Tapu Bulu! Intense Slacker Training!! (1018)

[Rohanator]

Except they showed Rockruff's tail being burnt in the flashback to his capture episode. He clearly didn't react there either.

Different context, that was Ash's "you were stubborn, clingy and a bit clumsy" speech, if they really wanted to compare that to the dirt issue they would've just used it, instead of making something new up.

Some Pokemon change when they evolve. This is a recurring concept that's been around since the early days. Heck, some Pokemon (like Piplup, if I remember that episode correctly) outright hated the idea of evolving simply because they want to stay who they are.

That's not what I meant, what I mean is that we never saw Rockruff in a similar situation so we didn't KNOW if it was an actual change in personality or something that just hadn't come up before cause it wasn't relevant (since even if Rockruff hated being dirty, it probably wouldn't have resulted in some kind of berserk red eyes mode. But it still could've hated it for all we knew). But now that they're trying to use the change of personality thing as a point of development by reminding Lycanroc what it was like before it feels cheap because we, the viewers, didn't KNOW what it was like before, so we can't be there in spirit with Ash when he's trying to reason with it. At least I can't.

What? Rockruff's been buddies with Ash since episode one.

Good times as in good times being dirty, shoulda been more specific lol. The only BAD times Ash has had with Lycanroc are two very specific instances in the span of like 40 episodes, it's unnecessary to be all dramatic and act like Lycanroc itself needs to realize he's still the same old dog when he obviously has been for the most part. This would've been fine if they dealt with it soon after the Lycanroc VS Type: Null episode but for something that they waited this long to get back to I found it disappointing.

 

[Leonhart]

I wasn't expecting Mokuroh learning Razor Leaf, although that was a nice twist. I was also quite delighted by the growing bond between Satoshi and his Lugarugan, especially when Lugarugan used Stone Edge.

 

[Ryu Taylor]

I see Ash still has the ability to climb at the speed of JP cartoon character.

Rowlet finally got a new move. I hope there'll come good chances for him to use it since he's been doing nothing but cameos lately.

Yeah, Lycanroc's dirt problem came out of nowhere and disappeared in just as contrived and suddenly a manner. At least the battle with Tapu Bulu was good and Lycanroc also got a new move out of it.

Tapu Bulu's theme is as laid-back as he is, and I love it. Also great to hear Rowlet's theme come back and gain a new mix for when he learned Razor Leaf. And though the montage of Lycanroc's Rockruff days had a reused cue, there couldn't have been a better pick than what was used. Same for the battle cues. This was one of the nicest-scored episodes in a while.

This failed as a character development episode, but succeeded as a training episode.

 

[Ignition]

Rowlet has yet to use Razor Leaf after this episode just like Torracat has yet to use Revenge after it learned it in the Battle Royal episode. What's the point?

 

[lolipiece]

Rowlet has yet to use Razor Leaf after this episode just like Torracat has yet to use Revenge after it learned it in the Battle Royal episode. What's the point?

...Except he has? He's used it at least once and we know it'll be used in an upcoming episode.

 

[LilligantLewis]

I was excited for this episode as he doesn't do many training episodes in Alola, and despite the (to me, surprising) overwhelming praise from this thread to this episode, I overall was pretty underwhelmed and mostly agree with @Rohanator sadly. I kind of thought he would take a few episodes to train, not just one. this arc is suddenly seeming kind of short/rushed.

Other thoughts:

How does Acerola even know the right way to go when it's just sand in every direction? Is she related to the Poe from Haunted Wasteland?

Lol at the random scene of the Trapinch eating the berry

Climbing the mountain seems pretty dangerous. I'm glad Acerola didn't look at him the way Dawn did in DP156 when he said he wanted to climb the mountain.

wow Tapu Bulu is twinsies with Rowlet, falling asleep all the time

Omg blue ink!

WATER ON SANDILE
RANDOM MOMENT #2

Rotom is an idiot. Why does it keep saying "When did it learn how to use?" It just did just now, dummy.

We haven't seen any companions for 3 episodes. I think this is a record for their non appeareances in SM so far.

The companions appeared near the beginning of last episode when Kiawe said he was going to participate in the Alola League.

it kind of reminds me of Larvitar except that Ash actually owns it

Really good comparison. Poipole's done nothing. Come on!

Well I also initially thought that the red-eyes thing would be some sort of a power-up/boost for Dusk Lycanroc, but after this episode it does look quite unlikely. It's probably just a state of Lycanroc where it gets mad with anger and looses control.

It reminds me of Korrina-Lucario's red eyes. It was just a problem it had to overcome, not a power boost. So Dusk Lycanroc is similar to three different Pokémon from Gen VI, Korrina-Lucario, Serena-Braixen (doesn't like getting dirty), and Ash-Greninja (an anime-only forme, although, unlike Ash-Greninja, Dusk Lycanroc ended up getting added to the games afterwards (in USUM)).

