Oh wow, talk about a fantastic episode.
Merry Christmas, too! It's a Christmasy day, too; just perfect.
The contest battle b/w Dawn and Lyla is just fantastic. Delcatty is just much more fun to watch than Zoey's Glameow, even though they both use some of the same moves, such as Shockwave. Even so, the battle felt really unique, and was spectacular at that. It starts off with a bang with Delcatty's substitute, and never loses steam from there. Excellent.
Ampibom's use of swift/or double hit (lame note-taking, I know) to stop Delcatty's 2nd use of Sing is what gives Ash his inspiration for how to stop Fantina's hypnosis, I suppose.
Okay, 2 little fun facts in this one. Attract is a move used a great deal in the next region, especially by Ash, believe it or not. Second, and my personal favorite part of the episode, is the scene where Lila explains her real reason for entering again, to battle Dawn. The looks on Ash's, Brock's, and Dawn's faces when they hear that...I think that's amazing and a great show of character from them. They're a little disturbed, whereas just before they were excited and interested to hear about Lila's new motivation to compete and maybe enter the grand festival. The kids (are they kids?) don't say anything, and I don't think there was anything proper for them to say. But they are put off a little upon hearing that, and Johanna's laughing at it doesn't make them feel any better, I think. What's that really mean...To me, I think, growing up, one of the shocking things about the world you see is that adults aren't quite what you expect them to be. They have "petty" motivations, or pride, or just traits that are just so surprising to you. I think one of the biggest things about growing up is that you realize that adults aren't that much different from you. They have egos, and you (maybe) start to realize that they aren't always the people you run to get advice from, since they maybe don't have your values. I'm probably not saying this the right way, but that's one reason why I was so excited with Cynthia's entrance into the anime, in the way she beat one of the members of the elite 4 so easily, the same member who "bossed" Dawn around a few episodes before and acted like he knew everything. The moral of these episodes, I don't think, is that there is a right way and not a right way, and when these adult characters make pts, this is necessarily the right way. The world is much more complex than that, and there are few things that can be categorized as clearly right or wrong. Lila's motivation for entering the contest is not wrong, not at all; but it's a little disturbing to Ash and the gang, and it's not something they would do. They don't comment on it (and I don't think they should), but they are aware of it, and I think that makes all the difference, even if nothing comes of it.
Sorry, one more thing. I think the most important idea in this episode is where Dawn starts to get nervous about the importance of the final, and then slaps herself gently, thinking that even if she loses she'll make adjustments and try again. This isn't the end, and her adventures will continue.
Merry Christmas, too! It's a Christmasy day, too; just perfect.
The contest battle b/w Dawn and Lyla is just fantastic. Delcatty is just much more fun to watch than Zoey's Glameow, even though they both use some of the same moves, such as Shockwave. Even so, the battle felt really unique, and was spectacular at that. It starts off with a bang with Delcatty's substitute, and never loses steam from there. Excellent.
Ampibom's use of swift/or double hit (lame note-taking, I know) to stop Delcatty's 2nd use of Sing is what gives Ash his inspiration for how to stop Fantina's hypnosis, I suppose.
Okay, 2 little fun facts in this one. Attract is a move used a great deal in the next region, especially by Ash, believe it or not. Second, and my personal favorite part of the episode, is the scene where Lila explains her real reason for entering again, to battle Dawn. The looks on Ash's, Brock's, and Dawn's faces when they hear that...I think that's amazing and a great show of character from them. They're a little disturbed, whereas just before they were excited and interested to hear about Lila's new motivation to compete and maybe enter the grand festival. The kids (are they kids?) don't say anything, and I don't think there was anything proper for them to say. But they are put off a little upon hearing that, and Johanna's laughing at it doesn't make them feel any better, I think. What's that really mean...To me, I think, growing up, one of the shocking things about the world you see is that adults aren't quite what you expect them to be. They have "petty" motivations, or pride, or just traits that are just so surprising to you. I think one of the biggest things about growing up is that you realize that adults aren't that much different from you. They have egos, and you (maybe) start to realize that they aren't always the people you run to get advice from, since they maybe don't have your values. I'm probably not saying this the right way, but that's one reason why I was so excited with Cynthia's entrance into the anime, in the way she beat one of the members of the elite 4 so easily, the same member who "bossed" Dawn around a few episodes before and acted like he knew everything. The moral of these episodes, I don't think, is that there is a right way and not a right way, and when these adult characters make pts, this is necessarily the right way. The world is much more complex than that, and there are few things that can be categorized as clearly right or wrong. Lila's motivation for entering the contest is not wrong, not at all; but it's a little disturbing to Ash and the gang, and it's not something they would do. They don't comment on it (and I don't think they should), but they are aware of it, and I think that makes all the difference, even if nothing comes of it.
Sorry, one more thing. I think the most important idea in this episode is where Dawn starts to get nervous about the importance of the final, and then slaps herself gently, thinking that even if she loses she'll make adjustments and try again. This isn't the end, and her adventures will continue.