Everyone's Fully Powered! The Road to the Semifinals!! (1077)

[wellwellwells]

With the Lana battle, honestly it reminded me of a rape scene which just made me uncomfortable..

Big SAME to this. I didn’t want to be the one bringing this up because the last time I brought up how out of touch with the times and slightly misogynistic the show was in their treatment of female trainers and the lack of female representation among the “cool, strong” trainers, I discovered most of the fan base (at least in this forum) is out of touch too.
Golisopod manhandling Primarina was uncomfortable and they should know better. They could have portrayed Guzma being ruthless is a different way that did not recall domestic abuse and sexual violence.

 

[WhiteBlair]

Honestly, no one would've exaggerated if Primarina wasn't so feminine.

For a series that didn't include such intense battles, I found the episode actually disturbing to watch at some point. Pokémon being a kids show mainly; approaching a theme that doesn't differ much from 'cruelty' including a Pokémon with very strong feminine characteristics wasn't a wise choice in my sincere opinion.

In short, if it was any Pokémon but Primarina, the battle wouldn't feel as much disturbing. Granted, Primarina is one of my favorites and it was tough to watch, but I can't imagine all the little kids having to go through this.

 

[giancor]

Wow that was too much!
Lana handled the battle very well. emotionally speaking. I can see her being a better water trainer than Misty in the future.

 

[AlexTogekiss]

This battle reminded me of Videl vs Spopovich fight in Dragon Ball Z (obviously toned down but still cruel)

 

[RLC]

And the writer's pet finally went down, good riddance!
The battle was good... when Primarina was getting deserving beaten down. It shouldn't have gotten out a single attack! -.-

am i the only one who doesn't find lana THAT annoying or at all,i mean yh she getting some questionable power ups was annoying but i don't think she deserved this lol.
imo i think Sophocles should've gotten the beat down, ah well at-least he's out (should've been earlier but wateves)

And Sophocles demonstrated he is a very capable battler using his intelligence instead of brute force, the opposite of Kiawe who looked clueless the whole time.

yeah......no u ppl complain about lana power-ups (which i agree with) but ignore that kiawe should've flatten Sophocles, i found the string shot strategy being even remotely effective against a fire type to be stupid but i guess they were desperate for him to look smart

btws are we really ok with normal moves being able to match z moves like shown in this ep? it makes them feel redundant

 

[RLC]

Anyone notice how the battles were better here when Ash isn’t the one battling?

they do my boy so dirty this season, still really disappointed with hau vs ash expected it to be one of the better battles, hope guzuma vs ash is good looking forward to it

 

[Pokemon Fan]

btws are we really ok with normal moves being able to match z moves like shown in this ep? it makes them feel redundant

Depends on what you mean by "match". When it comes to simple power then Z-moves should usually come out on top (unless the target has a substantial level/experience advantage). However, using clever means to disable a Z-moves or interfere with it is another thing. Also its important to remember as well that Z-moves are not always the most powerful moves even in the games, they scale with the move that is being modified.

Kiawe and Sophocles seemed to be using type advantage to mitigate the power of the opponent's Z-moves. Charizard's Fire enabled it to get out of Savage Spin Out (since its a Bug type move) and Vikavolt used an Electric move to try to counter Supersonic Skystrike (though it ultimately failed). Golisopod took advantage of how relatively slow Primarina's Z-move was in order to dismantle the attack before it could hit it.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

am i the only one who doesn't find lana THAT annoying or at all,i mean yh she getting some questionable power ups was annoying but i don't think she deserved this lol.
imo i think Sophocles should've gotten the beat down, ah well at-least he's out (should've been earlier but wateves)

yeah......no u ppl complain about lana power-ups (which i agree with) but ignore that kiawe should've flatten Sophocles, i found the string shot strategy being even remotely effective against a fire type to be stupid but i guess they were desperate for him to look smart

btws are we really ok with normal moves being able to match z moves like shown in this ep? it makes them feel redundant

Nah, you aren't the only one. That guys just hates Lana.
----------------------------------
And we also saw the first hints of Guzma's whole personality being a facade he puts up. Which will come crashing down in the next three weeks.