 

[mehmeh1]

I was excited for this episode as he doesn't do many training episodes in Alola, and despite the (to me, surprising) overwhelming praise from this thread to this episode, I overall was pretty underwhelmed and mostly agree with @Rohanator sadly. I kind of thought he would take a few episodes to train, not just one. this arc is suddenly seeming kind of short/rushed.

Other thoughts:

How does Acerola even know the right way to go when it's just sand in every direction? Is she related to the Poe from Haunted Wasteland?

Lol at the random scene of the Trapinch eating the berry

Climbing the mountain seems pretty dangerous. I'm glad Acerola didn't look at him the way Dawn did in DP156 when he said he wanted to climb the mountain.

wow Tapu Bulu is twinsies with Rowlet, falling asleep all the time

Omg blue ink!

WATER ON SANDILE
RANDOM MOMENT #2

Rotom is an idiot. Why does it keep saying "When did it learn how to use?" It just did just now, dummy.



The companions appeared near the beginning of last episode when Kiawe said he was going to participate in the Alola League.



Really good comparison. Poipole's done nothing. Come on!



It reminds me of Korrina-Lucario's red eyes. It was just a problem it had to overcome, not a power boost. So Dusk Lycanroc is similar to three different Pokémon from Gen VI, Korrina-Lucario, Serena-Braixen (doesn't like getting dirty), and Ash-Greninja (an anime-only forme, although, unlike Ash-Greninja, Dusk Lycanroc ended up getting added to the games afterwards (in USUM)).

ash greninja is in the SM games (literally the first pair of games to come out after AG appeared in the anime)

 

[LilligantLewis]

ash greninja is in the SM games (literally the first pair of games to come out after AG appeared in the anime)

I understand but it's barely obtainable (you had to get the demo only), and SM is a different generation. I should have clarified and said the current generation.

 

[mehmeh1]

I understand but it's barely obtainable (you had to get the demo only), and SM is a different generation. I should have clarified and said the current generation.

to be fair the SM demo is freely available and there were no more new mainline games in gen 6 by the time AG appeared)

 

[Vipsoccermaster]

Good episode. Training with Tapu Bulu paid off. Great seeing Lycanroc learning Stone Edge and Rowlet learning Razor Leaf. Tapu Bulu also had Ash set things right for Lycanroc whenever it got dirty. It needed those memories of playing dirty as a Rockruff.

 

[LilligantLewis]

Great seeing Lycanroc learning Stone Edge and Rowlet learning Razor Leaf.

They learned them too easily.

It needed those memories of playing dirty as a Rockruff.

They made up these memories.

 

[dman_dustin]

They made up these memories.

Not really seeing your point, since everything is made up. If you meant in context of never seeing it before now. Well to be fair, NOT every single minute of every single moment is in an episode, so it makes sense that "new memories" would exist for certain episodes, if only because it makes sense.

In any show, episodes only show a "chunk" of the character's lives, if its not relevant to the plot, they won't bring it up until it is. Even if its a "new" scene.

I do agree there is some awkwardness, for example if there's been many episodes of a character with great characterization, it might be weird to flashback to a time, that SHOULD'VE been shown within the context of the time frame of the memory ON the show, but again if its not relevant, no reason to bring it up.

The only weird memories that shouldn't exist is if something like "I don't have any siblings at all" (The character isn't lying or hiding anything and doesn't have amnesia). Later on (I played dodgeball with my sister and brother).....but wait a minute you said you didn't have siblings? Something like that I'd understand.

The point is only memories/flashbacks that contradict something are really bad, otherwise I don't see why it matters.

 

[LilligantLewis]

Not really seeing your point, since everything is made up. If you meant in context of never seeing it before now. Well to be fair, NOT every single minute of every single moment is in an episode, so it makes sense that "new memories" would exist for certain episodes, if only because it makes sense.

In any show, episodes only show a "chunk" of the character's lives, if its not relevant to the plot, they won't bring it up until it is. Even if its a "new" scene.

I do agree there is some awkwardness, for example if there's been many episodes of a character with great characterization, it might be weird to flashback to a time, that SHOULD'VE been shown within the context of the time frame of the memory ON the show, but again if its not relevant, no reason to bring it up.

The only weird memories that shouldn't exist is if something like "I don't have any siblings at all" (The character isn't lying or hiding anything and doesn't have amnesia). Later on (I played dodgeball with my sister and brother).....but wait a minute you said you didn't have siblings? Something like that I'd understand.

The point is only memories/flashbacks that contradict something are really bad, otherwise I don't see why it matters.

It matters because it's not a well written show if they have to retcon in old memories. A well written show should show events now that will be relevant later.

 

[Sceptile Leaf Blade]

It matters because it's not a well written show if they have to retcon in old memories. A well written show should show events now that will be relevant later.

