Burn with Passion! Get Filled with Intensity! A Full Battle!!! (1085)

[DuquÊ?]

I think rowlet's plot armor is the most broken thing any unevolved starter Ash have already got. At least, avoid the solar beam consumed all its P.A.P. (Plot Armor Points). This battle gave me vibes of corphish vs golduck on Houenn League.

In general, this full battle reminiscenses more traditional full battles from OS - DP, it's good until now (but I don't think it deserved four damn parts to be concluded). Bonus points for Kukui having a butt monkey moment with empoleon (poor thing knew it was screwed the moment it looked back to Kukui). Additional points to Faba and Wicke getting pumped while cheering for Kukui and Ash, respectively.

I don't think naganadel have chances, after getting all chipper and goofs around when choosed to battle, it's still the same naive poipole. If Ash had time to learn its moveset, it maybe can do something, but doubt it's getting a win.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

I think rowlet's plot armor is the most broken thing any unevolved starter Ash have already got. At least, avoid the solar beam consumed all its P.A.P. (Plot Armor Points). This battle gave me vibes of corphish vs golduck on Houenn League.

I wouldn't call rowlet escaping venasaur's solar beam as plot armor but more of a smart thinking from ash who told him to escpae using feather dance, rowlet's plot armor was against hau and his decidueye when it learned this move at last moment after struggling to perfect it initially. That was PIS at its best.

As for melmetal it is definitely underwhelming, it is going same way as goodr though i would still call it little better than goodra since tleast it damaged gladion's ace silvally badly but it should atleast have caused atleast some damage to incineroar.

 

[DatsRight]

I wouldn't call rowlet escaping was not plot armor but more of a smart thinking from ash who told him to escpae using feather dance, rowlet's plot armor was against hau and his decidueye when it learned this move at last moment after struggling to perfect it initially. That was PIS at its best.

In fairness trying to master a move midway through a battle is better than him easily learning it with zero training or build up at all. How often has that happened with the protagonists' Pokemon in the anime (and no, just because it was usually against a low tier battle like Team Rocket doesn't make it any less plot armour since the move is still permanently kept).

 

[nuzamaki90]

They tried to downplay our boy’s raw power by saying it was boosted by Blast Burn, which could have only been accomplished through the raw tenacity our little fire tiger has. He’s just really that strong and literally made the giant toad, croak.

This was the best battle episode we’ve gotten in a long time. Genuine back and forth, good pacing, and not a lot of pointless reactions from the peanut gallery. Fun and action all tied together in a really nicely animated piece. Although a bit predictable, I’m glad everyone got to get a few blows in, some better than others. Although I found it odd how Pikachu didn’t zap the crap out of Empoleon instantly but I guess they had to give Melmetal at least one victory.

All in all, I’m still hooked on this and really happy that Tomioka is writing this whole thing. No random events that change the pace of the battle. I’m so excited for next week.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

In fairness trying to master a move midway through a battle is better than him easily learning it with zero training or build up at all. How often has that happened with the protagonists' Pokemon in the anime (and no, just because it was usually against a low tier battle like Team Rocket doesn't make it any less plot armour since the move is still permanently kept).

Well TR are generally kept as plot device for ash's pokemon to evolve or to learn some new moves and this is going on for about 22 years it one of there jobs to make ash's pokemon look good. So its not bad as compared to evolving or learning new move in middle of an important match, and this is not just issue with rowlet this was the big issue with BW series as well where ash's pokemon in every second gym was evolving after getting thrashed and then winning. How many times have may been criticized during AG for this.

 

[Aleh]

What a good battle. Rowlet demonstrating he’s a genuinely good battler once again, Melmetal getting a win, and good comedy and cute moments with the spectators all around.

 

[DatsRight]

Well TR are generally kept as plot device for ash's pokemon to evolve or to learn some new moves and this is going on for about 22 years it one of there jobs to make ash's pokemon look good. So its not bad as compared to evolving or learning new move in middle of an important match, and this is not just issue with rowlet this was the big issue with BW series as well where ash's pokemon in every second gym was evolving after getting thrashed and then winning. How many times have may been criticized during AG for this.

The point still stands that in Rowlet's case, they were at least INTENTIONALLY trying to master that move. They were training for it originally but didn't have the time to pre-match so frantically had to master it during the battle. It's maybe not the best dynamic for a major event battle true, but there was at least SOME agency from both trainer and Pokemon there.

Even if many of those other cases were 'good guy rewards' against Team Rocket or some other unimportant opponent, the fact still stands that they kept that move they got through no hard work but 'the power of really really wanting something' and got to use it in similar key battles that weren't about karma and bad guys.

