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Review XY060: Aim to be the Kalos Queen! Serena Makes Her Debut!!

Yep, Jessie went overboard, but I don't think she was trying to hide her Pokémon because she's not a fan of its color scheme or something like that. I guess she thought it would be a good idea to show off Pumpkaboo as a scary monstrosity considering its Ghost typing and all. It was a very creative design and it reminded me of Gourgeist, but I understand your point and I agree. I just didn't like how there's no panel of judges and the Performers may end up being eliminated because the audience members will choose what is more cute and fluffy. Because of this system, you're better of in a Showcase with a cute Pokémon from the get-go than with a Pokémon like Pumpkaboo. Jessie's performance wasn't flawed and she still got less points than Serena. Talk about injustice.

Wait, you are assuming the RANDOMLY GENERATED AUDIENCES are biased? Remember, R/S/E game contests also consist of Random Generated Audiences that VOTES.

Individually ofcourse they are biased. But I am sure the audiences are from different walks of life and love different genres. So I think their bias is divided equally among all genres. Because, think about it, Jessie lost here, but we are going to see her in the Kalos Queen Contest! She will get 3 keys. She will win 3 competitions. I am sure there is a crowd that likes horrifying monsters. And I believe Jessie will stand by her way of doing the performance. I don't really see her going all cute.

Well, you could say this is not the crowd that likes monstrosities. But I do not believe that the audiences
(as whole) are biased, I would say the problem with Jessie's performance is the visually absent Pumpkaboo.

Ofcourse Jessie ain't someone who will hate a Pokemon's colour scheme. All Pokemon Anime fans know that. But the audiences that votes do not know. Even if there are judges, they would have shook their head when they saw that Pumpkaboo. When one does not know Jessie, and one go from a critic's angle, the absence of Pumkaboo is very bad.

The fact that Serena having more points that Jessie, I would say its because of.. you know... some people always support the.... errmm.. (how should I put this) unfortunates. Pity points (you can say so).

One more to add. I am sure Bonnie is the fairest audience here. She thinks Garchomp as CUTE. In fact all Pokemon are equal to her. So I can see her predicting the victories very easily by simply pointing out which one she likes (except when an accident occurs), not just this episode, but even in the future.

I can foresee her pointing out Jessie as the winner in future Tripokalons. I can almost reassure you the episode Bonnie highlighted Jessie's performance, Jessie WILL WIN. You heard it from me first!
 
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Think about it: neither May nor Dawn lost this badly in their first contests, yet we've hardly ever seen them train.
You must be joking. Dawn can be seen practicing for her Contests in a large number of the Diamond & Pearl series episodes. The writers have dedicated an entire episode to her coming up with the idea for the Ice Chandelier combination. There are episodes of her training alone, training with Ash, training with Zoey, training with her mom...

Remember when Zoey told Dawn that the Hearthome Contest would use the Double Performance format? Dawn had never heard of this kind of performance and so Zoey put Glameow and Shellos to perform together and show Dawn how a Double Performance works. After that, Dawn decided to practice for the rest of the episode to come up with some combinations. Despite her efforts, she wasn't all that successful in her training, with Piplup and Pachirisu ending their performance in a disastrous way and Buneary and Buizel losing a Double Battle against Ash's Pikachu and Aipom.

On the other hand, Serena found out what she wanted to do in her life a little while ago and she's already good at performing with both Fennekin and Pancham, as seen in Pathways to Performance Partnering!. She has no problems in what is supposed to be the most challenging part of a Showcase, and that explains why the writers have made her lose the way she did. If she can perform with two Pokémon at once even though Performers aren't required to use two Pokémon when competing in Showcases, only a stupid accident could cause her downfall here.

I was referring to their training prior to their first contests, not for the contests they had after that, in which they were shown training as you've pointed out. Granted, I probably should have made that more clear, but please don't jump to conclusions like that.
 
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I'll admit I can't speak much about Musicals since I barely played them when BW were released and don't remember much about them, but regardless, one slightly similar element in the first round of three different competitions don't make the entire events identical. Pokemon Contests, Musicals, and Showcases may have some small things in common, but they also have a lot of very unique elements that differentiate them from one another.

I'm sorry, some small things? Please tell me what Showcases are bringing to the table. Nothing new, really. Like I said, the first round here was a modified version of the Hearthome Collection. The second round was actually the good old Performance Stage of Pokémon Contests that we all know and love. The only difference is that the Performers are required to get involved in the performances, but even this aspect has been shown before with Coordinators in Contests; we have all seen May using props such as juggling balls and flying discs, and Zoey and Kenny putting themselves in their Pokémon's performances. Heck, this was pretty much the performance style adopted by Jessilina in the entirety of the Diamond & Pearl series.

