Review SM143: Conclusion! Gaogaen VS Nyaheat!!

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Why playing the Xyz theme in this battle? Doesn't make any sense

It was epic. I think that's what counts.

 

[FCBayern]

Why playing the Xyz theme in this battle? Doesn't make any sense

I guess because of the intensity of the song and its tempo

 

[Panky..]

I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed the callback, but the little tiebreaker between Naganadel and Lucario seemed to mirror Pikachu's and Electivire's Iron Tail-Thunder Punch tie which Electivire broke using it's other body part via a Brick Break.

Also, am I the only one who was glad Ash's Incineroar fainted the way it did (after beating it's rival) instead of getting jobbed and overshadowed by Tapu Koko in the next episode?

Ash Ketchum, even as the champion of Alola still manages to forget that Poison attacks don’t work on steel type Pokémon lmaooooo.

Technically, Kukui also had a few slip-ups including forgetting that Whirlpool wouldn't affect a heavy Melmetal.

 

[BigDocFan]

Also, am I the only one who was glad Ash's Incineroar fainted the way it did (after beating it's rival) instead of getting jobbed and overshadowed by Tapu Koko in the next episode?

I liked the way Incineroar was defeated, as you say it means Ash's newly evolved Pokemon doesn't get an easy defeat against Tapu Koko

 

[TheGoldenToon]

I still can't believe it fainted standing up, like wow, that's kind of awesome, if I do say so myself.

 

[Kairyu]

Iwane and Tomioka combo simply cannot fail... This was fantastic. That said, XYZ theme is a bit jarring, they could've easily played any of the latest two OP's instead, that would've fit better.

OLM blowing all the animation budget on these final two fights and dumping the less talented animators on the two goodbye episodes brings a smile to my face. Too many times it's been the reverse, using up all the good animators for fillers and whatnot, which effectively ruined many potentially good battles.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Why didn't Terrocat evolved earlier. Who knows if it will be used again after this battle.

Because then we can't tell them apart?

 

[Shadao]

Why playing the Xyz theme in this battle? Doesn't make any sense

Why not? It's pretty much Ash's "Let's Get Dangerous" theme these days. Whereas Gladion represents the nail-bitting possibility of Ash breaking through the glass ceiling of victory, XYZ represents Ash's love for battles and where he shines as a trainer. Fittingly, it's reserved for the battle reward.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I don't know if I'm the only one who noticed the callback, but the little tiebreaker between Naganadel and Lucario seemed to mirror Pikachu's and Electivire's Iron Tail-Thunder Punch tie which Electivire broke using it's other body part via a Brick Break.

Didn't notice that, but did you notice how the way Incineroar stopped Torracat by grabbing its head and then hitting it with Throat Chop is identical to the way how Litten got defeated when it first battled Incineroar?

 

[radek.tadajewski.7]

Has the ending theme Type: Wild been updated to include Ash's Incineroar for this episode yet?

 

[Kurolegacy]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SU7gP9B7jh8
That's how.

Ash: Did you just pull off another Z-Move in the same battle?
Kakui: Screw the rule, I made this Pokémon League.

 

[WatcherMark]

I still can't believe it fainted standing up, like wow, that's kind of awesome, if I do say so myself.

Just pointing out, this isn't the first time....

But yeah, this episode was just amazing. I mean, Lucario vs Agoyon was already intense enough with it genuinely looking like at one point our Purple Poison Dragon was going to go down, so I'm glad it rallied and eventually won... I was expecting a tie. Glad it'll be around for the next episode to soften up Tapu Koko and make things more even for Pikachu (since it also won't be battling fresh).

But man, Lucario vs Agoyon was nothing compared to the perfection that was Nyaheat vs Gaogaen. The animation, the pacing, the music.... everything was just absolutely top notch. I have zero complaints about this, it felt like a hard fought and well earned victory for Nyabby-chan.

And I was convinced it wasn't going to evolve this series, so seeing Nyaheat finally getting the transformation it deserved was the icing on the cake. Having said that... I'm not sure how I feel about it fainting after evolving. On the one hand, it would so suck to have it evolve only to instantly go down against Tapu Koko so fainting now was probably the best move but it would have been nice to see Satoshi actually battle with it considering he probably won't get another chance this saga.

Finally, I feel so bad for Kukui's final Pokemon. After months in its Poke Ball, it finally gets its chance to battle... only for Tapu Koko to sweep in and knock it out of the way. We're not even going to get to see what it is... so my headcanon now is that it was a...

 

[L-05308]

I just love that Torracat didn’t win because it evolved, it evolved because it won- as it should be, I feel like we see too much of the former in the anime.

Naganadel vs Lucario was decent too.

• First Lucario to not use Aura Sphere!
• Weird how that move with the stinger was X-Scissor, not Fell Stinger or something? Oh well.

The battle between cats was great too, I loved that Torracat attacked relentlessly at points, not giving the opponent a chance.

