Review DP170: Kikuno of The Big Four! Kabaldon VS Dodaitose!! ・ DP171: Togekiss Dance! The Princess's Pokémon Contest!!

[V Faction]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

Thank I think it was more to say that Ash shouldn't just focus on which attacks his pokémon should use but pay attention to the envirronement around them and try to be aware of the entire field. I rather like that both Ash and Dawn got something more out of their meeting with the Elite 4 than just a battle.

Well, what I'm getting at is that any ol' schlep could've given such tired and corny advice.

She even says "like in Contests..." What has Ash been doing this entire season? That's right, borrowing ideas from Contests, sharing ideas with Dawn.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

Bertha: Didn't I tell you before? You must have the ability of observation. (To Dawn) Little girl you also listen to this: In Pokemon Contests, how do you understand the situation of your Pokemon and the opponent's? That's the ability of observation. How much damage can your Pokemon take? Can it battle any more? What moves will be effective against the opponent? In Pokemon Contests, you observe different Pokemon and analyze the situation. This ability of observation is not only useful in Pokemon battles and Contests.
Dawn: So you're applying the ability of observation to Team Rocket as well?
Bertha: Yes. Now, try to observe!
...
Ash: (To himself) Where? Where will it appear? Oh... When Hippowdon comes out, the ground will shake a bit. I should know Hippowdon's movement. Observe, observe... Torterra! To the left!
And Torterra dodges. Leaf Storm hits.
Bertha: You did it!

OK thank you! This explains basically everything and definitely helps allay my fears. So Bertha was in control of the battle all the time and just let Ash have a hit in order to see if he had understood her advice.
Great!

I tell you, I REALLY like Bertha now (if I said I love her ,it would be irritating I guess).

Have you ever read Sherlock Holmes? Observation is his top priority as well. And just as Sherlock Holmes is the greatest detective ever, Bertha applies these techniques to her battling style and is therefore one of the strongest trainers ever. (compared to the Sinnoh Elite Four all the other Elite Fours are nothing!)
I also liked that she was a little bit strict towards Ash. An Elite Four member MUST be elite in every aspect, so when it comes to rigorous, successful training she has to be strict.

To cut a long story short: Bertha is a great and absolutely worthy Elite Four member. Just awesome!

That's all fine and dandy, though I do think the omnipotency of the Elite 4 is a bit much, especially after a decade of this stuff. But then I ask myself; Grave-E old sport. Do you really care?

I can't see what in the world is so wrong about "omnipotency"?
Firstly, nobody, not even my beloved Queen, Her Majesty Cynthia the Great who I admire and love from the bottom of my heart, is omnipotent. God alone is omnipotent!
Secondly, the Elite Four have to be overwhelmingly strong. Anything else would have to be considered an insult of the term "elite". That's why I complained at first when I thought that Bertha was maybe not elite enough. But then, thanks to the translation, I realized that everything she did in that battle was on purpose.

No, the writers wouldn't do something like that.

They did not make us wait 4 years, (technically 5 years, as the Hoenn league was back in 2005 and BF filled a year), for Ash to get into another league just to see him lose again.

They gave Ash an almost fully evolved team this time, constantly foreshadowed the E4, pretty much foreshadowed Ash's victory over Paul easily, haven't introduced any new -son rival, and Cynthia is waiting for a challenge.

If the writers blow all this off, then I give up on Ash ever winning a league. There's no reason why Ash's team in the 5th gen would be better than his team now, I can't see where it can go from here.

Yes! Once again I agree with you. This explanation sounds most convincing and I don't see why it should be different. There's nothing I could add here.
Of course we can't entirely rule out the possibility that there COULD be a new rival other than Paul who could defeat Ash after the latter defeated Paul.

Observe, Observe... that's the world-shattering advice she gave Ash, huh? To basically "look" at your Pokemon and watch what it does... Well GEE, thanks Bertha! It's a good thing they do that already when fighting!

Obviously, you didn't see how simple and yet profound her advice was! Sorry, but if anything, then it's your judgment that is superficial because it failed to acknowledge the inherent greatness of Bertha's words.

If it happens, it happens. I'll be happy. But if it doesn't, then oh well. It's 30 minutes on a Thursday, and I'll have better things to do in 4 years then to whine about Ash not winning a league.

How can a fan just be so indifferent towards the thing he spends much of his free time with?
Quite apart from the fact that it's one of the greatest things ever.

 

[Duckgon Z]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

How can a fan just be so indifferent towards the thing he spends much of his free time with?
Quite apart from the fact that it's one of the greatest things ever.

