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

[SwadloonBoy]

SwadloonBoy’s Weekly Thoughts~

• alright so I definitely suspected Meltan would be evolving in this episode based on last week’s preview, but I definitely didn’t need Rotom to spoil it for me in the pre-ep trivia question -_-
• Ash’s mom has arrived omg :3 It’s always a pleasure to have Delia in an ep
• ok so completely unrelated to the anime, but I’m wondering how they’re going to alter Meltan’s evolution method if he ever makes it into the main series games (hopefully he makes it past the Galar border patrol), cuz having Melmetal be exclusively available through farming candy in GO is pretty lame
• The subject of Lillie’s father comes up yet again...I really hope they’re able to wrap up that storyline in a satisfying manner considering we probably have less than 10 episodes to go at this point :s
• I’m happy Meltan evolved, but I have to laugh at how cheap it is to give Ash a newly evolved powerful, mythical Pokémon right before his final league battle lol (I’m fine with riggage on the writers’ part if it leads to an Ash victory tho...)
• Rowlet’s reaction to his friend Meltan evolving is so pure and precious <3
• TR plotting to meddle in the league’s awards ceremony...like girl, give it a rest...you’re never catching Pikachu...
• The finale of the league only being a 3-3 battle is really disappointing...but oh well
• Melmetal is the first one down, to which I say...NOOOOOOO...I figured they’d let Ash’s newly evolved OP Pokémon get at least KO before fainting, but that was sadly not the case...and now I’m very much worried for Ash’s chances at taking home the win :s
• YAYYYY...Pikachu took Silvally to church And now that’s its back to 2v2, I’m way less hesitant to believe that Ash still has a chance of winning this thing...phew
• Ash should switch out Pikachu to have the Lugarugan vs. Lugarugan battle that we all know gonna happen anyways, but now I’m worried Pikachu is gonna be taken out here and Ash’s Lugarugan will be left to take down Gladio’s last two pokes all by his lonesome
• NOOOO it was a Zoroark WTF

Next week...
- all I’ve got to say is that Ash better win or I will definitely be a complainer next week :3

 

[mehmeh1]

I like how Melmetal was handled this episode. He became much more powerful and a much bigger threat after his evolution. However, Melmetal didn’t sweep due to evolving literally the night before the finals, which meant he was still getting used to his new body and didn’t have a large amount of energy, as shown at the end of his fight against Silvally when he had to compose himself before using Flash Cannon. It was a nice way to give Ash a power boost without making it unfair.

Edit: Is this the first time since Kanto that Delia and Professor Oak have been to a league in person? If so, that’s really cool.

Edit 2: As of this episode with Meltan’s evolution into Melmetal, Alola is now the third region to have all of its Pokemon showcased in the main anime, after Johto and Kanto.

They appeared in Johto too

 

[Dogasu]

Unfortunately not. There is no legal way to watch the show in Japanese with English subtitles.

 

[MegaGreninga]

What websites do any of you guys use to watch in Japanese?
I know of one Facebook page to watch them but that’s it... is Pokémon on crunchyroll?

Pokémon go anime type like that u find it

 

[Pulsaro23]

This was definitely the best battle-centric episode written by Fujisaku yet. But that isn't actually saying much.

The episode overall felt like it was far longer than it should've been. Some of the animations were reused way to much and in close proximity to each other (like Ash's spamming of Double Iron Bash or Melmetal splashing water onto Ash) and a lot of scenes were drawn-out for far too long (like the Meltan dancing in order to fuse and evolve, Rowlet's reaction to Melmetal, Melmetal flexing, the Team Rocket scene and the Bewears reacting to the Orangubot malfunctioning, to name some of them). Those scenes wasted time and, in an episode that's supposed to focus on the climax to Ash's rivalry with his main rival (that also happens to be the grand finale of a Pokémon League), every second counts and should not be wasted on stuff that has nothing to do with the match or the characters that will participate in that match (with very few exceptions).

Instead of having all these scenes be overstretched in order to pad out the runtime, why couldn't we get scenes similar to the ones in DP, that explored Ash, his rival, the connection/contrast between them or their overall rivalry (as well as the why behind it)? That, in my opinion, would've been far better than getting a bunch of minutes full of nothing (like the scenes of Lana showing off her lovely muscle fetish, which has officially went from random, weird and bizarre to abysmal and unhealthy (Seriously, girl, have some standards! And stop fantasizing about Pokémon muscle loving!!!)). Like, for example, why couldn't we get more scenes like the one between Gladion, Lillie and their mother? That was very wholesome scene that also gave us more insight into Gladion and his family. Why couldn't the make more scenes like that (since that also aren't that animation heavy and would also help fill out the runtime (except in a better and more meaningful way))?