 

[Poke Master 7]

IMO it was the most brutal trainer battle in the anime that hasn't involved Paul

Honestly, after what we’ve seen, I really wonder how a battle between Paul and Guzma would look like especially if Paul used his Drapion.

 

[Sham]

Kids are out here playing grand theft auto and call of duty, I highly doubt this episode is traumatizing them and that’s not even counting outside world stuff that could be traumatizing them but that’s a different discussion. I watched the entire battle without thinking about rape and I really hope people don’t blow this over and get it edited in the dub.

Honestly, no one would've exaggerated if Primarina wasn't so feminine.

For a series that didn't include such intense battles, I found the episode actually disturbing to watch at some point. Pokémon being a kids show mainly; approaching a theme that doesn't differ much from 'cruelty' including a Pokémon with very strong feminine characteristics wasn't a wise choice in my sincere opinion.

In short, if it was any Pokémon but Primarina, the battle wouldn't feel as much disturbing. Granted, Primarina is one of my favorites and it was tough to watch, but I can't imagine all the little kids having to go through this.

I’m sorry, I don’t usually attack people’s post but there’s so much wrong with this entire post; it’s not even funny.

 

[Bortgreen]

In my opinion the best battles in this league SO FAR. Kiawe vs Sophocles was surprisingly balanced, and if it wasn't for Kiawe's experience Sophocles could have won this one.
Now, Lana vs Guzma was extremely brutal. This Primarina was supposed to be dead with all the poison(jabs). But it surprised me with all it was able to tank. But like I said in the spoiler thread, Guzma's pokémon has a lot of ways to pierce or cut Lana's bubbles.
About the Z-move, I'd want to make a couple of comments:

1- Z-moves aren't dodgeable/tankable only in the later episodes, this might have only become a bit more common. In the first few episodes we already had Pikachu dodging All-out Pummeling almost entirely, and Tapu Koko tanking absolutely Pikachu's Z-move IN ELECTRIC TERRAIN. Tapu was a legendary and resists electric, but he still takes a good amount of damage in Electric Terrain, and we know Peakachu.
2- It was unexpected to see Primarina using its Z-move after Throat Chop. But... In-game the effects of the atack only last two turns, so probably the same applied in this battle.

 

[Doppelgänger]

yeah......no u ppl complain about lana power-ups (which i agree with) but ignore that kiawe should've flatten Sophocles, i found the string shot strategy being even remotely effective against a fire type to be stupid but i guess they were desperate for him to look smart

Charizard was paralyzed, until it wasn't.

String Shot shouldn't even have been necessary after the paralysis but it conveniently wore off. I don't see why Sophocles stopped with the Zap Cannon strategy seeing as String Shot/Signal Beam is not a viable option against a Fire/Flying Pokemon.

 

[andrewscott48209]

In my opinion the best battles in this league SO FAR. Kiawe vs Sophocles was surprisingly balanced, and if it wasn't for Kiawe's experience Sophocles could have won this one.
Now, Lana vs Guzma was extremely brutal. This Primarina was supposed to be dead with all the poison(jabs). But it surprised me with all it was able to tank. But like I said in the spoiler thread, Guzma's pokémon has a lot of ways to pierce or cut Lana's bubbles.
About the Z-move, I'd want to make a couple of comments:

1- Z-moves aren't dodgeable/tankable only in the later episodes, this might have only become a bit more common. In the first few episodes we already had Pikachu dodging All-out Pummeling almost entirely, and Tapu Koko tanking absolutely Pikachu's Z-move IN ELECTRIC TERRAIN. Tapu was a legendary and resists electric, but he still takes a good amount of damage in Electric Terrain, and we know Peakachu.
2- It was unexpected to see Primarina using its Z-move after Throat Chop. But... In-game the effects of the atack only last two turns, so probably the same applied in this battle.

Oceanic Operetta is somehow not a sound based move. Throat chop only disables sound based moves, so if primarina still had bubble beam, it would still work.

 

[Lord Godwin]

Can anyone share what Olivia Dawid to Guzma once the fight was over?

 

[Bortgreen]

Oceanic Operetta is somehow not a sound based move. Throat chop only disables sound based moves, so if primarina still had bubble beam, it would still work.

