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The Bonds of Evolution! (831)

Haunter ゴースト

Haunter ゴースト

Well-Known Member
That is debatable, but regardless end of region or not, Pikachu isn't as strong as he seemingly should be. I'm not really complaining since i'm used to it, it's just a shame to be reminded that Ash and Pikachu really are noway near where they want to be when facing Diantha and Gardevoir.
 
S

Shego

The Pokémon Explorer
This episode is decent. But don't you guys think it was a big mistake for Ash challenge Diantha into a pokemon battle as he's not ready to face her yet?
 
Z

zhixun

Well-Known Member
Citron's invention stopped in the half way such that it did not explode which is out of my expectation. Sonans did not appear in the motto which is kind of strange to me. It is always nice to see Platane in the episode again and I hope to see him in the near future. He can give Citron and Serena the Kanto starters like what is in the games. I could not believe that Eureka will ask for Carnet the champion for a wife for Citron which is another surprise to me.
 
ChloboShoka

ChloboShoka

Writer
Hope Diantha and Ash battle again!
 
Platinum fan.

Platinum fan.

RetiredPokemonMaster
I saw the episode and I'll say this much. I already like Diantha more then Cynthia. Granted she's overpowered, but it's not nearly as grating as having her Gardevoir stand their and shrug off attacks that should kill it...like a certain Garchomp just shrugs off Blizzard. Gardevoir feels powerful but surprisingly it has a 'beatable' feel to it if you know what I mean. Not that I expect Diantha to lose at all in the anime. But anyway the episode was kinda generic for me. Main cast meets champion, champion befriends them, they watch her destroy a opponent, and then watch her destroy Ash in short order. I was not expecting Pikachu to lose that easily and that fast.

Now this wasn't a bad episode. It's just one I've seen a number of times before. Oh yeah and Team Plot Device get involved so Gardevoir has to Mega Evolve. Because Pikachu and it's Latias/Regice/Dragonite killing self can't force Gardevoir to Mega Evolve. That would be silly and actually give fans hope that Ash can win the Kalos League. I did like Serena and Bonnie's girl crush on Diantha. Bonnie really wanted Diantha as her sister in law. Other enjoyable moments for me are, Sycamore getting hit by that girl with the glasses. I loved that scene. Serena slapping Ash's hand away from their little pie. Clearly she wanted to eat it all herself. And Clemonts invention saving the day. Look how happy the main cast was to eat that little pie. Clemont saves the day!

Overall, not a bad episode. Worth watching, but not something to write home about. I do like Diantha and I'm glad she doesn't appear to be as perfect as Cynthia was, but then again I didn't watch this subbed, so she might be.
 
Benny™

Benny™

Best Wishes Do Come True Under The Sun & Moon
Funny how Ash had to scan a Pokemon he had already seen in the previous region and no one's complaining...

I liked Serena slapping Ash's hand away, that was the only time I laughed at her. The characters were lame today - all Citro (Clemont) did was cut cake and stop Heureka (Bonnie) from embarrassing him, Ash was as lame as ever.

Team Rocket was bad, and Diantha was so boring. She's a celebrity who's trying to hide from all her fans, where have I seen this before?? And doesn't she have other Pokemon she could have used to rescue Guardevoir instead of wasting Mega Evolution? The first Mega Evolution appearance outside of the Mega Evolution special, and THIS is how they use it? I honestly don't think they could have debuted M. Evolution in a more anti climactic manner.

The battles were fine but both of her opponents were taken out too quickly for me.

This episode just made me miss Cynthia (Best Wishes! only).
 
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SBaby

SBaby

Dungeon Master
Yeah, another Mary Sue character. Don't get me wrong, Cynthia was terrible too, but this one was worse, a celebrity trying to hide from her fans. I'm sure if I search for five seconds, I'll find other shows and movies that I've seen this from.

Alas, that's the drawback to these 'champion' episodes though. It's hard not to make them into Mary Sues. And if you have them lose to Ash or some character who's less experienced, you make that character into a Mary Sue character. So it's kind of a trap.

I guess the only surefire way to avoid this is just to not have characters like that in the show.
 
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Obscurites

Obscurites

Well-Known Member
Platane flirting on Minami (Carnet's manager) was cute. He said that she looked cute even when she was angry, earning him a bookslap (I made up that word. :p), haha.

Poor Morgan's Absol was totally no match with her Sirnight.

Serena slapping Satoshi's hand was a cute scene too, with her sassy attitude saying that she'd rather eaten the gateau chocolat alone if only one person can eat it.
 
