Shinobu (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} shinneth) wrote,@ 2009-06-18 05:24:00 |
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| Current mood: |  excited |
Stuff be IMAGE-HEAVY in the cuts!
Alright, time to look in-depth into these episodes! People are welcome to put a word in as well! Just bear in mind most speculation I'm doing is for the sake of fic-talk and should not necessarily reflect my stance on the canon. ♥; And yeah, expect some fic spoilers to a degree.
So let's get this bloodbath started!
Purple text = Paul/Shinji
Sky Blue text = Candice/Suzuna
Like I said way back in my post that had 128's preview, 127 actually ended with Paul arriving right after Ash receives his Icicle Badge, having defeated Candice. So 128 picks up where 127 left off.
Now, here was my game plan for a subplot I had to come into play from Chapter 11 onwards: Paul goes on a losing streak after separating himself from Conway. By the time I have to adapt 128, he'll already have lost to Ash in the PokeRinger competition at least.
One oddity I noticed was that Paul was getting to Candice after Ash, which is a first for this series. Now, I wondered, how could this be if Paul wasn't held up with Team Rocket, pointless filler, the Tatsunami Contest, and Pokemon Ping-Pong like Ash and Co. have been? Mainly I wondered this because I have to figure out what the hell Paul will do in the space of 9 episodes between the PokeRinger competition and the DP128 adaption as far as my story's concerned. Sure, there's training, but I don't feel that's enough to adequately fill a 9-episode gap while Conway's on epic adventures without Paul.
My theoretical way of resolving this was~ Paul actually does reach Snowpoint City before Ash and battles Candice before he does... and loses, obviously. Paul will still be in his "I don't fucking need Conway" mode (you know, total denial) and will refuse to use the strategy that Conway built for him to use in Chapter 8. Problem is, Paul's options with the team he's chosen are very limited considering his team of four consists of one Pokemon weak to Ice (Honchkrow) and two Pokemon double-weak to Ice (Torterra and Gliscor). Without a good strategy, Paul gets smashed as his losing streak continues.
Way beyond pissed off at this point, Paul goes out of town to train harder for the next go-around. He is wary that Ash might be around the next time he challenges Candice, so he may or may not inform her to regard him as a stranger the next time they meet. Otherwise, Paul will have to improvise and this clumsily-worded script may do well to convey that. Candice sounds a little put-off by it with the whole "Uh, yes..." response, so she might kinda-sorta get what he's insinuating?
Not sure which route to go there. There's something near the end of the episode which may lead me to take another route altogether.
This would be some mad-ass improvising from Candice if she wasn't told ahead of time, so I dunno. Anyway, Paul says he understands and he'll battle her tomorrow. Paul refuses to answer Ash's question about how far he's gotten Badge-wise because he's just an asshole like that. Zoey is informally introduced to him (mainly by Dawn's description of him as Ash's kinda-sorta rival) and we shift to the night scene where Zoey learns that Ash's Chimchar was originally Paul's, and we get it shoved into our faces about how Ash and Paul are polar opposites of each other (and according to Brock, that's precisely why they can't ignore each other - take note, Comashippers!).
Now of course, we know that Paul is a huge-ass hypocrite in my story. If I stick with my plans, he'll totally be a hypocrite in this scene considering that he would have used Torterra (Dodaitose) against Candice already. When round two comes, Paul will probably either play it a little smarter type-wise or go with the same team and break down and use Conway's strategy (which eventually earns him the win). Still, even if Paul plays it retardedly, it won't stop him from criticizing Ash for doing the exact same thing. Because goddammit, he just can. And besides, Paul doesn't rely on shit like "faith". He relies on his massive fucking ego.
AND THE PAUL/ZOEY FIGHT IS... actually, some nice grounds for FireRedshipping (Ash/Zoey) considering the reason Zoey is pissed off is because... Paul was talking shit about Ash! Really amusing, totally. I actually do like FireRedshipping and was convinced that there would be no more hints for it after the Wallace Cup arc, so this was a pleasant surprise for me! But yeah, Zoey really does not care for Paul's attitude in the least and openly hopes that Candice wipes the floor with him (she has, Zoey :') She totally has...).
Okay! So, gotta make a note not to make the weather shitty during the DP128 - DP132 chapters since the weather is indeed perfect throughout all these episodes. ♥; Kinda funny how the weather patterns in canon have fit my fic perfectly so far. During the Rotom episode, it was noted that there were thunderstorms in Canalave City right around the time Paul and Conway were there. I totally did that on accident, people.
So Reggie randomly spots his brother while he drives into Snowpoint City and decides to make smalltalk with him. He asks if Paul's beaten Candice yet, and Paul replies that he's about to do so right now. Reggie claims that Candice is a tough competitor, so Paul says he's got himself a strategy~ hm, perhaps it's someone else's strategy? ♥ (He never did tell Reggie about what he and Conway did in the fic, so...)
Like I said last post, there is an actual reason for Reggie being in Snowpoint City, so that spares me having to make up an excuse myself. Huge relief. This is one of the reasons why was under the self-imposed hiatus until this episode aired, you know. I probably would've been caught in another giant plothole because I totally didn't expect Reggie would be in this episode until it was announced about a week before it aired.
lol, rub it in, Reggie (this is in regards to Ash having an Icicle Badge before Paul). It's enough to make him TWITCH a little bit, hahahaha.
