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Preview JN122: The Semifinals I: "Overwhelming Victory"

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August 26th is the airdate, two weeks after JN120, if that’s even an episode, who knows at this point. They’re really are stretching this out to make sure it ends in line with Gen IX.
Unless there’s godly animation for Ash’s battles against Cynthia and Leon, this is really putting a lot of pressure on the episodes to deliver.

I was actually hoping for the tournament to be spread out more (with more episodes for other characters in between), because I don’t see how Goh’s finale can topple the thing fans have been waiting two whole decades for. I mean, if there’s a massive gap between the semi-finals and the Leon finale for Goh’s arc, that just kills it completely.
 
Silktree said:
Cocky Ash isn't going to suddenly doubt himself. Everyone around him is making him feel invincible.

The fact that they're using the break for Chloe episodes instead of training says a lot.
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But we have staff statements about Ash having an ultimate battle and "reaching his pinnacle in the form of a singular battle". We have that scene in Alola of him realizing the whole island is supporting him, we have a sudden influx of cameos but most of Ash's companions are mysteriously absent, almost like they're being saved for something.
Why bother with all that if he's just gonna lose in the second round without even battling the guy his goal is about meeting? Why utterly ruin the whole point of Leon's character in the games by either having him completely undefeated or losing to Cynthia?
 
Reborn Talonflame said:
I was actually hoping for the tournament to be spread out more (with more episodes for other characters in between), because I don’t see how Goh’s finale can topple the thing fans have been waiting two whole decades for. I mean, if there’s a massive gap between the semi-finals and the Leon finale for Goh’s arc, that just kills it completely.
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I think Goh participating in Project Mew will actually be his goodbye from the show. We already saw how Goh participated in the Regi episode by himself, and I think the writers want to show that Goh has to do the rest of Project Mew on his own from here on out. It makes a lot of sense to me, as it’s the best excuse to make him too busy to continue traveling with Ash.
 
Sai said:
The last magazine scan said Diantha will force Leon to bring out more than 2 pokemon, so she's not going to do as badly
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Really? That's good to hear at least! :D Wonder if we'll see any new Pokemon from Diantha's team (we most likely will.)
Handy Man said:
I think Goh participating in Project Mew will actually be his goodbye from the show. We already saw how Goh participated in the Regi episode by himself, and I think the writers want to show that Goh has to do the rest of Project Mew on his own from here on out. It makes a lot of sense to me, as it’s the best excuse to make him too busy to continue traveling with Ash.
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Not a bad theory there.
 
CharizardFan7 said:
Really? That's good to hear at least! :D Wonder if we'll see any new Pokemon from Diantha's team (we most likely will.)
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I really hope Diantha uses Tyrantrum against Leon. It's almost certainly going to job to Leon's Charizard despite the type advantage because Leon's Charizard is invincible and teh strongest and stuff, but I can hope that Tyrantrum at least goes down fighting.
 
So we wont see Leon's other pokemon? Again?
 
Handy Man said:
I think Goh participating in Project Mew will actually be his goodbye from the show. We already saw how Goh participated in the Regi episode by himself, and I think the writers want to show that Goh has to do the rest of Project Mew on his own from here on out. It makes a lot of sense to me, as it’s the best excuse to make him too busy to continue traveling with Ash.
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And you do realize the expedition will only last a week?
It's no problem to leave Gou for another season (especially since this trip will most likely take place in this series).
 
We could have any scenario if the writers really want to bait the fanbase and avoid the heavily anticipated Leon vs. Ash battle; either we'd see Ash lose to Cynthia, or in a truly unanticipated and unlikely plot twist, Leon loses to Diantha. I'm anticipating the latter match will end with Leon's victory regardless, but with Ash's battle with Cynthia, it could go either way.
Handy Man said:
I think Goh participating in Project Mew will actually be his goodbye from the show. We already saw how Goh participated in the Regi episode by himself, and I think the writers want to show that Goh has to do the rest of Project Mew on his own from here on out. It makes a lot of sense to me, as it’s the best excuse to make him too busy to continue traveling with Ash.
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Goh will be written out regardless, as the anime only has Ash, Pikachu, Jessie, James, and Meowth as permanent main characters. He may reappear later on, but it could be years or even decades later.
 
