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Review XY036: A Sky Battle!? Luchabull VS Fiarrow!!

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XY036 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia


First black, then blue, and now Red.
XQAsM60.jpg
 
Hmmm...pretty strange indeed of the Mega device to change color in every few episode, what could the writers tells about this?

Anyway, yay for another evolution success epsiode I kinda excited to see it again in another episode hopefully soon enough.
 
Sky Battles look WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE! To me, it looked like so much Fine. LOL I actually Laughed at Fennekin Riding on Serena's Back as much as these 2 are SO ANNOYING to Me. But still Cool to see.

Team Rocket just Appears out of NOWHERE AGAIN!? Bonnie too short and Small for the Sky Costume. GREAT Chespin Moments.

Also to Me, this was one of those Mistitled Episodes it was more of Fletching Focus then Hawlucha but still Fine with Me. Overall 7.9
 
Good ep. Nice to see Fletchling getting some attention. Its evo was well deserved. The battle's were nice and fluid, only gripe was Ash spamming Flame Charge at the end, though he was pressing his advantage so I can give him that. Also would have liked to see Hawlucha put up a better fight but I guess it wasn't used to the sky battle concept.

Were team rocket really needed here? They kinda served a purpose but that purpose could have been solved any number of ways. Would rather see more sky battling.

I have to say, Ash's team is shaping up quite nicely for this early in his journey. Froakie is a wee boss with a decent move pool for the stage he is at, Hawlucha has already shown how strong it can be and only lacks that 4th move and now Fletchinder who has a decent move set, has proven itself in battle against it's evolved form, has a decent move set and covers off the fire slot in Ash's team. I'm quite impressed.

I wonder what move Fletchinder dropped. I would personally get rid of peck, even though it'd lose it's only flying type move.
 
A really interesting episode. The Sky Battles were introduced in the best way possible.

We also got a lot of interactions, which is nice. Hawlucha being introduced to the others and Fletchling being all "Whaa! I thought I was your only flying type!". It was natural for Fletchling to get upset since he and Hawlucha (Champion of the forest) were options for the strong, proud of its power Talonflame, which looked smaller in size at some scenes. Talonflame, of course, wanted to show his power and chose the stronger looking poke.

Bonnie not being able to join the others while training was kinda sad, since Bonnie is excluded from most of the fun stuff because she's too young. This trend will probably continue, sadly... Well, Chespin and Dedenne are good company, right!?

Also, being a Team Rocket fan, I'm usually ok (maybe happy) when they appear (mostly from out of nowhere), but today. GOSH, they were soo Meh!. They were shown for like 2 minutes. Why writers, why! TR shouldn't have appeared. (It would've been amazing if James had Carnivine, since it can be used in Sky Battles, though :D).

Another thing that was the surprise of the episode was Fletchling's evolu SERENA BEING USEFUL. Yeah, she jumped to fly along with the others after TR (1 plus so far) and then used Fennekin to attack TR's Balloon (wow Ser u on fire!). I think that the writers are preparing her for the Summer arc.

Now the battles: they were really good and well handled, Fletchling's evolution, like the user above me said, was well deserved.

Score: 10-3 for TR appearance + 1 for Serena.......8?

PS: Clemont was funny and entertaining as always :)
 
This episode was amazing. I love how almost everyone gets a shining moment.

First we get the typical new Pokémon introduction. I like how Fletchling was so surprised when Hawlucha made his appearance. Though it only makes sense since he was the only one of Ash's crew who didn't meet him in the last episode. Froakie's reaction of no reaction was pretty funny, but also expected. And Dedenne bowed? Wow, so respectful...and weird. Chespin mimicking Hawlucha was cute.

Damn that Talonflame girl is ruthless. Two Fire Blasts in a row on Skarmory. Anyway, it sucks that Bonnie couldn't join in since she was too short to get a suit. But I did like how Chespin came out just to comfort her. I'm really liking Chespin today. He's okay when he's not annoying.

