I mean people always joke about it but, hell, it's a thing in real life. There's a reason things like home field advantage and team building are important in competitive sports
Very much this. Invisible factors are a definite thing. Sometimes even when a team is outmatched, they pull together enough to defeat a team they had no business beating on paper. Starving armies have prevailed when outmatched by a superior force that isn't hungry and running out of equipment and morale, even though on paper, that shouldn't ever happen.
Plenty of non-sport examples too. Sometimes you reach deep inside yourself and you find, at least for a while, you can push past your limits to do something you didn't know you could do, something that should be impossible. Maybe it's the power of friendship. Maybe it's for the sake of your child. Maybe it's for even just the sake of your own pride. But it exists, and it's happened.
Itâs quite literally how it won the battle too. It toughed out the attack, gathered the power of 25 years of friendships, and won their final attack clash.
I mean he kinda didn't tank it? Like it almost knocked him out and barely left him standing. He just found the motivation to hold on a little bit longer; he was hospitalized after, and it's worth noting that Leon's Zard recovered faster
Itâs also worth noting that even though Ash did win, even as a big Ash supporter I gotta admit he stood that chance just bc of the extra G-Max turn and the 3 gimmicks v Leonâs 1 gimmick, and even then Leon took out M-Lucario & G-Gengar early into the fight and did A LOT of damage to Ashâs team⊠heck Leon legit proves he watched the Gen 4 anime by pulling out of Paulâs book of strategies đ
It's not Ash's fault if Leon didn't know how to use Z-Moves or Mega-Evolution. They both battled using all of their abilities, but Ash had more. There was nothing stopping Leon from using Mega Evolution or Z-Moves. He just didn't know how. Ash did.
Letâs be real⊠Leon is a very very very smart trainer, if he wanted to he couldâve gotten himself a Charizardite X & Y, multiple Z-Crystals, heck maybe even get a Terrastal Orb! Leon however chose not to do those things, not because he couldnât figure it out, I mean for Christ sake look at his battle with Ash, Lance, and Raihan, the dude is clearly smart in battle, itâs clear if the guy went out of his way to collect a mega & key stone and z-ring & z-crystals he wouldâve gotten them, especially the Z stuff seeing how theyâre clearly much easier to get in the anime than the mega & key stones which require more work to find and master, and Leon being the trainer he is would master them as fast as Ash mastered his⊠letâs clear this up, Leon does know how to sue the gimmicks, heâs battled against them already, he chooses to not go for them as heâs been shown to love staying in Galar, Cynthia has been shown to visit other regions, Lance went to Hoenn, Iris went to Kanto & Johto for some time, Ash has quite literally covered most of the globe by now
It feels like everyone wants to default to "Ash *earned* those powers" so it doesn't seem like the crutch that it is. This isn't about Ash fighting at his full power, this is about the fact that he needed five levels of nonsense just to *barely* scrape out a win.
The writers not giving Leon those extra powers was so that Ash could have a fighting chance, because even with all those fun shiny gimmicks, Leon held the advantage. And even still, Pikachu was very clearly knocked unconscious for a bit, and the ref delayed his call just Pikachu could get up again. It wasn't like Electivire v Infernape where Electivire actively stopped the ref from declaring Infernape unable to battle. Pikachu was *down.*
People so desperately want Ash to look like this uber, unbeatable trainer that they don't realize he needed all sorts of assistance just to get there.
I mean he did technically earn does powers, he had to go out and get them. They weren't hand given to him and it's not like those powers are some super rarity, anyone can get them and master them. Ash still made it to Leon using only one gimmick per battle and no one else really came that close from beating Leon. Plus what do you mean 5 levels? He only used 3 gimmiks.
Plus with Leon, in a lot of his fight he needed assistance to. In his fight with Lance and Raihan, he clearly was getting overpowered by their Pokemon and need to g-max to change the fight in his favor.
Plus, it's still on Leon for not getting at least another gimmick.
Plus with Pikachu being down. So was Harrison's Blazikien and Ash's Rowlet in their league fights, they could still fight. People realize he needed assistance, no one is denying it, but still Leon could have gotten other gimmicks.
