Team Rocket just
had to interrupt the battle, didn't they? We couldn't get a full Ash vs. Gladion rival battle, could we? And here I was hoping we might have been done with TR interrupting plot-relevant battles. Seriously, writers, was that really necessary?!
Continental Crush looked awesome, though. I'm looking forward to seeing Ash and Rockruff/Lycanroc (whichever it is by then) use that Z-move.
Aside from TR's
pointless, stupid interruption, I really enjoyed this episode. The Edgelord lived up to his moniker (thank you, animators, for including his game battle poses!
), but he still showed a kind side, especially when it came to his little sister. I like that the writers showed that side of him, since we rarely got to see it in the games. It makes Gladion seem like more than just an edgy teenager with emo fashion.
Gladion made note of Lillie being able to touch Pokémon, which makes me wonder if he knows what happened to cause Lillie's fear, and if maybe that's one of the reasons he has changed. (If I understood correctly, Lillie said something about Gladion not being the nice brother she remembers.) I liked that little bit of backstory James the butler told about Gladion and his Eevee (which is now his Umbreon)--another sign of Gladion's kindness.
This also felt like a Rockruff focus episode, in a way. The training session at the beginning of the episode seemed to mostly focus on Rockruff and highlight its determination in battle. It was there to watch Gladion's Midnight Lycanroc pommel Blastoise, and it was the star of Ash's battle against Gladion. It was even the star of the Team Rocket confrontation, since it was the one who freed Pikachu and Lycanroc from the net (and it ran after TR with no command from Ash). Yet, we continued to see Rockruff's playful puppy side when it was rough-housing with Ash's other Pokémon at Kukui's house. That scene was both adorable and funny. Pikachu was all for playing with Rockruff. Litten did not appreciate being pounced on (as expected). But what was surprising was how angry
Rowlet got at being pounced on and awakened.
Ash, you have no more excuses. Get your butt over to Akala Island and complete those Trials so you can challenge Olivia and get your Rockruff a Rockium-Z.
Also, what was the point of Team Skull in this episode, aside from getting demolished by Gladion's Midnight Lycanroc? I wonder if anime Gladion is actually a part of Team Skull, or if the writers decided to change that. On the other hand, it's possible he
is part of Team Skull, but not all of the grunts know who he is (since they aren't exactly the brightest bulbs in the shed).