Weekly anime discussion - you bet your ass there's spoilers

[Doctor Oak]

A sticky topic for the discussion of the anime as it gets a new ep in Japan and America every week (although the Dub's gone nuts the last fortnight or so in schedule, including the UK seeing about 10 new eps this week alone - including 3 the US wont be seeing any time soon).

Anyways, I'll start it off this week talking about May's 4th Kanto contest and her 3rd Ribbon. After FAILING LIKE A FAILZ a fortnight ago 'cause Gonbe got its ass kicked all over the place, May goes up against a Drew Fan-girl with a Surskit and Vibrava and Jessie with James' Manene.

Jessie gets pounded by May but gives a good fight anyway - Manene using tickle and mimic to mess with Combusken.

Interestingly, Jessie's extremely mellow about her loss and actually congratulates May. At the end of the ep she and Manene are sitting on the beach at night looking up at the moon with James, Meowth and Wobbuffet hiding in the bushes behind and the pair are completely serene rather than Jessie's normal stompy "I lost" attitude.

Sceptile also proves its impotence again at the start before hiding it away in its ball for the rest of the ep - just a reminder to keep the plotpoint going until next week's interesting looking ep.

Combusken manages to learn Mega Kick in this ep, which looks HELLA weird. I mean, it's not just glowing as the Mega-attacks normally do, but's some sort of blue-shimmery thing going on. It's damn weird.

Anyways, May wins 'cause of Combusken's apparent l33tness and walks away with her 3rd ribbon - and DrewxMay fans would be happily satisfied with the ending as May blushes like mad over his compliments.

For some reason, even though it was a contest ep, the entire thing seemed a bit fillery really. Probably because it's an annoying pause between Sceptile's evolving and Sceptile's improvement in the next ep and probably also because just a fortnight ago we had another contest.

Next week's should be better. For one thing, the Battle Palace brain shows up on a Venusaur the ep before his actual battle - so he's the first since the Factory back at the start to get a 2-ep appearance. He seems to be the key to helping Sceptile regain control.

Also, for some godly unknown reason, Eevee learns Shadow Ball next week. Sure it gives it something to actually do and have a point for existing but Shadow Ball?

Also, Bonsly reappears after being locked in it's Pokeball for about 3 weeks.

 

[Linkachu]

After FAILING LIKE A FAILZ a fortnight ago 'cause Gonbe got its ass kicked all over the place...

Hey, that was a good attempt by Gonbe, not to mention a good battle overall. May lost, yeah, but she didn't get her ass kicked as bad as you make it sound

And I want my original Manene voice back! YES, I NOTICE THE DIFFERENCE! Manene... ;__;
James' reactions to it were gold. Hearts in his eyes, crying when it got hurt... I love their relationship XD

Sticking two contests so closely together did take a bit of the "oomf" away from this one. Like I said, May might've lost the last one but it was still an awesome episode. That's not to say this one didn't have its moments, tho, and Combusken learning Mega Kick like that - not to mention how they displayed it - was getting up there on the WTF-o-METER. All blue and shimmering... It looked damn sweet. Much more impressive than the animators have shown it in the past.

Sceptile still looks like a fugly bastard but the next epi preview's got me excited. It looked decently cool using Leaf Blade in the intro, too. I just hope they actually show us the purpose of that damn tail of its.

and DrewxMay fans would be happily satisfied with the ending as May blushes like mad over his compliments

I know I was ^_^

So... Battle Palace looming on the horizon, Sceptile putting the smack down... Can't wait ;D

Btw - since this is a weekly discussion I'll make a comment about the latest PAB epi aired in Canada (the Ralts epi). Very impressed and happy to see them use a new song for that episode. Having a song at all was great, but the fact that this one was completely new to the show was even better. They could've just as easily stuck in some 2BA Master tune.

After Max going on and on about returning someday to get Ralts, he better damn well stick to his word

 

[Linkachu]

Just finished watching the newest PKMN AG epi in Japan, and something tells me I would've gotten a lot more out of it if I could understand Japanese

"Charizard Chills" sprang to mind as I was watching that episode. It was nice that they seperated Pikachu from Ash and Sceptile because it gave those two a chance to bond even more than they already had. Ash also proved once again that he's one tough and reckless kid... not that the 8th movie didn't show that as plain as day.