Now don't get me wrong, I much prefer seeing Serena having more of an active role in the show than do nothing like Iris in the Best Wishes series, but you gotta admit it, the writers are just rehashing old concepts and actually making them worse by putting a restriction on gender and making a crappy and biased voting system that allows little kids like Bonnie to decide what is good and what is not. For all we know, Aria might not be a talented and gifted Performer after all, she may very well have won the Master Class tournament and the title of Prom Queen, I'm sorry I meant Kalos, because she was a pretty famous person on Pokémon world's YouTube before she ever entered her first Pokémon Showcase. This is not a competition that tests one's skills, it tests popularity really.

Wait, you are assuming the RANDOMLY GENERATED AUDIENCES are biased? Remember, R/S/E game contests also consist of Random Generated Audiences that VOTES.

Individually ofcourse they are biased. But I am sure the audiences are from different walks of life and love different genres. So I think their bias is divided equally among all genres. Because, think about it, Jessie lost here, but we are going to see her in the Kalos Queen Contest! She will get 3 keys. She will win 3 competitions. I am sure there is a crowd that likes horrifying monsters. And I believe Jessie will stand by her way of doing the performance. I don't really see her going all cute.

Well, you could say this is not the crowd that likes monstrosities. But I do not believe that the audiences
(as whole) are biased, I would say the problem with Jessie's performance is the visually absent Pumpkaboo.

Ofcourse Jessie ain't someone who will hate a Pokemon's colour scheme. All Pokemon Anime fans know that. But the audiences that votes do not know. Even if there are judges, they would have shook their head when they saw that Pumpkaboo. When one does not know Jessie, and one go from a critic's angle, the absence of Pumkaboo is very bad.

The fact that Serena having more points that Jessie, I would say its because of.. you know... some people always support the.... errmm.. (how should I put this) unfortunates. Pity points (you can say so).

One more to add. I am sure Bonnie is the fairest audience here. She thinks Garchomp as CUTE. In fact all Pokemon are equal to her. So I can see her predicting the victories very easily by simply pointing out which one she likes (except when an accident occurs), not just this episode, but even in the future.

I can foresee her pointing out Jessie as the winner in future Tripokalons. I can almost reassure you the episode Bonnie highlighted Jessie's performance, Jessie WILL WIN. You heard it from me first!

Not only the Pokémon Contests from Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but also the Pokémon Super Contests from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and the Pokémon Contest Spectaculars from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The thing is, when the writers adapted the Pokémon Contests from the games to the anime in the Advanced Generation series, they were smart enough not to use the voting system but instead have a panel of judges evaluating each and every performance. Not the case here, sadly.

I'm not so sure, because every competition has its target audience. The people who watch the Superbowl are not the same watching America's Next Top Model. I'm afraid Showcases will attract a certain group of people, a group looking for cute Pokémon using fancy accessories to make them look even cuter. I don't know if Jessie will win three Princess Keys and go to compete in Master Class, she wasn't treated like a serious contender here. Compare this to the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest and you'll know what I'm talking about. But if she is not going to be treated like a complete joke, then I can see her changing her style to one that appeals more to the crowd, but keeping the extravagant touch she's so well known for.

The fact that Serena got pity points here only adds to what I've been saying, that this should not be judged by the people watching the competition, but for a specialized panel of judges. Even if one of these judges rarely open his mouth to say something other than "Remarkable!". And would Bonnie vote for Jessie's Pokémon if Serena was competing against her? Or would she vote for the friend she is traveling with?

I was referring to their training prior to their first contests, not for the contests they had after that, in which they were shown training as you've pointed out. Granted, I probably should have made that more clear, but please don't jump to conclusions like that.

Again, you must be joking. May and Dawn were seen practicing for their Contest debut. Go ahead and watch Now That's Flower Power! and Like It or Lup It!. In contrast with Serena, both May and Dawn were seen struggling to perfect a move, Serena just performed together with Fennekin and Pancham for her friends and Nini to see, like she was doing that for all her life when in fact she had just learned about Pokémon Showcases. Yeah, Serena trained really hard for this and she lost, poor girl. I'm so sad myself for her loss I don't even know how she'll manage to get over it. Oh wait, she already did. The loss was so heartbreaking she spent half an episode sad about it. Nice!
 
I'm sorry, some small things? Please tell me what Showcases are bringing to the table. Nothing new, really. Like I said, the first round here was a modified version of the Hearthome Collection. The second round was actually the good old Performance Stage of Pokémon Contests that we all know and love. The only difference is that the Performers are required to get involved in the performances, but even this aspect has been shown before with Coordinators in Contests; we have all seen May using props such as juggling balls and flying discs, and Zoey and Kenny putting themselves in their Pokémon's performances. Heck, this was pretty much the performance style adopted by Jessilina in the entirety of the Diamond & Pearl series.

