Mega Evolution II (XY SP3)

[Serebii]

Mega Evolution II

This special, due to air on November 6th in Japan, features Alain & Mairin as they go to Hoenn and meet up with the Hoenn Champion, Steven Stone, and encounter various Mega Evolutions. Alain is set to battle Steven with his Mega Charizard X vs Steven's Mega Metagross, but during the battle, a mysterious man appears. There's a dormant monolith in Hoenn where all the pieces are in place to reveal the secrets of Mega Evolution. Rayquaza is also said to make an appearance.

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Discuss

 

[playerking]

The episode starts off with diggers digging in a cave and uncovering something.

Alain and Mairin are on a plane and then the plane lands in Hoenn.

 

[Lucario At Service]

So, Alain did work with Lysandre.

Since, he got the 'Key Stone' and 'Charizardite X' from him.

Edit: Could this special have connection to the upcoming movie.

The reason being that as soon as Rayquaza Mega Evolved, we see Groudon & Kyogre awaking from there sleep.

Edit-2: Ok so we are going to get "Act-III" sometime next year. And if i understood it right, it could feature Primal Kyogre & Primal Groudon.

 

[SerenaForTheWin]

glad that i was able to watch this special

so alan and steven's match wasn't continue because pyroar stopped them

i knew it lysandre was the one who gave alan the mag stone, but i wasn't really expecting that it really happened

fyi: act 3 is set to be in spring 2015, so that will lie somewhere april next year

 

[Oshakpop]

It'd be nice if Act 3 kind of acted how Diancie, Princess of the Diamond Domain acted for the last movie and ties in with the upcoming movie!

 

[shac]

Was it good? Rushed? Give me something people...

 

[1rkhachatryan]

So what was the deal with all the battles?? Was it a montage?? Also did Manon get anything new here whether it be a new move, capture etc etc..??

 

[Xuxuba]

I will took that silence as "the episode was so awesome that i cannot even describe it"

So... what about those random megas like Mega Slowbro and Mega Swampert, what were they doing?

 

[Lucario At Service]

Was it good? Rushed? Give me something people...

It was OK, i guess, because most of us already predicted how the episode could turn out. But everyone has their own opinion, so you might like it.

As for the story pace, it didn't feel like it was rushed that much. Here is a run-down on what happened,

- The episode showcases, Alain & Mairin arriving in Hoenn.

- Seemed like Alain is here for a mission. And are going somewhere.

- Mairin suddenly slips on the side of the path and Steven helps out.

- Alain & Chespin arrives at the scene, ask Mairin if she is ok and notices Steven's Key Stone (Steven also notices Alain's Key Stone).

- Alain challenges Steven to a battle and he accepts.

- Alain first Mega Evolves his Charizard and attacks Steven's Metagross who blocks it and then Mega Evolves.

- The fight continues, when suddenly a Flamethrower from a Pyroar stops them.

- Lysandre makes an appearance, and then introduces himself to Steven as well as inform both Alain & Mairin that Steven is the Hoenn Region Champion.

- Mairin talks about something and everyone ok's it. And later on discuss something.

- Then we get a flashback of Alain talking with Prof. Sycamore on the phone and inform him that his Charmander had evolved into Charmeleon, but for some reason he isn't happy (i guess because he couldn't find a 'Key Stone' nor a 'Mega Stone' yet). He the goes to some ruins, but doesn't find anything. Lysandre approaches him and shows him a raw 'Key Stone'/'Mega Stone' and challenges Alain to a battle which he loses. Alain then goes with Lysandre to some place were they talk and Lysandre offers him a 'Key Stone' and 'Charizardite X'. The flashback ends at this point.

- We see them travelling to some ruins, more talk and they understand that 2 'Key Stone' are needed to unlock the ruins.

- They reach some more ruins atop a mountain and again use their 'Key Stone' to unlock and reveal a huge 'Key Stone'/'Mega Stone'.

