The Semi-Final Frontier! (657)

[Jiggy]

Sceptile only activated it in Blaziken vs Sceptile if i remember well.

It was also activated during the battle with Norman back in its Grovyle days.

[Bubblewrap]

I've got a French Translation, and I know French far better than I know Japanese, so if anybody was curious, the ending conversation went something like this:

Dawn: Ash!
Ash: Dawn!
Dawn: It's finally finished
Ash: Yeah
Dawn: We've gone a long way to get here.
Dawn: This will make great memories.
Brock: No!
Brock: The journeys are not over yet
Brock: Our journey is just beginning!
Ash: Yes! It's just the beginning, to become the Pokemon Master!
Dawn: Yes! I will also do my best to become Top Co-ordinator!
Dawn: With you, Piplup!
Brock (in head): Ash.. Dawn.. You must not lose sight of your goals.
But me.. What shall I do?

Barry then comes in and tells Ash that he has become stronger, that one day he'll become stronger and come back and 'thrash' him. Then he ran off saying 'See ya!'.

[shac]

It activates he doesnt really use it and seems they only remembered he had that one time and been reserving it to Infernape only(the starter ability), Torterra line didnt use it one time during the whole region also.

Sceptile only activated it in Blaziken vs Sceptile if i remember well.

It kinda felt like special abilities and recoil-damage stuff were exclusive only to Ash vs Paul battles. Pikachu did not get recoil animation from volt-tackle either. And Sceptile was obviously in 'overgrow' zone.

[Aquadon]

So for all of those complaining about the Legendary Pokemon under Takuto's control: Well, aren't there so many multiples of Legendaries? We know many Shaymin exist, at least 2 Mew exist, 3 Lugias, 2 Celebis, 4 Deoxys, among many others. Also if I remember Latios and Latias did something so that another Latios and Latias (2) are born from the ashes of an old Latios or Latias (1). So there could be MANY Latios and Latias out there. They aren't really one of a kind (with the exception of Mewtwo; we KNOW he's a one-shot), they're just really hard to find.

I'm starting to like Takuto more and more each time I see this battle.

[Corzola]

Bubblewrap: Great job fixing a translation of that last scenes! I wondered what they were talking about and this clears it all up.

We can now really see that Ash is on his way to become a really great trainer, that he after his best leauge- performences yet and after his best fights ever still have a way to go, but really thinks that he can be that one day. He saw that he could really do it, instead of breaking down after being defeated 6 - 2 in a semifinal.

And Dawn knows that she is better than she could ever wish to be save that she did not win the GF. She knows that her goal are within reach and that the memories of this her first journey will mean much for her.

A few more points, we had a trainer with a Heatran, also a legendary, who apperently did not make it that long in the leauge. One can wonder if he ran into Takuto and Darkrai. Because he should also be a pretty powerful trainer with a Heatran. Then we have a Gym- Leader with a Lucario, a well- known strong Pokémon even if it is not a legendary. What if she had been a hump to hard for many trainers to get over. Then many would have thought that it seemed unfair to run into a Leader with a Lucario.

It can also be pointed out that the Sinnoh Leauge had very few participants, that makes this leauge even harder to get into. That would be a perfect place for trainers like Ash, Paul, the Heatran- trainer and Takuto to participate in. Heck, even that so- and- so trainer with a Grumping that Ash soundly defeted would be pretty strong.

[shac]

Bubblewrap: Great job fixing a translation of that last scenes! I wondered what they were talking about and this clears it all up.

We can now really see that Ash is on his way to become a really great trainer, that he after his best leauge- performences yet and after his best fights ever still have a way to go, but really thinks that he can be that one day. He saw that he could really do it, instead of breaking down after being defeated 6 - 2 in a semifinal.

And Dawn knows that she is better than she could ever wish to be save that she did not win the GF. She knows that her goal are within reach and that the memories of this her first journey will mean much for her.

A few more points, we had a trainer with a Heatran, also a legendary, who apperently did not make it that long in the leauge. One can wonder if he ran into Takuto and Darkrai. Because he should also be a pretty powerful trainer with a Heatran. Then we have a Gym- Leader with a Lucario, a well- known strong Pokémon even if it is not a legendary. What if she had been a hump to hard for many trainers to get over. Then many would have thought that it seemed unfair to run into a Leader with a Lucario.

