CN Talkback: Pokémon D/P: Galactic Battle “Pillars of Friendship!” [10/24] (Spoilers)

Lazerboy5000 · #1 10-24-2009, 12:51 AM

Ash, Brock, and Dawn continue their adventures through the Sinnoh region while battling some intense rivals and great villains.

Recently:
Dawn lost to Kenny in the Sandalstraw Contest, so both of them now have 4 ribbons.
Dawn gave Ambipom to a revered Pokemon Ping Pong player.
Ash won his 7th Gym Badge against Candice
Paul got to battle against Pyramid King Brandon and lost without knocking out a single one of Brandon’s Pokemon.

Last Time:
“A Pyamiding Rage!”
With Ash having won his seventh gym badge, it’s now Paul’s turn to battle Candice. However, it turns out that Pyramid King Brandon is in town. Paul challenges Brandon to a battle without hesitation. Reggie is also in town and everyone with watch this 6 on 6 battle. Paul comes out strong and determined against Brandon, so that he will do what his brother could not. However, Paul loses pokemon after pokemon, and Brandon questions Paul’s reason to train pokemon in the first place. Paul loses the battle without knocking out a single one of Brandon’s pokemon. Ash and Paul also set a date on a 6 on 6 battle in the future.

This Time:
“Pillars of Friendship!”
Saturday, October 24th, 9:00am Eastern
Encore: Sunday, October 25th, 7:30am Eastern
After Paul’s battle with Brandon, it appears that something is going on at the Snowpoint Temple. The reason why Brandon came to Snowpoint city in the first place. However, someone and something is stirring up some trouble. Will everyone be able to stop this impending doom, even with Brandon’s help?

Notes:
Pokemon: BD reruns still on weekdays at 7:30am.

Mesousa · #2 10-24-2009, 09:35 AM

Mysterious group of people? Yeah, I don't think it sounds mysterious at all.

Narrator: "Reason unknown."
I just putted it here because it sounded weird, like if he was movng his head left and right at a fast rate.

How is it pillars of friendship? It could've been better if it "friendship" was replaced with "doom".

Team Rocket's being a bit suicidal here...

Amy Birnbaum, is that you using your Cosmo voice from Sonic X except it's less cuter? Kudos.

Yeah, told ya they were suicidal.

Huh, no epic entrance for J this time.

It's a war now! AWESOME!

This is no doubt Pokemon to the extreme!

We take a break from the extreme for...a scene that calms down the action for now.

Nice transition effects.

Maria: "The result would be desasterous."
Such an obvious line...

Oh, I thought Ash was gonna rescue Maria, not risking his life again.

Regigigas has awakeaned, but we knew that would happen.

Summon all the other Regi's, of course!

No one says "Yes, ma'am" anymore.

Brock: "Even Regigigas can't break free."
That's another thing you can't say when you're in a "relief moment".

Personally, Regice is my favourite, in case anybody's wondering.

Brandon wanted to capture it?

Ash, stop stealing lines again for the 796th time.

Point C is a very hip place for Pokemon Hunters.

(sees Ash trying to unravel from the webs, while doing really exaggeraded noises)
I'M ACTING! Actually, Natochemy has been overacting in this episode, so...

Guess what, yet another episode Team Rocket does absolutely nothing. Thanks for wasting time, guys.

Maria, like every other girl Brock tries to soothe, acts like if they're blind. Really, I can't believe they all act like this, he's asking you out, damn it! Don't come crying to me if you don't have boyfriends.

(applause) Thank you.

Dawn: "Brock may be a genius, but his timing can be the pits."
What the hell does "the pits" mean? Some sort of obscure dirty joke?

(Dawn gets pushed by Brock, immediately after that quote)
I know it was a stupid joke, but she didn't have to get pushed for that.

(Dawn's head pops up, smiling creepily)
GAH! Okay, anime, where did this sudden burst of comedy come from?! What happened to the seriousness?

