Review JN132: The Finals IV: "Partner"

[Twilight-Kun]

Not sure why this series despises any Gigantamax that isn't Charizard

 

[Kairyu]

So, contrary to all the positivity here, I actually didn't enjoy this that much, aside from the final blow. Overall, this four episode long battle certainly does not surpass Ash vs Paul as being the best battle of the show.

To start with, that Eternatus sub-plot was just a complete waste of time and interrupted the rhythm of the fight. I think all of us would rather have that time spent on seeing Pikachu properly beat Libero Cinderace in normal forms instead of a rushed gimmick one-shot, as well as having the original 10 million volts vs Giga Charizard clash be uninterrupted in the last episode. Tomioka just worsened everything about the battle with that decision.

The battle itself in this episode was kind of ruined by the, in my opinion, atrocious choices of background music. For the majority of Pikachu vs Charizard, the music did not fit the intense action on screen and as a result I was anything but on the edge of my seat. The final clash with Mezase Pokemon Master playing was the only time everything felt good at the same time (animation, music, storyboarding).

Oh well, still happy our boy won in the end. Others have already mentioned the good stuff with the animation, companions and old mons appearing.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Jesus Christ. It's like you could feel all the tension, weight, movement and power of the Pokémon on-screen. No wonder they took so long getting these episodes finished up, it's like every single frame here is its own work of art. The show has had so many huge, well-written, well-animated battles over the years, it's hard to believe you could see something entirely new by now. But they did it, it was like a spectacular finale and felt like nothing before.

I applaud the decision of ultimately having Pikachu and Charizard in their regular forms at the end. The attention is drawn away from the mechanic's spectacle (which still got their chances to shine) and we're fully focused on the Pokémon's raw power. No shenaningans, just Pikachu's Thunderbolt. Seen countless times before, yet now feeling like something out of this world. Something similar had happened with Quick Attack minutes before, such a regular move on paper but so fast this time it was honestly scary. The idea of Pikachu going from fast and nimble to literal lightning-speed had never crossed my mind before.

Then there's the whole set-up and framing for those last moments. Pikachu's panting, everyone watching with no exceptions this time around, the brief glimpse back to his meeting with Ash, and of course all the Pokémon, which may look like a vision or flashback but it's rather a representation of what's actually going on for them (so all those previous cameos at Oak's Lab paved the way for such a scene to work so well IMO).

Nothing felt out of place or like it took more time than it should have. And speaking of pacing, seems like there were no ad breaks until the 17-minute mark or so, just wow. And they were delicate enough to not put the usual "Pocket Monsters" logo when the break began, since that would've hurt the moment. There was no department working in this episode that didn't commit to it to their fullest.

Edit: Forgot to talk about the sound. Kudos to them for using the BW arrangement of the title time, it has such a unique oomph to it I always appreciate. And then the original version of Mezase Pokémon Master, oldest trick in the anime books yet I don't mind at all, they've been clearly holding onto it because I think it's been ages since we last heard it as an insert song for a battle. As for the voice acting, it's one of those rare times where Ikue Ohtani deservingly gets the spotlight and I'm all for it. Not that Rica Matsumoto is left behind, it almost feels like she's mirroring Satoshi's own physical movements to achieve that kind of vocal performance.

There's so many more things I want to mention, the varying line-art thickness for the close-ups (something I've always felt is very defining of the "Pokémon artstyle" despite not being always used), this other animation technique that always marks the difference, the use of previous techniques Ash has developed over the course of the series without mentioning them because they're such a given by now (i.e. the way Pikachu jumps over Ancient Power), the genius use of terrain in a flat battlefield via running under the stadium's support beam, Oak's senryu and then Delia's own which almost feels like a nod to the viewers... and so much more that I can't really arrange it all into organized paragraphs.

But man, what a blast for a final battle.

 

[KrspaceT]

Not sure why this series despises any Gigantamax that isn't Charizard

I suppose Gengar isn't real to you

 

[a230]

I cried tears of joy. I've been watching the anime since i was 2 years old. I'm 26 today, all my life i've followed ash and pikachu and they finally win. A chapter is ending right now and i'm grateful to the anime crew for all thoses years. It is definitely the end for my boy ash, it feels like it. This episode will go down in history, the battle between my two favorite pokemon of all time was just perfect, there were some dragon ball vibe during the fight. After pikachu collapse, when he get back on it's feet with all the electricty it feel as if he became super sayan at that moment. That was just perfect.

