He's Born! The Alolan League Winner! (1082)

[Ragnarok4]

Deserved win for Ash! All that needs to be said.

well that's true, Ash deserved to win this league as he fully connected with Alola and here he reached Champion Level.

I mean, Kalos League was a good time too ,but here he was close to his Peak... Until JN arrived.

I also agree with people who say that Gladio and Guzma are better trainers than others in other leagues, even though alola is small. I say this because there are people who think that these trainers are weak, but if we include Kukui, this was possibly the most difficult League that Ash faced due to the quality of his rivals. Yeah, Tobias doesn't count.

However, I didn't like Ash vs Hau at all// TR here and other battles.

 

[Sham]

Gonna rewatch the Kiawe battle and hoping it was as good and memorable as this battle as well

 

[RafaSceptile]

Gonna rewatch the Kiawe battle and hoping it was as good and memorable as this battle as well

The first part is extremely well animated. The second part not so much but that episode was mainly focusing on Ash vs Guzma

 

[masdog]

I know Lokix is a dark type Pokémon, but did we really have to ban it because it’s a cricket? /kidding

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

Im so happy to see this thread won't be derailed anymore by 5 year old trolls and we can actually discuss why we love it instead of having trolls bring it up during anniversaries

Tbh....idk if I'd use this battle specifically for the visuals. Pika vs Zoroark (after illusion came off) was great (Maenami's awesome) and some parts of Melmetal vs Silvally too, but the rest was pretty stiff, especially Pikachu vs Silvally

The electroweb - Iron Tail combo was insane though
Also yeah I agree this episode isn't the TOP tier league of SM animation we got throughout, but the fact even this invoked that feeling was overwhelming to me after the static mess JN is unfortunately is. Going from this to Lance vs Diantha (even tho i love it's writing) is insane whiplash

Gonna rewatch the Kiawe battle and hoping it was as good and memorable as this battle as well

It has NO RIGHT being as good as it was istg. Just well done all around and they did a great job establishing something more for Kiawe and Gladion as well than just Ash's rivals
And the fact the Battle royale episode in Alola in JN builds up on this was chefs kiss

 

[doofinc]

So I haven't watched this since it originally aired, but rewatched it as part of the lead up to the finale:

Pros:

• The music throughout is great
• Pretty happy that Gladion didn't get cheesed by lack of matchup knowledge vs Melmetal
• Pretty good strategy with the electroweb vs Silvally
• I like Gladion using Zoroark here as a tribute to Mohn, it's just nice in general.
• I like the Z-Move clash
• The Lycanroc fight was pretty good - tons of adaptation between the two like running on top of the stone edges and running through them with various moves
• Training specifically to deal with outrage confusion is great
• Just the overall positive vibes throughout the battle was nice and enjoyable

Neutral:

• You could've used swords dance earlier tbh...
• I still don't know where I stand with Countering the Counter. On one hand, I think it makes sense as an anime-only tactic. On the other, it still feels like a gimmick, and it feels anti-climactic as a closer. I still prefer my dramatic final clashes with all the flashiness.

Cons:

• This being a 3v3 is still a travesty in my mind
• Melmetal double iron bash animation reuse was a bit much, especially since the animation is so long
• Very nitpicky, but I thought Silvally outspending quick attack was a bit silly
• Wish Zoroark stayed illusioned a bit longer
• I still wish that this was framed as the winner gets to fight Royal Mask for champion, instead of this being the decider as champion

I still really don't like how this was only a 3v3 though, it really hampers the impact to me tbh. I feel that if this were a 6v6, it would end up in my top 5 full battles. But overall, I think I'm more positive on the battle than I was before - good strategy and the overall vibes were nice. The music really helps a lot as well, I missed more orchestral arrangements that we don't really get as much in Journeys.

 

[Ragnarok4]

He won by Countering counter, the most Ash way to win a League ever

 

[vondecayle]

This battle was better paced and more enjoyable than Ash vs Guzma because it wasn’t constantly interrupted by flashbacks and everyone’s inner thoughts. The choreography was decent, but Lycanroc vs Lycanroc had a lot of spamming going on and I prefer Zoroark vs Pikachu because the attacks were repeated less. I also thought it was nice to see Zoroark using its illusion ability, I think it should’ve lasted longer and it softens me that Gladion was using a pokemon who is important to his father. This battle certainly didn’t felt like the final match in a league tournament and I still believe it should’ve been a 6v6. Too short. Still, it was better than all the other battles in this competition.