Kukui Up Against the Wall! A Second Masked Royal!! (1035)

[Victorian Rush]

I don’t have much to say about this episode. It was alright, definitely more enjoyable than last weeks but not all that great.

There were some enjoyable parts, like how lovey-dovey Burnet got over the Masked Royal who totally is not Professor Kukui *inserts evilly-smirking emoji here*, Faba was not as annoying in this episode as he has been in some of the previous episodes and I rather enjoyed his scenes with James, but that’s really about it. Torracat did not get much development, which was kind of disappointing. Mad Boober is just your typical antagonist, who just provides conflict for the episode.

The main complaint I have about this episode is that the identity of the Masked Royal was not revealed. Several of the previews for the episode had us thinking that Kukui would have revealed his identity but no. To be honest, I thought for sure, Kukui would have revealed his identity to Ash, Burnet, and everyone else but no, instead Molayne cut the power, which allowed Kukui to put the mask on without anyone noticing, which was totally predictable and just a disappointment.

As if wasn’t bad enough to see Faba with no shirt on, now I have to see him only his underwear on? No thanks, I could have lived my whole life without seeing that. I'm having flashbacks to wet Altaria from SM086 now. Thanks a lot, Pokemon!

Pretty much just a filler, nothing of importance happened and no one knows about Kukui’s secret life- err, I mean identity. 6/10 and I think that’s being generous.

 

[Apslup]

Damn Burnet made this episode. I thought it would be really cheesy with the ludicrous plan between Kukui and Molayne, along with all the stuff with Shirtless Faba, but this was overall a pretty enjoyable filler.

The episode itself is nothing special on its own (satisfactory animation, basic plot and basic villain), but it was James, Faba and Burnet that made this episode for me. I LOVED the dynamic between James and Faba, they seemed like genuine bros in this episode and I would love to see more of this duo in future episodes. Especially since back during the Aether Arc I HATED Faba since he seemed so malicious and uncaring towards Lillie and Gladion, but now he's been turned into a goofball, which I think is for the better.

I don't think I've mentioned this before on here but I LOVE Burnet. She's my favorite Female SM character and my second favorite SM character overall (first being my guy Gladion) and I've loved her since I played Moon 2 years ago, so seeing her get more screentime is always a treat along with her being THIS cute?!?!? It was just too much for me. Her little crush on Royal Mask and her openly stating that she loved her Husband was amazing. I hope to see more of Burnet in the future.

Overall a fun little filler, but nothing amazing.

(Also I have a feeling that @Pokegirl Fan~ will really like next episode).

 

[Zhydra]

Damn Burnet made this episode. I thought it would be really cheesy with the ludicrous plan between Kukui and Molayne, along with all the stuff with Shirtless Faba, but this was overall a pretty enjoyable filler.

The episode itself is nothing special on its own (satisfactory animation, basic plot and basic villain), but it was James, Faba and Burnet that made this episode for me. I LOVED the dynamic between James and Faba, they seemed like genuine bros in this episode and I would love to see more of this duo in future episodes. Especially since back during the Aether Arc I HATED Faba since he seemed so malicious and uncaring towards Lillie and Gladion, but now he's been turned into a goofball, which I think is for the better.

I don't think I've mentioned this before on here but I LOVE Burnet. She's my favorite Female SM character and my second favorite SM character overall (first being my guy Gladion) and I've loved her since I played Moon 2 years ago, so seeing her get more screentime is always and a treat along with her being THIS cute?!?!? It was just too much for me. Her little crush on Royal Mask and her openly stating that she loved her Husband was amazing. I hope to see more of Burnet in the future.

Overall a fun little filler, but nothing amazing.

(Also I have a feeling that @Pokegirl Fan~ will really like next episode).

It is pretty odd with all the stuff Faba did during the Aether Arc, how afterwards his invention put three kids in danger. (May have been an accident, but then again, so was the Nihilego incident when Lillie wandered down to the labs.)

Then they give small secrets like he is a Mask Royal Fanboy, I love silly behavior like this... but I still hate this guy.

 

[Apslup]

It is pretty odd with all the stuff Faba did during the Aether Arc, how afterwards his invention put three kids in danger. (May have been an accident, but then again, so was the Nihilego incident when Lillie wandered down to the labs.)

Then they give small secrets like he is a Mask Royal Fanboy, I love silly behavior like this... but I still hate this guy.

