Watched this episode with my boyfriend after a night of drinking so I could find some enjoyment in the forsaken battle lol
Positives:
+Hop finally appears and they add him to the opening. Wish he appeared earlier though.
+I like that they’re building off the radio episode with TRio’s reporter facade here. Idk if I like or hate their outfits though. I hate Morpeko but can’t deny it eating furiously in the background of every scene they’re in is funny.
+Ash and Iris’s reunion was cute especially given they have more enthusiasm than everyone else in the room.
+Alola Champion Ash!
+Go being hyped for Iris, Hop surprised he knows her, and her grin with Ash was cute.
+Pikachu looking at Leon knowing he’s the one who’s going to take him down.
+Cynthia’s “Go easy on me, ok?” to Iris
+Steven’s “so I finally get a chance to battle you” to Ash
+Ash wanting to watch in the crowd is so in character even though I kind of wish he was there with the others.
+Lance noticing Steven is on good terms with Alain.
+Iris’s picture with Diantha and Cynthia
+Rillaboom vs Chesnaught was a decent match. Loved seeing GMax Rillaboom and Chesnaught spin around like Sonic.
+Grookey being hyped to see its potential final form
+Rillaboom using Acrobatics reminds me of DBZ.
+Sycamore!
+Seeing Malamar again was cool.
Negatives:
-Wasn’t Alain more friendly with Ash? I don’t expect him to be screaming in excitement but he just glares like Ash is on his hit list.
-The rest of the battle was awful. No need to repeat what others have said but this was such a bad way to bring back Alain even as someone who dislikes him.
Neutral/other points:
- It’s funny seeing Go and Hop together when people were saying the latter wouldn’t appear thanks to the former.
- The referee saying that there’s no limit to how long a match can be makes me imagine someone coming in the PWC with a full stall team.
- Weird that Jessie of all people acknowledges Alain.
- Forgot that Rillaboom can learn Acrobatics (all the Galar starts can actually)
- Pikachu cheering for Alain’s Charizard feels cute yet weird. Also lmao @ “we’ve battled Alain’s Charizard before”
Decent episode outside of most of the battle. Even if I found a lot of it to be disappointing, it is still nice to see the PWC reach its climax. Also nice seeing some of my favorites like Cynthia, Leon, Iris, and Hop. The interactions had some nice callbacks and were genuinely nice. That battle doesn’t give me hope for the rest of the tournament but we’ll see. 7.8/10: too much Charizard