The Greatest Z in Alola! Tapu Koko VS Pikachu! (1087)

[Twilight-Kun]

Well, at least the anime didn't do something stupid like have Pikachu beat a legendary

Pity they ruined Kukui vs Ash for a throwaway battle though

Now I see why the Tapu didn't bother using Guardian of Alola against the UB, because it's absolutely pathetic

 

[PokeFreak1200]

Well this is by far the best ending to a league. Now it is unfair to compare it to the other leagues, since this is the only league Ash fully won, but I think the intense battle and flashing back to the moments in the series that got him there really just closes the whole league nicely. I have not watched anything aside from the league but the small moment Ash talks to Pikachu about their experiences is really nice.

Now battle wise Ash actually dominated with his tactics. We're it any other pokemon instead of Tapu Koko the battle would have been a wrap once Pikachu hit it with Thunderbolt. I was kind of on the fence with finishing the battle with a z-move but now seeing it, it definitely was the best way to end the league overall.

Still I have to agree with a lot of people with the league in general. The battle royale was a mess, and kind of just quickly went through the check box of characters they need to show. A lot of the league battles were pretty bland and average. Ash vs Hau will forever be infamous on how not to write a battle. Ash vs Guzma was pretty unimpressive, which was kind of surprising since all of Guzma's other battles were very good. Ash vs Gladion had good moments but I think Lycanroc vs Lycanroc was a underwhelming, which we now see it was to save the budget for this amazing battle.

Regardless of the league however this episode was amazing. Having that scene of Ash telling Pikachu they won, with him and Pikachu taking a well deserved rest was just really nice to see.

 

[Red and Blue]

In addition to the high five I did like the handshake at the end of the Battle between Kukui and Koko.

Makes me almost forgive it just casually disrespecting his sixth Pokemon

 

[Blue Saturday]

You know I always thought SM!Satoshi reminded me of kid!Goku a bit. Looking at this episode it kind of cool they gave it a sort of Spirit Bomb-Kamehameha climax. Pikachu taking on and managing to properly hang with a deity is just so sick, compared to Latios where he couldn’t scratch the dragon and had to go with a suicide approach to even tie with it. That’s some really good improvement. It’s especially great that Pikachu beat his teacher while Satoshi beat his, Kapu did teach him to use Sparking GigaVolt. The classmates all standing with Kaki taking charge to support him against Guardian of Alola, just.....!

Also, I’m just pretty satisfied with what the writers have been doing with Electro Web.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Well, at least the anime didn't do something stupid like have Pikachu beat a legendary

Pity they ruined Kukui vs Ash for a throwaway battle though

Now I see why the Tapu didn't bother using Guardian of Alola against the UB, because it's absolutely pathetic

Tapu Koko IS a Legendary, and Pikachu has beaten Legendaries before. He defeated Regie and Latinos essentially on his own, just like this battle with Naganadel not really doing much to Koko.

 

[Bortgreen]

I'll tell my impressions later, but
I just can't believe they used both of my music expectations for the Z-Move clash. Just... Incredible.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Is it funny there are more reactions of Ash losing a league than him winning one. This thread is just...quiet compared to the others.

 

[Dragalge]

Is it funny there are more reactions of Ash losing a league than him winning one. This thread is just...quiet compared to the others.

There’s a ton of positive reactions alright you’re just living in an age of social media!

I also just realized how Ash facing Tapu Koko also somewhat mirrors how Tapu Koko is the final fight of the SM games before being sent to your house. Very neat thing!

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

There’s a ton of positive reactions alright you’re just living in an age of social media!

I-I don't understand what this means since "age of social media" doesn't mean anything to what I said.

 

[p96822]

I feel like Ash had a force win here then a deserving win. Tapu Koko felt like a weak final boss

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

I feel like Ash had a force win here then a deserving win. Tapu Koko felt like a weak final boss

If a Pikachu can fell it, I worry about the future of Alola.

 

[FlygontheRavager]

In addition to the high five I did like the handshake at the end of the Battle between Kukui and Koko.

Makes me almost forgive it just casually disrespecting his sixth Pokemon

*Kukui spent the entirety of that night consoling his Obstagoon, who had become severely depressed due to Tapu Koko hijacking its spot in the best Pokemon anime battle ever.*

 

[mysticalglacia]

Who’s your shonen God now, weebs?