Okay, let just wrap this up, since I think I had too much fun in the last few minutes:

Lots of action happens, Brandon gets turned into stone (I would say he was "stoned", but I'm not a fan of drug jokes), J escapes, Maria was able to comunicate with Regigigas, Regigas tuns Brandon back to normal, and Regigigas returns to it's place.

Also, Brandon and Maria for some reason have a handshake, which is odd, because Maria offered the handshake to Brandon... no wait, that's the odd part.

Phew.

zoombie · #3 10-24-2009, 10:17 AM

I thought for a moment that Hunter J's client was Team Galactic. Though the ending does discount that, because Team Galactic wouldn't give a dam about a public commotion, so it was probably just some greedy business person.

I think one of these days Team Galactic would hire Hunter J to do their dirty work.

Ooze33 · #4 10-24-2009, 10:42 AM

This kind of action-packed plot seemed more suitable for a one hour special then a normal one if you asked me.

The only thing that bugged me was the unnecessary speaking. Instead of just nodding, Ash has to say "Right!!". It's just something that sounded really out of place in a tense situation like this.

Terror of Death · #5 10-24-2009, 01:17 PM

Lots of action and nice animation makes this a solid episode. My favorite part was when Hunter J was on top of Salamance dodging the multiple hyper beams from Regigigas. And despite not having much personality beyond yelling orders I really like J and she has one of the best character designs in the series imo. I wish the writers would give her a little backstory. I also hope we get to see her and Ash have an actual battle in the future with no tricks or interference.

TKnHappyNess · #6 10-24-2009, 02:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoombie

I thought for a moment that Hunter J's client was Team Galactic. Though the ending does discount that, because Team Galactic wouldn't give a dam about a public commotion, so it was probably just some greedy business person.

I think one of these days Team Galactic would hire Hunter J to do their dirty work.

Team Galactic has no use for Regigigas.

Spoiler:

**Light Lucario** · #7 10-24-2009, 06:49 PM

I thought that this was an interesting episode. When they were talking about a mysterious group of people at the temple, I thought that it might have been Team Galactic for a second. Of course, they wouldn't have any use for Regigigas anyway. I thought that the Snowpoint Temple legend was pretty cool. It gave more the temple more of a unique purpose. Team Rocket trying to fly with them on the Battle Pyramid was excepted, as was the way they blasted off so early.

Hunter J being there did make more sense than what I originally thought of. I was really impressed with J's henchmen using all of those Steel types. That's way more Pokemon than Team Galactic has used against them. That was practically an army of Steel types. It was also cool that Brandon got to use a little flying car. Despite having so many Pokemon, they were all taken down by Pikachu and Piplup and the henchmen didn't really try so hard to actually keep them out of the temple after that.

Considering that Regice, Registeel and Regirock became the three pillars, I was expecting them to actually transform back into their original forms after J's Salamence destroyed them. Since it really didn't take much at all to destroy them, I don't think that the pillars were actually useful in protecting Regigigas. I also didn't really understand why Regigigas was so upset when it first woke up. Based on the legend, it helped to protect Snowpoint City and if it was such a dangerous Pokemon, then I don't think that they would have a temple to honor it. Plus, Ash shouting to Regigigas to stop never works at all.

I thought that Brandon did a nice job with battling Regigigas though. I wondered if capturing it would be such a great idea since that would have put way too much power on his team. Plus, they did forget all about Hunter J in their attempts to capture Regigigas and all of the other Regis were under its control. Brock's plan to use his love gaze for Maria was really funny. Though, Dawn's comments felt kind of unnecessary.

I didn't think that all of the Regis would protect Regigigas like that against Hunter J. I was also really surprised when J turned Brandon into stone. It was also kind of a letdown that she and her henchmen ran away just because their buyer didn't like all of the attention from this situation. I know that Hunter J only values her work in order to receive payment, but after all of that effort, it just felt like wasted buildup.

