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Review S16 EP08: Lost at the League!

Unpopular opinion coming:
I enjoy fillers.
Or at least I prefer enjoyable fillers to boring non-filler episodes.
I also like Axew. He was adorable in this episode, so were all those Trubbish. So I liked this episode, don't sue me.
 
Unpopular opinion coming:
I enjoy fillers.
Or at least I prefer enjoyable fillers to boring non-filler episodes.
I also like Axew. He was adorable in this episode, so were all those Trubbish. So I liked this episode, don't sue me.
I'm saving my opinion on the league as a whole until the end of it so I don't need to remember which things are spoilers or not to post, but on this I think the episode itself is great, just that when you consider the overall amount of focus on the other events in the league (up till now lets say) it comes off as wasting time that should have been spent elsewhere, hence the negative reception.

It's what the episode means for the league storyline more than the actual episode to me.
 
What's really strange about them only proceeding to just Round 3 is that Cameron is shown to have another battle (Ferrothorn versus Amoongus), which must be a mistake, as he couldn't have two battles in a single round.

Besides that, I enjoyed this episode for what it was. It was refreshing, comical, and engaging to me. It also provided the atmosphere of the audience outside of spectating, and not just competitors, which is important, as it gives the League more of a dimension. What I'm dissatisfied about is the fact that it cuts through just to cater itself, and doesn't show off any other battle in the second round than Cameron VS Bianca. I don't even mind the positioning of it that much, but I retain my initial thought that it would've done better at the start of the League.

It's sweet seeing a troupe of people from a small town coming to cheer on a boy valiantly just because he cleared to the third round. I thought that was a great dynamic to have in place, as it does occur, and that their antics of storming through stalls to collect delicacies was amusing in addition.The 3-3-7 clap was good to use, as its rhythm works well. I don't even think they mention the town's name at all, though, odd. I like the name Russet in addition.

I also loved how Ash and Stephan, even as good friends, know either won't go down without a fight. I wish we saw more of Scraggy's battle though, especially since Ash was commenting how awesome Scraggy was to Iris and Cilan.

Cameron calling Ash and Stephan "clueless" was a funny move, due to the slight hypocrisy in it. Still, I'm glad there are events like "Fireworks Day" scheduled in the League. More variety is pleasant, you know. It's also humorous how they think he's rushing off out of the League, when they remind him of his place in the third round, because you wouldn't put an action like that past Cameron.

The concept of Axew getting lost in itself is rather tedious, but I like how they used a bright red balloon hovering in the air to that effect. It would be the sort of thing a baby Pokemon would be lured into following. Also, the Garbador who provides for the Trubbish in the alleyway with apples, and then balloons brings up such an adorable relationship between Pokemon that we should see more often. I think it's pleasant how the others comfort Axew when they find him, and how they still defend Oshawott after they figure out what he did, and of course, Ash defending him too, and apologising along with him.

Virgil's commanding tone using the Soothe Bell was peculiar in my view, as it doesn't sound like he's using something to calm someone down. Maybe it's just a firm approach, either way, I'm glad they showcased a Soothe Bell. I was fond of the interactions between him and Bianca as well.

It was generous of them to give the Trubbish more than just apples, or so it seems, in that box as an apology gift, and having the Firework Day was a great way to finish off the episode. Poor Cameron, having to pitch his tent again and again after it being collapsed, though, but even in the end, he was able to enjoy them too. The Ash VS Stephan battle is promising enough, and I look forward to it.

A refreshing episode with an intriguing perspective, in my view, so I found this one alright.
 
I like how we never actually SEE Axew jumping out of Iris' hair to chase the balloon, since after Axew first notices the balloon when it's in Iris' hair, the scene changes to Ash and his rivals. Iris and Cilan were in a hallway full of people also coming from the arena. I know Axew is really small, and a lot of people were absorbed in their conversations about the matches and whatnot, but I find it hard to believe that nobody behind Iris and Cilan noticed Axew jumping out of Iris' hair and running away. Of course, if somebody had noticed that happening, and alerted Iris, the plot would be resolved in about 10 seconds, so...
Of course, it seems like it's either this or more of the meh-tier battles in the league, so pick your poison.

One thing I did like about this episode was the new anime remix of Route 4's theme from the Unova Games. This was the 1st episode I heard it in; I'm guessing it was made for Season 2. I do like it better than the 1st anime version that's been used since the beginning of BW, but, it seemed to be removed from the dub. Of course, every episode has great music. I digress.
 
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Ok, let me be straight: This episode was a complete waste of time.
They could have used this episode to give us some full battle action, but no, they're wasting it on a pathetic, badly-written and boring "Find Axew for the 1.000th time"-plot. I mean, when is that Pokemon going to be less childish? After a long, adventurous journey, it still seems to be helpless when getting separated from Iris. Oh dear, what a poor character development! And by the way, Axew, how about just going back to our heroes' room and waiting for them there? Another example of how badly-written the whole thing was!

But if you thought this was it, you were proven wrong! The most blatant mistake was this: When the league started, we had 128 competitors, so after Round 1 there should be 64 left, of course. This again means that after Round 2 (at the time when today's episode started) there should still be 32 trainers left and not just 16 as the episode obviously wanted to make us believe.
Some user here said that the qualifying round doesn't count as "normal" round. But if that was the case, it would mean that the writers deliberately shipped a complete round, which would be ridiculous! Skipping a round of potentially interesting battles just to give us this awfully boring episode would just be outrageous. But on the other hand, well, that's the Unova League we're talking about, so what else can we expect?

And by the way, where is that wannabe-champion Alder? During the wonderful Sinnoh League, Cynthia was present from the first till the last second because she knew exactly what she had to do as the Champion and she had a genuine interest in those battles. This is just another sad aspect that, together with all the other mistakes and poorly-written battles, makes the Unova League the worst league ever.

I've got nothing more to say.

The Sinnoh League was never consider to be a wonderful League and just because Cynthia was at the Sinnoh Pokemon League does not mean it was all that great or wonderful.

As for the Unova League it was the best Pokemon League, but this episode didn't really need to happen at all and does not mean that the Best Wishes series went downhill either, the writers made a big mistake with this filler episode.
 
I didn't like how there was very little battling in this episode, though I did like the humor moments that it did have.
Axew getting stuck in between fans running around in excitement, and every time Cameron's tent kept getting ran over and his reactions.

I would have liked if Scraggy's battle would've been extended to a full viewing of it.
 
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