Review SM101: Fire! The Twin Sparking Gigavolt of Friendship!!

[marshiyanmisuta]

I haven’t watched this episode yet but does that imply that previously Dia and Zeraora didn’t have a strong enough bond to use Z-Moves? Because it seems very far fetched to me that Dia and Zeraora didn’t have such a bond before,

Dia didn't consider it as his pokemon before, just a temporary ally against the UB.

 

[SinnohEevee]

I wonder why the Rotom Dex was left out. Heck! Has Ash ever dexed a Mythical?

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

No. Ash wasn't able to use Z-Moves either. It was because Tapu Koko had abandoned the land that the use of Z-Moves had become impossible.

He didn't give Z power to Dia and Zeraora before because they weren't bonded back then.

 

[Gligarman]

I'm fine with Zeraora usinga Z move because Zeraora is badass and is too cool for rules!

 

[Twilight-Kun]

I love how the anime keeps flip-flopping on how Z-moves work

Remember when it was usually one per battle back at the start of the series? Then during the Necrozma arc, everyone pulls off multiple Z-moves in a matter of hours

Then there's what fuels them - the bond between trainer and pokemon except whoops now it relies on Ultra Aura whoops now it relies on the Tapu

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

I love how the anime keeps flip-flopping on how Z-moves work

Remember when it was usually one per battle back at the start of the series? Then during the Necrozma arc, everyone pulls off multiple Z-moves in a matter of hours

Then there's what fuels them - the bond between trainer and pokemon except whoops now it relies on Ultra Aura whoops now it relies on the Tapu

And it somehow works in Kanto.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

And it somehow works in Kanto.

Retroactively (using some game knowledge that the anime never bothers to elaborate on), I chalk that up to the Z-Rings being made of Necrozma and therefore hold some Ultra Aura of their own, hence why it's so limited and taxing on the pokemon and trainer afterwards, since they have to use some of their own energy to power it

Also why Lunala then drained the Z-Rings to refuel itself - and then everyone's still able to use Z-moves because...the plot said so

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

He didn't give Z power to Dia and Zeraora before because they weren't bonded back then.

Don't forget that Ash wasn't able to use a Z-Move in this world before Tapu Koko showed up as well.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Don't forget that Ash wasn't able to use a Z-Move in this world before Tapu Koko showed up as well.

You must remember that there was no Z power back then. Only after Dia and Zeraora's bonding Kapu Kokeko intervened with power.

 

[Singaporean]

What does it had to do with copyright?

@martianmister
Then tell me. Why a lot of stuff have been altered when the dubs starting to aired instead of not kept in original?

 

[Twilight-Kun]

You must remember that there was no Z power back then. Only after Dia and Zeraora's bonding Kapu Kokeko intervened with power.

The more cynical side of me thinks that Shiny Koko only returned to send Ash back, not because of the possibility of rebuilding Melemele

Kiiiinda hard to refill the oceans and rebuild mountains, forests, etc from nothing, after all

Dia really needs to give up on it and move elsewhere

Let Melemele be a warning to the rest of Alola to treat it better

 

[SinnohEevee]

Was the whole of Alola affected or only Melemele?

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

Now that I think about it, Ash and Dia might have casually doomed another inhabited world by sending Guzzlord through the wormhole.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Was the whole of Alola affected or only Melemele?

It was never stated.

 

[Nicolas721]

Now that I think about it, Ash and Dia might have casually doomed another inhabited world by sending Guzzlord through the wormhole.

I thought the same thing, but apparently Dia somehow knew that that Ultra Hole would send Guzzlord to its home dimension.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

I thought the same thing, but apparently Dia somehow knew that that Ultra Hole would send Guzzlord to its home dimension.

“Should I tell him? Nah, let the kid think he saved the day.”

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I thought the same thing, but apparently Dia somehow knew that that Ultra Hole would send Guzzlord to its home dimension.

“Should I tell him? Nah, let the kid think he saved the day.”

I figured that that wormhole is probably the same one which Guzzlord appeared from in the first place.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Was the whole of Alola affected or only Melemele?

Just Melemele.

Now that I think about it, Ash and Dia might have casually doomed another inhabited world by sending Guzzlord through the wormhole.

There is only one ultra hole there, and Guzzlord came out of it in the first place.

Then tell me. Why a lot of stuff have been altered when the dubs starting to aired instead of not kept in original

What does that have to do with anything I said?

 

[Pulsaro23]

What better time to review an episode than a whole week after it aired? Maybe one of these days I'll learn how to be punctual.

Let's start with the positives first: it had some pretty cool battles that were well animated; Dia is one of, if not the best character they have created this series and I love every minute of him; they actually went on with the whole "Guzzlord is a dangerous beast and a mindless evil monster/god of destruction" and they didn't do a complete 180 complete with it and didn't pull the "misunderstood Ultra Beast" card like with the others. But, most importantly, WE FINALLY HAD A UB EPISODE WHERE WE DON'T HAVE THAT STUPID RECYCLED UG TRANSFORMATION SEQUENCE! HOORAY, IT'S A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE!!

