• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

A Prism of Light and Darkness: Its name is Necrozma! (1032)

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
I dont feel like it is "intense". Idk why or how.
There's a lot of exposition and lack of actual action. The action is nice, yes, but the pacing makes it lacking IMO. Still the best arc in SM yet tho so far
 
D

Deleted member 384931

Guest
There's a lot of exposition and lack of actual action. The action is nice, yes, but the pacing makes it lacking IMO. Still the best arc in SM yet tho so far
I fell like something like this would fit better in XY tbh
 

Dragalge

"Orange" Magical Girl
Finally watched it and it was fine for what it was imo. I like the slapstick in SM but even I'm happy it's been toned down to a minimum here. I do feel as this arc could have used one more episode before the upcoming one but eh. And Kukui you idiot, Braviary can fly! If you had commanded it to fly away it wouldn't have gotten smashed by Mega Aggron (which I also loved seeing it appearing in the main anime for the first time).

In addition to all that, I like Naganadel's world more than the one we saw back in the Aether Arc. Very cool looking imo.
 
D

Deleted member 384931

Guest
So very episode of this arc used Z-moves: on the machine,on Lunala,on DMN and then on Necrozma. Interesting....
 

mehmeh1

Not thinking twice!
There's a lot of exposition and lack of actual action. The action is nice, yes, but the pacing makes it lacking IMO. Still the best arc in SM yet tho so far
tbh, I still prefer the akala arc, it gave kiawe and lana some nice episodes, we had some pretty good battles, ash felt comical but still competent, and due to SM not being a traveling series so they can come back to any places that haven't been showcased, the pacing was also pretty good. IMO, Akala>Ula Ula (would be better with an extra episode and a better nanu battle)>Necrozma>>>>Aether
 
D

Deleted member 384931

Guest
tbh, I still prefer the akala arc, it gave kiawe and lana some nice episodes, we had some pretty good battles, ash felt comical but still competent, and due to SM not being a traveling series so they can come back to any places that haven't been showcased, the pacing was also pretty good. IMO, Akala>Ula Ula (would be better with an extra episode and a better nanu battle)>Necrozma>>>>Aether
Why do you think its bad?
 

mehmeh1

Not thinking twice!
Why do you think its bad?
what exactly? The nanu battle? Not bad, but should've had a bit more of actual battling, and while I like nanu getting under ash's skin, ash's reactions felt too much like a regression (it's fine for him to snap, but they could've done it in any other way that wasn't"NUUUUU! ME GUD TRENUR! ME LUGARUGARUGARUGAN PERTNOR!!!!111!1"), I like the necrozma arc, but it feels like it's lacking some sort of action climax as of now, and the aether arc started out mostly fine but everything fell apart after the poni canyon episode
 
D

Deleted member 384931

Guest
what exactly? The nanu battle? Not bad, but should've had a bit more of actual battling, and while I like nanu getting under ash's skin, ash's reactions felt too much like a regression (it's fine for him to snap, but they could've done it in any other way that wasn't"NUUUUU! ME GUD TRENUR! ME LUGARUGARUGARUGAN PERTNOR!!!!111!1"), I like the necrozma arc, but it feels like it's lacking some sort of action climax as of now, and the aether arc started out mostly fine but everything fell apart after the poni canyon episode
The Necrozma arc.
 

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
tbh, I still prefer the akala arc, it gave kiawe and lana some nice episodes, we had some pretty good battles, ash felt comical but still competent, and due to SM not being a traveling series so they can come back to any places that haven't been showcased, the pacing was also pretty good. IMO, Akala>Ula Ula (would be better with an extra episode and a better nanu battle)>Necrozma>>>>Aether
Meh don't like the way Lana got her Z Ring. The Totems felt very good underwhelming (though Lurantis was decent). Pacing was even worse. Main highlight was Dusk Lycanroc's episode at the end and the initial starting episode. Still on the fence on Marowak and Lana's Waterium Z. Still a good arc tho. My ranking would be Necrozma>Akala>Aether>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ula'Ula
 