- Lysandre calls in his researchers to examine the stone.

- But something goes wrong and Rayquaza appears.

- It Mega Evolve's and at that moment we see a Groudon & Kyogre awaking from their sleep.

- Mega Rayquaza then starts attacking everyone in the ruins. Alain & Steven decide to fight it but couldn't do anything and then finally Mega Rayquaza leaves.

- The huge 'Key Stone'/'Mega Stone' seems to either have been destroyed or sealed back and Mega Rayquaza is shown to revert back to normal (in the outer atmosphere of the earth). So, everyone decides to leave the ruins.

- Lysandre then goes close to Alain and whispers something relating to Champions to him.

- Alain moves on and the episode ends with.

Note: Not sure if i missed anything.

So... what about those random megas like Mega Slowbro and Mega Swampert, what were they doing?

As i expected, nothing was shown regarding them in this episode.

Oh, on another note, we would get the Lati-twins showcased in the next weeks episode (or in 'Get TV').

 

[aerial_ace]

so no ORAS megas in this episode?? this is really disappointing why they showed all those trailers beforehand?

 

[Rohanator]

So what was the deal with all the battles?? Was it a montage?? Also did Manon get anything new here whether it be a new move, capture etc etc..??

No other Mega besides the main 3 appeared, they were simply clips created for the Manon segments. I suspected this as they had different animation styles.

"Is it confirmed that every clip we've seen so far in Manon's segments will indeed be in the special as like a montage or might they just be footage made for the segment?" - me 17th October :] after which my suggestion was RUDELY dismissed. :[

Manon didn't show any new moves or Pokemon

 

[Lucario At Service]

so no ORAS megas in this episode??

Actually, they were showcased (in similar fashion as in the opening part of the 'Act I'), but at the very end of the episode while that narrator was monologuing about the Mega's and their secret.

 

[Xuxuba]

So there's no conflict between Alain and Lysandre and Mega Rayquaza just goes back to normal without the heroes doing something.
That seems anticlimactic, but i will save my judgment for later.

 

[Lucario At Service]

this is really disappointing why they showed all those trailers beforehand?

As i said before (in the episode speculation thread), they weren't trailers. They were the battle record of Alain against various Mega's.

As we know, we got a lot of Mega's until now. But it would be impossible to show Alain fighting each and everyone of those.

Its because, the "Mega Evolution" is a special series. It isn't like regular Pokemon series we have. The number of episodes are limited. And even if they do make hour-long episodes, it won't be possible to cover all the Mega's properly.

That's why they most likely decided to make that "Mairin's Illustrated Mega Evolution Journal" segment. It would help in showcasing the Mega's as well inform us viewers regarding his current status.

So there's no conflict between Alain and Lysandre

Why would their be any conflict between them (for now) when they are working together.

Mega Rayquaza just goes back to normal without the heroes doing something.

Yes.

Well that's to be expected actually since Mega Rayquaza is extremely powerful. Most likely it appeared because it didn't like the fact that someone was messing with the ruins. Or maybe he doesn't want people to know the secrets behind/relating to Mega Evolution.

 

[Xuxuba]

Why would their be any conflict between them (for now) when they are working together.

When i saw the preview, i thought Lysandre was trying to get Mega Rayquaza and Alain was trying to stop. They could've worked together in the beginning, but later i think it would be better to have conflict. He's XY's villain after all, seeing him just helping Alain seems a bit out of character.
Anyway, i hope we're going to see him again, but in the main series.

Yes.

Well that's to be expected actually since Mega Rayquaza is extremely powerful. Most likely it appeared because it didn't like the fact that someone was messing with the ruins. Or maybe he doesn't want people to know the secrets behind/relating to Mega Evolution.

I do understand that, i just thought it was anticlimactic that Rayquaza appears just to attack them then he vanishes for no apparent reason.

 

[Sushi]

Much better than the utter mess that was Act I, but still nowhere near awesome.

