May 4th: SM25 - The Fight Over the Crystal! The Rocket Gang VS The Skull Gang!!!

[AuraChannelerChris]

Well in SM024, when Ash said he wants to learn more about Alola, Lillie said something along the lines of "Let's learn together, Ash", and the rest said that they'll help him learn.

Lillie is the only one who said "let's learn together", so it wouldn't exactly be out of nowhere if it ended up being the case.

Do you really think this will be taken in a huge meaning literally episodes later.

 

[playerking]

...And somehow TR just go to find one? Man, they're dumb.

That's a good point. Why is Team Rocket trying to find a Z-Crystal, rather than attempt to steal one from Prof. Kukui's collection? Yeesh, they're dumber than I thought.

Wait, why is Team Rocket going after a Z-Crystal, which as far as they know, no one else is after, rather than going after a collection of them in a place that is frequented by a bunch of Trainers who are capable of defeating them a dumb move? If I were them, I'd definitely go after the one that isn't near anyone who is protecting it.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Wait, why is Team Rocket going after a Z-Crystal, which as far as they know, no one else is after, rather than going after a collection of them in a place that is frequented by a bunch of Trainers who are capable of defeating them a dumb move? If I were them, I'd definitely go after the one that isn't near anyone who is protecting it.

They're thieves. Not honest-to-god trainers trying to be evil. They could just sneak in and steal all the stuff at night.

...Truth is, their plans always greatly vary.

 

[playerking]

They're thieves. Not honest-to-god trainers trying to be evil. They could just sneak in and steal all the stuff at night.

...Truth is, their plans always greatly vary.

I know they're thieves, but hey could be highly protected because they're meant to be showcased at the school, which is probably why Professor Kukui doesn't give them out freely. And if Profess Kukui can have a camera in his house, he might have a similar security system set up at the school. Or maybe they aren't real at all and are just there as props and Team Rocket overhears that and that's why they decide to find one for themselves.

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

If I were them, I'd definitely go after the one that isn't near anyone who is protecting it.

If it was anyone else I'd expect them to follow this logic, tho Team Rocket tend to ignore obvious plays and they kind of do things the hard way hee hee. Still, it's not like I expect them to successfully steal a Z-Crystal from Kukui regardless of their methods.

 

[playerking]

If it was anyone else I'd expect them to follow this logic, tho Team Rocket tend to ignore obvious plays and they kind of do things the hard way hee hee. Still, it's not like I expect them to successfully steal a Z-Crystal from Kukui regardless of their methods.

Yeah, they are the same people who came up with this idea for a disguise.

Spoiler: Disguises

[IMG139]http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bush_disguise.jpg[/IMG139]

Also, it turns out that the three Team Skull Grunts have names.

 

[Lucario At Service]

They're all going to reveal they're secretly Trial Captains. Calling it now.

What's the use of keeping the fact that they are Trial Captains a secret.
There haven't been any hint yet in the anime that they even have the concept of Trial Captains to begin with.

Also it isn't like Trial Captains have that big of a role even in the SM games to begin with. So, whats the use to bringing in that concept now, when Ash had already cleared a 'Totem Trial' and a 'Kahuna Trial', without Ilima even appearing once yet.

Atleast in the games, it has been hinted that Totem Pokemon and its subordinates have been trained by the Trial Captains. But in the anime, it has been hinted that Totem Pokemon are all wild Pokemon who trained themselves.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

What's the use of keeping the fact that they are Trial Captains a secret.
There haven't been any hint yet in the anime that they even have the concept of Trial Captains to begin with.

Also it isn't like Trial Captains have that big of a role even in the SM games to begin with. So, whats the use to bringing in that concept now, when Ash had already cleared a 'Totem Trial' and a 'Kahuna Trial', without Ilima even appearing once yet.

That wasn't really meant to be take seriously. And even if I had meant it seriously, Ilima is pretty much unimportant to his Trial, whereas Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow all have a bit more of a hand in theirs and it would be kind of difficult for Olivia to run all three Trials and the Grand Trial on her own.

 

[Satomine Night]

What's the use of keeping the fact that they are Trial Captains a secret.
There haven't been any hint yet in the anime that they even have the concept of Trial Captains to begin with.

That wasn't really meant to be take seriously. And even if I had meant it seriously, Ilima is pretty much unimportant to his Trial, whereas Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow all have a bit more of a hand in theirs and it would be kind of difficult for Olivia to run all three Trials and the Grand Trial on her own.

