The Curtain Rises! The Masters Tournament!! (1204)

[charchar56]

favorite part of the episode was Ash and Iris running into the waiting area with the other champions and the atmosphere instantly changing for them. this ain't no game kids! lmao

Iris fangirling over Diantha and Cynthia was nice too. It's clear Iris hasn't been a champion for very long. The others seem way more familiar with each other, or just act like adults I guess. Ash sitting with Goh and Hop instead of the champions was a miss.

The lack of acknowledgement between Ash and Alain aside from that nod is strange. Those two are supposed to be friends and rivals right?

No comments on the battle, ya'll got that covered maybe they will get progressively better/more challenging as we progress through the matchups

 

[Sham]

So…..maybe that Hop battle should took up the episode after all

 

[AJ97]

I just realized something funny.

Sure maybe you could argue Leon was "Holding back" during that battle.

But even Pikachu did better against Leon's Charizard than Alain's MCX.
And this was even before Ash joined the PWC Lol.

 

[diakyu]

But even Pikachu did better against Leon's Charizard than Alain's MCX.

This is the same pikachu that finessed two of Alain's pseudos then forced him to bring out charizard who he still got on his knees so it isn't that surprising lol

 

[squirtle009]

This is the same MCX that got his ass handed to him by Steven's ace. His defeat is completely justified here.

 

[Fernsday]

What was shocking about today?

Everyone knew Alain was going to lose

That a battle that is part of the biggest tournament in the entire series and the climax was incredibly rushed, had mostly awful animation and trash choreography barring Chesnaught vs Rillaboom. Also Alain somehow putting up a significantly worse fight than Flint and doing him an absolute disservice to present Leon as invincible when it could’ve very well be done by just simply having Leon beat Alain’s MCX in base in a harder fought fight, Leon uses no mechanics yet still takes a Champion level trainer’s mega ace

 

[PAndrews]

I didn't mind the quick battle with Hop. It was nice and quick.

Alain getting folded like a lawn chair. We knew Leon was going to win but by how much was the question. Rillaboom vs Chesnaught was exceptional.

Interesting choice of Malamar but man, this was a 1 sided affair. Apparently Leon's Charizard's Dragon Pulse is stronger than Primal Groudon's Precipice Blades. (Sheesh on that one). But I do agree Leon as the defending Champ shouldn't be in this tournament. I actually would've liked to have Raihan included. 2-9. (Cynthia, Steven, Lance, Diantha, Alain, Iris, Ash and Raihan) be the tournament. Leon gets a bye and he faces the winner.

Charizard used the recoil move Flare Blitz twice, lost the first exchange and got hit by Air Slash to which Alain recalled it, then it plowed its ways through Ancient Power (super effective and can boost users stats) and took a point blanc Dragon Pulse (again super effective). So it didn't get oneshotted and did in fact get hit multiple times. Was still a one-sided massacre but not a OHKO.

This does however show how strategic Leon is, since he changed his Charizards moveset again and this time gave it a 4x effective move on regular Charizard and a super effective one for MCX with Ancient Power and Dragon Pulse. So he prepared his zard specifically to fight MCX

 

[DuquÊ?]

Well...

Hop is there for kicks and to be a less interesting Hau (I mean, Hau at least was in the league).

Alain, that was cold, man, Ash nodded to you, even Paul, of all people, wasn’t that cold.

Interactions between champions were eh, they just waited for Ash get out to have the games’ champions all in the same room. I think Diantha recognized that see the battle with the audience was more interesting when Ash went there, but that’s all.

The battle was ok for what I was expecting. As a chesnaught fan, I’m happy to see it on field for a good time.

Anyway, everyone knew this wouldn’t end well for Alain, but he took out grass Kershak, that’s enough.

Now, it’ll be a looong wait until July...

 

[TheNewGuy]

Charizard used the recoil move Flare Blitz twice, lost the first exchange and got hit by Air Slash to which Alain recalled it, then it plowed its ways through Ancient Power (super effective and can boost users stats) and took a point blanc Dragon Pulse (again super effective). So it didn't get oneshotted and did in fact get hit multiple times. Was still a one-sided massacre but not a OHKO.

Thanks for this

 

[SkyBlaze9125]

Charizard used the recoil move Flare Blitz twice, lost the first exchange and got hit by Air Slash to which Alain recalled it, then it plowed its ways through Ancient Power (super effective and can boost users stats) and took a point blanc Dragon Pulse (again super effective). So it didn't get oneshotted and did in fact get hit multiple times. Was still a one-sided massacre but not a OHKO.

