VS Raihan! A Fight with Masters Eight on the Line!! (1198)

[Yce288]

Hey, no logic allowed! Git!

Otherwise known as inconsistent continuity.

 

[Ignition]

Finally got to watch this episode. Writing this before I head to bed so apologies for any spelling mistakes lol.

Pros:
+Really like how Raihan was portrayed. He gives off that competitive older brother vibe with the way he talks to Ash. The “Attaboy” at the end once him and Ash made one of his infamous “I’ll battle you again” promises was cute.
+Gengar got its time to shine after being called a jobber. Dragonite also went down pretty well to avoid being one.
+Masters 8 line up is mostly fine even if the cast is too predictable for my liking.
+Everything before Lucario vs Duraludon was a good fight.
+Leon sleeping in the bushes lol.
+Go, Grookey, and Cinderace cheering for Ash was cute.

Neutral points:
*I don’t know if I found the “why do you want to fight Leon?” yelling match cringe or nice. It’s cheesy but with Ash you kind of love those moments with him. Idk
*Wish we saw his past opponents and the other M8 watching the match.
*Lol @ Raihan just drilling it in that he likes weather with Goodra’s fast barrage of Rain moves

Cons:
-I’m sorry but the Lucario vs Duraludon match was awful. Especially with Duraludon just sitting there giving Lucario a free charge. Such a weak way to finish the fight. They wanted to make it emotional with it doing it for its team but where was this in the actual show?
-I’m inclined to ask this every time Raihan is relevant to a discussion: Why is his ace completely unrelated to his weather gimmick?

Overall a fine episode but, like Volkner’s episode, the ending dropped off. Hopefully the M8 picks up the slack. 7/10

 

[thor94]

is this an "Aged like milk" moment? At least it had a bigger Impact in the region that whatever Ash made in the previous ones

Yes, so big that beside two cheater kids, all alola natives forgotten the events, lol.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

Yes, so big that among all alola citizens, only two cheater kid remembered this events.

Maybe that's why the dome is fully packed with alolan people waiting to see the champion battle in the latest episode summaries

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

-I’m inclined to ask this every time Raihan is relevant to a discussion: Why is his ace completely unrelated to his weather gimmick?

I wouldn't say it's irrelevant when it can ignore sandstorm recoil just fine.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

Ig Duraldon's weather strat from the games was just bringing about Sandstorm from a G max move to boost it's defenses
It's whatever, it is meant to be Tyranitar's rival who is sandstorm heavy, and Raihans line in the games when Gigantamaxinh Duraldon mentions sandstorm
Plus wasn't that the strat Raihan used against Leon in the anime?

 

[Ignition]

I wouldn't say it's irrelevant when it can ignore sandstorm recoil just fine.

That’d be fine if he didn’t use it regardless of the weather.

Ig Duraldon's weather strat from the games was just bringing about Sandstorm from a G max move to boost it's defenses
It's whatever, it is meant to be Tyranitar's rival who is sandstorm heavy, and Raihans line in the games when Gigantamaxinh Duraldon mentions sandstorm
Plus wasn't that the strat Raihan used against Leon in the anime?

The only way it’d be able to boost its Defenses is with Max Steelspike. The only Pokémon that really benefits from Sandstorm minus the minimal buffering is his Gigalith since Rock Types get a 50% boost to their Special Defense in sand. It’s pretty much just him using Max Rockfall on Charizard (which makes sense tbf).

Idk it doesn’t bother me that much but his weather gimmick feels like a late thought especially when there are other Dragon Types that could benefit from sand like Garchomp and the Draco- fossils. Or just make Duraludon get an ability that makes use of weather like powering up its own moves or ignoring any benefits the opponent gets from it.

 

[Aryash Bajaj]

It only hurts Duraldon because now the ground type sand rush users can just outspeed and EQ it.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

That’d be fine if he didn’t use it regardless of the weather.

The only way it’d be able to boost its Defenses is with Max Steelspike. The only Pokémon that really benefits from Sandstorm minus the minimal buffering is his Gigalith since Rock Types get a 50% boost to their Special Defense in sand. It’s pretty much just him using Max Rockfall on Charizard (which makes sense tbf).

Idk it doesn’t bother me that much but his weather gimmick feels like a late thought especially when there are other Dragon Types that could benefit from sand like Garchomp and the Draco- fossils. Or just make Duraludon get an ability that makes use of weather like powering up its own moves or ignoring any benefits the opponent gets from it.

I mean in double battles Duraldon can help boost Gigalith, double battles are Raihans thing in the games anyway

 

[janejane6178]

I think that the built up for PWC was well done in this ep and prior to it.

 

[Ignition]

I mean in double battles Duraldon can help boost Gigalith, double battles are Raihans thing in the games anyway

Ohh yeah that makes sense my bad. Kind of why I wanted this battle to be a double battle since I think having a GMax Pokémon working with another Pokémon in weather would’ve been a good final test for Ash.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

Ohh yeah that makes sense my bad. Kind of why I wanted this battle to be a double battle since I think having a GMax Pokémon working with another Pokémon in weather would’ve been a good final test for Ash.