The episode overall wasn't very action packed, which is why I know it would've been much better if I could actually understand what the characters had been saying. Might've caught the general ideas and feelings from the visuals but that's about it. Still, Sceptile finally kicking it up at the end was cool - a nice way to lead up to next week's Frontier Brain battle. The preview made it look oober sweet, too.

The Battle Palace brain seems to be the typical old, "widsom filled" bald guy, but it's all good. I quite like how the Anime displayed him, and his Venusaur was the perfect touch. Why oh why does he have to have a Claydol, tho? XP

Overall a fair episode, but it almost seemed even more filler-ish than May's contest compared to the upcoming battle next week.

 

[Doctor Oak]

I really enjoyed this week's ep. I mean, Sceptile's a fugly bastard and is always going to be but when it's in action it's easy to forget. All the awesomness that lay within Treecko and Grovyle remains, even if its body is no longer appeasing to the eye.

To me, I thought of it as a cross between Charizard Chills and Do I Hear a Ralts, it was certainly pretty emotional. I mean, when Sceptile runs off into the woods and starts bashing it's brains out on a tree - that's pretty extreme. It's not just slightly knocking it against it either, it's fully trying to smash it's own skull out of frustration. I can't help but feel that will somehow be cut down when 4Kids get to it.

There were moments in it where you could almost see the early Charizard beginning to bubble up in Sceptile. On a good couple of occassions you were left wondering "Is Sceptile gonna give Ash a smack now?" but I was glad to see that instead of going down that route, they just worked on the bond between Ash and Sceptile.

One thing I should point out that PISSED ME OFF to no end was at the start, when May's Eevee randomly learns and uses Shadow Ball perfectly out of no-where after LITTERALLY doing nothing since it hatched. If ever any further proof was needed that May keeps a Gameshark in her pockets that's it.

Otherwise the ep was great. Fantastic plot, great use of emotion, fantastic music (including a brand new vocal piece, I believe AND the first inclusion of the Advance Adventure instrumental since before before the BF started) and Sceptile kicked all kinds of ass at the end when it finally regained control of it's attacks. If we thought Grovyle was kick-ass enough, Sceptile's even better - just a bit more fugly.

In next week's ep, it seems Heracross comes back to take on whatever the Battle Palace Dude's name is (I so should finish Emerald at some point) and his Venusaur, Shiftry and ugh... Claydol. Ash is using Swellow, Sceptile and Heracross - which is a bit of a problem really as up until now the Pokemon being brought in specifically for the Frontier Fights have had all the glory in those battles, but somehow it's going to have to be evenly distributed between Heracross (Who hasn't done anything since the Silver Conference - and let's face it, pretty much nothing for most of Johto before that too) and Sceptile.

It looks like it'll be an interesting enough battle, even if the opponents are all either bleargh or are Venusaur - who recently appeared in a Contest ep using Frenzy Plant anyways.

 

[Linkachu]

I mean, when Sceptile runs off into the woods and starts bashing it's brains out on a tree - that's pretty extreme. It's not just slightly knocking it against it either, it's fully trying to smash it's own skull out of frustration. I can't help but feel that will somehow be cut down when 4Kids get to it.

That scene really stuck me hard, too. I was almost surprised that the animators showed the marks on Sceptile's head getting worse and worse the more it smashed itself. I hope the dubbers don't edit anything (will it even be 4Kids by that point?) but I wouldn't put it past them.

(including a brand new vocal piece, I believe AND the first inclusion of the Advance Adventure instrumental since before before the BF started)

Actually, it was one of the earlier ending themes: "Boku no Best Friend e", or translated "To My Best Friend". I really wish I knew what the Palace Brain, or Spenser (not sure of his Japanese name), had been saying during that scene, because even if the dub gets the same general message across it'll downsize it somehow. If anything, they'll probably replace the song with some random BG music

Okay, so I'm doing quite a bit of dub bashing right now... I guess it's heighted because I just saw the first part of the 8th Gym battle dub and didn't feel nearly as excited during it as I had watching the Japanese raw. Not sure if it was the dubbing or just the fact that I already knew what to expect. Either way, looking forward to the second half next weekend.

just a bit more fugly

*Coughs* Try A LOT more fugly. Coolness due to the badass Treecko/Grovyle persona and the ability to kick ass is all Scpetile has going for it XP

 

[Doctor Oak]

This week's AG ends up in a battle of Fugly vs Fugly as Sceptile and Claydol scrag it out to Ash his (Speed Symbol? Not sure, sounded like it but never done the Frontier so have no clue).

Heracross is brought back and puts up a good fight against Venusaur but is clobbered by a Solar Beam. Pretty pointless return really.

Overall the ep was great. The twist in this battle was that the arena was the entire island, although they didn't really use as much of this as they could - two attacks in they were already tearing off into the jungle from the actual battlefield and they stayed there until Heracross was knocked out - although they did make fair use of the jungle and a clearing in it with a waterfall in the Sceptile vs Shiftry opening battle. Ash used Swellow to draw Venusaur out into the open on a beach and the rest of the battle takes place there - probably for the benefit of Claydol more than anything else.

They did some interesting work over Solar Beam in this ep. First Vensaur gets it going pretty much without problem (unless you count Heracross' Megahorn a problem, even though it didn't stop it) and KOs Heracross but as it takes on Swellow clouds fall over the Sun and Venusaur stops charging up - letting Swellow KO it.

Later we see Sceptile, battered and pretty much done for against Claydol, have those little yellow blobs on its back glow until clouds again fall over the Sun and it begins to rain.

The rain thing was stupid as its the shortest rain shower i've ever seen but as soon as the clouds part again the BF theme jumps in and Ash slowly realises (thanks to a flashback to Venusaur) what Sceptile's up to.

Needless to say, the Solar Beam finishes Claydol but not before Sceptile has to dodge Claydol's attack.

On the subject of music, it was great overall. Only one instance annoyed me and that was the Claydol vs Swellow music which was just dull, slow and drab. All the rest was fantastic - although the Advance Adventure instrumental does feel odd when used for Sceptile's knocking out of Shiftry because of it being so early on. Also as the Claydol/Sceptile battle begins there seems to be an update of an old "ohnoes!" theme which sounds just awesome.

And speaking of battle themes, there appears to be an instance of the G/S Battle theme, the R/S Battle theme and the Elite Battle theme all thrown in there too - which just makes it sound even more great.

Overall fantastic ep.

Next week sees Bonsly and Manene shipping like no other Pokemon ship. And also sees Pikachu and Meowth shipping too 'cause it's a Pokemon Centric ep. Which are always great. ^^

 

[Linkachu]

I must admit, while I am a Heracross fan and was happy to see it return, it was rather pointless considering that it didn't really make an impact. For a battle that was obviously based around Sceptile it probably wasn't worth having a return appearence like that in the first place. Even Swellow's bit felt fairly downsized compared to Sceptile's awesomeness, but it was still a sweet battle overall.

The array of music they used throughout that episode was great, especially the stuff from pre-Hoenn. Battle Frontier really hit the spot at the end. Watching a Pokemon learn a new attack is always fun (aka. Solar Beam), and it gives a bit of purpose to those silly bulbs on Sceptile's back ^^

I personally thought the rain storm was a nice touch, but in retrospective it was a bit too quick. Stranger stuff has happened in that series, tho. To tell you the truth, I was more expecting Sceptile to use Synthesis, then Solar Beam. Guess in the end it wasn't necessary.

So another awesome battle down, two more to go? The next contest episode sounds like it's gonna be funny/interesting, too. But those can wait. Bring on the cuteness of next weeks epi! XD

 

[Linkachu]

Heh... Neither of us comment on last week's episode. I guess aside from being cute and funny by times it wasn't that eventful, but meh. Good epi overall ^^

Now, what can I say about this week's?

The new intro was definitely the best part about it for me. Its song has yet to grab my attention the way "Battle Frontier" did but I wouldn't say it's a bad song. The way the tune changes during the Sceptile vs Aerodactyl animation sounds awkward, though I have a hunch the transition will seem much smoother in the extended version.