One major improvement compared to the previous story was definitely that they reduced the number of Megas (at least those with prominent roles) and battles. Establishing the core group of Alain, Mairin, Steven and Lysandre early on instead of skipping from one character to the next also helped making the story more coherent and less jumpy than the last one.

Alain was so, so much better here than in Act I. The variety of his expressions and the tones of his voice, from what I think, exploded from 0 to a whopping 50 %. He's less stiff, less withdrawn and overall slightly more interesting to watch.

My major gripe was Mairin, or rather, what she represents. Throughout the entire special, she has mostly no function outside of reacting to whatever is going on around her at that moment. She fawns over Steven. She is impressed at the Mega Evolutions taking place in front of her eyes. She is curious about Lysandre. She gets scared when Rayquaza rampages. The only time she calls attention to herself with an action of her own, something completely unrelated to what other characters around her do, is when she falls over and gets her butt stuck somewhere. Wow.

Don't get me wrong, Mairin by herself is a good character. She has a solid personality, she has an awesome design, and her colorful palette of emotions and expressions make her engaging to watch (aside from the annoying running gag). The problem is with the universe she's been put into. In the regular XY anime, she'd be an awesome source of entertainment, but in a world where anything that doesn't mega evolve isn't even worth a second glance, there's no way for her to make herself of use at all.

I guess you could say her presence is necessary to counterbalance the overall bleak setting and her dark/mysterious companions, but that's exactly what I'm having a problem with. That balancing is what her entire role boils down to. Among all the black attires, she's the only one with a bright color scheme and cute patterns on her clothes. Among all Trainers with their big, roaring, intimidating Pokémon, she's the only one accompanied by tiny, adorable critters that haven't evolved once. Among all the testosterone, she's the only girl. A little girl, of course.

It certainly makes her stand out, but it also makes her prone to become the token “go-to character“ whenever they need someone to express an emotion that would be unbecoming for the ever-so-badass Alain, suave Steven or mysterious Lysandre. Need someone to make a somewhat ignorant remark? Or to ask “beginner“ questions so younger members of the audience can catch up? To do something funny or embarrassing to lighten the mood a little? To “ahh“ or “ohh“ to stress how amaaaazing Mega Evolutions are? Dumping all the less flattering moments such as failure, fangirling, and fear on her allows them to speckle the world of Mega Evolution with light-heartedness and sentimentality without hurting the integrity of our sausage fest.

In Act I, she was at least allowed her two minutes of glory by making a capture, but what does it matter in the end? The Megas/Primals the cast will encounter will be increasingly powerful, increasingly fearsome, and Mairin is not going to send out Chespie or Bébé against any of them.

I was hoping that with them allowing Alain to mellow out and becoming a tiny bit more emotive, they'd in turn open up a niche for Mairin to actually make progress with her dream of "mega evolving“ but there's just no chance. Heck, just her having an idea or making a discovery that helps the other characters would've been nice, but alas...

 

[colomb]

People seemed to have such high hopes for Mairin even though it was clear from the start that these specials weren't about her. I figured she was mainly there to be the useless character the target demo was supposed to relate to all along.

 

[BJack]

People seemed to have such high hopes for Mairin even though it was clear from the start that these specials weren't about her. I figured she was mainly there to be the useless character the target demo was supposed to relate to all along.

Yeah, she is the audience surrogate, maybe if Alan and Manon appear in the main anime, she can do more.

 

[Pepsi_Plunge]

It seems nothing happened for the majority of the episode or rather not much, it picked up at the end with the Flashback and Mega Rayquaza, I'll watch it later but seems to be a little lackluster and they didnt even spam mega like people were worried about and still not much happened.

Its good to know a new one is coming soon though.

 

[Hero of Truth]

Umm, something's wrong with the episode pictures. They 're the ones from Act I and Diancie's special lol

Didn't see the episode yet, I 'll wait for a subbed version to do a review.

Edit: Ah, seems picture problem is fixed now, thanks.