I can't believe I haven't watched this Sinnoh Grand Festival finale episode! I caught a few glimpses of it in the past when the Japanese episode aired, but not enough to really get the whole episode. Well I've finally had time to watch the whole thing and write about my thoughts on the chain of events in this one. I'm just a bit sad that this seems like the final Contest battle of Dawn since I don't think Sinnoh has anymore Contests open, after the Grand Festival. Well here goes my review/essay on the events of this finale of sorts. First off, I hated this dub title since I didn't get the pun. Just thought I'd get that out of the way first haha. I thought the episodes started out too suddenly though; with not much build-up as we usually have. Pretty different since we usually have a lot of talking before any actual action.
Anyway, the Contest announcer gives them the go-ahead to battle and Dawn sent out her trusty Piplup and the Togekiss she got as a gift. Zoey then sent out her trusty Glameow and a Gallade; which I'm assuming evolved from her old Kirlia. Kind of a shock to me to be honest, since I had assumed all of her Pokemon were female lol. Anyway, I noticed that when Piplup and Togekiss were sent out, there wasn't much of a Seal effect but when Zoey sent out Glameow and Gallade, they were given a cool flowery Seal effect. I call favoritism! Anyway, we got a nice shot of Team Rocket, Ash and Brock, and even Ursula and Nando watching the battle play out; that's great. I like that the writers remembered Nando and Ursula, specifically. Dawn gave Piplup and Togekiss a quick pep-talk and then she started thinking back to the Jubilife Contest and how Zoey said they'd meet at the final stage. Oh la la, a Shipping moment maybe? Lol.
Ash scanned Gallade into his PokeDex, because that's what Ash does. He then confirmed that Gallade did indeed evolve from Zoey's Kirlia. Then Dawn's mom, Johanna, suddenly appears. I'm like, "what?!". I mean, how did she get to Lake Valor so quickly, when she was in Twinleaf Town one episode previous to this one? Weird. She explains how both Zoey and Dawn are even, though I thought Zoey had the advantage to be honest. Anyway, back to the battle. Dawn had Piplup jump on Togekiss' back and then she had Togekiss use Aura Sphere and Piplup use it's Bubblebeam which created a cool new move. Just when I thought Dawn had it, Zoey had Glameow cut the Aura Sphere in half which created a bright light. Zoey then had her Gallade use Psycho Cut on Piplup's Bubblebeam and created a dazzling effect of her own! Both Fantina and Dawn were impressed, though Dawn lost some points. Togekiss surprised Zoey with it's speed and then Piplup prepared to use Hydro Pump.
Sadly, Zoey was prepared for that and had her Glameow use Fake Out to startle Piplup and cancel out the move before it was used. Pretty interesting to see Fake Out in the anime. Brock explained it's effect just as Dawn lost another chunk of points which was irritating to watch. Team Rocket then asked Meowth to learn Fake Out, though apparently, it isn't easy? Silly TPCI dialogue. Gallade used Vacuum Wave on Togekiss, but Togekiss dodged it and used Air Slash, though it missed as well. Both Zoey and Dawn lost points, though Zoey noticed how agile Togekiss was. Gallade then used Signal Beam and Glameow used it's Iron Tail to form another fusion move; a sort of lasso of Signal Beam. Dawn then had her Piplup use Whirlpool but Zoey countered with her own Signal Beam-whirlpool. However, Dawn used her Togekiss' Aura Sphere to give Whirlpool a bright-blue glow and the two Whirlpools collided to form a bunch of fireworks. Typical.
Both Dawn and Zoey lost a few more points on the Contest meter for that one, since the move was equally effective. Zoey had Gallade use Swords Dance which, to be honest, was probably the blandest move I've ever seen in a Contest. No sparkly effect or anything. Dawn took advantage and had Togekiss use Safeguard to protect it from status changes. That cost Zoey some points right there. Zoey tried using Glameow's Shadow Claw on Togekiss, but it wasn't very smart, at least not at first anyway. Togekiss used Sky Attack but Gallade came charging in and used it's Psycho Cut. Piplup used Peck and they pretty much tied there but that was what Zoey wanted. She used that attack as a distraction and had Glameow climb onto Togekiss' back. Smart, since it cost Dawn more points. Glameow then used Thunderbolt, but apparently, Togekiss' Safeguard protected it from damage. Lol, what? It cost Zoey and Dawn more points, once again. Piplup was then preparing to help Togekiss, but Gallade got in the way. Piplup however, just kept on running towards Gallade.
Gallade used Vacuum Wave again, but Piplup used that spinning move and was able to dodge it in mid-air. It then "flew" towards Togekiss and Glameow and knocked Glameow off with it's Hydro Pump! That move both removed Glameow and cost Zoey points. Gallade then used Psycho Cut once more but Togekiss and Piplup dodged that in the air. We then saw some of the other Coordinators watching the battle like Kenny, and even Candice of Snowpoint City was watching the battle! Zoey then wanted to seperate Togekiss and Piplup so she used another Psycho Cut and it worked. Dawn came up with a plan fast and had Piplup use Whirlpool while Togekiss distracted Zoey. It didn't work so well though; Glameow was able to grab a hold of Whirlpool with it's tail. I say, cut it off. Gallade then used Vacuum Wave to destroy the Whirlpool, which was odd, considering Zoey could've been a bit more creative but whatever. Dawn then had Piplup use Peck and Togekiss use Sky Attack!
For some reason, the two moves combined to form a red-colored move that impressed the judges and cost Zoey some points. I noticed that a new song played during all of this and I have to say, whether it's the original Japanese song or not, it sounded pretty nice and fit in with the scene very well. Zoey then came up with her own fusion move by having her Glameow use Thunderbolt to charge up Gallade's arms to form of sort of electric-Psycho Cut. Gallade's Psycho Cut and Togekiss and Piplup's fusion move clashed! There was an explosion of course, and then we saw that both Zoey and Dawn lost a huge amount of points. Right before the Pokemon could do much else though, the timer runs out and the battle ends. We saw everyone look anxious right before a winner was declared, and then Zoey was declared the winner since she had a bit more points left. Zoey and her Pokemon exchanged a hug, though Dawn looked very sad as she thanked Piplup and Togekiss for their hard work during the battle.
Dawn seemed sad, but was able to get over it and feel truly happy for Zoey. Ash and Brock seemed disappointed that Dawn lost, but Johanna merely claimed it was the beginning and not the end. Sure Johanna, sure. Even Jessie was clearly upset that Dawn lost, and she seemed to have given up on Contests for good as she left her old costume behind. Fantina gave Zoey the Ribbon Trophy and the Grand Festival came to a close. After the Contest, Dawn met up with her mom and returned her ribbon which I'm surprised the writer still remembered haha. Nurse Joy then told Ash that Volkner was awaiting him in Sunyshore City, which was a little too convenient. Dawn and Zoey then had a private conversation but were interrupted by Nando who wanted to thank them for the battles. Zoey then left for Snowpoint City and I have to admit, I'm sorry to see her go. Dawn then talked to all her Pokemon and it looks like she hasn't given up on being Top Coordinator yet. Overall, even though the episode ended on a sad note, I think it was 10 times better than the Hoenn and Kanto GF, and it was pretty much perfect. I give it a
10/10 which it deserves