On the other hand, the animation for the intro rocks out loud. I'm a nostalgic git, so anything that flashs back to all of Ash's previous Pokemon hits me hard - and the opening of the intro is just so bloody cool. I also like the extra attention given to Butterfree, with his 'manly' ribbon ^^, and Pidgeot considering that neither returned after leaving and, at least in Butterfree's case, never will. Primeape didn't receive the same treatment but it doesn't deserve it nearly as much anyways.

Moving on to the actual episode... I'm starting to see a Sceptile overload happening here. Considering that it's Ash's first 3rd-stager since Kanto, tho, it's understandable. Sceptile's speed and jumping abilities are putting Grovyle to shame, too. Damn that thing can jump! O_O

Something that gets me is why Sceptile had such a tough time taking out that Scizor while May's Squirtle beat it in a few attacks. Guess you could say Ash softened it up for May, but meh

Dub time.
Last week on YTV was the Lioone episode, and this week was Mirage Island/Wynaut. Crossing my fingers that Canada doesn't skip May's Pacificlog contest. If by some chance it does, tho, I have backup ^^

The Wynaut episode had its moments, but overall I enjoyed the Lioone one a lot more. Humor, a kickass twin-thunder bolt attack, Trainer-Pokemon bonding... Lioone is a freakin' cute Pokemon animated, too. The dub voice for Wynaut does pwn everything, though. If it hadn't been for that I probably wouldn't like the silly creature as much as I do

 

[Linkachu]

Okay, now I'm triple posting, but I can't help it if nobody else is replying

Just finished watching the newest AG episode in Japan and I have one big question: why the heck didn't Ash use Sceptile? Wouldn't that have been the smartest choice considering that speed is a major asset when battling Psychics? It doesn't look like he's changing his line-up for the next episode, either.
Unless there's reason to believe otherwise, I'm going to assume it's the fault of the writers for overusing Sceptile lately, under using Corphish, and wanting to fit in yet another older-Poke cameo. Seems like they're trying to yet again show off Ash and Pika's bond, too. The things Ash'll do for that critter... It's hard not to respect the reckless fool at times ^^;

Okay, so one more question - one people might actually be able to answer. What exactly is the kind of influence the Tower brain (forget her name) had over Pokemon? Is she psychic, or does she have some special ability to understand the feelings of Pokemon and communicate to them in ways most people can't? Maybe it's nothing overly special at all and she's just close to Pokemon... Interesting either way. Anyone know for sure?

 

[Linkachu]

... Kay. This is my... fourth in a row, but eh. I'm finally watching the Japanese anime again. Wii.

So, let's see what we've got here. May's Combusken evolved, giving us one sweet Contest match between May and Ash. And they tied. Didn't see that one coming
May and Max finally left (*hears distant cheering*), and while Brock split ways too he's returned with new clothes. Yay.

There was no new D/P intro, which I was disappointed about (though had been told so in advance), and the first episode focused almost entirely on Hikari. This was actually a really good thing. While she seems to be a May filler with her Contest-obsessed-ness, she's obviously not May in personality and attitude. For one thing, she seems to know what she's doing. What was May's excuse? Her dad was a freakin' Gym leader!

Our first glimpses of the new starters showed us a trickster Hikozaru, a Pochama who had issues, and an oblivious Naetle (food is good). I was expecting Pochama to be a lot more docile, so seeing it pissy actually made me happy. Docile Pokemon are boring, and this gives Pochama a bit of character. By the end of the first episode I had no qualms with Hikari choosing it. Looks like it's going to turn out to be a really great and loyal Pokemon. Not to mention it's pretty damn cute ^^;

Mukkuru looked cuter than ever, and Mukuhawk was damn sweet looking. Still not sure whether I'd like it more with that razor-like head feather or without, though. All the new Pokemon looked really good actually. Bippa were more cuddly than I'd previously thought ^__^

So, moving on... Ash finally shows up, gets separated from Pikachu due to TR, yatta yatta... Hikari finds Pikachu (good way to get the characters together), and in between that and meeting up Ash finds Brock sporting his new getup AND catches his first Shino Pokemon. I've never seen Ash's Aipom battle before, so it was actually a nice treat. I've never been a big fan of Aipom but I'm starting to like it a lot more... Anyways, the catch of Mukkuru felt more like Pidgeotto's catch than Taillow's. Very quick.

