Hot damn.
I...this battle was everything I have ever wanted from SM. Every flaw in this show can temporarily be pardoned just because this episode was so astronomically good. Aya Matsui, Tomioka, and Iwane collaborating to make this masterpiece was such a final love letter to Alola; just amazing to watch.
I had to make sure my headphones were working properly when XYZ came on. I genuinely really could not believe they’d ever use the song again, and they did! Call it overrated all you want (something I can’t deny), but any scene gets x50 more intense whenever it plays. It’s a specifically-built vessel meant to monger hype, and I fall victim to it every single time.
But the thing that just gets me the most is when Torracat evolves. I just love Incineroar, its design, its concept, even the personality given to it via Dex entries and its anime portrayal, and I’ve always liked to see how it’s become a popular Pokémon in the community. Having Torracat defeat Incineroar on its own merits and not from an evo power boost was so, so important; it showed that in that very moment, the fruits of Torracat’s training had come full circle, allowing it to overcome its greatest (and only) rival. It evolving was an extra little bonus, but such a welcome one.
Easy 10/10. Probably one of my favorite battles in the whole series (the jury is still out until it ends), but next week looks insane. Funny to think SM was saving its hype potential until the end of the series, but here we are.