Social NintenZone Social 4 - Bring It In, Guys!

[PsychoIncarnate]

Damn, I would have captured one if I knew that

 

[Deleted member]

Oh. This is a joke? Mkay. Here's you're (you). Have a good one.
We need a Smashboards version of that meme...

In all seriousness though, at most I've thought about bringing my GF here despite her finding things like Mario, Kirby, and Sonic cringey...(But not Crash, she's such a sony fanboy.)

But then again she does love pokemon like pretty much 99% of people in this thread, loves anime, and even likes Fire Emblem from what I've shown her anyway.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Damn, I would have captured one if I knew that

Right next to Zubat.

Irony in its highest form.

 

[Aetheri]

Halloween is over for me, so then it's on to a new avi...also a new gif in my siggy to match....

Still remains my favourite human character in the pokemon games! If it wasn't clear I'm pretty stoked Cynthia's in Sun and Moon, even if it's likely she'll only appear in the post-game...

Damn, I would have captured one if I knew that

flashbacks of Ice Shriekbats in Prime and wondering what ever the **** that last creature scan was supposed to be...

 

[Aurane]

Damn, I would have captured one if I knew that

The irony of this picture is batty.

 

[Knight Dude]

From what I read, it did get to the Buu saga. With about 167 episodes.

Yep. Mind you, that's the episode total for the entire DBZ Kai series. Down from 291. Still the comic's pacing is much better.

If you get into DBSuper skip about the first 27 episodes, since most of them are just re-capping the two animated films that came out recently. The Tournament and Trunks stuff is actually alright. And some of the Slice of Life episodes are okay too.

 

[Erureido]

I just rewatched Pokemon XY&Z 47, the final episode of the XY anime. It was a great finish to the series! Time for the final XY&Z review!

Spoiler: Summary and thoughts about XY&Z episode 47

The episode begins with Ash calling his mom and Professor Oak from Clemont's house, with Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie with him. He tells them that he will catch a flight to Kanto around the afternoon. Delia and Oak tell him that they look forward to his return. Delia also tells Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie that they should visit sometime, where she will make them a meal. All of their faces light up. What's interesting about this scene is that Serena blushes when hearing Delia's invitation. This is the closest you'll get to see some sort of Delia and Serena interaction Amourshippers have been longing for.

After eating one final meal together, Ash and the gang run into Sycamore, Alain, and Mairin as they are heading out. Sycamore tells them that he wanted to see them one last time before they part ways. Alain reveals that he and Mairin will now be traveling the Kalos region in order to find Mega Stones. Sycamore then explains how the Sundial is connected to the Mega Stones, and it's pretty much the same explanation provided in the X/Y games. Ash also notices that Alain doesn't wear his Mega Bracelet anymore. Alain explains that he got rid of it because it was given to him by Lysandre, and now, he wants to the find the Mega Stone on his own. He explains he wants to "start from zero" just like Ash did. Before parting ways, Alain and Ash promise to have another battle once they meet again. The chances this battle will happen again are pretty low, but I'm all up for seeing another battle between Ash and Alain. Say what you will about Alain, but I think this scene does another great job demonstrating how Ash impacted Alains's life for the best.

We also see Team Rocket presenting their news about Team Flare's downfall to Giovanni. Giovanni tells them that now that Team Flare has been destroyed so that Team Rocket can set up operations there, they have succeeded in their mission and they should report back to Kanto. We may all be annoyed of Team Rocket every now and then, but it's nice to see Giovanni recognizing them for their accomplishments.

Everyone is now at the airport awaiting Serena and Ash's flights respectively. There is a brief scene of Team Rocket rushing to their flight during this, and it contained a very clever nod to Sun and Moon (more on that later). No, Team Rocket didn't board the same flight Ash did. Ash took a separate plane to Kanto, the flight after them to be exact.

All the Pokemon say goodbye to each other at the waiting area. Hawlucha, Noivern, Sylveon, Bunnelby, Chespin, and Pikachu all shed some tears during this scene. Bonnie looks downtrodden as well. In fact, she has been displaying some sadness since the beginning of the episode, where she frown slightly as Ash hangs up his call with Delia and then plays with her soup in a disappointed way during the meal scene (when she was asked what's wrong at that time, she responded that she ate a few snacks before and thus didn't feel hungry, but it was pretty obvious that she was lying). Dedenne has been picking up on some of Bonnie's feelings, and it culminates when Braixen and Syvleon try to say goodbye to it. Now feeling sad, Dedenne escapes from Bonnie's clutch and runs away. Ash and the gang pursue it and eventually find it hiding behind a sign at the luggage waiting zone. Dedenne breaks into tears, and Bonnie tells it that it shares the same feelings: that both feel sad that they'll have to depart ways from everyone. Bonnie then comforts Dedenne by explaining her goal. Not only does she want to become a Pokemon Trainer, but she also wants to become a Performer, win a badge from her brother, and beat Ash in a Pokemon battle, and she wants Dedenne to be her partner in every step of the way. Feeling better, Dedenne runs back to Bonnie and cries in her arms, while Ash and the gang give it some words of comfort.

To be honest, this entire scene reminded me of the final episode of DP when Dawn's Piplup escapes from everyone and broke down it tears because it couldn't bear at the thought of parting ways from its friends. Dedenne's moment was a neat throwback to it.