In the anime Primarina still sings to use it though

 

[WhiteBlair]

Kids are out here playing grand theft auto and call of duty, I highly doubt this episode is traumatizing them and that’s not even counting outside world stuff that could be traumatizing them but that’s a different discussion. I watched the entire battle without thinking about rape and I really hope people don’t blow this over and get it edited in the dub.

I’m sorry, I don’t usually attack people’s post but there’s so much wrong with this entire post; it’s not even funny.

It's not supposed to be funny. You could be my guest and make sense with your post by counter-attacking my argument, however.

Golisopod manhandling Primarina versus Charizard demolishing Greninja will always have different outcomes in public's eye: Primarina's feministic traits despite anime is nowhere near centered around gender discrimination, will always be taken far more vulnerable when it comes to brutal scenes like this episode. That is the exact reason why people keep referring 'rape' to summarize the situation or express their overall disturbance. It came off as cruelty, and the next that is similar to that was when Paul probably mistreated Chimchar; another example of 'animal cruelty'.

It's not a matter of 'kids nowadays play GTA, COD'. No, that shouldn't generalize all kids in the same case. Some can be more sensitive and Pokémon is a kids show. It can affect their love and/or interest to their favorite Pokémon seen treated like that, it should have been handled differently. I do remember when I was just 6, Starmie was my favorite Pokémon and seeing it got terribly beaten by Graveler literally broke my heart.

You never know how kids can react. Pokémon should always remain in the more 'friendlier' side, as it always was up until today. The challenging or tougher episodes should never go far too extreme.

 

[CMButch]

It was meh/ok until Lana vs Guzma which turned out to be good episode. Guzma saves this episode. Vikavolt vs Charizard: Since when did Vikavolt get this OP, he clashed for several seconds with Z move Charizard which which is BS. Also, kudos for Soph for trying so hard and constant attacking but it get boring at times.
Primarina vs Goli: how did Primarina survive that many hits + poisoned from Golisopod? Golisopod literally cut Z move in half with not so much effort.Ash in trouble, but Ash will likely win, if he does that'd be 3 BSs from Ash: Meltan one shotting Hypno, Rowlet beating Decidueye and now Ash will likely take down Golisopod.

Anyone notice how the battles were better here when Ash isn’t the one battling?

Yeah, Ash vs Faba sucked, Ash vs Hau was meh. Hopefully Ash vs Guzma is at least Ok...

 

[mehmeh1]

It was meh/ok until Lana vs Guzma which turned out to be good episode. Guzma saves this episode. Vikavolt vs Charizard: Since when did Vikavolt get this OP, he clashed for several seconds with Z move Charizard which which is BS. Also, kudos for Soph for trying so hard and constant attacking but it get boring at times.
Primarina vs Goli: how did Primarina survive that many hits + poisoned from Golisopod? Golisopod literally cut Z move in half with not so much effort.Ash in trouble, but Ash will likely win, if he does that'd be 3 BSs from Ash: Meltan one shotting Hypno, Rowlet beating Decidueye and now Ash will likely take down Golisopod.


Yeah, Ash vs Faba sucked, Ash vs Hau was meh. Hopefully Ash vs Guzma is at least Ok...

Ash can beat Guzma without BS, he now knows Golisopod's weakness (unlike in their first fight) and Guzma will most likely have a mental breakdown mid-fight

 

[UnovaMaster]

The people getting off on how that scene was dejecting to Lana should consider getting counseling, thought I could avoid Men's Rights Activists in the Pokemon community

If there's one encouraging thing it's that Lana (along with Lillie) were completely emotionally mature, no tears cracked out from mental pressure

Which of course should make Guzma fans quite salty when he is triggered back and forth next match, Lana never cried but Guzma might

 

[p96822]

I don't think Sophocles and Kiawe's battle was good because I think Sophocles' level of strength come out of nowhere. Plus making the last few minutes of last week battle completely pointless because Charizard is alright after getting hit by that Zap Cannon. Anyway I don't care for Vikavolt vs Charizard, so I'll give it a 4/10

As for Lana's battle, it was okay. I do think Throat Chop could be a reference to the masked Royal's Incineroar. So I'll give it a 7/10