 

[FlygontheRavager]

The battle between Ash vs Kukui continues to impress!

Tbh, I didn’t think we’d have many great animation cuts due to the second preview, but the episode was vastly better animated than I expected. And the choreography was absolutely on-point! This entire episode had a nearly-seamless balance between the action and the comedy; the only comedic scene which really felt out of place was when Kukui and Empoleon were slumped against the wall. (He looked kinda dumb there.)

I especially liked Rowlet vs Braviary. Unlike Ash vs Hau, in which the “comedic” moment fundamentally destroyed what the battle was supposed to do, this time Rowlet’s gag-like fighting style wasn’t intrusive at all; in fact, I feel as though this fight displayed Rowlet’s REAL personality. Looking at the beginning and ending parts of the series, one can tell that Rowlet may be a sleepy Pokémon with a kooky personality, but whenever it’s training/battling, it’s always trying its best. And that was completely emphasized in this episode. (Also, is it just me, or did they reference the spin technique from the DP series when Rowlet dodged Crush Claw?)

The only gripe I have with it is that certain battles felt rushed (especially Empoleon's, which was sad considering we hadn't seen one in a DECADE), and that maybe the episode before this one should’ve had more time dedicated to Lycanroc vs Braviary, but that’s it. 9.5/10. An excellent fight episode, and from the looks of the preview, this battle will continue to be excellent. I’m loving this so much.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

The point still stands that in Rowlet's case, they were at least INTENTIONALLY trying to master that move. They were training for it originally but didn't have the time to pre-match so frantically had to master it during the battle. It's maybe not the best dynamic for a major event battle true, but there was at least SOME agency from both trainer and Pokemon there.

Even if many of those other cases were against Team Rocket or some other unimportant opponent, the fact still stands that they kept that move they got through no hard work but 'the power of really really wanting something' and got to use it in similar key battles.

Timing or no timing it still doesn't excuse rowlet for getting acheap win with PIS, it could have beaten decidueye via different ways and could have mastered it post league or just before match with kukui and debuted it against venasaur for the first time. One big example is scraggy learning focus blast but couldn't master it until later and won matches without relying on focus blast. You can defend all you want but it wont deny that rowlet had a plot armor against decidueye because it was sure to lose that match and was getting dominated. And this has become a habit for rowlet he earlier learned brave bird against ryuki when he was getting beaten by him so it has become common with rowlet.

 

[Doppelgänger]

Braviary had been weakened by Lycanroc. The dialogue pointed this out. It wasn't exactly cheap as Rowlet had to work to finish Braviary off, which is why spamming Grass-moves isn't the end of the world.

 

[Alolan Champion]

Are you talking to me or Doppelganger?

The other guy and yeah he definitely lost his tactical mindset in the last two series and got it back here. Haven’t seen this much strategy since the Sinnoh league

 

[ash&charizardfan]

The other guy and yeah he definitely lost his tactical mindset in the last two series and got it back here. Haven’t seen this much strategy since the Sinnoh league

Yeah he must have just used some dumb luck to counter onix rock tomb with rock tomb climb, using pikachu's tail against vivilion's gust,breaking trick room with using sprtizee's speed against it, countered electric terrain using rain dance knowing hydration ability will cure goodra's paralysis, kusing future sight against meowistic's via counting when it is gonna strike and then planning ahead and using it against them or even against mega abomasnow when greninja used ice shards as skates to move freely or pikachu using quick attack to melt the ice on its back. According to SM fanboys he hs suddenly become the most skilled trainer ever in last 20 days.

 

[Doppelgänger]

Ash's team is superior to Kukui's on paper, especially if Kukui doesn't have a Mega Lucario.

Consider, after Melmetal KO'd Empoleon, Ash's team consisted of:

Pikachu (full health)
Melmetal (full health)
Naganadel (full health)
Torracat (boosted)

I know I was complaining earlier, but that's more because of perception: Kukui has positive momentum and appears to be pressuring Ash's team, but Ash still holds a rather significant advantage. Those four Pokemon are a daunting task to deal with, and Kukui has had to rely heavily on Incineroar in this battle. Presumably, Incineroar will have to deal with Blast Burn's recharge time when he's next called out.

 

[NegaiFreak]

Yeah he must have just used some dumb luck to counter onix rock tomb with rock tomb climb, using pikachu's tail against vivilion's gust,breaking trick room with using sprtizee's speed against it, countered electric terrain using rain dance knowing hydration ability will cure goodra's paralysis, kusing future sight against meowistic's via counting when it is gonna strike and then planning ahead and using it against them or even against mega abomasnow when greninja used ice shards as skates to move freely or pikachu using quick attack to melt the ice on its back. According to SM fanboys he hs suddenly become the most skilled trainer ever in last 20 days.