We then reach the biggest highlight of the episode: Serena's departure. She thanks everyone for all the fun times they spent together, and then she turns to Ash. She thanks Ash for all that he has done. She then tells him, "You're my goal!" The music suddenly plays a sweet chime as Ash reacts with surprise, while Clemont and Bonnie turn to each other and smile. You could say this was part one of the confession because of how it plays out, and I gotta say, the way it played out made me go, "Awwwwww!" She then tells Ash, "Just you wait, by the next time we meet, I'll become a much more attractive woman!" Hold on! "Become a much more attractive woman"? Damn, Serena. You truly are determined in winning Ash's heart!

She then rides down the escalator. When she's about halfway, however, she turns to Ash and asks him, "Can I have one last thing?" She then runs up and kisses him. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Amourshipping became canon (or at least close to it depending on how you look at it)!

How I reacted I first saw that kiss scene:

Serena was one of the main reasons why I returned to watching the anime. The fact she was the first female traveling partner to have feelings for Ash made me pretty interested to see how it would develop. Since three years ago, I was really hoping the Ash x Serena pairing would end on a very high note by the end of the series, whether it'd be the two becoming a couple or a confession of some sort. My prayers were answered. Serena truly deserved such a wonderful moment at the very end.

Bonnie, Clemont, and Pikachu's reaction to the kiss was hilarious! Bonnie was me when I watched the big kiss.

Now heavily blushing, Serena gives the most energetic and happiest "thank you" you can possibly imagine. Ash's eyes sparkle as he sees her ride down the escalator, and then he smiles and wishes her farewell. You can tell that he really enjoyed the kiss. In the past times he was kissed (the second and fifth movies), he only reacted with confusion. This is the first time you see him really enjoying the kiss. His eyes sparkle so much that you could even interpret it as if he had feelings for her.

I could also sense an accumulating effect with Serena's confession, from her words "You're my goal" and the one about "attractive woman" to the kiss. "You're my goal" starts out as something that sounds like a confession but not a direct one, but then it becomes more direct with the "attractive woman" statement, and then Serena gets straight to the point with the kiss.

I also liked Bonnie's moment as the group waved goodbye to Serena.

Bonnie's pose screams, "You did it, girl!" It does a great job linking back to the fact #BonnieKnows (and she knew about it for a long while too).

There is also a very clever detail during that entire scene that further proves what Serena kissed on Ash on the lips. I will expand on it later.

As they watch Serena's plane fly away, Clemont and Ash realize they still have some time before Ash leaves for his flight. Clemont then asks Ash for one final battle, and Ash accepts. The two battle at the airport's battlefield, and Bunnelby and Pikachu are the Pokemon to duke it out. Though short with the winner left unknown (because it transitions to Ash flying away on his plane with Clemon and Bonnie watching during the sunset after Pikachu and Bunnelby's attacks collide), the animation was top notch for the final battle of the XY series, and I gained the impression this was the anime's way of saying, "Here's a final hurrah to remind you why the battles in XY were awesome!" It's also worth mentioning Ash's very first battle in Kalos was against Clemont, and the two Pokemon they used for it were Pikachu and Bunnelby respectively. With XY&Z 47's battle, they were really throwing it back to that very battle, and that made me feel very nostalgic just thinking about it.

What follows is a montage of scenes throughout the XY/XY&Z series featuring our heroes. We see Serena arrive at Hoenn, and then we see montage of her biggest moments throughout the series. We then see Clemont back at Prism Tower working on a new invention with Bonnie watching him, and we a montage of scenes featuring Clemont and Bonnie respectively. We then have a montage showing what everyone else has been doing: Sycamore is giving a starter Pokemon to a new Trainer as he is receives a phone call from Alain and Mairin where we see them explore the Frost Cavern, Steven and Sawyer are navigating remnants of Lysandre Labs (all that's left of it is a crater created from Megalith Zygarde's creation), the XY rival trio observing some wild Pokemon in a forest during sunset, Goodra breaking up a fight between a Lotad and a Wooper in the Woodlands, and Greninja dealing with a few more destructive vines.

We then see Ash and Pikachu flying back to Kanto. As the camera zooms in one Ash's face, Volt, the very first opening theme to the XY series, starts playing as a montage of Ash's moments throughout the XY/XY&Z series starts playing. I felt pretty sad hearing Volt during it, and when I mean sad, I'm talking the kind of sad where you miss something. Having the very first opening theme of XY play not only during a montage for the final episode but also bring it back as the final song to be heard in the 6th generation series really brought the nostalgia, not to mention Volt is an energetic yet beautiful song.

It's also worth mentioning that during Ash's montage, there were lots of scenes featuring him and Serena. It's almost like he's recalling the times they've interacted with each other now that they've kissed. Perhaps this was the writer's way of explaining Ash did have feelings for Serena after all, or was developing them after the kiss?

The episode ends with Ash and Pikachu finally arriving to Pallet Town on foot during the night. He walks into his home and says, "I'm back." The camera then pans to the sky and a message is formed a star pattern: "And to our own way." This is completely new for a final episode in a Pokemon series. Past final episodes displayed "Next Time, a new beginning" at the very end rather than that message.

A wonderful finish indeed!

Another thing I really liked in this episode was the rich symbolism going on throughout it, and many of them are really well done. Let's take a look!

1) XY&Z episode 47 actually made a very clever reference to the Sun and Moon series

Spoiler: Sun and Moon reference in XY&Z 47

In the scene when Team Rocket is rushing to their flight, two keychains drop out of their bags. What are those keychains? Take a look:

Yep, Solrock and Lunatone keychains.

Now, what are Solrock and Lunatone based on? The Sun and the Moon respectively. What are the next generation games called? Sun and Moon. Yep, this was the writers' way of referencing the next series!

