End of Rival Destinies
jstinftw February 1, 2013End of Rival Destinies, Hey guys!
Again, I am late. I’m a terrible writer, and I’m late too. Why SBJ lets me continue is beyond me.
But I am back! And I have some anime to talk to you all about!
First of all, you should all be watching Cartoon Network this Sunday. On February 3rd, there will be a huge Pokémon TV marathon! Starting at 11:00 am EST, five episodes from the anime will play back to back, as well as the latest movie. Four of the five will be from Rival Destinies, including Ash’s Gym Battle with Skyla, Brycen, and Roxie. Then the movie will play, and finally, end with the first episode of the new season, Pokémon Adventures in Unova!
Speaking of the new season, the trailer for the new season is now available for viewing! You can view it here.
Now, before I talk about the latest episode, I want to talk real quick about the episode that aired about three weeks ago, Pokémon BW Episode 96: Unrest at the Nursery.
It was a really simple, filler episode, my favorite filler episode of all time. It revolves around a Day Care Center, and a Rufflet and Vullaby’s rivalry for the affections of the caretaker-in-training. It’s a nice break from the main story, without being really dumb and pointless.
And that’s it. Now, I’m going to talk about the latest two episodes; Pokémon BW Episode 97: Meloetta and the Undersea Temple! and Pokémon BW Episonde 98: Unova’s Survival Crisis! The fact that these two episodes were linked together was very fortunate for me, as that meant my schedule wasn’t going to get in the way.
Summary
“From this day on, the Unova Region will be under the control of Team Rocket. And now the final stage of Operation Tempest.” Giovanni to Jessie, James, Meowth, and Professor Zager.
Episode starts with Team Rocket welcoming Giovanni to Unova. We find out that Operation Tempest, a project Team Rocket has been working on, is ready to go.
The opening credits roll and we find Ash and company back at Cynthia’s Villa, where Ash is training Oshawott against Cilan’s Pansage for the Unova League. Meloetta applauds Oshawott., who is showing off his skills, and she starts singing a song.
We then see a young man flying on a Golurk, who can apparently hear the song Meloetta is singing. They then blast off in their direction.
Meanwhile, Meloetta is changing into her Pirouette Forme, and challenges Oshawott to a battle. Despite everyone urging him to do so, he cannot overcome his crush on the Psychic type and battle.
“How cute! Oshawott’s too shy!” Iris when Oshawott refuses to battle.
Resigned, Ash sends out Krookodile instead to do battle with Meloetta. Meloetta lets out an intense Hyper Voice, and Ash counters with Stone Edge. Meloetta Close Combats the rocks, however, blocking them. Ash decides to counterattack with Dragon Claw, when, out of nowhere, they are blasted by a beam, stopping his attack.
The Golurk from earlier descends, and the guy take Meloetta into his arms. Meloetta is overjoyed to see this man. The man accuses Ash of being a villain, and orders Golurk to use Flash Cannon on the group, but is stopped when Meloetta defends them, throwing herself in front of Golurk’s growing beam.
The man apologizes inside the villa, and introduces himself as Ridley. Apparently, he has been looking for Meloetta. He explains the situation to Ash and the gang, telling them that he and his tribe are the protectors of Meloetta, who was kidnapped. He also explains that his tribe, the Protectors, have the power to feel when Meloetta is nearby.
Meloetta then spots a flying camera nearby. Knowing Meloetta is not safe, Ridley takes Meloetta and is about to fly off on Golurk when a smoke suddenly fills the air. Their attempt to escape is then foiled when a Golem and Rhydon attack them, spurred on by a pair of Team Rocket grunts.
While Ridley holds off the Rocket Grunts, Ash and the rest run off with Meloetta. They are stopped, however, when James’s Yamask uses Will-o-Wisp to prevent them from moving forward. Team Rocket thanks them for getting Meloetta to sing “that” song, but the gang is clueless to what they are talking about. They attack, and Ash, Pikachu, and Meloetta run off, leaving Iris and Cilan to hold them off.
Before they get too far though, Ash is attacked by a Persian. Meloetta goes invisible to hide from it, as Ash suggested, but Giovanni appears and attacks Pikachu. The pair is then captured, encaged in some sort of glowing cage. The cage starts shrinking, and Giovanni tells Meloetta to come with him or else Ash will be sorry, to which Meloetta agrees.
