• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Review XYS01: Mega Evolution Special I

Seeing the episode again, I still think it was pretty decent. The dub by itself did a decent job carrying it over, and while there were some problems like the Voice Acting being a bit wooden in places (Astrid in particular), I don't think it held it back too much.

As for the other elements, Alain I still find to be pretty boring, the only thing that I really get from him is that he's serious and cares for Charizard. His interactions with Mairin were fun, but that was more due to me enjoying the latter character more. On the other hand, I did like Mairin for being a fun character, and the other characters were OK as well in their roles. The battles, though I will say I'm already tired of seeing MegaCharizard X at this point, the battles were still fun overall. I particularly liked the last one as that's where they gave the two combatant the most time to showcase their abilities against each other.

Overall, again I found it to be a decent special and the dub's no different in that regard, I do look forward to seeing where they go with this because the good points they have I'd like to see fleshed out in the future episodes.
 
Haven't watched the dub in years and watching this reminded me why. The dialogue just really doesn't do it for me. Also I just found the way they decided to pronounce the name was just weird and sounded Arabic or something. Maybe had Alan showed up in the league back in Sinnoh I'd get why they decided against keeping the name, but he was just a cotd that got a weird flashback. Alain is some Colosseum-tier weird naming.

I've also gotta say, the fact that megas are referred to as Mega... as opposed to just the pokemon's normal name just seemed odd to me and sorta busy coming off the tongue. I get why they did it, but I'd have preferred they not.
 
I liked this, and I thought Maron (or however you spell her name) was cute even though I couldn't figure out her gender the first time I saw her. :p

Alain felt unemotional and robotic though. Just a bland character. But I'm curious about where that little cameo of you know who at the end is gonna go!
 
Anyone else think Alan's purple shirt might be a sign he'll be a rival to Ash at some point? Gary and Paul wear purple too.

Edit: just watched it dubbed, and holy crap, Alan's VA sounds straight out of an 80s dub! It's kinda nostalgic, haha. I think there's some particular character he's reminding me of, but I can't put my finger on it.
 
Last edited:
Watched the special recently and I must say I'm quite impressed with what has happened here.

For starters Alain is pretty cool, I generally like the calm, collected thinker type of protagonist a really refreshing experience from seeing Ash blunder about for so long. His skills as a trainer are impressive to say the least with his victory over two powerful megas and putting up a good fight against Siebold which imo are better than Ash's previous battles against an E4 member. Though I don't really agree with his voice acting, it's a bit too fancy for my liking. And what's with the name change? Alan would have been just fine for English audiences.

Manon is not so bad too. Her personality contrasts well with Alain with the whole uptight meets energy dynamic and I can somewhat forgive her bumbling since she is a new trainer, though they could cut down on the falling since it will get old really fast. Her voice acting is spot on, really good for her character type and appearance. Her catching Flabebe was amusing and it also shows Manon may be a fast learner or Alain's a good teacher.

The battles involving Alain and Charizard are quite a spectacle. It might just be me but I swear the battles are better thought out and animated than the mainstream series. Blastoise's Dragon Pulse looks incredible and strangely resembles the Crimson Dragon from Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds.

The mega stone Alain found at the temple where he battles the Kabuki Dragon Trainer has me interested. What could it be? It's encased in crystal so it's hard to see but I think it could be Charizardite Y due to the colors I can see.

One part I really liked was the flashback to Alain's time as an assistant. Some very nice questions were asked about mega evolution which I hope get some resolution in the future.

Speaking of the future I really hope we end up somewhere epic with this whole thing. A climax where Ash and co team up with Alain and Maron to have a epic battle with team flare would be something I would like to see. Since it's been confirmed to not only take place in the same continuity as the mainstream series but also at the same time it has to otherwise it will be a huge waste of potential.

Praying for similar quality in the second episode as well as more episodes featuring Alain and Maron to flesh them out some more. Maybe Alain could be a rival or mentor of sorts for Ash when they meet. Though I doubt Alain is interested in the Kalos league since he already has a different goal.
 
Please note: The thread is from 10 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom