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Review XY060: Aim to be the Kalos Queen! Serena Makes Her Debut!!

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Adil

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XY060 - Bulbapedia, the community-driven Pokémon encyclopedia

TV Tokyo has updated the character artwork for Serena.
img_04-2.png
 
My summary of the episode as I watched it.

Serena shows off her dress for her first Pokemon Showcase to Ash, Clemont and Bonnie in a Pokemon centre I think.

Ash and co. enter the Pokemon Showcase lobby and they meet up with Shauna.

Shauna and Serena promise eachother that they will be eachother’s rivals.

All of the contestants for the Pokemon Showcase get ready backstage.

Shauna, Jeessie and a girl with a Furfrou are rivals in one group.

Monsieur Pierre owns a Klefki that opens the doors for each contestants stage entrance.

Shana, Jessie and the other do their performances.

Shauna wins in her group and Jessie gets angry.

Serena is backstage and is pretty nervous.

Shauna then shows up to where Serena is and gives her some encouragement.

Serena and the two rivals in her group arrive on the main stage.

Dare Da? Klefki.

As Serena gets read for her performance, she has some flashbacks.

One of the flashbacks was at the Pokemon Summer Camp, when she was alone with Ash.

The other two girls in Serena’s group do their performances and now it is time for Serena’s.

Serena and her Fennekin walk along the runway and suddenly, Fennekin trips over.

Serena kneels down to see if Fennekin is alright.

Serena’s results after her performance were pretty bad, compared to the other two girls’s.

She has now been knocked out of the competition.

The other remaining contestants do some more performances.

It is now down to about 6 or so contestants, one of them being Shauna.

The winner of the Coumarine City Pokemon Showcase is Shauna.

The Pokemon Showcase is now over.

Team Rocket, who are all still in disguise are all angry, especially Jessie.

Ash and co. say goodbye to Shauna again.

Serena goes to take a walk along the streets of Coumarine with her Fennekin and Pancham.

She then stops, falls to her knees and cries.

Fennekin and Pancham try to console her.

Serena than gets an idea.

She puts her makeup bag down on the ground in front of her.

The old lady who watches the Pokemon Showcase earlier, Yashio watches Serena.

Serena pulls out some scissors and then parts of her hair start flying off.

I think Serena takes a ride with the old lady.

Serena reunites with the rest of the group.

Ash, Clemont and Bonnie all see that Serena has changed and they are all shocked.

Serena now has short hair and a new outfit.

On her outfit is the blue ribbon that Ash gave for her as a present in the last episode.

Ash says thanks you.

The episode ends.

To be continued.
 
Thats somewhat of a let down......

I predicted that she will screw up and didn't make it past the first round. And I was right. BUT!

I said she will cut her hair to signify a new start, since she screwed up which is correct. BUT!

BUT! She didn't screw up enough to make the change more..... how to say, meaningful.

I'd imagine that she fell and slammed on Fennekin making her scream in pain and spit out fire that burns something up or even hit a spectator.

Just that ribbon? Thats the reason? I do realize she cut it too long, but then thats not a big enough reason. And Fennekin is clearly at fault too, she is too careless. It has to be her fault to signify her change.

I do love the scene that she cry while hugging Pancham and Fennekin though.

And the voting process! Thats BEAUTIFUL!

That new design! *Faints* Simply ADORABLE!!!!!!

The Old Lady though is very interesting, I think we might have a recurring character coming up, and a very important one.

When she looked from the car to watch Serena, it gave me some feeling that the Old Lady sees her young self on her, and I think she will become Serena's biggest supporter.

Overall 7/10. Wasted potential.

PS: I cant wait to see the updated Opening theme.
 
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Congratulations! Serena has a new outfit! Based from the previous fanart, it's so spot on. The short hair really made her so much mature than the previous one.

I'm really sad to see her as she watchs her rival to be a champ. Oh well, at least what could I say to her is don't give up. It's just a trip, nothing really matters that much. And one more thing, focus!
 
Yeah. The melodramatic scene is breaking everyone's heart by this.
 
I have to say, it being a mere trip has it's merits. Usually we get grand misfirings of moves in these kind of ''contests'', but it being such a simple thing in front of a huge crowd..Such a faillure does feel more ''real'', as without fancy elemental powers that is how stuff usually goes south in real life.

I like the outfit. It's actually a clever way of promoting the very different looks that are possible in XY, especially just dramatically changing your hairstyle for females. It also gives her more of a daring, unique look. She IS the look, moreso then her first one. It also sets her apart more from the other traveling girls, especially Dawn.Does something close to her current outfit exist in the games?
 
