Connect to the Future! The Legend of the Blinding One!! (1033)

[Mega Altaria]

One thing I am wondering about. Burnet has now seen Incineroar with Kukui, would she know Kukui's secret now?

Wasn't it Faba that saw Kukui with Incineroar? I guess once he saw him send it out, he found out Kukui's secret and Faba even revealed himself to be a fan of the Masked Royal.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Wasn't it Faba that saw Kukui with Incineroar? I guess once he saw him send it out, he found out Kukui's secret and Faba even revealed himself to be a fan of the Masked Royal.

Edited a picture into my last post to show what I meant

 

[Mega Altaria]

Edited a picture into my last post to show what I meant

Well that happened as soon as they saw the Ultra Guardians arrive back at Alola after restoring Ultra Necrozma so I assume they knew offscreen. It would have focused more on their return and their surprised reactions as they waited for their return right near the Ultra Wormhole.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

I like how Gozu was patient enough to let Incineroar build a wrestling ring

 

[SH65]

Why was it boring?

It was like things were happening but I felt nothing for any of them.

 

[Epicocity]

We know Team Rocket has access to Mega Evolution because of them, which will probably tie into the Rainbow Rocket arc and M22

Especially if they keep the SM trainwreck going for another year with the rest of the trials, z-moves/crystals, Ultra Beasts and League

I'm in heavy doubt that a Rainbow Rocket arc will occur. Promotion is moving towards LGPE now, and to be fair, RR is far too dark for something like SM, not to mention makes little sense given Giovanni hasn't even been defeated in series yet.

Though even if there was a RR arc, it still doesn't change how utterly pointless they were to this arc. All they did was exist to take up time and give Kukui and Faba something to do. That's it.

 

[Nodame]

Poipole was a nice addition to Ash's team and pretty adorable, I am disappointed it left

 

[Twilight-Kun]

I'm in heavy doubt that a Rainbow Rocket arc will occur. Promotion is moving towards LGPE now, and to be fair, RR is far too dark for something like SM, not to mention makes little sense given Giovanni hasn't even been defeated in series yet.

Though even if there was a RR arc, it still doesn't change how utterly pointless they were to this arc. All they did was exist to take up time and give Kukui and Faba something to do. That's it.

It also gives Lillie, Malasada, the TRio, and Guzma something to do

And yes, Guzma is coming, since Iwane doodled him and said he had yet to appear, and he did the same for Malasada, who was just given promotional material for the next arc/season

 

[p96822]

After watching this episode a second time, I feel nothing for the ending for this arc. Also I'm not so happy what they did with Team Rocket. It felt more like they were a minor inconvernes then a threat

For Poipole leaving the case I don't care for it.

 

[Xuxuba]

Yeah i don't think RR will appear either, since this world's Giovanni haven't been defeated yet.

I think TR's inclusion in this arc was a way of making up for RR not appearing in this series. You know, a way of promoting RR without actually being RR.

 

[Satomine Night]

I knew Poipole was going to stay behind in its own world, but that farewell was still a very emotional one. Ash's expressions are what cinched it for me; you could tell he was trying so hard not to cry, and he still couldn't stop the tears in his eyes. The farewell was made even sadder by the fact that it was a little sudden and rushed, due to the Ultra Wormhole closing. Poipole's drawing of Ash and Pikachu in the sand was heartwarming. Farewell, Poipole. You were adorable, and you will be missed.

Ash and Gladion using Solgaleo's and Lunala's Z-Moves was definitely one of the highlights of the episode though I have to wonder how Gladion knew the pose for and the name of Lunala's Z-Move, but I suppose Rule of Cool overrode logic here. And it was nice that that was the last bit of energy Necrozma needed to transform into Ultra Necrozma.

I cheered a little on the inside at Tapu Koko's intervention. Team Rocket wasn't going anywhere near that Ultra Wormhole if the guardian deity had anything to say about it! It was a little show of just how powerful it is. (The only thing that would have made that even better is if the other Tapus had interfered somehow as well, but I suppose that would might just have caused the ship to explode entirely. ) The Matori Matrix did seem a bit of a waste, though, given that they didn't come close to accomplishing their mission. They seemed to mostly serve as opponents for Kukui and Faba.