2) While the viewers can't see the kiss and can only judge based on the actions of Ash and Serena the reactions of the two and their friends, a hidden message cleverly and subtly explains why it was really was a kiss on the lips.

Spoiler: That clever way of explaining it was a kiss

This 4chan post perfectly summarizes it.

Yep, the name of Serena's flight is further proof Serena kissed Ash on the lips!

Small note: Mawhile is #71 in the ORAS Pokedex

3) This was a hidden message the Tetsuo Yajima, the storyboard director, tweeted about, and it has to do with the final scene when Ash arrives home.

Spoiler: The hidden message acknowledged by Yajima

Here is the clip of Ash walking back to his home. Note the flowers in the background that can be seen in front of his house:

Those flowers are called Baby's Breaths. Tetsuo Yakima confirmed that the hidden message is in the language of these flowers. Baby's Breaths represent everlasting love, whether it'd be family, platonic, or romantic. Each of these three aspects of love is represented in XY/XY&Z series.

• Family: Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were treated as a family. In fact, compared to Ash's other traveling groups, the XY gang was the only time fans referred to Ash's group as a family. Family is also represented in the final episode. Baby's Breath can also symbolize a return to a lost love or a far-away family member. In this case, Ash reconnects with his mom, his far-away family member and a lost love in that sense.
• Platonic: Ash's treats everyone he encounters in a platonic way, one with kindness and encouragement. This is even exemplified with the way he approaches his Pokemon
• Romantic: A large chunk of Ash's scenes during his montage in the final episode involved his interactions with Serena, and considering what happened prior when Serena kissed him and he looked happy about it, it could imply some kind of romantic attraction toward Serena. It's also worth mentioning Baby's Breath is commonly used in bouquets during weddings. Let that sink in.

Some will argue this hidden message could also apply to Misty because her Japanese name, Kasumi, is similar to the Japanese name of Baby's Breath, Kasumisou. However, Yajima stated that the hidden message has to do with the language of the flowers, not the name of it.

Here's where I found most of the information regarding the language of Baby's Breath and how it connected with this episode.

4) This is a hidden symbolism I found myself, and it has to do with the escalator.

Spoiler: A deeper look at the escalator scene

Let's watch that kiss scene again. Pay attention to how Serena travels on the escalator throughout it.

She starts by traveling down the escalator like normal, then she turns back and climbs it to kiss Ash, and as she rides down the escalator following the kiss, she stares at Ash until she reaches the very bottom.

When she rides down the escalator at first, she faces away from Ash. Yet, she also has a smile on her face. To start it in simple terms, her facing away from Ash and the gang reflects the notion she is beginning a new journey, one where she won't have Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie to accompany her. However, she has a smile, and that smile represents the memories of the time she spent with them, and she will retain them as she travels to Hoenn.

Moving on, when you achieve a goal, you usually travel "up" to achieve it. In Serena's case, having her climb the escalator represents this idea. She does so in order to fulfill something she always wanted to do: express her true feelings for Ash and even win his heart. With that kiss, she has fulfilled a goal/wish of hers.

What happens following the kiss is where we have another pretty neat detail. She simply stares at Ash with a loving gaze as she rides down the escalator. The fact she is facing Ash as she moves away one last time reflects the notion that she will not forget about Ash no matter the distance. The blushing ads to this as a way of signifying that her feelings for Ash will not fade away as she embarks on her new journey.

In all, fantastic episode and an amazing finish to the XY anime! Words cannot describe how much I'm going to miss XY/XY&Z. It may have a few flaws here and there, but I have so many fond memories of watching a majority of its episodes. The action, the emotion, the characters, the music, I could go on and on. It was a wonderful experience from beginning to end!

Farewell to the best series in Pokemon anime history! You will be missed!

EDIT: Fixed that big typo.

 

[Aurane]

Farewell to the best series in Pokemon anime history! You won't be missed!

I question the legitimacy of this post.

 

[KingofPhantoms]

Hope all of you had a good Halloween. Mine was great and certainly way better than last year (we barely had any trick or treaters at all last year....the neighborhood's gotten quieter with Halloween the past few years and doesn't draw nearly as much attention as it used to. We're among the few houses on our street that decorate noticeably or at all, sadly.)

Spent a lot of time with family as well, so that was nice.

I'm gonna keep the Oogie Boogie avi for a bit longer though. I like it quite a bit.

 

[Erureido]

I question the legitimacy of this post.

Yikes! Bad typo on my part.

I meant "You will be missed." I'll fix it right away.

 

[Aurane]

Yikes! Bad typo on my part.

I meant "You will be missed." I'll fix it right away.

Yeah I got it. S'all right.

 

[Deleted member]

That was quite the impressive write up, @Erueido, but Imma haff ta stop ya right there and say Orange Islands is the best Pokemon anime of all time!

 

[Aurane]

Here's something sort of funny. If you take you're Pokémon to Amphy in HGSS, they might show affection for Amphy. My female Quilava just did it now.

 

[Erureido]

That was quite the impressive write up, @Erueido, but Imma haff ta stop ya right there and say Orange Islands is the best Pokemon anime of all time!

Yeah, it's a personal opinion of mine.

I am planning on doing a few Strawpolls very soon in light of XY&Z ending. One will be about what are everyone's thoughts of the XY anime, how XY compares to other Pokemon seasons, and then one featuring what is everyone's favorite season of the anime right when the Sun and Moon anime comes out.

 

[Deleted member]

Yeah, it's a personal opinion of mine.

I am planning on doing a few Strawpolls very soon in light of XY&Z ending. One will be about what are everyone's thoughts of the XY anime, how XY compares to other Pokemon seasons, and then one featuring what is everyone's favorite season of the anime right when the Sun and Moon anime comes out.

