u/SensualSamuel69

After both Blaziken and Charizard willed themselves to stand up after the Flamethrower-Dragon Rage exchange, it was pretty clear that a light breeze would’ve knocked either one over at that point.

Ash was overconfident and commanded an attack, and Charizard simply attempting to muster up the strength to move and let out a Flamethrower was enough for it to pass out.

Harrison, on the other hand, strategically waited to call out any sort of command, knowing not to push it too hard too soon in that moment.

In my opinion, it was a clear example of “whoever moves first, falls first.” Harrison was the better, more experienced trainer than Ash at that time, so he understood the limits of his pokemon. Ash was overconfident and it cost him.

Blaziken and Charizard were dead even. What tipped the scales was the difference in skill and experience of the trainers. Ash’s unfamiliarity with Blaziken I’m sure also contributed.

And if you don’t think Blaziken was in the exact same position as Charizard in that moment, Harrison considered it to be so crippled from the battle that he couldn’t even bring it to his semifinals match, which he lost. And if I’m not mistaken, Blaziken was never shown to have moved another muscle after standing up that last time, which I think indicates that it would’ve fallen just like Charizard if it had tried to move.

This might legitimately be the closest battle to not end in a tie in the entire series, aside from the Ash vs Leon battle ofc.

Gary’s Blastoise
Harrison’s Blaziken
Tyson’s Sceptile
Paul’s Torterra
Cameron’s Samurott
Sanpei’s Greninja
Hau’s Decidueye
Drake’s Venusaur

Feel free to explain your reasonings if you want. You can even rank them from weakest to strongest.

I’d personally base it off of each Pokémon’s most recent appearance, but I understand if you wanna factor in implied strength increases. Like even though we don’t see Paul’s torterra in JN, some would infer that torterra had gotten much stronger, since Paul himself has gotten stronger too. However, I personally choose to go off of the most recent appearance of each Pokemon, since we technically don’t know for sure Torterra got stronger. For all we know, Paul could’ve just left it with his brother after Sinnoh and never really trained with it again before JN 🤷‍♂️

Anyway, let me know your thoughts. I think the weakest is probably Cameron’s Samurott. The strongest imo is either Harrison’s Blaziken or Gary’s Blastoise (mainly due to its JN appearances). Paul’s Torterra and Tyson’s Sceptile are close too.

Emboar is my least favorite out of the Unova starters, but I still like it alright. And I usually love big, bulky powerhouse pokemon. I wish I liked it more, but I feel like it’s just been shafted by the continued failures of its design portrayal.

It’s Gen 5 sprite is awesome. Perfect display of its design. Nothing else needs to be said there. The problem is how it looks in the 3D games and anime. It just looks off. Clumsy, clunky, ugly, fat, weird, and just feels like a disservice to the Pokemon. Every time I think I’m starting to like it more, I think back to how it looks in the anime and in the 3D games and it’s like there’s a ceiling to how much I can enjoy Emboar as a Pokemon. It’s a damn shame.

I will say though that I like emboar more now than I did as a kid at least, so that’s something I guess.

Are there any pokemon like that for you?

PG: John Wall

SG: Anthony Edwards

SF: Kevin Durant

PF: Kevin Garnett

C: Nikola Jokic

(6th Man: Naz Reid)

I feel like it has been super trendy lately for idiots on social media to make videos explaining why dinosaurs are a hoax and just a cover-up for dragons.

I’m sure you all have seen them and know of their usually talking points that they think are “gotcha’s,” like the “wings don’t fossilize” or “the bones on display at museums aren’t the real bones, which are hidden away” or “how come most ancient civilizations all referenced dragons???”

So what are some of your go-to counter arguments you point to whenever you see and/or interact with one of these people?

And also, feel free to share any funny/interesting stories about debates you’ve had with dragon-believers about this.

Ash and Torkoal were battling at the absolute peak of their capabilities. Every attack thrown at them that wasn’t with Lock-on was dodged and countered. Torkoal landed numerous super effective hits. Ash had a strategy and response for nearly everything until the end. It just wasn’t enough.

Even though Ash correctly used Iron Defense as his only option against lock-on Zap Cannon, it still did immense damage, with Brock even stating that Iron Defense saved Torkoal from getting one-shot. And even after several flamethrowers, body slams, and a heat wave, Registeel shrugged it off, with Brandon and Brock both stating that Registeel is now “motivated.” All that just to make Registeel “wake up.” And even after Torkoal was wailing on Registeel even more after that, one more Lock-on and Zap Cannon was all it took to eviscerate torkoal.

