BW103: The Isshu League Higaki Conference Gets Underway! Satoshi vs Shooty!!

I think the reason why those two weren't included is because it would be hard to give so many characters so much focus during the League. That, and because they're not Ash's Rivals.

I'm surprised at all the ''oh this is so going to be the worst league ever with this opening episode''. :/

First of all, this episode was actually very good, and I personally thought they handled the opening very well. The battles might have been rushed, but what did people honestly expect? This is the league, after all. Nearly all of the focus should be aimed at Ash, like it always has been (except for back in Hoenn where Morrison got plenty of screentime too). These battles we got to see from the others rivals were perfect. They didn't end in a second, nor did they steal up too much time. We got to see some exchanges of attacks which I thought was just fine, this isn't really their time to shine after all. Their battles should only receive proper screentime once they battle each other (which Kotetsu and Bianca are going to do) or battle Ash.

Besides, if it is that bad, we at least know that Virgil's battle will continue in the next episode, so it isn't finished yet. Maybe the other battles will too? I'm fine either way, I'm really in no need of seeing them since Ash is the main focus here. As long as they they give a fair share of screentime to the battle between Bianca and Kotetsu I'll be fine.

Well, 'nuff about that. Great episode! I'm really hyped for the league!

I don't get why they just can't ditch Bianca's annoying gag too since they ditched Stephan's. It was funny the first time 'cause of Dento asdsfsafsaga but got boring the second. Just remove it. Regardless, I was still happy to see Bianca again since it's been a while now, and the same goes for Stephan. I missed those two in the Junior Cup.

Virgil I, unlike others, actually really like. I thought his last episode was really good and I love his team of Eeveelutions. Besides, I like characters that have that slightly more mature yet happy personality, which I personally think is rather refreshing considering that Ash, Stephan and Bianca are, like Iris would've said, all kids. :P

Kotetsu I love, I mean, how can you not love the idiot? I like these kind of whacky rivals like Harley, Burgundy, Barry and Kotetsu, they're all hilarious, and since Kotetsu reminds me a lot about Barry who is my favorite character in DPnot that there are many to choose from I smile whenever I see him. He also has Riolu - my favorite Pokémon of all time. Can't wait to see him in action!

The only bad thing I'd like to point out for this episode is that Trip is Ash's first opponent. Not that I really care for him at all, but really? He was horrible, but now he's even worse than Gary, and that's saying something. Even though he obviously never would be able to get him up to Paul's standards they could've at least tried. Bleh.

Oh, and seeing the emcee jumping from the helicopter reminded me of the Olympics opening ceremony when the Queen did the same thing. I liked it. :p Shame about the torch being lit up by Jenny though, but considering that no one significant took that task upon themselves back in DP I really didn't keep my hopes up. And the lack of Goodshow is unfortunate too, but I can do without him.

Great episode overall! I'm super excited for this league now! ^.^

Nice to be writing episode reviews again. School's forced me to hold back with them as of lately, which forced me to ignore all of the great episodes that has aired lately, but I won't let that happen again.

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Originally Posted by WatcherMark

I'm guessing the writers got sick of Cabernet and Langley, since neither of them have showed up. Cabernet was shown to be collecting badges, and Langley had a Pokedex so I had imagined they'd both be turning up...

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I think it's more because of the fact that they actually are Iris and Dento's rivals to start with. Even though I also would've loved to see the both of them compete too, Ash would become their ''real'' rival. Thus they made them compete in the Junior Cup instead, where they'd still remain to be rivals of both Iris and Dento as they competed too.

EDIT: EEP. Ninja'd.

I was very surprised when everyone suddenly just figured out how to pronounce Stephan's name right. Amazing.

Overall, the opening league episode was... not bad, really. I liked the battles that took place, however brief they were. The fact that the tournament offically begins in the same episode as the "opening episode" of the league was something different.

Well, the battle I've been waiting for is now happening (you all know which one I mean). As I've said before, I really don't care that it isn't a full battle or the first round; I just want to see it conclude. I'll be looking forward to next week's episode just for that.

