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Cynthia is clearly doing better than Ash for the strategy side, now we have only Lucario left vs Togekiss (in Dynamax state right) and Garchomp as Cynthia's last pokémon and well known to be one of the strongest, I don't think Lucario is gonna be able to handle that but we'll see.
Did not expect her to Dynamax her Togekiss. I guess she wants to set up for Garchomp since for some reason, her ace has 3 Dragon Moves and Stealth Rock, both of them not being very effective against Lucario, a problem that a single Ground move could have solved. Oh well, at least Dracovish and Sirfetch'd pulled their weight and then some. Cool to see him go out like Incineroar, truly chivalric.
Side notes, Lucario had an awesome MUDA MUDA energy going on with Bullet Punch, and Infernape imitating that with Oak dodging each and every punch was hilarious.
It was a decent follow-up to the battle, but it honestly left me a little too indifferent. Choreography and animation got better but didn't lift my excitement as much as I'd have liked considering we have Iwane and Asada working on this time.
The good:
(+) Few mistakes made, most match-ups felt dynamic and solid enough I guess. I like when the Pokemon runs and attacks at the same time, typical of Iwane I think.
The whatever:
(+-) I feel like Cynthia should've chosen Stealth Rock earlier for better use.
(+-) I think the old Stealth Rock animation was a little better. On the other hand, it was serviceable enough for Ash's strategy to work. Using Brutal Swing as Rapid Spin and clearing the field is so "Ash".
(+-) Cynthia used Milotic's Iron Head combo again; this is good, it's a very OP combo and it wouldn't make sense not to use it whenever she could
(+-) I was hoping Lucario would've a matchup against Milotic, to use what he learned from Paul's serpentine Gyarados body
(+-) I was also hoping Sirfetch'd had learned Leaf Blade from Sceptile and Bulbasaur, to use in place of Fury Cutter
(+-) Dracovish got the glory he "deserves"
(+-) I'm surprised Cynthia openly said she wants to battle Leon, I thought she only had eyes for Ash
(+-) Cinderace cheering for Lucario and Infernape getting excited almost punching Oak were nice touches
(+-) The theory about Natural Cure was right, but it wasn't clear if the InnerFocus/Steadfast theory also, which of his abilities did Lucario activate?
(+-) Surprise! Cynthia actually uses Dynamax on Togekiss (actually I was sadly spoiled). I'm not sure how to feel about this. On the one hand, I'd like to see Garchomp in its full glory, but on the other it seems like a potential pretext for Ash's victory perhaps. Anyway, amazing how Dynamax's theme song in the anime is always hyped up. Seeing Cynthia using other mechanics is also great to show how versatile she can be.
The bad:
(-) Not sure what's hapenning to Cynthia's Garchomp. She never looked menacing enough at any point in this tournament (her first entrance was heightened by the soundtrack, but that's about it). Garchomp has barely begun to fight and has already felt the pressure of a weakened Sirfetch'd. I already expected Sirf and Dvish to shine here, but this was way too much for me. I think there were a thousand and one ways they could've done better (perhaps what really bothered me was the way the scene was directed: is it really okay to do a 30-second suspense with the intact Cynthia's ace followed by a groan and a stagger to suggest the possibility that that desperate move could've been practically an OHKO?). I just noticed that Scale Shot lowers the user's defense, could that have been it? However, the move was blocked by Sirfetch'd and there were zero visual or audible references to the adverse effect, and even if it had been activated, it would increase Garchomp's speed and make her more able to dodge Meteor Assault, wouldn't it? Also why all offensive moves Garchomp has are Dragon-type? And why Cynthia chose Ryuseigan right after Ash used Meteor Assault? That was too risky IMO since it leaves Garchomp's guard open and she could also have used the MA's recharge weakness against Ash, and besides... I think she should already know how to deal with this vulnerability while using Draco Meteor after the same experience against Iris (hell, the same thing happened in this match earlier, when Dracovish did the same through Roserade's Leaf Storm :/). Anyway... Theres still one last opportunity to show this Pokémon's dominating strength though, I hope they can faithfully deliver that in the next episode as they did with Spiritomb.
