Oct 13th: XY&Z045 - One Last Battle with Ash! Serena's Choice!!

[noakai]

For all people complain about it, Serena not being sure at first and actually testing different things for her life ambition was a new direction. It's just when she finally stuck to one there was so little time left it had to be rushed. Had she been in a series as long as AG and DP she might have worked out.

Again I wonder if Sun/Moon ended up having any effect on this, be it the style revamp changing their mind about keeping her around, or the games' early release rushing the XY series to end (rather than releasing a Pokemon Z as some speculate).

The problem is that they left it too late. The first two seasons had a huge chunk of episodes that you can remove without losing anything in the story, so they should have started Serena on her path a lot sooner and done it then. It didn't help that she got kind of shoved into the background later on too. Plus, the TF/Zygarde arc can be seen as one huge promotion for a Pokemon Z that centers on Zygarde. Now of course whatever plans they had for Zygarde in the game got shifted to SM since there was never a Pokemon Z, but the anime had already put Zygarde cells in the show so they couldn't just hold off until SM like the games did.

 

[satopi]

While the relationship was sadly a bit one sided, Serena seems a lot more emotionally attached to Ash than the previous Poke girls. Even now she seems a bit nervous being away from him. Serena loves Ash meaning part of her dream is that she wants to be with him, which unlike the others' can't really happen if she leaves.

And Ash was emotionally attached to Iris because he missed her a lot when she left and gave her a flower and called her cute on screen.

But on a serious note, I feel like Ash helped influence her decision and she herself learned it while doing what she loved. The relationship was completely one sided. She didn't state that her loving Ash was part of her dream nor does she need to be with him physically to love him. Her dream is to make people smile and continue performing with Shauna. We've yet to see her away from him. Only her saying something to him during the fireworks scene that we don't know what the context is yet. If part of her dream was loving Ash and wanting to be with him, she would've stayed like Misty did in the past. A good sendoff for her is by leaving on her own terms.

 

[Platinum fan.]

No no, Braixen gets curb stomped at first, but evolving automatically gives her a DEM super boost like it did first time and with Sylveon (and pretty much any Pokemon this series except Gourgeist, Jessie shouldn't have lampshaded it).

Remember when you have another evolution, hard work and perseverance doesn't prevail, cosmic forces transforming you do.

When did Braixen ever get a super boost on a DEM level? I can't recall Braixen ever even winning a fight. Almost every Pokemon that evolves gets a power boost from it's previous form. That's kinda the point of Pokemon evolution.

As much as I want Braixen to evolve I can see the writers not doing it. One final slap in Serena's face before she leaves from the writers.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

When did Braixen ever get a super boost on a DEM level? I can't recall Braixen ever even winning a fight. Almost every Pokemon that evolves gets a power boost from it's previous form. That's kinda the point of Pokemon evolution.

As much as I want Braixen to evolve I can see the writers not doing it. One final slap in Serena's face before she leaves from the writers.

The writers really must hate her. First they hardly give her any screentime, next they almost always never have her battle, third they rush and handle her goal poorly, and finally they only give her like 3 Pokemon :/

 

[Omegaz]

When did Braixen ever get a super boost on a DEM level? I can't recall Braixen ever even winning a fight. Almost every Pokemon that evolves gets a power boost from it's previous form. That's kinda the point of Pokemon evolution.

As much as I want Braixen to evolve I can see the writers not doing it. One final slap in Serena's face before she leaves from the writers.

Braixen got a win against that Gallade in the episode where it learned Fire Blast.

 

[satopi]

She would've been better off as a runaway who was tired of her mother's persistence of making her do Rhyhorn Riding. And without that stupid crush on Ash that benefitted nothing to her character besides let her be known as 'the first Pokegirl who has a canon crush on Ash'. Serena had so much potential and even when she can hold her own, there's always someone to save her. I still stand by her having 3 Pokémon just because she has a unique bond with all of them and she can spend individual time with them. And 6 Pokémon isn't necessary for her. Let her get an egg writers! Hopefully Shauna is a good influence on her and she changes her old habits and builds up her Performances. And not have an interrupted battle.

 

[Viex]

At this point I'm just hoping for a good send off for Serena. I would like something that's true to her character and relationship with Ash. The xyz series has shown that the writers are able to pull off emotional moments so Im hoping they can do the same here.

 

[satopi]

At this point I'm just hoping for a good send off for Serena. I would like something that's true to her character and relationship with Ash. The xyz series has shown that the writers are able to pull off emotional moments so Im hoping they can do the same here.

"Thank you for encouraging me to do better, I learned so much from traveling with you. I can get stronger and become a better Performer with Shauna, maybe someday become Kalos Queen. I'll never give up. Good luck on your journey Ash."

"nods" "Good luck Serena."

 

[Sonic Boom]

And then they both lose to Ash anyway.

And? Losing a battle =/= evidence/confirmation of no growth as a character.

Then again, SPPf did have a conniption over the Kalos League Finals, so maybe it's just expected that people win every match ever.

 

[noakai]

I mostly am curious to see if Serena gets to do a confession or not, or if Ash leaves Kalos having literally no idea that she crushed on him since she was a kid. There are a lot of ways they can handle this and I have no idea at all which way they're gonna go.

 

[Markerz]

...Because he was standing stupidly there for no reason.

To be fair, Ash and Greninja lost against Sceptile due to getting caught off guard, and that was considered a fair fight. A loss is still a loss.

 

[U.N. Owen]

To be fair, Ash and Greninja lost against Sceptile due to getting caught off guard, and that was considered a fair fight. A loss is still a loss.

Ash also did the exact same thing to Sawyer in their first battle.

 

[Omegaz]

...Because he was standing stupidly there for no reason.

A battle is still a battle. That's a win in my books.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

A battle is still a battle. That's a win in my books.

Agreed. I still wish they let her win more though.

 

[Dragalge]

Plus Gallade didn't even faint I think. It got roasted but Gallade was still standing (and that's why I see that it wasn't included in the Battle Record thread).

Braixen could put up an okay fight against Pikachu but I don't expect it to do major damage to the point where Pikachu nearly faints.

 

[Afrodisiac]

As long as Braixen doesn't evolve i'll be happy with this ep.

Yeah good journey for Serena but i'm ready for the next pokegirls to come. I don't feel as attached to the character as I once was for Iris, Misty or May when they left.

 

[satopi]

I don't think Serena will confess her feelings to Ash. It doesn't seem like a priority to her. She'll just thank her for always being there for her and teaching her to never give up and follow her dreams to the fullest. Besides, Ash's natural ability is too strong that he'll translate it to "You're an awesome friend Satoshi". I'm more interested in the battle than her actual love thing that's going on. I'm ready for Mao chan, Suiren, and Lillie to appear and become Ash's new friends.

 

[Cradily17]

Good bye, Serena. Hopefully you'll always keep Ash in your heart as you get closer to being the Master Performer. It'll be interesting to see how the SM girls compare to Serena to say the least. It'll also be interesting to see how Serena looks in SM if she goes to Alola for a few episodes to visit Ash.

 

[greninjamaster]

Serena seems a lot more emotionally attached to Ash than the previous Poke girls. Even now she seems a bit nervous being away from him. Serena loves Ash meaning part of her dream is that she wants to be with him, which unlike the others' can't really happen if she leaves.

.....Misty says hi.

 

[DankOverlord]

.....Misty says hi.

Dawn says hi too