Now don't get me wrong, I much prefer seeing Serena having more of an active role in the show than do nothing like Iris in the Best Wishes series, but you gotta admit it, the writers are just rehashing old concepts and actually making them worse by putting a restriction on gender and making a crappy and biased voting system that allows little kids like Bonnie to decide what is good and what is not. For all we know, Aria might not be a talented and gifted Performer after all, she may very well have won the Master Class tournament and the title of Prom Queen, I'm sorry I meant Kalos, because she was a pretty famous person on Pokémon world's YouTube before she ever entered her first Pokémon Showcase. This is not a competition that tests one's skills, it tests popularity really.

Wait, you are assuming the RANDOMLY GENERATED AUDIENCES are biased? Remember, R/S/E game contests also consist of Random Generated Audiences that VOTES.

Individually ofcourse they are biased. But I am sure the audiences are from different walks of life and love different genres. So I think their bias is divided equally among all genres. Because, think about it, Jessie lost here, but we are going to see her in the Kalos Queen Contest! She will get 3 keys. She will win 3 competitions. I am sure there is a crowd that likes horrifying monsters. And I believe Jessie will stand by her way of doing the performance. I don't really see her going all cute.

Well, you could say this is not the crowd that likes monstrosities. But I do not believe that the audiences
(as whole) are biased, I would say the problem with Jessie's performance is the visually absent Pumpkaboo.

Ofcourse Jessie ain't someone who will hate a Pokemon's colour scheme. All Pokemon Anime fans know that. But the audiences that votes do not know. Even if there are judges, they would have shook their head when they saw that Pumpkaboo. When one does not know Jessie, and one go from a critic's angle, the absence of Pumkaboo is very bad.

The fact that Serena having more points that Jessie, I would say its because of.. you know... some people always support the.... errmm.. (how should I put this) unfortunates. Pity points (you can say so).

One more to add. I am sure Bonnie is the fairest audience here. She thinks Garchomp as CUTE. In fact all Pokemon are equal to her. So I can see her predicting the victories very easily by simply pointing out which one she likes (except when an accident occurs), not just this episode, but even in the future.

I can foresee her pointing out Jessie as the winner in future Tripokalons. I can almost reassure you the episode Bonnie highlighted Jessie's performance, Jessie WILL WIN. You heard it from me first!

Not only the Pokémon Contests from Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but also the Pokémon Super Contests from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and the Pokémon Contest Spectaculars from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The thing is, when the writers adapted the Pokémon Contests from the games to the anime in the Advanced Generation series, they were smart enough not to use the voting system but instead have a panel of judges evaluating each and every performance. Not the case here, sadly.

I'm not so sure, because every competition has its target audience. The people who watch the Superbowl are not the same watching America's Next Top Model. I'm afraid Showcases will attract a certain group of people, a group looking for cute Pokémon using fancy accessories to make them look even cuter. I don't know if Jessie will win three Princess Keys and go to compete in Master Class, she wasn't treated like a serious contender here. Compare this to the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest and you'll know what I'm talking about. But if she is not going to be treated like a complete joke, then I can see her changing her style to one that appeals more to the crowd, but keeping the extravagant touch she's so well known for.

The fact that Serena got pity points here only adds to what I've been saying, that this should not be judged by the people watching the competition, but for a specialized panel of judges. Even if one of these judges rarely open his mouth to say something other than "Remarkable!". And would Bonnie vote for Jessie's Pokémon if Serena was competing against her? Or would she vote for the friend she is traveling with?

I was referring to their training prior to their first contests, not for the contests they had after that, in which they were shown training as you've pointed out. Granted, I probably should have made that more clear, but please don't jump to conclusions like that.

Again, you must be joking. May and Dawn were seen practicing for their Contest debut. Go ahead and watch Now That's Flower Power! and Like It or Lup It!. In contrast with Serena, both May and Dawn were seen struggling to perfect a move, Serena just performed together with Fennekin and Pancham for her friends and Nini to see, like she was doing that for all her life when in fact she had just learned about Pokémon Showcases. Yeah, Serena trained really hard for this and she lost, poor girl. I'm so sad myself for her loss I don't even know how she'll manage to get over it. Oh wait, she already did. The loss was so heartbreaking she spent half an episode sad about it. Nice!
I never said that they didn't train, I said they weren't shown to be training a lot. Case in point, those were the only two episodes in which we've seen either of them train prior to their first contests. Like I said before, please don't accuse me of saying something completely different, it's coming off as harsh. That being said, it's nice to hear that the feeling for Serena is mutual, thank you.
 
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I'm sorry, some small things? Please tell me what Showcases are bringing to the table. Nothing new, really. Like I said, the first round here was a modified version of the Hearthome Collection. The second round was actually the good old Performance Stage of Pokémon Contests that we all know and love. The only difference is that the Performers are required to get involved in the performances, but even this aspect has been shown before with Coordinators in Contests; we have all seen May using props such as juggling balls and flying discs, and Zoey and Kenny putting themselves in their Pokémon's performances. Heck, this was pretty much the performance style adopted by Jessilina in the entirety of the Diamond & Pearl series.