I'm sure myself and most everyone else haven't seen most of the anime. Like, I've only seen bits and pieces of X&Ys, watched the entirety of Indigo, Orange Islands, and a lot of Johto. Watched a lot of Gen 3 as well and stopped after a few episodes of Gen IV.

So, in other words, I doubt people here have literally watched every single episode of Pokemon to be fair and judge. Like, even me, I say Orange Islands is my favorite, but I haven't seen every season yet. Hahaha.

 

[Erureido]

I'm sure myself and most everyone else haven't seen most of the anime. Like, I've only seen bits and pieces of X&Ys, watched the entirety of Indigo, Orange Islands, and a lot of Johto. Watched a lot of Gen 3 as well and stopped after a few episodes of Gen IV.

So, in other words, I doubt people here have literally watched every single episode of Pokemon to be fair and judge. Like, even me, I say Orange Islands is my favorite, but I haven't seen every season yet. Hahaha.

I've pondered about it, and I thought I could do the first poll as an experiment to see how many responses it gets, and if the number is too low, I'll just jump straight to the "favorite seasons" poll since that one should be easier to answer for most people. We'll see how it plays out.

 

[Verde Coeden Scalesworth]

I have seen every (Dubbed) episode of Pokemon so far.

...I doubt many have beyond me, but a lot did leave the show after a specific season. And who can blame 'em? Ash losing time and time again is infuriating.

 

[PsychoIncarnate]

I've watched pokemon anime up to...maybe some of GS

 

[Aurane]

Pokémon Sun and Moon Preload information coming at ya.

For those of you with a Japanese, North American or Australian 3DS, the games Pokémon Sun & Pokémon Moon are now available to preload. This will allow for the game to be downloaded ahead of launch on November 18th 2016 so it can be played as soon as it goes live. It requires 3.2GB to download

 

[Erureido]

You know, now that I think about it, I won't do the first poll as an experiment. I thought of a new way to find out what people thought about the XY anime. Discussion time!

How much of the Pokemon XY/XY&Z anime have you watched? If you watched some of it or all of its episodes, what were your thoughts and impressions about it?

Some people have already responded to parts of this question, but I'm bringing this question forth as a different way of engaging the community on the matter. I think the favorite seasons poll will still happen though.

 

[Z25]

I just rewatched Pokemon XY&Z 47, the final episode of the XY anime. It was a great finish to the series! Time for the final XY&Z review!

Spoiler: Summary and thoughts about XY&Z episode 47

The episode begins with Ash calling his mom and Professor Oak from Clemont's house, with Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie with him. He tells them that he will catch a flight to Kanto around the afternoon. Delia and Oak tell him that they look forward to his return. Delia also tells Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie that they should visit sometime, where she will make them a meal. All of their faces light up. What's interesting about this scene is that Serena blushes when hearing Delia's invitation. This is the closest you'll get to see some sort of Delia and Serena interaction Amourshippers have been longing for.

After eating one final meal together, Ash and the gang run into Sycamore, Alain, and Mairin as they are heading out. Sycamore tells them that he wanted to see them one last time before they part ways. Alain reveals that he and Mairin will now be traveling the Kalos region in order to find Mega Stones. Sycamore then explains how the Sundial is connected to the Mega Stones, and it's pretty much the same explanation provided in the X/Y games. Ash also notices that Alain doesn't wear his Mega Bracelet anymore. Alain explains that he got rid of it because it was given to him by Lysandre, and now, he wants to the find the Mega Stone on his own. He explains he wants to "start from zero" just like Ash did. Before parting ways, Alain and Ash promise to have another battle once they meet again. The chances this battle will happen again are pretty low, but I'm all up for seeing another battle between Ash and Alain. Say what you will about Alain, but I think this scene does another great job demonstrating how Ash impacted Alains's life for the best.

We also see Team Rocket presenting their news about Team Flare's downfall to Giovanni. Giovanni tells them that now that Team Flare has been destroyed so that Team Rocket can set up operations there, they have succeeded in their mission and they should report back to Kanto. We may all be annoyed of Team Rocket every now and then, but it's nice to see Giovanni recognizing them for their accomplishments.

Everyone is now at the airport awaiting Serena and Ash's flights respectively. There is a brief scene of Team Rocket rushing to their flight during this, and it contained a very clever nod to Sun and Moon (more on that later). No, Team Rocket didn't board the same flight Ash did. Ash took a separate plane to Kanto, the flight after them to be exact.

All the Pokemon say goodbye to each other at the waiting area. Hawlucha, Noivern, Sylveon, Bunnelby, Chespin, and Pikachu all shed some tears during this scene. Bonnie looks downtrodden as well. In fact, she has been displaying some sadness since the beginning of the episode, where she frown slightly as Ash hangs up his call with Delia and then plays with her soup in a disappointed way during the meal scene (when she was asked what's wrong at that time, she responded that she ate a few snacks before and thus didn't feel hungry, but it was pretty obvious that she was lying). Dedenne has been picking up on some of Bonnie's feelings, and it culminates when Braixen and Syvleon try to say goodbye to it. Now feeling sad, Dedenne escapes from Bonnie's clutch and runs away. Ash and the gang pursue it and eventually find it hiding behind a sign at the luggage waiting zone. Dedenne breaks into tears, and Bonnie tells it that it shares the same feelings: that both feel sad that they'll have to depart ways from everyone. Bonnie then comforts Dedenne by explaining her goal. Not only does she want to become a Pokemon Trainer, but she also wants to become a Performer, win a badge from her brother, and beat Ash in a Pokemon battle, and she wants Dedenne to be her partner in every step of the way. Feeling better, Dedenne runs back to Bonnie and cries in her arms, while Ash and the gang give it some words of comfort.