Ah Clemont, non-athletic even in the air. I really liked how Serena seemed to be the best out of all of them at staying in the air and landing safely. Talonflame is much smaller than I thought, but I guess I should keep up on Pokémon sizes. Anyway, I thought it was rude how Talonflame and its trainer just shrugged on Fletchling to battle Hawlucha. Thankfully Bonnie proposed to hang out with him so he could watch the battle.

I like how Hawlucha struggled in the battle since he is more fighting oriented rather than flying. It was also nice to see Fletchling study Talonflame's movements during the battle. Bonnie was so great. I like how she's the one to stand up for Fletchling and ask for a battle.

Serena was so great toady. I love how she and Fennekin were the ones to destroy TR's balloon. I also loved how Fletchling did most of the work on TR. Fletchling's battle against Talonflame was amazing. I love how evasive he was, dodging nearly all of Talonflame's attacks and getting off a lot of hits. After Fletchling evolved I like how Ash kept using Flame Charge at the end to boost Fletchinder's speed to win the battle.

Overall, this was a wonderful episode. The group learns about Sky Battles, Hawlucha gets to battle, Chespin is comforting, cute, and not annoying, Serena shows off her flying skills and destroy's TR's balloon, Bonnie and Fletchling bond, Fletchling defeats TR's Pokémon, evolves, and beats Talonflame in an amazing battle. There was really nothing I disliked. I have to give this episode a 10/10!
 
A true hoenn 2.0 ep.

Ash beats a foe stronger than him through plot armor suddenly increasing his pokemon's powers tenfold.
 
I am certainly disgusted. Awful episode.

So many cliches.
- A weaker foe gains the stronger's respect due to TR.
- An evolution that wasn't deserved.
- Sudden winner traits which are based on absolute NOTHING. Fletchling wasn't nohwere near of being a winner. It wasn't even capable of chasing TR properly for god's sake!
- Ash's opponent uses great tactics in the 1st fight and awful tactics in the following one. I mean who would attack an opponent in a sky-battle (while there are up and down) from such close range while thinking he gained the upper hand.
- When Fletchling lands a hit, Talonflame (which weighs nearly 15 Fletchling) seriously suffers. But Fletchling hangs on in a fire blast?! Yeah. Sure. Right. Get out.

That humiliating attitude of Talonflame was the only proper thing for Fletching, in this episode.

I'm truly getting sick of XY series.

Edit: Thanks for correcting me p96822. :)
 
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I am certainly disgusted. Awful episode.

So many cliches.
- A weaker foe gains the stronger's respect due to TR.
- An evolution that wasn't deserved.
- Sudden winner traits which are based on absolute NOTHING. Fletchling wasn't nohwere near of being a winner. It wasn't even capable of chasing TR properly for god's sake!
- Ash's opponent uses great tactics in the 1st fight and awful tactics in the following one. I mean who would attack an opponent in a sky-battle (while there are up and down) from such close range while thinking he gained the upper hand.
- When Fletchling lands a hit, Talonflame (which weighs nearly 15 Fletchling) seriously suffers. But Fletchling hangs on in a flamethrower?! Yeah. Sure. Right. Get out.

That humiliating attitude of Talonflame was the only proper thing for Fletching, in this episode.

I'm truly getting sick of XY series.

That was Fire Blast not Flamethower
 
Every once in a while, XY gets a really good episode.

Well, today's episode was even better than that. I can't praise it enough:

- Bonnie was adorable and funny when annoyed over being too small to fly and then being supportive and encouraging towards Fletchling. While watching the episode I’ve also noticed that Bonnie sympathized with Fletchling since they were both small and I really enjoyed that she played a part in Fletchling’s development as she provided a great encouragement and moral boost. She also begged Nami to let Fletchling battle which I found really touching.

- The setting in this episode was so refreshing. There were no typical filler forests settings, but a setting ideal for sky battles and a type of setting we don’t see all that often.

