Preview XY132: Flare-dan Attacks! The Zygarde at Prism Tower!!

[Shadao]

Twitter feed reveals new screenshots for the Team Flare arc.

Spoiler: Screenshots

Looks like Steven Stone's Mega Metagross is appearing.

 

[Pokemon Cannon]

Now I see it...Sawyer will work under the person he admired before Ash, Steven Stone, to hold off the Team Flare grunts/ admins. Or, Steven could be having a battle with Lysandre because it looks like it's on top of the tower, precisely where Mega Gyardos and Lysandre are.

 

[Poke Trey]

So, Steven finally shows up after so long. Anyway, since he's here Alain and Lysandre will definitely have quite a day with these 2.

 

[WatcherMark]

I'm wondering if Satoshi and Daigo will reference their earlier meeting in Hoenn, considering how long its been since they've seen each other and Champion Daigo is essentially a different character to the Daigo who was pottering about on Muro Island.

 

[Daren]

I'm not sure how I feel about Stephen showing up, honestly. I really hope he isn't here to save the day; Ash should do that to make up for the league.

On the other hand his last real appearance wasn't exactly memorable outside my amusement that he was apparently voiced by the actor who played a villain in Super Sentai Dairanger.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Okay, so Steven Stone is here. I REALLY hope Sawyer gets to meet up with him, since it seems like he's sticking around to help. Throwing in the Hoenn and Kalos Champion together is a deadly combination.

 

[Kirby4ever]

Didn't Steven appear in the Mega Evolution acts 2-4? I think that those are his most resent appearances.

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

He was only in 2 and 3, if I recall.

 

[Pokefan19]

Whoa Steven... didn't see that one coming. Diantha still weakest Champion thus far

 

[Kirby4ever]

He was only in 2 and 3, if I recall.

Steven is in 2 Mega Evolution ~Act II~Pictures , 3 Mega Evolution ~Act III~ Pictures , and 4 Mega Evolution ~Act IV~ Pictures

 

[LuxrayOfTheWild]

Steven is in 2 Mega Evolution ~Act II~Pictures , 3 Mega Evolution ~Act III~ Pictures , and 4 Mega Evolution ~Act IV~ Pictures

Ohh, alright! I thought he actually left at the end of Act III, but that clears things up!

 

[Arceus the Dragon]

Steven returning with shiny Metagross? That is really awesome! I love to see the two shiny pokemon battle!

 

[Alola]

Diantha, please don't let Steven overshadow you on your own turf.

 

[Yuri3221]

YEEEEES! Yes!

Twitter feed reveals new screenshots for the Team Flare arc.

Spoiler: Screenshots

Looks like Steven Stone's Mega Metagross is appearing.

Sorry for the crazy caps, but I've been just WAITING for Daigo to make a reappearance. He's my favorite champion. I'm having explosions of happiness inside.

 

[Playerking]

The evidences you say? Well, it all started with two previews and one summary. We all know that Ash was going to get captured by Team Flare based on the summary, but how did that happen no one can say for sure. The first preview showcased Ash and Alain running together to deal with this mess, and there was no one else with them. We can safely assume that the only person who saw get captured was Alain himself. The next preview showcased Ash being strapped onto a Team Flare device and suffering greatly.

That first preview told us nothing, other than the fact that Ash and Alain are clearly teaming up by running together and judging by that preview alone, there is basically no room for interpretation, because there are no implications of betrayal.

The words he said in the narration was "Alain, why...?" while we see Alain sulking with no response in the next scene. Based on the background, Ash was located at the Prism Tower during sunset. Alain was seen on the Prism Tower outdoor top floor in the sunset. Though no one could say why Alain is on the Prism Tower, the preview implies that Alain had something to do with Ash's situation.

Yes, Ash said that, but as I and others have said, that doesn't necessarily mean there's any betrayal, because it could actually be Ash thinking that Alain has betrayed him or wondering why Alain let this events occur in the first place. And Alain sulking in the next scene is hardly evidence, because there is no proof that the shot of Alain is directly after the scene of Ash saying that, because sometimes things are edited out of sequence, case in point from the first preview of XY130, did Pikachu and Weavile fight each other? No, they did not and the preview does not imply that Alain had anything to do with at all, at least not completely, because it could also very well be a shot of Alain before he lashes out and yells at Lysandre.