Ash, Pikachu, and Meloetta are then shipped onto the Team Rocket airship, which flies away, leaving Iris, Cilan, and a battered Ridley behind.
They are then transferred to a submarine, which takes them to some underwater ruin. Meloetta recognizes the cave, and fearfully is forced into a diamond shaped carving. They then play a recording of Meloetta singing. The ground begins to shake, and a hidden pillar slowly rises, a single mirror standing in the center.
“Meloetta; by living together with this boy and his friends, your heart has once again found peace, which allowed you to bring your song back to life. It is only that long lost song that has the power to unlock the seal. It wouldn’t have worked if we made you sing in a state of fear, and anger.” Giovanni as he climbs the steps to the mirror.
Meloetta’s eyes then being to glow, and Giovanni takes hold of what is apparently the Reveal Glass.
Back with the others, Cynthia is brought up to speed, and Ridley informs them they must go underwater, beneath Undella Bay, to rescue Meloetta.
Giovanni recites a chant about resurrecting three great powers, and the temple beings rising up from under the ocean.
Episode 98 begins with the Reveal Glass glowing, and the temple’s peak separating, revealing the open sky.
Meloetta is no longer under her own control. Giovanni commands the three great powers.
“Using the power of the ancients, Team Rocket will bring the entire Unova Region to its knees!” Meowth as he reveals the details of Operation Tempest.
Ridley then grabs at his head in pain, and reveals that he can feel that Meloetta is in pain.
A beam of light pierces through the sky, and Ridley reveals the beam of light will bring forth the Legendaries.
“Whoever controls Meloetta, also controls a great power.” Ridley
Ridley explains that the Reveal Glass controls the power of nature, so whoever controls the Reveal Glass, also controls nature. After watching many wars break out as a result of trying to control Meloetta and the Reveal Glass, Meloetta sank the temple into the water in an attempt to end the suffering. The only way to access the power is through Meloetta’s song.
A storm begins to break out, and Tornadus, Thundurus, and Landorus descend from the clouds. Giovanni welcomes the trio, then commands the Reveal Glass to show their other Formes. While this is happening, Pikachu desperately Iron Tails their cage, eventually destroying it.
Ash and Pikachu then rush at Meloetta, but Team Rocket’s Yamask and Woobat attack, throwing the two off the side. The rest finally arrive, and Golurk saves them.
Cynthia sends out Garchomp and Iris sends out Dragonite. Dragonite spots the three Legendaries and flies off on its own to attack. Cilan chooses Pansage, who flies off on Golurk and Ash sends out Unfezant for Pikachu to fly on.
At this point, however, the Reveal Glass finally finishes and changes the three Legendaries into their Therian Formes.
“Wow! They all changed form!” Ash as the Legendaries all change.
The Pokemon then begin fighting, but the three Therians easily prove they are much more powerful. Dragonite goes down first, and Thundurus aims to defeat it with a Thunderbolt, but Pikachu absorbs the attack, and Unfezant lures it away, attacking with Air Cutter.
Dragonite then begins to chastise Iris, who had thrown herself in front of Thundurus to protect Dragonite, but she tells Dragonite that it was alright. She then tells Dragonite that she’ll protect Dragonite if anything happens to it, which seems to increase Dragonite’s respect for Iris.
The Pokemon then resume their attack on the Therians. It seems that they have a shot at overpowering the Legendary Pokémon, but after Giovanni demands that they reveal their true power, they easily overpower the Pokemon once again.
A blast falls from the cloud again, which sends a rush of ice to encompass the ocean, as well as parts of the mainland.
“That’s precisely why people have fought for it since ancient times; a power that can create an endless wave of natural disasters.” Dr. Zager when James comments on the Legendarie’s frightening power.
The Pokémon recollect themselves, and begin their attack once again. Ash and Pikachu also confront the Rocket Trio. Pikachu charges a super powerful Electro Ball, charged by the electricity it had absorbed from Thundrus. The attack destroys the top of the temple, and Meloetta falls from its prison and regains control once again.
However, Giovanni no longer even needs Meloetta. A mark appears on Giovanni’s forehead, and he announces he lives for destruction. He orders the Therians to destroy Unova.
