Review PE06: The Wish

[PaperSplash]

That first half really was just a lore dump, huh? Well, Zinnia is the Lorekeeper, so I suppose it only makes sense for her episode. The voice acting was surprisingly good and I liked the battle at the end, but like every battle in Evolutions it ended far too soon.

Oh, and we got a nice Goldfarb remix of Zinnia's theme. That's something to celebrate.

 

[0cerge]

Why is a gacha mobile game the only place Pokemon protagonists are allowed speak?

Because there they are not protagonists but collectibles.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

This was beautiful! I’m so glad we can finally see best girl Zinnia animated and voiced, and she didn’t disappoint. She sounds and behaves exactly like I pictured it.

I really hope the woman in the flashback isn’t Aster, though; part of the intrigue is not knowing who she is or how she relates to Zinnia, and I wouldn’t want that taken away so nonchalantly.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

This was beautiful! I’m so glad we can finally see best girl Zinnia animated and voiced, and she didn’t disappoint. She sounds and behaves exactly like I pictured it.

I really hope the woman in the flashback isn’t Aster, though; part of the intrigue is not knowing who she is or how she relates to Zinnia, and I wouldn’t want that taken away so nonchalantly.

I recall an interview saying that Aster was the lorekeeper before Zinnia. Pokémon Adventures also offers the same answer.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

I recall an interview saying that Aster was the lorekeeper before Zinnia. Pokémon Adventures also offers the same answer.

Oh yes, I know that. But it was never clarified what her relationship with Zinnia was. There’s theories of Aster being her childhood friend, her mom, her daughter, her lover, it goes, and I kinda like it that way.

 

[RK9]

No wonder Barry's episode was so bad. They saved all the budget for this one.

I much prefer the Masters voice for Zinnia but this was a good casting too. Although I hoped we'd have something 'new' opposed to a direct adaption of the game events.

 

[Eitarou]

Spoiler

The hair and headband are a bit too similar to be a coincidence, I think.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Spoiler

The hair and headband are a bit too similar to be a coincidence, I think.

She looks like she aged about 40 years compared to Zinnia

 

[Almonds]

I liked this one much better than the previous episode. The best thing about this episode was the music. The rearrangement of both Zinnia's theme and the Hoenn legendaries were awesome.

I also liked the interpreted battle scenes of the lore of Mega Rayquaza stopping Primal Groudon and Kyogre. The story building on as Zinnia and May climb the stairs.

I like how they also showed May's face. I wonder if this is because there's no customization for ORAS?

Finally, the brief scenes of young Zinnia and possibly her mother. I like added scenes like these. It gives us a glimpse into her past and let us understand her as a character. Obviously it is still not enough information, but yet a nice touch based on what we know from the games.

So far, I'd rank the episodes as follows:
1. Episode 4 (Gen 5)
2. Episode 6 (Gen 3 ORAS)
3. Episode 2 (Gen 7)
4. Episode 5 (Gen 4)
5. Episode 3 (Gen 6 XY) and 1 (Gen 8)

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Spoiler

The hair and headband are a bit too similar to be a coincidence, I think.

That's not Aster. It's the head of the Draconid people. Probably the person whom Zinnia refers to as "Granny" in the games.

 

[Eitarou]

I never said anything about Aster?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I never said anything about Aster?

Sorry. I shouldn't have assumed.

 

[Silktree]

They dumbed down the lore.

Originally, they were a tribe of Dragon-type Pokémon Trainers that lived in Meteor Falls, in a time when meteors constantly showered the area and Primal Groudon and Primal Kyogre fought, until the super-ancient Pokémon were stopped by Rayquaza. A thousand years later, when a meteor struck what is now Sootopolis, Groudon and Kyogre were awakened. The Lorekeeper, standing with a rainbow stone, wished for Rayquaza to return. When it returned, that wish allowed Rayquaza to Mega Evolve.

