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Olivia's Grand Trial! The Hardest Pokémon Match Ever!! (979)

doofinc

get rillaboomed
IMHO, interesting/dynamic camera angles are not really necessary when the animation is fluid and lacks stiffness that needs to be "concealed" with flashiness. But I suppose we'll have to agree to disagree on that one.


But Ash's strategy involved more than just dodging in this case. He perfectly timed the dodge so that not only would Rowlet (and its load Rockruff) avoid getting Continental Crushed, but the boulder would also destroy the Stealth Rocks. Kiawe actually commented on how that was Ash's plan.

I went back to watch it and I don't see the need for timing. Lycanroc throws the giant rock then they just hover there for a while. They could have easily dodged without having to wait. I will give credit for ensuring that Rowlet was at the right spot for it to happen, but it wasn't a timing strategy.

Even then, it just shows how easy you can avoid them. Them waiting til it's pretty close to hit and still being able to dodge just means that they could have easily dodged any time before with 0 risk. Still depowering the z-move
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
Is it me or is Rockruff becoming one of Ash's most interesting Pokemon he has owned...

He is not the most interesting but surely one of the most. Which is saying something.

Also, he's TOP 3 on the "cutest pokémon Ash has owned". Very few can do that.

At least it wasn't the long dead Triple Battle.

Let's dedicate one minute to mourn the format's death in the 7th generation of the games :(
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
This I do agree with, and this is my one major gripe with this episode. I really do think Rockruff's aggression and impulsiveness should have cost Ash this battle, especially since that aggression and impulsiveness caused it to take out its own teammate. We still could've had that interaction between Ash and Rockruff, with Ash motivating Rockruff, regardless of the outcome of the battle. In fact, Ash forgiving Rockruff might have had more meaning if Rockruff had cost him the match, because it would have shown how big a heart the boy has.

On the other hand, Rockruff winning yet still being downbeat did at least make apparent it wasn't just worried about being left to win a battle solo, it was genuinely ashamed it had hurt it's teammate for the sake of getting antsy during a match. Basically an empty victory for it.

I will say I agree with pretty much everyone that Team Rocket should NOT have interrupted that Gladion match, if anything Rockruff getting defeated with Continental Crush in that match would have added more tension to it being avoided here.
 

Rampardo

Well-Known Member
OLM needs to put Iwane on these trial battle episodes, so we get good animation from start to finish. This time the animation was crap (stiff, slow movements) with a few exceptions (Aito Ohashi's cuts).

And even if Tomioka wrote the battle quite well with some interesting strategies, if there is no good animation to complement it, the battle overall will be bad. Which is exactly what happened here.
 

NPT

Just a member
Alola! as a insert song... during a battle? Ugh, I hate when they do crap this. They used the Volt song so much in the XY series that it became annoying... and now they're doing it again with the SM opening song! Also, XY Trainer battle theme AGAIN? I can't stand that track! Why don't they use the (obviously superior) XY Rival battle theme instead?

The battle itself was alright, but the animation was terrible. And what the heck's up with Ash shaking his butt again? That was cringy as hell.
 
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WaterShuriken

"I..I..Iron Tail, Pikachu."
Huh, I expected Ash to lose here, but I'm not disappointed. The way Rockruff was handled here was interesting as they seem to really be sticking to the the Pokédex entry. Rowlet was the real MVP though, that Bloom Doom was great and it saved Rockruff so many times when flying.
 

Joltik-Kid

Careful? Where's the fun in that?
This has got to be Ash's strongest bunch of basic stage Pokemon to date, none of them have been pushed to their limit except against themselves and that one time Jame's Mareanie got to KO Rowlet.
 

Zipper4242

Bewear is the most powerful being in the universe.
He is not the most interesting but surely one of the most. Which is saying something.

Also, he's TOP 3 on the "cutest pokémon Ash has owned". Very few can do that.



Let's dedicate one minute to mourn the format's death in the 7th generation of the games :(

And to mourn one of the greatest characters in the seriea: "My name is Charles... I am a heartbreaker..."
 

Almighty Zard

He has returned.
This has got to be Ash's strongest bunch of basic stage Pokemon to date, none of them have been pushed to their limit except against themselves and that one time Jame's Mareanie got to KO Rowlet.

rockruff barely came out the winner after defeating Lycanroc since it passed out right after the call was made, I think it did push itself to it's limit.

Litten's never had a good chance to show it's limits, and ironically despite fighting often neither has Rowlet been put in a situation calling for that either, and no getting knocked out by it's teammate doesn't count.
 

Daniel31

HopingGaryReturns
Watched this episode a second time and just wanted to post my thoughts.

So, to start out, seeing Mallow helping Ash with the pose for Bloom Doom was nice to witness (see, Mallow is useful! :p ), then the rest of classmates being present during the GT (we already knew they would be) was a first too I believe (none of them were there for the first GT vs Hala), and a first for Lillie and Lana I think they said (witnessing a GT). Another thing, before the battle, I like how they showed or elaborated on that when Kiawe faced Olivia, his was a single battle, but for Ash it was a double battle to test him even further I’m assuming.