It can also be pointed out that the Sinnoh Leauge had very few participants, that makes this leauge even harder to get into. That would be a perfect place for trainers like Ash, Paul, the Heatran- trainer and Takuto to participate in. Heck, even that so- and- so trainer with a Grumping that Ash soundly defeted would be pretty strong.

Yeah, I also wondered about the heatran trainer. Poor guy. He at least should have made a cameo. That's the problem with having so many opponents. You need to so much time showing battles between them that you can't show anything else.

BTW, did anyone figure out what team the other finalist was using? I could not make much out of the shadows, but the first pokemon of his party seemed to be a Granbull.

[pokemonloverXD]

Ash managed to defeat Darkrai and tie with Latios, that's good enough 4 me
This was a nice ep, Latios vs Pikachu was a great battle and Sceptile had made a great comeback. Overall, SL was really enjoyable

[Cazak]

It was also activated during the battle with Norman back in its Grovyle days.

As far as I remember it was used only 3 times. The 1st time when it battled Nolan. 2nd just beffore it evolved into a Sceptile, and 3rd in the battle against May.

[raz1337]

Yeah, I also wondered about the heatran trainer. Poor guy. He at least should have made a cameo. That's the problem with having so many opponents. You need to so much time showing battles between them that you can't show anything else.

BTW, did anyone figure out what team the other finalist was using? I could not make much out of the shadows, but the first pokemon of his party seemed to be a Granbull.

I wonder if they expected us to notice and remember the Heatran.

Darkstorm16 said it was Mr. Mime, Pikachu, Magmortar, Magnezone, Empoleon, and a Mismagius.

SO the only pokemon not shown in the Sinnoh League were

Bulbasaur
Charizard
Squirtle
Kingler
Muk
Tauros
Bayleef
Totodile
Corphish
Glalie

6 Kanto pokemon
2 Johto Pokemon
2 Hoenn Pokemon

I wonder if the decision to bring back Oak'd Pokemon was for HG/SS advertisement.

Also, I'm not really bothered by Takuto's Pokemon. I mean, I just want explanations really. Which legendaries are unique and which are there multiple of? If his team matches the answer then I'm fine with him having legendaries. It just means he's skilled. What did Takuto go on to do after he won the league? I think we needed to know how a trainer with legendaries did against the Elite 4 and if possibe, Cynthia.

Like others have said, Ash has beat the Orange League and declined the offer to become a Frontier Brain. If anything, I'd like to see other participants be intimidated by Ash and Paul. Both have traveled several regions. Remember Tactics Theatrics?

He won the champions cup in the Orange League. In addition, he entered the Indigo League here in Kanto, the Johto League and the Hoenn League Championships. Respected and admired by friend and foe alike, his name is always listed among the outstanding trainers of modern time. Hailing from Pallet town, a warrior that burns with the heat of the battle. A challenger that has invaded the Battle Frontier with a vengeance, his name is Ash Ketchum!

At least Tucker acknowledged Ash. I was expecting to be disappointed watching Ash end up in the top 2, 4 or 8 again. However, watching him take out 2 legendaries made up for the Top 4. I mean, we got top 4 over the top 8 in Hoenn *and* him taking out 2 legendaries, demonstrating how strong he's gotten. Not to mention, he defeated Paul, which took the entire saga to accomplish.

Ash's strength as a trainer was demonstrated. However, his choices were lacking when it came to his team. He had Charizard, Squirtle and Bulbasaur to call on for Takuto. The thing is, we know Ash to be the kind of trainer to not always go for brute strength. We can assume his whole Sinnoh team stood down out of needing to heal from the battle with Paul, but that doesn't explain Pikachu being there. We could just chalk it up like the other person said to HG/SS advertisement.

[AcethePuma]

Lol good ash didn't defeat latios, otherwise rayquaza, arceus, groudon or entei would have popped up ^^

I enjoyed the episode, ash did a really great job (although the match up was ash like) but yeah legendary status just dropped down for me.... come on just to end the league with ash loosing and still don't lose his face well yeah...