Now don't get me wrong, I much prefer seeing Serena having more of an active role in the show than do nothing like Iris in the Best Wishes series, but you gotta admit it, the writers are just rehashing old concepts and actually making them worse by putting a restriction on gender and making a crappy and biased voting system that allows little kids like Bonnie to decide what is good and what is not. For all we know, Aria might not be a talented and gifted Performer after all, she may very well have won the Master Class tournament and the title of Prom Queen, I'm sorry I meant Kalos, because she was a pretty famous person on Pokémon world's YouTube before she ever entered her first Pokémon Showcase. This is not a competition that tests one's skills, it tests popularity really.

You were initially comparing Pokemon Showcases to different sidequests in the video games. I was noting how Contests and Musicals in the games are not identical to Pokemon Showcases in the anime. Showcases do have some similarities to anime contests, but they are still very different.

Also, Showcases definitely test skills. We clearly saw that when Serena failed to do Fennekin's ribbon being too long causing her to trip over it. The contestants also have to think quickly within the time limit to create an outfit that will show off their Pokemon in the best way possible. In fact, I personally feel that the first round of Showcases require more skill that the first round of anime Contests. Coordinators can practice their appeals as long as they want before they enter a contest to get it perfect. Performers have to work with what they're given in those booths within a restricted time limit.

I also don't see how the voting system is any less biased than the 3 contest judges who all pretty much seemed to share the same opinions, nor do I see why a young child's opinion on someone's outfit is less valid than an older person's.

Finally, about Aria, we have no idea how she became Kalos Queen and if it was related at all to her Pokevisions. She may very well have won based on her skills. Serena's Pokevion was very popular as well, but she still lost due to the accident during the performance. I highly doubt every single person in the audience keeps tabs on who has Pokevisions and just chooses to vote for them just because they like their videos.

But clearly we have different views on the subject, so I think we should just agree to disagree.
 
Admittedly im not much interested in pokemon performance like some around here either. Preferring much better contests because of battle rounds or nature of Misty or Iris dreams. Which involved intense training, entering tournaments(whether regular or based on elements)delivering explosive, action packed moments where pokemon abilities and trainer wit is put to test.

However while pokemon performance based on what is shown so far may not have batles or some specific tests pokemon needs to overcome. With dressing up, dancing and decorating pokemon not seeming that enticing on first glance.

One of things which could make them work is not so much structure of competitions themselves.

But more so ability to give depth of emotions, changes in personality and endearing character development through which Serena could grow. Invoking in character changes, different perception toward pokemon and people themselves.

Way to see main female grow in entirely new and rather creative way than it was case with Misty, May, Dawn or Iris so far. Because whole symbolism behind cutting hair, shame and disappointment to embarass herself in front of audience, friends and TV crew possibly was rather interesting and bold way from writers side in making Serena go through substantial change.

There is also presence of interesting(or having potential to become) characters which comes with this events.

Such as old lady Yashio who is viewed as famous and honored person in world of performers being treated with high respect and acknowledgment. Dropping eye on Serena and possibly serving as vector in turning her in star of Kalos region. Inheriting Aria throne.

Giving us through her interest in pokemon performance direct insight in what happens behind scenes, how world of super stars and idols in pokemon world looks like. All that daily pressure and high expectations they are faced with every day being one of negative sides when your popular with everyone knowing your name.

And that is something worth giving chance in my opinion. Generating enough potential on that basis alone in my opinion to make emotional, inspiring and enjoyable storytelling.

Now don't get me wrong, I much prefer seeing Serena having more of an active role in the show than do nothing like Iris in the Best Wishes series,but you gotta admit it, the writers are just rehashing old concepts and actually making them worse by putting a restriction on gender and making a crappy and biased voting system that allows little kids like Bonnie to decide what is good and what is not. For all we know, Aria might not be a talented and gifted Performer after all, she may very well have won the Master Class tournament and the title of Prom,

Whether people may liked or disliked Iris, saying she "did nothing" would be imo disrespectful and innacurate to say both to character and its fans.
For example i certainly didn't need contests to enjoy in Misty and while i wish more was done with her dreams and interests. She still left big impact on story and developed alot emotionally regardless of not collecting medals.

Because quality of character isn't and shouldn't be evaluated by how much he does, but in what he does and how much his presence embellish structure of anime, character interactions and overall plot. Impacting series in general with his antics, interests in life and various characteristics unique to him.
 
Not only the Pokémon Contests from Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald, but also the Pokémon Super Contests from Diamond, Pearl, and Platinum, and the Pokémon Contest Spectaculars from Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire. The thing is, when the writers adapted the Pokémon Contests from the games to the anime in the Advanced Generation series, they were smart enough not to use the voting system but instead have a panel of judges evaluating each and every performance. Not the case here, sadly.