As for the battle, Lillie’s reaction was cute and funny (covering her face when Ash first two attacks were successfully countered). Rockruff was definitely real aggressive (we all know why), but I definitely wasn’t expecting Rockruff to accidently knock Rowlet out of the battle! I thought it was good that Rockruff looked very remorseful (was sad actually), and even Prof. Kukui looked a little troubled by it too. People may dislike what Ash did next, to cheer up Rockruff (his butt shaking), but I thought it was good idea by the writers, because it really showed maturity on Ash’s part (Ash not getting upset, seeing how Rockruff was atm, then doing that to basically rally Rockruff, and get Rockruff back into focus) and it’s a little continuity within the series. The teamwork was solid there for a while, on both sides, and I actually love the fact that Ash remembered when Gladion used Continental Crush, as a way to come up with a quick strategy and successfully dodge Olivia’s, and also get rid of the Stealth Rock (seems very simple, but still okay with me. He obviously still has that battle competence.) The animation was pretty good too, particularly with Stealth Rock and how they used it in this double battle, plus the Z-Moves being used (Bloom Doom looked cool and so did the image of Lycanroc and Rockruff when it was used).

For me, this is definitely the best battle I’ve seen in SM so far. I was expecting Ash to lose, but he surprised me, and I thought Ash looked real good in this battle overall, especially at the end. Ash faced adversity a few times in this GT, but he came out on top. Good job Ash!
 

uber gon

Accept Change
Huh. Never thought Caboose would be a valid nickname for a Rockruff.
 

OshyHikari

c l a r i t y
The battle was alright, but the animation was terrible. And what the heck's up with Ash shaking his butt again? That was cringy as hell.

I agree. I hate butt shaking, pretty much any showing of butts in general because Ash does not have an attractive butt.

Maybe Rockruff seems to have an interest in butts which may explain why Ash does this "twerking" at it?
 

Akkipeddi

All set to be a nice guy
I agree. I hate butt shaking, pretty much any showing of butts in general because Ash does not have an attractive butt.

Maybe Rockruff seems to have an interest in butts which may explain why Ash does this "twerking" at it?

I can just imagine it now that if there's actually going to be a potential league in Alola, Lycanroc might be struggling against the opponent, so Ash shakes his booty inside the whole stadium so that Lycanroc can carry on.
 
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Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
I agree. I hate butt shaking, pretty much any showing of butts in general because Ash does not have an attractive butt.

Maybe Rockruff seems to have an interest in butts which may explain why Ash does this "twerking" at it?

Ash is imitating a dog wagging its tail. That's also how he taught Rockruff to use Rock Throw. There is meaning to Ash's booty shaking, folks. :p

(And for the record, that is NOT twerking. I don't know why people think that's twerking. If Ash were to start twerking, then I would be slightly horrified. :eek: )
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
That butt shaking would work on way more male anime characters.

But on Ash, it's just disgusting. He's not even cute or handsome.

Ash is imitating a dog wagging its tail. That's also how he taught Rockruff to use Rock Throw. There is meaning to Ash's booty shaking, folks. :p

(And for the record, that is NOT twerking. I don't know why people think that's twerking. If Ash were to start twerking, then I would be slightly horrified. :eek: )

It's twerking.
 

LagMaster

Loading....
Wow wasn't expecting ash to win. Overall the battle was very enjoyable. Loved the tactics and the speed they were calling moves out at. Also the teamwork between Rowlet and Rockruff was nice, and I wasn't expecting Rockruff to KO Rowlet. But hey nice twist I liked it! 9/10 And wait were there zero funny faces??

Also my favorite part of the whole entire episode

http://i.imgur.com/H088YoP.png :D
 

Mkid133

Uh hello.....
Wow wasn't expecting ash to win. Overall the battle was very enjoyable. Loved the tactics and the speed they were calling moves out at. Also the teamwork between Rowlet and Rockruff was nice, and I wasn't expecting Rockruff to KO Rowlet. But hey nice twist I liked it! 9/10 And wait were there zero funny faces??

Also my favorite part of the whole entire episode

Wow, looks like old ash XD I also loved the animation of this episode!
 

OshyHikari

c l a r i t y
That butt shaking would work on way more male anime characters.

But on Ash, it's just disgusting. He's not even cute or handsome.

It's twerking.

Yes, butt shaking is not appropriate for Ash. Imitating a dog wagging is a silly excuse to put twerking in the show.

And wait were there zero funny faces??

That would be a miracle since those faces are what soured the SM series for me. In fact, the faces don't even look funny but rather creepy.
 

Soaring Pikachu

Cool Trainer
I thought it was a so so battle. That Stealth rock was OP. I almost want to call foul on Rockruff beating Olivias last pokemon but I guess it can be counted as either Ash's Rockruff being really strong or Olivias evolved pokemon being out of shape or something.

Ash's butt shaking I saw was like method acting, he's not just calling out attacks for his pokemon, he must become like a pokemon!
 
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