Can you tell we why people keep complaining about such pointless things like the BGM when this episode was definitely one of THE BEST Sinnoh episodes EVER? I was (and still am) so thrilled by this WONDERFUL, and GREAT episode that I forgot everything around me. (I didn't even care about the important World Cup match. How did it end?)
Again , I can't stress how great this episode was. It's undoubtedly been the best of this season so far and probably one of the greatest Sinnoh episodes in general.
Wow, where shall I begin to analyze it?
First of all, we got an awe-inspiring title, not such a playful childish one.
Then we got a well thought out battle between Barry and that guy. I liked it very much, especially because the writers apparently had the courage to showcase a POWERFUL, impressive Empoleon and didn't just come up with one of those dull standard battles where both trainer's Pokemon are more or less on the same level and it just depends on the trainer's cleverness(or coincidence) to win the battle. Pokemon is also about impression and demonstration of sheer power (see, guess who...of course, my beloved Angel Cynthia)!
Furthermore, we saw Paul again and I can't help saying that I admire ,or at least like, that guy more and more! He's got so many features which I would have as well if I were a trainer (except for his unfriendliness and coolness).
The more I'm thinking about it, the more I'm also reaching the conviction that Paul as a character (and even more as a trainer)is at least as good as Ash. That biased, one-sided support for Ash only which is obviously pretty common among fans must stop. Instead, we should show great respect for Paul, just as he deserves it. If it wasn't for Paul's help and comments about Infernape after defeating Team Rocket, this episode would still be great, but not half as great as it was in the end!
*me is becoming a Paul-fan*
Last but not least we had an awesome evolution being embedded in a great and epic Blaze-out-of-control action sequence. With Infernape, Ash finally has a Pokemon that certainly belongs to my all-time favorites. If I were trainer, the fire monkey would definitely be an indispensable part of my team!
THIS WEEK'S EPISODE showed how Pokemon should ALWAYS be.
It was mature, profound and epic!
Once and for all, the writers have proven themselves capable of producing something that is not pointless or childish. Pokemon doesn't have to be a kids' show as it appears to be in some filler episodes. On the contrary, Pokemon CAN indeed be great!
So, from now on I'll raise my expectations even higher, as I have no doubt anymore that if they want to, they writers "can do it" (to use a favorite quote of Ash)
I dare say that we need more Paul in Pokemon! If the Anime was influenced by Paul's philosophy and centered around him only a little bit more, I'm sure that I would never have ANY reason to complain.
Dear writers, from now on we no longer want those cheap episodes. We want Pokemon 2.0 (great term, isn't it) and this episode, together with several others, for example Ash's full battle against Paul or the Galactic finale showed what Pokemon 2.0 has to look like!
I rarely give so many points but, believe it or not, this episode deserves
8 /9 out of 10 points