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Originally Posted by Chiplet

I'm surprised at all the ''oh this is so going to be the worst league ever with this opening episode''. :/

First of all, this episode was actually very good, and I personally thought they handled the opening very well. The battles might have been rushed, but what did people honestly expect? This is the league, after all. Nearly all of the focus should be aimed at Ash, like it always has been (except for back in Hoenn where Morrison got plenty of screentime too). These battles we got to see from the others rivals were perfect. They didn't end in a second, nor did they steal up too much time. We got to see some exchanges of attacks which I thought was just fine, this isn't really their time to shine after all. Their battles should only receive proper screentime once they battle each other (which Kotetsu and Bianca are going to do) or battle Ash.

Besides, if it is that bad, we at least know that Virgil's battle will continue in the next episode, so it isn't finished yet. Maybe the other battles will too? I'm fine either way, I'm really in no need of seeing them since Ash is the main focus here. As long as they they give a fair share of screentime to the battle between Bianca and Kotetsu I'll be fine.

The only bad thing I'd like to point out for this episode is that Trip is Ash's first opponent. Not that I really care for him at all, but really? He was horrible, but now he's even worse than Gary, and that's saying something. Even though he obviously never would be able to get him up to Paul's standards they could've at least tried. Bleh.

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Originally Posted by WatcherMark

I'm guessing the writers got sick of Cabernet and Langley, since neither of them have showed up. Cabernet was shown to be collecting badges, and Langley had a Pokedex so I had imagined they'd both be turning up...

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I think it's more because of the fact that they actually are Iris and Dento's rivals to start with. Even though I also would've loved to see the both of them compete too, Ash would become their ''real'' rival. Thus they made them compete in the Junior Cup instead, where they'd still remain to be rivals of both Iris and Dento as they competed too.

EDIT: EEP. Ninja'd.

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Yah, don't know why they should include Iris or Dento's rivals in the league, this is Ash's and his rivals time to shine they already got moments in that tournament in Best Wishes 2 and they got to battle with him in the Don tournament and lost to him so what'd be the point? I agree with you about Ash's/Trip's rivalry, its like Pokemon the series itself got bored of it too and wanted to end it as soon as possible, they should have just done an AG and had left him with no rival and leave him like his D/P self. Out of all of Ash's new rivals I think I like Kotetsu the best, he causes comical moments for Ash the expressions that he did when he found out Kotestu didn't sign up for the league was really priceless, can't wait for the battle bet it will be funnyXD

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Originally Posted by DynoStretch

Funny how they can do non-filler after nonfiller (or Iris episode after Iris episode) and then act like they have to rush through the tournaments.

The League is shaping to look like just another 1-on-1 Don tournament. Thanks for killing any remaining optimism I had for this series writers.

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Correct the filler part for you. And this is the preliminaries, something that always is 1vs1. In Sinnoh was worse, because they are off-screen.

Besides the terrible music this episode was quite good, i'm just not getting a league vibe though.. maybe because this feels like another junior cup and the lack of reserves helps that.

That's an episode I liked despite its fast pace. I felt bad for the Kenyan's opponent, but that's how the League works. The other battles were amazing, except for Crustle using Rock Wrecker two times in a row. I know it doesn't need to recharge like in the games, but casting one after another wasn't valid, IMO.

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Originally Posted by Chaotic Buizel

Besides the terrible music this episode was quite good

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Meh, I also dislike the most part of BW current soundtrack.

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Originally Posted by Rajagopal90

Moltres flame missing from previous seasons..

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Understandable. Moltres cannot be caught in Generation V, you have to Poke Transfer it. It wasn't in Generation II either, so the Johto League used a Ho-Oh flame instead.

I do wish that we could have seen Burgundy, given her maltreatment and the fact that she was sort of collecting badges.

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Originally Posted by AlphaMouse

I do wish that we could have seen Burgundy, given her maltreatment and the fact that she was sort of collecting badges.

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Eh, she would probably just get knocked out again in the very first round.

Given that I always get my hopes up that Cabernet might make it at least to round two and always get disappointed, it's actually kind of nice for it not to be an issue this time.

Of course I would love to see more of her, just outside of tournament settings from now on.

So, the Unova League has begun, eh. The strange thing about this is that I certainly don't feel it is another Best Wishes Tournament, but I don't know if I'm sensing a League vibe either. I'm really ambivalent towards the structure of a lack of an initial introduction episode based entirely on opening up the League and etc. On one hand, I commend BW on not doing that, because it's an intriguing change of pace on the League, and I like risk taking. On the other, I wish they had, because it does set in my mind the fact that the League is truly looming before us. The traditional status quo of that is something I was fond of, so it's difficult for me to exactly overlook the fact it's not there now.