 

[VetProf]

My only gripe is that they again threw in the Mimey retcon of saying it’s one of Ash’s Pokémon despite them pulling it out of their asses this series.

Genuinely don't think that matters here, considering that even mons like Larvitar and Solgaleo were shown in that scene. The point of that vision was to showcase Pikachu's companions supporting it, and I'd say Mr. Mime absolutely deserves to be there.

 

[flowerfun]

This was a solid conclusion to Ash vs Leon, though it does have some issues. Let's start with the positives, the animation was phenomenal, probably the best in the entire M8 (Which granted isn't really a high bar, to begin with, but still). That moment where Pikachu seemingly faints but is able to get up again by remembering that all the pokemon he meets across Ash's Journeys are cheering for him is the best part of the episode hands down, it's incredibly sweet and a great bit of fan service to the fans who were watching the anime from the very beginning, and then after that, they play a remastered version of the original season 1 opening over the finale duel between Pickachu and Charizard which was EPIC (Thought it's kind of ruined by the ending but I'll get to that later). The cameos of Ash's past companions were great too, again it's a nice bit of fan service to people who have been watching the anime since it started (Also we get to see Misty and Cillian in the Journeys art style which is nice). So overall a good episode and a pretty solid conclusion to Ash vs Leon, however, it has one major issue that brings it down; the ending.

The finale clash between Pikachu and Charizard is incredibly hype, the animation was stellar and they were playing the Japanese opening of season 1, it was hype and near perfection, but...then in the middle of that, the episode just cuts to Ash and Pikachu in a pokemon center and then the outcome of the battle is shown to us via a flashback. I really didn't like this, It seriously broke the momentum of the fight to me and it made the ending feel slightly anti-climactic, which isn't exactly the type of feeling you should get in the finale of a fight as big as this. Also, what was up with those claw things Dracovish had on its body? Is that seriously going to go unexplained???

So, this episode was a good finale to the fight, but the ending really brought it down for me.

Score:

8.8/10, Congrats Journeys, you managed to not disappoint me.

EDIT: Also, another thing, I thought weakness was going to play in this episode but weirdly enough it was completely missing from it. Maybe the song is going to play in another episode? IDK.

 

[Kurolegacy]

Genuinely don't think that matters here, considering that even mons like Larvitar and Solgaleo were shown in that scene. The point of that vision was to showcase Pikachu's companions supporting it, and I'd say Mr. Mime absolutely deserves to be there.

Difference there is Larvitar and Solgeleo are both Pokémon that Ash cared for for an extended period of time. Mimey is a Pokémon associated with his mother who the writers retconned into being Ash’s for literally no reason. And the point isn’t just Pikachu’s companions but his companions who had been his teammates and family through his time with Ash. Considering Mimey lacks this shared dynamic, it’s kinda the odd man out for being there.

 

[Gabo2oo]

The finale clash between Pikachu and Charizard is incredibly hype, the animation was stellar and they were playing the Japanese opening of season 1, it was hype and near perfection, but...then in the middle of that, the episode just cuts to Ash and Pikachu in a pokemon center and then the outcome of the battle is shown to us via a flashback. I really didn't like this, It seriously broke the momentum of the fight to me and it made the ending feel slightly anti-climactic, which isn't exactly the type of feeling you should get in the finale of a fight as big as this.

IMO that's one of the things that set the battle apart and made it unique, plus in some sense it shifts the point of view towards Pikachu's (who was on the edge of passing out, so his lack of awareness after the final clash is conveyed through this time-skip). The jump does feel weird when watching a raw version of the episode but have in mind there's an ad break at this point so this device actually takes advantage of that momentum break (and honestly I can't think of any other place where the ad break could've been placed had it not been like this).

 

[Blast]

Congrats Satoshi!!!!!

 

[flowerfun]

IMO that's one of the things that set the battle apart and made it unique, plus in some sense it shifts the point of view towards Pikachu's (who was on the edge of passing out, so his lack of awareness after the final clash is conveyed through this time-skip). The jump does feel weird when watching a raw version of the episode but have in mind there's an ad break at this point so this device actually takes advantage of that momentum break (and honestly I can't think of any other place where the ad break could've been placed had it not been like this).