The next preview showcases exactly how Ash got captured. He and Alain were fighting against Celosia with Pikachu and Charizard. Then we see Celosia saying something and Ash gets hit by the confuse ray or something similar. As he falls down, Alain is seen still standing. Very odd considering that a more pragmatic situation is to knock out the Champion first as he would theoretically have the stronger Pokémon. But at the same time, it's not exactly odd as Alain has affiliations with Team Flare for them to exploit. And that leads to the most crucial detail, Chespie. Chespie needs to be rescued from Lysandre Labs based on the new summaries.

I have explained why Alain is "still standing there" after Ash and Pikachu get knocked out and the reason is because Alain running to Ash while there are shots that are focusing on Ash and Pikachu falling unconscious due to Confuse Ray would be cluttered and weird if you also saw Alain running over to them as this was going on. It's entirely possible that Alain runs over to Ash, yells at Celosia, attacks Team Flare, or combinations of some or all of those things. And it could just make as much sense to knock out Alain first, because they want Ash, not Alain. They're probably not too worried about him, because they probably have some people to take Ash away, as others fight Alain.

Chespie is the leverage that Team Flare would use should Alain refuse to cooperate. It was the reason why Alain went to full time collect Mega Evolution energy (and Zygarde) for Team Flare. If Lysandre's goals won't sway him, the life of Chespie will. And really, Team Flare needs something to keep the "strongest" trainer under their thumb. Lysandre wouldn't be that stupid to discard a powerful asset and have him be a thorn on his side.

With Chespie, they probably aren't holding Chespie hostage, since it could just be the case that Chespie is in a building, which is probably full of some or lots of Team Flare grunts, who are all evil, and therefore it would be pretty hard to just walk in there and take Chespie since the Grunts would probably know that whoever is infiltrating the Lysandre Labs aren't friends of theirs. And I don't see why Lysandre wouldn't just discard Alain, I mean, I know he's a strong Trainer, but there are heaps of Team Flare Grunts that could hold him off and as far as we know, Alain might not know about Gyarados, which is what he could be planning to use to stop Alain if he goes after him and the rest of Team Flare.

I think you miss the point. I did not said that Alain was planning to betray Ash from the very beginning. What likely happened was that Ash and Alain were initially on the same side, but Team Flare wanted Ash and they knew Alain was part of their organization. In order to prevent Alain from rebelling and aiding, they would likely use Chespie's life as leverage to make Alain think twice. And thus in a moment of weakness, Alain gives in and allowed (or helped) Ash to be captured, betraying him when Ash needed him the most.

Neither did I think that you meant that Alain was planning on betraying Ash, all I'm asking was, is what was Lysandre going to do with Alain if be turned on him.

And besides, there weren't any mentions of Alain winning the Kalos League in the summaries as well. If they can keep that a secret, Alain betraying Ash is no different. And really, the vague hint to Alain's betrayal has always been Chespie. Stuck in a coma and being the motive for Alain to become stronger and never lose to anyone, Chespie was really what many people speculated to be the thing for Team Flare to use against Alain.

I know the summaries didn't mention Alain winning, but they did say that there was going to be a winner, even though that was probably most likely going to be the case anyway, they did mention a winner, but I feel that if Alain were to betray Ash, then it would have been mentioned in a summary, especially a summary after the episode where he might betray Ash and if not, it would at least be hinted at, like so: "Ash Ash and Alain race through Lumiose City to see what is the exact cause of the chaos that is happening around them, Alain suddenly...?". How is Chespie a hint? It was never a hint, it was just a reason for Lysandre to keep collecting Mega Evolution energy, because remember, I'm pretty sure he was doing this before Chespie ever went into a comatose state.

Really, no one could really say the betrayal theory is all but true. But given the evidences presented, it most certainly points to that direction. After all, I recall there were doubts of Goodra leaving Ash for the swamps for the majority of the saga despite episode previews, promotions and summaries subtly point to that direction. And it turns out to be the case.

So no, I don't see how there is any good evidence that certainly points to Ash betraying Ash. Also, a recent summaries states that Alain is watching the chaos in Lumiose City and doesn't know what to do, so that could very well imply that he is not on anyone's side.