I've said this before, even before SM09 aired, but Ilima is one of the few Trial Captains who could be omitted from the anime without drastically affecting his Trial, as his Trial could easily be taken over by Hala. And that's exactly what happened--Hala played Ilima's role. In that case, it worked. Professor Kukui took Ash to Hala himself to start Ash's Island Challenge (which sort of mirrors the games), so it made sense that Hala might want to preside over Ash's first Trial himself, especially after he learned that Tapu Koko had taken an interest in Ash.

Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow play larger roles in their Trials in the games, so it would be a little harder to completely omit them--or, at least, omit their roles. At the very least, they would probably have to be replaced. Olivia could take on their roles herself, but it would be rather difficult for her to run all three Trials and the Grand Trial by herself. It's possible their roles will be taken by OCs, or the writers work Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow into their game Trials, but in different ways. For instance, perhaps Mallow accompanies Ash to the Lush Jungle Trial, and she comes up with the idea to cook a meal to draw out Totem Lurantis. Perhaps Lana accompanies Ash to the Brooklet Hill Trial, and she notices the ripples in the water where the Wishiwashi are gathering.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Anyway, I suddenly feel that neither the rocket trio or team skull grunts will actually get the darkinium Z. Both teams are so incompetent and useless that I think this episode will be played for laughs that shows both these buffoons trying to get the z crystal and then failing (maybe totem ratticate destroys them and takes away the z ring).

 

[Lucario At Service]

Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow play larger roles in their Trials in the games, so it would be a little harder to completely omit them--or, at least, omit their roles.

I can somewhat agree on Mallow's role as a Trial Captain in the games being slightly somewhat relevant (since she works with Olivia, and we do see her in the Ranch as well and later help her out during the trial to draw out the Totem Pokemon).

But on the other hand Ilima, Lana, Kiawe and Sophocles individually have about the same amount of role equally, in the games.

The only Trial Captains to have any significant roles in the SM games are Acerola and Mina (though hers is mostly post-credit), while the others have just minor roles.

 

[OnceUponATime]

I'm more intrigued for this episode than I have been for one in a long time. I feel like the SM anime keeps surprising me honestly. I wasn't expecting Totem Raticate to appear after Ash faced Totem Gumshoos, but I'm glad they're incorporating it and I think this is a really clever way of doing so. I hope we learn more about Kukui's past after seeing him with the Z-Crystals. Speaking of Z-Crystals, I actually think it would be interesting for TR to end up with the Darkinium Z and learn to use it. The Team Skull grunts always get defeated by Z moves (Kiawe in the first episode, Ash in the delivery service episode) and I think it would be hilarious for Team Rocket to deal the final blow with a Z move down the line after they've snatched a Z Ring and mastered the move. I don't think it's that likely, but I would find it hilarious.

 

[345ash-greninja]

I've said this before, even before SM09 aired, but Ilima is one of the few Trial Captains who could be omitted from the anime without drastically affecting his Trial, as his Trial could easily be taken over by Hala. And that's exactly what happened--Hala played Ilima's role. In that case, it worked. Professor Kukui took Ash to Hala himself to start Ash's Island Challenge (which sort of mirrors the games), so it made sense that Hala might want to preside over Ash's first Trial himself, especially after he learned that Tapu Koko had taken an interest in Ash.

Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow play larger roles in their Trials in the games, so it would be a little harder to completely omit them--or, at least, omit their roles. At the very least, they would probably have to be replaced. Olivia could take on their roles herself, but it would be rather difficult for her to run all three Trials and the Grand Trial by herself. It's possible their roles will be taken by OCs, or the writers work Lana, Kiawe, and Mallow into their game Trials, but in different ways. For instance, perhaps Mallow accompanies Ash to the Lush Jungle Trial, and she comes up with the idea to cook a meal to draw out Totem Lurantis. Perhaps Lana accompanies Ash to the Brooklet Hill Trial, and she notices the ripples in the water where the Wishiwashi are gathering.

If the anime really wanted to include trial captains, then there wasn't any reason to remove Ilima. Including trial captains makes sense if all trial captains are shown, there is not much reason to remove only one of them, that sounds wierd. Plus, it looks like that the Totem Pokemon are the ones who hands over the Z-crystals. So, yeah, I think that it's pretty evident now that Trial Captains don't exist in the anime.

 

[Satomine Night]

If the anime really wanted to include trial captains, then there wasn't any reason to remove Ilima. Including trial captains makes sense if all trial captains are shown, there is not much reason to remove only one of them, that sounds wierd. Plus, it looks like that the Totem Pokemon are the ones who hands over the Z-crystals. So, yeah, I think that it's pretty evident now that Trial Captains don't exist in the anime.

