Lost Leader Strategy! (534)

[NewBrock]

I was astoundingly pleased with this dub! One of the best so far! I wonder why Lucario's dub had to be. There was barely any difference from the two besides the fact that you could hear the dubbed "luuuu" or whatever.

Lucario has been established in the US with a specific sound that you can hear in Movie 8, the Super Smash Bros game, and a very brief appearance at the beginning of Movie 10. Because of this, he needed to be dubbed, even though in these episodes he doesn't really speak.
I'm glad everyone liked my work on his grunts and growls. I paid close attention to the Japanese performance and then used the US tone for his voice. Lucario is one of my favorite Pokemon and I hope I have done right by the fans. Just like with Smash Bros, this one was a nightmare on the vocal cords, but I am very happy with the final outcome of his voice and hope you are too.

Bill

[harryheart]

I'm not sure if someone has posted this but:

In the English Dubbed version I swear Maylene sounds exactly like the VA who use to do Misty!

[Insidious_Dreamer]

People have posted and posted and posted all about this - PokemonUSA brought back one of the most awesomest voice from 4kids, Rachel Lillis, who originally did the voices for Misty and Jessie, and she did do the voice for Maylene in this ep! Long live the 4kids voice actors!!

[Pearl's Perap]

I really enjoyed this episode, which is surprising since I can't say I even slightly like Riolu/Lucario, but it was nice to see Maylene's bond with her Lucario and how it was acting with her.

Also, the battle with Reggie was a good one, can't say I really enjoy any of the random battles that Ash has anymore, but I did this one, especially since it involved Staraptor and showcased Brave Bird which looks great.

Plus, a decent showing of Swalot being, well, Swalot, who could complain?

9/10

[Torpoleon]

I liked this episode. Riolu/Lucario rock. Paul's brother is the complete opposite of Paul. Reggie is a tough trainer, but he doesn't have 7 frontire symbols...... interesting. How could Maylene hit a aura sphre?

[Igottapoo]

meh this episode was alright. Just another filler that didn't entertain me much at all.

[halloweenghost]

I think that Maylene had confidence in herself when she caught him. Her confidence took a nosedive after Paul beat her easily, and that's why she's having trouble with him.

exactly... remember it is said many times that pokemon react to how the trainer feels



anyways,.. loved the episode was great!

[Blue Snover]

I was a little disappointed, Maylene wasn't the first gym leader to lose to Paul and they didn't get depressed about it.

I'm glad she snapped herself out of it though.

[Ash-kid]

It's wired how Paul won Maylene without lose any pokemon.
Was good to see finally Staraptor. He was very cool.
So Staravia will learn from Reggie the brave bird. It's like the learning energy ball from Kenny.

[Littlemyuu]

Maylene is a good gym leader...but also sad that she lost...Paul is some odd trainer

[Deicario]

This episode was neat and Maylene was a different gym leader to the usual cliche'. I think she overreacted to what Paul said, though. And The Reggie vs. Ash match was a nice bonus too.
7.9/10.

[Ciccone]

Wow this whole time I thought Maylene was strong and then we meet her and she has issues because she lost to Paul and some other guys? It's a gym leader's job to lose :/

I liked that Rachael Lillis came back to voice Maylene!! It sounded just like Misty. Lucario seemed to be the trainer and not the Pokemon. He wanted to teach his trainer not to be so down after losing and that Maylene still had a lot of strength.

Loved that we saw Aura Sphere again, the last time we saw it was in the Lucario movie. 9/10

[KGB13]

I really enjoyed this episode. I really like Reggie and was quite impressed by his battling skills and his badge and symbol collection. It's also funny how him and Paul are complete opposites when it comes to pokemon. I was also intrigued by the role reversal between Maylene and Lucario, that was interesting. Great episode.

[Willow's Tara]

Good episode, it was nice to see Dawn bond with Maylene in that way, since both of them have lost before. I think Maylene is definitely about 12 aleast because she probably wouldn't have taken it so hard otherwise, and when getting insulted by Paul you probably shouldn't take it too hard.

It was nice to see Lucario and Aura Sphere too

[wind21]

Skipping one review, a weird filler about Pachirisu, sand, and TR robots.

Okay. Many, many things happen in this episode.

Reggie, Paul's older brother, makes his first appearance. He's a pokemon breeder, which is funny in a way, since he's a very cool and in-control guy. I better explain what I mean. My feeling is that when pokemon breeders have episodes about them, the episodes tend to be full of instances where specific pokemon knowledge is needed, as if this is the only thing pokemon breeders are good for (which is why Brock episodes tend to be pretty generic, I think). However, this episode is not like this at all. Reggie's breeder qualities are pretty much only referenced to when he offers to teach Ash's Staravia Brave Bird.

