With 1150 posts of hype between the title reveal and the speculation thread, there's really no imaginable way this battle can't suck. Yet I feel like giving this half of the battle a fair chance, because I believe in equality, and according to my own personal definition of equality (which I can only assume is consistent with everybody else's), if I believe one thing, it's only fair that everybody believes the same way, eliminating all potential strife because all opinion is equal.
Some of my favorite jokes in the world are "screw-the-audience" gags, and the Chansey gag was a perfect example. Although Paul doesn't show it, you can tell he's starting to consider Ash a threat. On top of the PokeRinger competition, his discovery of Ash's victory over Brandon and the fact that he's doing some pretty serious pre-battle training here shows he's getting concerned. And I'm quite glad Reggie has become a recurring character. After nearly 60 episodes absent, I was rather convinced he was throwaway.
I felt parts of the battle were padded and a bit slow, but it's the preferrable method over having everything rushed. I did enjoy seeing Ash play defensively and not charge into every attack, which really shows how far he's progressed. But as nice as it is to see rotations written realistically, I felt it was excessive here merely from an enjoyment perspective. I'm totally fine with unrestricted matches to the death. I'd honestly like to see Torterra completely taken care of next episode so that Paul's victory can come from somebody unexpected.
Anyone else find it a bit odd they repeated the same Movie 9 piece consecutively? It felt like seeing the same commercial twice in a row. This was certainly a better episode than last week's, although for a rival battle, it didn't exactly leave me on the edge of my seat (actually, if you're on the edge of your seat for anything Pokemon, you need help). Let's hope Part 2 delivers more excitement without being forced to shove Monferno into our faces over good battle direction.
Also, don't tell me I'm the only one who keeps forgetting the difference between Reflect and Light Screen (heck, I still never learned what the hell Safeguard does). I remember it now, but I've been having to remind myself time and again for the past 11 years. Doesn't help that they changed the whole physical/special thing in DP. Continues to screw with my mind.