A Legendary Photo Op! (889)

[Serebii]

Moltres in Focus! Snap the Legend!!

On their way to Anistar City, Ash & co. bump into their old friend Trevor. Trevor is aiming to be a Pokémon photo collector and tells them that there are stories that the Legendary Pokémon, Moltres, can be found in the nearby volcano. Ash & Pikachu are excited to see the Legendary Pokémon Moltres so decide to join Trevor in his quest. However, things start to not go to plan when Team Rocket appear. Will they be able to find Moltres?

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[Locormus]

Can't wait for this episode to get rolling!

The first scene we see is a looming mountain!
From the bushes, we see something rustle, and than we see a Charmeleon trudge out! CATCH IT ASH!!!!
Pikachu and Dedenne happily jump towards it, but the pair gets Flamethrowered.
Trevor emerges from the bushes, and gets Flamethrowered. LOL. Anybody feel nostalgia there? xD

Opening...

Trevor hugs his Charmeleon, which lets out a Flamethrower yet again... Ash realizes the issue with Fire-types.
Ash suggests a battle with, since his Fletchling had evolved and is now a Fire-type as well.

Fletchinder vs. Charmeleon:
- Flamethrower vs. dodge...
- Flamethrower vs. deflect with Steel Wing?
- Flame Charge hits!
- Dragon Claw hits, but doesn't do much.
- Fire Spin gets dodged!
- Steel Wing zips through Charmeleon and it gets KO'd.

The group has a talk.
Flashback to when Trevor got Charmander at Sycamore's.
Clemont brings up that there's a legendary pokémon called Fire (Moltres).
Trevor shows his photographs of Freeze and Thunder, aka Articuno and Zapdos.
Than he shows a few pictures of a Scatterbug, the group is unimpressed.
Trevor sees the potential here. Has a picture of some volcanic activity and thinks that Moltres must be there.
Trevor Talks reaaaaally fast and the group has the -.- face, but is willing to go along.
Meanwhile, TR spies on the group.
Scene change: They're walking up the mountainous terrain. Trevor in front. This is just waiting for a separation to happen.
Clemont comes up with a machine in order to get to the actual site quicker, it takes in a picture of the location and will locate it.
Trevor takes a picture of it, the machine starts working and the group follows. TR also follows.
The machine starts to dig.. But I can't see what happens next. They probably reach the site of the volcanic activity.

Commercial break

I was wrong, it's still digging.
Trevor spots a Crustle!!! SNAP IT!!!!
A BUTTERFREE!!! SNAP IT!!!!!
Group reacts: "eh"
More snapping.. -.-
The machine arrivés at the volcano crater. TR catch up to it. But it suddenly starts to beep and selfdestruct..
TR leave the scene after the explosion, but the machine turns rogue on Ash and co and than falls into the volcano.
Calming down after that little event, Pikachu suddenly gets taken by TR!! Motto-time.

Fletchinder vs. Gourgeist and Inkay. It skillfully dodges Psybeam and Shadow Balls.
Trevor Snaps Gourgeist and Charmeleon Flamethrowers Inkay.
Fletchinder dodges some more while attacks get sent into the volcano, along with falling rubble.
Attraction turns towards the crater as a large wall of magma rises up!

Enter Moltres!
Everybody is in shock and awe, quick Trevor SNAP DAT BIRD!
Ahh, he does.. I think..
First on the carnage list: Inkay and Gourgeist. Followed by TR up in the air.
Fletchinder Steel Wings the Pikachu container.
Moltres blasts the area with Flamethrower..
Ash sends out Frogadier to use Water Pulse, which does nothing. Desolate Land is in effect?
Charmeleon's Flamethrower does nothing as well!

Fletchinder vs. Moltres starts, but it gets knocked off by Flamethrower instantly.
Moltres sends a Flamethrower towards Ash and EVOLUTION TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Brave Bird!
Talonflame gets hit by a Fire Blast, which causes it to fall.
Ash jumps after, Moltres recognizes this selflessness
Frogadier saves the day with Frubble.
Moltres just flies there..
I miss the conclusion of this scene..
Ash and co have left the mountain after I missed a bit, and Trevor makes a picture of Ash, Pikachu, Frogadier and Talonflame

 

[WillDaSnail]

Lol @ Trevor's Charmeleon going rambo on Ash and the crew, and on Trevor himself. That was hilarious - sure reminds us of disobedience from Ash's Charizard when it was a Charmeleon and Charizard in OS

And RIP Trevor's Charemeleon; all hail the powerful Smogon bird baby phoenix.

