DP 188 "Conclusion of Rival Battle! Satoshi VS Shinji!!" Review Thread

[Miar]

I waited for this episode to come out to sit and watch the full match. And I have to say anyone who thinks Pokémon's lost its luster needs to see this. This is the definite high point of the show (until a new one comes up at the end of BW).

In all, an excellent climax for the DP series. Easily one of the best battles ever on the show. 120%

[Crysta Blade]

Wow. The end of this rivalry hasn't hit me yet. Awww at the sunset goodbye. I hope that someday they'll battle again.

Heh, it's hard to believe it's been nearly a year since I started to like Paul. Farewell, purple jerk! May you do well in the Battle Frontier! Hoping to see you get a Brave Symbol especially! Oh, and by the way, a smile looks very good on you.

Bit of a shame regarding the lack of Soothe Bells, but I hope they'll be mentioned right before this arc ends. Maybe Ash gives one to Dawn as a memento, like the Ribbon May and Ash split?

[pikachu200]

^ Or if Pikachu gives one to Piplup! That'd be more cuter :)

[Leonardo10]

What's Ash's track record of these things?

R/B/Y era Top 16
G/S/C era Top 8
R/S/E era Top 8 again
D/P/Pt era "probably" Top 4 (Semi-finalist)

He's been getting better every region.

So going by this pattern... Ash might actually make it to the finals in BW but lose there, and finally win one in Gen 6. Then challenge the E4 and lose there. Gen 7 has him winning one, beating the E4 after then losing to the Champ. Gen 8 might have him actually be a Champion XD.

Yeah, he has, and if we go by your theory Ash may be Pokemon Champion by the end of Gen VIII or IX. Which, as exciting as it sounds, is over 10 years away :l

[Adamant]

Getting Top 8 in Johto and then Top 8 in Hoenn isn't getting better every region.

It is. In Jouto, he lost to a guy who then went on to lose later. In Houen, he just barely lost to the guy who went on to win the entire league. That's getting better.

[Piplup]

It is. In Jouto, he lost to a guy who then went on to lose later. In Houen, he just barely lost to the guy who went on to win the entire league. That's getting better.

I think the point in Hoenn was to prove that Ash could do with a brand new team as good as he could with his older experienced Pokémon
So yes, Top 8 using his new Poké only (other than Pika) is much better than Top 8 relying on his old Poké

[Silktree]

So yes, Top 8 using his new Poké only (other than Pika) is much better than Top 8 relying on his old Poké

If you follow that logic, then getting into the Top 4 in Sinnoh with reserves is barely better than Ash's previous achievement. It's fair to say that the writers don't think in such narrow terms.

[Piplup]

If you follow that logic, then getting into the Top 4 in Sinnoh with reserves is barely better than Ash's previous achievement. It's fair to say that the writers don't think in such narrow terms.

Still, Top 4 > Top 8
I think Ash doesn't have a reason to use his new team only anymore - he already proved he can do it in Hoenn... so from now on, I expect all Leagues to include his older Poké, at least in some little role...
Ash is slowly improving... you can't deny it... we can also see it in his Pokémon team every generation and in his Gym Battles

Kanto was free badges and no training, Johto was the start of real Gym Battles and Ash actually started to train his Poké, Hoenn clearly showcased Ash as more mature, DP emphasized his maturity and showed us how much he's training with Pokémon and using new ideas like Counter Shield...

I think we can expect Ash to reach the final in Isshu
I'd like to see him win, beat the E4 and then lose the Champion... then the next gen League he'll lose in the final to realize that just because he won one League (well, two if you count Orange...) doesn't mean anything and he still has a long way to go
Then in the gen after that he can win the League again and this time beat the Champion

Yes, I realize I'm talking about stuff that might happen in more than 10 years of now so it's ridiculous to even think about... but this is how I'd like to see Ash continue from now on (and after that they can choose either to stick with Ash, or give him a VERY good ending and start a new story while Ash gets a surprise appearance sometime to save the new heroes)

[Sombra29]

I think we can expect Ash to reach the final in Isshu
I'd like to see him win, beat the E4 and then lose the Champion... then the next gen League he'll lose in the final to realize that just because he won one League (well, two if you count Orange...) doesn't mean anything and he still has a long way to go.

Ash already knows this.He doesn't need to realize it.We got an entire episode of him bragging about his Orange Leage trophy were Gary had to knock him back to his senses....So...yeah,he knows he has a long way to go already.