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Review S17 EP42: Battling into the Hall of Fame!

This was a great episode. I'm definitely pleased with this one.

Well, it appears Bunnelby actually gets to do something today. Glad he gets to make up for his lack of activity in the last competition. And I really liked how Serena combined her attack with Ash's to make a more powerful combination attack. It was nice to see the teamwork in the battles. Okay, I’d like to address something. I don't get what's up with the Pokemon that TR steal; in this case Tierno's crew's Pokemon. If they were under the impression that they were being brought to a Pokemon Center, shouldn't they have thought something was up when they ended up in the woods? Not that I expect much realism in this show when the plot calls for certain situations..but whatever. Ah, back to my man, Bunnelby! Not only does he battle, but he helps to locate the missing Pokemon along with Fennekin. I just love how these 2 took over during this issue with Pikachu actually taking a back seat.

Also, I found it funny when Madame Cathrine said “Those are Pokemon and no matter what you say they aren’t vegetables”, simply because Bulbasaur is pretty much a plant. Just thought that was funny… Oh and the part where Meowth just admits how cowardly they are.

The actual battle was good. Squirtle and Tierno's dance moves were my favorite part of the battle. I'm glad Serena got to contribute. Sucks that Fennekin had to get hammered by Squirtle twice, but I figured as much anyway. At least she wasn't completely helpless and was able to take a few hits before fainting. I really liked Trevor using Charmander's Flame Burst to get extra damage on Pikachu in the battle. And it was great that Trevor and Tierno worked together to protect Shauna's Bulbasaur when it was charging its Solar Beam. Ash and Clemont did great at the end. It was nice to see the combinations they used to help each other out, specifically when Chespin grabbed Pikachu with Vine Whip. I am a bit disappointed that Pikachu was the only one to knock out the opponents, but at the same time I liked seeing Chespin in a more supportive role due to the fact that his species is so big on defense. I'm glad Ash's team won, but I would have been happy regardless as I like all of these characters.

I loved how Ash asked Tierno to teach him his dance battling tactics. I can only hope he ends up using them in the upcoming gym battle, cuz I think that would be funny to see. Overall the only thing that bothered me a bit was how Ash only used Pikachu for the battles. Serena only had one to choose from, Clemont used both of his (that actually battle regularly), but Ash has a team of 4 Pokemon and only used one. Personally I would have rathered Froakie in the battle against Team Squirtle for a starters vs. starters match but whatever.

I can still without a doubt say that I loved this arc much more than the preceding one. I'll give this episode alone a 9.7/10.
 
I liked this episode a lot better than the rest of the arc, despite about half of it being fairly standard filler fare. The dialogue was better, for a start - the current writers just aren't very good at the pseudo-meaningful dialogue. Back to basics works so much better than all this "Follow your dream" rubbish

The battle was surprisingly coherent for a triple battle. It kind of reminds me that the animation and choreography of the battles in XY beats anything I've seen in the anime so far, and that includes DP. This one relied a bit too much on clouds of dust - kind of like the coloured backgrounds of yesteryear, I'd guess - but hey, it made sense and everyone stayed in character when it came to relative skill levels. We could do with being reminded more often that Clemont is a successful Gym Leader. And you know, it was nice to see Serena and Fennekin doing some battling. Sure, they got knocked out, but at least she was her own character for once
 
Finally getting around to watching this one. Another fun episode. And hey, Team Rocket revealed who they were before the end of camp. Also fun when Meowth is the "Who's That Pokemon?".
 
The episode itself was pretty nice but it once again had that all too familiar flaw that we criticize again and again: It was too rushed! Four episodes and we've reached day 6 of camp? One victory in that competition and our heroes have already made it to the finals? That feels both forced and rushed if you ask me. I'd rather have more episodes where you can actually SEE if Ash and co. really deserve to be in the finals . Besides, the other battles might have been interesting and exciting to watch, too.

That being said, I'd like to concentrate on the battle itself: I think it was obvious that Serena would be the first one to get defeated. What I didn't expect, however, was that two of our heroes' Pokemon were still standing at the end. I could have bet that it would be a Ash vs. Tierno showdown! But still, this was a surprising result. And while Tierno's crew used a few really nice moves and strategies like Flame Burst or shielding Bulbasaur so it could charge up its Solar Beam, Team Ash deserved to win in the end because they proved to be more powerful. Nice Ash and Clemont interaction by the way!

