I actually liked the kids. Yeah yeah, I know. The getting lost at the League thing was something that should’ve never returned and I would have liked to see more of the battle, even if it was just more of Diantha getting curbstomped. But seeing the kids get so starry-eyed over Ash and look up to him and Cynthia was cute and really put into perspective how big of a deal Ash is. A signature move tied to his signature ace and signature region, he’s in the big leagues now.
The Cynthia backstory tidbits were short and sweet, I don’t think it needed to be way longer than this in the first place but if the rest of the episode that wasn’t the battle was going to be the girl getting lost….then there could’ve been more. I don’t think the egg thing was overplayed, it was a quick little connection and if anything focused on Ash and Lucario’s bond, not its similarity to Garchomp.
Rillaboom knocking out 4 of Diantha’s Pokémon was just absurd. It surviving that Fire Blast literally felt like the staff was trolling, bc no way lmaooo. I’m glad Gardevoir got to show off its strength but there’s just no way Diantha should’ve gone down that easily. I really wanted to see Tyrantrum battle, but this episode had other plans I guess. Still, Gardevoir controlling the G-Max Wildfire and combing it with Max Airstream was crazy….put some respect on Diantha. It getting pushed to that extent by AG was a devastating writing decision that’s made people underestimate Diantha, she deserves better