To be honest, this entire scene reminded me of the final episode of DP when Dawn's Piplup escapes from everyone and broke down it tears because it couldn't bear at the thought of parting ways from its friends. Dedenne's moment was a neat throwback to it.

We then reach the biggest highlight of the episode: Serena's departure. She thanks everyone for all the fun times they spent together, and then she turns to Ash. She thanks Ash for all that he has done. She then tells him, "You're my goal!" The music suddenly plays a sweet chime as Ash reacts with surprise, while Clemont and Bonnie turn to each other and smile. You could say this was part one of the confession because of how it plays out, and I gotta say, the way it played out made me go, "Awwwwww!" She then tells Ash, "Just you wait, by the next time we meet, I'll become a much more attractive woman!" Hold on! "Become a much more attractive woman"? Damn, Serena. You truly are determined in winning Ash's heart!

She then rides down the escalator. When she's about halfway, however, she turns to Ash and asks him, "Can I have one last thing?" She then runs up and kisses him. Yes, ladies and gentleman, Amourshipping became canon (or at least close to it depending on how you look at it)!

How I reacted I first saw that kiss scene:

Serena was one of the main reasons why I returned to watching the anime. The fact she was the first female traveling partner to have feelings for Ash made me pretty interested to see how it would develop. Since three years ago, I was really hoping the Ash x Serena pairing would end on a very high note by the end of the series, whether it'd be the two becoming a couple or a confession of some sort. My prayers were answered. Serena truly deserved such a wonderful moment at the very end.

Bonnie, Clemont, and Pikachu's reaction to the kiss was hilarious! Bonnie was me when I watched the big kiss.

Now heavily blushing, Serena gives the most energetic and happiest "thank you" you can possibly imagine. Ash's eyes sparkle as he sees her ride down the escalator, and then he smiles and wishes her farewell. You can tell that he really enjoyed the kiss. In the past times he was kissed (the second and fifth movies), he only reacted with confusion. This is the first time you see him really enjoying the kiss. His eyes sparkle so much that you could even interpret it as if he had feelings for her.

I could also sense an accumulating effect with Serena's confession, from her words "You're my goal" and the one about "attractive woman" to the kiss. "You're my goal" starts out as something that sounds like a confession but not a direct one, but then it becomes more direct with the "attractive woman" statement, and then Serena gets straight to the point with the kiss.

I also liked Bonnie's moment as the group waved goodbye to Serena.

Bonnie's pose screams, "You did it, girl!" It does a great job linking back to the fact #BonnieKnows (and she knew about it for a long while too).

There is also a very clever detail during that entire scene that further proves what Serena kissed on Ash on the lips. I will expand on it later.

As they watch Serena's plane fly away, Clemont and Ash realize they still have some time before Ash leaves for his flight. Clemont then asks Ash for one final battle, and Ash accepts. The two battle at the airport's battlefield, and Bunnelby and Pikachu are the Pokemon to duke it out. Though short with the winner left unknown (because it transitions to Ash flying away on his plane with Clemon and Bonnie watching during the sunset after Pikachu and Bunnelby's attacks collide), the animation was top notch for the final battle of the XY series, and I gained the impression this was the anime's way of saying, "Here's a final hurrah to remind you why the battles in XY were awesome!" It's also worth mentioning Ash's very first battle in Kalos was against Clemont, and the two Pokemon they used for it were Pikachu and Bunnelby respectively. With XY&Z 47's battle, they were really throwing it back to that very battle, and that made me feel very nostalgic just thinking about it.

What follows is a montage of scenes throughout the XY/XY&Z series featuring our heroes. We see Serena arrive at Hoenn, and then we see montage of her biggest moments throughout the series. We then see Clemont back at Prism Tower working on a new invention with Bonnie watching him, and we a montage of scenes featuring Clemont and Bonnie respectively. We then have a montage showing what everyone else has been doing: Sycamore is giving a starter Pokemon to a new Trainer as he is receives a phone call from Alain and Mairin where we see them explore the Frost Cavern, Steven and Sawyer are navigating remnants of Lysandre Labs (all that's left of it is a crater created from Megalith Zygarde's creation), the XY rival trio observing some wild Pokemon in a forest during sunset, Goodra breaking up a fight between a Lotad and a Wooper in the Woodlands, and Greninja dealing with a few more destructive vines.

We then see Ash and Pikachu flying back to Kanto. As the camera zooms in one Ash's face, Volt, the very first opening theme to the XY series, starts playing as a montage of Ash's moments throughout the XY/XY&Z series starts playing. I felt pretty sad hearing Volt during it, and when I mean sad, I'm talking the kind of sad where you miss something. Having the very first opening theme of XY play not only during a montage for the final episode but also bring it back as the final song to be heard in the 6th generation series really brought the nostalgia, not to mention Volt is an energetic yet beautiful song.

It's also worth mentioning that during Ash's montage, there were lots of scenes featuring him and Serena. It's almost like he's recalling the times they've interacted with each other now that they've kissed. Perhaps this was the writer's way of explaining Ash did have feelings for Serena after all, or was developing them after the kiss?

The episode ends with Ash and Pikachu finally arriving to Pallet Town on foot during the night. He walks into his home and says, "I'm back." The camera then pans to the sky and a message is formed a star pattern: "And to our own way." This is completely new for a final episode in a Pokemon series. Past final episodes displayed "Next Time, a new beginning" at the very end rather than that message.

