that I have a problem with. I just have a problem with people trying to push the "Cynthia is the REAL Strongest Trainer In The World" narrative all the time. Yes, I get that the way Leon is written is frustrating, sometimes excruciatingly so, and I get that Ash's battles in Journeys have had their share of problems, but bad writing doesn't automatically invalidate Ash's or Leon's achievements.

Indeed. I don’t like power scaling. I think it is a tool to serve the narrative. It’s all about the tension and impact on the characters, not some pseudo-science about why X character is better than Y.

It’s also why I tend to dislike the concept of “plot armor” since it is always used to discredit a character’s accomplishments. These characters aren’t real. Whoever wins is whoever the author wants to win, so what should be looked at is the drama that comes out of it all. Setting the stakes too high can be just as bad as setting them too low. Having a lot of buildup and not having enough payoff is also a problem.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Indeed. I don’t like power scaling. I think it is a tool to serve the narrative. It’s all about the tension and impact on the characters, not some pseudo-science about why X character is better than Y.

It’s also why I tend to dislike the concept of “plot armor” since it is always used to discredit a character’s accomplishments. These characters aren’t real. Whoever wins is whoever the author wants to win, so what should be looked at is the drama that comes out of it all. Setting the stakes too high can be just as bad as setting them too low. Having a lot of buildup and not having enough payoff is also a problem.

In addition to all this, powerscaling is purely a fan construct: pretty much every fight scene ever written focuses primarily on progression/culmination of a character or story arc combined with whatever the writer personally thought was cool.

Granted, writers should keep some degree of consistency and make the wins at least look believable and justifiable in-universe, but like I said, a badly-written fight should not invalidate the winner's victory.

 

[BigDocFan]

Summary and Partial VA list courtesy of Adamant

The second semifinals match of the Masters Tournament finally hits its climax as well! Satoshi is caught between a rock and a hard place, but refuses to give up as Shirona tackles him head on, trying to overpower him. Which of them will win this fierce match and obtain a ticket to the finals?!

Voice Cast:
Rica Matsumoto: Satoshi
Daiki Yamashita: Go
Ikue Ohtani: Pikachu

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Summary and Partial VA list courtesy of Adamant

The second semifinals match of the Masters Tournament finally hits its climax as well! Satoshi is caught between a rock and a hard place, but refuses to give up as Shirona tackles him head on, trying to overpower him. Which of them will win this fierce match and obtain a ticket to the finals?!

Voice Cast:
Rica Matsumoto: Satoshi
Daiki Yamashita: Go
Ikue Ohtani: Pikachu

Ash: help I’m struggling so hard
Lucario: I gotchu
Cynthia: loses
Cynthia: shocked Pikachu face

 

[El Squibbonator]

If those leaks are true, Togekiss is toast. I know type advantages aren't really a thing in the anime, but Lucario is Steel-type, which is basically Kryptonite for Fairy-types. If Cynthia wins I will be very surprised.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Preview:

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

BOOOO MEGA AURA LUCARIO BOOOOOO
ugh I’m going to hate this

 

[Singaporean]

Preview:

Going to be exciting, win or go home. Next week is the answer. Otherwise, Leon vs Cynthia might be inevitable which will be boring...

 

[Kairyu]

Very worried about the animation quality here. Some of those shots look okay, but some of it also looks absolutely horrendous, like that dynamax attack from Togekiss in the beginning. It's like it was launched with slow motion in 5 fps or something. Ugh. Not worthy of being the final part of a champion fight against Cynthia.

 

[Silktree]

Get this over with so that we can get to the good stuff already.

Project Mew, that is.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

They're not even trying to make Dynamax look viable anymore

Okay we get it, the writers hate Galar

 

[Kurolegacy]

They're not even trying to make Dynamax look viable anymore

Okay we get it, the writers hate Galar

Out of the 4 times that it’s been used in the Masters 8, it’s only won a single battle. Hell, it’s only ever even KO’d 1 Pokémon and that was with Leon vs Diantha. For their overuse of it in the Masteed 8, it hasn’t been very impressive.

 

[Sai]

Get this over with so that we can get to the good stuff already.

Project Mew, that is.

I don't know why you constantly downplay the Cynthia battle for weeks now, in all the previous threads you were saying how Ash wouldn't even battle Cynthia despite them being on the same side of the tournament bracket, or Ash would lose to Cynthia so he wouldn't battle Leon.

 

[El Squibbonator]

or Ash would lose to Cynthia so he wouldn't battle Leon.

Given that Ash only has Lucario left, while Cynthia has both Togekiss and Garchomp, that's looking like a possibility.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Given that Ash only has Lucario left, while Cynthia has both Togekiss and Garchomp, that's looking like a possibility.

Togekiss is weak to Lucario, and Garchomp already took a heavy hit from Sirfetch'd. Ash's chances of winning are very realistic.

 

[fidjnr]

Given that Ash only has Lucario left, while Cynthia has both Togekiss and Garchomp, that's looking like a possibility.

If ash can pull this off I think I can give ash a nickname the Houdini of the battlefield