[uber gon]

Wonder if Takuto has a Shaymin? It would be hilarious if he did.

[poizonsting]

Darkrai, I can perceive, but Latios? It was the most "wtf" moment in the anime so far.

As much as I wanted to see Charizard for the 6th spot, I also didn't want him to become the fall guy. Sceptile beat one legendary, Pikachu tied with another legendary, so more or less everyone will expect Charizard to take down Takuto's 3rd legendary as well. But then again, taking down 3 legendaries back-to-back in a single match by Ash would have been overkill. It's like satisfying myself with a glass of grog when the bottle of champagne if beyond my reach. So I'm content to see Sceptile back in action and only one of Ash's 3 Pokemon to beat a legendary.

[Shego]

Sorry that Ash lost to Takuto in the semi-finals. But what matters is that not only he beaten the undefeated Darkrai thanks to Sceptile, but he also took out Latios thanks to Pikachu. Takuto seems to be a good sport. Ash has a great improvement by made it in the Top 4. Hopefully that the others doesn't talk nonsense that Dawn was better than Ash just because she made in the 2nd place in Sinnoh Grand Festival while Ash made in the Top 4 in the Sinnoh League. I mean he was came a long way since Kanto as a 10 year-old while Dawn just her journey with Ash in Sinnoh.

[jolteonjak]

Now that I have seen the episode I can comment (IMO seeing the pics didn't do enough for me).

(Can I do bullets please? I know I'm not known for them, which is why you'll notice they aren't chronological...)

• Hyper Beam seems to be one of those moves that a fully evolved Pokemon can just know without the "WTF moment" of it learning the attack.
• I thought Heracross did well. What's with people saying it's 4x effective? Darkrai is only a Dark Type. You can't really say it's 4x effective even though each of its types are both 2x effective...
• Poor Torkoal...like Cyndaquil (pre-evolution) you'll always be my favorite underdog.
• Sceptile vs. Darkrai was a very good match. I was impressed. People who questioned the OHKO of Leaf Blade...in the games it does have the increased crit chance (blah blah blah anime =/= games). Something to ponder. Plus it kinda got 2 hits in.
• Gible was a pretty interesting choice to me. I love the thing. It's turning into a pretty good battler. Too bad Ash caught it too late in the saga. I wish he'd take it to Isshu.
• IMO Leaf Blade was a poor choice to use against Latios (not for type disadvantages). He should have started with Leaf Storm, because when Giga Impact was ordered, perhaps it could have dodged and actually done something to Latios.
• Once again, I hate that that damn bird was used; however, it was so wonderful seeing it go down so fast. Awesome aerial battle, what? All it did was fly around. Staraptor could have done that, and it probably would have landed a hit!
• Pikachu vs Latios is probably one of my most favorite battles. I don't know if it's because the episode was in Japanese (where far more emotion is put into the anime) or what, but I really felt exhilarated watching this one battle. It felt like I could feel Ash's (or should I refer to him as Satoshi) drive. Say what you will about its battle with Regice, but Pikachu totally and believably defeated Latios. I'm glad it only got that one win against Froslass. Otherwise people would be complaining about its power again.

Questions:

What did Takuto say to Ash before Sceptile joined the fight? I think that's the most he said in his run.

Was Heracross using Megahorn or Horn Attack? I could have sworn I heard the word tsuno (horn in Japanese), which would mean he used Horn Attack (Megahorn = Megahoun).

Are Ash and Takuto going to be fined for blowing up the screens after their battle?


Other:

I wish Ash used Noctowl. While he wouldn't be able to use Extrasensory against Darkrai, at least it wouldn't fall pray to Dark Void. We could have seen more Sky Attack and Air Slash, and maybe a new one.

Same with seeing Quilava again.

[LexSuicune]

It was nice to see Luster Purge in the anime regardless.

Dark Void as well.

[yeminied]

Dark Void had a pretty good animation, I liked the fact it was a bloby thing it was cool.