Jeez, we knew Diantha was doomed, but I didn't think things were grim even says she'll be crushed. >_<
 
UxieLover1994 said:
Goh will be written out regardless, as the anime only has Ash, Pikachu, Jessie, James, and Meowth as permanent main characters.
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I cannot agree with that.
Gou was officially recognized as the protagonist for some reason (Satoshi's other companions did not receive such an honor).

Besides, not only is he an exclusive character, but also one of his goals (catching all pokémon) allows him to stay.
 
DuskAstral said:
I cannot agree with that.
Gou was officially recognized as the protagonist for some reason (Satoshi's other companions did not receive such an honor).

Besides, not only is he an exclusive character, but also one of his goals (catching all pokémon) allows him to stay.
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That goal does not have enough intrigue to drag out Goh's stay for another 3+ years. The main reason Ash has been the protagonist for so long is the mystery of what a pokemon master really is. Goh will most likely be gone by the end of of series because project Mew turns out to the work of villain and Goh will separate from Ash to continue his Mew. That's my speculation at least.
 
I'm hoping that this will be an improvement over the earlier battles in the Masters 8. The masters 8 is pretty boring so far, I just find most of the battles to be too overly sluggish and there aren't many creative strategies being used here, it's mostly just an exchange of moves, which is pretty boring to sit through. It really felt like they removed what I liked about anime battles, their dynamicness, and unpredictability. I'm hoping that this and the rest of the battles will be an improvement over the other ones.
 
flowerfun said:
I'm hoping that this will be an improvement over the earlier battles in the Masters 8. The masters 8 is pretty boring so far, I just find most of the battles to be too overly sluggish and there aren't many creative strategies being used here, it's mostly just an exchange of moves, which is pretty boring to sit through. It really felt like they removed what I liked about anime battles, their dynamicness, and unpredictability. I'm hoping that this and the rest of the battles will be an improvement over the other ones.
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This sounds like a post from twitter. The only one that felt turn-based was Lance/Diantha, but that was done on purpose since it was a strategic battle.

Iris/Cynthia had Excadrill constantly bouncing on Gastrodon as it used Muddy Water, Milotic wrapping Dragonite, and of course the whole Haxorus/Garchomp fight was a back and forth anime style battle.

In the Steven match Metagross was constantly dodging, Gengar was avoiding most attacks, and Pikachu using electro web on Cradily's tentacles to wrap them was a classic Ash strategy from the earlier seasons. Even the final part with Mega Metagross was dodging Pikachu's moves till the Z-move.
 
Daren said:
I highly doubt they'd give away the outcome of a tournament through a soundtrack release.
Good odds the song will be connected to him having concern over getting there rather than playing after Cynthia beats him.

I mean setting Leon up as Ash's goal only for him to actually battle an NPC is honestly not the weirdest thing the show would have done, but...

Edit: Also we had that whole "he's going to fight the ultimate battle" from an interview. That pretty much demands Leon because Leon is the top trainer in the world.
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These are my feelings too. My guess is Ash will beat Cynthia, but the song will come in either if he loses to Leon, or if he's in such a tight spot that he thinks he's going to lose. There's no way they're not going to at least have him battle Leon.

And to be honest, I think Ash beating Leon is by no means out of the question. The last time Ash was knocked out of a tournament before being able to battle his main rival was all the way back in the first season. He lost the Indigo League without ever challenging Gary. That never happened again-- in every subsequent series, the tournament arc has always climaxed with Ash battling and defeating his rival, usually before losing to a newly-introduced character. Ash doesn't have a conventional "rival" in this series, so instead Leon is the "final boss" Ash needs to beat in the tournament.

Finally, from a meta perspective, Cynthia is an "old" character. She isn't portrayed as invincible the way she used to be when Generation IV was current-- notice how, while she still lost, Iris managed to put up a good fight and even knocked out two of Cynthia's three Pokemon before being defeated. No one else in the anime has managed to take out even one of them. If Iris can do that, then Ash-- who, by the logic of the narrative, must go on to face Leon-- will almost certainly defeat her. I can't imagine Ash putting up a worse showing against Cynthia than Iris, after all.
 
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Not beating Leon is not the end of the world.. But Safe to say Ash will get to this final round. Even if Mega Lucario will need to end all 3 pokemon on his own...
 
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