WaterShuriken

WaterShuriken

"I..I..Iron Tail, Pikachu."
Pretty standard episode it seems. Serena was pretty enjoyable in this one. At this point it seems that Dawn was the only female companion that did not fawn over the female champion that they met. I'm happy that one of Clemont's inventions did not explode as that gag got tiresome really quickly, as well as Bonnie's proposal. Too bad that did happen.
 
P

PokeBash

Well-Known Member
How is Diantha a Mary Sue? She only appeared in one episode so we don't get to see the other sides if her personality and being a celebrity she's learned to act poised and graceful around people. I agree I disliked that Gardevoir seemed overpowered, and used only two moves to defeat its opponents quickly, but it was also way more experienced than the opponents it faced.
 
R

RickHoenn

Banned
Diantha is the CHAMPION and in the Pokémon world champions are the strongest untouchable trainers, I don't see how is she a "mary sue", Ash simply is not even close to her level, it's strange this particular complain about "mary-sues" always floats again.
 
D

DaDonYordel

The Gazing Eye
RickHoenn said:
Diantha is the CHAMPION and in the Pokémon world champions are the strongest untouchable trainers, I don't see how is she a "mary sue", Ash simply is not even close to her level, it's strange this particular complain about "mary-sues" always floats again.
Click to expand...

It's just a buzzword.

As the episode itself. It was pretty great. Great interactions all around, Serena and Bonnie for cakes, Serena sass-on Ash, Clemont's invention actually working and with freaking lasers to boo. The anime definitely fleshed out Diantha's character, though her running with those short shorts was bloody ridiculous, still though her little quirks like winking and "checkmate" were quite cute. And her flashback with her relationship with Gardevoir was great. Speaking of cute, damn son, this Sycamore is one smooth muthafakka, and that aide is hella cute, and her slap on Sycamore coming on to her was great. In fact, these COTDs are really getting cute these days.

Battles, well Ash was going to lose to Diantha obviously, though she is impressed by his bond with Pikachu, which I hope is foreshadowing for Ash eventually getting a Mega Stone. Speaking of which, this episode really hype the hell out of me for Mega Evolutions, great opener for this "Mega Arc" and I can't wait for the next episode.

I have no illusions of Ash legitimately battling Diantha like the man with the Absol did, but man, did it burn the cooled coals of fire back up bright and hot.
 
R

RVD_fan

Well-Known Member
Even though it was fairly predictable, I still enjoyed the episode. I like that they didn't make it seem like Team Rocket was forcing Diantha's hand (and thank god they didn't have Ash save Gardevoir for her). It seemed like she was in control the whole time.

I like Diantha as a character, I don't think she was Mary Sue'd at all. Her Gardevoir battled like a powerful Psychic-type would, communicating telepathically and teleporting around the battlefield. She's not the most original character but I thought she was well-realized based on her in-game persona. I do hope she comes back.
 
SBaby

SBaby

Dungeon Master
RickHoenn said:
Diantha is the CHAMPION and in the Pokémon world champions are the strongest untouchable trainers, I don't see how is she a "mary sue", Ash simply is not even close to her level, it's strange this particular complain about "mary-sues" always floats again.
Click to expand...

She's a Mary Sue precisely BECAUSE she is the strongest and most insurmountable trainer. She's a celebrity, who is avoiding her fans. She's essentially prefect, by Pokémon's standards. That is why she's a Mary Sue. To the episode's defense, they tried not to make her like this, but when you're a celebrity trying to avoid fans, you're pretty much already there. Or at the very least, you're jumping the shark, especially in Pokemon.

On top of that, whenever they do these 'champion' episodes, you know right away that whoever battles them isn't going to win. So really, she's pretty much just there to say 'Hey, here's yet another unbeatable Trainer.'.
 
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Benny™

Benny™

Best Wishes Do Come True Under The Sun & Moon
I don't think she's really a Mary-Sue, just a bland, cliche character. Though they could have made her less overpowered, but at least she dodged the attacks and not took them.
 
SBaby

SBaby

Dungeon Master
Benny+Lilia+Ash said:
I don't think she's really a Mary-Sue, just a bland, cliche character. Though they could have made her less overpowered, but at least she dodged the attacks and not took them.
Click to expand...

So instead of her being indestructible, she's untouchable. I don't see how that makes her less of a Mary Sue. Believe me, I wish there was a way I could say she wasn't, but she is.
 
Mr.Munchlax

Mr.Munchlax

Great Ball Rank Trainer
Is it me, or did Serena seem to be a little more sassy in this episode?

Also, I have to admit that the scene where Gadevoir mega evolved felt just as intense as some of the battles in the Mega Evolution special
 
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