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Review JN125: The Semifinals IV: "Impact"

Well, it was nice to finally see a battle whose result we geniunely not know. This whole series we always knew Ash was going to win and not even just because of leaks and magazines, just the presentation of the episodes alone. Here it actually felt like there were stakes for once.
I LOVE how they managed to not make it feel like a generic "Ash seems like he's about to lose at the beginning but then turns the tables and wins" thing, even though it totally is, but it felt like Ash was geniunely struggling to win and when he was surprised at the end it didn't feel pretentious or overly modest.

Anyway, that damn Togekiss... It perfectly captured what it feels like to battle a Togekiss in-game, lol.
To anyone who's mad that Cynthia lost, just a reminder that in the games she always loses to a child, and here the child has 20 years of experience unlike the games.
And I'm glad we have avoided another Alain situation. It's pretty much impossible from now on because I don't think people would mind it THAT much if Leon beat Ash, it seems like a 50/50, and Ash beating Cynthia was still a very satisfying achievement.
Geninja being like "did someone mention me?" was kind of funny imo.
 
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The TRio's joyous reaction to Ash winning was (y).

Adelon said:
He's totally going to lose to Leon, isn't he?
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My guess is on him winning after his former companions arrive to cheer for him though it's not a sure thing. Alola opened the gate to Ash not having to lose at the end of every series and I don't think the writers are concerned with power scaling anymore than they were after the Battle Frontier.
 
Adelon said:
He's totally going to lose to Leon, isn't he?
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I don’t care if he does honestly. This was the battle to see. My only problem is that it feels like even in the games, that Leon was designed to be defeated by you/the main character so it feels weird if it just doesn’t happen. He represents passing the torch for a new generation.
 
I’m not sure why it is we see Pokémon use so few moves in battle - no Draco Meteor this episode? Also pretty boring Togekiss only see Max Airstream but those things aside, it was pretty good.

Definitely the best battle in journeys for my thinking, but first reach the heights of Ash vs Paul or Ash vs Kukui.

Loved getting to see Noivern hugging Oak, though it’s very funny that some of Ash’s Pokémon don’t appear in some of these episodes due to the angle of the shots.
 
I really enjoyed the episode and personally it had me nervous and surprised a good number of times as I was one of the few that still wasn't sure Ash would win

So when Lucario and Garchomp both fell I genuinely thought it was going a tie and was asking myself What are they going to do now?!

With the Togekiss section it's interesting as I think the Max Airstream might be a game call out as heard a lot say that's the most broken Dynamax move so Cynthia was essentially using a broken game start lol. So it's interesting to see Ash and Lucario overcome the speed difference. And the dynamax portion was fun I know people make fun of it because it's appeared a bunch now but I do like the Mega vs Dynamax battles as imo it's more interesting than two Dynamax Pokemon battling
Plus nice Greninja cameo (was it a shock thing? A call back thing? An assistance thing?)

And with Lucario vs Garchomp I appreciated it was basically a power struggle as both have insane power but both have had tough battles already and weren't at full strength (appreciate acknowledging Meteor Assault did a lot to Garchomp despite the rest) so I did like that Ash had a secret Ace with Reversal

I was mixed on the moveset change as Steel Beam was a newer move and a Gen 8 one but Reversal has been Lucario’s signature move all series so I now like the change as the only other move possible to replace is Double Team which I think Ash and Lucario needed more than Steel Beam

Episode gets a 9.5/10 for me subs can change it for me


And since I seen people comparing this battle to others
I think Lucario vs Garchomp might not be better than a Infernape vs Electivire or Greninja vs Sceptile or Charizard

But I think (might have to rewatch other battles to be sure) this might be my favorite 6v6 battle in the anime
As I think other battles for example didnt have me as invested through a lot of the other battles that wasn't the ace vs ace or ace vs Pikachu but I can say here I enjoyed each of the Pokemon battles (even Dragonites and Gengar as they served different purposes and did allow others like Spiritomb to shine)


I’m leaning towards Ash losing against Leon but I genuinely don't know
 
Adelon said:
He's totally going to lose to Leon, isn't he?
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Here's what I'm predicting:

Ash loses to Leon in the finals, then a few episodes later there's a bit of a time skip and we see Ash watching the new season of the World Coronation Series on TV, and we see Leon finally lose to what turns out to be the champion of the Paldea region.

After seeing how strong this new champion is, Ash decides that his new goal is to defeat this champion and packs his bags and decides to head over to Paldea.
 