This episode was fantastic. The Latios vs. Pikachu battle was just brilliant. I felt so much urge for Ash to defeat it when Pikachu was using Volt Tackle against Luster Purge and it kept saying "Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika! Pika."

Pikachu has gone up in my books, same with Sceptile. The most Sceptile and Swellow really did was tire Latios marginally so I would say that Pikachu defeated Latios single handedly. This makes me so proud of Pikachu that he can defeat a legendary all by himself.

One problem: When Sceptile was in its dream thing and we heard Ash pleading him to get up I wish we could have seen shots of Sceptile as a Treecko and Grovyle to show how much the two have experienced together.

The line-up of Ash was alright I suppose. Heracross, Sceptile and Pikachu were the only ones who did anything. I'm quite proud of Gible really. Despite being owned by a trainer for a short amount of time he managed to get a super-effective Rock Smash on Darkrai, which is more than I can say for Torkoal and Swellow.

Speaking of Torkoal he is now a contender for Ash's most pathetic, useless Pokémon. It did absolutley nothing and fell in a matter of seconds. Swellow at least had some form of strategy going on.

9/10 for this episode, I was literally on the edge of my seat the whole episode.

[Cobalt_Latios]

Okay, I figured the popularity of this episode would warrant an easy find on Youtube, and my suspicion's proved correct. Watched, wow, even knowing what would happen, an amazing battle.

Latios's appearance was just amazing. Appears from pokeball, zooms across the field and back to Takuto's side of the field. Yep, worth the wait.

I've got a French Translation, and I know French far better than I know Japanese, so if anybody was curious, the ending conversation went something like this:

Dawn: Ash!
Ash: Dawn!
Dawn: It's finally finished
Ash: Yeah
Dawn: We've gone a long way to get here.
Dawn: This will make great memories.
Brock: No!
Brock: The journeys are not over yet
Brock: Our journey is just beginning!
Ash: Yes! It's just the beginning, to become the Pokemon Master!
Dawn: Yes! I will also do my best to become Top Co-ordinator!
Dawn: With you, Piplup!
Brock (in head): Ash.. Dawn.. You must not lose sight of your goals.
But me.. What shall I do?

Barry then comes in and tells Ash that he has become stronger, that one day he'll become stronger and come back and 'thrash' him. Then he ran off saying 'See ya!'.

Even not knowing Japanese, but knowing brief information about what was going to happen in the next two episodes, I kind of figured something like this might have been said.

I actually find it marginally believable that Ash can become a Pokemon Master. He's already shown his skills here, I doubt it's far behind.

So for all of those complaining about the Legendary Pokemon under Takuto's control: Well, aren't there so many multiples of Legendaries? We know many Shaymin exist, at least 2 Mew exist, 3 Lugias, 2 Celebis, 4 Deoxys, among many others. Also if I remember Latios and Latias did something so that another Latios and Latias (2) are born from the ashes of an old Latios or Latias (1). So there could be MANY Latios and Latias out there. They aren't really one of a kind (with the exception of Mewtwo; we KNOW he's a one-shot), they're just really hard to find.

I'm starting to like Takuto more and more each time I see this battle.

I'm glad you think that way. Like I said before in this topic, they're not the "godlike" ones as the version mascots, more like the very rare, but still somewhat plentiful ones.

Wonder if Takuto has a Shaymin? It would be hilarious if he did.

He would probably have it in Sky Forme. But I would have probably died laughing it were the case!

Now that I have seen the episode I can comment (IMO seeing the pics didn't do enough for me).

(Can I do bullets please? I know I'm not known for them, which is why you'll notice they aren't chronological...)

