Review SM109: The Birth of an Island Queen! Satoshi's Grand Trial!!

[JFrombaugh]

Okay so the subtitles confirm that the water splash somehow had the effect of Soak, which is why Pikachu was able to defeat Mudsdale - as that move replaces the opposing Pokémon's type with Water. So I guess at least that's a somewhat better explanation than simply getting splashed with water allows Ground-types to be hit by Electric-type moves if said Electric-type's name is Pikachu.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

That was the single worst Grand Trial episode. What the heck was Tectonic Rage trying to do? Why do pokemon keep turning into pure energy? How did Pikachu survive a Bulldoze, Double Kick and the full force of a Z-move without damage?

 

[DarkraiKnight]

I never thought they'd pull another Brock after season 1, but somehow, they did. As soon as I saw Ash remembering Pikachu shocking him and Lana, I was thinking, "You better not be thinking about what I think you're thinking." And he was. Sigh. Such a letdown of a final grand trial.

Well, I'm personally mixed on the subject. I'm not a huge fan of Ground-types losing their immunity when wet, but at the same time, I'm sort of...proud?...of the anime for sticking to its own rules.

 

[TheAerialAcer]

Well, I'm personally mixed on the subject. I'm not a huge fan of Ground-types losing their immunity when wet, but at the same time, I'm sort of...proud?...of the anime for sticking to its own rules.

I gotta say, I sort of feel the same way. I agree, it wasn’t as good as it could’ve been but I didn’t hate this episode. I personally got a kick out of the water splashing. I’m happy that the creators did something other than spam quick attack & iron tail. Again, not a great episode, but definitely not the worst.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Maybe because I've had very low expectations for this episode, after the unfair treatment of Mokuroh, but I've liked the episode.

 

[KrspaceT]

Allow me to share a bit of a personal anecdote.

On Ffnet under a different name than this one, I write a fic called Reset Bloodlines. It's basically a fic of the 'can I do these bad tropes justice' variety, slash 'how I want to see these bad tropes done as I'd call them good' take.

Chapter 27 of 42 (Soon 43 with the first part of the M1 adaption) featured Ash and Red (Long story) versus a Mudsdale trainer.

Said Mudsdale was a powerful defensive Pokemon with raw force that Red and Ash were struggling to do anything with, between both regular battling and 'anime bullshit' (Using Mud Sport to block Toxic and weight down Red's Haunter).

Not helping was the fact that Ash and Red were currently in a spat and their teamwork was utterly shot as a result.

Pikachu survived a Z-Move there too, but using the 'tail bounce' method. Pikachu took on powerful hits, but less and it was clear that while Pikachu was a battle of thousand cuts, Mudsdale just needed a few good hits.

Pikachu and Ash won that fight by drawing on a lot of tricks and techniques to bust through Mudsdale: Counter-Shield Stone Edge reflect, even aping Paul's Electivire-on-Gliscor ground attack to inflict the damage needed.

From what I've seen of the fight I probably am less annoyed by it than everyone else. It could be better, but it doesn't anger me. Still it doesn't seem like much, even when the anime SM fails at something it's normally pretty good at.

Pokedex consistency.

By that i mean these things

Ultra Sun

It remains calm and unmoving no matter the situation. It mixes dirt with the saliva in its mouth to make a special kind of mud.

Pokémon

Take a look at some of the Pokémon you'll discover on your journey in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.

www.pokemon-sunmoon.com

Mudsdale is known for its powerful body as well as its emotional fortitude, which keeps it from being agitated by anything. It never cries out, no matter what kind of trouble it’s in, and it defeats its opponents with a single powerful blow. Its legs are coated in protective mud, and the weight of this coating increases the force of its kicks. One kick, and a car is a pile of scrap!

Mudsdale was not that in this episode, despite SM's general aptitude to this aspect of Pokemon behavior.

Now my own Fic quote

"Mudsdale is not known for ranged maneuvers. However, countering it with a move of your own does not seem to be a strategy that will cause damage." The Pokédex noted as the ineffective electric attack fully fizzled out.

Pity a Mudsdale didn't have a horn. Then it might have worked, somehow.

So, what now then?

Did Pikachu go in close, putting itself in range for more of Mudsdale's attacks like Heavy Slam and High Horsepower? Ranged didn't seem to have any options for them….

Did battles have time limits?

Ash had no desire to find out.

"Okay Pikachu, get in close!" Ash called as Pikachu sped towards the massive enemy of theirs, white streaks following in his wake.

"Use Mud Sport!" Lilo called as a wave of mud burst forth from Mudsdale like a popped lid, moving towards Pikachu like a solidified dust cloud.

So Lilo was aware of the 'get close to the slow Pokémon, perform Pikabatics until tripping ensued' technique.

How was he going to get through it? Should he order Pikachu back?

