Pokémon (2019) - Episode 45 discussion

[u/AutoLovepon]

Pokémon (2019), episode 45

Alternative names: * Pokemon (Shin Series), Pocket Monsters 2019, Pokemon (Shin Series), Pokemon 2019, Pokemon Journeys: The Series*

Rate this episode here.

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Streams

None

Show information

• MyAnimeList
• AniList
• AniDB
• Kitsu
• Anime-Planet
• Official Website
• /r/pokemon

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All discussions

Episode	Link	Score	Episode	Link	Score	Episode	Link	Score	Episode	Link	Score
64	Link	----	77	Link	4.5	90	Link	3.88	103	Link	4.33
65	Link	----	78	Link	4.0	91	Link	4.25	104	Link	4.25
66	Link	3.0	79	Link	4.5	92	Link	4.71	105	Link	4.44
67	Link	----	80	Link	5.0	93	Link	4.2	106	Link	4.75
68	Link	5.0	81	Link	2.67	94	Link	4.25	107	Link	4.67
69	Link	----	82	Link	4.67	95	Link	4.33	108	Link	4.57
70	Link	----	83	Link	4.9	96	Link	4.75	109	Link	4.57
71	Link	5.0	84	Link	4.43	97	Link	4.0	110	Link	4.5
72	Link	----	85	Link	4.17	98	Link	4.33	111	Link	4.88
73	Link	----	86	Link	4.67	99	Link	4.67	112	Link	4.82
74	Link	----	87	Link	4.67	100	Link	4.75	113	Link	4.67
75	Link	5.0	88	Link	4.75	101	Link	4.17	114	Link	4.88
76	Link	4.0	89	Link	4.67	102	Link	4.67	115	Link	----

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[u/Viroro]

Today's episode was a very important and long-awaited one: not only would it bring the Sword and Shield's four-part arc to its conclusion with the final battle against Eternatus, but it also featured the long advertised and long requested evolutions for Riolu and Raboot, with Lucario in particular having been a Pokémon a lot of fans have waited aged to see Ash own. Considering that the previous episode left the arc in a somewhat busy state, how did this episode do? Overall, I'd say it ended as best as it could.

While I feel the arc as a whole did fine with the time allotted, this is definitely an episode that could've used an extra bit of runtime to give all the fights justice, as while the ultimate result is a competently-put climax, every battle we see could've used more time to breathe. That is not, however, to say that the battles themselves were bad, as I actually quite enjoyed them, and in particular Ash VS Rose was a fairly fun double battle that showed Ash being crafty and trying to take control of the battle, nothing outstanding on the whole but it felt very in-character for Ash, and Riolu blocking both Copperajah and Ferrothorn's hits and then evolving underneath was a solid moment, and quite enjoyed the way Lucario used his own Aura to tell Ash to ask for Aura Sphere instead. It overall worked decently as a battle, and it's definitely the better handled on a purely fighting standpoint. I can't unfortunately say the same for Goh VS Oleana, as that specific battle felt, by comparison, much more barebones and slow, and while it is justifiable that Oleana was simply being an obstacle given her objective was to prevent Goh from reaching the top of Hammerlocke's Gym Stadium, it did mean that the battle itself felt fairly unimpressive and mostly an exchange of moves. I did, however, like the way Goh thought back on his proclamation in the Flygon episode that Ember was the move he and Raboot created together and realized Raboot wanted to win using it, as it felt like a nice bit of character development considering how the major conflict of Scorbunny's first evolution episode was Goh not seeing the need for Scorbunny to train to use a Fire-type move, making the ensuing evolution of Raboot into Cinderace feel earned on a writing standpoint. And while I will surely miss Raboot's attitude, I do think the return of some of Scorbunny's habits in Cinderace like the upside-down high five were nice to see and sold the moment afterwards. It's pretty interesting how they decided to have their evolutions happen here considering how prior villain arcs never had major Pokémon evolutions that weren't intended to begin with as part of said arc, but I feel even with some room for improvement the show did a good job with them, and both evolutions happening at the same time in different battles felt fitting to highlight Ash and Goh's equal protagonist status.

