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Familiarity Breeds Strategy! (654)

Leonhart

Imagineer
Wow nice episode . I liked the moment with dawn and paul. Paul 's smiling was cute. Paul has interacted with dawn. This episode was epic though.

Shinji talking with Hikari here was indeed nice, although their interaction didn't exactly change much between them, which is a shame. They were my two favorite Shinou characters.
 

Alloutℯ

Banned
The Dawn/Paul moment was good, but as some people already mentioned, this episode was a bit rushed. It would have been best if more time were put into the time before the match. There was so much potential in this episode, but it just fell a bit short for me.
 

Genaller

Silver Soul
The first act of the greatest battle in Pokémon history! By the way could someone possibly please tell me what's the name of the background music when Infernape is battling Aggron (in the japenease version) or at least where I can find that information?
 

Shayuin

Banned
Gastrodon's Counter Shield is the only thing worth commenting about as well as Buizel winning a battle. The animation was pretty good too.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Now that I think of it, the fact that Shinji's Toritodon was mimicking Satoshi's Counter Shield showed us that even if Shinji disliked Satoshi, he wasn't above copying him.
 

GarchompTheAssassin

Water starter fan
Ahh I remember this was the first ever Pokemon episode I watched subbed (and what an episode it was eh)... I was impatient waiting for the dub so wanted to have a quick sneak peak (the whole battle was on youtube at the time) and I ended up watching the whole thing lol, the music and the intensity left young me buzzing

By the way could someone possibly please tell me what's the name of the background music when Infernape is battling Aggron (in the japenease version) or at least where I can find that information?

If you haven't found it already, I'm pretty sure it's this
 

Vulpicks

Well-Known Member
YES IT'S HERE

I think it was a great decision to open up immediately with the battle, and then provide the setup (Which was done very well.) This battle is already extremely exciting! I especially love how we're seeing strategies from throughout the entire saga implemented. Ice Aqua Jet and the Counter Shield are awesome! And seeing Buizel use Ice Punch, I can't help but think how hard it worked to master it in that one episode. There's also great animation.

I really didn't expect Paul to take the Counter Shield idea.
 
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Ash's battle against Paul was pure win. This is the battle I had been waiting for most in DP. Infernape using Flare Blitz on Aggron and it bursting into flames for a second was cool. I couldn't believe how effective the Mach Punch was though. It was exciting seeing how Staraptor escaped Gastrodon's Body Slam by using Close Combat too.
 

mysticalglacia

Alola Shill
Kinnnnooooo and it’s only the first ep of this battle.

Gliscor coming back was sweet and having it perfect Giga Impact was nice. Ash’s whole monologue there about him and Paul’s strength coming from the same source was great and only further hammered home them being foils, only they’re not that different anymore. God I love DP how handled their dynamic and development. Top 1 relationship between characters in the entire series iktr

Paul also talking to Reggie was fantastic. By this point (and even the Acuity battle) it’s clear Paul has gotten over his animosity towards his brother and really starts respecting/listening to him. Dawn eavesdropping and Paul talking to her more about why he didn’t like Ash initially was a neat little scene, and really showed how he’s matured and gotten over that aforementioned conflict. It being the scene that kickstarted Ikarishipping is funny to me when it’s literally Paul talking to her only about Ash. And ahhh….Dawn mentioning Cynthia’s quote made me tear up. The shot of the Lily of the Valley mountains (which hits after JN), how the lighting brightens, her questioning what exactly was born between them. Peak.

The battle is already so exciting and unpredictable. Paul luring Ash into this false sense of security provided by his two wins, till he pulls out Drapion and it’s like….oh no. To his credit, I like how Ash stays focused and doesn’t let his guard down, but Paul making these very calculated and exact plays to get him where he wants him to be was so cool. Gastrodon doing Counter Shield and him just smirking was crazyyy, love how it’s not only Ash but also Paul taking full advantage of their last battle. It really feels like they’ve broth grown and acknowledged each other and it’s part of what makes this cumulative last battle so legendary. Gastrodon was awesome here; the Body Slam and then attempted Water Pulse combo, then the Ice Beam followup was very clever and even surprising for Paul’s battling style, again it felt like he was taking some of Ash’s style and mixing it up with his own. I like how it implies trust between him and Gastrodon, which is subtle but I think intentional for his development in how he views his Pokémon now.

Sidenote but Barry cheering for them both was cute.
 

SerGoldenhandtheJust

Deluded Dreamer
One of the other eye raising criticisms towards DP battles aside from the outdated animation is the pacing
I always roll my eyes at this. Ash vs Paul HAD to be 3 episodes!! If it was any less it'd feel rushed and not have proper strats. A well written 6v6 battle which isnt just knockouts and spectacle, but a 3D chess game with strats needs to be 3 episodes to feel properly paced and have climatic moments at apt times
Obviously though there needs to be SOME sort of padding, like 1-2 mins and thats a worthy sacrifice. So yeah those Brock dialouges dont take away the intensity and writing that this 3 parter needed. Ash vs Paul would SUCK if it was 2 parts

Plus, half of this episode is setup only so its more like 2.5 eps, and the setup needed to happen in this ep and by god was it glorious! I really am bummed out they didnt bring "When one life meets another, something new is born" dialouge to the aftermath of Ash vs Cynthia
 
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mysticalglacia

Alola Shill
Some people saying that the pacing was slow this battle is just unbelievable to me. The pacing was perfect imo, every strat and match felt appropriately timed and there were so many cool combinations that were only possible since the battle was a 3-parter. Any less and it would’ve felt unsatisfying, much like how nearly every other 6v6 w only 2 episodes feels. I also don’t get people who dislike commentary in any battle; here it felt snappy and again appropriate for what was going on. Particularly when Reggie and Brock made comments, it contributed to the scene and raised the tension. People grossly exaggerate commentary during battles, especially here when it was like 1-2 combined minutes max.

Setup was again perfect this ep; so good. I think Cynthia saying that after their battle would’ve been amazing, but doing it before wasn’t bad either and got what was going on across. I wish they would’ve brought the quote back somehow in JN
 
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