Review SM036: Lychee's Grand Trial! The Hardest Pokemon Match!!

[Rockapheller]

The beginning of the battle was handled poorly boring, because it was repetitive and nothing much to happen. But the second part was definitely the upside of the battle, especially Iwanko taking all the control over itself. I loved that at least in this episode, they got something serious, which is why Mamane rumbling was so random and really annoying. We didn't really need that out of nowhere and really unrelated reaction over the battle there. Also they ruined a perfect chance to get viewers hyped in the battle when they used the first opening of Sun & Moon series in the end of the battle. We needed something like XY&Z opening hype over there.

Sun & Moon series has perfect opportunity to offer the viewers but the staff doesn't use that, which is sad. Still compared to other episodes of the series, this one was fairly good overall.

 

[ii kanji]

The standout moment for me in this episode was most probably an animation oversight, but it was when Iwanko & Mokuroh first got hit and we see a shot of the group looking horrified - Amakaji is frickin' smiling like a psychopath!!

But anyway, I actually quite enjoyed this! The animation in the first half of the battle was not amazing, but I was invested in Iwanko's weird behaviour and so when it unexpectedly took out its own teammate (is it me or is that first in this show?!) I felt the emotional impact. I had gone in wanting Satoshi to lose, considering he hasn't yet in SM, but by the excellently animated end of the battle I was rooting for him to win.

The only cheap part for me was them dodging the Z move. Why couldn't they have allowed it to hit them & those stealthy boulders, thereby blasting the rocks & injuring Mokuroh enough to make it a bit more obvious as to why a single impact from Iwanko would have taken it down?

 

[Elementar]

I'm surprised not much has been discussed about Rockruff's evolution. Then again, we all know what it will be...

 

[Islander Princess]

This episode had some particularly gorgeous animation. I was really drawn in by Olivia's pre-match praying, Olivia using the Z-Move and Ash using his new Z-Move. The battle was actually pretty good because it kept my attention, which is rare for battle-heavy episodes.

What is bothering me right now is that not all of the trials are done as well or taken as seriously as the Grand Trials. I know these are considered "bigger," but regular trials are signifigant too and I'm still bummed out that they don't seem to be getting as much respect as gym battles. I also didn't like how Ash managed to completely dodge Continental Crush. I like how it cleared the whole battlefield, but dodging Z-Moves seems pretty cheap.

I did like Ash not freaking out when Rockruff took out Rowlet and saying he would battle alongside him instead. It gave me Ash-Greninja vibes except, you know, less contrived.

I hate seeing Rockruff portrayed this way, so honestly I'm excited to see it evolve just so that'll hopefully stop. But I will miss the cute rock puppy! I've waited for Ash to have a puppy Pokémon forever so it's bittersweet that it's coming to an end.

 

[Nicolas721]

The episode was so-so. It seems painfully obvious that the focus was on flashy moves and flashy animation rather than a coherent set of strategies. The highlights of the episode were Rowlet being badass and Ash forgiving Rockruff for his mistake.

 

[Gengarzilla]

What is it with Rowlet getting boned over by everything but the opponents in these Grand Trial battles? I really hope this won't continue to be a recurring theme, it's making the kahunas look bad if they can't beat one of Ash's Pokémon.

 

[Alola]

What is it with Rowlet getting boned over by everything but the opponents in these Grand Trial battles? I really hope this won't continue to be a recurring theme, it's making the kahunas look bad if they can't beat one of Ash's Pokémon.

It is pretty glaring, given that Ash's Alola team rarely trains or battles on-screen. That's why this battle was disappointing for me-there was barely any challenge. Between Stealth Rock suddenly becoming a breeze to pass through, Ash's Pokemon easily avoiding Olivia's Z-move, Olivia's Pokemon standing still for several of Ash's Pokemon's attacks, the nonexistent double battle rhythm from both parties, and the obligatory non-evolved Pokemon handily defeating fully evolved Pokemon, it was just sad. I really hope the rest of the Kahuna battles are better written.

Admittedly, I did think the Bloom Doom animation was cool (despite Ash not doing the full pose; and Olivia as well for that matter-I don't know what the hell that was) as well as the final seconds of Rockruff vs Lycanroc.

 

[Dusk Lycanroc]

The Rockruff vs Lycanroc part was best but that stealth rock part was kinda dumb action to me.

 

[Syrinaris]

The thing that annoyed me most about this episode was when they started playing the main SuMo theme over the ending battle with rock puppy & Lycanroc. That just really put me off. I would have preferred a non-vocal instrumental track, but that's just me.

I didn't mind Ash having Rowlet & Rockruff dodge the Z-move because I understood that he was trying to bust down the stealth rocks that Olivia put in place.

I did mind Rockruff taking out Rowlet, though. I realize that it immediately showed remorse for what it did. And I even get that Ash didn't want to chastise it in the middle of battle, probably because he thought it would throw Rockruff off its game. (Although, him reacting with that butt-wiggling training stance was just ridiculous.) But I do think that after the battle, he should have told Rockruff to apologize to Rowlet.

For me, this episode wasn't a complete wash. I just feel that some scenes could have been handled better. Am looking forward to tomorrow's episode.