Oh, yeah. Ash leaving all his other Hoenn Pokemon behind and going with just Pikachu and Aipom. GOOD move on their parts. After a full season and spin-off, it's time that he makes another fresh start. Keeping Aipom along also saves us from another Phanpy (a new Pokemon that gets shoved away shortly after and never seen again for yonks).

So.. Hikari and Ash meet, Ash and Pikachu are reunited (*Ash/Pika fans rejoice*), and there's more TR battling. I forgot to mention James finding Maskippa at one of his various mansions in the middle of nowhere. How long was that freakin' Pokemon in the ball!? O.o And lol at TR blowing up themselves with Wob's Counter.

K, pushing that aside, we finally get to the Shinji battle. Shinji is the resident badass. Beating Ash in a Mukkuru vs Mukkuru battle was just the way to spark a rivalry, but I'm glad Aipom won out as top monkey. Then there's Shinji's Elekid... The Pikachu rival. I'm actually annoyed that they only tied. That's TWO Pokemon from that line in just a short time that Pikachu hasn't been able to beat. But meh. Builds tension. If Ash had won overall, it wouldn't have the same 'oomph'. Oh, and Shinji releasing the Mukkuru at the end of the match? Total slap in Ash's face. I loved it.

One thing's for certain, D/P has AWESOME music. And the new ending wasn't bad either. Already it seems better than Hoenn starting out... I wonder... could it be because... NO MAX? Nah, that can't be it...

 

[Viper1]

You know I think Jessy should give Seviper another chance at winning a contes. After all she was saying attacks that Seviper doesnt even know. Like Blaze kick. What the flip is wrong with her Seviper doesnt even have feet.Can Seviper even learn Water pulse. and what is Sacred fire? What im saying is it's not Sevipers foult that they lost the contest.

 

[Linkachu]

Wow... For once I'm not triple + posting in this topic :O

Just saw the latest DP episode in Japan, and I'm finding myself liking Pochama more and more. I loved its outwardly "take charge" attitude in that epispde, and the way it kept proudly hitting its chest - then getting its ass kicked XD
But it kept on trying! Now that's a quality I like in a Pokemon. Even mananged to master its contest trick.

And is it just me, or have these latest DP episodes had awesome pictures? I mean, I'm sitting there watching it thinking "I need that scene! And that scene! ... AND THAT ONE! I NEED THEM ALL!" (Sorry. In an AniDex-mindset now when watching episodes) Golduck and Pochama were just so funny. Even TR got some great shots.

I really, really hope DP keeps on like this, because so far it's really great. The writers seem to be putting more effort into the episodes.

Or maybe it's still simply the lack of Max

 

[Viper1]

Where do u find these Japanese animes?

 

[Persian]

I'm assuming YouTube, or some other video-viewing site. Either that or downloads from somewhere. I heard YouTube had all the DP episodes at some point, but they got deleted (so people could have seen them there before they were deleted).

...Link, you pirate! X3 ARRR!

 

[Linkachu]

I'm assuming YouTube, or some other video-viewing site. Either that or downloads from somewhere. I heard YouTube had all the DP episodes at some point, but they got deleted (so people could have seen them there before they were deleted).

...Link, you pirate! X3 ARRR!

Arrr! ... I mean, pirate? Where? *Hides hat and patch* >>

And you're right, in the past you may have found them all on YouTube. Now people are being urged to take them off because of legal reasons. Teh sucks, but I didn't use YouTube to watch 'em anyhoo.

Oh, right. Just watched "Numero Uno Articuno!" (sp) on YTV (man we're behind). Now I feel less annoyed at the Anime's take on the Battle Factory. Even if it wasn't all rental Pokemon like it should've been, at least it did something different and allowed Ashy to pick his opponent.
Speaking of YTV... I don't know why, but it skipped over the episode where Misty traveled with the group. Halloween specials were on all Saturday last week, so either they didn't take this into consideration or the episode was actually aired at a different time... and I just missed it -.-

Next episode is sure to be cool. Charizard vs Articuno in an official battle. Has "awesome" written all over it >=)

 

[David Da Bomb]

Man, that episode "What I Did For Love" was pretty good. My favorite parts were seeing the expressions on Ash, Max, May, Pikachu and Bonsly's faces when Brock enter the Pokemon Contest and when Brock couldn't be that woman Pokemon Breeder whose name I don't recall student at the end of the episode.

