Let me just say that visually, the non-contest blow the regular contest out of the water. The stage is amazing, the announcer looks fun, and the audience getting involved like that with how they get points is great. Contest should have had a system like that, instead of using those lame judges all the time. So I'll give that to the non-contest. Goal wise, it's pretty meh for me. Nowhere near as thrilling as contest battles. However the goal itself is not what is selling it. It's the story arc it just impacted that has me loving the showcases. Serena, Divakin, and The Cham.
This entire episode I was just waiting for Serena's loss and what does her in. I had my cynical hat on. Shauna was back, and it's always great to see her. Surprisingly Jessie's outfit for her Pokemon was rather fun. I guess Kalos isn't use to the weird style of Jessie. But whatever, she was there for a laugh. Well we needed one for what followed. We finally got to Serena. I was waiting for it and when it happened everything cynical in me left my body. I remembered I actually had human emotions and grew sad. I know I said previously that not everyone needs to be a loser to get fans to root for them. But this loss and how they went about it was powerful. It made sense why they lost, because they never trained or practiced something like this, as far as I know. The crying scene stole the show, I haven't felt like this in pokemon since Dawn's losing streak, and this truly rivals it. And it lead up to Serena's new design and haircut. By the way, I already love her new look. Probably because the story behind it.
Overall this was a amazing episode for me to watch. I can't wait for episode 64. I can't believe a character I use to call Ms. Mediocre, is shaping out the way she is. I truly say Serena has become one of the highlights of XY now. And like Clemont and Bonnie, I will miss her when she has to go. Hurry up and bring me episode 64 already. Oh yeah, and The Cham is Buizel done right.
