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A Battle by Any Other Name! (829)

Ayrafeneres

~Contest Master~
I did like the 'possible' love rivalry. However I agree that this was forced. Wasn't too interesting in all honesty. But I think Millefeui is just interested in Ash cause he's, as was earlier stated, hot and totally awesome. Even if he's the densest anime guy I've ever seen. Hmm, I wonder if Serena's goal will have something to do with baking? Macaroons, which, by the way, are the French version. The American macaroon is a normal cookie color, aka brown. However the French version is colorful. Did you guys know that Millefeui is the shortened name of a French dessert? It involves sliced strawberries, whipped cream, and pastry slices. I'm seeing so many French references. Still, this ep wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either.

~Ayra~;267;
 

KumaPanda

Psyduck is cute <3
I was expecting too much. I was hoping Serena might catch something this episode. At this rate, I don't think she's going to catch anything at all.

Serena's rivalry felt forced for me too. Maybe it's because I don't understand Japanese, but their rivalry felt like it was mostly just glaring and Serena's assumption of the rival being a...sigh a love rival. Bonnie's sudden proposal came out of nowhere and it personally annoyed me because of how random it was. I feel like the show was stolen once again by Ash when the other characters just side on the side and wait for him to finish. Clemont could have destroyed the Rocket mecha.
 

Fullgrizzly94

Jhoto Trainer
What's interesting is that Ash actually came up with the idea of getting Chespin to the top of the cliff to use vine whip to pull everyone else up. Normally it is Serena or Clemont who thinks up these ideas iirc. In fact, Serena had a few moments where she did act irrationally this episode.

Also the TR disguises were kinda funny this time, but the only reason TR actually messed things up was because Jessie is a petty ***** who acts out of revenge. Not actually stealing pokemon like its their job, but cutting down the forest to get revenge and then be like "oh, hey! There's Pikachu and Slurpuff! Let's grab them while we're at it!"
 

WaterShuriken

"I..I..Iron Tail, Pikachu."
Okay, finally watched the episode. There are two things I think they're noteworthy:
- Serena's Fokko attempted to use Scratch (Serena clearly said "hikkaku"), but was restrained by String Shot.
- Millefeui's Pofflé made on the final round of the contest was said by Monarque (the judge woman) that it would be liked by Electric and Fairy-type Pokémon. I think Millefeui might be interested in Satoshi because she made the Pofflé for Electric-type, which we can imply that it was made for his Pikachu.

Or Dedenne.

I hope this girl comes back at some point, maybe not as a recurring rival but like Angie did in DP.
 

Viveshade

What's Next?
I wish I could understand what was going on, because the rivalry seemed very random, like they started out not liking each other after just meeting. Overall, this episode was pretty bland to me. I knew Serena wasn't going to battle. -_-
 

KumaPanda

Psyduck is cute <3
I wish I could understand what was going on, because the rivalry seemed very random, like they started out not liking each other after just meeting. Overall, this episode was pretty bland to me. I knew Serena wasn't going to battle. -_-

I feel almost cheated from that 2 week wait. Ash really has a knack for stealing the spotlight, doesn't he? It wouldn't hurt if it was Clemont or Serena who takes down a TR Mecha for once.
 

Lorde

Let's go to the beach, each.
Serena's interactions with Millefeui were enjoyable, but I expected more out of it like a proper battle. Those Swirlix were forgiven for their attacks which was predictable. Sigh.
 

Soniman

Break the Limit
I feel almost cheated from that 2 week wait. Ash really has a knack for stealing the spotlight, doesn't he? It wouldn't hurt if it was Clemont or Serena who takes down a TR Mecha for once.

Okay seriously, this needs to stop. Ash DID NOT steal any god damn spotlight this episode and im sick of this growing thing with XY where we suddenly decided that Ash doing damn near ANYTHING is seen as a bad thing, even though all the things he did in this episode would fly just fine if it was ANY OTHER SERIES, but NOW it's a problem? Give me a break. When he completely separates from his friends to go play action hero, yes thats blatantly glorifying, but when he's just lending a hand to his friends that counts aas stealing the spotlight? Please

Who's the one that came up with the plant to defeat TR's Mech? Clemont, all Ash did was act as a suction blocker to implement said plan. Who was the one that manage to DEACTIVATE the TR machine and free all the Pokemon? Serena and Fennekin. And who was the one who managed to defeat TR's mech all together? Serena, Milfy AND Ash. Ash was NOT the only one who had a hand in taking down the Mech, im wondering you watched the same episode I did, everyone pitched it.

Im not trying to be snippy, im just so tired of people blaming Ash for spotlight hogging when he does ANYTHING noteworthy in XY instead of when it's actually appropriate, especially when it's all intermixed with the other characters doing things equally noteworthy, it's just so annoying to me.
 