"I don't care about training. I WANT ROMANCE!"

And I don't get why Mime Jr. had to spend "Curbing the Crimson Tide" locked up in its Poke-Ball. The Team Rocket Motto wasn't the same with out it. :'(

 

[Linkachu]

I liked that episode when I saw it in Japanese. Everyone called May "cheap" for winning XD

Here, YTV just aired the King Onix episode... which is odd, since I've already seen it on YTV yet can't remember which time slot I saw it in o.o

I'm crossing my fingers that we get Battle Frontier in a few weeks time. I bet the announcement is out there somewhere, I just haven't looked for it. Although... can't say I'm looking forward to hearing that new intro every weekend >>

 

[Doctor Oak]

I liked that episode when I saw it in Japanese. Everyone called May "cheap" for winning XD

It was cheap. Brock was kicking her ass and then all of a sudden May wins by doing....

The exact same things that were letting Brock kick her ass.

Wha?

 

[Linkachu]

It was more or less the ultimate slap in the face for Brock. Fan favourite gets beat by May's "lucky break". Oh the shame :*(

But, honestly, it's still not that surprising for me because there are tons of cheap fights in that show. I can't even count the amount of times Ash was getting his ass kicked, then pulled out ONE powerful attack to steal the win.

People only let Ash get away with it because he's "the hero". Well, hate to tell ya, but May was the same deal when it came to contests - whether you liked it or not

 

[David Da Bomb]

Have you guys heard that Pokemon Battle Frontier will be airing in place of Advanced Battle this Monday? I just knew this would happen ;D! Diamond and Pearl for the U.S. must be getting closer to being finished, otherwise things in the anime wouldn't need any speeding up.

 

[Linkachu]

I hadn't heard, but I don't keep track of CN news since I don't get it ^^;

YTV aired "Roughn Tough Jigglypuff" (think that was the title) this past Saturday, and man - that thing was EVIL. That laugh! "Jig jig jig jig jig..." And the Flamethrower-ing. Freakin demon Jigglypuff =O

Must be getting close to the end of Advanced Battle now, and I can't find any news about Battle Frontier starting up on YTV (this time I actually looked for the news yet couldn't manage to track anything down). Guess time will tell.

 

[Doctor Oak]

It was more or less the ultimate slap in the face for Brock. Fan favourite gets beat by May's "lucky break". Oh the shame :*(

But, honestly, it's still not that surprising for me because there are tons of cheap fights in that show. I can't even count the amount of times Ash was getting his ass kicked, then pulled out ONE powerful attack to steal the win.

People only let Ash get away with it because he's "the hero". Well, hate to tell ya, but May was the same deal when it came to contests - whether you liked it or not

That doesn't mean you get to be completely and utterly lazy and just write in the script "May wins".

It's not as if May suddenly pulled out a powerful attack or some super hax strategy like you'd normally see - she just carried on doing the same crap with Eevee that was letting Brock walk all over her and all of a sudden won. Such a lame end to the battle.

 

[David Da Bomb]

Turns out what I said earlier was a mistake. Cartoon Network still has Advanced Battle. Battle Frontier is actually airing at 8PM Mon-Thur (Advanced Battle is at 5 PM).

As for the episode I just saw, I thought that rematch'd battle with Anabel was neat. Weird how her Espeon had Zap Cannon. Unless you consider that Zap Cannon was TM move in G/S/C.

 

[Viper1]

Anime lineup Monday through Thursday:

(5:00 to 5:30) Pokemon Advance battle

(5:30 to 6:00) Pokemon Chronicles

(8:00 to 8:30) Pokemon Battle Frontier - new episodes

4 anyone who did'nt know.

 

[David Da Bomb]

Ugh! The only new episode that I saw last week was "Slaking Kong". Now I have to wait until Saturday of this week to see Brock's Steelix and the Saturday after that to see Ash's first battle against Brandon.

