Graham Aker said:
Unless, we're supposed to forget everything that's happened..are we suppose to believe Kanto, Hoenn, the Battle Frontier, and Sinnoh all happened in one yer? There's really no reason for him to be losing as much as he is this season. Where are those skills this season he learned from the past? He seems like he has to re-improve to the level he was in Hoenn, and Sinnoh.
Oshawott fainting in an Aqua Jet vs. Flare Blitz clash because he wasn't strong enough to endure it is barely Ash's fault. Despite the skill of the trainer, you'd still lose a lot when people keep throwing level 50 pokemon at your at most level 30 Oshawott. I know levels are ignored a lot in the anime but that's more an analogy than anything.
Parts I liked:
- Elesa. And her Zebstrika pwns.
- I actually liked how they made Bianca lose in a non-redeeming way. I was scared for a second that Pokemon was going to pull one of those cliches where Bianca loses but her father is inspired by her battling and changes his mind or something. And really? Pignite didn't need a tie. He put up a fight, and that was fields better than her other Pokemon.
- Bianca watching Ash battle and realizing how much of a better trainer he is than her. Come on, she's his rival...and a breath of fresh air after the storm that was Paul.
- Iris and Dent's faces when the dad turned power ranger on them.
Parts I didn't like:
- Zebstrika dodged Swift. wtf?
- Would've been nice to see Ash and Bianca's dad using more strategy during their match. Instead they just call out random attacks. Yeah, the fight itself was disappointing since it didn't separate their skills from her's.
- The whole thing with her dad was basically solved in one episode. I would've enjoyed it a lot more if he became a recurring antagonist who continued trying to convince her to come home after losing to Ash. Kind of a waste if you ask me.
- What's with Iris having to convince Ash to actually
do something to help? I was expecting him to jump in but it almost seemed like he didn't care until the end.
- Bianca's dad just had to be a softie and civil so then the show could stay G rated, didn't it? It's nice to have an insane mad man who throws things and yells at everyone but we didn't get it here. Too bad.
- The amount of fanboy bashing this ep's probably induced.
And I'm on the edge on what to feel about Ash losing. I sort of hated it because it completely confirms Bianca's dad as an unimportant character. Not to mention shot Ash down for the trillionth time in a row (seriously, why's this boy still trying?). Yet I liked it because it was unexpected and showed how "the power of friendship~" doesn't equal a win. Even in Pokemon.
As for people complaining about the Ash/Bianca curbstomp? It was different. I like how they're taking a mediocre lesson and going about it in a non-overdone way. The message of this was less that working hard meant nothing because people would keep pushing you down, but more that the characters and their spirit to travel with pokemon are more important than battles and how many you actually win. That's probably what the writers were getting at.
Also:
People need to stop spoiling the future episodes in this thread. It's really annoying.