Then Ash noticed something, the mud was slowly rising as it moved forward.

"Roll under the mud wave!"

"…PI?" 'Huh….' Pikachu trusted his instincts and transitioned into a roll. The rolling Pikachu and the Mud Sport wall met, and Pikachu only got a few flakes of mud on his back as he burst out from the other side and charged towards the unfazed Mudsdale.

"Pikachu slips under that Mud Sport like a pro! What will Lilo and Mudsdale do in response!?"

Pikachu began to run around Mudsdale, ready to take advantage of Mudsdale's actions and unease from the speeding target it couldn't follow.

30 seconds later, and Mudsdale hadn't changed expression at all, and Pikachu stopped in front of the giant beast in surprise.

"No reaction?" Ash questioned. That wasn't how this was supposed to work. Even if Lilo wasn't fooled it should at least be bothering Mudsdale. Making it agitated and uneasy, vulnerable, stuff like that.

"Mudsdale are quite emotionally sound. They do not startle easily and are quite good at ignoring distractions. Poker players are known to study them to prepare for competitive matches." The Pokédex informed him.

Well that was just great. Apparently trying to unnerve the Poker Face Pokémon wasn't going to get anything accomplished.

The stare down continued, no command ordered from Lilo or his own end. A fast Pokemon who was struggling to find a way to do damage, a slow Pokemon struggling to land a hit to do damage.

In other words, a stalemate.

"Both Trainers are carefully planning their next move." The Announcer snarked.

How am I, a fan who struggles at grammar, is probably blinded by notalgia to an extent, and is writing in a fic with such deliberate handicaps as 'Ash and Red are half brothers by an evil father', 'Peggy Sue', 'Trying to establish multiple polygamal relationships' and 'throws in far too many simultaneous events and plot lines than is healthy' does this better?

 

[WatcherMark]

Ok, I'm going to give this episode some credit... I'm pretty sure this is a rare battle for Pikachu in which he doesn't use Thunderbolt at all (has this ever happened in a trainer battle?), and Satoshi not using electric-type moves until the Electroweb to save Pikachu from the fall proves that, yeah, the kid isn't dumb. Plus, like I said, at least the anime is keeping consistent with itself so fair play there.

On the other hand... Pikachu surviving Bullboze and a full power Tectonic Rage? Yeah, no, that doesn't sit well with me. That's right down there with Heracross surviving a Fire Blast to the face then knocking out a fire-type with Megahorn in the Johto League.

 

[Gabo2oo]

So when Sun & Moon began it looked like the fights were going to be on the same level as XY, but I guess not lol
At least it wasn't bad, but kinda boring to watch. Pacing issues as usual, and the strategy wasn't very convincing. Hapu praising Ash for literally just using the battlefield seemed a bit forced IMO.

 

[KyseL]

I don't know how did anyone ever expect that Mokuroh being used here would offer a better battle. The idea of a horse fighting a flying bird with mostly long range attacks is not only ridiculous, but also extremely one-sided on Ash's favor. Banbadoro fighting Pikachu makes Ash more of the underdog here, which makes the audience root for him, and Pikachu, hasn't had the spotlight in a while anyway.

Also comparing this to Brock's battle is really unfair. There's a huge difference between accidentally using the environment in your favor and actively doing that on purpose, as much as it doesn't apply to the game's logic that itself isn't really a bad thing. I agree it's not the best trial, but it wasn't that bad either.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Allow me to share a bit of a personal anecdote.

On Ffnet under a different name than this one, I write a fic called Reset Bloodlines. It's basically a fic of the 'can I do these bad tropes justice' variety, slash 'how I want to see these bad tropes done as I'd call them good' take.

Chapter 27 of 42 (Soon 43 with the first part of the M1 adaption) featured Ash and Red (Long story) versus a Mudsdale trainer.

Said Mudsdale was a powerful defensive Pokemon with raw force that Red and Ash were struggling to do anything with, between both regular battling and 'anime bullshit' (Using Mud Sport to block Toxic and weight down Red's Haunter).

Not helping was the fact that Ash and Red were currently in a spat and their teamwork was utterly shot as a result.

Pikachu survived a Z-Move there too, but using the 'tail bounce' method. Pikachu took on powerful hits, but less and it was clear that while Pikachu was a battle of thousand cuts, Mudsdale just needed a few good hits.

Pikachu and Ash won that fight by drawing on a lot of tricks and techniques to bust through Mudsdale: Counter-Shield Stone Edge reflect, even aping Paul's Electivire-on-Gliscor ground attack to inflict the damage needed.

From what I've seen of the fight I probably am less annoyed by it than everyone else. It could be better, but it doesn't anger me. Still it doesn't seem like much, even when the anime SM fails at something it's normally pretty good at.

Pokedex consistency.

