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Review SM138: The Finals! The Strongest Rival Showdown!!

Was nice to see the Illusion ability used like it is in the games, if it wasn't for the Dusk Ball, I would have thought it was Lycanroc

Imagine trying to hit Lycanroc with a Psychic type
 
Was nice to see the Illusion ability used like it is in the games, if it wasn't for the Dusk Ball, I would have thought it was Lycanroc

Imagine trying to hit Lycanroc with a Psychic type

Well it's a good thing Ash doesn't have a Psychic-Type Pokémon (or Pokémon that knows a Psychic Move).
 
Wow, that was pretty bad for the first half of the finals. Gonna be honest, Melmetal vs. Silvally was really bad. Ash spammed Double Iron Bash way too much. It also doesn't help that Melmetal takes for damn ever just to use the move. For a battle between a legendary and a mythical Pokemon, that was a major disappointment. Very repetitive and boring. And in my opinion, those two should have been saved for last, not the first ones up.

I'm a bit let down that Gladion didn't turn Silvally into a ground-type. Not only would it still have been super effective on Melmetal, but also totally immune to Pikachu's electric attacks. The battle between those two could have gone for longer if he did that, but oh well. I also feel like Zoroark's reveal was done too quickly. I wish they would have held that out for longer consider than is Zoroark's entire gimmick.

Overall, this one was meh. I hope the second half will be better than this. 5/10.
 
I wonder why they made Meltan evolve if its evolved form'd lose its first battle ever in the same episode... Besides that hell slow Double Iron Bash animation was repeated three times as far as I remember. Well at least the job of making Melmetal look awesome was achieved.

Overall it's a decent episode, not incredible, but not horrible either.
 
It's especially jarring as Ash immediately changes gears when Pikachu hits the field and uses strategy.
This reminds me of the times when, after outwitting opponents like Sawyer's Aegislash and Alain's Tyranitar with Pikachu, Ash abruptly threw strategy out of the window when his crutch Greninja hit the field. But hey, if people loved it last time then it's bound to please the masses here! Right?!
 
What was the point of Meltan evolving at the beginning of the episode if it was just going to be trolled and get no wins during the battle against Glad-

Screenplay, 藤咲淳一 Jun'ichi Fujisaku

Image result for of course gif
 
I really hope the way too long scene of Bewear will suggest she's worked out what Team Rocket are up to which means she'll take them away because they cause too much disruption
 
Believe it or not but what we saw here is actually more realistic than the alternative scenario, where Ash's newest, barely trained, radically altered Pokémon completely roflstomps Gladion's significantly more experienced ace. Now that's what I'd have had difficulty buying because it genuinely sounds like something from a fanfic now that I've thought about this. The way I see it, Melmetal had too much incidental and totally believable circumstances working against it. Silvally dropping to the Pikachu who beat one Legendary and tied with another is far more sensible.

Between this episode and the Rowlet vs Decidueye battle that I personally found just "meh" at worst, I'm actually starting to feel sorry for Fujisaku after all the crap he's been getting from the truly wonderful Pokémon anime fanbase. He should totally do a George Lucas and leave this mess for greener pastures instead of remain a target for overly harsh ridicule. Whatever your reasons, I think this is going too far now.
 
Rooting against Ash because I want his first league win to be a full battle.

They used to be able to do full battles in a two partner with plot. I see no reason why they couldn't do it now. That aside it was pretty good.
 
The Double Iron Bash animation looked absolutely sick the 1st time... 2nd time, pretty awesome... 3rd time, super... 4th time, cool... 5th time, ok... 6th time...7th...8th:confused:

Now don’t get me wrong, this episode was still very good and I enjoyed it very much. The pre-battle scenes were done very well & Melmetal looked amazing. Even the battle was pretty well done! While I would’ve liked for Melmetal to use some more moves (even just harden for a change), the battle was still cool to see. While it was kind of underwhelming for Melmetal to lose it’s first battle, it is understandable and makes more sense than if it beat Silvally. Pikachu vs Silvally was beautifully executed, the highlight of course being the Electroweb “trampoline”... classic Ash. The remainder of the battle looks to be very exciting and I look forward to it very much. With Sun & Moon being the first anime I followed very closely and watched the original subs as they came out, I have developed a very strong bond with this series and it has become my favorite. I look forward to the conclusion of this battle and the adventures that will follow suit.
 
You know what really disappointed me about Melmetal's appearance? The fact that, after it was defeated, it didn't melt like in LGPE and Go but just fell over like any other Pokemon. I was looking forward to seeing that in the show.

Also, Type Wild was not only updated with Melmetal but new shots of the show's supporting characters, including a shot of Hanako and Pikachu with all the symbols from Satoshi's hats over the last two decade... which to me seems like the kind of reference a long-running show would include if it knew it was going to be wrapping up for good soon.
 
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I'm a bit let down that Gladion didn't turn Silvally into a ground-type. Not only would it still have been super effective on Melmetal, but also totally immune to Pikachu's electric attacks. The battle between those two could have gone for longer if he did that, but oh well. I also feel like Zoroark's reveal was done too quickly. I wish they would have held that out for longer consider than is Zoroark's entire gimmick.

Pikachu didn't even hurt Silvally with electric type attacks, so I'm not entirely what difference it would've made, since I'm sure even if Silvally took no damage, it still likely would've been affected with electroweb (slow down and due to anime logic), but that's not even what happened here, Pikachu using electroweb was used as a springboard or the cartoon wrestling rings where you the ropes to give you more momentum (I think it does it in real life, but obviously not in an exaggerated form.

As for Zoroark, I'm not entirely sure I see anyone's point here, especially when the illusion is lost upon getting attacked. There was no way to maintain the illusion after being struck by a thunderbolt. I get that maybe people didn't want Zoroark to get HIT at that particular point so it could've retained the illusion but I fail to see the purpose, since it would've been unrealistic to have Zoroark take no damage for most of the battle just to maintain an illusion, in other words it could've easily been revealed at the beginning of next episode and I don't think it would've mattered.

Especially since it used Night Daze, which was the big obvious clue that it was Zoroark to begin with, even some of the characters suspected immediately that there was something wrong. Delaying it seems pointless. Had Zoroark used Lycanroc's moves (if it shared any of them), I'd understand, but after using Night Daze?
 
What was the point of Meltan evolving at the beginning of the episode if it was just going to be trolled and get no wins during the battle against Glad-



Image result for of course gif

The writer of any given League episode isn't the one who decides the matchups or who wins or loses said battles.
 
Wow, that was pretty bad for the first half of the finals. Gonna be honest, Melmetal vs. Silvally was really bad. Ash spammed Double Iron Bash way too much. It also doesn't help that Melmetal takes for damn ever just to use the move. For a battle between a legendary and a mythical Pokemon, that was a major disappointment. Very repetitive and boring. And in my opinion, those two should have been saved for last, not the first ones up.

I'm a bit let down that Gladion didn't turn Silvally into a ground-type. Not only would it still have been super effective on Melmetal, but also totally immune to Pikachu's electric attacks. The battle between those two could have gone for longer if he did that, but oh well. I also feel like Zoroark's reveal was done too quickly. I wish they would have held that out for longer consider than is Zoroark's entire gimmick.

Overall, this one was meh. I hope the second half will be better than this. 5/10.
Wait I thought Silvally WAS Ground.
 
Wait I thought Silvally WAS Ground.
It was fighting type

also, i have a feeling that ash is gonna win... they need that ash vs masked royal (aka kukui) battle
i don't see much of a point for gladion to face him
 
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