I didn't think that Regigigas could use Hidden Power to restore Brandon and his Pokemon. That didn't even look like Hidden Power to me. Considering that Regigigas could put itself back to sleep like that, it made me wonder why it was so upset in the first place. I also didn't like how Brandon was going to have Regirock, Registeel and Regice become the new pillars. For starters, the original pillars didn't do anything to protect Regigigas and I didn't like the idea of Brandon giving up his most powerful Pokemon like that.

Overall, it was an interesting episode. I did like the buildup with Hunter J and her henchmen, but some aspects were confusing. They could have at least provided a reason for why Regigigas was so mad in a legend. Still, it was fun to watch. I'll be looking foreword to next week's episode.

Mesousa · #8 10-25-2009, 07:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Light Lucario

Brock's plan to use his love gaze for Maria was really funny. Though, Dawn's comments felt kind of unnecessary.

In case you didn't read my commentary, everytime Brock "gazes" in a woman doesn't get old, it's the girl's reaction, always acting like a wooden stick.

Yes, a wooden stick, that's where it doesn't get funny. I really wish a girl could just say no instead of staring lifelessly.

I'm thinking I could make a fanfic (like if it was a filler episode) and have a girl actually say something.

I'm also surprised you didn't think that one part was sorta out of context, especially since Brock literally pushes Dawn. Never thought Pokemon would go with the crude humor path on someone who isn't Team Rocket.

CyberCubed · #9 10-26-2009, 12:55 AM

Hunter J's departure was really abrupt, but I guess the writers can't figure out a way to have her be defeated by Ash just yet, so it makes sense to see her leave on her own accord.

Better that than to see her blast off like Team Rocket.

Lazerboy5000 · #10 10-26-2009, 02:40 PM

This was a great episode. Action all over the place. Both dramatic and epic.

Hunter J is a class act villain. By tham, I mean she's ruthless, and very smart. She has nearly every single angle covered when trying to capture a pokemon. Now I don't blame she for just retreating when the "client" bailed out. Regigigas is of no interest to her. So why should she care. Though, I think (not endorsing it, but just a thought) that J should make her clients pay a down payment for her troubles. so that way she still gets something out of it even if the client bails half way through.

Brandon was great in this episode. He's usually very clam and analyzing the whole time, but here we get an extra dimension of emotion from him here. First of all, I thought is plan of trying to capture Regigigas was great. Usually no one even dares to try and capture a legendary pokemon, so he showed a lot of spunk in that comment. And of course, Brandon learning about the Regi's true calling pushed him to jump in there and save Regigigas. There were a lot of new emotions that we saw from Brandon today that we haven't seen in the past.

However, I did have several complaints about the structure of the episode and something else that's much bigger:

First, where the hell was Paul and Reggie? Did they disappear or what. I didn't think they left already. So I was really bumped out to find that Paul and Reggie were missing from this episode.

Second is a much more general complaint, but one that I feel is kind of ruining the series a bit for me. Notice how everyone was asking if Regigigas was just a rumor and what not.... Um... excuse me? What the hell happened in Movie 11. He was right there. You saw him!!! this leads me to the fact that the Movies, all of them without exception, are completely parallel to the series. It's like they never even happened. Before there was just no mention of the movies, but it was ok up to that point because you could still reasonably that they do in fact happen, but rather they just don't talk about it. But the dialogue in today's episode leads you to believe that all of the movie are nothing to the main series. I thought that there were at least loosely integrated in there, but that does not seem to be the case. This leaves me disappointed, and there is nothing I can do about it. I felt that the writers could have done a little better handling this fact.

Rolling Cloud · #11 10-26-2009, 04:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazerboy5000

this leads me to the fact that the Movies, all of them without exception, are completely parallel to the series. It's like they never even happened.

Kinda hard to say that with Movie 1 being somewhat linked to when Gary battled Giovanni.

Marvin Tikvah · #12 10-26-2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Notice how everyone was asking if Regigigas was just a rumor and what not.... Um... excuse me? What the hell happened in Movie 11. He was right there. You saw him!!! this leads me to the fact that the Movies, all of them without exception, are completely parallel to the series. It's like they never even happened.