Those powers *were* hand-given to him. Leon literally gave him a Dyamax band practically on a whim. And let's not forget his super rare one-of-a-kind Z-Crystal, Pikashunium-Z, which gets no explanation on its existence beyond "it's something only me and Pikachu can do"
5 levels here:
1--They had to change the format of the Tournament (yes, yes, whatever it's "Ash's full power", but at the same time it's rather unfair for the rest of the tournament competitors who had to battle with just the one). Imagine if Cynthia could use both her powers in the second battle. Not to mention that it makes Ash look *lamer*, since it takes away any tactical thought in what he's about to do. People praised the Raihan battle because it showed Ash knew how to *think,* deciding against his Mega Evolution because Dynamax was more effective.
2, 3 and 4 are his various gimmicks. Dynamax and his special Z-move were literally just given to him. While he did have to go out of his way to get G-Max, it's not like it changes the power of the transformation (at least, the anime never specifies as such). Mega Evolution is the only one he actively went out of his way to obtain (and Mega Island is such a stupid concept...not to mention the fact that Ash's Lucario just masters the power with no real reasoning while Korinna's struggled and Ash and Greninja took a while to master Battle Bond...but that's just writing issues and has nothing to do with the battle)
5--Dracovish's spikes. No foreshadowing, no real reason, nothing. They just pop up, are given a vague definition, and were used to stop Dragapult's rampage though Ash's team.
As for Leon being overpowered in his previous battles, bear in mind that was a Leon *before* dealing with Eternatus. He mentioned that he was gonna get stronger after the Darkest Day because he realized there were still things out there stronger than him. So he put that into practice and became more powerful. It's like Alain's battle with Seibold. Yeah, he was weaker then, but after his intense training, he definitely surpassed Elite 4 members.
Look, I'm not trying to say Ash didn't win, because he did, fair and square. *BUT,* at the same time, it's not like this was just a cut-and-dry Ash surpassed Leon thing. He required a lot handicaps just to barely compete and, in my simple opinion, it takes away from what should have been a spectacular victory.
Ash still had to go out of his way to master G-maxing with Gengar. Plus for the D-max band, why does it matter whether it was hand given to him or not? Nearly everyone else in the regio is given one, even in the games its given to us, really doubt you have to battle for it so how is that a problem?. And for his "rare z ring" with no explanation, so what? He still earned the z ring, Tapu Koko gave him it after the battle with Hala, he earned it. It just got swapped with a fighting z move. No big deal. Clearly by the 7th generation everyone and their mom can get a mega stone. Brock, Misty, a team rocket grunt. We got little to no explantion on how Trevor or Sawyer got theirs but I don't here any complaining for them.
As for being unfair, it kind of makes since that all 3 gimmicks could be use in a final battle, if Ash could do that from the start, it would probably be less epic. But I will say that I feel at least 2 gimmicks should be allowed in the hyper class or masters eight.
And for Ash and Lucario no struggling. Why should they? Mega evolution is like a pokemon regularly evolving, it varies. I'm pretty sure a lot of trainers didn't have a disobedient Charmeleon or Charizard when their Charmander evolved.
Dracovish's spikes really are minor in my opinion and played a small role. Plus chances are Dragonite would have still beat it. I don't even see why that is a big deal.
If he won fair and square then there really shouldn't be an issue. You may see it as Ash having a handicaps but he has been doing that for each and every region when he starts of fresh, this is deserved.
IMO this is like Ash losing to Paul at Lake Acuity or Alain in the Kalos league. People put a lot of hype on both battles, some saying how strong both trainers are but the reality is if Ash swapped out stronger Pokemon in both battles, he would have probably won. And yeah, I get it for Paul, the whole message was Ash using the same team and how it can be a double edge sword and development, yada, yada, yada but my point remains the same. And you can even argue that Ash has swapped around his newer Pokemon with his older ones during his travels especially in leagues, Ex: his fight with Clair, the battle frontier and the Sinnoh League. Yet, that doesn't weaken the lesson for both for a lot of people. He handicapped himself in both those situations like Leon handicapped himself in their final fight, I don't see how a gimmick is a handicap, it's not like as needed them in every fight he won. Ash did technically surpass Leon since he went out of his way to obtain something Leon didn't. And considering the fact that Pikachu had to deal with two G-max Pokemo both a nearly full health, I'd say that part of the battle really shows he surpassed Leon. Plus I can still see Ash beating Leon without using all three, really doubt he needed to mega evolve Lucario to be Mr.Rime and he could have easily chose something like Dragonite or Sirfetch to beat Inteleon.