So even after countless super effective moves, body slams, being caught in a fire sandstorm and smashed into by a body slams inside of it, AND basically launching a zap cannon to its own head and creating a massive explosion, it still only brought Registeel to a knee at the end.

Just crazy.

I’m sure many of you will say the Sharptooth, but I gotta give it to the T-Rex from Rite of Spring in Fantasia.

And yes, I’m aware that it is not an accurate-looking T-Rex. But that doesn’t take away from the fear factor.

It just looked like Gyarados was unphased by the Bullet Punch. And when it launched the Hyper Beam, the bullet lunch even stopped. But after the explosion (which was caused by the Hyper Beam BLASTING on Lucario), Gyarados is just randomly fainted while Lucario looks unscathed 🤨

Dracovish Notable Feats and Powers:

- Beat Leon’s busted Rillaboom (with dragon scale power boost active), Cynthia’s Roserade, Drasna’s Noivern, and Iris’s Dragonite

- Did a good amount of damage to Leon’s Dragapult, Cynthia’s Milotic, and Steven’s base Metagross

- Has access to a draconic awakening power boost

Naganadel Notable Feats and Powers:

- Mid diffed Kukui’s Lucario despite type disadvantage

- Held its own for a while against a fresh Tapu Koko after Naganadel had already battled and while lacking much battle experience.

- Has access to Gigavolt Havoc

I think the battle could go either way. If Naganadel keeps its distance for the most part and lands some heavy Dragon Pulses, it will have the advantage. If Dracovish can get in close and trap it with its powered-up dragon scales and/or Ice Fang, it’s gonna take the win. With both of them having access to their power-ups, I slightly lean Naganadel extreme diff, just because I don’t see Dracovish tanking a Gigavolt Havoc at the end of the battle.

Rules:

1. One pokemon per evolution line allowed

2. Three starters allowed

3. One legendary/mythical allowed

4. One mega evolution allowed

5. One G-max allowed

6. NFE (not fully evolved) Pokemon are allowed

7. One shiny Pokemon allowed

Rules:

1. One pokemon per evolution line allowed

2. Three starters allowed

3. One legendary/mythical allowed

4. One mega evolution allowed

5. One G-max allowed

6. NFE (not fully evolved) Pokemon are allowed

I mean what was even that battle against Cameron???

2v2 and you sack your first mon just to get off Cursed Body? Uhh ok I guess.

Then his ace isn’t even a gen 5 pokemon. It’s just a mantine. Felt like the weakest 8th gym leader ace possible. Got clobbered by Cameron’s Samurott without much trouble at all.

This dude not only lost, but lost to CAMERON, and didn’t really put up a good fight either. Didn’t even feel like a gym battle, much less an EIGHTH gym battle. His performance made him come off more like some C grade rival character like Burgundy or something. But at least Burgundy has a personality, unlike this generic surfer archetype. Brawly did it way better.

The Roxie battle wasn’t much better, but at least she wasn’t written to be a weakling.

It’s incredible that this anime somehow made this guy appear even weaker than he already did in the games. Rip Drayden

I know that having a blonde beard and not much cheek growth is a recipe for a long, brutal awkward phase, and I don’t know if I want to wait 6 months through it. My facial hair has been getting better/fuller and grown on more parts of my face as the years have gone by, so I’m confident that the cheek growth won’t be a problem a few years from now, but I don’t know if it’s enough right now for me to want to wait it out. I know I can grow a great mustache though, so I’m wondering if I should just stick with that for the time being.

Anyone who watched this battle knows.

Brock was dominating the entire first 2/3 of the battle, landing hit after hit on Eevee, out-strategizing May at every turn, and effectively showcasing Marshtomp’s unique strengths and abilities while doing it. May didn’t even land a single hit.

But then the camera pans up to the scoreboard for the first time to reveal that they were close to even in terms of points somehow. Like how did Brock lose 1/3 of his points bar up to that point without making any mistakes or getting damaged?? And how did May still have over half of hers left?? She should’ve been out of points by the 2 minute mark 😂

And then May makes a couple good moves towards the end and that’s enough to win, apparently.

Total plot-armor win for May. Brock really did have the potential to be a top tier coordinator.