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zhixun

Well-Known Member
Okay seriously, this needs to stop. Ash DID NOT steal any god damn spotlight this episode and im sick of this growing thing with XY where we suddenly decided that Ash doing damn near ANYTHING is seen as a bad thing, even though all the things he did in this episode would fly just fine if it was ANY OTHER SERIES, but NOW it's a problem? Give me a break. When he completely separates from his friends to go play action hero, yes thats blatantly glorifying, but when he's just lending a hand to his friends that counts aas stealing the spotlight? Please

Who's the one that came up with the plant to defeat TR's Mech? Clemont, all Ash did was act as a suction blocker to implement said plan. Who was the one that manage to DEACTIVATE the TR machine and free all the Pokemon? Serena and Fennekin. And who was the one who managed to defeat TR's mech all together? Serena, Milfy AND Ash. Ash was NOT the only one who had a hand in taking down the Mech, im wondering you watched the same episode I did, everyone pitched it.

Im not trying to be snippy, im just so tired of people blaming Ash for spotlight hogging when he does ANYTHING noteworthy in XY instead of when it's actually appropriate, especially when it's all intermixed with the other characters doing things equally noteworthy, it's just so annoying to me.

Agree with you. The title card clearly states it is a Serena's episode which Serena indeed did much more thing than in other episode, probably at least half of the screen time.
 

Sephora

yes I'm back
- Bonnie's marriage gag in today's episode was hilarious. I love it when Clemont notices she's gone xD
- TR didn't annoy me in the first half of the episode in the cooking tournament which was nice
- Serena and Millefeui's rivalry was entertaining (I love Millefeui's eye design btw)
- Fennekin is cute as always
- Swirlix are so damn cute with their little sharp fangs
- Millefeui teasing Serena about Ash was cute

This was a nice episode (I like any Serena-centered episode) and all, but I honestly can't seem to care about the episodes at the moment. Too excited for ORAS omg.
 

Arcamenel

Shiny Hunter
I think some people are being far to harsh on the episode. It was good, although a capture for Serena would've been nice. I do like that Fennekin did more this time around. Ash didn't steal the spotlight either in my opinion based on what has already been said. Team Rocket's involvement in the competition seemed forced moreso than the rivalry.
 

jrizza88

Meteorite
Okay seriously, this needs to stop. Ash DID NOT steal any god damn spotlight this episode and im sick of this growing thing with XY where we suddenly decided that Ash doing damn near ANYTHING is seen as a bad thing, even though all the things he did in this episode would fly just fine if it was ANY OTHER SERIES, but NOW it's a problem? Give me a break. When he completely separates from his friends to go play action hero, yes thats blatantly glorifying, but when he's just lending a hand to his friends that counts aas stealing the spotlight? Please

Who's the one that came up with the plant to defeat TR's Mech? Clemont, all Ash did was act as a suction blocker to implement said plan. Who was the one that manage to DEACTIVATE the TR machine and free all the Pokemon? Serena and Fennekin. And who was the one who managed to defeat TR's mech all together? Serena, Milfy AND Ash. Ash was NOT the only one who had a hand in taking down the Mech, im wondering you watched the same episode I did, everyone pitched it.

Im not trying to be snippy, im just so tired of people blaming Ash for spotlight hogging when he does ANYTHING noteworthy in XY instead of when it's actually appropriate, especially when it's all intermixed with the other characters doing things equally noteworthy, it's just so annoying to me.

This! I completely agree with you, especially on Ash not completely saving the day like that. I do think he heroic way of trying to physically stop the machine is what glorified him though. I think Fennekin was the ultimate savior/destroyer of that mecha, since its flamethrower tore it apart. Seems like Serena should have just told it to do that in the first place.

Also, when the Swirlix were attacking Serena, what were they doing exactly? Were they trying to suck the life out of her? o_O Or are their bites so weak that she was suffering the equivalent of like 1HP loss? lol
 

SerenaForTheWin

Yusarin >_<
can't say anything more with the episode, this one was one entertaining episode to watch prior to the team rocket part who always disrupt a good part of a show whenever there is.

i guess swirlix wants to tangle serena with their sticky cotton strings i bet :D
 

Blue Saturday

Violet Prince❤️
Seemed to have promise, Serena had to share it(the episode) with everyone else, TR, Ash and everyone got a piece of the pie, she didn't get enough interactions with Millefeui causing the conflict to come off as too forced, she didn't get to battle and the rest of the episode was predictable, Team Plot Device stealing Pokemon, and Ash yet again getting glorified as a goddamn action hero who beats up on TR, saves the chick and saves the day.

I'll just get the negativity out of my system before posting an actual more well-read review.
 

Soniman

Break the Limit
Seemed to have promise, Serena had to share it(the episode) with everyone else, TR, Ash and everyone got a piece of the pie, she didn't get enough interactions with Millefeui causing the conflict to come off as too forced, she didn't get to battle and the rest of the episode was predictable,Team Plot Device stealing Pokemon, and Ash yet again getting glorified as a goddamn action hero who beats up on TR, saves the chick and saves the day.
[/B
]
I'll just get the negativity out of my system before posting an actual more well-read review.

I really try not whine about this to much, honestly. But I just wonder how? Clemont was the one who came up with the plan to stop TR's machine, Serena was the one who free'd all the Pokemon...im just kinda at a loss at understanding at how it was just Ash that had a hand in stopping TR? Because all he did was plug up a vaccum.
 