So, aside from being too rushed, the episode was quite good and a nice conclusion of an entertaining mini-arc.
 
Leech Seed not working on Bulbasaur was a good touch, there was me ready to yell LEECH SEED DOESN'T WORK ON BULBASAUR.

Fennekien and Bunnleby with Jesus powers.

Bulbasaur's a vegetable.

Wobbufet was right there Jessie.

Shouldn't Charmander and Squirtle be healed?

Gotta love how Pikachu took them all out as though it wasn't unfair in using it.

Poor Team Chikorita, who had 24 points which means 23 points isn't enough for Ash's team to win.
 
The painful voice acting (barring Tierno)...my poor ears.

TBH, I have to agree...Tierno is the only one of the SC Trio who's voice I actually like.

I've always invisioned Shauna as having a cheerful, excitable, high voice because that's what the games seemed to portray her as, so having her with a mature sounding and relatively low voice just sounds weird. Trevor's voice....I don't even really know what to make of it. It sounds kinda awkward to say the least.
 
This episode starts out lying. They rivalry is only friendly, not fierce. -.-

Finally, we're gonna have some battling! Please use Bonnie! She'll stand a better chance than Serena! DX Also, did Clemont say "vahrious"? This team battling sh*t sounds cool. Why can't we have that in-game?

One OP later...

DAMN IT SERENA! DX

WHY THE HELL ARE WE STARTING THE EPISODE WITH THE MOVING TO THE FINALS?! And we didn't even get to see Team Squirtle get there. Though I can hella forgive all of this since Serena actually showed some interest in battling.

Jessie's face is back to freaking me the hell out. And I'm supposed to believe these cooks are not only part-time Rescuers, but they're licensed healthcare workers, too?! Well, these guys sure do get around.

So I guess since the last episode involved the new goons helping out the twerps, then this episode's the obligatory return of the favor. It's nice to see Bunnelby and even Fennekin putting in some work.

That Boss Lady is seriously scary. Why did she go all the way to the woods to look for her cooks? Why did she even think they'd be there?

-.- Why the hell was Meowth the "Who's That Pokemon"? Was there REALLY no Pokemon left for that question? Whatever, it's always nice to hear his "That's Right!" for those, so it's fine, I guess~

Fennekin, again, like seeing you not being a spoiled brat for once, but how about burning the cover, rather than pawing at it with your clawless paws?

Boss lady is right. Even Bulbasaur can't be a vegetable. It'd be a fruit. That chick is on her grind.

DAMN! Bunnelby tho's on his ninja grind, too. Clemont is getting really cool all of a sudden. XD And now Fennekin wants to use Scratch...

They forgot the money?! O_O No. Screw that, sh*t. All that work and they didn't bring the-...new headcanon; they took the money.

I was gonna comment how I was pleasantly pleased that they didn't use this final battle as an excuse to turn it into a starter war, but...here comes Chespin...but in the end I can't complain because...

THE BATTLE IS SICK AF! Yo, Tierno and his Squirtle are awesome basically acting as the leaders with their dance moves. And Trevor and Shauna are really strong, too. Trevor and Tierno stalling and managing to KO Fennekin while Shauna was charging Solarbeam sounded like something we'd do in the games and it's good to see that they were able to take one down. This is a really good-ass battle. Unfortunatley it ended in the slaughter fest of the new goons, but it's okay. Squirtle crying was really good to me seeing as he and Tierno seemed to be the most into this whole competition. Makes sense he was upset that he lost~

Moving on, I liked how Ash asked Tierno for advice on his battling style. Looks like his style is really popular and he even taught it to Shauna. I'm slightly bothered by the fact that, once again, a character is done better in the Anime and they could have been just as good in the games.

I have to say, even though I wasn't super hyped about this little arc, I love this little conclusion. Even though they're still a bit too friendly for Tierno to call them real rivals, and there wasn't much Trevor VS Clemont, I still hope this will actually be a thing and we'll see these three again. Seriously, that farewell and flashbacks had me all in the feels for once. An 8.5/10 from me~
 
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