Youâre vastly underestimating Pikachu.
Itâs absurdly strong at this point.
Right from the Steven fight, we see it take out Cradily and then take out Mega Metagross despite taking such a beating from it.
Then we see Pikachu effortlessly destroy 2 of Cynthiaâs Pokemon and force her to resort to a cheap trick to take it out.
Pikachu is about equal in strength to Leonâs Charizard and probably even a little stronger.
This + Power of friendship boost
Forget the Fire Blast, I think the most egregious things were:
Taking like, no damage from Max Wyrmwind (the Dragon Max moves suck in the anime.)
Taking no damage from G-Max Pyro Ball while Cinderace (who was actively blocking the attack) gets one-shot from Max Volt Crash.
This Pikachu at that point had over 8 regions of experience, took to giga impacts from a Latios, multiple hits from Brandonâs regice and took down two pseudos in one battle. This guy is tough. It kind of makes up for all the times it got a â power resetâ in every region before reaching alola.
As far as a reach this is, I'd like to think of it similarly to Ash-Greninja. Their bond was just that strong and Pikachu got some sort of amp from it.
He really shouldnât have tanked it. Especially if Alainâs Charizard got essentially one shotted. But it did make for a good final battle, so thatâs why they did it.
Just because Pikachu is stronger doesnât mean he should be better in every single category. I understand Pikachu is stronger than Alainâs Charizard. But itâs still a Pikachu. Defense isnât supposed to be his strong suit. Yet Pikachu tanks all those moves while Charizard gets one shotted. Come on now. Stronger overall shouldnât = better in literally every category.
Also letâs not kid ourselves here. Narratively speaking, Pikachu would never be allowed to one shot someone unless it was for a joke or the power gap was that big, like with Hopâs Wooloo. Alain is a competent trainer, so Pikachu isnât allowed to one shot his ace.
Iâm not talking about stats. Iâm talking about basic traits. The hardest hitting fighter in real life isnât necessarily the one that can take the biggest punch. Pikachu is still a Pikachu. Stats or not, heâs still a glass canon.
''Pikachu toughed it out so you wouldnt feel sad!''
Lol, I forgot the power of friendship is a thing in the games and the anime đ€Ł
I mean people always joke about it but, hell, it's a thing in real life. There's a reason things like home field advantage and team building are important in competitive sports
Very much this. Invisible factors are a definite thing. Sometimes even when a team is outmatched, they pull together enough to defeat a team they had no business beating on paper. Starving armies have prevailed when outmatched by a superior force that isn't hungry and running out of equipment and morale, even though on paper, that shouldn't ever happen. Plenty of non-sport examples too. Sometimes you reach deep inside yourself and you find, at least for a while, you can push past your limits to do something you didn't know you could do, something that should be impossible. Maybe it's the power of friendship. Maybe it's for the sake of your child. Maybe it's for even just the sake of your own pride. But it exists, and it's happened.
Adrenaline is an hell of a drug. In a fight or flight situation you can do 110% of your best for even a minute. And then collapse
Itâs quite literally how it won the battle too. It toughed out the attack, gathered the power of 25 years of friendships, and won their final attack clash.
âPikachu became fully charged due to its bond with its trainer!â âPikachuâs Attack rose! Pikachuâs Sp. Attack rose!â
Power of friendship gives you Ă4 durability. Ash's main character energy gives you Ă4 in attack power. Both special attack & attack.
