Talkback: Pokemon the Series: SM: Ultra Adventures: "Some Kind of Laziness!" [10/20]

[Light Lucario]

Join Ash and Pikachu as they make new friend and explore the Alola region.

Recently:
Ash's Litten evolves into Torracat during its battle against the Masked Royal's Incineroar.
Ash and his friends meet Ilima.
Ilima goes back to Kalos.
Ash catches an Ultra Beast named Poipole.
Ash and his friends help the Ultra Beast Celesteela get back home.
Kiawe and Marowak are able to use Inferno Overdrive together.
Team Rocket gets a Z-Ring from Nanu in order to use their Dark Z-Crystal.
Jessie gets a Mimikyu Z-Crystal.
Ash heads towards his next set of Trials for the Island Challenge.
Ash meets Acerola and Nanu.
Ash challenges Nanu to a Grand Trial, but Nanu refuses.
Ash loses to Nanu in a practice Grand Trial and decides to remain on Ula'ula Island to do some training.

Last Time:
"Tough Guy Trials!"
Ash is ready to participate in his next grand trial! He’s traveled to Ula’ula Island to find Nanu, the island kahuna, but Nanu doesn’t seem terribly interested in accepting the challenge. Ash’s new friend Acerola attempts to convince Nanu to grant Ash a “pre-trial” battle to see if he’s strong enough for the Trial. Will Ash be able to defeat Nanu?

This Time:
"Some Kind of Laziness!"
Saturday October 20th, 9:00AM
After his defeat in the Ula’ula Island grand trial, Ash is hoping to get some extra training for a rematch against Kahuna Nanu. Acerola lends a hand by leading Ash to the Ruins of Abundance, the home of the Island Guardian Tapu Bulu. Unfortunately, Tapu Bulu seems more interested in taking a nap than in helping Ash and his Pokémon improve their skills. How can Ash convince the enigmatic Island Guardian to share its battle expertise?
​

Notes:
The 21st season of Pokemon is here to keep promoting the seventh generation.
Disney XD is the new home for the Pokemon anime series.
New episodes premiere on Saturday mornings again.
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee will be available for the Switch on November 16th
There is a main series Pokemon game in development for the Switch system.
The episodes are available on both Disney XD's website and On Demand section.
Please avoid using detailed spoilers here. Thank you.

 

[Light Lucario]

I thought that this episode was pretty good. It was nice for Ash to do some training with his Pokemon. He has really needed that given how small his team is and how they don't have a lot of battles too often. It was really cool to finally see a Mudsdale in the series. Mudsdale is my favorite Ground type Pokemon and I loved raising one in my Moon team, so seeing it in the anime was a real treat.

It was pretty cool to see them get to Tapu Bulu. Given the title, Tapu Bulu having a different approach to the training was expected. Creating that tree was pretty cool, although it was a strange way for Rowlet to learn Razor Leaf. Absorbing the power from the tree wasn't an unbelievable way for it to learn the move. It just felt a bit too cheap and easy, especially when Rowlet hasn't had to battle lately. It just sleeps all the time and even its training is lazy. I guess that fits, but it was still a bit disappointing. Although. Ash being so happy for Rowlet and Rowlet flying right into Ash's arms made the scene much more adorable than it would have been otherwise.

It was nice to see that Team Rocket were trying to figure out their Z-Move posses. Jessie's logic of going to Mimikyu for the answer did make sense. It's possible that Pokemon living in the Alola region would know more about Z-Moves than Pokemon from other regions would. Plus, it did make the poses, so Mimikyu knew what to do.

It was cute to see Ash playing around in the rain with his Pokemon. Since Tapu Bulu pushed Lycanroc into the mud, it seemed likely that it knew what problems Lycanroc had. It was sweet to see Ash remember how much fun they had when Lycanroc was still a Rockruff. There were signs of Lycanroc's aggressive behavior when it was a Rockruff in retrospect, but Ash still loves Lycanroc just the way it is. It was a rather sweet scene that showcased just how much Ash cares about his Pokemon. He would do anything to help them and that sincerity is often just enough to help his Pokemon.

Ash battling against Tapu Bulu was pretty cool. It reminded me of his rematch with Tapu Koko, which doesn't seem as important as I thought it was going to be now that I think about it. Tapu Bulu was pretty strong to knock Lycanroc around like that. It didn't get angry, but I think it helps that Lycanroc's fur was just wet instead of dirty or muddy like before. It was pretty cool to see Lycanroc learn Stone Edge. Unlike with Rowlet's Razor Leaf, this felt like a much more earned attack. Lycanroc has been used in battles, much more so than Rowlet has recently at least, and it learned a new move during a practice battle after having an emotional scene with Ash. It was believable and it wasn't just handed to Ash on a silver plate.

Ending the match there was probably for the best. While Ash defeating an Island Guardian would be pretty cool, the point was to give Ash's Pokemon some much needed training. There wasn't much of a reason to continue after Lycanroc controlled its anger and learned a new move in the process. At least Ash is closer to having that rematch with Nanu after that training session. Overall, it was a pretty good episode.

 

[LinusFan303]

Gotta love Ash's drive when he went up that rock side. That tree was pretty cool and Rowlet used Razor Leaf ,nice! Jessie is getting intuitive with the Pokémon training there asking Mimikyu which pose to do. Ash calming Lycanroc down was sweet , especially with all the flashbacks. Lycanroc has a new move down now. This was a good episode.