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The Semifinals II: Dazzle (1212)

DarkusHeracross

Active Member
-Also Gastrodon was weak as hell ngl. Three rocks and 1 Quick Attack.
Gastrodon also was went down early in Pauls battle, all though it did do more than use Stone Edge. Dang they really werent playing when they brought back DPs director. This is the Paul vs Ash 2.0 we deserved (Sorry Trip)
 

nuzamaki90

Well-Known Member
Worst episode ever for any Dragonite fan out there. Jeez that was brutal. How the mighty have fallen.

But for everyone else, this was such a great start to a battle 15 years in the making. Cynthia was as tactically adept as expected, and her cool and collected demeanor was still there until Ash finally made her break character against Gastrodon. Spiritomb is just as much of a monster to Ash as it was to everyone else and that was a joy to watch. That Destiny Bond play? Good God Cynthia is on a whole nother level.

However that’s not to say Ash’s team didn’t put in work themselves. Gengar’s Will o Wisp play will once again play its part later in the battle which is always good, and Pikachu abusing poor Gastrodon with its own attacks is always fun to see. Of course the real star of the show was Counter Shield’s triumphant return after 12 whole years, and it’s just as cool as ever! The fanservice has no bounds and that was well appreciated.

All in all, this episode absolutely slapped and next week looks even better. I’m always gonna love Pokémon Journeys for giving us this grand slam of a match.
 

Sham

The Guardian of Ruin and Birth
It’s no looking good for Dragonites everywhere.

Ash is stupid. This reminds me when he sent out Noverin a Flying/Dragon type against Weavile.
 

Pepsi_Plunge

Dojyaaa~~aan
So far in the reception of the episode, I've seen a majority of opinions along the lines of:

"Great battle, but Dragonite sucked"
Its been a Dragonite massacre latelly, it started with Iris Dragonite and its not stopping, it kind of gives me hope that Satoshi might actually win this, since Gengar got to use the move it learned in the lab, but Dragonite's new Draco Meteor hasn't been used yet and if it doesn't battle again its not being used at all.
 

SerGoldenhandtheJust

Deluded Dreamer
This battle was so amazing!!!
First of all, I know Im VERY Annoying with this but Alola league champion whenever its mentioned just brings such a smile to my face mannnn, absolutely love hearing it
But the HIGHLIGHT was Ash actually referencing Counter Shield by name and Cynthia referencing the Sinnoh league, as well as the Offense Defense line being mentioned!!

Honestly, even though I dont like Dragonite jobbing, I dont think at the end of the day Ill change anything. It doesnt feel like "Fake tension" drama to me, Ash doesnt switch out because he wants Dragonite to wake up instead and hope it endures it, which is as valid as switching out, esp since Spiritomb can put anyone to sleep. Just because it doesnt work out doesnt mean it is 'low iq' when every player tries that during their playthrough and it worked with Sceptile
Gengar fakeout fainting I think is what annoyed me. I would have liked to see it stand up and battle once more and then lose

Pikachu though was MVP
Remember @Sham when you were disappointed it seemed Pikachu was jobbing here when it was part of the original DP squad and deserved credit againt Cynthia? Well this episode absolutely delivers that!!
First of all Diantha calling Pikachu's ace as deserved!! Pikachu IS Ash's ace and so therefore should BE the one to defeat Charizard, ty
Secondly, I like how pikachu is such a pain in the ass and also well charged and still raring to go after beating Spiritomb and Gastrodon's ass that Cynthia had to resort to a cheap Destiny Bond to get rid of Ash's ace
They are really doing a well job with respecting Pikachu as PEAKachu througout and not cheapingly weakening it for others, allowing its victory against Charizard to hold credence


I love this episode honestly!! Its in my opinion a perfect back and through and no Ash is NOT dominated throughout like people feared. Bring on next episode!!

Lots of great strategies in this battle, unfortunate that from a visual standpoint it was very standard but the Iwane episode is the hope here.
As someone who was very concerned about the animation standpoint, I think this episode really delivered!! Battle choreography was better than JN's standards but still not upto the mark as it should be to give the good writing more proper execution, that I agree on, but the animation of freaking Destiny Bond and Spiritomb throughout, Pikachu and countershield, Roserade vs Gengar and Pikachu against Stone Edge were great imo
Would love to hear your visual standpoint critique if you rewatch
 

Eevee903

You are awesome!
Gastrodon also was went down early in Pauls battle, all though it did do more than use Stone Edge. Dang they really werent playing when they brought back DPs director. This is the Paul vs Ash 2.0 we deserved (Sorry Trip)
Lol I feel you. I get major déjà-vu
 

vondecayle

Well-Known Member
When Gengar battled against Raihan it took so many hits, including effective ones, but here he went down to easily.
 
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Sham

The Guardian of Ruin and Birth
Pikachu though was MVP
Remember @Sham when you were disappointed it seemed Pikachu was jobbing here when it was part of the original DP squad and deserved credit againt Cynthia? Well this episode absolutely delivers that!!
First of all Diantha calling Pikachu's ace as deserved!! Pikachu IS Ash's ace and so therefore should BE the one to defeat Charizard, ty
Do you think he’s beating Leon? Let alone his Charizard?
 

SerGoldenhandtheJust

Deluded Dreamer
My thoughts on the performance from Ash’s side:

Dragonite: 5/10. Hard to criticize her really. Draco Meteor hit Spiritomb but sadly didn’t seem to do much, and then it went to sleep anyway. It took several attacks to bring her down though, she was quite the tank.
Dragonite DESERVES 2 wins against Leon
Gengar: 8/10. An absolute tank like always, went down after 3 attacks, one of them being Leaf Storm, the other being a super effective Sucker Punch. It still tanked it enough to launch Dazzling Gleam though. He weakened Roserade and would’ve ko’ed Spiritomb if not for the earlier battle. 2 assists for him!
Gengar has had the best pokemon glowup in-series Ive ever seen tbh, like holy
Pikachu: 9/10. One-shot the tank that is Gastrodon and defeated the weakened Spiritomb. He was a bit disappointing against Togekiss though.
I mean to be fair Pikachu flinched thanks to Air Slash + Serene Grace, so it really didnt get a chance to properly fight back until Togekiss was recalled
Ash: 8/10. Not recalling Dragonite is not a major mistake in my book, I can understand that, especially considering that he managed to wake up Sceptile in DP. Wanting to use Gengar against Spiritomb was the right decision, and he showed his smart side when he rendered Roserade useless with Will-o-Wisp and pulled out Counter Shield and the Stone Edge (?) strategy.

A battle befitting of the Alola champion :)
Thank you!!
Do you think he’s beating Leon? Let alone his Charizard?
Yesssssssss
I will die on this hill if need be
Ash is setup to beat Leon and the only one who should beat Charizard and win it all is Pikachu, no one deserves it more
 
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