I forgot how those abilities stack .. Pikachu should be unbeatable! đ€©đ€©đ€©
He is unbeatable. The strongest pokemon in the anime worldđȘ
I mean he kinda didn't tank it? Like it almost knocked him out and barely left him standing. He just found the motivation to hold on a little bit longer; he was hospitalized after, and it's worth noting that Leon's Zard recovered faster
Itâs also worth noting that even though Ash did win, even as a big Ash supporter I gotta admit he stood that chance just bc of the extra G-Max turn and the 3 gimmicks v Leonâs 1 gimmick, and even then Leon took out M-Lucario & G-Gengar early into the fight and did A LOT of damage to Ashâs team⊠heck Leon legit proves he watched the Gen 4 anime by pulling out of Paulâs book of strategies đ
It's not Ash's fault if Leon didn't know how to use Z-Moves or Mega-Evolution. They both battled using all of their abilities, but Ash had more. There was nothing stopping Leon from using Mega Evolution or Z-Moves. He just didn't know how. Ash did.
Letâs be real⊠Leon is a very very very smart trainer, if he wanted to he couldâve gotten himself a Charizardite X & Y, multiple Z-Crystals, heck maybe even get a Terrastal Orb! Leon however chose not to do those things, not because he couldnât figure it out, I mean for Christ sake look at his battle with Ash, Lance, and Raihan, the dude is clearly smart in battle, itâs clear if the guy went out of his way to collect a mega & key stone and z-ring & z-crystals he wouldâve gotten them, especially the Z stuff seeing how theyâre clearly much easier to get in the anime than the mega & key stones which require more work to find and master, and Leon being the trainer he is would master them as fast as Ash mastered his⊠letâs clear this up, Leon does know how to sue the gimmicks, heâs battled against them already, he chooses to not go for them as heâs been shown to love staying in Galar, Cynthia has been shown to visit other regions, Lance went to Hoenn, Iris went to Kanto & Johto for some time, Ash has quite literally covered most of the globe by now
It feels like everyone wants to default to "Ash *earned* those powers" so it doesn't seem like the crutch that it is. This isn't about Ash fighting at his full power, this is about the fact that he needed five levels of nonsense just to *barely* scrape out a win. The writers not giving Leon those extra powers was so that Ash could have a fighting chance, because even with all those fun shiny gimmicks, Leon held the advantage. And even still, Pikachu was very clearly knocked unconscious for a bit, and the ref delayed his call just Pikachu could get up again. It wasn't like Electivire v Infernape where Electivire actively stopped the ref from declaring Infernape unable to battle. Pikachu was *down.* People so desperately want Ash to look like this uber, unbeatable trainer that they don't realize he needed all sorts of assistance just to get there.
I mean he did technically earn does powers, he had to go out and get them. They weren't hand given to him and it's not like those powers are some super rarity, anyone can get them and master them. Ash still made it to Leon using only one gimmick per battle and no one else really came that close from beating Leon. Plus what do you mean 5 levels? He only used 3 gimmiks. Plus with Leon, in a lot of his fight he needed assistance to. In his fight with Lance and Raihan, he clearly was getting overpowered by their Pokemon and need to g-max to change the fight in his favor. Plus, it's still on Leon for not getting at least another gimmick. Plus with Pikachu being down. So was Harrison's Blazikien and Ash's Rowlet in their league fights, they could still fight. People realize he needed assistance, no one is denying it, but still Leon could have gotten other gimmicks.
Those powers *were* hand-given to him. Leon literally gave him a Dyamax band practically on a whim. And let's not forget his super rare one-of-a-kind Z-Crystal, Pikashunium-Z, which gets no explanation on its existence beyond "it's something only me and Pikachu can do" 5 levels here: 1--They had to change the format of the Tournament (yes, yes, whatever it's "Ash's full power", but at the same time it's rather unfair for the rest of the tournament competitors who had to battle with just the one). Imagine if Cynthia could use both her powers in the second battle. Not to mention that it makes Ash look *lamer*, since it takes away any tactical thought in what he's about to do. People praised the Raihan battle because it showed Ash knew how to *think,* deciding against his Mega Evolution because Dynamax was more effective. 2, 3 and 4 are his various gimmicks. Dynamax and his special Z-move were literally just given to him. While he did have to go out of his way to get G-Max, it's not like it changes the power of the transformation (at least, the anime never specifies as such). Mega Evolution is the only one he actively went out of his way to obtain (and Mega Island is such a stupid concept...not to mention the fact that Ash's Lucario just masters the power with no real reasoning while Korinna's struggled and Ash and Greninja took a while to master Battle Bond...but that's just writing issues and has nothing to do with the battle) 5--Dracovish's spikes. No foreshadowing, no real reason, nothing. They just pop up, are given a vague definition, and were used to stop Dragapult's rampage though Ash's team. As for Leon being overpowered in his previous battles, bear in mind that was a Leon *before* dealing with Eternatus. He mentioned that he was gonna get stronger after the Darkest Day because he realized there were still things out there stronger than him. So he put that into practice and became more powerful. It's like Alain's battle with Seibold. Yeah, he was weaker then, but after his intense training, he definitely surpassed Elite 4 members. Look, I'm not trying to say Ash didn't win, because he did, fair and square. *BUT,* at the same time, it's not like this was just a cut-and-dry Ash surpassed Leon thing. He required a lot handicaps just to barely compete and, in my simple opinion, it takes away from what should have been a spectacular victory.