I'm not indifferent, I wouldn't be here if I wasn't a fan.

Like I said, if Ash faces the Elite 4, then I'll be happy. But if he doesn't, I'll be upset for a bit, then I'll move on. Just looking back on the grand scheme of things makes it not so bad if it doesn't happen.

 

[Queen Cynthia]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

But how should they include an Elite Four Arc in the first place??

The Sinnoh League starts on July 29th and will certainly consist of at least 6-7 episodes which means that it will be mid-September (or even end of September) until an Elite Four arc could start.
And if I remember correctly most of you (including me) expect the new games for September. This necessarily means that the writers will more or less be forced to start with the new region immediately after the Sinnoh League.

An Elite four arc would definitely consist of at least 11 episode (two episodes for each member + three for Her Majesty), so I don't see how they could squeeze in such an arc between Sinnoh League and the new region

 

[T_Kiss]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

I'm happy to be able to help people with my translations. Like I always do, I will only state the facts,and the discussions are open to everyone.

Each of the Elite Four has his/her own personality depicted in their respective episodes. We see that Aaron is a friendly guy who is very close to his Pokemon. Lucian is a bit cool; he emphasize on the fact that trainers need to adapt to the Pokemon's battling style. Flint is like an all-out attacker without fear. Here we see that Bertha is an observing old lady that sometimes goes wild and be very boy-ish. The two aspects are vividly shown through her talking and acting. This is what only those who understand Japanese would know, and I try to express as much of it as possible in the guide. Bertha is a lovely old lady.

And the second episode provides us with a contrast between Dawn the countrygirl and Salvia the princess. Salvia is lovely, her talking is delicate, but she lacks experience on the stage. She has a lot of potential; I hope we can see Salvia in a contest again, but it's not probable. Dawn surely looks like a princess, but she doesn't have the manners required. It's ok though, as Ash and Brock don't either (notice that they talk to the princess very casually; this is why I don't put down "Princess our Majesty" when they address Salvia, although they use the same word as the servants). Togekiss will have to get used to a "wild" girl now, and we'll surely see about that two weeks later. Needless to say, Jessie notices the difference in "Dawn"'s talking. Her change in tone when received the ribbon also gives a sketch on her mixed personality.

These small details makes watching Japanese anime a lot more fun than just focusing on the results of competitions and what Pokemon they have.

 

[V Faction]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

Speaking of schleps...

 

[Peternummer14]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

I don't know if I like how both infernape & torterra evolved vs team rocket and got beaten heavily by an elite 4 pokemon shortly after. Give them som frocking victorys for crying out loud so that they might be able to enjoy their new forms a bit.

 

[Winged Psychic]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

It makes me wonder what the series would have been like if the Princess had been one of the main characters instead of Dawn. I have to admit that she had a charming personality and that twirl she made was nicely animated.

Is there any irony in the fact that Jessie, who pretends to be someone she is is not, fights the Princess who also pretends that she is someone she is not?

 

[Blue_Drifblim]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

I like the new version of "Dotchi-Nyo?". It has Nosepass. :>

 

[Idon'tcare]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

I was impressed by Togekiss's appeal, and the animation on Salvia's movements when she ordered an attack. And Bertha was badass, especially the way she drove that car. Great episodes. But I'm still confused on why they made Bertha's Hippowdon the male one instead of the female one (unless the grey Hippowdon is never going to appear in the anime).

It's pretty weird to see them starting to use the Platinum teams after such a long time using the Diamond/Pearl teams. I guess this means Volkner won't have an Ambipom, just a very slight disappointment on it as I kind of wanted to see the groups reaction to it. Yes I know, there was no reference to Ash's Gliscor when Bertha's Gliscor appeared, but that was only for a short time.

To cut a long story short: Bertha is a great and absolutely worthy Elite Four member. Just awesome!

You know, I wonder what you think of Bertha owning a Gliscor? If Ash does end up battling the Elite 4 then that Gliscor will be one of the Pokemon he would be battling against.

 

[Geodude]

Re: "Kikuno of Elite4 Kabarudon vs Dodaitose" & "Togekiss Dance Princes PKMN Contest"

Totally didn't expect to see Salvia being embarrassed by wearing Dawn's short skirt/dress, that concept has never even been addressed before. And Dawn's scenes in the mansion reminded me a lot of the movie The Princess Diaries, especially the big meal scene where Mia makes one mistake and starts a chain reaction of comedy.

Thoroughly enjoyed both of these episodes.