As for the news about Hikari's new rival, why'd they have to make up a new character instead using Koki or Jun? Its bad enough that Silver (the rival character of G/S/C) Brendon didn't get any signifigant roles in the anime. I hope Jun and Koki get something more than camoes in a "History of Pokemon" segment of a movie.

 

[Linkachu]

I don't think they ever planned for all of the characters to get 'significant' roles in the show, and that doesn't really bother me. It's fun seeing them make cameo appearances, but overloading the Anime with 'em isn't really needed. I'd rather see brand new characters because they can develop 'em however they want... and it makes the show feel a tiny bit less cash cow-ish. That said, Shinji is without a doubt Silver 2, even if it's not the same character model. Guess they figured a rival like that would work better than the actual one in DP (who I hear is rather annoying anyways).

But I am biased. I happen to like this new girl - in personality, design, and the way she dresses for contests. Reminds me a lot of a character from another Anime I watch (ie. Utena) ^^

One thing that's bugging me, though, is the fact that Ash is the one battling her in the next episode preview. Yeah, Ash did battle Drew at one point, but this is Hikari's story arc! Why's he trending on her already, especially within an actual contest? XD

I can only make guesses at what's going to go down in that next episode, though. Seeing Ash battling that girl and Hikari looking depressed kinda gives you the feeling that Hikari loses and Ash makes it into the final round, but maybe I'm wrong. We'll see for sure next week.

And now on a totally different note... YTV just aired "Sitting Psyduck", which was a cute episode but nothing special. How many more episodes are left until it finally hits the Battle Frontier season?

 

[Linkachu]

To prevent my last post from turning uber long, I'll just bump the topic...

Alright, I think I've learned my lesson. Episode previews can be deceiving. The preview focused on Ash battling Nozomi for whatever reason (probably because he is, after all, our Pokemon poster boy), but in the end he ended up losing to her, thus allowing the much anticipated Hikari vs Nozomi battle to happen. Hikari still lost, though, which isn't such a bad thing. It'll give her greater drive to work harder for the next contest.

I find it amusing that Jessie made it to the final round. Maybe she was borrowing James' Pokemon, but that's not outwardly cheating. Good for her =)

The next two episodes looking interesting enough. I'm not placing any bets, aside from Ash's Mukkuru evolving. Bonsly may have been glowing too, but that doesn't necessarily mean it won't cancel the evo ala Bulbasaur (we didn't actually see it changing like Mukkuru). And that Pidgeot... while it'd be awesome if it was Ash's, chances are it's someone else's. But again... we shall see, won't we?

 

[David Da Bomb]

It's a good thing that Mukkuru is going finally to get some attention. I was starting to doubt that Mukkuru was going to live up to Taillow/Swellow's reputation.

 

[RLRL]

Im not too fussed about Mukuru really, I'm kinda sick with the repetitveness of Ash's teams in the past 2 regions... Why oh why have they twice in a row had ash get a grass starter and the first flying type that appears in the game... Its just so standard and boring... At least we have an aipom evolution to look forward to.. =)
Oh but if I see Pikachu lose to another elekid I will personally shoot the writers...

 

[Linkachu]

Im not too fussed about Mukuru really, I'm kinda sick with the repetitveness of Ash's teams in the past 2 regions... Why oh why have they twice in a row had ash get a grass starter and the first flying type that appears in the game... Its just so standard and boring...

You make it sound like that sort of repetition hasn't been part of the show since Johto on

In my eyes, the main reason Ash got a Naetle verses Hikozaru was because they wanted to make it feel more like the games (ie. rival picks the starter strong against yours). Pochama is the most girly of the three, so it was definitely going to Hikari. That only left Naetle if they wanted Ash to have the weakness to Shinji's Pokemon, and I couldn't really see them not giving him one of the starters at all. It's promotional if anything.

 

[David Da Bomb]

In my eyes, the main reason Ash got a Naetle verses Hikozaru was because they wanted to make it feel more like the games (ie. rival picks the starter strong against yours). Pochama is the most girly of the three, so it was definitely going to Hikari. That only left Naetle if they wanted Ash to have the weakness to Shinji's Pokemon, and I couldn't really see them not giving him one of the starters at all. It's promotional if anything.