I found it much less intense than the first part but I hope tension returns in full force at the conclusion of the battle to end in a higher note.
Episode 124 of Jn's did a good job in carrying the battle, it didn't feel rushed. Happy that sirfetche'd was the MVP, and looking forward to how the tides shift.
I misread the situation but I honestly thought that Garchomp and Lucario had fainted at the same time at first. I have a feeling Ash is going to win but I'm more interested in Leon vs Cynthia.
Finally got to see Satoshi get creative. I think we will see more of that in the conclusion next week. However he has a GIANT hurdle to overcome. Going to go with Mega Lucario to take out Togekiss and then going to have to fight Garchomp. Garchomp should be fatigued from SirKnights attacks but we will see.
I've never seen Stealth rock used in the anime before! That was actually kind of cool.
God Shirona is such a great trainer. Like all her pokemon have top tier abilities it's actually insane.
I love when Team Rocket roots for Satoshi though. It's so good.
I think Satoshi comes back ffrom the 2-1 deficit and beats Shirona. As Shirona rides off into the retirement sunset.
Sirfetch'd going down gave me chills. The Vishmeister had some gallant gameplay too that Milotic going to be nursing that neck for weeks.
I honestly have no idea what I'm supposed to type here.
*imitates an old man*
"Back in my day, we used to write our names fancy when they asked our signature!"
This fight has been very reminiscent of the D&P days and it keeps delivering me some tense moment despite how hard it highlighted that Cynthia wasn't going to mega evolve Garchomp.
It's been a long time since Meowth has translated what a Pokémon is saying so I liked that it was for Dracovish this time.
Sirfetch'd improvised "Rapid Spin"-like attack was such a great moment.
Garchomp not having a ground type attack is disappointing, it could have made her battle against Lucario even more exciting and challenging for him.
It's kinda odd for Cynthia not giving Garchomp any Ground moves nor coverage ones. In fact, she used Stealth Rock and 3 Dragon moves (Alain vibes here lmao). While hazards are very reliable, I don't think Garchomp was the most optimal for that role. Cynthia kinda knew it and that's why she ended up Dynamaxing Togekiss lol
-Cynthia demostrando porque es la mejor campeona de la historia de Pokémon.❤
-Los guionistas, hasta que Satoshi saco a Sirfetch'd, hicieron ver mal a nuestro protagonista todo el torneo, no solo esta batalla. Es un hecho, y no entiendo el para que.🙄
Ah, y que Cynthia ya perdió la batalla también es un hecho, la cara de Lionel cuando Cynthia iba a hacer Dynamax a Togekiss, fue de "cagaste".
kinda hard to believe that both the duck and the "dragon" did 10x more than the Kairyu/Gengar combo (those 2 were the ones that made Ash look like he was gonna be op this season), but i guess they had to give them a bit of shine .....................
that being said, they did a pretty good job with the hype moments, stuff like NegigaKnight not going down when he lost, or the Uonodragon getting mad at Roserade , and ofc let's not forget professor Oak's dodging abilites LOL
and yes, i'm sure the Togekiss Dynamax caught everyone by surprise lmao
not that i'm a fan of dinamax, but it was still a cool moment
winddevil1Sep 13, 2022 4:27 PM
favorite "new girls" from fall 2024 <3 (yeah i didn't watch much in 2025...) ... click sig for older seasons
AND CYNTHIA KEEPS ON GIVING.
WHAT A LAST BATTLE FOR THE MAIDEN OF ALL POKEMON FANS
Dynamax Togekiss is An awesome Surprise and a Nice Nod to Garchomp being far better than Mega Garchomp in COmpetetie Pokemon Battles.
Way to GO Creators, you are taking this very seriously
WOW!! This battle continues to be awesome. A full three episode bout as well means this is definitely going down as a top tier Ash battle. He sure is in a pinch right now though, with only Lucario remaining and having to face off against a dynamaxed Togekiss. I believe in you Ash!!
First time seeing Dynamax Togekiss and design was.. well, nothing. It just got bigger. Usually there are more changes in pokemon's appearance so that was kind of lazy.