By that i mean these things

Pokémon

Take a look at some of the Pokémon you'll discover on your journey in Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon.

www.pokemon-sunmoon.com

Mudsdale was not that in this episode, despite SM's general aptitude to this aspect of Pokemon behavior.

Now my own Fic quote



How am I, a fan who struggles at grammar, is probably blinded by notalgia to an extent, and is writing in a fic with such deliberate handicaps as 'Ash and Red are half brothers by an evil father', 'Peggy Sue', 'Trying to establish multiple polygamal relationships' and 'throws in far too many simultaneous events and plot lines than is healthy' does this better?

You write that fanfic? I think I've noticed it once or twice while going over various fanfic titles.

I personally don't like fanfics where Ash wins battles he lost in the anime, because in my eyes, the anime is the true canon, and as horrible as it gets sometimes, it shouldn't be denied.

 

[TheGoldenToon]

Okay, I'm seriously disappointed in this one. Aside from it only being 1vs1 and the questionable as heck way Ash and Pikachu won, there just felt like too much talking during the battle; It feels like it interrupts the flow of the battle when we have to hear what's on the characters minds instead of steadily keeping the action going. I will say that I did like that Ash got the Steelium Z at least.

 

[Gard81]

Once again, the biggest flaw of the series so far (the battles) rears its ugly head again. It was just so...boring. I can tolerate anime bullshit to an extent, otherwise I wouldn't enjoy the battles nearly as much, but only on the basis that they be exciting or not-so-blatant in its Deus Ex Machina approach. I wasn't a big fan when it happened to Brock's Onyx (though the battle was ultimately enjoyable), and I certainly am no fan of its application here. Just splashing any water gives it a Soak-like effect? If you believe that, I got a bridge to sell you to go with that water.

 

[KrspaceT]

You write that fanfic? I think I've noticed it once or twice while going over various fanfic titles.

I personally don't like fanfics where Ash wins battles he lost in the anime, because in my eyes, the anime is the true canon, and as horrible as it gets sometimes, it shouldn't be denied.

And I don't like fics where Ash and Pikachu torture an Ursaring all night to keep it from 'Charizarding' Dawn, but they exist.

In all seriousness, yes I do write it.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

And I don't like fics where Ash and Pikachu torture an Ursaring all night to keep it from 'Charizarding' Dawn, but they exist.

In all seriousness, yes I do write it.

...I don't think I want to know what that description means...

 

[KrspaceT]

...I don't think I want to know what that description means...

You don't. Fanfiction produces horrible things and that is the tip of the iceberg.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

You don't. Fanfiction produces horrible things and that is the tip of the iceberg.

Agreed.

 

[Dogasu]

People love to whinge about the Rocket trio "ruining" important battles by interrupting them (nevermind the fact they more or less stopped during that years ago) but episodes like this prove yet again that they're really not the problem, are they? Face it, this show is just shit at writing compelling battles, and the absence of the Rocket trio, the cancer that kills everything they touch, doesn't magically fix any of the show's problems.

For example, why did this episode spend the entire first half just spinning its wheels? Did seeing Satoshi and his friends playing on the beach for what seems like forever add anything to the episode? And why did Hapu'u's ceremony take so long? If the show was smart they would have had Hapu'u's ceremony wrapped up before the opening theme, and then right after the episode's title screen we'd cut to Satoshi and Hapu'u already standing on the battlefield, ready to go. That'd give us time for at least a two-on-two battle, though the show could have fit a three-on-three if they really wanted. We'd get to see Hapu'u's a Flygon, or maybe her Aloan Dugtrio, or something, and maybe Mokuroh could have gotten some much needed battle time. But no, we couldn't do that because checks notes we have to show kids playing on the Alolan beach for the millionth time this series.

Or! If the show is so allergic to showing battles then how about cutting the beach stuff and instead show us Plumeri and the rest of the Skull gang. Remember when she was introduced and then never brought up again...?

Oh, also Mao is completely over seeing her dead mother now and is just walking around with a mythical pokemon now and nobody notices.

Ugh this episode.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Oh, also Mao is completely over seeing her dead mother now and is just walking around with a mythical pokemon now and nobody notices.

That’s what is bugging me. It seems really strange for any group of children to stumble across two mythicals in the span of a few episodes.
They had been set up as a big deal during the course of the anime, and if Ash somehow captures Meltan and Mallow keeps Shaymin it’ll all be thrown out of the window.

Atleast Poipole was supposed to be common in its home world...

 

[0cerge]

That’s what is bugging me. It seems really strange for any group of children to stumble across two mythicals in the span of a few episodes.

AFAIK Mallow didn't even know that Shaymin was mythical. I suppose that most people in Pokemon World just don't need to know much about pokemon, in particular how rare they are.

 

[Dogasu]

The regional Pokemon Professor should know, at the very least.