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Final thoughts on Team Flare

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Holy157

Well-Known Member
Really, the biggest flaws I had was the Special's plot. No hints at the Megalith prior to this, why it actually did something and what the Sundial did at the end.
 

Rohanator

Well-Known Member
Hands down the best villain arc in the anime and best climax. It felt like I was watching a movie, which I had been hoping for since the beginning with the climax of Team Flare being handled as the final movie of the XY series. But this was a good alternative too.
This was better than the movies tbh, just like previous villain arcs those usually have disappointing conclusions, with the villains being defeated by some kind of talk no jutsu or just getting disarmed and then the action just stops. Here they went all out with the good guys actually ELIMINATING the villain 100%, no bs.

The only thing I didn't like was the way Lysandre's death was handled. In the games, his future is left ambiguous, as in Y he died and in X he was buried alive, and it wasn't the direct result of the characters, it was because his own weapon took him out. I would have preferred the Megalith to have fused with the Sundial, Perfect Zygarde stop it, but a small wave still gets loose and everyone but Lysandre is protected from it.

Instead, Bonnie straight up murdered him.
This was also much better loloool Bonnie the savage.
 

Omegaz

Captain Amourica
This has to go down as my favorite arc of the anime. Very well done. I almost wish they had more episodes so they could've gone it even more depth, but still it was very impressive.
 

Emperor Empoleon

Honor of Kalos
Literally everything we should've gotten in-game, and more. The climax by itself more than makes up for the low-key buildup that this arc had VS something like Team Galactic. I appreciate that Zygarde's mythology was fully explored and fleshed out, and that characters like Diantha and the rest of the League came with a greater sense of agency. I liked Alain as a secondary protagonist, and his being manipulated it made Lysandre feel all the more important as the big bad. And the attack on Lumiose City, getting civilians involved, and making his plans known the world created a serious sense of danger and scale. It was all well worth the wait.

I also like that for once, the show ends with the drama and excitement of the villain arc. Something about that just makes the finale feel more grand and monumental than ending on a League or something of a smaller scale.
 
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NeoDude-5000

Well-Known Member
Well that's it, that's the end of XY&Z (even though we still have 4-6 episodes left). This was definitely by far the best villian arc, better than the Kalos League, and a great way to end a awesome series.

The best parts of the arc:
Ash and Alain teaming up
Everyone playing their part during the crisis
Clembot's sacrifice (don't worry he's back next episode (I knew he would)
The Squishy Song
Steven even playing a part
Gym Leaders Assemble!!! (Loved the intro music, was it Volt that was being played)
Everything really, well almost

The not so best parts:
No Xerneas and Yveltal
Kinda wished the other rivals took part in the battle

Final score 9.5/10

XY&Z, or X&Y, is probably going to stay as not only the best series in the anime, but possibly the best of all time. Now we wait for Sun & Moon... but mainly Generations

On a final note, this was better than what Team Flare did in the games. Even though Zygarde was a kid-friendly substitute for the Ultimate Weapon but who cares!
 
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Azery

Well-Known Member
I love how Lysandre went from a bad Cyrus clone to an undeniable BADASS. His Gyarados was taking a DUMP on Ash and Alain. It took an Elite Four member blocking that Hyper Beam and them ganging up on it to finally take it down. Then he seemingly commits suicide, only for it to start up his back up plan. I love how the XY leaders pulled the same thing as the BW leaders too. Quite honestly, it was absolutely fantastic and a glorious finale to the best villain arc.
 

FulgoreX

Banned
Team Flare was amazing. Team Galactic was good too, but the extra amount of episodes really helped.

Its such a damn shame you look back at Magma/Aqua and realized how badly they messed that up.
 

Kirby4ever

Active Member
This is by far the best villain arc that the anime had ever done, it even surpassing Team Galactic! The Team Flare climax has been building since the first Mega Evolution episode and then it really started building in the fourth Mega Evolution episode.

The things that I wish that they did here is less focus on Ash-Greninja since it didn't do as much as they said it would. They could also explain and conclude onto why Sycamore wanted to swab Puni-chan to analyze his DNA instead of trying to explain about the Ash-Greninja thing.
 