This does however show how strategic Leon is, since he changed his Charizards moveset again and this time gave it a 4x effective move on regular Charizard and a super effective one for MCX with Ancient Power and Dragon Pulse. So he prepared his zard specifically to fight MCX

Not sure how Leon knew he was fighting Alain in the first round or how his Charizard current moves are super effective toward Fire, Flying, or Dragon Type.

 

[AJ97]

This is the same pikachu that finessed two of Alain's pseudos then forced him to bring out charizard who he still got on his knees so it isn't that surprising lol

Alain's base team was relative to Ash's Kalos team (So that means, relative to Tierno and Sawyer's teams), based on their battles.
So frankly, that really isn't a big deal. Ash's Pikachu was obviously superior to Ash's base Kalos team (Except Greninja).

Alain's Charizard was much stronger than his base team.

 

[AJ97]

Not sure how Leon knew he was fighting Alain in the first round or how his Charizard current moves are super effective toward Fire, Flying, or Dragon Type.

Plot twist. PWC Is rigged.

Leon knew the matchups beforehand and injected his Charizard with Special Rare Candies to win the fight.

 

[Power Up]

Charizard used the recoil move Flare Blitz twice, lost the first exchange and got hit by Air Slash to which Alain recalled it, then it plowed its ways through Ancient Power (super effective and can boost users stats) and took a point blanc Dragon Pulse (again super effective). So it didn't get oneshotted and did in fact get hit multiple times. Was still a one-sided massacre but not a OHKO.

This does however show how strategic Leon is, since he changed his Charizards moveset again and this time gave it a 4x effective move on regular Charizard and a super effective one for MCX with Ancient Power and Dragon Pulse. So he prepared his zard specifically to fight MCX

I rewatched the match and there was no visual cue that Alain took a whole host of recoil damage from Flare Blitz at all unless I'm missing something. Air Slash is fair, but again, the lack of visual cue of how damaged Charizard was supposed to be just wasn't there(maybe you could count Alain returning Base Charizard as that?). The most important thing is that Mega Evolution has usually functioned or at the very least looked like a health booster or a reinvigoration of the Pokemon. Not to mention how tanky Alain's MCX has shown to be in the past. And again, this was all Base Charizard.

Not to mention it wasn't as if MCX was caught dead with the Dragon Pulse, he was literally enwrapped in Flare Blitz so the Dragon Pulse got past that as well.

 

[GarchompTheAssassin]

Well despite of everything, it seems Alain’s Charizard is above getting the swirly eyes.

Battle was lackluster - just felt like there was very little impact or tension, even in spite of what’s at stake (seems to be a recurring theme in most of the JN battles that I’ve watched unfortunately).

Interaction between champions is one of the very few things I’m curious about in all this, and this episode left a lot to be desired on that front - hopefully we get something more in the next.

(Oh, and apparently it was Alain’s dream to battle Leon’s Charizard - at least he left with something)

 

[Panky..]

Japanese fans are not happy.

 

[charchar56]

I just realized something funny.

Sure maybe you could argue Leon was "Holding back" during that battle.

But even Pikachu did better against Leon's Charizard than Alain's MCX.
And this was even before Ash joined the PWC Lol.

you didn't realize anything. I told you this you get an F for plagiarizing lol

 

[AJ97]

you didn't realize anything. I told you this you get an F for plagiarizing lol

I missed your comment lol.

 

[Shadao]

Iris's interaction with Diantha and Cynthia was the best part of the episode
I don't think Iris will be treated badly, she will obviously lose to Cynthia but I see her putting up a good fight and not getting curbstomped
I absolutely love how Ash demolished Hop lol, thats how it should be and fits with Hop's current predicament being that he's yet to go on his journey
The remaining 10 minutes should have just been the champions interacting and talking and by the end of the episode we see Leon vs Alain start, end the episode off with Gigantamax Rillaboom

Iris would at the very least force Cynthia to use Mega Evolution for Garchomp. Considering that Garchomp is depicted as unbeatable, that's quite an accomplishment for Iris, and likely soften up Gachomp's invincibility enough for Ash to believably beat Cynthia (and he's got to since Ash is no doubt facing Leon).

 

[Sham]

You know what's funny? I'm ready for them to have Iris domlish Cynthia only for her to use Mega evolution and win with the writers making it very clear that the only difference in strength and that match being decided was a lack of Haxorus having a gimmick. I get my chaos because that means Iris is stronger than Cynthia base and people get whatever Ash vs Cynthia they wan

Or she just wins the battle so Tomiyasu could keep making you guys even madder either way is fine

As long as it's nothing like what just happened.

 

[Speed22]

Japanese fans are not happy.

Just wait until Ash jobs in the final.

The anime crew are going to give fans the biggest middle finger in anime history by the time JN is over. Ash will lose to Leon, and release all of his Pokemon except Pikachu or even flatout give them all to Goh. I'm calling it.