- Nami wasn’t a typical bland COTD. Once she saw Ash flying in that wing-suit and saw that he had two flying types she glued herself to that mirror like a battle-obsessed maniac and asked for a sky battle. She was really enthusiastic about it and basically reminded me of a female Ash centered on Sky Battles. Even Nami’s Talonflame had a cocky personality which I found really funny and a nice character quirk.

- Fennekin actually took out Team Rocket’s balloon. I expected this episode to solely focus on Ash so I was pleasantly surprised when Serena sent out Fennekin mid-air and ordered a Flamethrower. More proactive Serena is always good in my book. Plus, she had a cute sisterly moment with Bonnie earlier in the episode and showed some great skills when they practiced flying with wing-suits.

- Fletchling was also really cute and badass in this episode. It enjoyed Bonnie’s support and actually remembered her words when about to battle Talonflame. It was attentive during Hawlucha’s battle with Talonflame and paid attention to Talonflame’s movements in air. I felt for Fletchling when it couldn’t battle which made his evolution and win all that more satisfying. Fletchling’s evolution sequence was powerful and I loved the emphasis on Flame Charge’s speed-boosting effect. I think Fletchling’s speed was a key factor in it beating Talonflame.

- At the beginning of the episode, Ash introduced Hawlucha to his other Pokémon and Serena and Clemont sent out their Pokémon too in order to officially meet Hawlucha. I just thought that was a neat little moment which makes complete sense. I wish we saw more of that more often.

- And, oh my God, the way this episode ended, with cheerful Bonnie spreading her hands and “flying” was the best ending ever!

Overall, an amazing episode.
 
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After seeing the positive reviews so far, I was really pumped to watch this episode. And surely it was great!

~Fletchling's shocked expression and Froakie's nonchalant indifference towards Hawlucha's introduction were funny. Glad the gang had everyone between the three trainers introduce themselves. I hope they continue to do this for every Pokemon they add to the family. Also Chespin's imitation was sweet. I really like its character.

~Skarmory curb stomp battle. If only all competitive battles with it would go this way.

~The Sky Trainers were all nicely animated, with that Sky Trainer facility conveniently nearby. Nami was a lively COTD and her eagerness for battle with Ash's flying types didn't shy away from his own battle eagerness. But poor Bonnie though! I know the feeling all to well of not being tall enough for something (at least I used to). Hopefully they make it up to her in later episodes. Kudos to Chespin and Pikachu for offering to keep her company.

~I agree, Talonflame is a lot smaller than I thought. I blame the games. Anyway, it was nice to see it animated. It choosing Hawlucha as an opponent over Fletchling was expected and slightly sad. Thankfully Bonnie was there to allow it to be episode relevant (something Ash should have done rather than attempt to recall it).

~Hawlucha battle was just sad. I mean, sad. I understand it can't physically fly as Talonflame, bird Pokes can, but still. After the episode we just came from, it getting the "whorf effect" is not appreciated.

~TR interruption. I didn't mind it, refreshing actually, and Serena being the action girl now was nice to see as well as the way Fennekin came out and used Flamethrower. Also to note was how quickly she mastered Sky Trainer flight. Maybe homage to her manga counterpart?

~Fletchling battle was great! I liked how it played to its most noteworthy strength: evasion. Also, Fletchinder was beautifully animated. I am curious as to what move it forgot for Flame Charge as all its prior moves were great in my opinion. My only complaint is that I wished the aerial battle would have been akin to Ash vs Skyla to some degree. Oh well, maybe later in subsequent Sky Battles (hopefully).

~Bonnie airplane arms!

Overall a great episode to succeed the previous. Hawlucha could have landed a hit however and I was expecting to hear the elusive Gym Leader Battle theme at some point, but otherwise very good with splendid interactions everywhere.
 