Rayquaza was able to defeat the Primals without Mega Evolving at first. That is how the Draconids came to have a bond with it in the first place. So Mega Rayquaza is actually over the top for stopping the Primals, and the greater threat is the meteoroid.

It's weird how the Primals and Mega Rayquaza don't even exist in the Switch games, but then that also holds for Mega Lucario which is part of the main anime (although I doubt we'll see it all that much).

 

[FelipePR]

I was hoping we'd finally get to see Aster, but no (unless she's that woman we saw young Zinnia with).

Aster has always been an implicit character, I don't see why it would be any different here. In the end, Asher was there, wasn't Whismur?

Animation-wise, it's much better than last week, but still boring in that it's yet another direct adaptation of a game event.

Indeed, this is just an adaptation of a game event, while, at least in chronicles, the proposal was to tell stories never seen before. That is, stories that occurred in the course of the game but that were not explicit to the player, at most referenced. But I'm not sure about what was promised in Evolutions. And, in any case, this episode was a great prequel to Episode 9 of Generations.

I guess May is the favourite child as she got both her face and some (grunting) voice lines this time which is more than most other game protagonists.

Her grunts in portuguese are so strange that I wish they didn't even exist. But yes, it's always nice to see some protagonists show their faces.

Do we have independent confirmation for that?

The stuff you read on Aster's bulba wiki page was added just now by this editor, and I can't say how reliable he is.

I don't think so, for me the intention is precisely to leave it implicit. Maybe or not, some time from now, in an interview, some producer will say: Yeah, guys, that was Aester. But maybe this editor knows something we don't know.

Can we talk about how badass May's Team is?

Aggron, Altaria, Mega Swampert, Mega Salamance! Damn Girl!

I think the selection of Pokémon she used against Rayquaza was pretty cool, none of them are genuinely a bad matchcup. And Mega-swampert's Ice punch was a great punch, Lol.

 

[Sakuraa]

I put off watching this one on account of the fact that I hate Zinna, and honestly I think this episode just reignited my hatred for her. This b is easily one of the worst characters for me. Ngl, May being here and being amazing was the only thing that kept my interest.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I put off watching this one on account of the fact that I hate Zinna, and honestly I think this episode just reignited my hatred for her. This b is easily one of the worst characters for me. Ngl, May being here and being amazing was the only thing that kept my interest.

What exactly do you hate about her?

 

[Sakuraa]

What exactly do you hate about her?

Her character was beyond annoying and unlikable. Just like in this episode, I found her selfish; only concerned about what she wanted to do.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Her character was beyond annoying and unlikable. Just like in this episode, I found her selfish; only concerned about what she wanted to do.

In that case, I bet reading Pokémon Adventures version of her would probably just make you hate her even more. It certainly did that for me.

 

[Sakuraa]

In that case, I bet reading Pokémon Adventures version of her would probably just make you hate her even more. It certainly did that for me.

I haven't read Pokemon Adventures in years, but I had pondered reading the ORAS chapter since I loved the original RS books. Now I'm really glad I never read it.

 

[FelipePR]

Hey, I'd like to point out something that seems to have been overlooked. And that is, the difference in the protagonist's maturity (both in the exposed personality and in the physical aspect) in relation to the her original version in ORAS.

Undoubtedly, ORAS was the game with the most childish main characters, especially regarding the promotional material for the games, which discouraged me at the time. Notwithstanding, in this special, we have a much more serious and full-blown protagonist, I wonder why this change of perspective?

Could this be because the game was focused on attracting new players (children) while relying on long-time fans' nostalgia? And, in turn, Evolutions is primarily aimed at longtime fans? Or is it just because this episode reports a more serious moment and the end of the journey?

Note 1: I can't say that I appreciated May's overall appearance in this special, as despite her maturity, she looks very skinny and bony / angular. Please Pokémon Company, feed better this lovely girl.

Note 2: For those who doubt what I say, here's a screenshot of PE06 and the promotional trailer for ORAS.