I don’t really like Tapu Koko butting in as Kukui’s sixth Pokemon (what secret weapon did he save until after his ungodly Incineroar was beaten?) but the preview for next week looks great and I’m glad we get Tapu v UB first.

 

[BraixenFennekin]

wow! What an episode to end! Ash's Torracat managed to defeat Kukui's Incineroar when they used Fire Z-Move's Dynamic Full Flame (Inferno Overdrive). As a result, Ash's Torracat evolved into Incineroar, but however, with too much energy he spent, it fainted.
I give this episode an A++.

 

[Agent2583]

If Naganadel is going first then it will have the advantage because Fairies are weak to Poison.

Ash having an Incineroar is worth it even if it was worth the wait.

 

[Gengarzilla]

To me, this evolution feels completely pointless since it happened after the battle and it was too spent to keep going. There's only a few SM episodes left and none of them have any indication of Ash's new Incineroar getting a battle. At least May's Blaziken got that before it was sent into the void of former main cast Pokémon.

And, oh yeah, not pleased about the Tapu Koko thing.

 

[JFrombaugh]

If the new Pokémon anime series isn't a continuity reboot, then I wonder what the odds are of us seeing Ash's Incineroar get to battle Alain's Mega Charizard X in a rematch?

Not very good, I know...too bad, it feels like that sudden evolution from Torracat to Incineroar is going to be kinda pointless, considering there's only three more episodes of this series left...

 

[DarkraiKnight]

Lord Arceus above, Ash vs Kukui just keeps getting better with each episode. Both Naganadel vs Lucario and Torracat vs Incineroar were fast-paced, full of life, and just so darn good. I gotta say: if SM had more battles like this (well, closer in quality to this), then it would've been a much better series. Don't know if it's because of the budget or the availability of animators/writers or whatever, but they've been sleeping on us HARD.

And I can't believe it. I never thought I'd see Torracat evolve...but he did it. He actually did it. Sure, we may not get to see him battle as an Incineroar, but that's not really what matters here. What matters is the symbolism. Torracat had finally surpassed Incineroar, who was its idol and greatest rival. What better way to commemorate such a milestone by having it evolve and declare its victory to the world?

10/10. And the next episode (as controversial as Tapu Koko's intervention might be) looks to be even BETTER. What a way to cap off my favorite series. This is such a gift.

 

[FCBayern]

Spoiler

Well someone on twitter posted that this was supposed to be Kukui’s full team to battle Ash with, Pelipper seems like an odd choice but..

It kinda makes sense story-wise because in SM011, Kukui manages to get a ride Pelipper suddenly out of nowhere early in the morning so Ash can help Kiawe run errands..

I wouldn’t be shocked if Pelipper belongs to the Professor, if I’m wrong so be it but this is the closest we’re gonna get to knowing who that 6th Pokemon was unless they decide to tell us in the future!

Spoiler

I know most most ppl aren’t happy about the fact that Tapu Koko decided to interrupt their battle just because it can

It does have some logic though because Kukui is the Masked Royal and Battle Royals are based on battles the 4 Island Guardians used to have against each other to see who would win

This is what Rotom told Ash at home the first time we learnt about what a battle Royal was during the episode where he meets the Masked Royal for the first time and Litten evolves

- If Ash loses, then it becomes unfair because Kukui didn’t use his own Pokémon to beat him

- If he wins, it ends Pikachu’s own pseudo-rivalry with Tapu Koko but it’s kinda strange for an Island Guardian that people literally worship to lose to an electric mouse.. So what is Pikachu now the God of Alola? Lmao

- The positive is that we kill 2 birds with one stone and finish up another storyline that was eventually going to happen once and for all, ending the Pokémon League arc..

- Another positive is that this battle (judging from the preview) is gonna be pretty epic, which would’ve not been possible if Pikachu was battling a normal Pokémon instead..

Iwane and Tomioka combo simply cannot fail... This was fantastic. That said, XYZ theme is a bit jarring, they could've easily played any of the latest two OP's instead, that would've fit better.

OLM blowing all the animation budget on these final two fights and dumping the less talented animators on the two goodbye episodes brings a smile to my face. Too many times it's been the reverse, using up all the good animators for fillers and whatnot, which effectively ruined many potentially good battles.

Certain themes like the XYZ one are much more suited for intense battles when compared to the ones in S&M, it may be known Greninja’s song but that theme became so iconic it’s gonna be used in some of Ash’s hardest battles in the future..

 

[Gengarzilla]

- The positive is that we kill 2 birds with one stone and finish up another storyline that was eventually going to happen once and for all, ending the Pokémon League arc..

It's just that I don't see why this rematch with Tapu Koko absolutely had to be tacked on to this battle against Kukui like some Dr. Frankenstein creation. It very easily could have taken place at another time without compromising the entire result of Ash's first showing as Alola's Champion. The way they're doing this brings down an otherwise great battle quite a bit if you ask me.