Review HZ132: The Revenge Match! Lucario's Challenge!!

What an epic rematch with Hawlucha with the Wrestling ring on it. On a second thought, Lucario might lose again for the second time.

If it wasn't it Mega Z ability move set showed. Now, the whole crew are preparing head to Laqua to end Laquium once and for all to stop Spinel Ambitions. But I'll knew, he will have An ace card somewhere in his pocket.

Overall rating: A
 
I said i was not hyped for this episode, but that just means I was positively surprised with how it was executed. I really had fun watching, this whole wrestling match setup with Murdock, Diana and Friede being commentators was very funny, and Lucario was actually quite cute here, he made like, purring sounds, and barked lol. The new Mega form looks quite graceful, and tbh i kind of have the vibe that it looks a little like more a mega-mega lucario, rather than a mega Lucario xD Roy telling Lucario to chill was very needed.
And Friede being unable to stop himself from eating the mochi... that was funny too.

Singaporean said:
he will have An ace card somewhere in his pocket.
Click to expand...
i hope so lolol

Oh, and I liked this shot
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kibikibi
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Murdock was born to be a ring announcer. Food puns included of course. This was a fun setup, they even used the Pokemons for visual effects and Tinkaton for the gong xD
Looks like Lucario simply had to learn the same lesson as Roy at the start of the arc - learning to relax, learning to calm his mind. I dont know if I like the resolution, but I'll forgive it, it was a really fun setup. I was sceptical on Aerial Ace - why Aerial Ace of all possible moves? - but after thinking about it, it really fits Yellow Blast. It basically regained the ability to move at light speed, but as a move. It was also used very creatively, I hope the Aerial Ace finisher is here to stay. Reminded me of Ash's Charizard with Seismic Toss. Giving signature finishers to Pokemon is always awesome!
 
I had a feeling Lucario will learn a 4th move. Happy it isn't Aura Sphere. The first Lucario that does not know that move
 
This episode was fine. I was enjoying myself until the battle, which was just kinda whatever.
Not much to say, unfortunate that we had two episodes in a row that I didn't really like.
Tbh it made me kinda question if I'm still enjoying Horizons, this is my comfort show, but at least the next episode looks better.
Which is what I said last week, but this one has mega evolving Sango sooooooooo!!!

I do want to mention three things though.
1. Love Friede biri-biri-ing, that was fun. Bro can't help himself from eating.
2. Did anyone else not realize that Lucario stopped being called Yellow Blast after Roy caught it? I just assumed it was always Yellow Blast, but this episode does spell out how that's not it's name anymore.
A bit of a shame, I like the Yellow Blast name!!
I guess I should've known since it's never called Yellow Blast post timeskip lol, my bad.
3. Tinkaton repeatedly hitting the bell was adorable!!
 
1. Why does Diana have a wrestling ring?
2. Murdock is an excellent commentator (which makes sense since his VA Kenta Miyake voiced Monsieur Pierre in XY)
3. How can Kilowattrel carry Skeledirge? The croc weighs around 720 lbs (326.5 kg)!
4. Friede doing the Mochi dance was totally fan service as there was a lot of fanart of him doing the mochi dance after Pecharunt episode air back in January.
5. I like that Lucario finally gets some focus in that it's rather impatient. Come to think of it, it never joined Roy in the relax thing when he lost to Drayton the first time.
 
I really liked the whole set up for this episode - from both Roy & Lucario to the entire wrestling arena and aesthetic.

As Roy described them, Lucario is straightforward and disciplined. They're generally rather serious, which set them apart from Skeledirge and Kilowattrel, who are both prone to emotional outbursts and shenanigans. But that ability to relax and take it easy was exactly what Lucario was missing, as they always became frustrated with their setbacks or lack of progress. I loved that Roy managed to tie it back into singing, and getting Lucario to sing with all of them as a team helped bring them closer together. This allowed Lucario to achieve a more relaxed fighting style, perfect for tapping into Mega Lucario Z. I also loved the way they animated it, as well as the aura around it. The way it moved really communicated how Lucario Z is much more one-with-the-flow than regular Lucario or Mega Lucario.