That is a good point, but I still thought the cut felt weird and broke my excitement for a minute. I watched this on gogoanime, so it probably would've felt less jarring with the commercial break.

 

[Konja7]

Difference there is Larvitar and Solgeleo are both Pokémon that Ash cared for for an extended period of time. Mimey is a Pokémon associated with his mother who the writers retconned into being Ash’s for literally no reason. And the point isn’t just Pikachu’s companions but his companions who had been his teammates and family through his time with Ash. Considering Mimey lacks this shared dynamic, it’s kinda the odd man out for being there.

To be fair, Mimey has the family dynamic with Pikachu in Journeys.

I've understand you dislike the idea of Mimey as Ash's Pokemon, but Mimey appearing in Pikachu's dream isn't so weird (considering Mimey's connection to Ash's family).


PS: In itself, they've never said Mimey is Ash's Pokemon. Ash can use Mimey in battle, but Delia was who "order" Mimey to stay with Ash.

 

[LeonMagnus]

I notice that there is a slight difference between Ash’s Charizard and other characters’. Like Leon’s looks more brutish compared to his. In the friendship power up montage, Ash’s looks a bit more slender, maybe younger.

I remember how it was such a treat when they brought Ash’s Charizard back for the third movie came back for the gym battle vs Claire and for the Jhoto league and then Battle Frontier. Was a bit sad that he’s been reduced to what he is now and how he was used as viewership bait in BW.

He had some of the best development up there with Infernape and Greninja. I don’t particularly like Charizard in general, but I love Ash’s Charizard so much, would have loved if he participated in this with Pikachu but its all good I guess, he did get that movie centered on him with the slight retcon of the events.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

And so concludes the World Tournament. Man, what a show! I loved how intense the battle was and how the final showdown was completely gimmickless; nothing but raw power and skill and the bonds between friends. The animators really went full throttle here what with Pikachu running up and down the stadium and the way he traded blows with Charizard, which is extra impressive here knowing all the production issues the anime has been going through recently. Bravo, animators, bravo. The montage of Pikachu seeing all the Pokemon he's been part of teams with (including the ones that were released!) cheering him on was just such a heartwarming and awesome moment, as was seeing ALL the past companions watching the battle. The only gripe I have is that Cinderace went down a bit too quickly for my taste, but to be fair there wasn't really any other way for Pikachu to remain fresh enough to still believably beat Charizard, so it's a minor thing. Also, yay, I was right about Eternatus resetting the stadium's Dynamax Energy

Let's be honest, though, as happy as most of us are Ash won we're overlooking the second most important part.

Charizard lost.

Not only that, but it lost without beating any Pokemon. I still wouldn't call this a true jobber moment, though, because Charizard made Pikachu sweat for that win. This was more like how Sirfetch'd went down last episode: duck may not have knocked anyone out, but he dented Rillaboom so hard that Dracovish was able to finish it off cleanly and likely prevented another sweep ala Diantha.

I really wish more fall guy moments were like this because they're very uncommon.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

Can't say I had "Pikachu has a near-death experience and has its life flash before its eyes" on my anipoke bingo

 

[Fairy Type Arceus]

Based on his episode with Leon, seeing what new the world has in store for him. He may have won the PWC that was fought between Kanto to Galar but with the Pokémon world always expanding, there’s always something new to find.

True, but I think we can say this is the closest we'll ever get to the feeling of a series finale for pokemon. Nothing they ever do can come close to this again.

 

[kantoskies]

I don't think there's anything I can say about this episode that hasn't been said multiple times- but I'll do it anyways. WOW what a ride!!! The animation! All of Satoshi's friends watching! The scene where the only sound was Pikachu's labored breathing trying not to faint and seeing every main or major character this show has had in the last 25 years watching with baited breath, only to have Pikachu then imagine every Pokemon Satoshi has caught, only to then play the original version of Aim to be a Pokemon Master to finish off the battle.............chills.

Like...not the 20th anniversary version. Not the remastered Mewtwo Strikes Back version. Not the opening to the current series. The original 1997 first opening that as far as I know hasn't played in the show proper in what, over a decade? That sold it for me. It made the whole thing way more symbolic, more meaningful, and tied an even nicer bow on this battle to make it feel like a true culmination of the last 25 years of Pokemon animation.

 

[MeteorFalls]

Now I am sad that Ash will leave the series.

 

[Yankees4life]

Can you believe it? He's done it!!