Unfortunately, when it comes to the story, I found it a little lackluster. We begin the episode right where the last one ended and once Ash and Dia enter the Pokémon School, we get Dia lecturing Ash about parallel worlds. I'm sorry, what? Writers, you mean to tell me that Ash, the guy who travelled through time in the past, visited other dimensions (such as the Unown Dimension and the Reverse World), travelled to worlds in the Ultra Space (more precisely, the Ultra Deep Sea) and visited an actual parallel universe (the Mirror World) not only doesn't know about parallel worlds, but also has a hard time understanding the concept? Right... Then we get a minute of Dia revealing how, in this parallel world, humans destroyed the environment by polluting, which lead to Guzzlord ruining everything even more? Again, WHAT? Didn't we spend the last episode establishing that this version of Alola was once a green, lush paradise until Guzzlord appeared and ate everything? Why bring pollution into this? And why wasn't this established before? Oh, because we need a reason as to why the Tapus didn't stop Mr. Glutton and we're lazy. Moving on. Blah blah blah... Ash is overoptimistic (a running trend this series) blah blah blah... cool training scene blah blah blah. Our heroic duo come up with a plan to send Guzzlord away from this island once and for all by using its one weakness (Spoilers: its head). So they lure our hungry Ultra Beast to the wormhole where it came from (Quick question: Why/How/When was it open?). They put their plan into action by immobilizing Mr. Glutton with Pikachu's Electro Web so they can break its defences and hit the head. And the plan would have worked if the writers didn't want to shove Shiny Tapu Koko in the episode. Alas, Guzzlord breaks free from the web of electricity, and... screams very loudly at them? I mean, it's effective, I guess. The Tapu Koko Ex Machina happens and now they can use Z-moves to quell the hungry monster once and for all. Because this wouldn't be Sun & Moon if we didn't use Z-moves to defeat the big bad of the episode. And, of course, the overused Z-moves are all it takes to defeat Guzzlord once and for all. And they all lived happily ever after, The End. Except, wait a second, we need to send Ash back to Alola. But how should we do it? Have the Team Kukui-Burnet open and Ultra Wormhole for our hero to get through? No, that would make to much sense, let's have Plasma Fist colliding with Thunderbolt in the presence of Shiny Tapu Koko open a rift in space and time. Because screw you continuity. I guess the Tapus (and Zeraora. and Pikachu) have unlimited power, since they can apparently open rifts in time and space. Now they all lived happily ever after, The End.

All in all, what we have here is an episode with a lot of style, but very little substance. And this could have all been avoided if they didn't cram an entire story arc in a 2-parter. Why not have 4 episode, where Ash explores more of the Ultra Ruin and learns of the differences between this world and his, making him realize the not everything is sunshine and rainbows? Why not tell us more about Dia, his backstory and his relationship with the Ultra Rangers (or just more about the Ultra Rangers in general)? Why not have Ash, after seeing how pessimistic Dia is when it comes to confronting Guzzlord, have him pull on of his stupid overoptimistic Sun & Moon moments or have him try to reason with the big Junkivore (like he did the other "misunderstood Ultra Beasts"), only to end up in failure, making him realize that he can't stop it the same way he did the other Ultra Beasts, leading to him coming up with a strategy to combat it, instead of having the his plan come out of nowhere? Why not have Rotom be useful for once and telling the Pokémon Professors what happened instead of standing around and calling for Ash and Pikachu over and over again? Why not have Kukui and Burnet trying to open an Ultra Wormhole for Ash and Pikachu to come back through instead of that Tapu Koko Ex Machina nonsense? Why rush through this arc like you did the previous ones, like you haven't learned anything?

The previous episode (with the exception of a few hiccups) made me hopeful that we might finally get a Sun & Moon episode that feels closer to XY or even Diamond & Pearl. This episode reminded me why I shouldn't raise my expectations when it comes to Sun & Moon. At least the Power of Us makes me hopeful for the next series.

And now, as I post this, I realize that this comment will most likely fade into obscurity thanks to the new 2-parter. Curse you, Misty-berg!

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

and... screams very loudly at them? I mean, it's effective, I guess.

I got the impression that it was a sound based move and not random screaming.

Because this wouldn't be Sun & Moon if we didn't use Z-moves to defeat the big bad of the episode. And, of course, the overused Z-moves are all it takes to defeat Guzzlord once and for all. And they all lived happily ever after,

I mean... it was to be expected since its literally in the title...

No, that would make to much sense, let's have Plasma Fist colliding with Thunderbolt in the presence of Shiny Tapu Koko open a rift in space and time. Because screw you continuity.

It makes some amount of sense because that’s how Ash entered Ultra Ruin/Dia’s world in the first place.