I'm not so sure, because every competition has its target audience. The people who watch the Superbowl are not the same watching America's Next Top Model. I'm afraid Showcases will attract a certain group of people, a group looking for cute Pokémon using fancy accessories to make them look even cuter. I don't know if Jessie will win three Princess Keys and go to compete in Master Class, she wasn't treated like a serious contender here. Compare this to the Jubilife City Pokémon Contest and you'll know what I'm talking about. But if she is not going to be treated like a complete joke, then I can see her changing her style to one that appeals more to the crowd, but keeping the extravagant touch she's so well known for.

I believe Jessie will stand by her style. Even if she changed her style, she still won't go all CUTE right? So the audience is surely not biased towards one genre. And when is the last time Jessie failed to qualify for the final tournament?

Different competition have different target audience. This one is hard to argue. Because do you think the writers or producers intentionally write the randomly generated audiences to be biased? I can hardly imagine it happening.

The fact that Serena got pity points here only adds to what I've been saying, that this should not be judged by the people watching the competition, but for a specialized panel of judges. Even if one of these judges rarely open his mouth to say something other than "Remarkable!". And would Bonnie vote for Jessie's Pokémon if Serena was competing against her? Or would she vote for the friend she is traveling with?

To be frank, I totally can see Bonnie voting against Serena. Or even if she didn't vote for Jessie because Serena is competing, her comment would be sided to Jessie. And I dare say her comment is how the majority of the audiences will vote. (Its like the writer's or producer's shout out, who Bonnie sided with her comment is who they wanted to win)

Bonnie is one special character in XY, I can totally see her live up to my expectations. I can see her being the 'judge' of Tripokalon.

And even if there are judges, the judges' reactions are written by the same people writing the reactions of the audiences... Do you think the outcome would have any difference?

I know your stand point though. Even though I am not American (I live in Malaysia), our TV here do air The Voice (Reality Singing Competition, winner based on votes) at one of the channels. Many pointed out the voters are biased, and some even gone as far as saying half the voters are from Nashville (where they said as the home of Country Music), Country Singer always win, eh?

I don't know the truth behind that one. As I can't understand every individual from a massive amount of people from US. BUT! You missed the point that this Randomly Generated Audiences here are written by the same people who would have wrote the Judges. Its the writer's or the producer's mentality here. If they are biased, judges or not Jessie will never win. (But they are not, they have to follow the script!)

I believe the script already said who is winning the competition. And the writer's job is to justify the result, through the point of view as a judge, audience, critic. I assume they were given the script that Shauna is winning that round, and perhaps that Jessie came up with a hyperbolic display too. They then went up from a critic's angle to write the episode, which I assume they decided to use the absence of Pumpkaboo to knock Jessie out of the competition. And if Serena really got pity points, I would say they did a very great job on pretending to be the audiences.
 
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I never said that they didn't train, I said they weren't shown to be training a lot. Case in point, those were the only two episodes in which we've seen either of them train prior to their first contests. Like I said before, please don't accuse me of saying something completely different, it's coming off as harsh. That being said, it's nice to hear that the feeling for Serena is mutual, thank you.

It would be so nice if you stopped using the editing function for things like this, because I saw your post earlier before you went on and changed it completely. You don't even know for sure what you're trying to say as in one minute you talk like you have totally forgot about the existence of these episodes and in the other you seem to remember all you need about May's and Dawn's journeys. For this reason, I don't have any interest in keeping this conversation, but I'll say it one more time, you must be joking! May did practice with her Beautifly in Having a Wailord of a Time. You know, the episode right after Now That's Flower Power!. It was very briefly, I'll admit, but so was brief the scene in which Serena was seen training in A Race for Home! and yet the dedicated Serena fans are talking like she trained her whole life for this, especially you that made it look like she has been training more than May and Dawn ever did when that's not really the case. Now I'm sorry if you feel offended, I'm not trying to be rude or anything.

You were initially comparing Pokemon Showcases to different sidequests in the video games. I was noting how Contests and Musicals in the games are not identical to Pokemon Showcases in the anime. Showcases do have some similarities to anime contests, but they are still very different.

Also, Showcases definitely test skills. We clearly saw that when Serena failed to do Fennekin's ribbon being too long causing her to trip over it. The contestants also have to think quickly within the time limit to create an outfit that will show off their Pokemon in the best way possible. In fact, I personally feel that the first round of Showcases require more skill that the first round of anime Contests. Coordinators can practice their appeals as long as they want before they enter a contest to get it perfect. Performers have to work with what they're given in those booths within a restricted time limit.

I also don't see how the voting system is any less biased than the 3 contest judges who all pretty much seemed to share the same opinions, nor do I see why a young child's opinion on someone's outfit is less valid than an older person's.