Murdock being the commentator was fun, always managing to describe the match in terms of food. Tinkaton ringing the bell and Pikachu as the referee counting them down was a good way of just involving the Pokemon in the events.

Beside all that, they confirmed that Pecharunt is indeed Poison Tera-type, so they have what they need to set their course for Raqua!
 
Watched it early this morning and it felt more or less alright. Highlights for me were Friede letting the intrusive thoughts win and eating the mochi and Murdock being a natural born commentator. Man should consider a career in that or something because I can see which side of the family Dot got the hammy presentation chops from since he was having the time of his life.
 
The Rising Volt Tacklers arrive at their destination and confirm that Pecharunt has the Poison Tera-type, so our heroes have no reason not to head to Rakua. However, the ship needs a little maintenance, buying just enough time for a bit of training (and for Botan to try to get a tour of the castle from Dot, even though she hasn't been there either; I assume she just wants an excuse to hang out, but I may be biased). Roy manages to convince his Lucario to not only relax but also sing along with him and his other Pokémon. After Ult gets in a little training with Mayonnaise and Liko's Grandmother, it's time for Roy and Mayonnaise to have their not exactly long-awaited rematch.

Mayonnaise Mega evolves his Hawlucha immediatly but this time, after a reminder to relax, Lucario can handle it even before Mega Evolving. Mega Lucario Z even learns Aerial Ace to go along with the new Mega Evolution. The combination of a new Mega Evolution and a new move allows Lucario to move fast enough that it can't be seen (which it pretty much could do already before being caught, but hasn't been seen doing between then and now). Naturally, with this newfound speed Lucario defeats Hawlucha giving Roy the victory. Having achieved his objective, Mayonnaise leaves the group to continue spreading Mega Evolution around the world, completely oblivious to the fact that there are multiple trainers who don't have keystones right there. The rest head off to Rakua to erase the Rakurim and save the world from Spinel's evil plot (which may or may not be more involved than just selling a dangerous product to make a lot of money)

If this series ends without Liko using Mega Evolution, I am going to be very confused and a bit annoyed (I also want Dot to get one, but she's not one of the official protagonists, so I can understand her sticking to the one gimmick). Mega Evolution is popular, and Liko is popular; the audience would love seeing Liko use Mega Evolution. Is this the writer's awkward attempt to balance out Liko and Roy's importance? Liko getting the main plot and Roy getting a filler role mastering Mega Evolution would make sense, but Roy gets to contribute to Liko's plotline significantly, so Liko should be able to participate in Roy's in a meaningful way. Liko first, Roy second in the Rakurim storyline, and Roy first, Liko second in the Mega Evolution storyline would be much more balanced than the current approach which leans more heavily towards the less relevant protagonist, and Liko getting less Mega Evolution-related training (as a side effect of Roy getting more Mega Evolution-related screen time) but still being able to use it at least as well (Implying Liko is more talented than Roy) would be a good opportunity for drama, giving Roy more setbacks and making him more interesting. Fans who currently resent Roy for taking away screen time from the more popular of the two protagonists could even start to cheer for the underdog Roy to surpass the destined hero Liko, even as they cheer for Liko to overcome Spinel and his plans (or whatever the RVTs have to deal with after the Rakurim is dealt with). In short, Liko + Mega Evolution is a win, even if the writers want to promote Roy more than Liko for some reason.

That rant aside, we don't seem to have much time left in the Rakurim storyline that has dominated this series, but we seem to have quite a bit of time until it is time to start the Gen 10 anime (which I'm assuming will be just barely connected enough to Winds/Waves to need those games to be out before it can start). It's hard to imagine what the Rising Volt Tacklers will even do for their last arc with their goal already accomplished. They can't spend a year on Roy mastering Mega Rayquayza can they (actually, that and Liko getting a Mega could fill a decent amount of time, but they'd still probably need some kind of major crisis to resolve while they are at it)?
 
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