Yeah I was really disappointed it wasn't a 4v4 double battle
Way before when we knew Raihan would battle Ash someday, I headcannoned Mimey being used. It being a fairy type gives it an advantage but since it's weaker compared to other mons it doesn't really stand a chance or get any wins, but it helps boosts its allies with reflect and light screen, while the other mons then build upon this strat to survive Raihans relentless slaughter and prevail
Really disappointed PWC didn't incorporate double battles, let alone Triple battles, rotation battles, sky battles or Inverse battles
Atleast JN is giving us the battle royale again

 

[Ignition]

Yeah I was really disappointed it wasn't a 4v4 double battle
Way before when we knew Raihan would battle Ash someday, I headcannoned Mimey being used. It being a fairy type gives it an advantage but since it's weaker compared to other mons it doesn't really stand a chance or get any wins, but it helps boosts its allies with reflect and light screen, while the other mons then build upon this strat to survive Raihans relentless slaughter and prevail
Really disappointed PWC didn't incorporate double battles, let alone Triple battles, rotation battles, sky battles or Inverse battles
Atleast JN is giving us the battle royale again

I was also thinking about Mimey being a support mon too since the Battle Frontier episode! Shame we’ll most likely won’t get a Mr Rime vs Mimey fight with Leon. If Ash used reserves or had a more diverse team, it’d be a nice way to showcase these different type of battles. Personally was hoping for a Sabrina return for an Inverse Battle the most even if she’s not my favorite Kanto Gym Leader. Can’t wait for the Battle Royal though. I have confidence they’ll give the M8 the battles we’ve been wanting for years.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I was also thinking about Mimey being a support mon too since the Battle Frontier episode! Shame we’ll most likely won’t get a Mr Rime vs Mimey fight with Leon. If Ash used reserves or had a more diverse team, it’d be a nice way to showcase these different type of battles. Personally was hoping for a Sabrina return for an Inverse Battle the most even if she’s not my favorite Kanto Gym Leader. Can’t wait for the Battle Royal though. I have confidence they’ll give the M8 the battles we’ve been wanting for years.

I wish I was as optimistic as you, I only have hope for Ash vs Leon being a treat like Ash vs Kukui was, not so much the rest of the M8
Honestly it would have been cool if we got multiple formats in M8, like be creative with the brackets
Maybe have a multi battle segment? Where we can see Ash and Iris team up against Diantha and Steven or something

 

[Ignition]

I wish I was as optimistic as you, I only have hope for Ash vs Leon being a treat like Ash vs Kukui was, not so much the rest of the M8
Honestly it would have been cool if we got multiple formats in M8, like be creative with the brackets
Maybe have a multi battle segment? Where we can see Ash and Iris team up against Diantha and Steven or something

I’m trying to force myself to be at least optimistic since I haven’t been a fan of JN’s battles as a whole but want to hope we get something worthwhile for at least Ash vs Leon/Cynthia given the build up. I agree on wanting more creative bracket segments. I’d also take him challenging some of the M8 outside of the tournament if he’s not fighting all of them at once

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I’m trying to force myself to be at least optimistic since I haven’t been a fan of JN’s battles as a whole but want to hope we get something worthwhile for at least Ash vs Leon/Cynthia given the build up. I agree on wanting more creative bracket segments. I’d also take him challenging some of the M8 outside of the tournament if he’s not fighting all of them at once

Heck id settle for a brief training montage of him beating Diantha and Steven while preparing for the final match with Leon at this point lol, just to scratch that itch to see Ash beat every champion. Bonus points if Alder is involved

 

[Ignition]

Heck id settle for a brief training montage of him beating Diantha and Steven while preparing for the final match with Leon at this point lol, just to scratch that itch to see Ash beat every champion. Bonus points if Alder is involved

Would love that. Reminds me of when he was practicing for his match against Hau in Alola with Toucannon. If Alder somehow comes back, I’d imagine he’d be some comedic relief but would offer Ash some genuine advice about not losing what makes him so invested in battling.

 

[Almighty Zard]

I was also thinking about Mimey being a support mon too since the Battle Frontier episode! Shame we’ll most likely won’t get a Mr Rime vs Mimey fight with Leon's

since you brought this up, now i can't unsee it, one plays with invisible objects, the other is a dancer while copying the other...the insane imagery it creates in my head

i'm not mad at you though i think it's funny, it's just going to take a while to get out of my head.

edit: though i suppose Mr.Mime does have a secret weapon.

it's detective pikachu face.

 

[Ignition]

since you brought this up, now i can't unsee it, one plays with invisible objects, the other is a dancer while copying the other...the insane imagery it creates in my head

i'm not mad at you though i think it's funny, it's just going to take a while to get out of my head.

edit: though i suppose Mr.Mime does have a secret weapon.

it's detective pikachu face.

That’s exactly what I was thinking. Everyone’s just confused on what’s going on but Ash and Leon are fully invested in their mime vs dancer battle.

 

[RafaSceptile]

Yes, so big that beside two cheater kids, all alola natives forgotten the events, lol.

I can't ever say aged like milk anymore when this comment is already wrong since the very beginning