Finally, about Aria, we have no idea how she became Kalos Queen and if it was related at all to her Pokevisions. She may very well have won based on her skills. Serena's Pokevion was very popular as well, but she still lost due to the accident during the performance. I highly doubt every single person in the audience keeps tabs on who has Pokevisions and just chooses to vote for them just because they like their videos.

But clearly we have different views on the subject, so I think we should just agree to disagree.

I was saying you should try the Pokémon Musicals and the Visual Competition from Pokémon Super Contests because they are very similar to the first round of Pokémon Showcases, but of course I know they're not the same thing. You said they have some small things in common but are very different in general and I questioned that because I think the similarities speak louder than the differences. I detailed this in my last post and I don't feel like repeating myself on this one.

No, they don't. It's like comparing the MTV Movie Awards, where winners are decided by the general public, to the Academy Awards, where winners are determined by motion picture professionals. However, that's not to say skills are not necessary to take part in Pokémon Showcases, I never said that. In fact, in my first post in this thread, I said I would be able to better understand Serena's meltdown if she had been eliminated because she lacks the skills. Performers do need skills to dress up their Pokémon, but because of how Showcase works, there's no guarantee they will be judged by the audience the way they should be. If you think the first round of Showcases require more skill than the Performance Stage, that's fine, it's your opinion. But it's an odd one considering the second round of Showcases is a rehash of the Performance Stage, and the writers usually save the most challenging part of a competition for later, like how the Vertress Conference started with Single Battles and ended with Full Battles. So you're basically saying the second round of a Pokémon Showcase is easier than the first round.

Yep, the Contest judges had opinions in common, but they were able to see the artistry behind different performances. For example, Harley's performances were never the audience's cup of tea, but Harley is a talented Coordinator that can show his Pokémon's characteristics in a impressive way. The judges can tell that, the crowd can not. Most children don't really have a fashion sense, they would sure prefer if their parents used blouses with their favorite cartoon character on it. I was saying that kids would not be able to see the skills required to come up with a design like the one Jessie showed us. They also wouldn't vote for it because it gives them nightmares. But if a simplistic design is colorful and cute, well, it will get votes from them.

Shauna said that Aria had a large fan following before she switched to competing in Showcases. These fans could have followed her and voted for her. That's what fans do, you know. I was just exemplifying how you can be cheated on in Showcases.

______________________________________


To pokemon fan 132: It is not disrespectful, it is just that Iris really didn't do much towards her goal. Sure she entered the tournaments organized by Don George, but how is this related to Dragon mastery at all? All I remember from Iris is that she was always complaining while Axew was pooping in her hair. But this has nothing to do with Serena and Pokémon Showcases so I'll just drop it before we both get an infraction.

To Mareepy: I think I've said more than enough about the voting system, so I'll just say that Jessie failed to qualify for the Grand Festival in both Hoenn and Kanto.
 
It would be so nice if you stopped using the editing function for things like this, because I saw your post earlier before you went on and changed it completely. You don't even know for sure what you're trying to say as in one minute you talk like you have totally forgot about the existence of these episodes and in the other you seem to remember all you need about May's and Dawn's journeys. For this reason, I don't have any interest in keeping this conversation, but I'll say it one more time, you must be joking! May did practice with her Beautifly in Having a Wailord of a Time. You know, the episode right after Now That's Flower Power!. It was very briefly, I'll admit, but so was brief the scene in which Serena was seen training in A Race for Home! and yet the dedicated Serena fans are talking like she trained her whole life for this, especially you that made it look like she has been training more than May and Dawn ever did when that's not really the case. Now I'm sorry if you feel offended, I'm not trying to be rude or anything.
The reason why I edited was because I forgot to support my point and not to come off as disrespectful. Now, I'll admit that I didn't realize that May also trained in Having A Wailord of a Time and maybe I didn't research thoroughly enough prior to writing my post. However, you don't need to repeat the same phrase a third time because it feels like you're rubbing your point in my face. Also, you've constantly put words in my mouth and jumped to conclusions that are completely baseless, it's like you're not open to others' opinions. But I will agree with you on this: We can't keep going back and forth, so I'm just going to have to agree to disagree with you.
 
I've watched this episode a few times, watched it subbed today, and must say it was one of my favourite episodes in a long time. Loved the emotional aspect of the episode and Serena's character development at the end. Felt bad how Serena's tripokelon debut went and shocked that she changed her look. I think it will take time for me to get use to the new look and look forward to see how her character develops in future episodes. On a side note, I found it funny how Bonnie reacted to Serena's new look and was not impressed that she cut her long hair. I give this episode a 10/10.
 