I'm not being completely fair, I realize. Reggie is not an average pokemon breeder. He's pretty experienced as a trainer, which Brock finds out when he asks Reggie whose gym badges/frontier symbols those are, displayed above the fireplace? Reggie answers those are his, with a confident smile. And yes, the small detail that suggests itself when the frontier symbols are shown turns out to be SUPER important way, way, way down the road. This is why it's easy to be paranoid about small details in pokemon episodes nowadays, since a few times they have led to whole episodes. You never know, and it's kind of fun that way. Ah! The point I wanted to make about Reggie and his gym badges is that it's obvious that he holds back against Ash in their battle, pokemon wise. Reggie wanted to give Ash a chance to win, I think, and so used pokemon that were at about the same level as what he judged Ash's pokemon to be at. This is what gym leaders have to do, as well. But where do you draw the line? When are you going to easy on a challenger and when are you going too hard? A gym leader can't just give gym badges away to unworthy opponents (or can they? Ha ha. That's an interesting episode to compare to this one.), but they can't be so hard that it's impossible for an up and coming challenger to win. I think that's sort of the crisis Maylene is in. Paul told her she was the easiest gym leader he ever faced, and she's bothered by that because winning and losing is such a big deal as a gym leader due to the influence it has on the challenger. If she's too hard on a challenger, then the challenger might just end up feeling like...Dawn is right now. This isn't the connection Dawn makes when she talks to Maylene; instead, Dawn shares her doubts about being able to make it as a coordinator, which Maylene compares with her own doubts about being a gym leader. Dawn's talk with Maylene, however, has the failing that most talks in life do: they make you feel a little better at the time and it's wonderful to speak clearly about what your problems/fears are, but the problems are still there. What talking can't fix, maybe a battle can; so Dawn offers to battle Maylene, who hesitantly accepts.

There's so much more I want to say. Actually, I really haven't said that much. So let's keep going. Okay. I think there's an interesting contrast in the way Ash and Dawn react to Maylene's troubles. Dawn wants to help right away, while Ash is willing to come back at a later time (Brock is with him on this as well). Why? I think this is another example of mature Ash vs inexperienced Dawn. I'm sure, back in the Kanto days, Ash would have stayed right there and pleaded and pleaded for Maylene to battle him on the spot. But Sinnoh Ash is more respectful and understanding; he's willing to come back at a later time. I say this with a frown, b/c of that other episode I was talking about with a different gym leader. Ash tries to fix the problem right then, and is VERY adamant about it. However, I think that's a different enough problem from this one. The blackbelts at this gym, plus Reggie, are going to help Maylene out. At that other gym, the gym leader is unchecked; he's been doing what he's been dong for awhile and there's nothing to stop him. So maybe that's why the difference. Dawn's reaction to Maylene's troubles is that this is something she understands and can help out with; in fact, I think helping Maylene out helps Dawn out as well. So Dawn tries, but I don't think she gets very far if not for Ash's help (that's more in the next episode, but a little of it here as Dawn explains to Maylene how hard Ash has worked on energy ball, getting Maylene excited).

Reggie takes advantage of his battle with Ash to try to inspire Maylene to battle Ash as well, so Paul's older brother was thinking about the gym leader's problems. But Dawn is determined to have her gym battle, and so that's where this episode ends. But Reggie's actions make me think maybe Dawn's attempts weren't entirely necessary. Although I certainly appreciate that she tried, and like her for that.

Side note: We in pearlshipping land like Dawn's comment about her contests maybe holding Ash back from achieving his dreams. I'm still, to this day, surprised she said that, and I wonder if that'll be important at all. The remark really came out of nowhere.

[Lance The Champ]

The battle between Reggie and Ash was a good one.... and it had good results for Ash especially his Staravia learning Brave Bird

[G50]

This episode was ok... It was cool to see Lucario for the 1st time. Interesting how Lucario was very upset with Maylene, makes sense since she was acting so poorly because she lost to Paul. She didn't even want to be a Gym Leader anymore, wow. It was cool to see Paul's Brother for the 1st time. He has a much different personality than Paul does. It's great to see that Staravia is learning Braves Bird, it's a real cool-looking attack. It was cool to see what a Honchkrow looks like, even though it was only in a flashback.

50/100