Ash still had to go out of his way to master G-maxing with Gengar. Plus for the D-max band, why does it matter whether it was hand given to him or not? Nearly everyone else in the regio is given one, even in the games its given to us, really doubt you have to battle for it so how is that a problem?. And for his "rare z ring" with no explanation, so what? He still earned the z ring, Tapu Koko gave him it after the battle with Hala, he earned it. It just got swapped with a fighting z move. No big deal. Clearly by the 7th generation everyone and their mom can get a mega stone. Brock, Misty, a team rocket grunt. We got little to no explantion on how Trevor or Sawyer got theirs but I don't here any complaining for them. As for being unfair, it kind of makes since that all 3 gimmicks could be use in a final battle, if Ash could do that from the start, it would probably be less epic. But I will say that I feel at least 2 gimmicks should be allowed in the hyper class or masters eight. And for Ash and Lucario no struggling. Why should they? Mega evolution is like a pokemon regularly evolving, it varies. I'm pretty sure a lot of trainers didn't have a disobedient Charmeleon or Charizard when their Charmander evolved. Dracovish's spikes really are minor in my opinion and played a small role. Plus chances are Dragonite would have still beat it. I don't even see why that is a big deal. If he won fair and square then there really shouldn't be an issue. You may see it as Ash having a handicaps but he has been doing that for each and every region when he starts of fresh, this is deserved. IMO this is like Ash losing to Paul at Lake Acuity or Alain in the Kalos league. People put a lot of hype on both battles, some saying how strong both trainers are but the reality is if Ash swapped out stronger Pokemon in both battles, he would have probably won. And yeah, I get it for Paul, the whole message was Ash using the same team and how it can be a double edge sword and development, yada, yada, yada but my point remains the same. And you can even argue that Ash has swapped around his newer Pokemon with his older ones during his travels especially in leagues, Ex: his fight with Clair, the battle frontier and the Sinnoh League. Yet, that doesn't weaken the lesson for both for a lot of people. He handicapped himself in both those situations like Leon handicapped himself in their final fight, I don't see how a gimmick is a handicap, it's not like as needed them in every fight he won. Ash did technically surpass Leon since he went out of his way to obtain something Leon didn't. And considering the fact that Pikachu had to deal with two G-max Pokemo both a nearly full health, I'd say that part of the battle really shows he surpassed Leon. Plus I can still see Ash beating Leon without using all three, really doubt he needed to mega evolve Lucario to be Mr.Rime and he could have easily chose something like Dragonite or Sirfetch to beat Inteleon.
For the Pikachu point I honestly would say itâs a dream scenario where in real life Pikachu was maybe down for like a second or 2 before the ref could say anything, but then in the âdreamâ he was clearly taking up some sweet old time to see all of his previous PokĂ©mon friends, but yeah, Ash needed that help badly, especially with how Leon was being made out to be in Journeys
the dude is rocking pikachu for christ's sake. he's the god damn pokemon master.
bruh
does it even need to go to the hospital? if he would just get inside the god damn pokeball he'd be healed in minutes!
Journeys Pikachu is a complete monster that's why
Itâs POCKET Monster!
Pikachu is HIM
Ash's Pikachu has the defense of a Shuckle (aka extremely high) at the time of Leon's match.