I just watched this with subs & I have a few things to add to my earlier post -
I like what Jessie did even more now, "Beauty & the beast" was really creative.
Meowth is going to perform with her next time?! I can't wait for that!
Serena was disappointed/sad because they failed due to her mistake & she admitted that.
Yashio has a secret? I think we can all guess what that is.
Showcases are just for girls? Grrr.....

Ash's next Gym battle is with Clemont! *Books ticket for hype train*
 
Yeah, now that the subs are out, the episode got even more interesting and Serena's Kalos Queen dream even more likely to happen.
I'm only gonna write about Yashio since I agree with most of the users who wrote their reviews. Serena did shine in this episode!

So Yashio was a judge and she's also searching for another girl who has the potential to be like Aria. I don't get why she was so uninterested in Showcases and thinks that there will never be a girl - Aria 2.0 since Aria is the current Kalos Queen which means she won Master Class like a few months ago maximum a year.

Serena's fail was also really difficult to compare with Dawn and May's first loss. Serena took the loss more personally and she is the most emotional Pokegirl.

Also Yashio's "It's a secret" answer to her assistant's question "Did you find something" is a major line and probably hints at Serena making it big in the future.

Now with Queen Jessie :D or Musavie

Jessie never disappoints (at least I wasn't). She did great, but these Poke Showcases seem to be toned down contests and the styling and performing is more minimalist.
And Shauna won her first key after one unsuccessful try. Good for her, but I don't want Serena to lose to Shauna in the Master Class Tournament...

Overall, the episode is Top 10 for XY and probably Top 50 for the whole anime. The hair cutting scene and Fennekin's fall were one of the best pieces of work Pokemon Anime has ever given us in a long time.
 
I agree with everyone; subs make this episode even better than before. A few points:

~Jessie's "Beauty and the Beast" was gold. I don't care what anyone says. Also, I'm digging her nickname this time around: Musavie.

~So next time, Meowth will perform with Jessie? Gee, I don't know who I want to see win more: Jessie or Serena...Hopefully they will partake in Showcases at different times, that way each can get a win.

~Clearly Yashio sees Serena as the next Aria, which foreshadows big accomplishments in Serena's future. Maybe, just maybe, we will finally have a female companion who succeeds at her preferred tournament the first time around. Dawn came close, but I think Serena has a better chance. However, I didn't approve of Yashio's bored attitude. We saw great talent in that episode, some even rivaling or surpassing Aria's fire stick performance with her Braixen. Thus her comment of never finding someone better came off as rude, ignorant and shallow.

~Bonnie preferring Serena's longer hair was funny.

~I don't think anyone has mentioned it, but the fact that you can use six Pokemon in the Free Performance round! 6! Your full party! Just imagine the combinations and possibilities! If Serena's party gets that big, I would love to see her perform with all of them. Or three, four, five whatever. As long as it is more than two. It would also be hilarious if in the anime, someone competed with a party of Magikarp or a team of Eeeveelutions.
 
Well, I'm at least glad the subs cleared out the confusion (for me, at least) regarding the rules for free performances. Seeing as some were performing only with one Pokémon while others (like Shauna) performed with two made me confused as to whether there actually were any set rules for how many Pokémon you may use or if it literally means ''free performance'', with the latter now being confirmed. I doubt we'll see Serena catch six Pokémon, but we'll probably see her catch four or five, and she'll most likely at least have one performance with all of them (suggestively in Master Class). That... seems a bit messy to me, but if executed properly I suppose it could go well.

The theme performance bored me to death, omfg. I couldn't care less about girls dressing up their Pokémon to be all cutsey and stuff, especially as ''cuteness'' seems to be the only thing which appeals to the audience. Jessie DOMINATED this round with her creation for Pumkaboo, it was so creative and original, and unlike all the other boring and stereotypical ''cutsey'' stylings it actually highlighted Pumkaboo's typing and nature. All the other girls do is putting on some makeup and regular accessories and suddenly they're super talented and their Pokémon look amazing. Admittedly, Shauna did a pretty good job too, but there's no way she should've beat Jessie.
Speaking of which, how could Jessie get fewer votes than Serena??? I don't care if most her votes were pity votes, she still messed up and performed worse than her competitors, which by professional standards should result in her getting zero votes. The audience's supposed to vote for the person whose performance they enjoyed the most, not for the one they felt more bad for. Gosh, I'd much more prefer it if we actually had professional judges like in contests...

Oh, and I'm still super pissed about Showcases being exclusively for girls. Whoever thought that up has values which I really don't approve of, it's just such an incredibly stupid move to go with. I genuinely feel bad for the possible males in the audience that'd love to be down there themselves and perform but can't simply because of the fact that they're boys and not girls. They're literally being punished for their gender, and I very much doubt that a equivalent competition exists only for boys, cause in that case it'd just be stupid to split them in the first place.
URGH, it's such bullshit move, especially as they were able to feature boys in Contests, why should this treated any different??? Girls aren't the only ones that like dressing up in cute and fancy clothes and perform together with their Pokémon. Neither is baking Poké Puffs nor grooming Pokémon something that exclusively girls like.

