The Ties That Bind! (271)

[Mrs. Oreo]

Damn so we saw on the PC that Gary owned Alakazam, Houndoom, Pinsir, Fearow, Kingdra, and Skarmory and yet he didn't even use them against Ash here.

I think most of those species of pokemon had shown up alot in past episodes any way, so Gary using stuff like Nidoqueen and Blastoise instead was refreshing from my perspective.

 

[Moonstardust]

I was relieved that Gary owned a Blastoise as his beginner Pokemon + the Ash and Gary as kids flashback was charming. I loved it.

 

[Wednesdayz]

These battles were improved here, however I felt Gary's character has declined since Johto. The flashback was obviously written in to explain Gary's future actions in the following episodes as foreshadowing, but I thought it was unrealistic.

 

[Leonhart]

I loved Satoshi's flashback about the Monster Ball halves even though it came out of nowhere just to boost the excitement of Satoshi versus Shigeru. The Rocket-dan's fake badge souvenir shop was amusing as well, and I chuckled when Hanako was shown taking photos during Nidoqueen's battle against Kentauros.

 

[Alloutℯ]

Nidoqueen vs. Tauros went by too fast. Magmar vs. Heracross was an awesome battle: I liked how Ash proved how strong his Pokemon really are.

 

[Leonhart]

I liked how Ash proved how strong his Pokemon really are.

What bothered me was that many of the Pokemon that he brought with him to challenge Shigeru with were ones that he hardly trained himself, which took some meaning away from his accomplishment.

 

[BulleDeChagrin]

Great start of the battle versus Gary! I loved the flashback, but I do feel a bit too much time was taken building up before the battle. This caused parts of the battle to really be rushed, like Tauros' defeat (and later Bayleef's).

I think it would've been wiser to keep Charizard a secret from the viewers, so when everyone expects Pikachu to be Ash's last Pokemon, he whips out Charizard. But oh well, it was still great!

 

[Leonhart]

but I do feel a bit too much time was taken building up before the battle. This caused parts of the battle to really be rushed, like Tauros' defeat (and later Bayleef's).

I agree that the pacing of the battle was too fast and it felt like the writers spent too much time padding out the episode by building up the drama between Satoshi and Shigeru, which they didn't need to do since we already knew that they had a fierce rivalry with each other.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Tauros got ousted quick, but Heracross is a beast!