IIRC, they were doubting the legend of Regigiga's slumber in the Snowpoint temple, not the actual Pokemon. Especially since the reactions to his awakening were less shock than fear.

As for the episode, I thought it was a standard J episode but I enjoyed it simply because I'm a Hunter J fan. It was extremely ridiculous that her Salamence withstood so many attacks from the Regi's and had hardly a scratch on him. Maybe if her capture device had some sort of protective ability it would be plausible but she didn't even make a sound while getting hit. Those two must have some strong skin.

**Light Lucario** · #13 10-26-2009, 09:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazerboy5000

Hunter J is a class act villain. By tham, I mean she's ruthless, and very smart. She has nearly every single angle covered when trying to capture a pokemon. Now I don't blame she for just retreating when the "client" bailed out. Regigigas is of no interest to her. So why should she care. Though, I think (not endorsing it, but just a thought) that J should make her clients pay a down payment for her troubles. so that way she still gets something out of it even if the client bails half way through.

While you have a point that Regigigas doesn't interest Hunter J, I still think that she could have tried captured it anyway. After all of that effort, just having her give up when her client bailed out felt weak. Granted, she would still have to face against Ash and the others and they would have most likely stopped her somehow, but at least that way she would have gone down fighting.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazerboy5000

However, I did have several complaints about the structure of the episode and something else that's much bigger:

First, where the hell was Paul and Reggie? Did they disappear or what. I didn't think they left already. So I was really bumped out to find that Paul and Reggie were missing from this episode.

Well, I believe that Paul and Reggie had already left before Maria and Sam came to tell them about the temple. While it would have been kind of cool to see Paul see Hunter J, neither he or Reggie were really necessary for this episode. Besides, Paul was probably getting his Pokemon healed, getting ready for his match with Candice and then think about his match with Ash.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lazerboy5000

Second is a much more general complaint, but one that I feel is kind of ruining the series a bit for me. Notice how everyone was asking if Regigigas was just a rumor and what not.... Um... excuse me? What the hell happened in Movie 11. He was right there. You saw him!!! this leads me to the fact that the Movies, all of them without exception, are completely parallel to the series. It's like they never even happened. Before there was just no mention of the movies, but it was ok up to that point because you could still reasonably that they do in fact happen, but rather they just don't talk about it. But the dialogue in today's episode leads you to believe that all of the movie are nothing to the main series. I thought that there were at least loosely integrated in there, but that does not seem to be the case. This leaves me disappointed, and there is nothing I can do about it. I felt that the writers could have done a little better handling this fact.

As Rolling Cloud mentioned, that's kind of a hard argument to make considering the first movie. There's clearly a connection between the series and that movie. There are plenty of signs from most of the movies in which shows that they are cannon to the series.

Movie 1: Gary's battle with Mewtwo was shown and we also saw in the series Mewtwo destroying Giovanni's headquaters.

Movie 2: Ash did mention that he saw a Lugia back in the Orange Island in Master Quest.

Movie 4: Ash said that he met Suicune also during Master Quest.

Movie 6: Butler and Diana show up in the ending credits for the Lucario movie, which is a cannon movie.

Movie 7: I believe that the storyline for this movie was mentioned in the Deoxys special.

Movie 8: There have been references to Ash's aura powers during the D/P saga. Plus, I think I read somewhere that the writers confirmed that this movie was cannon.

Movie 10: When Kenny says that he's going to see Diagla and Palika before Dawn's first Contest with Ambipom, Ash, Dawn and Brock have such extreme reactions, most likely due to seeing them in this movie. There's also Dawn's Lunar Wing that she has in that Darkrai vs. Cressila episode, which I believes she buys during this movie.

Movie 11: While I can't think of any references to this movie in the series, the fact that it is part of the D/P trilogy does make it cannon.

The only movies that I can't think of a reference to them in the main series are the Entei, Latios & Latias and Manaphy movie.

Plus, like Marvin Tikvah mentioned, they were wondering if the Snowpoint Temple legend was true, not if Regigigas was an actual Pokemon or not.