The ensuing conflict to catch and stop Eternatus was, for the most part, a serviceable adaptation of the game climax with Goh taking Hop's place, showing Eternatus as a seemingly invincible force that neither Leon nor Ash and Goh can hop to match until the arrival of the wolves in their Crowned forms manages to allow the boys to tip the scales. I did like the small change of having Leon use an Ultra Ball in his attempt to catch Eternatus rather than a standard Poké Ball as per the games, as while it doesn't fundamentally change the scene it does make him feel smarter from an out-of-universe perspective. Goh ultimately catching Eternatus was to a degree predictable, but I did like his Ball ending up Dynamaxed much like in the games to the point Ash had to help the throw, in a symbolic way making them both catch it even if Goh was the one getting it registered. In this sense, I also quite appreciated that Goh didn't keep Eternatus for himself as he's the sort of legendary that I don't feel would make any sense to see chilling around in Cerise Park, and leaving its Poké Ball under a case and sealed in a safe was a good way to not trivialize the power a legendary like Eternatus has and leave the arc end on a nicely ominous note, with Ash and Goh bringing back the Rusted Sword and Shield to their resting place being a good enough note to end this arc. Considering how Rose and Oleana ended up missing rather than turning themselves in and how Magnolia flat out asks Sonia to look into countermeasures if Eternatus was to one day awaken, I'm kinda curious on if they plan to do a followup arc tying their potential loose ends and fulfill the possibility of Eternatus breaking free, as while not absolutely necessary there's potential for a continuation there that could make up for some of the arc's issues.

Because on the whole, this arc does have several, and the most notable for this episode being, as mentioned above, how it could've easily been divided into two to smooth out the time allotted to battles. While the major battles were serviceable-to-good for the most part, I can't really say the same for Raihan, whose heroic entrance and nonchalant behavior are hurt by how little we actually saw the guy fight, which doesn't really help much his standing considering how lackluster his battle showing with Leon ended up feeling several episodes ago, and while Eternatus worked for what it was, the fighting contributions of Ash and Goh did ultimately boil down to just using one attack with repeated footage, with Eternatus resisting it all and dishing heavy punishment in retaliation serving as proof of its invincibility and power instead, which made it feel pretty barebones even if good enough. However, I feel Team Rocket's usage in this arc ultimately ended up fairly pointless, as while I liked Jessie and James managing to bring Gigantamax Meowth to his senses by reminding him of their mission for Giovanni they didn't actually contribute anything beyond Meowth failing to use G-Max Gold Rush and proving that Eternatus was absorbing the Galar particles around the area, and I feel with how compressed everything had to be, we could've done without their presence if this was all they would contribute. I also feel that, while I did enjoy Sonia's presence throughout the arc, how we've mostly got to see her during this arc means that her becoming a Professor rings a bit hollower than in the games, where we see the same things she did during this arc her over a slower time frame, and the fact that Pikachu never once Gigantamaxed throughout the arc felt like a missing opportunity given how we haven't seen him doing so since episode 13, and Ash could have used a few situations to show him improving on handling Pikachu's Gigantamaxed form before battles where he likely is going to rely on him, though we'll see how things go in this area. Also, while I did enjoy Ash's and Goh's reaction to each other's evolutions, it did feel a tad misplaced in terms of pacing and tone given Eternatus was right above them at the time, even if it lasts relatively little.

Given there's not much more to say about this episode given it mostly ties up the plotline, I feel that, in regards of the arc as a whole, I enjoyed it much more than any major legendary arc we've gotten since Flare, but it was still fraught with problems that made it not as good as it could've been. I enjoyed the way Goh and to a degree Ash got to shine as heroes (and in particular the continued character development of Goh) alongside their interactions with Sonia and Leon respectively, and I feel the arc had a lot of changes big and small that improved on the game story (in particular making Rose work better as an antagonist by tweaking his motivations just a bit), but still ended up as a fairly compressed, mostly plot-driven storyline that ended up fairly low on action beyond a few scuffles and the final episode, with somewhat lackluster visuals and a sense that an extra episode if not more buildup to make the exposition more digestible could've helped improve the story. The way the final episode of the arc ended also made it feel relatively 'done-in-one', and there's fear that while this arc was enjoyable it might ultimately have no real impact beyond the evolutions and a couple Goh captures doing forward, and while not necessarily a huge con given we already have a clear endgame for both protagonists it'd be a shame if this four-parter won't lead to much progress in terms of the Galarian arc and in particular Ash and Leon's buildup. This is definitely something that will hinge on how the rest of the series continues from this arc.

However, I would still say this felt like a better telling of the legendary arc of Sword and Shield than the games themselves, and enjoyed it for what it was. And if the worst result this arc achieves is ending up as a fun romp, then I don't think it did that badly.

TL;DR: A good, if not perfect closure for the arc that manages to close everything satisfatorily enough, even with some spotlight issues with Raihan, a few compressed battles, pointless Team Rocket usage and still not-too-stellar animation, providing two pretty fun evolutions for our heroes that manage to feel earned and leaving the door just open enough for a potential continuation, albeit we'll have to see the next episodes to truly understand how much of an effect this arc will have on Journeys' future.

Next week, we'll be in for probably the most high caliber character return Journeys has offered us yet as Ash and Goh visit the remote Cello Island in search of what appears to be Mew, only to find themselves facing none other than the original Mewtwo from the very first movie. May it be a good one!