Ash's Fletchinder evolves into Talonflame and learns Brave Bird. Falls towards the lava after taking a powerful Fire Blast attack from Moltres. Ash dives into the lava in an attempt to rescue Talonflame. However, Frogadier is the real MVP using its Frubbles to create a rope and save both of them.

------

Okay, for my evaluation:

Holy crap, I couldn't ask for a better episode than this one - it was badass all around. Ash's Fletchinder showing its superb battling skills during the 1v1 against Trevor's Charizard (with the Steel Wing finisher) was really nice.

Trevor's Charmeleon's personality is incredibly rash (not surprised; holdover from its rash behavior as a Charmander), which is somewhat funny as it does resemble Ash's Charizard way back in the days.....

The evolution sequence and Ash's Fletchinder's selflessness to defend his trainer at all costs was very moving, I must say. Learning Brave Bird right off the bat and using it to battle Moltres was wonderful. And Talonflame falling into the lava, followed by Ash trying to rescue it was well.....I have no words to describe how good that was.

All hail our new lord and savior Smogon bird Talonflame, the baby great Phoenix.

10/10

P.S. Did Talonflame's VA sound somewhat different than the the VA for Moira's Talonflame? I might be farfetched here, but would this be a clue to what its gender could be later on?

P.P.S. Not related to the episode itself, but the movie promo in the opening is getting a bit old now and seriously needs to go at this point. Hoping the opening will revert back to normal after the one week break...with some key updates in it too.

 

[Lucario At Service]

Just mentioning it, but i think Trevor mentioned that he was collecting Gym Badges as well.

 

[Afrodisiac]

That evolution scene was amazingly done o_0 wonder what's that BGM song title.
Trova was quite funny here. LOVE his Charmeleon.

 

[WillDaSnail]

That evolution scene was amazingly done o_0 wonder what's that BGM song title.
Trova was quite funny here.

Kira Kira (if I remember it correctly), which was played for the first time two episodes ago.

 

[1rkhachatryan]

Yes!!! This episode was awesome!!! My boy Talonflame got a win and a new move. FINALLY a decent Flying type attack lol. Would of loved a special fire move but I'll take what I can get.

Also I'm pretty sure I heard Trevor mention a badge from Viola but I could be mistaken.

I gotta say seeing Fletchinder rushing towards Ash in a panic to save him was so sweet it gave me the feels. I'm just so happy my bro finally got some love .

 

[Yuraenia]

I have to say, this is a good episode, even if I watched it in less than a happy mood (due to some..unforeseen circumstances) xD Honestly, i loved the animation here and the fact that both Serena and Pikachu actually scolded him for throwing himself down towards the lava in his attempt to catch Talonflame. Good job you two, knocking some sense into him xD

Trova was quite entertaining here and I was actually hoping his Charmeleon would trigger some sort of throwback to Satoshi's Charizard, even for a bit, but sadly that did not happen.
Fletchinder/Talonflame was definitely the star of the show. You could actually feel its desperation when trying to reach Satoshi on time as Moltres attacked them.

Overall, great evolution episode, and even TR's presence wasn't THAT annoying this time xD

 

[Nacreous]

OMG!When Talonflame charged Moltres with that second Brave Bird you could see Moltres was actually afraid.Finally,my falcon is here!!

 

[DaDonYordel]

Man, Ash goddamn destroyed Trevor like it was nothing, makes me feel all giddy inside, and fitting too, that Ash's winning streak would be ended by nothing less other than a legendary. Great episode. Nothing was too drawn out like Trevor's reintroduction as well as the confirmation that he is going for gyms, though he should've shown his badge though. His motormouth fangasm was perfect for him, too bad in didn't showcase his detective skills like in the summer camp episode. I guess, I can understand Team Rocket's appearance here, if not for them, it would have been Ash and gang's fault that they pissed off Moltres, and Ash would have no reason to fight it otherwise.

Good battle against Moltres, great animation, strange use of Kirakira though. Would've preferred VOLT or Getta Banban. Now it would seem that Talonflame has finally become the big guy after the fire rose, and is now the Bravest Ballerina. Frogadier is now the last of the old duo to have not yet evolve fully. ;_;

 

[xinfernapex]

So has Talonflame kept Peck or Razor Wind? A lot of people will say Razor Wind but I assume it will keep Peck as another flying type move so that it doesn't have to spam Brave Bird all the time?