LOL at Faba being a Masked Royal fan. His sudden shift from his normal self to fanboy mode (heart eyes and all) got a chuckle out of me. But Kukui, you forgot to recall your Incineroar before everyone else, including Ash and the other Ultra Guardians, showed up. The Meowth should have been out of the bag by then. And watch this issue never be addressed and the children still be completely in the dark.

Overall, I enjoyed this episode. In fact, I enjoyed this arc as a whole.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

It's not like Royal is the only one with an Incineroar - Kukui's just borrowing from his fighting style

Ooh, what if Cross from M20 grew up to be Royal?

 

[Soniman]

Really was excited about Ash to get Poipole even before I knew it was going to happen and then it did and I was extremely underwhelmed by another "does nothing but act cute" Pokemon that im just so tired fo seeing, not to mention it didnt even battle or anything, what a disappointment that turned out to be. That being said it's goodbye was pretty emotoinal for me so at least it did something right, though im ot exactly caring if it ever comes back or not

Flare>Galactic>Operation Tempest>Necrozma>Plasma> Aqua/Magma>>>>Aether.

>seriously putting Aether last
>seriously putting Aether under Aqua/Magma

 

[Evanibble]

I really liked Poipole--it was cute and had a lot of potential to be one of Ash's strongest Pokemon if it evolved. I knew--like "everyone" seemed to as well--that it was going to be released, but I still held out hope that it wouldn't be because I liked having it around (also the idea of Ash owning another poison type was pretty cool, even if it didn't do much). I also don't really understand the criticism behind it not doing much--it's a pretty weak Pokemon and had no interest in battling, which I think is a fine justification for it not doing much. Not all of Ash's Pokemon have to battle or even like battling, and SM isn't really a battle-heavy saga anyways.

The episode overall was fine, I just wish it was an episode or so longer, with the Matori Matrix being more of a threat than it was. Also loved seeing a Mega Aggron battle.

I wouldn't be surprised if we see Rainbow Rocket (or something similar) appear in this next season. We're definitely going to see Guzma and Team Skull will have a more prominent role in the show, so it would be cool if they could have an arc where both of them play prominent roles.

 

[DatsRight]

Dunno what really to say about this. It wasn't....bad I suppose, but it was very underwhelming, and like I felt with Greninja and Goodra (second time round), Poipole's release just felt way to abrupt, and they didn't really give it or it's family a developed enough role to make this arc a noteworthy swan song. I'm almost left wondering if it'll actually make a return, which is possible given we've still got other Ultra Beast invasions to consider.

I do like the recurring premise since the Flare arc of having EVERYONE make at least a small contribution in the main arcs, making it feel a little bit less like a generic legendary revolved story. Still while some of the character moments were okay (Ash's characterisation was good the whole arc and Faba's geeking out over the Masked Royal was hilarious) it lacked enough emotional input. Again Poipole's release lacked and I didn't feel much sentiment from the cast (least of all Lillie) towards Nebby returning when this arc could have been ideal to make up for the rushed nature of the AF arc.

Also Matori Matrix ultimately felt pointless, like mere padding, they didn't even get a good battle out of all of it, just trading quick one hit curb stomps between Gozo and Kukui. TRio were downgraded even worse, though did at least take part in the final cast team up.

 

[satopi]

Finally got the chance to watch this episode. I will always miss you Poipole!! I was hoping for a scene before Ash and the rest entered utside of the Ultra Hole for Poipole to realize it didn't want to leave Ash but... it never happened. Poipole had so much potential to learn how to battle with Ash, to continue having fun, ticklish moments with it's friends, to forever view shining lights, but alas, as Ash put it best, "It's for the best." Sure it wasn't dreadfully emotional... it was a bittersweet kind of emotion, Poipole being the last of the Ultra Beasts. It knew it had to stay, Ash knew at some point, it'll have to stay, and in the end, even though Ash and Pikachu didn't want to say goodbye, no matter how hard it was to let go, Ash couldn't let his selfish desire stop it from changing it's final decision. You can say all you want about how Ash just dumped Poipole off without a care but no, it was heavily shown Ash didn't want to. From the way he barely showed his face, his hat covering it, the suppressed tears, how shaky he sounded... he didn't fully come to it until Poipole left him it's last message with a drawing of both him and Pikachu. Honestly, I think it's always hard for Ash to let go of his Pokémon no matter the circumstance. He just tries to show a brave face. Even though Poipole didn't do much, it wasn't about getting stronger, it was about connecting hearts, being with the people it chose, and discovering this unfamiliar, vast world it stumbled upon. Man did I love that quick sequence of the opening playing grouped together with Poipole's touching memories.