A wonderful finish indeed!

Another thing I really liked in this episode was the rich symbolism going on throughout it, and many of them are really well done. Let's take a look!

1) XY&Z episode 47 actually made a very clever reference to the Sun and Moon series

Spoiler: Sun and Moon reference in XY&Z 47

In the scene when Team Rocket is rushing to their flight, two keychains drop out of their bags. What are those keychains? Take a look:

Yep, Solrock and Lunatone keychains.

Now, what are Solrock and Lunatone based on? The Sun and the Moon respectively. What are the next generation games called? Sun and Moon. Yep, this was the writers' way of referencing the next series!

2) While the viewers can't see the kiss and can only judge based on the actions of Ash and Serena the reactions of the two and their friends, a hidden message cleverly and subtly explains why it was really was a kiss on the lips.

Spoiler: That clever way of explaining it was a kiss

This 4chan post perfectly summarizes it.

Yep, the name of Serena's flight is further proof Serena kissed Ash on the lips!

Small note: Mawhile is #71 in the ORAS Pokedex

3) This was a hidden message the Tetsuo Yajima, the storyboard director, tweeted about, and it has to do with the final scene when Ash arrives home.

Spoiler: The hidden message acknowledged by Yajima

Here is the clip of Ash walking back to his home. Note the flowers in the background that can be seen in front of his house:

Those flowers are called Baby's Breaths. Tetsuo Yakima confirmed that the hidden message is in the language of these flowers. Baby's Breaths represent everlasting love, whether it'd be family, platonic, or romantic. Each of these three aspects of love is represented in XY/XY&Z series.

• Family: Ash, Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie were treated as a family. In fact, compared to Ash's other traveling groups, the XY gang was the only time fans referred to Ash's group as a family. Family is also represented in the final episode. Baby's Breath can also symbolize a return to a lost love or a far-away family member. In this case, Ash reconnects with his mom, his far-away family member and a lost love in that sense.
• Platonic: Ash's treats everyone he encounters in a platonic way, one with kindness and encouragement. This is even exemplified with the way he approaches his Pokemon
• Romantic: A large chunk of Ash's scenes during his montage in the final episode involved his interactions with Serena, and considering what happened prior when Serena kissed him and he looked happy about it, it could imply some kind of romantic attraction toward Serena. It's also worth mentioning Baby's Breath is commonly used in bouquets during weddings. Let that sink in.

Some will argue this hidden message could also apply to Misty because her Japanese name, Kasumi, is similar to the Japanese name of Baby's Breath, Kasumisou. However, Yajima stated that the hidden message has to do with the language of the flowers, not the name of it.

Here's where I found most of the information regarding the language of Baby's Breath and how it connected with this episode.

4) This is a hidden symbolism I found myself, and it has to do with the escalator.

Spoiler: A deeper look at the escalator scene

Let's watch that kiss scene again. Pay attention to how Serena travels on the escalator throughout it.

She starts by traveling down the escalator like normal, then she turns back and climbs it to kiss Ash, and as she rides down the escalator following the kiss, she stares at Ash until she reaches the very bottom.

When she rides down the escalator at first, she faces away from Ash. Yet, she also has a smile on her face. To start it in simple terms, her facing away from Ash and the gang reflects the notion she is beginning a new journey, one where she won't have Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie to accompany her. However, she has a smile, and that smile represents the memories of the time she spent with them, and she will retain them as she travels to Hoenn.

Moving on, when you achieve a goal, you usually travel "up" to achieve it. In Serena's case, having her climb the escalator represents this idea. She does so in order to fulfill something she always wanted to do: express her true feelings for Ash and even win his heart. With that kiss, she has fulfilled a goal/wish of hers.

What happens following the kiss is where we have another pretty neat detail. She simply stares at Ash with a loving gaze as she rides down the escalator. The fact she is facing Ash as she moves away one last time reflects the notion that she will not forget about Ash no matter the distance. The blushing ads to this as a way of signifying that her feelings for Ash will not fade away as she embarks on her new journey.

In all, fantastic episode and an amazing finish to the XY anime! Words cannot describe how much I'm going to miss XY/XY&Z. It may have a few flaws here and there, but I have so many fond memories of watching a majority of its episodes. The action, the emotion, the characters, the music, I could go on and on. It was a wonderful experience from beginning to end!

Farewell to the best series in Pokemon anime history! You will be missed!

EDIT: Fixed that big typo.

You also have the most insane in depth thoughts and reviews of episodes. I can usually write a lot on them to, but yours are crazy but always great to read! Keep up the good work!

Look forward to future ones for sun and moon. This whole episode showed how they truly made the series and actual anime though. They set a big story and made sure every inch was covered and closed by the end which is great.

You know, now that I think about it, I won't do the first poll as an experiment. I thought of a new way to find out what people thought about the XY anime. Discussion time!

How much of the Pokemon XY/XY&Z anime have you watched? If you watched some of it or all of its episodes, what were your thoughts and impressions about it?

Some people have already responded to parts of this question, but I'm bringing this question forth as a different way of engaging the community on the matter. I think the favorite seasons poll will still happen though.

Every episode, and they are all pretty good. The best the anime's been in awhile. They have a lot of details and charming attributes to make them really stick out.

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

Anime isn't the only Japanese culture. By joining this site, you're joining the fandom of a Japanese game. As such, that puts you in the ballpark of being a weeb.