PokeMasterLA said:
Here's what I'm predicting:

Ash loses to Leon in the finals, then a few episodes later there's a bit of a time skip and we see Ash watching the new season of the World Coronation Series on TV, and we see Leon finally lose to what turns out to be the champion of the Paldea region.

After seeing how strong this new champion is, Ash decides that his new goal is to defeat this champion and packs his bags and decides to head over to Paldea.
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This would lead to the next gen just being a copy of Journeys, only with the Paldea region's Champion replacing Leon.
 
Schemer99 said:
If Ash doesn't win, I'm hoping for a tie at least. To show that Leon's status of "unbeatable" is no longer true.
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Considering Leon's storyline about how he is scared that he is too unbeatable, I think that the battle between Ash and Leon will either end in a victory for Ash, or a tie at worst. This is, of course, assuming it is not interrupted.
 
Whilst it’s nice to know that people were attached to the stakes of the battle, I unfortunately cannot say the same.

I always had a feeling Ash would win. That’s attributed down to that, if Ash lost, Lucario’s journey of strength would have been for nothing, Dragonite would bow out without a win in the finals, Gengar’s Gigantamax gimmick wouldn’t have got to shine in the finals, Ash’s goal of battling Leon wouldn’t have happened, Cynthia’s “retirement” would connect to nothing, and having Ash lose his first six-on-six of the series would be reminiscent of B&W. If Ash had lost here it would have been terrible, invalidating a lot of things that have been built up for many months.
Maybe that’s another reason I couldn’t get into the weight of the victory.
 
That Togekiss was crazy, I assumed it would go down after the powered up Aura Sphere but still kept going. Cynthia definitely made the right decision with Gmax, I really don't think Mega Evo would have helped any. Definitely a highlight.

Lucario and Garchomp was also a nice exchange of blows and a reminder both pokemon took damage previously, some really nice animated sequences and finishing with Reversal made the win really work well.

Weird no Sinnoh character cameos though. Also nice to see more child Cynthia scenes too. I kinda wish Iwane worked on this episode too but other than 1-2 questionable shots (the scene of Lucario standing trying to punch Togekiss while it was flying the first time) it looks fine. Music was great. Cynthia herself had so many cool poses.

Overall all 3 eps make one of the most memorable 6 on 6 battles of the series. I'll have to rewatch some of the older ones but this is right up there with Paul and Alan's battle. I like it a little more than Kukui's which was largely carried by the backhalf of it.
 
He finally did it. Just a day after World Ash Ketchum Day, Ash became the first person to ever defeat Champion Cynthia. I never thought I'd see the day.

Overall, the battle was decent. I feared it would just be Lucario being tossed around like a ragdoll before landing a lucky one shot. Lucario vs Togekiss was good and the battle against Garchomp was also well done. It felt more like a power struggle. Both were dealing damage to each other. You had the Dragon Claw and Bullet Punch power struggle, with Lucario getting in a few blows. It seemed like Garchomp could win until Lucario pulled out Reversal. I feel like the moment they both fell and Lucario stood up needed a little more tension though? But Ash finally did it! He became the first person in the anime to ever defeat the queen herself.

Overall, it was a good episode and a good way to end off a great battle. It was probably the best battle Journeys has given us.

Now we have to waste our time with more recaps before we can get to the moment we all waited for: Ash vs. Leon.
 
Reborn Talonflame said:
Whilst it’s nice to know that people were attached to the stakes of the battle, I unfortunately cannot say the same.

I always had a feeling Ash would win. That’s attributed down to that, if Ash lost, Lucario’s journey of strength would have been for nothing, Dragonite would bow out without a win in the finals, Gengar’s Gigantamax gimmick wouldn’t have got to shine in the finals, Ash’s goal of battling Leon wouldn’t have happened, Cynthia’s “retirement” would connect to nothing, and having Ash lose his first six-on-six of the series would be reminiscent of B&W. If Ash had lost here it would have been terrible, invalidating a lot of things that have been built up for many months.
Maybe that’s another reason I couldn’t get into the weight of the victory.
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I agree. Journeys has been building up to Ash vs. Leon since JN013. I couldn’t help but feel like Ash vs. Cynthia was just a checklist item, instead of a genuine conclusion to the DP series. We never had Ash set to fight someone in the finals of a tournament ever before, let alone very early into a series, so it just feels like the majority of PWC battles never really mattered to me. Which stings, because some battles, like Volker and Bea, have been great to watch, But at the end of the day, Ash vs. Cynthia was just one of many battles required to make Ash vs. Leon happen. I hope the finals lives up to the three year buildup at this point.
 
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