mehmeh1

Not thinking twice!
Meh don't like the way Lana got her Z Ring. The Totems felt very good underwhelming (though Lurantis was decent). Pacing was even worse. Main highlight was Dusk Lycanroc's episode at the end and the initial starting episode. Still on the fence on Marowak and Lana's Waterium Z. Still a good arc tho. My ranking would be Necrozma>Akala>Aether>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ula'Ula
what's so bad about ula ula? My only problems were the nanu fight and the lack of torracat doing anything
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
I fell like something like this would fit better in XY tbh

Perhaps, though I think it's SM's more whimsical bits of character and its Ultra Guardian premise that is making this one a bit less generic and also making its main cast feel a least a little more a central part of the story instead of just there for the ride.

Concerning the arc votes, I kinda agree on the Akala one, it was short but I liked it gave a large amount of characters something to do and a bit of bulking up in a fast pace without feeling TOO rushed. Olivia was likable, Marowak's capture episode I think was the beard growing moment for Kiawe's team and I loved seeing Rowlet fight again. Only issue was Mallow getting a superfluous role in the Grass Trial episode, though I'm kinda used to that really.

Ula Ula I didn't mind either, though, while I liked the experimentation and seeing Ash and TR hold episodes solo, I do admit I prefer seeing the supporting cast get their moments too. Plus Ash getting plot armour move learns nearly every battle kinda dumbed everything down.

The AF arc was horrendously flawed and rushed (though Ash and Lillie's interactions redeemed it) and this one is okay but kinda a standard action/exposition plot for the legendaries.
 
Last edited:

Ignition

We are so back Zygardebros
what's so bad about ula ula? My only problems were the nanu fight and the lack of torracat doing anything
I dislike Acerola, the entire premise of Lycanroc's rage, how Rowlet hasn't done anything since Olivia's battle (in terms of official/important battles) or Torracat not having anything with Alola Persian, Nanu's first 2 battles in the rematch just seemed off to me, and lack of a proper Trial.
 

xEryChan

Demon Child
I get that Ash is trying to explain the Manalo concept, but were those awful Principal Oak face puns really required.

I said the exact same thing when I first watched the episode. It was not necessary, nor was it funny. We could have done without it.
 

Twilight-Kun

Pokemon World Champion
Except that is not how it happened. The Poipole attacked on their own, nobody told them to attack. Ash could clearly tell something was up with Naganadel and he wanted to help it. He has a big heart and wants to help anything, even if he was being attacked earlier on in the episode.
Still amusing he got sidetracked by a literal sidequest, with Gladion even reminding the group (twice!) about the main quest they were sent here on

:p

Then they learn that it's part of the main quest anyway and the journey continues, breaking previously established lore in the process - remember when Z-moves were limited use? And yet they shoot one off every episode so far with not a lot of time seeming to pass

Is it because they're weaker thanks to Necrozma (and Lunala at one point) draining Ultra Aura, and therefore not as exhausting to do?
 

Akkipeddi

All set to be a nice guy
Meh don't like the way Lana got her Z Ring. The Totems felt very good underwhelming (though Lurantis was decent). Pacing was even worse. Main highlight was Dusk Lycanroc's episode at the end and the initial starting episode. Still on the fence on Marowak and Lana's Waterium Z. Still a good arc tho. My ranking would be Necrozma>Akala>Aether>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Ula'Ula

I'd personally rank it as Ula Ula>Necrozma>>Akala>>>>Aether

True I was very disappointed with the Nanu Grand Trial, since Nanu's Pokémon barely put up a fight. Also the whole scene of Nanu taunting Ash, and Ash literally losing his composure and needing Lycanroc to tackle him back to senses wasn't very good. But the main reason I liked Ula'ula the most was simply because there were no classmates. Simply put, I really dislike the classmates (barring Kiawe), and Acerola in that short number of episodes was far more entertaining than any of the classmates.