"Joining a community of a game to talk about said game that you like that also happens to be a Japanese game immediately makes you in the ballpark of being a weeb even if you only joined to talk about competitive gaming or speculate about characters that may or may not appear in the next game."
-SmashBoards

Don't mind me. I'm just working on a scrap book of ridiculous quotes that I find interesting; it's going quite well.

Spoiler

Don't take this personally. I'm just joking

​

 

[Strider_Bond00J]

Can I confess some thoughts I've been having about JonTron's videos as of late?

Spoiler

I'll be boycotting him and his videos because I'm getting really sick of his Nazi jokes. I feel like this past year, he's probably done five or so actions in his videos that are just in very bad taste, from the 'dark side' joke in Starcade, the 'Hitler sings Hakuna Matata', but I feel like this new video is the last straw for me being a fan of his content. Regardless of the quality of the movie he was reviewing, I feel like it was unacceptable for him to include a snippet of footage from terrorist propaganda videos. That was just uncool, Jon Jafari. That was uncalled for, and completely unacceptable of him as a content creator to include any sort of endorsement of terrorism or genocide. This style of 'humour' is not funny at all, and reflects very poorly on him if he's willing to make jokes about terrorists or Nazis. While a lot of the videos he's made have been very genuine forms of entertainment over the past few years, these new videos have crossed the line too much with this style of humour.

I'm very disappointed with him as a content creator if he continues these 'jokes' in his videos.
End rant.

I should get back to my essays now. I'm not a fan of his works any more.

 

[Mythra]

Pokémon Sun and Moon Preload information coming at ya.

Time to see /vp/ lose their **** for that, even when it is impossible to decrypt.

Guess what just got uploaded to the CDN? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

Note: We can't get into it early. Please see https://t.co/PVRhamtviQ for why. pic.twitter.com/IMhMjyBEPz

— Michael (@SciresM) November 1, 2016

 

[Aurane]

"Joining a community of a game to talk about said game that you like that also happens to be a Japanese game immediately makes you in the ballpark of being a weeb even if you only joined to talk about competitive gaming or speculate about characters that may or may not appear in the next game."
-SmashBoards

Don't mind me. I'm just working on a scrap book of ridiculous quotes that I find interesting; it's going quite well.

Spoiler

Don't take this personally. I'm just joking

​

You expect a florist to join a game site she knows nothing about and immediately start speculating about characters she knows nothing about and play competitively a game she has no knowledge of? No, she would know what Smash Bros is, and if she was deep into it enough to speculate and competitively play it, then she's likely a fan of the game, and being a fan- a devotee of- a Japanese game can be considered weeb by definition. Just not as obsessive.

It use to be called being a nerd but people keep saying weeb instead so wrong, right- its up to you. And to be clear; I don't care what you are, you can be nerd weeb geek streak whatever- you're okay to me as long as you're not a prick.



Edit: Ignore this. I'm very tired. -_-

 

[AndreaAC]

Can I confess some thoughts I've been having about JonTron's videos as of late?

Spoiler

I'll be boycotting him and his videos because I'm getting really sick of his Nazi jokes. I feel like this past year, he's probably done five or so actions in his videos that are just in very bad taste, from the 'dark side' joke in Starcade, the 'Hitler sings Hakuna Matata', but I feel like this new video is the last straw for me being a fan of his content. Regardless of the quality of the movie he was reviewing, I feel like it was unacceptable for him to include a snippet of footage from terrorist propaganda videos. That was just uncool, Jon Jafari. That was uncalled for, and completely unacceptable of him as a content creator to include any sort of endorsement of terrorism or genocide. This style of 'humour' is not funny at all, and reflects very poorly on him if he's willing to make jokes about terrorists or Nazis. While a lot of the videos he's made have been very genuine forms of entertainment over the past few years, these new videos have crossed the line too much with this style of humour.

I'm very disappointed with him as a content creator if he continues these 'jokes' in his videos.
End rant.

I should get back to my essays now. I'm not a fan of his works any more.

Spoiler

I think I haven't even paid attention to his videos much anymore to notice that, but if that's really the case, it's a shame that he's having this change for the worst. I mean, do you think it could be his fault or maybe it's a team of writiers he has that caused this? I don't know, but he's not the only youtuber that I used to watch when I could that thanks to bad jokes, bad commentary or anything that seems of bad taste has made me stop watching their content entirely, one example being Smosh, they used to be funny with just the two of them and some of their old crew, but as they added more people and became way too random, their stuff stopped being funny. I think either the original creators are running out of ideas, or they just don't care anymore, maybe the fame and having giant studio for their stuff is getting too much on their heads.

That's all I can think of about it.

 

[Sir Gengar de Èctoplasma]

I'm probably one of the few people here who doesn't watch much anime. Other than Dragon Ball and the Pokémon anime (until BW that is) I never really sat down and watched an anime thoroughly.
... That might change though since I'm already starting to love Nichijou, even though I've only little of it.

I don't watch much anime, either. Digimon Adventure Tri. is the only one I watch nowadays.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

8月5日にオープンしましたカービィカフェは、10月30日をもって全日程を終了いたしました。
皆さまの笑顔と共に過ごしたあっという間の3か月。さすがのカービィもお腹いっぱい胸いっぱいのようです。心よりお礼申し上げます。
またお会いできますよう、銀河に願いをこめて。
スタッフ一同より pic.twitter.com/qjuWm7DkTT

— KIRBY CAFÉ / カービィカフェ (@KirbyCafeJP) October 31, 2016

Apparently all themed cafe's stay open for like 3 months max, and I heard the cafe was successful. Sill kinda sad to see.