My thoughts on Faba in a nutshell. I've gotten more used to him being a good guy, but he's still a massive prick.

 

[DatsRight]

Both Faba and James are alike in that they spend too often forced to act as plot device baddies for the protagonists in a very lazy way, but when the writers make a plot where they are able to just write them as characters in their own right they become rather entertaining.

 

[Lord Starfish]

Nothing of importance happened this week, but I honestly can't say I care, because pretty much all the character-interactions in this episode were golden. Kojiro and Sauboh's bromance over their shared Royal Mask fanboyism? Golden. Burnet acting like a lovestruck schoolgirl whenever Royal Mask was around? Golden. Burnet somehow managing to continuously miss the very obvious clues that Kukui was Royal Mask? Golden. Sauboh making an utterly unconvincing Royal Mask and everyone, Gaogaen and Kukui included, being utterly baffled at this? Golden. Mullein just casually going "Sorry, it took me a while to get out of the ropes" as if the fact that he was tied up was no big deal at all? Golden.

...You know it occurred to me writing this that pretty much everything I liked about this episode tied back to Royal Mask in some way. I guess for a pointless filler episode, it was at least a pointless filler episode that had a clear focus; It's a Kukui episode through and through, and all the other characters' roles all tie back to him. Also the episode didn't feel the need to cram in all of Satoshi's classmates. That's nice too. They absolutely would have slowed things down. This was also the case with last week's episode, but any positive things I could say for that thing are drowned out by a sea of painful Pikachu puns that could pretty much only have been worse if Alolan Oak was involved.

 

[Zhydra]

Nothing of importance happened this week, but I honestly can't say I care, because pretty much all the character-interactions in this episode were golden. Kojiro and Sauboh's bromance over their shared Royal Mask fanboyism? Golden. Burnet acting like a lovestruck schoolgirl whenever Royal Mask was around? Golden. Burnet somehow managing to continuously miss the very obvious clues that Kukui was Royal Mask? Golden. Sauboh making an utterly unconvincing Royal Mask and everyone, Gaogaen and Kukui included, being utterly baffled at this? Golden. Mullein just casually going "Sorry, it took me a while to get out of the ropes" as if the fact that he was tied up was no big deal at all? Golden.

...You know it occurred to me writing this that pretty much everything I liked about this episode tied back to Royal Mask in some way. I guess for a pointless filler episode, it was at least a pointless filler episode that had a clear focus; It's a Kukui episode through and through, and all the other characters' roles all tie back to him. Also the episode didn't feel the need to cram in all of Satoshi's classmates. That's nice too. They absolutely would have slowed things down. This was also the case with last week's episode, but any positive things I could say for that thing are drowned out by a sea of painful Pikachu puns that could pretty much only have been worse if Alolan Oak was involved.

The episodes are more on point when they don't have the entire cast get involved. That is a gripe on the S/M anime I have, too much for a main cast. Not a lot of them get a main focus and sometimes the others are not needed for an episode or that character just loses focus. (Looking at Mallow!)

 

[DatsRight]

I like SM is experimenting more with only having the characters it NEEDS and can make entertaining use of per episode, not having every character there to say their token line or shtick. None of the classmates appeared (I get sick of those moments where they make sure to pan on all six of them saying a pretty irrelevant token quote), and only one member of Team Rocket was really prominent due to having a more relevant role and set of proper interactions instead of their usual mechanical villainous gatecrashing and motto spouting.

Sophocles I could argue is the only character that may have added more to this episode due to his ties with Molayne and his own fanboy regards to the Masked Royal, but in fairness it was a bit cramped as it was.

 

[Spider-Phoenix]

Am I the only one who like last week's episode?

Anyway, I like this one too.

Man, Burnett look more like Ash's mom than Delia ever had. I mean, whenever I see those three together, they look like they are an actual family. Gee, if I wasn't around for so long, I'd start to claim they are Ash's parents lol

 

[Ignition]

Am I the only one who like last week's episode?

Anyway, I like this one too.

Man, Burnett look more like Ash's mom than Delia ever had. I mean, whenever I see those three together, they look like they are an actual family. Gee, if I wasn't around for so long, I'd start to claim they are Ash's parents lol

I like it besides Pikarla (and that was a minor gripe)

 

[DatsRight]

Am I the only one who like last week's episode?

Anyway, I like this one too.