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Is it just me or the animation for Fire Blast, both in the anime (since now) and games (since Gen IV), has become less of a 大 shape and more of a star-like shape? This was more evident here than ever was, and I just find it strange, considering they have no problems showing kanji in the upcoming Korrina episode nor they had for Virgil's Flareon in the Unova League, let alone the Oak vs Rotom episode...
 
A very enjoyable episode. My favourite one in a while.

Even though Ash's regional fliers don't usually have stand out personalities or get much focus, they're always among my favorites of his team. Yayakoma is no different. In fact I'd say it was my favourite of all Ash's basic stage birds. I loved how it got to do so much in it's first stage compared to the previous three or so fliers.

It was great to see it take center stage in this ep. I don't see how the evolution was undeserved at all, felt like he earned it to me. I'm glad they at least waited 36 eps as well and it wasn't earlier and random like Mamepato's. Now that it knows a fire type move, hopefully its usage increases!

That thing better wreck Ramos' gym. :p
 
~Hawlucha battle was just sad. I mean, sad. I understand it can't physically fly as Talonflame, bird Pokes can, but still. After the episode we just came from, it getting the "whorf effect" is not appreciated.

I think given the context of the battle, it actually makes sense. Hawlucha is seriously disadvantaged in sky battles. Flying press is unlikely to do any sort of damage and both Karate Chop and Hi Jump Kick require actual contact which given the aerial advantage of Talonflame seems very unlikely. However if Ash's Hawlucha is using wing attack in the Mirror Episode next week as the preview implies, I'm confused as to why it didn't use it against Talonflame.

However had this battle been a land battle, I might be able to agree with you. But since this was particularly a sky battle, it makes sense why Ash's Hawlucha couldn't make any sort of impressive moments. Especially since Talonflame has ranged attacks unlike Hawlucha. I've always believe in the context of the anime, each and every Pokemon needs at least one ranged attack (Physical or Special damage). Otherwise it would be difficult to take down a special/ranged Pokemon.

Sure it would have been nice for Hawlucha to make at least one connecting attack, but Hawlucha's loss was very realistic. Talonflame is far more aerial than Hawlucha. So I wouldn't take it as the Worf effect so much as shoving "someone" into a situation and expecting them to do great when it's out of their capabilities given what they can do. Hawlucha's move set is very air battle unfriendly.
 
Even though the title card featured Ash, it seems like Bonnie was the real star in this episode. After being told that she was too small/short to wear a Wing Suit, Bonnie was upset that she couldn't participate in the Sky Battles like everybody else. Bonnie soon saw Fletchling being ignored by Nami's Talonflame for a similar reason, which convinced her to look after Fletchling while Ash fought Nami.

During that battle, Bonnie told Fletchling that being small can help it; Fletchling was convinced soon after to analyze Talonflame's aerial movements. And once Hawlucha lost to Talonflame, Bonnie asked Nami to battle Fletchling.

Essentially Bonnie made Fletchling's evolution possible. All Ash did was give Fletchinder the attacking commands it needed to win.
 
Even though the title card featured Ash, it seems like Bonnie was the real star in this episode. After being told that she was too small/short to wear a Wing Suit, Bonnie was upset that she couldn't participate in the Sky Battles like everybody else. Bonnie soon saw Fletchling being ignored by Nami's Talonflame for a similar reason, which convinced her to look after Fletchling while Ash fought Nami.

During that battle, Bonnie told Fletchling that being small can help it; Fletchling was convinced soon after to analyze Talonflame's aerial movements. And once Hawlucha lost to Talonflame, Bonnie asked Nami to battle Fletchling.

Essentially Bonnie made Fletchling's evolution possible. All Ash did was give Fletchinder the attacking commands it needed to win.
Yes, that is why this episode was so amazing. The writers managed to incorporate Bonnie into an episode that would be normally be all about Ash and even allowed Serena to have a piece of action. We need more of this stuff happens more often!
 
I am certainly disgusted. Awful episode.

