Review PG03: The Challenger

[SirOni]

The opening scene had me thinking that this was the Unova League because of the four doors facing a humanoid statue. It even had the from above view of the stairs that some of us thought was N's Castle.

Also I liked Agatha and Lance. Agatha sounded as gruff and nasty as I would have imagined and I'm a fan of Ben Diskin and whenever he gets to bring out his Jojo voice.

 

[AmethystLeslie]

The opening scene had me thinking that this was the Unova League because of the four doors facing a humanoid statue. It even had the from above view of the stairs that some of us thought was N's Castle.

I thought the same, too. I even checked the statue in the Unova Pokemon League (cuz that's just so happened to be where I'm at in my White 2 run) to compare the statues. They are similar, but different for the most part. Not the same statue.

 

[Dogasu]

The Elite Four are so ugly-looking here, wow. Plus some of the line readings (especially from Bruno) were so awkward. I think Lorelei did the best, though.

I felt exactly the same way. I think that, art-wise, Bruno looked the worst (though Agatha and Lance had their moments too) and that line where Bruno wonders why he lost was just soooooo poorly acted.

I also think that showing us a more poorly animated version of battles we saw in Origins three years ago was a complete waste of time. I personally would have liked to see a quick(er) montage of the E4 battles, and then have the main focus of the episode be on the battle between Blue and whoever the writers chose to be the Champion before him. At least that way this short would have actually been interesting.

 

[The Outrage]

The animation quality looked kind of bad in this one...which is surprising because its under 5 minutes. I mean, TPC really only had to shell out for 90 minutes of high quality animation in total for all these shorts...

Also what's with Blue being like "don't you compare me to that old man" comment?

I really hope we're done with the Kanto shorts...we had the entire Origins series in Gen VI so its such a waste that we're revisiting the same story. It's not like Blue's battle with the Elite 4 revealed anything that we couldn't already infer.

 

[FANG-TAN]

Bruno looked like a Fist of the North Star reject. With roided-out eyeballs.

Green Blue sounded like he held some contempt for his grandfather. Make all the "forgot his grandson's name" jokes all you want, but that aside, I never got the impression that he looks down on his grandfather in the games. And that bothers me because I know that this canon's likely not going to elaborate on this introduced plot element any further. lol

Please tell me we're done with Kantou, I know Blue defeated the Elite Four, but I really didn't need to see it, especially when it's only a three-minute montage. Episode 2 was neat because it showed what we didn't know took place offscreen.

 

[Matleo]

-what was that squid like pokemon Agatha used that though Rhydon before she realeased Gengar?
It didn't looked like Arbok more like a Octilery or Tentacruel.
Maybe hint to a new pokemon or a mega?

- why cant they make teleport work this in the games?
First turn dissapers and next turn gets priority on any other move it uses and have that is has a % down side of working like "Protect" by every next use of it in battle.
(pokemon with Forewarn or Telepathy could be immune to it's priority)

 

[Esserise]

The only worthwhile bit of this episode was Gengar's entrance.

If the first episode was non canon even to episode 3 what was the point?

They needed an opening montage, it would seem.

-what was that squid like pokemon Agatha used that though Rhydon before she realeased Gengar?
It didn't looked like Arbok more like a Octilery or Tentacruel.
Maybe hint to a new pokemon or a mega?

I think you should take another look. It was definitely Arbok.

 

[technickal]

I don't know, I have mixed feelings about how they handled the pacing. On one hand, it makes the short feel rushed, but on the other hand, Blue defeating the E4 so easily would explain his inflating ego (only to be completely burst by Red beating him).

I also see where they were going by the E4 artstyle as well. They were trying to make them look formidable and intimidating, but the designs were so over-the-top creepy that they ended up looking like villains.

 

[Almonds]

It's nice to get a look at Green's league challenge when we've been playing as Red all the time. Also, the E4 looked so evil lol.

 

[Life]

I'm surprised that nobody has actually said they like it; I thought it was good. The directing was really cool in this episode, particularly in the Lorelei and Agatha battles, and I'm glad we got to see more than what was shown in Origins (which comparing the two, I think Generations blows it out of the water). I do agree that Bruno's VA sounded pretty bad compared to the rest of them, but that could have been because his lines were really weird.

