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One Last Battle with Ash! Serena's Choice!! (941)

Vipsoccermaster

Well-Known Member
Probably the holidays again. Which is odd, because they did air a new episode on Saturday, December 31, 2011, literally five years ago TODAY. If it went with no problem back then, then why now?

Oh wait... They did air a new episode on that day five years ago, but not Saturday, December 24, 2011. This time, they aired on Saturday, December 24, 2016, but not Saturday, December 31, 2016.

So if I were to guess, if December 25 of any year and/or January 1 of the year immediately after were to fall on a weekend, chances are, they will skip. If a Saturday, they will likely skip both occasions. If a Sunday, they will likely skip one of the two.
 

The Mega Champion

Well-Known Member
Like I said, if Cartoon Network is mad about them losing Pokemon they should of quit airing XYZ AGES ago.

Either way it better air this next upcoming weekend.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
In a few words, Serena refuses to stay put in her region just like any other girl before her (except Misty, who already did travel) and she's probably so not going to survive in Pokemon Contests during the battling portion. Does she expect they call off their battles there?

Were Serena and Ash on a date, or did the girl really not care much. Man, she misses where it really counts.

Oh, now SSS is kind enough to tell us where he got his Key Stone without really explaining when that happened or where he even got the Sceptilite. The sendoff of those "rivals" felt really weak.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
I'm a little confused about this episode. They made such a point of emphasizing that this was Serena's first "true" battle with Ash, but then they just stop the battle half way through with both sides able to battle. I'm not sure what there definition of a "true" battle is, but I would assume it means something that's more than just a sparring match for training purposes, and that's what this seemed like with them stopping early.

If I had to guess, they didn't want Serena to lose a battle in her send-off episode, but they also didn't want her to beat Ash because it would be unrealistic.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
I'm a little confused about this episode. They made such a point of emphasizing that this was Serena's first "true" battle with Ash, but then they just stop the battle half way through with both sides able to battle. I'm not sure what there definition of a "true" battle is, but I would assume it means something that's more than just a sparring match for training purposes, and that's what this seemed like with them stopping early.

If I had to guess, they didn't want Serena to lose a battle in her send-off episode, but they also didn't want her to beat Ash because it would be unrealistic.

Serena is a girly type who stays away from serious battles whenever the plot demands it. She doesn't call off her own battles, but the universe does it for her.
 

U.N. Owen

In Brightest Day, In Blackest Night ...
Serena is a girly type who stays away from serious battles whenever the plot demands it. She doesn't call off her own battles, but the universe does it for her.

Then she's going to hate contests when she tries to call off the battle round.
 

Janovy

Banned
There's a difference between 'The writers don't finish Serena's battles' and 'Serena doesn't like battles'.

Not at a single point of this show did Serena express a dislike for battles. Nor is she as bad as the lot of you claims.
 

Daniel31

HopingGaryReturns
I'm a little confused about this episode. They made such a point of emphasizing that this was Serena's first "true" battle with Ash, but then they just stop the battle half way through with both sides able to battle. I'm not sure what there definition of a "true" battle is, but I would assume it means something that's more than just a sparring match for training purposes, and that's what this seemed like with them stopping early.

If I had to guess, they didn't want Serena to lose a battle in her send-off episode, but they also didn't want her to beat Ash because it would be unrealistic.
The point of the episode was mainly for Serena to make a decision about her future, but to also show how much Serena has grown as a person since she first started out on her journey. They used this episode to say goodbye to a few characters as well and tie up a couple loose ends with them.

As for the battle, it wasn't meant to be a "true" one, but a way for Ash to help her in his own way at the time. The way I interpret it, is that Ash wanted to help Serena and talk to her because he previously noticed how conflicted she was when they were walking around Lumiose, but maybe didn't know how to go about it. So, he proposes a battle, takes her to the battlefield that was special to him, and wanted to share it with Serena. When Ash is on a battlefield, battling, that's when he's in his true comfort zone. Serena stating that they never had a proper battle before, was just thrown in for context or as a reminder. As the battle gets underway, Ash probably saw enough from Serena, feels comfortable, and thats when he gives Serena the speech, etc...the rest is history.

Serena is a girly type who stays away from serious battles whenever the plot demands it. She doesn't call off her own battles, but the universe does it for her.
Serena called off the tag battle with Shauna vs Tierno and Ash (Eevee's first battle) when she got an idea for the next Performance and wanted to practice right away.
 

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
As for the battle, it wasn't meant to be a "true" one, but a way for Ash to help her in his own way at the time. The way I interpret it, is that Ash wanted to help Serena and talk to her because he previously noticed how conflicted she was when they were walking around Lumiose, but maybe didn't know how to go about it. So, he proposes a battle, takes her to the battlefield that was special to him, and wanted to share it with Serena. When Ash is on a battlefield, battling, that's when he's in his true comfort zone. Serena stating that they never had a proper battle before, was just thrown in for context or as a reminder. As the battle gets underway, Ash probably saw enough from Serena, feels comfortable, and thats when he gives Serena the speech, etc...the rest is history.

I agree with this. The battlefield is Ash's comfort zone, and it's also the venue through which he has learned a lot about himself, both as a person and as a Trainer. As he said himself, whenever he is feeling down, battling together with his Pokémon makes him feel better. He recognized Serena was feeling down, and so he tried to cheer her up the way he knew best - through a Pokémon battle. I think it was also his way of getting through to Serena that she is never alone; she always has her Pokémon by her side.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Not at a single point of this show did Serena express a dislike for battles.