• Hyper Beam seems to be one of those moves that a fully evolved Pokemon can just know without the "WTF moment" of it learning the attack.
• I thought Heracross did well. What's with people saying it's 4x effective? Darkrai is only a Dark Type. You can't really say it's 4x effective even though each of its types are both 2x effective...
• Poor Torkoal...like Cyndaquil (pre-evolution) you'll always be my favorite underdog.
• Sceptile vs. Darkrai was a very good match. I was impressed. People who questioned the OHKO of Leaf Blade...in the games it does have the increased crit chance (blah blah blah anime =/= games). Something to ponder. Plus it kinda got 2 hits in.
• Gible was a pretty interesting choice to me. I love the thing. It's turning into a pretty good battler. Too bad Ash caught it too late in the saga. I wish he'd take it to Isshu.
• IMO Leaf Blade was a poor choice to use against Latios (not for type disadvantages). He should have started with Leaf Storm, because when Giga Impact was ordered, perhaps it could have dodged and actually done something to Latios.
• Once again, I hate that that damn bird was used; however, it was so wonderful seeing it go down so fast. Awesome aerial battle, what? All it did was fly around. Staraptor could have done that, and it probably would have landed a hit!
• Pikachu vs Latios is probably one of my most favorite battles. I don't know if it's because the episode was in Japanese (where far more emotion is put into the anime) or what, but I really felt exhilarated watching this one battle. It felt like I could feel Ash's (or should I refer to him as Satoshi) drive. Say what you will about its battle with Regice, but Pikachu totally and believably defeated Latios. I'm glad it only got that one win against Froslass. Otherwise people would be complaining about its power again.

To your point for Gible, gotta agree with you there. He lasted longer than either Swellow or Torkoal, and managed to actually get a hit on Darkrai. And it dodged it's Ice Beam. It's a shame Ash couldn't use it more.

I'm hoping we get to see it more later on.

Also, I have agree with the Pikachu vs. Latios one as well. Volt Tackle + Iron Tail was an epic combo. I have more faith in what the dub will do, and I can see them keeping the silence that followed the explosion intact.

And yeah, Sceptile getting 2 Leaf Blades on Darkrai, I'd also like to point out that Leaf Blade's power actually increased between gens. Therefore, even in gaming terms, 2 Leaf Blades could have potentially OHKOd Darkrai. I also liked how Sceptile heard Ash in his "Nightmare", woke up and went to business.

edit: another point I want to mention. Notice how the crowd does cheer normally for when Ash's Pokemon get defeated by Darkrai... then the instant Darkrai's defeated, the cheer is just insane (they pan to show the whole stadium to give it that: HOLY CRAP!!! HE DID IT!!!)

Questions:

What did Takuto say to Ash before Sceptile joined the fight? I think that's the most he said in his run.

I'm pretty sure he also said stuff after the battle too.

Are Ash and Takuto going to be fined for blowing up the screens after their battle?

That would be absolutely hilarious.

League Official: Hey, wait up you two...
Ash: ?
Takuto: ??
League Official: Great battle and all... but you destroyed our monitors.
Takuto: Surely your insured for this, right? It would be ridiculous not to be.
League Official: ...oh yeah, guess I should ask.
Ash: Would they really have expected us to pay for damaging something like that?

I wish Ash used Noctowl. While he wouldn't be able to use Extrasensory against Darkrai, at least it wouldn't fall pray to Dark Void. We could have seen more Sky Attack and Air Slash, and maybe a new one.

Same with seeing Quilava again.

In this same topic, Serebii posted a rather valid reason for Swellow being chosen, along with other members of Ash's team: they all had some experience battling legendaries. In Swellow's case, it kept up with Speed Forme Deoxys and managed to get in an Aerial Ace.

Check back on my first post in this topic, it's not too far behind. I quoted it.

I have to say, I loved this episode mostly because of Latios. Never thought Luster Purge would act like a Hyper Beam... but hey, I'm not complaining. Amazing battle.

I'll wait till the dub hits the Sinnoh League before I watch the Ash vs. Paul battle. I do want to see that one, but this one had a bit more of an epic condensation to it; something the writers seem to have a bit of an issue with.

C_L

[Yuko]

The battle itself wasn't very interesting to me - seems they were trying to rush Satoshi's defeat. And please dear god, don't tell me this'll be the start of more legendary trainers to come. I really don't want to see uber/OU users in the anime, too. I've seen enough of that crap in the games.

I loved Pikachu's battle against Latios, though, so for that I'll rate it 6/10.

B-But... Jun is leaving. /SOBS SOBS SOBS

[LexSuicune]

The episode felt indeed pretty rushed.