Man, Burnett look more like Ash's mom than Delia ever had. I mean, whenever I see those three together, they look like they are an actual family. Gee, if I wasn't around for so long, I'd start to claim they are Ash's parents lol

I thought it was a step above most of the previous 'Ash vs TR' fillers we've had throughout late XY and SM. The 'Pika'-tic stuff did get old but other stuff was fine.

Maybe that's why they're having Delia appearing more than usual. Actually a good potential plot could have Delia becoming insecure about Kukui and Burnett's bond with Ash. He's travelled many times but not with parental substitutes.

 

[mehmeh1]

I thought it was a step above most of the previous 'Ash vs TR' fillers we've had throughout late XY and SM. The 'Pika'-tic stuff did get old but other stuff was fine.

Maybe that's why they're having Delia appearing more than usual. Actually a good potential plot could have Delia becoming insecure about Kukui and Burnett's bond with Ash. He's travelled many times but not with parental substitutes.

now that I think about it, delia doesn't know about burnet, does she?

 

[p96822]

This episode kinda gets a lower score because of some of the awful look of those Pokemon that Incineroar was beating up even though they were balloons

 

[Mega Altaria]

This episode kinda gets a lower score because of some of the awful look of those Pokemon that Incineroar was beating up even though they were balloons

I thought they were actual Pokémon but some of them looked a bit weird though. But I don’t think something like that would influence the majority of the episode.

 

[AznKei]

Damn, still not getting used with the new time slot yet so I watched it late.

Oh well, I think this episode pushed the Masked Royal idolization into a new level compared to previous Masked Royal episodes, I mean James & Faba got overexcited with shining eyes on them and Burnet was about to pass out for being so nervous to meet him in person. Too bad Kukui can't reveal his alter ego yet, as they probably going to extend the whole Masked Royal plot later again.

Fun episode for the funny expressions & emotions. I found it odd that Incineroar can't do much without its original trainer. Not very long ago, we have that "Pikachu being used by Lillie" episode and that Pokemon can pull more of a fight, even without its original trainer.

 

[Mega Altaria]

Fun episode for the funny expressions & emotions. I found it odd that Incineroar can't do much without its original trainer. Not very long ago, we have that "Pikachu being used by Lillie" episode and that Pokemon can pull more of a fight, even without its original trainer.

Maybe it’s because Pikachu can battle effectively without the command of a Trainer as shown in the last episode. This is the first time a Trainer other than Kukui commanded Incineroar on-screen so there must have been some synching problems as Incineroar may not be able to battle effectively on its own.

 

[Zhydra]

Maybe it’s because Pikachu can battle effectively without the command of a Trainer as shown in the last episode. This is the first time a Trainer other than Kukui commanded Incineroar on-screen so there must have been some synching problems as Incineroar may not be able to battle effectively on its own.

and Unlike with Pikachu who had time to bond with Lillie. Incineroar see's Faba as a guy who came out of nowhere and neither no each other. There is no connection!

 

[Mega Altaria]

and Unlike with Pikachu who had time to bond with Lillie. Incineroar see's Faba as a guy who came out of nowhere and neither no each other. There is no connection!

Well yeah. But at least Faba knew one of its attacks, Darkest Lariat, which most likely stemmed from being a Masked Royal fan. And I would be sure that he’s never commanded an Incineroar before.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

Jeez Burnet, how blind can you be to still not notice? I totally expected her to realise it when Royal Mask took her hand, but she still didn't. And Kukui, it really is time to tell her. You're only making it more and more difficult for yourself the longer this takes. I do find it funny that Kukui also points out it's crazy she still hasn't noticed.

That said, I do like this episode. I like the friendship between Kukui and Molayne, and I like Kukui explaining why he thinks he can't tell Burnet, it gives more depth to his character. Although I think if Burnet would find out she'd find it awesome and forgive him right away, his hesitance is human and makes him a bit vulnerable. I like that these characters all have their own insecurities, Kukui isn't just a role model and teacher guy, apparently he also has his flaws. I think Burnet will find out at some point and forgive him, she also figures him out in the games.

On the downsides, Muk and Golem looked really off in this episode, don't think they spent much time animating them.

 

[Zhydra]

I agree with most of what you said. Except for one thing

On the downsides, Muk and Golem looked really off in this episode, don't think they spent much time animating them.

That Poliwrath, Muk and Golem are really target dummies for Incineroar to practice on for the public. They look off because they really are fake!