Ash and GOATachu have solidified themselves as the two true omnipotent, omnipresent entities of raw power- not just in the Pokémon universe, but EVERY universe. 10,000,000 Boruto singlehandedly fried the real Boruto like he was a piece of toast in an early-00’s shoujo. 10,000,000 Volts singlehandedly put an end to the entire League of Villains, Muzan’s demon army, and whatever’s going on in Black Clover.


...Low effort shitpost that took fifteen minutes to edit aside, this was a perfect episode. SM has cultivated the entire fandom’s Ash power fantasy throughout the League, letting it ultimately be on display at its peak this entire battle. The sheer amount of sakuga moments also left me so impressed; they really put out everything they had in this.

What a way to end with a bang!

 

[DatsRight]

This was pretty damn impressive, best animation was clearly saved for this episode, it genuinely felt tense and atmospheric. Only complaint is them once again using stock XY music at the start. A shame they only used a small excerpt of the actual Title Defence theme for this entire 4 episode battle. The other music choices worked fine though.

Loved how bro-like the Pokemon/trainer combinations were here, with Tapu Koko even high giving Kukui. His league has clearly been given the deity seal of approval.

I feel like I would have been more invested in Nagnadel vs Tapu Koko if Ash had remotely trained, but ultimately they were two 'guest' Pokemon anyway so it doesn't really break things too bad. The main highlight was of course Pikachu vs Tapu Koko. I admit it's kind of weird that Pikachu is doing so well here, given he couldn't even scratch Tapu Koko in earlier matches. It's less about progression series wide, he certainly has done a lot in Alola, but more show wide, Pikachu was already pretty buff from the start of SM. Though in fairness he did use Electroweb and 1000 volt Z Move for the first time against it.

The character reactions made this, especially Ash and the other companions' reactions to him winning.

 

[Soniman]

If a Pikachu can fell it, I worry about the future of Alola.

Er, the episode where he one the title has over 21 pages so we kinda already discussed it at length

 

[Sham]

This was pretty damn impressive, best animation was clearly saved for this episode, it genuinely felt tense and atmospheric. Only complaint is them once again using stock XY music at the start. A shame they only used a small excerpt of the actual Title Defence theme for this entire 4 episode battle. The other music choices worked fine though.

Loved how bro-like the Pokemon/trainer combinations were here, with Tapu Koko even high giving Kukui. His league has clearly been given the deity seal of approval.

I feel like I would have been more invested in Nagnadel vs Tapu Koko if Ash had remotely trained, but ultimately they were two 'guest' Pokemon anyway so it doesn't really break things too bad. The main highlight was of course Pikachu vs Tapu Koko. I admit it's kind of weird that Pikachu is doing so well here, given he couldn't even scratch Tapu Koko in earlier matches. It's less about progression series wide, he certainly has done a lot in Alola, but more show wide, Pikachu was already pretty buff from the start of SM. Though in fairness he did use Electroweb and 1000 volt Z Move for the first time against it.

The character reactions made this, especially Ash and the other companions' reactions to him winning.

I feel like I’m the only one that likes the XY trainer theme. I’m glad they kept it. Plus it’s not like DP wasn’t stealing a lot of it’s music from AG. I think the only series that didn’t have heavy music from its processor was BW.

 

[DatsRight]

I feel like I’m the only one that likes the XY trainer theme. I’m glad they kept it. Plus it’s not like DP wasn’t stealing a lot of it’s music from AG. I think the only series that didn’t have heavy music from its processor was BW.

It's not that it's a bad theme, just it's over used throughout the series and it feels like there were better choices tension wise.

 

[Lord Starfish]

It's not that it's a bad theme, just it's over used throughout the series and it feels like there were better choices tension wise.

At least it wasn't the Regi trio remix from M2o though. That one was overplayed to comical extents in just this one arc, getting to the point where you could almost make a drinking game out of it. I mean I actually like that theme on its own... But god do I never want to hear it in the show again.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Who’s your shonen God now, weebs?

To be fair, all those other four are dealing with realistic hurdles and haven't yet achieved their dreams in a more realistic time frame...or IN a time frame (and are leagues more endearing than a kid who refuses to yield against father time in exchange of perpetual loserdom purgatory at real leagues).

You want a real comparison? Pit Ash against Tom & Jerry's Tom and Dora the Explorer's Swiper.

 

[lolipiece]

I have to wonder if the Kamehameha reference is also meant to be a subtle reference to Kamehameha I, the first king of Hawaii.

It makes sense, considering Ash is Alola's first Champion, but I won't lose sleep if it happens to be a complete coincidence.