• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Shine, Z-Power Ring! A Super Fully Powered 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt!! (997)

Lord Starfish

Fond of owls
Back when this arc aired, I was under the impression that they might have been rushing to get through everything as fast as possible before Gen 8, and so I figured this could mean that Gen 8 would arrive on the Switch this year... Though since the pacing has slowed back down considerably following this episode and the next arc is moving a significantly less breakneck speed, it's possible that, no, the release of USUM just gave the staff some new ideas and they wanted to get through the regular Sun & Moon story stuff fast so that they could then focus on those new concepts instead. While it does unfortunately leave this particular arc feeling like it really didn't get the breathing room it should have had, I'm just glad to now have some reason to believe that Sun & Moon won't be over in half a year from now.

...Not that we have any guarantee that Sun & Moon won't be over in half a year from now regardless. The pacing of the anime wasn't the only thing giving me that impression.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
Back when this arc aired, I was under the impression that they might have been rushing to get through everything as fast as possible before Gen 8, and so I figured this could mean that Gen 8 would arrive on the Switch this year... Though since the pacing has slowed back down considerably following this episode and the next arc is moving a significantly less breakneck speed, it's possible that, no, the release of USUM just gave the staff some new ideas and they wanted to get through the regular Sun & Moon story stuff fast so that they could then focus on those new concepts instead. While it does unfortunately leave this particular arc feeling like it really didn't get the breathing room it should have had, I'm just glad to now have some reason to believe that Sun & Moon won't be over in half a year from now.

...Not that we have any guarantee that Sun & Moon won't be over in half a year from now regardless. The pacing of the anime wasn't the only thing giving me that impression.

Honestly, I don't think we can use the pacing of this show to tell us anything, as the pacing is ridiculously random. We'll go months at a time with no significant events happening, and then something like the Akala arc happens and Ash progresses through the equivalent of a third of a game over the course of five or so episodes. Add to that the fact that they don't even seem to care about having Ash do every Trial himself, and it just seems like the writers can make this series last as long or as short as they want. All it would take is two or three more mini arcs, depending on whether or not they have an equivalent to the Pokémon League, and the Island Trial could be wrapped up, and this series ended. That could easily be done in the span of months.
 

Vipsoccermaster

Well-Known Member
So with this episode, the Aether Foundation arc is now complete. Feels a bit rushed, but it is what it is. Good episode overall. Glad that Lusamine is now back safe, hopefully she has learned her lesson and spend more time with her children.

Ash and Pikachu's newest Z-Move, 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt was nice, but it is odd of how it just came to Ash's Z-Ring from nowhere. Oh well, plot demanded an emergency for that one.

Typical Lana and Sophocles at the end, though.
 

LilligantLewis

Bonnie stan
worthless sleepover episode.

The point of the sleepover episode was to detail more of Lillie's mother troubles.

It was a lighter episode meant to focus more on character rather than the story.

It was also meant to show the Professors' relationship while they walked back from the supermarket.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
It was also meant to show the Professors' relationship while they walked back from the supermarket.

Once again though, that was a two minute scene. That two minute scene did not demand that the bulk of the episode be so worthless.
 

Sceptile Leaf Blade

Nighttime Guardian
Once again though, that was a two minute scene. That two minute scene did not demand that the bulk of the episode be so worthless.

I disagree with the rest of the episode being worthless. The sleepover was necessary to create the situation for that to happen. That said, the sleepover episode was also just a lot of fun. Cute stuff and funny stuff in there. Not everything has to advance the plot, there needs to be breathing room in a story, especially in a heavy arc like the Nebby-Lillie arc. The episode also allowed us to get to know Burnet better. And it wouldn't surprise me if the Pokémon Company also released a Z-pose game app for tablets in conjunction with this episode.
 

Bguy7

The Dragon Lord
I disagree with the rest of the episode being worthless. The sleepover was necessary to create the situation for that to happen. That said, the sleepover episode was also just a lot of fun. Cute stuff and funny stuff in there. Not everything has to advance the plot, there needs to be breathing room in a story, especially in a heavy arc like the Nebby-Lillie arc. The episode also allowed us to get to know Burnet better. And it wouldn't surprise me if the Pokémon Company also released a Z-pose game app for tablets in conjunction with this episode.