I was kinda referring more to how he's switching his team around, like taking Torracat out after beating Venusaur, recalling Pikachu against Empoleon to send in Melmetal to win.

In Kalos, he was an expert battler. There was no question about it. I just felt that he deliberately avoided switching his team around during League battles and it cost him a lot of matches. I remember some people were pretty upset that Noivern basically only had one decent win under his belt after evolving from Noibat.

Kalos Ash is definitely better as a strategist than Alola Ash, but we see traces of how skilled Ash really is from time to time in this series, especially here. I'm not an SM fanboy, but I don't like when this series' Ash is thrown under the rug when he clearly is giving it his all here.

Also, just realized that Ash called for Naganadel to use X-Scissor at the end of the episode. Whoops. Wish it was Fell Stinger...

 

[ash&charizardfan]

I was kinda referring more to how he's switching his team around, like taking Torracat out after beating Venusaur, recalling Pikachu against Empoleon to send in Melmetal to win.

In Kalos, he was an expert battler. There was no question about it. I just felt that he deliberately avoided switching his team around during League battles and it cost him a lot of matches. I remember some people were pretty upset that Noivern basically only had one decent win under his belt after evolving from Noibat.

Kalos Ash is definitely better as a strategist than Alola Ash, but we see traces of how skilled Ash really is from time to time in this series, especially here. I'm not an SM fanboy, but I don't like when this series' Ash is thrown under the rug when he clearly is giving it his all here.

Also, just realized that Ash called for Naganadel to use X-Scissor at the end of the episode. Whoops. Wish it was Fell Stinger...

I wasn't referring to you, i was referring to the person who made a comment that there were no strategies used since the end of sinnoh league and i responded to him, as for this match so far it is going fine so far but the pacing should be made better. Some people have started overrating SM ash of lately like saying he is best version of ash especially after he won the league which did not have even a single full battle. SM hs best battles and gladion nd kukui are equal to alain and champions.

 

[andrewscott48209]

Did anyone catch Tapu Koko watching the battle from afar when Ash sent out Naganadel? This hints at Tapu Koko inserting itself into professor Kukui's team as his sixth member.

 

[Power Up]

The battle was better than the last one. However, it was really predictable

 

[mehmeh1]

You started to notice a pattern as soon as Rowlet escaped from Venusaur's flower.

Rowlet did no damage to Venusaur
Venusaur did no damage to Torracat
Empoleon did no damage to Pikachu or Melmetal
Melmetal did no damage to Incineroar

There was very little strategy aside from the obvious type matchups. I'm glad that Melmetal got a KO, but it felt like a pity KO because Pikachu was recalled. The battle is also setting up Torracat and Pikachu getting no help against Incineroar and Tapu Koko. Since those Pokemon are very powerful, and there's little strategy shown, the implication is Torracat and Pikachu will win by pure power.

Were you sleeping during the battle or something? There were many strategies during the fight this episode:
-Lycanroc using counter against rock slide
-Lycanroc biting Braviary's talon (and Braviary grabbing him to use sky drop to limit his mobility)
-Seed bomb ping pong
-Rowlet using Brave bird on Braviary's leg to avoid Crush Claw
-Venusaur trapping Rowlet in his flower
-Rowlet using Feather Dance to avoid Solar beam
-Venusaur using vine/power whip to limit Rowlet and Torracat's mobility
-Torracat using Fire Fang on the vines to damage Venusaur and regain mobility
-Empoleon using whirpool to confuse Pikachu
-Melmetal using DiB to break whirlpool before it even started
-Incineroar grabbing DiB to get him close and use Blast Burn point blank

 

[andrewscott48209]

Not to mention both sides switching pokemon when needed
1. Ash was preparing to swap Lycanroc out but he was too late.
2. Ash swapped Torrecat out after beating Venusaur.
3. Ash swapped Pikachu out after Pikachu was dizzy from the whirlpool.
4. Professor Kukui swapped Incineroar out after defeating Melmetal.
Not counting the first point, Ash and professor Kukui swapped their Pokémon out a total of 5 times across the two parts shown thus far.

 

[Almighty Zard]

how ironic, the pokemon who won Ash the league, ended up being the fall guy.

I did get a laugh out of melmetal smashing empoleon into Kakui.

btw did Naganadel not get a screen picture?