Which is what I just said.

Serena called off the tag battle with Shauna vs Tierno and Ash (Eevee's first battle) when she got an idea for the next Performance and wanted to practice right away.

Well, this and that other time, at least... But given her track record, it's happened enough to say it's happened a lot in her run.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
Serena is a girly type who stays away from serious battles whenever the plot demands it. She doesn't call off her own battles, but the universe does it for her.

To be fair, the universe certainly didn't call off this battle for her. They just both stopped out of nowhere for no reason at all.

The point of the episode was mainly for Serena to make a decision about her future, but to also show how much Serena has grown as a person since she first started out on her journey. They used this episode to say goodbye to a few characters as well and tie up a couple loose ends with them.

As for the battle, it wasn't meant to be a "true" one, but a way for Ash to help her in his own way at the time. The way I interpret it, is that Ash wanted to help Serena and talk to her because he previously noticed how conflicted she was when they were walking around Lumiose, but maybe didn't know how to go about it. So, he proposes a battle, takes her to the battlefield that was special to him, and wanted to share it with Serena. When Ash is on a battlefield, battling, that's when he's in his true comfort zone. Serena stating that they never had a proper battle before, was just thrown in for context or as a reminder. As the battle gets underway, Ash probably saw enough from Serena, feels comfortable, and thats when he gives Serena the speech, etc...the rest is history.

Well then maybe they shouldn't have called it a true battle if they weren't going to finish it. Regardless, I see no reason why they could have finished the battle and then have their talk, or even finish the battle after their talk.
 

Janovy

Banned
I think Serena's battles never being finished isn't something intentionally done by the writers.

Remember, the director of XY confirmed in an interview that the lack of continuity in XY was an oversight on their part and not something deliberate. It's possible that Serena's battles never being finished was also an oversight, something that just occurred a lot but that they never realized.
 

Orton155

Pokemon Enthusiast
There were some really heartfelt moments in this episode and I must admit that seeing Serena full of joy when she was performing for the audience brought a smile to my face.

I don't like goodbyes as they mark the end of a great series and Trevor, Shauna, Tierno and Sawyer's was no different.

It was indeed a shame that Serena and Ash's battle was cut short but it in turn inspired Serena to travel. I'm surprised that Pokémon contests were mentioned as it seemed all but forgotten but I'm glad Serena is going to take on a new challenge and may even meet a few well known coordinators along the way.

Nice episode, onto the next one!
 

Vipsoccermaster

Well-Known Member
This episode wasn't recorded for me on the original English airing date for some reason, so I waited a month later for Pokémon.com to upload the episode on Pokémon TV.

Great episode on the focus being what Serena's true decision is. Good to see the rivals one last time, and god knows when we'll see them again. Probably never.
 

TheWanderingMist

Paladin of the Snow Queen
Great episode on the focus being what Serena's true decision is. Good to see the rivals one last time, and god knows when we'll see them again. Probably never.

There's always the special episodes, even if we don't get them in English.
 

Willow's Tara

The Bewitched
Another slow paced episode, it was okay, it was cute to see Jessie had fans, and the girls cheering the city up.
Note Ash, Serena asked her Pokemon to come with them, she doesn't dump them somewhere, I think Ash is generally the only one, next to TR (But do they really count) that leaves his Pokemon behind aside from Pikachu.
Serena going to Hoenn, makes you wonder how she will do there, who knows maybe we will see her again.
Bonnie, Clemont, did you really think Ash and Serena were staying in Kalos? Wonder what they plan on doing though, stay with their Dad or keep going on journeys.
Oh Ash, one day you are gonna grow up and realise Serena had a crush on you, and probably curse, but hey when on the path to be a Pokemon Master, don't let no girls stop you.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Although I did have a nagging feeling that the Satoshi versus Serena match was likely going to end with no winner, I was more disappointed with the fact that Sana's Fushigisou still hadn't evolved. I absolutely loved that Serena planned to try Contests in the Houen region, however. It's a fantastic new goal for here which she might excel at.
 

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
Unlike the other Pokegirls before, we didn't get to see a Serena post-Kalos special episode nor have her interacting with other Pokegirls, things that I really wanted to see from her as I don't care about amourshipping nor Ash. I think she deserved better than how she's been treated by the anime producers.
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Unlike the other Pokegirls before, we didn't get to see a Serena post-Kalos special episode nor have her interacting with other Pokegirls, things that I really wanted to see from her as I don't care about amourshipping nor Ash. I think she deserved better than how she's been treated by the anime producers.

She's only been gone for approximately a year and a half in real time, which isn't that long of an absence. She still has a chance of coming back for a cameo, although I felt that this episode gave her proper closure, regardless.
 

AznKei

Dawn & Chloe by ddangbi
She's only been gone for approximately a year and a half in real time, which isn't that long of an absence. She still has a chance of coming back for a cameo, although I felt that this episode gave her proper closure, regardless.
I appreciate your optimism and patience but as a person who are also into video game programming, I took the initiative to get what I want from her. Even during XY(Z), I was critical how they priotize the characters, so I don't really trust them. I'm sorry.
 
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