I think you're holding the show to too high of a standard. They've got to write a new episode every week, adapt to new games coming out and time things well in accordance to that, they don't have time to plan out several season's worth of material to that kind of detail, it's just not feasible. Hold it to a slightly lower standard and accept old memories that weren't shown before if it is feasible that the events happened off-screen at the time and fit in that time period. And in this case I'd say yes, they do.

 

[LilligantLewis]

they don't have time to plan out several season's worth of material to that kind of detail, it's just not feasible

they did it in DP

 

[dman_dustin]

It matters because it's not a well written show if they have to retcon in old memories. A well written show should show events now that will be relevant later.

I've made this argument before, so I'll make it again.

Shows are not encyclopedic. They cannot and will not SHOW EVERY SINGLE MOMENT EVER POSSIBLE.

First off there's a severe time limit that a show has to even show off what it can. And its constrainted by time, plot, networks, and other factors. In fact some shows have to delete scenes because it somehow is 10-30 seconds TOO Long.

Secondly in regards to plot there are SEVERAL other things to take care of it cannot just be one character or in this case Pokemon.

So no I inherently disagree with the encyclopedic mindset that everything has to be shown at all once. That a character is not allowed to have a sister because it wasn't mentioned for a few seasons even though the character in question barely showed up for example. And therefore arguing that a well written show doesn't have retcons, because its LITERALLY impossible to show everything. Not metaphoricallyy impossible, LITERALLY impossible.

Plus Rockruff has been in the water as well (from training in the episode it was caught in), so playing in mud isn't that big of a deal.

 

[LilligantLewis]

I've made this argument before, so I'll make it again.

Shows are not encyclopedic. They cannot and will not SHOW EVERY SINGLE MOMENT EVER POSSIBLE.

First off there's a severe time limit that a show has to even show off what it can. And its constrainted by time, plot, networks, and other factors. In fact some shows have to delete scenes because it somehow is 10-30 seconds TOO Long.

Secondly in regards to plot there are SEVERAL other things to take care of it cannot just be one character or in this case Pokemon.

So no I inherently disagree with the encyclopedic mindset that everything has to be shown at all once. That a character is not allowed to have a sister because it wasn't mentioned for a few seasons even though the character in question barely showed up for example. And therefore arguing that a well written show doesn't have retcons, because its LITERALLY impossible to show everything. Not metaphoricallyy impossible, LITERALLY impossible.

Plus Rockruff has been in the water as well (from training in the episode it was caught in), so playing in mud isn't that big of a deal.

It's a badly written show

 

[Lord Starfish]

It's a badly written show

No more so than any other series...

Or okay, that's an unfair statement of me to make. For starters this is the first series I've seen every episode of since... literally ever (I mean, I watched all of XY&Z, but I feel it's hard to think of that as its own series rather than just the last third of XY), and also, I can't deny that despite being one of the people who does enjoy the series, the overall consistency of the thing dropped dramatically after the Lusamine rescue arc... and even before then it was showing problems with writing larger story-arcs well. As well as the direction of the show being, um... does it even have one? At this point I have no idea what the endgame here is other than "I dunno, probably the Alola League I guess?"

 

[FlygontheRavager]

It's a badly written show

That...does not seem like a proper counterargument.

 

[Zhydra]

No more so than any other series...

Or okay, that's an unfair statement of me to make. For starters this is the first series I've seen every episode of since... literally ever (I mean, I watched all of XY&Z, but I feel it's hard to think of that as its own series rather than just the last third of XY), and also, I can't deny that despite being one of the people who does enjoy the series, the overall consistency of the thing dropped dramatically after the Lusamine rescue arc... and even before then it was showing problems with writing larger story-arcs well. As well as the direction of the show being, um... does it even have one? At this point I have no idea what the endgame here is other than "I dunno, probably the Alola League I guess?"

The big problem is anything resembling an ongoing plot in SM kind of ended after the Aether Arc since the big thing we were looking towards was then and done! (Lillie's big arc. It is done and now she loses focus because the story is kind of done with her.)

Followed into the next season with Poipole and the Necrozma story, there was build up to that one but again, it was there and over once the Necrozma arc came through. Then we have the loose ends that are building up to something for the last run. (RR or TR... that is going happen in this series, like it or not!)

Now that two major plot arcs are done we are stuck with the things expected in a SOL format before we get to TR/RR. It will be the same thing in that we have something build up to that climax, it gets finished and then we have the expected Alolan League that was brought up throughout the this series.

It more than likely is going to end like every other league arc that isn't Orange Islands, that one I may or may not care for.

That...does not seem like a proper counterargument.

It isn't, it is an opinion that can be countered with an opposing opinion, with nothing that can really change the others mind. (Though I wish SM isn't attacked by certain immature fan bases I would rather not talk about!)