If that's so, why not have Ash have a Hikozaru and have Shinji have Naetle instead?

 

[Linkachu]

"That only left Naetle if they wanted Ash to have the weakness to Shinji's Pokemon..."

>>

If someone wanted to be really annoying they could point out that Naetle evolves into a Grass/Ground-type - giving it a bit of an edge against Goukazaru - but that's waaaay in the future. Right now, if they want Ash to have a weakness to Shinji's starter, he has to be the one with Naetle. As I said, Pochama going to Hikari was a given, since its the "cutesy one".

In the case that you were targeting my "promotional" comment there, that was simply to point out why the starters will always be directly involved with the show. It doesn't change the fact that they wanted to make Ash have the weaker starter to his newfound rival.

 

[RLRL]

At least unlike in Johto and Kanto Ash doesn't have all 3 starters... Still I'd like to see Ash catching a lot more pokémon in this region... and I'd love for him to get a Megayanma as it would actually be awesome to see... Maybe he could replace Mukkuru with it... =D

 

[Linkachu]

A bit too much wishful thinking there - and btw, you just lost

Mukkuru will be no more very soon, and Mukuhawk is a fairly cool Pokemon, so if it does hit its final evo sooner than later I'll have no complaints ^^

Heh... I'm interested to see exactly what he catches, and how many of them will be Sinnoh exclusives. If he gets a Fire-type this gen, a number of people are banking on either Ponyta or Magby, which would evolve through to Booburn. Speaking of evolving, that's something I hope Sinnoh emulates from the Hoenn saga. Lots of fully evolved Pokemon, or at least partially evolved. From the looks of things, though, I don't think we have much to worry about

 

[David Da Bomb]

I was actually thinking that Ash would catch a Bug-type (Garmeil or Korotok).

 

[Linkachu]

Someone is likely to catch a bug, but I can very well see it being Hikari. Beequeen would probably be a good candidate for contests.

Anyways, watched the two new episodes yesterday. Two evolutions in a row! The only thing that could make that better is by having Pochama suddenly evolve next episode Speaking of which, did anyone else notice the lack of its presence? It wasn't until the credits that it hit me.

The Mukkuru episode was nice, but it almost felt forced to me. Mukkuru basically had no development previously, then WHAM - it gets the central Pokemon role AND evolves. I hope that means it'll get more attention from here on in because so far I view it as one of Ash's most characterless Pokemon, not to mention the worst of his starter birds.

As for the second episode... I really enjoyed that one. By the end of it, I was waiting for the Nuzleaf to cling to Sudowoodo and convince Brock to take it with them. Sudowoodo looks like it's going to have quite a personality, too. Brock's first decent Rock-type since Onix ^^

At this point, I can't wait to see the updated intro animations with Mukubird and Sudowoodo ;D ... Which sorta makes this month long hiatus for the Japanese anime suck even more :*(

 

[David Da Bomb]

Well, I finally saw "Battling the Enemy Within". It was odd that Regirock's voice was done differently than in "Lucario and the Mystery of Mew".

 

[Linkachu]

Was it a dubbed Regirock voice possibly? I haven't seen the episode to be able to tell myself. I loved their voices in the 8th movie, though ^^

 

[RLRL]

I'm glad that Mukuru has now evolved... REALLY glad.... Oh and damn you linkachu, you lose too when you read this!

It always seems to be the way in the anime that several pokémon evolve around the same time, I can't see pochama evolving just yet, however I can see Hikari catching something in the near future.

I also think its very likely that Ash catches a new bug type as shinou is pretty full of them really, I want to see a water type too, especially Keikouo and Neorantu as they despite being water types have mostly bug moves making them more interesting. Then again... I'd love for Ash to get a Mirakuge, that would be amazing! =)

 

[David Da Bomb]

Then again... I'd love for Ash to get a Mirakuge, that would be amazing! =)

Yeah! Ash never caught a Ghost-type [size=4pt]Ash's Haunter doesn't count.[/size]

And pardon me for being rude but: [size=15pt]I WANT TO SEE SHINJI'S MURKROW!![/size]