Ugh... Yeah well, to summarize, I probably won't become a big fan of Showcases. They're completely inferior to Contests IMO, something which I actually enjoyed watching. Oh well, at least Jessie's participating, so I'll have her to root for in the upcoming episodes featuring Showcases (even though I'll probably get even more pissed about the way they're treating her...).

Also, am I hyped for Ash and Clemont's battle? YES. That foreshadowing was probably my favorite part about this episode.
 
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Well honestly I wasn't going to expect the anime would show around Sundays since it's always a week late, but never mind then[emoji4]

After I watch it overall, I think I kinda dislike Jessie's act during the performance. The intro was overreacting and I honestly couldn't get a glimpse of style of her. That's why her Pokemon Style match weren't had enough points to support her although Pumkaboo shows it's best. It's an interesting theme for Halloween for it BTW. Not only i have to judge on the Pokémon, but also the trainer itself if I were a judge.

Shauna performance in the showcase are proven much better than in the style session. I like when she puffs the stage with Fairy Wind and appears herself with Bulbasaur hanging above her with a heart-shaped vine.

A different case shows for Serena, I don't like giving critics but I agree with some poster says that she was too sudden to made a single change on the ribbon or probably because the ribbon was really long at the beggining. As the result, BGM silence comes in and every frame catches the seconds of Fennekin's disastrous fell into the stage floor. It's heartbreaking to see her crying at the harbor (Trust me, I even almost get tears because of this even if I'm a guy) and also the consolidation from her Pokemon signifies that their bonds are strong.

Finally, outfit conclusion. I liked Bonnie's reaction to Serena's changing clothes and hairstyles. I would probably do the same but oh well, it's now a permanent signature and can't be separated anymore. Based on the esthetics, her taste of clothies were a fit from head to toe. I like her the way it is now and I hope her next showcase would shows a difference from the last one.

Judgement Point : 9/10
 
This is probably the best episode in XY so far and probably the best episode in a while. The Tripokalons themselves weren't that interesting but I think that it was intentionally as Yashio seemed pretty bored sitting through the whole tournament, probably due to the fact that most of the performances were pretty generic and boring.

The episode it in itself though was really good imo especially with Serena losing first up despite her determination and preparation. It would have been heartbreaking for her to lose pretty badly after all that, the silent music said it all. The fact that she tried to hide the fact that she is upset by her loss to Shauna showed how positive she was trying to be despite her loss.

The best part of the episode though was the last few minutes from when we see Yashio calling someone. The way she said that she couldn't find anyone good showed that a lot of the performances lacked a lot of creativity. Then the best part of this though was the harbour scene where Serena broke down which I felt was honestly pretty realistic and her Pokémon trying to comfort her was brilliant and was probably one of the most emotional scenes in the Pokémon Anime in a LONG time. The way Yashio saw Serena's spark and determination at the harbour was great as well.The part where she had the flashback when she was about to cut her hair showed that she was now going to put the past behind her and start a brand new future and the haircut signified that she is now a brand new character and person. The music during the scene was absolute gold as well.

I also loved when they showed Serena's new design and must I say it looked wonderful and cute. Ash also recognising the ribbon was nice too and he actually showed some Amour hints in this episode when it is usually the opposite.

Overall, I would give this episode a 10/10!(which I give to very few episodes).
 
The way Yashio saw Serena's spark and determination at the harbour was great as well.

I agree wholeheartedly. Even though we don't know much about her character yet, Yashio is clearly an influential figure in the Pokemon Showcase world; many reporters swarmed the arena just to have an opportunity to talk to her during her return as a judge.

Just as you mentioned, Yashio was disappointed and bored throughout the entire showcase, but what she mentioned prior to the event is interesting. She said that there won't be a "performer like Elle (Aria) again." What qualities Aria had that no performer displayed in this episode are still unknown. But based on Yashio's role as a judge and her positive opinion of Aria, it is possible that Yashio had the ultimate say on Aria becoming Kalos Queen.

After the showcase ended, Yashio was completely disappointed and saddened that none of the performers at the showcase were particularly talented. But once she saw Serena at the harbor, Yashio started to smile; a change so surprising that even her own assistant asked Yashio what she was thinking about. Based on this, we can infer that Serena showed the same qualities that Aria once did.

The fact that the writers invested so much time in the episode on a character should be a relatively unimportant is telling. Yashio will have a role to play in Serena's development; she is clearly going to be much more important later on.
 
Yashio obviously see's Serena as the new Aria.

I think her negative attitude was because everybody's performance was pretty generic and lacked creativity.

Also we don't know how long Aria has been Kalos queen. So this can explain Yashio depressive view on most performances since no one has risen up to the challenge to overthrow Aria.
 
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