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-Too excited for ORAS omg.

Ahahah yeah.

This episode was rather enjoyable. Ah, this cast just blends together nicely. :3

I really try whine about this to much, honestly.But I just wonder how? Clemont was the one who came up with the plan to stop TR's machine, Serena was the one who free'd all the Pokemon...im just kinda at a loss at understanding at how it was just Ash that had a hand in stopping TR? Because all he did was plug up a vaccum.

Yeah, I agree. It's in his nature to help people out, plus the fact that the other group members are actually putting in equal effort should be recognised. This season is a lot more group focused, yet for some reason a lot of people think Ash is still doing all the work. I dunno, maybe it's just us. xD Can't make everyone happy.
 
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Blue Saturday

Violet Prince❤️
I really try whine about this to much, honestly.But I just wonder how? Clemont was the one who came up with the plan to stop TR's machine, Serena was the one who free'd all the Pokemon...im just kinda at a loss at understanding at how it was just Ash that had a hand in stopping TR? Because all he did was plug up a vaccum.
He saved Serena from the Swirlix, was the one who actually took action first, came up with the idea to use Chespin, got to contribute to getting the finishing blow(Which is better than him getting by himself at least), etc. He did get significant shine time in this episode, oh and not to mention the girls' spat over him was silly.(Even though Millefeui was mainly doing it to push Serena's buttons.) The thing about this episode is despite it being billed as a Serena episode it didn't feel like hers and only hers. When Iris got that Georgia episode, you knew and could tell it was that. When May got her Drew debut, you knew it was about May and Drew. They even got to battle. Ash took his place in those episodes and simply supported them.
 

Red Jr.

Banned
I'll never understand why people watch a show with a main character that they don't like lol, especially when the whole storyline is based off his adventure

Anyway this was one of the better filler XY episodes so far IMO, but I just get a hunch that Mille won't be a reoccurring rival because what else is there for her to do relating to pokepuffs? It's not like a random competition will appear every time she shows up.

Unless she's also secretly a coordinator

I really like her as a rival, reminds me a lot of Gary
 

Navin

MALDREAD
Okay seriously, this needs to stop. Ash DID NOT steal any god damn spotlight this episode and im sick of this growing thing with XY where we suddenly decided that Ash doing damn near ANYTHING is seen as a bad thing, even though all the things he did in this episode would fly just fine if it was ANY OTHER SERIES, but NOW it's a problem? Give me a break. When he completely separates from his friends to go play action hero, yes thats blatantly glorifying, but when he's just lending a hand to his friends that counts aas stealing the spotlight? Please

Yeah, have to disagree. Ash's Hero Mode act of jumping onto the vacuum completely overshadowed everything else, and had all the others crying out his name; plus his act caused the engine to overheat which then allowed them to finish off the mecha. This could have been written in a million ways, and one of them could have been Ash and the others being unable to act and Serena using Fennekin to take down TR. If this is a Serena-centric episode, I would have wanted her to do the heavy lifting, not Ash.

Who's the one that came up with the plant to defeat TR's Mech? Clemont, all Ash did was act as a suction blocker to implement said plan. Who was the one that manage to DEACTIVATE the TR machine and free all the Pokemon? Serena and Fennekin. And who was the one who managed to defeat TR's mech all together? Serena, Milfy AND Ash. Ash was NOT the only one who had a hand in taking down the Mech, im wondering you watched the same episode I did, everyone pitched it.

That was the part that made everything possible.

--------

I mean, this episode was definitely better than the Pokevision one. But still isn't better than the Clemont-centric episodes IMO. The rivalry was just forced IMO. Serena didn't get any real development. No battle, no capture. Return of her irritable side and more of the same from her (cooking/baking).

I guess if you're an Amourshipper you'd probably like this episode.
 

Soniman

Break the Limit
Yeah, have to disagree. Ash's Hero Mode act of jumping onto the vacuum completely overshadowed everything else, and had all the others crying out his name; plus his act caused the engine to overheat which then allowed them to finish off the mecha. This could have been written in a million ways, and one of them could have been Ash and the others being unable to act and Serena using Fennekin to take down TR. If this is a Serena-centric episode, I would have wanted her to do the heavy lifting, not Ash.


That was the part that made everything possible.
--------

But A: It wasnt Ash's plan, in fact he didnt even know what to do until CLEMONT gave him the plan and B: It was still SERENA who freed the Pokemon, ergo SHE WAS THE ONE WHO ACHIEVED THE DESIRED EFFECT. Ash was just helping out like he always does.

Why do people act like Ash going head first into a TR death machine is something new? I can count of plenty of times he's done stuff like this, and that's why it feels like a double standard to me to JUST NOW find fault with it when it was never an issue before. It's not like he took the entire mech down single handedly, it was a GROUP EFFORT. This is a thing in EVERY SERIES OF THE SHOW. Or are we going to accusing him of screen hogging whenever he's the one who sends TR blasting off with a thunderbolt because it would be a huge deal now.
 
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