Dr. Zager is confused as to why this is happening, and Ridley tells them that Meloetta serves as a balance to the controller of the Therian’s immense power’s sanity. Now that Meloetta is gone, he is completely consumed by his evil ambitions.
The Rocket Trio then tackle Giovanni to the ground, in an attempt to save their boss, which works. Team Rocket then retreats, as they no longer have control of the Legendaries. They escape, and Team Rocket notes once again that Pikachu is special.
Meanwhile, the Therians are defeating the attacking Pokémon. Ridley asks the Reveal Glass to calm the Legendaries down, and with the help of Meloetta and her song, the Legendaries cease attacking, and revert back to their Incarnate Formes. The ruins sink back into the ocean, and the Legendaries return to the clouds.
“But there are people who fight for the good too. Not everybody desires for the conflict, and conquering of others. I’m sure one day, people will be able to listen to Meloetta’s song and live in peace.” Cynthia as they return to her villa on the boat.
Back at the Villa, Ridley and Meloetta bid the group goodbye. Oshawott is crying, having a hard time dealing with her leaving. Ash hugs Meloetta goodbye, promising to win the Unova League.
Ridley and Meloetta then fly off on Golurk, and the episode ends with everyone waving to them flying away into the sunset.
My Thoughts
I thought these were good episodes. I don’t have much to complain about, at the very least.
It was really cool to finally see Ash and Giovanni meet up canonically. It kind of quells those “Giovanni is Ash’s father!” speculations, as there wasn’t any kind of special bond between the two whenever they were together. Giovanni honestly just dismissed Ash throughout these episodes.
I really liked the battles as well; it was cool seeing the Pokémon come together and try to fight the Therians.
Speaking of the Therians, I didn’t really like how they came into the story. I think that’s my one complaint. It would have been fine, if
this was the first time they had all come together, but it’s not. They had their own arc earlier, in the first season of BW if I’m not mistaken. And suddenly, they’re back, and there’s no mention of the previous encounter, not even a mention of how Landorus was supposed to be the good one of the trio. They were all suddenly in league with each other, which kind of leaves you wondering whether there are multiple Kamis, or if they’re just from a different dimension. My small nitpick.
I also do wish the resolution to the whole crisis had been a bit more epic. Ridley just suddenly coming in and saying, “Oh hey, magic mirror? Make ‘em stop. Please?” was a bit anti-climatic.
I think my favorite part of these episodes, though, was when Iris and Dragonite have their little heart-to-heart moment. It was very touching, very reminiscent of when Ash thawed out Charizard. Dragonite finally sees how much Iris cares for it, and comes to respect her as his trainer, which I think is pretty cool. It’s really nice to see things like that in the anime to remind you that these Pokémon aren’t just tools.
Overall, great episode. This is a must-watch for Pokemon fans, even if they’re not into the anime. It’s a great episode to just kind of watch, even if you don’t follow the anime anymore.
Magikarp Rating:
And that’s the end of my article! Another lengthy one, I’m sorry you endured that. But I’m also very thankful you endured that for me! I hope you enjoyed the article!
Also, don’t forget! Sunday, February 3rd! Cartoon Network starting at 11 am EST! A Pokémon Marathon will take place! These are really great episodes, some of Ash’s best Gym Battles, plus one of the better movies Pokemon has released and a brand new episode! At the very least, watch it so I can vicariously enjoy it through you.
You all have a good one!
Written by Justin Vidal
Proofed by Jared
@jaredtheunseen
Comments (3)
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The BW anime has been so much better. I’m still getting used to the idea of a competent Jesse and James.
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BW is so good.
And yeah, it’s definitely weird. But it’s really good, since we’ve had that ditzy Rocket for a while. Nice to see some fresh air of change that isn’t weird or anything.
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I wish the TR arc would’ve been 3 episodes cause they really rushed that ending by having Giovanni just get knocked down to break him from the possession. I also agree that the Therian Formes were woefully under represented, never once did we get any information as to why the Kami even needed to be turned other then the writer was told to promote them.
Another thing I didn’t like was the comment TR made about Pikachu being “special”‘ can we please get away from Godchu, their is absolutely nothing special about Ash’s Pikachu other than being highly trained. We don’t need anymore of TR going after Pikachu we already wasted 4 seasons of that.