Franckie

Well-Known Member
Considering this is Pokemon we're talking about, I'm surprised Flare lived up to their hype. There are some concerns with the execution of the writing, but other than that I'm surprised I actually enjoyed the arc.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
The climax itself helps it stand toe-to-toe with Team Galactic which I consider the best evil team...but only this close to TG.

I wished TF had been more pronounced in the early episodes...because otherwise it looked like the Alain arc.
 

Jangobadass

Surprise!
The only thing I didn't like was the way Lysandre's death was handled. In the games, his future is left ambiguous, as in Y he died and in X he was buried alive, and it wasn't the direct result of the characters, it was because his own weapon took him out. I would have preferred the Megalith to have fused with the Sundial, Perfect Zygarde stop it, but a small wave still gets loose and everyone but Lysandre is protected from it.

Instead, Bonnie straight up murdered him.

You mess with Squishy, you get squished.
 

Zoruagible

Lover of underrated characters
In all seriousness, they were the most boring villains just like their game counterparts. Team Galactic still outshines them, hopefully Team Skull and Aither can beat them.
 

MattySadler

Well-Known Member
Right up there with Team Galactic for me. Very good.
 

Mrs. Oreo

Banned
The Flare arc stretched too long and got a bit tedious sometimes, tho I liked how it ended and that karma caught up with Lysandre and that Malva and Alain got redemption. Also, I'm glad Bonnie didn't keep Squishy cuz she didn't deserve a legendary pokemon.
 

Cradily17

Well-Known Member
It was great seeing Team Rocket do something other than try to steal Pokémon, but my God. This arc was such a colossal disappointment for me, and for one reason only. Sawyer and Sceptile didn't get to do ANYTHING! WHY?! Why were the writers so cruel to have him get stuck with those loser rivals?! Why did they have to rob the two of them of having screen time when all of the other major characters helped take down Lysandre and the megalith?! Are they implying that Sawyer is too much of a coward to help the trainer he admires greatly? I will never forgive the writers for this, for screwing over my favorite character and Pokémon by not letting them get in on the action. Sorry about that. I'm so mad that they just FORGOT about him like that though. Unbelievable...
 
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U.N. Owen

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night ...
It was great seeing Team Rocket do something other than try to steal Pokémon, but my God. This arc was such a colossal disappointment for me, and for one reason only. Sawyer and Sceptile didn't get to do ANYTHING! WHY?! Why were the writers so cruel to have him get stuck with those loser rivals?! Why did they have to rob the two of them of having screen time when all of the other major characters helped take down Lysandre and the megalith?! I will never forgive the writers for this, for screwing over my favorite character and Pokémon by not letting them get in on the action. Sorry about that. I'm so mad that they just FORGOT about him like that though. Unbelievable...

They didn't forget. They just made him stare at screens the entire time and help civilians. I'm not helping so ...
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Sawyer and Sceptile didn't get to do ANYTHING! WHY?! Why were the writers so cruel to have him get stuck with those loser rivals?! Why did they have to rob the two of them of having screen time when all of the other major characters helped take down Lysandre and the megalith?! Are they implying that Sawyer is too much of a coward to help the trainer he admires greatly? I will never forgive the writers for this, for screwing over my favorite character and Pokémon by not letting them get in on the action. Sorry about that. I'm so mad that they just FORGOT about him like that though. Unbelievable...

Dude. I like Lucario, but I certainly loathe any time they try to use it too much outside of Riley's. So it's kind of backwards for me when the one I like a lot is used here.

Simply put, rivals are never involved too much with evil teams.
 

Litleonid

Well-Known Member
It was honestly the greatest villain's arc I have ever seen in the anime. Every episode was well paced and kept me on the edge of my seat. It actually felt like there were real stakes here and I just loved seeing mostly everyone play their role, though I wish Sawyer got to help Ash and co. instead of being stuck with Shauna, Tierno, and Trevor. I would have loved to see him and Mega Sceptile in the finale. Besides that, there were tons of memorable moments, from Bonnie saving Squishiy, to the Gym Leaders and Diantha's incredible entrance with Viktm and the final showdown, with the 15+ group all going up against Megalith Zygarde. It was all absolutely exciting. I haven't felt this much excitement in a finale since the Legend of Korra series finale. Also, RIFP Lysandre.

Overall, absolutely outstanding.
 
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