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

@Esserise; Define need. Why would they need an opening montage to make non canon? Also was anything really wrong with my alternatives or just giving Blue a Charizard for that matter? If something labeled episode 1 is really fair to randomly expect the audience to assume it's not in the same universe as what's in episode three with no foreshadowing?

 

[AmethystLeslie]

I also see where they were going by the E4 artstyle as well. They were trying to make them look formidable and intimidating, but the designs were so over-the-top creepy that they ended up looking like villains.

I think they were trying to invoke that idea that they looked more villainous. Obviously the E4 aren't the villains in game canon, they were antagonists in the sense that they were hurdles for Blue to overcome.

 

[The Outrage]

Green Blue sounded like he held some contempt for his grandfather. Make all the "forgot his grandson's name" jokes all you want, but that aside, I never got the impression that he looks down on his grandfather in the games. And that bothers me because I know that this canon's likely not going to elaborate on this introduced plot element any further. lol

Yeah, that's what annoyed me--this wasn't at all hinted at the games, and if anything, Blue probably respected his grandfather.

There were so many things they could have done with Blue:

• As @Silktree mentioned, we could have seen how Blue coped with losing the Championship.
• Related to the above, XY mentioned Blue in the Kalos region. If they wanted an Elite 4 montage, couldn't they at least frame it as an adult Blue in the Kalos region, looking back at his old days as a trainer. At least then they could fit 30 seconds at hinting why he was at Kalos (was he going to school? was he doing the Pokemon-equivalent of a European backpacking trip?)
  
• We could have seen Blue early on his journey losing to Brock, and deciding to head back to Route 22 to train and catch a Mankey to help fight Brock--while there he meets Red and tries to compensate for his loss by challenging him to a battle. It would have been nice to see a side of Blue where he was insecure of his ability.
• We could have seen Blue before he became a trainer, and the five minute special could have chronicled exactly why he stopped being friends with Red.

Instead, we got four battles crammed into less than five minutes just as a set-up to when he finally battles his rival. It's not like we didn't know that he did all of this already and already guessed he a massive tool while doing it.

I don't really have that much hope for the rest of Generations if this is what they're offering to try to "hook" us to keep watching--but maybe it'll be better once we're not in Kanto.

 

[SirOni]

But there's one thing that did not fit with the games. In the games, Elite 4 members are encouraging the Trainer and honestly they praise him after defeat. Not that the way it was shown in the episode bothered me at all.

Yep, in the games they do praise the trainer for their skill and form. But don't forget that we play as Red, the one who learned to care and work alongside his Pokemon, and this here is Blue, the one who forgot to treat their Pokemon with trust and love.

 

[PinkIceFox]

Green is a tool, as always. Fits him so well. I wanna shove him in a locker.

The elite four felt more villainous than I would have thought.
Bruno looked like a monster.
Lorelei... look guys boobs! They altered her official design from her art quite a bit so guys could get some nice side boob. Also said side boob makes it clear she's not wearing a bra so... the girls really should not have that much lift to them due to their size. Poor thing, she could be one of my favorites if she wasn't used as a titillation device.
Agatha... scary old grandma! Scary!! It fits her so well. And her voice. Perfect.
Lance is a babe. And army of dragons. Honey this is gen 1 you have a fully evolved dragon, two of its previous form, gyarados and aerodactyl. *pats his head* Bless your heart, you try.

 

[Matleo]

The only worthwhile bit of this episode was Gengar's entrance.



They needed an opening montage, it would seem.



I think you should take another look. It was definitely Arbok.

then why did they not show it clearly? why it looks like having tentacles? where is the head? and color sheme is not the same.

 

[garrison-san]

where is the head?

There:

 

[Matleo]

why then only the back? and not its head? will it get something new?

 

[AmethystLeslie]

That is the back of Arbok's head.

 

[Rockapheller]

That is the back of Arbok's head.

It is not the back of Arbok's head but hood. And it's clearly an Arbok. I don't see how that is even arguable.