Also a game called Dungeon of Zaar is being a Switch exclusive

 

[NonSpecificGuy]

You expect a florist to join a game site she knows nothing about and immediately start speculating about characters she knows nothing about and play competitively a game she has no knowledge of? No, she would know what Smash Bros is, and if she was deep into it enough to speculate and competitively play it, then she's likely a fan of the game, and being a fan- a devotee of- a Japanese game can be considered weeb by definition. Just not as obsessive.

It use to be called being a nerd but people keep saying weeb instead so wrong, right- its up to you. And to be clear; I don't care what you are, you can be nerd weeb geek streak whatever- you're okay to me as long as you're not a prick.



Edit: Ignore this. I'm very tired. -_-

Yeah, maybe I shouldn't have put that in spoilers. You're A-OK with me man. I just thought it was a bit of fun to poke at that quote. I respect everyone's opinions and I definitely understand where you're coming from. Again, sorry about that.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Aaaaaaand the world's biggest dip**** is doing what he does best!
verlistrash is whining about review embargoes and how he didn't get a S/M review copy. And is saying he's accepting any offers for illegal copies. This is why the Pokemon Company doesn't support him, but people like Wolfeyglick or Duncankneedeep

 

[Swamp Sensei]

. That was uncalled for, and completely unacceptable of him as a content creator to include any sort of endorsement of terrorism or genocide.

You're way off target bud.

He isn't endorsing it.

He's mocking it.

Making a joke about Hitler does not mean the person suddenly endorses Nazism. It means you think the idea is stupid enough to mock.


If you find the joke distasteful, by all means, don't watch it.

But actually understand what he is doing and don't jump the shark.

 

[SuperMii3D]

Oh good gracious help me. I have this humongous bug bite on my side. It doesn't itch or anything, but the fact that it's there and that it's really freaking huge is concerning.

Also, I've bought one too many amiibo as of late. Send help.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

Oh good gracious help me. I have this humongous bug bite on my side. It doesn't itch or anything, but the fact that it's there and that it's really freaking huge is concerning.

Also, I've bought one too many amiibo as of late. Send help.

Can you find any holes?

If so, 1 or 2?

If its 1, its a bug typically.

2 and its a spider.

 

[Deleted member]

Can I confess some thoughts I've been having about JonTron's videos as of late?

Spoiler

I'll be boycotting him and his videos because I'm getting really sick of his Nazi jokes. I feel like this past year, he's probably done five or so actions in his videos that are just in very bad taste, from the 'dark side' joke in Starcade, the 'Hitler sings Hakuna Matata', but I feel like this new video is the last straw for me being a fan of his content. Regardless of the quality of the movie he was reviewing, I feel like it was unacceptable for him to include a snippet of footage from terrorist propaganda videos. That was just uncool, Jon Jafari. That was uncalled for, and completely unacceptable of him as a content creator to include any sort of endorsement of terrorism or genocide. This style of 'humour' is not funny at all, and reflects very poorly on him if he's willing to make jokes about terrorists or Nazis. While a lot of the videos he's made have been very genuine forms of entertainment over the past few years, these new videos have crossed the line too much with this style of humour.

I'm very disappointed with him as a content creator if he continues these 'jokes' in his videos.
End rant.

I should get back to my essays now. I'm not a fan of his works any more.

Tbh, him with his slightly offensive style of humor is what he's always been like, especially even on Game Grumps. I can deal with it for the most part as the rest of his content makes up for it for me (him being really funny), but the Isis part was pretty random. lol

All in all, I'm a fan of his, he may not be my favorite youtuber or anything, but he's not a bad dude.

 

[SuperMii3D]

Can you find any holes?

If so, 1 or 2?

If its 1, its a bug typically.

2 and its a spider.

I can't find any at all. But I'm sure it's bugs. We've recently been infected with bed bugs. It's not on my bed, because I was fine when I woke up. When I was taking care of my nephew earlier, I fell asleep on my sisters bed and I woke up itchy and with bites, so the source must be from there.

 

[Swamp Sensei]

I can't find any at all. But I'm sure it's bugs. We've recently been infected with bed bugs. It's not on my bed, because I was fine when I woke up. When I was taking care of my nephew earlier, I fell asleep on my sisters bed and I woke up itchy and with bites, so the source must be from there.

Ack!

Dude! You gotta get rid of those things.

They'll take over your whole house before long.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Tbh, him with his slightly offensive style of humor is what he's always been like, especially even on Game Grumps. I can deal with it for the most part as the rest of his content makes up for it for me (him being really funny), but the Isis part was pretty random. lol

All in all, I'm a fan of his, he may not be my favorite youtuber or anything, but he's not a bad dude.

That reminds me of the time he made a **** joke on GG, with Barry editing it out with a stampede

 

[Deleted member]

That reminds me of the time he made a **** joke on GG, with Barry editing it out with a stampede

Oh he mocked Gamergate? lol nice.

 

[Delzethin]

I can't find any at all. But I'm sure it's bugs. We've recently been infected with bed bugs. It's not on my bed, because I was fine when I woke up. When I was taking care of my nephew earlier, I fell asleep on my sisters bed and I woke up itchy and with bites, so the source must be from there.

Ack!

Dude! You gotta get rid of those things.

They'll take over your whole house before long.

Seconding this. I've heard horror stories about those things and I'm resisting the urge to call them something that'd get starrred out.

 

[Cutie Gwen]

Oh he mocked Gamergate? lol nice.

I meant Game Grumps. Both definitions are trash but still.

Also guys tpc so dum dey steel neems n taips
http://chrisj-alejo.deviantart.com/art/Incineroar-403804602