The two scenes that really stood out to me were when Fennekin tripped and when Serena broke down; the different angles and music (or lack thereof) really made those scenes feel real. Especially when Fennekin tripped and everything just kind of stopped (which was jarring in a good way right after all the peppy music).

Also screw the entire audience Jessie's Pumpkaboo was the most creative thing in the entire Performance.
 
I was shocked about her change of looks, as you can't make an exact look-alike in-game anymore (the jacket/shirt/skirt combo is unavailable in the games.) I think that the outfit should be available as DLC for X and Y

On a side note, Ash, Clemont, Bonnie and Pikachu's visual "Big WHAT?" moment was pretty humorous especially since this is the first time that the Trainer customisation feature of the games appeared in-anime.

I think that Ash will have a slight design change mid-series (but not close to the end), as I think that this will cause him to be even MORE like ANYONE playing as Calem, plus it will make a double whammy, as if it happens, it will be the first series that Ash changes his looks, as well as one of his friends changing their looks
 
While I saw everything coming in this episode (totally called it in the preview thread), I still loved it.
You could tell that Serena would fail, as she had only been shown practicing her performances (the second part of the showcase) & was completely unprepared for the "catwalk" part. Or maybe it's just that Pokemon grooming wouldn't make very entertaining TV.
I did get misty-eyed during the scene at the harbour.
Some random thoughts/comments -
Jessie turned up looking fab (as usual) - no wonder Team Rocket never have any money - lol at her being a total princess (as usual) I thought Pumpkaboo looked great as well.
I saw Serena's new character artwork hours before this episode & completely missed the blue ribbon (& its significance).
 
If I didn't know any better, I would think that the crying scene was about someone dying or a devastating truth coming to light. Talk about an overreaction to being a rookie.
 
So... How do these competitions work? Did Shauna get anything by winning? A ribbon or something? Is there a Grand Festival at the end? How many of these competitions will we have? One per town?
 
PTOldMan said:
So... How do these competitions work? Did Shauna get anything by winning? A ribbon or something? Is there a Grand Festival at the end? How many of these competitions will we have? One per town?
Click to expand...

"Pokémon Showcases are performance tournaments that take place in various towns through Kalos. They are divided in two sections. The first is called the Theme Performance and can encompass activities such as making Poké Puffs, grooming Pokémon, or performing with props. The activities per theme performance depend on the specific Showcase tournament. The second section is called the General Free-Style Performance, which is the same in each Pokémon Showcase. The Pokémon Performer and their Pokémon perform together on stage, making full use of the Pokémon's capabilities. It is similar to the Performance Stage of a Pokémon Contest."

This episodes' theme performance was a grooming/performing with props activity I think? And I'm not sure, but I think Pokemon Performers are presented with a key each time they win a Showcase. And three keys from different classes allows you to compete in the Master Class for the crown to be Kalos Queen...if I inferred that right...(please, anyone, correct me if I'm wrong).

Anyway, Pokemon Showcases are a lot more fun then I thought they would be! They also aren't complete Contest rip-offs. Those special effects and the voting system were dazzling! Too bad its only for females though...:/

I really liked Jessie's design with Pumpkaboo, and was really disheartened that none of the that huge crowd voted for it. The costume really exemplified its Ghost-type attributes and was creative overall! I'm glad to see Jessie, as well as James, Meowth and even Wobbuffet, aren't ready to give up.

Shauna was really nice and I'm glad she won; the decorations she put on Bulbasaur were beautiful. However, I do wish she would stop running into the gang with a behind-the-back hello. For once, can't the gang be the ones to meet her? Or they are already together? Just a small nitpick...

Poor Serena...Fennekin messed everything up. Wait, actually they both did; that ribbon was a tad too long. It was just really sad to see that happen, all of that hard work and progress halted at one misstep. Also, everyone's faces and the lack of music added even more suspense and made the scene that much sharper. And I nearly bawled at Fennekin afterward; it was so apologetic for what happened, you could just see the disappointment in itself. So heartbreaking! And that's even before Serena started crying. Which I felt she had every right to. She basically embarrassed herself on stage (and television if this was filmed) in front of hundreds of people and her friends. A lot more pressure than losing an Appeal Round of a Contest. Thanks Pancham for being so supportive~

And the ending. Omg, I loved the ending. Serena's new confidence, new stylish outfit, resolve, haircut, everything! One of my favorite episodes of XY. Hopefully the dub keeps all the music and emotion that we saw here today.

