The Lightning that Blocks Wind! Its name is Zeraora (1043)

[shoz999]

So question. Is Dia Red? So according to some people, Dia's name is apparently loosely written as Red backwards in katakana. He also has some of the red color-tones and a flashback of his childhood reveals that he used to be a kid literally in Red's original clothing and his face literally mirrors adult Red's face in the games.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Does it really matter to care about an anime OC who has no lasting impact in the self-secluded sagas. He's clearly a Bizarro Ash who got a Legendary Cat instead of a common rat.

 

[Shadao]

So question. Is Dia Red? So according to some people, Dia's name is apparently loosely written as Red backwards in katakana. He also has some of the red color-tones and a flashback of his childhood reveals that he used to be a kid literally in Red's original clothing and his face literally mirrors adult Red's face in the games.

I would say it's more likely that he's supposed to be Ash's AU counterpart. An Ash who lost all of his childhood innocence thanks to Guzzlord. You may notice that his skin tone is identical to Ash's. And that he has an Electric Pokémon Partner just like Ash. If he looks like Red in both child and adult form, then it's quite obvious as to why.

It's the same reason why Ash, if drawn by Mato in Adventures style, will always look like Red wearing Ash's clothes. The theory goes like this, Dia is Ash who is also Red. AKA Dia = Ash = Red.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

So question. Is Dia Red? So according to some people, Dia's name is apparently loosely written as Red backwards in katakana. He also has some of the red color-tones and a flashback of his childhood reveals that he used to be a kid literally in Red's original clothing and his face literally mirrors adult Red's face in the games.

Thing is there is no red in the anime, all the things related to red in the anime is related to ash since ash is anime counterpart of red.

 

[mehmeh1]

also, the storyboarding here was amazing, and with this one and the person who did sm90, yuji asada needs to watch out, for there are new storyboarders in town (asada is still great, aside from the first half of sm036, which was just odd)

 

[Redstar45]

I would say it's more likely that he's supposed to be Ash's AU counterpart. An Ash who lost all of his childhood innocence thanks to Guzzlord. You may notice that his skin tone is identical to Ash's. And that he has an Electric Pokémon Partner just like Ash. If he looks like Red in both child and adult form, then it's quite obvious as to why.

It's the same reason why Ash, if drawn by Mato in Adventures style, will always look like Red wearing Ash's clothes. The theory goes like this, Dia is Ash who is also Red. AKA Dia = Ash = Red.

Also it might hint on what Ash/Satoshi would have look like if he reached his adulthood and dia do really feel like pivx red in this story.

 

[Power Up]

Can someone explain? Has Dia been confirmed to be Ash's alternate dimension self or any of sorts? What's the best theory right now?

 

[Akkipeddi]

Can someone explain? Has Dia been confirmed to be Ash's alternate dimension self or any of sorts? What's the best theory right now?

Nothing's confirmed, all these are just theories. People feel Dia is an AU Ash/Red since in the photo, there's a kid who resembles Ash/Red, who started with Litten, in front of the school with the AU classmates. There was also an Ultra Ranger squad, which is probably the AU equivalent of the Ultra Guardians in the Alola.

 

[Shadao]

Nothing's confirmed, all these are just theories. People feel Dia is an AU Ash/Red since in the photo, there's a kid who resembles Ash/Red, who started with Litten, in front of the school with the AU classmates. There was also an Ultra Ranger squad, which is probably the AU equivalent of the Ultra Guardians in the Alola.

Not to mention that Dia's hat is almost identical to the hat that Ash/Red wore in the flashback.

Spoiler: Dia and Ash/Red Hat

Dia parallels with Ash in so many ways (Electric Partner, Ultra Guardians/Rangers, Pokémon School, and stubbornness) that it's hard not to see a connection between the two.

 

[Satomine Night]

Can someone explain? Has Dia been confirmed to be Ash's alternate dimension self or any of sorts? What's the best theory right now?

Assuming the young boy with the Litten in the flashback is, indeed, Dia as a child (and it probably is, since he is wearing the same hat as adult Dia), then it's possible young Dia is (yet another) homage to Red. Perhaps he is meant to parallel Ash in many ways—his main Pokémon being an Electric type, his being a member of a group that battled Ultra Beasts, etc. However, while there are visual implications that there is a connection between Dia and Ash, there has been no confirmation that Dia is this alternate world's version of Ash.

I'm wondering if the writers are going to leave the connection vague, or if they are going to give us any more implications in the next episode. To be honest, a part of me thinks it would be better if the writers leave it up to the audience's interpretation.

 

[LilligantLewis]

Wow the whole episode my friend was telling me "this has to be the future" and I was like no way this is just a remote part of one of the islands. Boy was I wrong... that reveal at the end.. mind-blowing. Much better than I expect from a show like Pokémon.

And: they WOULD stop giving us the daily episodes right when things are getting good

 

[mehmeh1]

Wow the whole episode my friend was telling me "this has to be the future" and I was like no way this is just a remote part of one of the islands. Boy was I wrong... that reveal at the end.. mind-blowing. Much better than I expect from a show like Pokémon.

And: they WOULD stop giving us the daily episodes right when things are getting good

sadly the twist is kinda spoiled if you already played USUM

 

[Lord Starfish]

sadly the twist is kinda spoiled if you already played USUM

I mean, the Ultra Ruin is a fairly obscure location in USUM that I'm sure quite a few people never even found, and even then, unless you go around reading the signs and/or play the music backwards, it's not necessarily obvious that it's actually Melemele Island.

 

[OnceUponATime]

Just watched this morning's episode, and Dia and Zeraora are pretty cool. I like their parallel to Ash. It feels really natural honestly. Zeraora and Guzzlord were animated really nicely in my opinion, and the sequence when Ash transcended dimensions was executed nicely in my opinion. Excited for the next episode, and excited to see a little more of shiny Tapu Koko.

Also, ending the week of episodes on this one was a good marketing decision as it will likely make people want to keep watching next week to see how this plot is resolved.

 

[Vipsoccermaster]

Great episode and buildup to the next part. Dia and Zeraora were cool characters involved. The ending, though. It's the Pokémon School in an alternate dimension, but completely abandoned. Is this what's going to happen in the modern dimension in the future, off-screen?

And yeah, way to end this episode on a cliffhanger, making us want to check back for the next episode!

 

[Trey pokes]

We are in for a treat comes next weekend! I loved this episode and admittedly wished that all ultra beast episodes could be more similar to this. Dia looks and sounds cool and my boy Zeraora, looking amazing just like in M21.

 

[Leonhart]

Satoshi and Pikachu's rematch with Kapu-Kokeko was neat, although I was much more intrigued when Satoshi got transported to the Ultra Building since that's one of my favorite places in US/UM. Dia and his Zeraora were both really cool as well, and I hadn't even realized just how massive Akuziking is until seeing this episode.

 

[BTS_fan]

This episode kinda bored me in some parts because Ash was the only cast member present and that Dia guy wasn't exactly the most interesting character we've seen. His Zeraora was the main point of interest for me since I'm a huge fan of that mythical.

 

[Soaring Pikachu]

Hm lets see, post apocalyptic pokemon. Seems kind of hard to do since only so much violence is allowed to be shown on screen. Ultra Rangers instead of Guardians? That feels ominous. A ruined pokemon school could actually mean something from a potential future but its also possible to be the distant past and the modern school could have been made to replace the destroyed one. Scientifically speaking there could be many different possibilities.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Zeraora is badass!
They changed Guzzlord's cry in the dub
It didn't explain how Ash and Pikachu got into a different dimension. Episode was meh until Dia and Zeraora showed up.