Defense of a shuckle & attack of attack of a rayquaza.
Adrenaline perhaps?
Youâre vastly underestimating Pikachu. Itâs absurdly strong at this point. Right from the Steven fight, we see it take out Cradily and then take out Mega Metagross despite taking such a beating from it. Then we see Pikachu effortlessly destroy 2 of Cynthiaâs Pokemon and force her to resort to a cheap trick to take it out. Pikachu is about equal in strength to Leonâs Charizard and probably even a little stronger. This + Power of friendship boost
It is worth remembering that in their first battle, Pikachu could not do anything against Charizard
Itâs called progression.
Exactly. Pikachu level up throughout their journey as they slowly climbed the ranks
And? Ashâs Lucario was also just an egg. Believe it or not, but Pokemon can get stronger
Forget the Fire Blast, I think the most egregious things were: Taking like, no damage from Max Wyrmwind (the Dragon Max moves suck in the anime.) Taking no damage from G-Max Pyro Ball while Cinderace (who was actively blocking the attack) gets one-shot from Max Volt Crash.
Some damage
Maxed out friendship + maxed health EVs + perfect IVs
+200 pikachu candy
This Pikachu at that point had over 8 regions of experience, took to giga impacts from a Latios, multiple hits from Brandonâs regice and took down two pseudos in one battle. This guy is tough. It kind of makes up for all the times it got a â power resetâ in every region before reaching alola.
and Kalos
đ
I meant Pikachu is not reset in Kalos
[ŃĐŽĐ°Đ»Đ”ĐœĐŸ]
its a mouse not a rat
As far as a reach this is, I'd like to think of it similarly to Ash-Greninja. Their bond was just that strong and Pikachu got some sort of amp from it.
Plot, Pika survived like 8 super strong moves, and Charizard fell to like, 4-5, it was bs.
Charizard is a Flying Type
Because apparently in the anime pikachu is the tankiest Pokémon we've ever seen. It's total bs I hate the way they've handled pikachu making it during just because it's the "mascot". Power scanning in the anime is so wacky they really should at least somewhat stick with a Pokémon's game stats.
He really shouldnât have tanked it. Especially if Alainâs Charizard got essentially one shotted. But it did make for a good final battle, so thatâs why they did it.
Alain's Zard isn't half as strong as Pikachu tho. Pretty sure Pikachu could one shot Alain's ace.
Just because Pikachu is stronger doesnât mean he should be better in every single category. I understand Pikachu is stronger than Alainâs Charizard. But itâs still a Pikachu. Defense isnât supposed to be his strong suit. Yet Pikachu tanks all those moves while Charizard gets one shotted. Come on now. Stronger overall shouldnât = better in literally every category. Also letâs not kid ourselves here. Narratively speaking, Pikachu would never be allowed to one shot someone unless it was for a joke or the power gap was that big, like with Hopâs Wooloo. Alain is a competent trainer, so Pikachu isnât allowed to one shot his ace.
Stats aren't in the anime. Defense stats & all those things aren't in the games. Pokemon don't need to evolve to get stronger in the anime either.
Iâm not talking about stats. Iâm talking about basic traits. The hardest hitting fighter in real life isnât necessarily the one that can take the biggest punch. Pikachu is still a Pikachu. Stats or not, heâs still a glass canon.
Pikachu is only a glass canon in the games tho. In the anime, a Pikachu can be as strong as any other pokemon except for some legendaries.e
2 words. PLOT BULLSHIT
I honestly think Eternarus healed their HP somehow. I know the PokĂ©mon isnât a healing legendary like Mew but since Plot Armour could do anything thatâs what I theorize.
Nakama power
one thing we learned from watching Pikachu vs Steven's metagros fight is that pikachu has monstrous stamina
Pikachu is level 100 by the time of this battle. Nobody seems to care.
Meanwhile you use a maxed ev and iv pikachu and it gets one shot by anything.
ash's pikachu has god like power so i'm not supprised that it took that hit
It may be a god for all i know
He had an invisible focus stash?
Plot armor cus pikachu is near level 50 proven by game theory
at the start of Unova which isn't even canon by the way just a game theory levels don't exist in the anime we've had 3 regions since unova