 

[Lord Trollbias]

Hype episode lived up to the hype.
Trevor was enjoyable and seeing and his Charmeleon had a fun personality.
Battle was good, albeit short, but Fletchinder finally breaks even with its battling record.
Moltres absolutely gave zero ****s. Rampaged on everybody and was legit trying to kill Ash, Trevor and their mons, which of course triggered a hype evolution.
Talonflame got good hits in but was outclassed by Moltres. Brave Bird as new finisher, granted I wish they kept the initial flame part of the setup before it delves into blue aura.
Moltres impressed by Ash and Fletchinder's bond but however I was pleasantly surprised it was Forgadier doing the saving and not Moltres, always nice to see the Mons get these little moments here and thre.
A episode for me and in my Top 5 for XY.

So has Talonflame kept Peck or Razor Wind? A lot of people will say Razor Wind but I assume it will keep Peck as another flying type move so that it doesn't have to spam Brave Bird all the time?

Keeping Peck will mean no ranged moves at all. No thanks. Plus I like its moveset diversity and seeing as how Peck is just a criminally weak version of Brave Bird, there is zero reason to keep it.

 

[Pteranodonte]

I can already see Talonflame vs Charizard at the League, if Trevor will be against Ash.

 

[MegaSalamence05]

I'm literally calling this episode the no one gives a damn episode. Literally no one did, Ash/Talonflame/Moltres/Team Rocket/ and Trevor to an extent. I'm still enjoying the hype train this episode brought. It delivered massively, job well done!! I'm ranking it in my Top-5 favourite all time episodes. Haven't had that much fun watching in episode in I don't know how long. That's how much praise I have for this episode. Started Sept 8th, 1998 in the North American markets, that's how committed I've been to this show. Just a thrill ride from start to finish.

As you can tell I loved this episode!!!

 

[JD]

Woohoo I'm glad that Ash has Talonflame now, I wonder if we'll see a Talonflame vs Charizard match at the league? Or maybe Noivern vs Charizard if Noibat evolves?

 

[Satoshi & Touko]

This actually was indeed a decent episode, even though we got a nice dose of Team Plot Device. Surprised that Talonflame has Brave Bird. IIRC it can't learn it in the game through leveling up, sorry, too lazy to check, and I don't request anyone do it for me. I'm not terribly happy that Ash was scolded for going after his talonflame as it was falling toward the lava. Thank goodness Moltres looked at it from the proper angle.

 

[DotKU]

Wow this episode was on fire! At first I thought that maybe Trevor's Charmeleon was disobedient like Ash's but that's gladly not the case. I'm glad Fletchling beat Charmeleon but I wish Charmeleon put up more of a fight. Nevertheless, it was fine for its purpose. Thank goodness, TR was blasted out before the Moltress v. Fletchling battle. It was nice to see how Fletchinder really cared for the group and desperately tried to save them, and then the same for when Ash jumped off to catch it. Brave bird was an added bonus, peck is finally gone (I hope)! Frogadier being the one to save Ash and Talonflame was a lot better than Moltress doing anything. I'm also glad they didn't draw Talonflame as small as the one we saw in Fletchling's evolution episode.

The animation and the bgm for this episode were great, however, one little qualm I had was their selection of Kira Kira (which I thought is Clemont's theme) for the evolution sequence. I think Volt, even though it has been played so much already, would have been the more appropriate choice.

Finally, one of Ash's originally 3 has fully evolved, now we wait for Frogadier. I said this in the preview thread for this episode, but I really liked how Frogadier was here witnessing Fletchling's evolution, and I hope when the time comes by for Frogadier to evolve, Talonflame is there too. I think it would be a nice nod to the bond they had in early XY.

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

The build up to Moltres felt a tad weak, but this was a very well put together episode. Definitely lived up to the hype.

 

[Red and Blue]

I just wished that it learned another fire type move. Aside from that great episode. Moltres was a beast

 

[Almighty Zard]

I laughed at Pikachu's expression after Ash got pulled back up...(granted i'm still wondering what those "frubbles" are made of to be able to withstand the heat of a volcano.)

It's almost like it was saying. "Your supposed to do that for me, no one else!"

Hopefully Brave Bird replaces Peck