They could've positioned Bel, Ash and the fountain better- the leap lacks a bit of realism. But that does make it slightly humorous, as well as ridiculous. Moving from one running gag to the next, oh wow, I didn't expect them to actually allow people to pronounce Kenyan's name at all in the series! That was a bit unexpected, but given the last time we saw Kenyan we had to endure the mispronunciation every few scenes, I'm not too pushed about them putting it to bed. His reaction when he realises himself is adorable, though. I wish though, if they were going to quit the gag, they should've done it the second before Kenyan leaves the show for good. It would've made the farewell slightly more poignant.

Virgil, wow. Having your brother fly you in on your helicopter is so ostentatious, especially when Ash and Co. walked from the exact same location. But, if you can, why don't you? If I was in a rescue team, I'd probably take the privileges that comes with the job too, not even going to deny it. He is a touch modest, when Iris comments praisingly (I think) about him and he seems embarrassed by it. Hes growing on me, that guy, and I didn't think he would.

Ash caring about Kotetsu's plight more than Kotetsu is really affable of him, I think. On that note, does anyone know why Kotetsu was a bit reluctant to rush down and enter? It just seemed weird that he'd camp for three days just make sure he gets in, then become hesitant. I would've expected him to rush down, even with the acknowledgement of the announcement (which has such a sweet jingle, ah).

What I love about these sort of episodes are the affairs you'd never expect- that sauna scene, even if it was a brief scene, wasn't anything I would've reckoned would crop up in this episode. Takemitsu jumping from the helicopter was such a fabulous stunt and a nice touch to the whole League. Though, I wouldn't have minded if they had two Commentators- if all those tournaments prior had one, why not the League itself?
I generally enjoyed the battles. They were thrilling enough, and showed the general power of the rivals. I really enjoyed how they didn't permit Bel, Virgil and Kotetsu to just win in this episode, even if we're probably only going to see a second montage of them winning in the next episode.
I did like the gesture to Shooti and Ash's original battle in the match-up (even though I never found appeal in their rivalry), but I would've preferred if Shooti led with another lesser seen Pokemon in his team, just to show he's confident in leading with another one, even against his rival, and the fact that Serperior has had enough screentime.

However, I am looking forward to the next episode, and not just because of the result of Ash VS Shooti's match.

Once again, Trip's Serperior has been untouchable... Come the fuck on! At least Trip loses next episode.

Apart from that it was a good episode. Kotetsu just cracked me up and Ash dragging him there was brilliant.

This episode has received a 4.2% rating. 0_0

I love Pikachu's face after that first Quick Attack missed and he slammed into the wall but then shook himself off. To me that look on his face was "Bastard, got lucky on that one..."

Seriously, ALL of Pikachu's attacks were off the mark but I love how after that Iron Tail he quickly bounced back instead of letting his tail slam into the ground and then be open to an attack from his opponent.

I am a little depressed that ONE Dragon Tail damaged it so bad though. Can't wait to see how Ash turns this around. Seriously, no doubt he's going to get the win but to do that either Static will come into effect OR he'll tell Pikachu to do a new combo move like against Latios (Volt Tail) in this case I'm thinking Electro Ball plus Iron Tail or Quick Attack...leaning toward Iron Tail though an extremely hard tail with an exploding ball on the tip of its tail to slam/explode on its opponent!

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Originally Posted by G50

This episode has received a 4.2% rating. 0_0

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While that's definitely not good, the league have never been rating powerhouses. Hell the DP league ratings were all in the 5% area save for the Tobias ep.

Still, call me crazy if you must, but I actually thought this was a better start than the DP opening ep. Didn't waste a lot of time with the opening. Didn't waste our time teasing us with old characters and pokes they have no intention of bring back. (NO! WRITERS, I HAVEN'T FORGIVEN YOU FOR GIV-NO PROMISING US CORPHISH IN THE DP LEAGUE OPENING, AND THEN PUTTING HIM BACK IN COLD STORAGE! STILL NOT COOL!)

It just brought the characters together and had em fighting. And for once, it's actually making it seems like they're not just fighting each other, but EVERYONE in the league.

What I didn't like, was how the animation was all over the place. Ash vs Trip was lovely, and Virgil's fight, despite reusing animation from Cilan's Crustle was done well.

Stephan and Bianca's were just pretty ugly to be honest.