Yes, it allow for the situations to occur, but that doesn't mean you couldn't have written an episode with a better plot and more interesting events to allow those things to occur.

I did not care in the slightest about the "cute and fun" stuff. I was groaning during the Z-Pose game. That scene was just painful to watch. Humor is fine, but only if either done in a unique/interesting way, or done alongside something else, like plot, to make the episode worthwhile.

You're right not everything has to advance the over-arching plot. I never had a problem with filler episodes pre-Sun and Moon, and those don't advance the over-arching plot either. But, if an episode is not going to advance the over-arching plot, then it needs to have its own at least semi-interesting internal plot. Prior to Sun and Moon, filler episodes always gave us a some form of internal plot, but Sun and Moon seems content with just showing random plotless events.
 

Sceptile Leaf Blade

Nighttime Guardian
A weird translation error in this episode in Dutch, Gladion mentions Lusamine's pokémon keep on coming back to life as long as Lusamine isn't defeated, which implies that pokémon actually die when defeated in battle. Not sure how that error slipped past, the translators have both been with the series for over a decade.

Apart from that well done episode, voice acting was solid all around. Especially impressed with how well Gioia Parijs has voiced Lillie this arc, she's still so young. Lots of acting talent there.

Now that I think about it, the 10 million Volts Thunderbolt did come a bit out of nowhere. It had been foreshadowed a bit in episode 19, the rematch with Tapu Koko, but that's been so long ago it feels like it came out of the blue again, another episode where something similar happened again, just not the change to Pikachunium Z, closer to this climax episode would probably have helped there, just to bridge that gap.

A bit disappointed we didn't get to see Searing Sunraze Smash again for Solgaleo leaving Ultra Space and going back to Alola, it looks like they didn't have time for that in the episode.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
That has to be the lamest, most disgusting episode title to ever grace us.

I kind of just noticed Gladion cheats using a Rock-type Z-Move without doing the right pose.

A not good episode for the conclusion of this arc. The others fought but their battles were piss easy, while the Aether Siblings + Ash get...a polished version of a game of tag made dangerous yet stale.

Is Silvally even useful for something that isn't riding on its back? The games don't even give it some sort of "I'M AN ULTRA BEAST HUNTER!! WRAAAAAAAA!!!" or this anime either besides flavor text. And not Gladion's cheap constant changing types in battle doesn't give it a big edge in fighting an actual Ultra Beast. It's aaaaaaaaaaaall Pikachu, siree.

Don't get me started of that Z-Move out of Ash's eternal 10-year old ***.
 
Last edited:

Zoruagible

Lover of underrated characters
Worst dub title ever.
I still think it's rather lame making Pikashnium a temporary thing, it makes it no different than what Ash-Greninja was. Just transform it permanently and be done with it.

And Team Rocket getting to do absolutely nothing but botch attempts at catching Proto Koffing and spectate was just so freaking stupid! They made it look like they'd have this big role in a arc for once but then they got tossed to the side....

The battles Soph, Mallow, and Lana did weren't anything special either, it'd have been lovely to see them shine on their own. More specifically Mallow and Soph..... since they haven't gotten to fight anything yet by themselves while the others have! -.-

Oh, and Lana's gag is far worse than Bonnie's ever was.

4/10
 

Leonhart

Imagineer
Vipsoccermaster said:
Ash and Pikachu's newest Z-Move, 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt was nice, but it is odd of how it just came to Ash's Z-Ring from nowhere. Oh well, plot demanded an emergency for that one.

Frankly, I didn't think it was even needed. It just seemed like a quick and flashy way of ending the Ultra Space subplot, which is fine in terms of adding excitement, but seemed very trite to me.
 

Mega Altaria

☆~Shiny hunter▢~
The only highlight in this episode was obviously 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt. But then at first, I was surprised how Ash's Electrium Z transformed into a Pikashunium Z, even though that happened after he got his Z-Ring upgraded into a Z-Power Ring. And it looked quite powerful too, managing to knock Lusamine out of Nihilego's control.
 

Twilight-Kun

Pokemon World Champion
Why were the classmates even here if they didn't achieve anything and had to be bailed out by Ash's pokémon coming to their rescue?

This was a family affair and should have stayed that way, with Ash tagging along only because he's the one with Solgaleo's Z-Crystal, which really should've been used as something other than a reason to open wormholes
 
Top