Also, does anyone know the significance of the lady that looked eternally dull?
 
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Wow...amazing. That was seriously worth the wait. I loved every minute of this episode.

First off, I loved the beginning when Shauna and Serena shook hands as rivals. Second, I LOVE Pokemon Showcases. If they were in the games, I'd play them non-stop. There were lots of things I liked about the first round. You really have to think quickly with what they put in those little rooms to decide how you want to dress up your Pokemon. I loved the fact that the girl with the Furfrou gave hers a Pharaoh cut since it's one we hadn't see much of before and it's one of my favorites:) I liked how Bulbasaur added some props on her bulb while Shauna was paining her face. Jessie...I don't even know what she was thinking. I wasn't surprised at all that she barely got any votes. It looks like she just grabbed a bunch of stuff and threw it on Pumpkaboo. Glad that Shauna got the most votes. Also, LOVED that Heliolisk's outfit.

I thought the outfit Serena made for Fennekin was nice and I loved the flashbacks that played when she was dressing her up. The scene where Fennekin fell was jawdropping. The fact that the music stopped really added to that effect. I felt so bad for Fennekin when she started crying. I really didn't expect Serena to lose like that. I really did like how Pancham tried to comfort her.

I really loved Shauna's performance in the second round and it was great to see another of her Pokemon. The ending where Bulbasaur was balancing on its vines was awesome. I'm totally glad that she ended up winning the entire thing.

The scene on the dock was marvelous. Seeing Serena break down was one thing, but her Pokemon tearing up as well made it really powerful. And again, the flashbacks that played right before she cut her hair was great. I truly does seem like Serena has made a transformation.

Finally, I'm really liking Serena's knew look and I love how they're showing off customization from the games. There were 2 things I loved about this scene. One, Pancham an Fennekin "presenting" Serena to the others and two, Ash having his hand on Bonnie's head when she seemed upset by Serena's new look. That was cute.

Overall this was a fabulous episode. 10/10.
 
The feels were real....I'm still recovering from this e.e

The redesign is amazing

I bet what Yashio saw at the harbor reminded a bit of herself maybe? When she was a rookie? Or something else, lol..
 
It was a great episode, but I did not like how the audience essentially chose who advanced from the first round. In that case, the winner of the competition isn't necessarily who had the most skill, but rather who the audience liked best. The problem with audience voting in this case is that these Pokémon Showcases attract a certain demographic; many of the viewers would vote for a Pokémon wearing a cute-looking costume with makeup. In addition, relationship biases can come into play; Ash and co. and James/Meowth/Wobbuffet voted for Shauna and Jessie, respectively, because they are friends.

Personally I would have voted for Jessie over Shauna, simply because her design choice for Pumpkaboo was very creative and intuitive. She didn't just apply clothing and makeup to her Pokémon; she worked her way to create a theme appropriate for her Pokémon, a theme that made her performance stand out in my mind. Granted Shauna was able to do that as well, but I felt it was nowhere as great as Beast Pumpkaboo.
 
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Was it established that only the rest of the Rocket trio voted for Jessie/Pumpkaboo? If so that would really bother me, surely one other member of the audience had good taste...

And as much as I liked what we got, I was kind of hoping for something more...devastating? Like have that old woman be a judge and just totally drag Serena in front of everyone. That would have made it more dramatic.
 
I was looking through the screenshots for this episode on Filb.de, and all I can say is "Really, Serena? You're crying cause you screwed up your contest performance?". I don't mean to sound insensitive, but my point is why must almost every new female character in the series since May be forced by the writers to pursue some form of Pokémon Contests in an attempt to make them more interesting? Can't we just have another female trainer like Misty who, I don't know, is just into battling? Contests never really excited me in the games that I've played or in the anime, so always making them an aspect of the storyline is just going to keep lowering my interest in the anime. This is why I still find the original series the most enjoyable in terms of it's progression. It seemed early on like Serena was going to be a different kind of female partner for a change since there was no clear sign that she was just going to end up being another contest trainer, but alas, she did, and it would have been more interesting to me to see how far she could go not being one.

Her new look is kind of a surprise to me since I was already used to the look that she had, but obviously they wanted to incorporate X & Y's trainer customization into the anime, so I know that's why it's there. At least when Ash changes into new clothes it's always been right at the beginning of a new series, not in the middle of one.
 
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