[Z I L L I O N Z]

If pikachu can tie with a latios, he better not lose to some joke next season.

[Mayfan]

OVERALL: 9/10

Great battle. It was nice to see Sceptile pwn Darkrai, and Pikachu vs. Latios was spectacular too. The only thing that bothered me were the insane amount of OHKOs and the overall briefness of it all. But still, I loved this episode and would definitely watch it again. Especially when it's dubbed into English!

[falchion]

Though to be fair this defeat was expected that he would be hammered even after defeating paul.

just didnt think the defeat would be this severe? Maybe the writers should of let Ash use all his strongest pokemon ??

Sceptile
Charizard
Infernape ( if not too injured?)
Torterra
Snorlax
Pikachu

Even if its not much varied in types go for brute power might of lasted longer will never know.

Torterra LOL You're funny. Torterra was awful ever since it evolved. People only consider it powerful because of its massive size. It's nothing compared to Paul's Torterra. Replace it with Muk, Kingler, Glalie, or Primeape.

[uber gon]

If pikachu can tie with a latios, he better not lose to some joke next season.

He'll probably lose to the new Rattata of the next gen.

[GalladeRocks]

If Pikachu loses to Minezumi, I will kill...somebody. Now, losing to Chillarmy, on the other hand...

Anyway, I just watched the episode, and here's my diagnosis:

• The battle's starting already. At least Barry's not Caramelldansen like last time.
• Exactly how did Takuto catch Darkrai in a Poke Ball? That's almost as messed up as a Whiscash eating a Master Ball.
• Ash picks Heracross. Didn't see that one coming.
• Heracross uses Hyper Beam and Darkrai uses Kamehame-Ha. Somehow, they're evenly matched.
• I knew Sleep Talk would come in handy. That is, if Darkrai didn't give Heracross a heart attack first.
• Hey look, it's Tork-oh wait he's dead already.
• Captain Gible uses LandShark Punch, but Black Darkrai escapes the explosion and kills him. So much for that ending.
• And Sceptile finally appears. I can here the collective squealing of fanboys.
• Sceptile breaks out of Dark Void? This reminds me of Bulbasaur vs. Dusclops back in the Battle Frontier.
• And Sceptile's dea-Wait a cotton-picking second! Darkrai's down! And here I thought that Ash would get swept like dust under the rug.
• By the way, how does Sceptile keep its twig from falling out when its mouth is wide open?
• Great. First a Darkrai that can sweep almost every trainer in the League, and now we've got a Latios that would sweep everyone in the Grand Festival if given the chance. And it's in a Poke Ball too. There's something fishy about Taco, although I do have to give Latios props on its entrance.
• Poor Sceptile. That's why Legendaries and Giga Impact should be banned when used in combination.
• Woohoo! Super Swellow Battle-Cry Time! Latios is in for it now!
• Or not. Didn't Swellow used to be...I don't know, more durable?
• Ooh boy. The hat's been turned. Tiko'd better watch out now.
• Pikachu vs. Latios has just started and it's already the second-best battle of Sinnoh. (Sorry, Pika and Lati, but Infernape and Electivire's swirling vortex of electrical firey doom was just too awesome.)
• Luster Purge: Who knew exploding atomic death could be so pretty?
• Ultra Thunderbolt! I'm suddenly reminded of the Orange Islands Championship...
• Annoying @&# Light Screen, right on cue.
• Volt Tail vs. Luster Purge: One of the single greatest attack collisions ever. Not even the scoreboards could handle the sheer awesomeness.
• Pikachu takes out Latios, even though he falls as well. Congratulations, Ash! You get a great feeling of accomplishment!
• ...And it's official. Tacquito has won the League. Wonder if he'll fight Cynthia.
• Ooh boy, talking! Oh wait, I can't understand them. But I just come for the action anyway.

Overall, I'd rate it the second best battle of Sinnoh, being only barely beaten by the obvious Ash vs. Paul.

[Mythic Mist]

This was the most hilarious episode of Pokemon ever. I hadn't read any spoilers or seen any pics before I saw the episode. When Darkrai went down and LATIOS came out, I burst out laughing. Good show, Pokemon Anime, good show.