I already provided a logical explanation as to why the writers might have decided to omit Ilima; he could easily be replaced by Hala, and in many ways, it made sense for Hala to be the one to introduce the Trials in the anime, since he is the Kahuna of Melemele Island (as a reminder, he is the one who introduces the player to the Trials in the games). It's not all that weird to omit a few of the Trial Captains but include others. It depends on what the writers plan to do with the rest of the Trials.

I also stated that the Trial Captains (that is, characters who were Trial Captains in the games) could still be involved in their Trials, but in different ways than they were in the games. I'm hoping the writers get them involved in their in-game Trials, in one way or another (and I already provided some examples of how they could do that).

 

[lemoncatpower]

I already provided a logical explanation as to why the writers might have decided to omit Ilima; he could easily be replaced by Hala, and in many ways, it made sense for Hala to be the one to introduce the Trials in the anime, since he is the Kahuna of Melemele Island (as a reminder, he is the one who introduces the player to the Trials in the games). It's not all that weird to omit a few of the Trial Captains but include others. It depends on what the writers plan to do with the rest of the Trials.

I also stated that the Trial Captains (that is, characters who were Trial Captains in the games) could still be involved in their Trials, but in different ways than they were in the games. I'm hoping the writers get them involved in their in-game Trials, in one way or another (and I already provided some examples of how they could do that).

I agree with you here, or Im thinking the same at least. A lot of people think that the trial captains doing their trials similarly to the games cannot happen due to Ilima being removed as of yet from the anime. I personally think it's silly to think the whole concept will be different just because one single character is missing who is easy to replace with someone with way more importance. I personally don't think it'll be exactly like the games, but I think they have enough time that they can make the trials themselves turn out quite similar to the game.

 

[345ash-greninja]

I already provided a logical explanation as to why the writers might have decided to omit Ilima; he could easily be replaced by Hala, and in many ways, it made sense for Hala to be the one to introduce the Trials in the anime, since he is the Kahuna of Melemele Island (as a reminder, he is the one who introduces the player to the Trials in the games). It's not all that weird to omit a few of the Trial Captains but include others. It depends on what the writers plan to do with the rest of the Trials.

It does sound wierd to be honest. You can try to find whatever reasons for that, but omitting a few Trial Captains and having the other Trials Captains-> these means that in some Trials we have no Trial Captains and we have the Totem Pokemon hand over the Z-crystal, and in some other Trials, the Trial Captains are present and they look over it- how does this doesn't sound odd or wierd? It would make more sense to show all the trials having a similar format or procedure. Has it ever happened in the anime before that one or two Gym Leaders has been omitted?

 

[Satomine Night]

It does sound wierd to be honest. You can try to find whatever reasons for that, but omitting a few Trial Captains and having the other Trials Captains-> these means that in some Trials we have no Trial Captains and we have the Totem Pokemon hand over the Z-crystal, and in some other Trials, the Trial Captains are present and they look over it- how does this doesn't sound odd or wierd? It would make more sense to show all the trials having a similar format or procedure. Has it ever happened in the anime before that one or two Gym Leaders has been omitted?

I said there were a few Trial Captains who could be omitted from the anime, but I also said (in another post) these Trial Captains would probably be replaced or their role would be modified, depending on what the writers do with the rest of the Trials. Hala replaced Ilima for the Verdant Cave Trial. Mina can be omitted, because she doesn't even give the player a real trial in the game, so omitting her and not replacing her would have no bearing on Ash's Island Challenge (although I would still like to see her appear a few times). Molayne can easily replace Sophocles for the Hokulani Observatory Trial.

Mallow, Lana, and Kiawe can still be involved in their in-game Trials, but in different ways. For example, Mallow can accompany Ash to Lush Jungle and come up the idea of cooking a meal to order to draw out Totem Lurantis (which is essentially what she does in the games). That leaves Acerola, who, given her more prominent role in the game (compared to the other Captains), can easily be involved in the Thrify Megamart Trial.

 

[Mr. Guy]

Also, it turns out that the three Team Skull Grunts have names.

Yeah the blue-haired grunt is named Tupper.

The pink-haired female is named Wrap.

And the fat one is named Zip.

 

[Golden_Latias]

Yeah the blue-haired grunt is named Tupper.

The pink-haired female is named Wrap.

And the fat one is named Zip.

I'll be honest: I thought you made those up.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Yeah the blue-haired grunt is named Tupper.

The pink-haired female is named Wrap.

And the fat one is named Zip.

Are they seriously named after food storage brands?