So many cliches.
- A weaker foe gains the stronger's respect due to TR.
- An evolution that wasn't deserved.
- Sudden winner traits which are based on absolute NOTHING. Fletchling wasn't nohwere near of being a winner. It wasn't even capable of chasing TR properly for god's sake!
- Ash's opponent uses great tactics in the 1st fight and awful tactics in the following one. I mean who would attack an opponent in a sky-battle (while there are up and down) from such close range while thinking he gained the upper hand.
- When Fletchling lands a hit, Talonflame (which weighs nearly 15 Fletchling) seriously suffers. But Fletchling hangs on in a fire blast?! Yeah. Sure. Right. Get out.

That humiliating attitude of Talonflame was the only proper thing for Fletching, in this episode.

I'm truly getting sick of XY series.

Edit: Thanks for correcting me p96822. :)
I rewatched the episode and still not satisfied with Fletchling which proved nothing to deserve its evolution. Still there is no explanation for the evolution other than 'Ash's bird has to be a winner' concept. The last fight made me disgusted even more compared to my first try. Assuming there was just 10 level difference(pretty optimistic) between Talonflame and Ash's Fletchling, Steel Wing and Fire Blast, both moves nearly 1 hit KOs. But Fletchling managed to survive after getting hit by both moves.


But besides those, there were some major XY quailty things.
Bonnie and her interactions with Fletchling was great. Also the sky-battle was handled pretty well. A lot better than I expected. Hawlucha not being a bird situation. That defeat was well-written.

I'm chaning my awful comment to pretty decent.

Maybe, I'm just getting sick of the repetitive nature of Pokemon anime.
 
I am certainly disgusted. Awful episode.

So many cliches.
- A weaker foe gains the stronger's respect due to TR.
- An evolution that wasn't deserved.
- Sudden winner traits which are based on absolute NOTHING. Fletchling wasn't nohwere near of being a winner. It wasn't even capable of chasing TR properly for god's sake!
- Ash's opponent uses great tactics in the 1st fight and awful tactics in the following one. I mean who would attack an opponent in a sky-battle (while there are up and down) from such close range while thinking he gained the upper hand.
- When Fletchling lands a hit, Talonflame (which weighs nearly 15 Fletchling) seriously suffers. But Fletchling hangs on in a fire blast?! Yeah. Sure. Right. Get out.

That humiliating attitude of Talonflame was the only proper thing for Fletching, in this episode.

I'm truly getting sick of XY series.

Edit: Thanks for correcting me p96822. :)
I rewatched the episode and still not satisfied with Fletchling which proved nothing to deserve its evolution. Still there is no explanation for the evolution other than 'Ash's bird has to be a winner' concept. The last fight made me disgusted even more compared to my first try. Assuming there was just 10 level difference(pretty optimistic) between Talonflame and Ash's Fletchling, Steel Wing and Fire Blast, both moves nearly 1 hit KOs. But Fletchling managed to survive after getting hit by both moves.
It would be helpful if you tried separating the two in your head; anime always had a different kind of logic from that of the games. In terms of anime logic, this win made sense. There are no levels, so who knows what level Fletchling was but it is certain that its endurance was strong. Its small size and speed were of a huge benefit and after evolving, the continuous use of Flame Charge greatly increased its speed as Fletchinder kept moving towards its opponent with great power which is something Talonflame could just not deal with.

You also have to take into account that Talonflame was possibly already weakened from its fight with Hawlucha (it used Brave Bird in that battle so that surely cost some health) and Fletchling already dealt some damage before defeating Talonflame as a Fletchinder. So this battle made complete sense. You just have to overlook the game logics. Anime =/= games.
 
Well that's interesting. Hawlucha came out of it's Pokéball twice when Ash called three of his Pokémon out.
 
i feel like i say this alot but i'm obsessed with eureka. her speech to yayakoma about the strength of little people was SO, SO cute. also serena mastering the gliding instantly and even commanding fokko to battle in mid-air was really cool.

the battle was also gorgeously animated with a lot of cool camera angles and action. great episode!
 
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