Akala was really bad due to its pacing and really atrocious Totem battles. I also didn't like the way Lana got her Z Crystal and the overall lack of Totem Salazzle.

The less said about Aether the better. The arc propolled Lillie to the joint top of my most disliked character list.
 

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
While telepathic Pokémon feel plot-contrived now thanks to the movies, I think it actually kind of worked for Naganadel. It's not a normal Pokémon, at least by the standards of Ash's world, so we can't exactly expect it to behave like a normal Pokémon. It's also incredibly old and powerful. For all we know, evolved forms of Ultra Beasts, especially old and powerful ones, are capable of telepathic speech. In a meta sense, Naganadel being telepathic offered an easy way to explain what had happened to Poipole's world. It was kind of the only option, since no one can understand Poipole's speech.

Was anyone else a little surprised at the high-pitched voice that came out of that giant dragon's mouth? o_O Given Naganadel's size and appearance, I was expecting a deeper voice.

I liked the bit of contrast between Ash and Gladion. While both of them wanted to do the right thing, Gladion was solely concerned with saving Alola, while Ash also wanted to save Poipole's world. Gladion was focused on following Lunala and saving Solgaleo, while Ash couldn't just leave the injured Naganadel alone, even if it meant losing sight of Lunala. I like how Ash came up with the idea of helping Necrozma by sharing Z-Power with it right before Professor Burnet finished deciphering the mural text and learned that that's how the people of Alola saved "the Radiant One" in ancient times.

This is the second last episode of this arc, but I still feel they've not done a very good job at explaining why Necrozma awoke from its slumber. And of course, the fact that a random Naganadel they stumbled upon happened to know telepathy and show them the whole backstory in one sitting shows that they rushed this arc. Ideally one would expect the UG to learn the whole backstory themselves over a period of time, but sure, throw in a Naganadel with telepathy to remove all that. .
That wasn't exactly a random Naganadel. My impression is that it's the leader of the Poipole—a matriarch figure who has been around a very, very long time. As I said above, Ultra Beasts are not normal Pokémon, so we can't exactly expect them to behave like normal Pokémon.

I think it was pretty clear why Necrozma awoke from its slumber. It sensed the presence of Solgaleo and Lunala when they entered its world through the Ultra Wormhole (the two of them may not be from the same world as Poipole, Naganadel, and Necrozma), and with their presence, it sensed its chance to regain the light it had lost.
 

Mega Altaria

☆~Shiny hunter▢~
She's basically a grandmother - did you not see all of her kids? :p
I was surprised at first but it wasn’t until a bit later she was meant to be a ‘grandmother’ for the Poipole. Given that she most likely cares for them, I think that’s what has made Naganadel good at storytelling.
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
They went back to having a commercial break right after the theme song again after not doing that for a few weeks

TBH that was better than having the massive 6-minute commercial break at WTP

I still don't trust Faba

I don't understand how Professor Kukui was able to see Team Rocket's invisible ship

I was shocked when Naganadel talked

Why is Ash ok with Solgaleo remaining absorbed

Why is Ash being Principal Oak?

I did NOT expect Mega Evolution to happen in this episode! What a welcome surprise!!

Jessie's face got super-ugly there, so not a fan

Hilarious that Professor Burnet freaks out so hard at her discovery when the kids had already found out

I don't get the significance of the conversation about Gladion using Silvally instead of Lycanroc, when all it did was use Breakneck Blitz smh
 

Ryu Taylor

Unwavering beliefs. Richter Taylor is my name now.
Why is Kukui letting Starlight Glimmer wannabe come along??

That is a strange voice Naganadel has, but it fits perfectly considering what it is.

First Mega Evolution all saga, and it swept.

That "lovely and charming villains" thing is the dumbest ****ing thing I've ever heard Team Rocket say, bar none.

I like how this episode's music mainly had a mystical feel to it. Appropriate since this episode was lore-heavy.

Next week, the end of this arc (but strangely not the season).
 
Top