Other than that, moments like Kukui doing a Z move, Bewear literally moving the TRio away from them trying to snatch their Pokémon to ruin yet another beautiful scene (like earlier), and everyone doing the traditional hand pose together was nice to see. I thought it was adorable seeing Ash help Pikachu do the hand pose, and Olivia being emotional after the Manalo Festival (and Nanu commenting on it.) The battles were ok, I don't think they were the focus. The animation were spectacular and how the Radiant One was literally glowing throughout our screens were eye popping.

Goodbye Poipole. I hope we see you again.

 

[Satomine Night]

Dunno what really to say about this. It wasn't....bad I suppose, but it was very underwhelming, and like I felt with Greninja and Goodra (second time round), Poipole's release just felt way to abrupt, and they didn't really give it or it's family a developed enough role to make this arc a noteworthy swan song. I'm almost left wondering if it'll actually make a return, which is possible given we've still got other Ultra Beast invasions to consider.

I think that was part of the point. The Ultra Wormhole was closing, so Ash and Poipole didn't really have time for a proper farewell. The fact that the farewell was sudden and a bit rushed added to the sadness of it, and you could tell from Ash's expression that he wasn't really ready to say goodbye to Poipole.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

I think that was part of the point. The Ultra Wormhole was closing, so Ash and Poipole didn't really have time for a proper farewell. The fact that the farewell was sudden and a bit rushed added to the sadness of it, and you could tell from Ash's expression that he wasn't really ready to say goodbye to Poipole.

That...sounds more like a justification not to do more than that, which is worse.

 

[Zhydra]

>seriously putting Aether last
>seriously putting Aether under Aqua/Magma

I personally don't get it, the only thing I have to say about the Aether Arc as a "Villain" arc is that it really doesn't count when Faba and Nihilego are the only two antagonistic forces.

It covers most of the plot beats from the vanilla games well enough; Nebby being the central plot focus along with Lillie's family drama, leading to Lusamine going into Ultra Space with Nihilego and our heroes having to rescue her. (Kudos for the anime making us actually give a crap about the rescue part instead of wanting to give her the executioners axe.) Followed by the Mother Beast fight that IMO is better than how it was handled in the games. (She actually uses moves in this one.)

It's more a Story Arc than it is a Villain Arc. Though it has a few flaws towards the end. (The Solgaleo evolving episode could have been cut out and shortened to the final part of the previous episode and the big Z move at the end has NO explanation.)
Now the Necrozma Arc, I like how it is to the point and past the first episode of the Arc, it is none stop action and covers the beats from USUM minus the URS being out of the adaptation. (Poipole and Naganadel served that role of foreshadowing and explaining Necrozma anyways, so it isn't missed.)

 

[Deleted member 384931]

I personally don't get it, the only thing I have to say about the Aether Arc as a "Villain" arc is that it really doesn't count when Faba and Nihilego are the only two antagonistic forces.

It covers most of the plot beats from the vanilla games well enough; Nebby being the central plot focus along with Lillie's family drama, leading to Lusamine going into Ultra Space with Nihilego and our heroes having to rescue her. (Kudos for the anime making us actually give a crap about the rescue part instead of wanting to give her the executioners axe.) Followed by the Mother Beast fight that IMO is better than how it was handled in the games. (She actually uses moves in this one.)

It's more a Story Arc than it is a Villain Arc. Though it has a few flaws towards the end. (The Solgaleo evolving episode could have been cut out and shortened to the final part of the previous episode and the big Z move at the end has NO explanation.)
Now the Necrozma Arc, I like how it is to the point and past the first episode of the Arc, it is none stop action and covers the beats from USUM minus the URS being out of the adaptation. (Poipole and Naganadel served that role of foreshadowing and explaining Necrozma anyways, so it isn't missed.)

Action? Maybe 5 minutes per episode! Heck 3/4 of episode 88 was talking! Just like 87. 90 was much talking too and the only action was Kukui fighting TR and the UG using their Z-Moves