February 17th: SM109 - An Island Queen is Born! Satoshi's Grand Trial!!

[Dephender]

Hapu'u has become the Island Queen of Poni Island, and Satoshi is going to get a Grand Trial from her. Will he be able to pass it?!

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Hapu'u, the girl who once mistook Satoshi for a daikon thief, has become Island Queen of Poni Island. Satoshi immediately decides to take the Grand Trial she and her partner, the "Draft Horse Pokémon" Banbadoro, offer. However, Hapu'u possesses the skills of Sofu'u, the Island King of two generations ago, and these skills are far beyond what Satoshi expected.

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Having finished the ceremony at the Ruins of Nirvana, the Island King's granddaughter Hapu'u has now become Island Queen of Poni Island. Satoshi is finally able to take her Grand Trial. And the partner he challenges her Banbadoro with is......?!

--

Having finished the ceremony at the Ruins of Nirvana, Hapu'u has now become Island Queen of Poni Island. Satoshi is finally able to take her Grand Trial! Who is the partner he challenges her Banbadoro with?! And will he be able to pass the Grand Trial?!

Screenplay 藤咲淳一 (Junichi Fujisaku)
Storyboard 毛利和昭 (Kazuaki Mōri)
Episode Director 渡辺正彦 (Masahiko Watanabe)
Animation Director 直井由紀 (Yuki Naoi)

 

[Akkipeddi]

So seems like no trial will be attempted, and it's straight to the grand trial. And judging from the next episode, it's almost confirmed that Ash will win here.

 

[Victorian Rush]

Ahh, so Hapu becomes Kahuna in the previous episode I'm guessing the grand trial is happening now. Seems like Ash is going to win.

 

[ShadowForce720]

hmm on one hand considering the episode after this is pokegolf would make you think that Ash beat Hapu here in his Grand Trial however, it seems a bit odd and underwhelming that right after Hapu becomes Kahuna she loses her 1st battle as Kahuna against Ash, I mean sure I do think there is more to a Kahuna then just being strong however it seems a bit weird and strange to have Hapu get chosen as the Kahuna by Tapu Fini and then almost immediately lose the first battle she has as Kahuna as that would make her seem weak.

It's not that I think it's impossible for Ash to beat Hapu and I'm not saying that Hapu should never lose, it's just that it seems kind of strange that it would be practically right after she becomes Kahuna because you would think that the writers would want to build her up more, as a strong Kahuna, but having her lose what is presumably her very 1st battle as Kahuna can't imagine it making her look good to the other people of Poni Island.

Plus there is the matter of what Z-crystal Ash would get here if he does beat Hapu, as his pokemon don't currently have any Ground type moves.

 

[Rock Captain 99]

Again a Grand Trial without a trial! SM is really skipping all the opportunities to show the battles other than Grand Trials. Coming to the episode, looks like Ash will win here. Hoping to see a good battle.

 

[mehmeh1]

disappointed at the lack of a trial, this is just...odd

 

[bewearsus]

Please just give me good animation

 

[Akkipeddi]

disappointed at the lack of a trial, this is just...odd

I mean we've known this for quite a while now, but it's clear SM doesn't really care about the whole Island Challenge and battles in general. Expect another half - assed battle with average animation, since I'm sure they would've used a higher budget for the next episode to swing a golf club than for this battle.

 

[mehmeh1]

I mean we've known this for quite a while now, but it's clear SM doesn't really care about the while Island Challenge and battles in general. Expect another half - assed battle with average animation, since I'm sure they would've used a higher budget for the next episode to swing a golf club than for this battle.

yeah, but at least we had regular trials too

 

[satopi]

Yes! Congrats Hapu! Can't wait on this fiery battle between these two. I think Ash'll win as everyone has said.

 

[Akkipeddi]

yeah, but at least we had regular trials too

We've not had regular trials since Akala (and that too Totem Wishiwashi wasn't even Ash's trial, so the only Totem Lurantis can be considered the trial he did in Akala), so it's been a really long time ago. I'm not surprised that they chose to omit the regular trial once again.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

We've not had regular trials since Akala (and that too Totem Wishiwashi wasn't even Ash trial, so he only Totem Lurantis can be considered the trial he did in Akala), so it's been a really long time ago. I'm not surprised that they chose to omit the regular trial once again.

Ula Ula definitely had its Thrifty Mart trial.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Meh I think I'll pass on this episodes, I don't really care for anything that focuses on Ash at this point.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Ula Ula definitely had its Thrifty Mart trial.

People keep saying that, but unless it's a Totem Pokémon, I really don't see how it's a real trial. Team Rocket's Mimikyu just doesn't count as an official trial in my eyes.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

People keep saying that, but unless it's a Totem Pokémon, I really don't see how it's a real trial. Team Rocket's Mimikyu just doesn't count as an official trial in my eyes.

It gets a boost (sure, it's only against Pikachu in the anime) but it definitely has its stats raised for the battle and acts on its own. That's all a Totem Pokémon does anyway.

 

[lolipiece]

hmm on one hand considering the episode after this is pokegolf would make you think that Ash beat Hapu here in his Grand Trial however, it seems a bit odd and underwhelming that right after Hapu becomes Kahuna she loses her 1st battle as Kahuna against Ash, I mean sure I do think there is more to a Kahuna then just being strong however it seems a bit weird and strange to have Hapu get chosen as the Kahuna by Tapu Fini and then almost immediately lose the first battle she has as Kahuna as that would make her seem weak.

...Or it could just mean she still has room to grow?

You never stop learning, even when you're an expert or something. Even if you're strong, you can still get stronger.

 

[Red and Blue]

Oh so no totem Ribbombee or Kommo-O? Disappointing. That's really disappointing. Guess I shouldn't be surprised since Ash doesnt have a Fairy or Dragon type currently.

 

[mehmeh1]

People keep saying that, but unless it's a Totem Pokémon, I really don't see how it's a real trial. Team Rocket's Mimikyu just doesn't count as an official trial in my eyes.

nanu called it a trial, and he's the one with the authority to do so, so it's a trial

 

[Vipsoccermaster]

I think people are forgetting that in Poni Island, you take on the Grand Trial first, before doing another trial. At least that's the case in the games, so maybe they're trying to reflect that. Either way, nice to see Hapu has become the Island Queen and Ash taking on the Grand Trial.

 

[mehmeh1]

I think people are forgetting that in Poni Island, you take on the Grand Trial first, before doing another trial. At least that's the case in the games, so maybe they're trying to reflect that. Either way, nice to see Hapu has become the Island Queen and Ash taking on the Grand Trial.

that's only in vanilla sm (where I don't remember if it was masuda or ohmori, but it was said trials were only set up during the debugging phase), in usum you do both trials before the GT