The battle itself was okay, I guess. The animation was somewhat lackluster compared to the previous episode. Melmetal using only its Steel-type moves for the entirety of the match got repetitive and boring, which was further accentuated by the fact that we know for sure that Meltan knew more than just Flash Cannon before its evolution. And, while I'll admit that Fujisaku did a surprisingly competent job at making Melmetal's defeat be believable (with it being shown to not be accustomed to its new body and it still being kind of inexperienced and childish), I still didn't like the fact that it lost its first battle after evolving. Pikachu vs. Silvally was short, but, again, it surprisingly made sense and the fact that Ash and Pikachu used one of their distinct, outside-the-box strategies instead of some kind of nonsensical Ash Pull was a welcomed change (though the battle ain't over and Fujisaku can still screw it up, so I won't sing him to much praise just yet). Pikachu vs. Zoroark was fine, I guess, but nothing special. Wasn't a big fan of the new animation for Zoroark's Night Daze; it doesn't look the same as the in-game animation at all (nor does it resemble its previous animations in the anime) and it makes it look far too similar to Snarl. But I was a fan of Lusamine reacting to Zoroark, which was a nice, but short scene.

So, to sum it up, this was a mediocre episode, with the biggest positive being that it's somewhat decently written (compared to the writer's usual episodes) and (surprisingly) doesn't feature any of Fujisaku's terrible writing quirks. It is definitely his best battle, but it (and the episode as a whole) still had very noticeable flaws, as well as some minor things that I didn't personally enjoy.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Unfortunately not. There is no legal way to watch the show in Japanese with English subtitles.

If you consider streaming illegal, then I suppose you don't use youtube and other platform, either? Hard to believe but possible
Streaming isn't illegal, it's a legal grey area at best, especially when content is freely available on TV and not something you've got to pay for like a movie you watch at a cinema

 

[Dogasu]

Streaming in and of itself isn't illegal, no. There are legal streams, sanctioned by the rightsholders, and there are illegal streams that aren't. Unfortunately, all of the Japanese + English subtitle streams / downloads of Pocket Monsters episodes online fall into this latter category.

 

[Gabo2oo]

What websites do any of you guys use to watch in Japanese?
I know of one Facebook page to watch them but that’s it... is Pokémon on crunchyroll?

It's not on Crunchyroll. We're actually not supposed to mention illegal ways to watch the anime in these forums, yet at the same there's no legal way to watch it, as Dogasu said.

All subtitled versions are fan-made, and here's to hope maybe one decade from now on The Pokémon Company will finally catch up with the times and make an official version available.

 

[MegaGreninga]

I guess he won

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Holy crap, source?

The word was "hope". Nothing is confirmed.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

He meant this.

I don't see anything...

 

[Officer Snake]

I don't see anything...

Ash is holding a trophy.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Ash is holding a trophy.

I know that picture. I've already seen it elsewhere.

 

[MegaGreninga]

I know that picture. I've already seen it elsewhere.

Does this mean he won then loose the title to give it to royal mask that way he goes to galar region

 

[MegaGreninga]

Him losing to the MR doesn't change anything as it's an unofficial exhibition match. If he hands over the title to the MR then it would be his own choice, due to his desire to continue his journey.

No I’m saying maybe ash decides to give the title of champion to the royal mask that’s all

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Him losing to the MR doesn't change anything as it's an unofficial exhibition match. If he hands over the title to the MR then it would be his own choice, due to his desire to continue his journey.

I don't think he'll do that. He was a Champion of the Orange Islands, but that didn't stop him from leaving. Plus, Kukui doesn't want to be a Champion.

 

[Gabo2oo]

Gladio in SM140: "hey Ash mind holding my trophy real quick lol"

 

[KrspaceT]

Lol that would be the ultimate rickroll

....I'd say they wouldn't do that, but after Rowlet v Decidueye....

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I can’t imagine Fujisaku even writing an Ash loses script. Him writing it had already increased the odds of Ash winning imo.
His style is Ash victories, not Ash losses. So please let’s consider that before blaming every worst possibility (like Gladion giving him the trophy) on him...

 

[Gabo2oo]

I don't think it's for Fujisaku, the episode director, to decide if Ash wins or loses. I mean Tetsuo Yajima directed the whole XY series and even he implied Ash winning or losing wasn't his decision back then.

borderline meme-like

Literally a joke is what they are