Then the Battle Pyramid flies over everybody. Most are WTFing, but Reggie and Paul especially WTF when Ash recognizes it. So this confirms that he has actually admitted that he lost to Brandon a bunch of times before beating him, but he didn't beat him nonetheless, which causes Paul to have this priceless face.
So this is the interior control room of the Battle Pyramid, which I'll need for future reference seeing as Brandon will actually be talking to people other than his fellow Brains and Scott as something of a wake-up call after he nearly lost Reggie to a lightning strike. I think the way I had it set out, most of the outside world save for some exceptions was unable to contact the Battle Pyramid. Either it was very reclusive or its communication systems were massively outdated or nonexistent. Brandon resolves to have that changed in Chapter 7, but first he needs to actually reunite with his Battle Pyramid.
I'm still not sure when exactly to make that happen yet, by the way.
We finally get somewhat of an explanation as to why Reggie quit being a trainer after losing to Brandon. But it's an incredibly vague explanation that can be taken in many ways. We'll get a bit more on it soon, but the whole matter of immaturity could be a very useful thing for my story. I dare say what Brandon will say to Reggie in the forthcoming flashback may have done about the opposite of what Brandon intended. A lot of this will have to do with Paul.
And here's an awkward scene that'll be lots of fun to work around! I've said it before, but I'll repeat to clarify: So in canon, both Paul and Reggie refer to Brandon as "Jindai-san" (which is likely to simply be translated to just Brandon when this gets dubbed - Mr. Brandon sounds a little weird to use on a consistent basis). Brandon refers to Reggie as "Reiji-kun" (so that'll simply be Reggie for the dub, of course) and Paul as "shounen" ("boy").
In Trifecta, Paul strictly refers to Brandon as "old man" because he really does not like his dad at all. Reggie, however, is much more affectionate and calls him "dad" (and "father" in earlier chapters). Brandon calls Reggie "boy" and Paul "kid" (sometimes interchangeably? I haven't been keeping track...). So how do we rectify this in the story?
Well, Brandon-to-Paul is the same, so that's fine. As for Brandon-to-Reggie, I think I'm going to use a loophole. I did say that Reggie would be turning 18 years old in less than a month as of Chapter 7. So I could say Reggie has since turned 18 by my chapter's equivalent of DP128, and therefore would be an adult, making it no longer fitting for him to be called "boy/kid" since he's officially a full-grown man at this point. So between DP106 and DP128, a month would have passed.
Now, something interesting I learned about the preview of DP130 once it got subbed (couldn't screencap it, so I'll go ahead and mention it here): from DP128, Ash and Paul are set to have their full battle ten days from that point. DP129 occurs on the same day as 128, so that's irrelevant. But from 129 to 130... apparently nine days have already passed, as in the preview, it is said that Ash is looking forward to his battle with Paul tomorrow while they are on the train. So... pretty big jump, there!
If we don't count DP120 (since it isn't a real episode), then I've got 21 episodes to say a month has passed by in. I was skeptical at first, but this new knowledge tells me that a month passing between 106 and 128 shouldn't be a problem at all. Heck, by all means it'd be more than a month, quite possibly. We'll have to see. Anyway, that's how I plan on handling the "Reiji-kun" thing. Reggie should definitely have reached adulthood before Snowpoint City time occurs.
Now... that leaves the matter of "Jindai-san", which both Reggie and Paul are using to refer to Brandon. My way of getting around that? Pretty much the same way I want to work in a previous battle between Paul and Candice before DP127 - cover-ups! It's harder to think of how to do this since the reunion between Brandon and Reggie/Paul is so short-notice. Weird things like "So you're Reggie's brother, right?" would be covered quite well if Brandon was in The Know.
Because... my reasoning is that Paul's pretty PO'ed about Ash horning in on his business as it is, so the last thing he wants Ash to get involved in is his family affairs with his dad who he can't stand. I imagine it would make him fucking snap. Since I AM writing an adaption, meaning I'm basically expanding these episodes, I'm sure I can write in some moments that would make this work. Brandon's a pretty clever guy, so he'd probably know there's a reason why his kids are suddenly calling him "Brandon" (especially Paul) and may just play along without needing to know what exactly is going on at first.
Sound unreasonable? Because I'm not sure. "So you remember me." would be quite telling of the cover-up, though.
Yeah, if Paul worded his request like this in the story, Brandon would know there is so something going on that he should find out about before they actually battle.
So this basically confirms that canon Brandon and Trifecta Brandon are in Sinnoh for the exact same reason. So even though the theory wasn't confirmed, I was at least 100% right about this. ♥ He'll have read through the Regigigas book by this point, so after some researching he'll have pinpointed Snowpoint Temple as the location for it as far as the story's concerned.
Paul aside, I love how everyone, even Brandon, is so amused when Brock gets assraped by Croagunk. Seriously, I didn't notice this at all at first, but holy hell is it funny. Paul, you're just further proving to the world that you have no soul. This kind of humor would be right up your ally, I would think.
Randomly, Candice LOOOOOOOOOOVES the Battle Pyramid. She thinks it's awesome. She's also very humbled to meet Brandon, so it seems he does indeed have a name for himself in Sinnoh in canon after all. That'll help with the story, at least. It's going to be a lot of fun writing for her. Since I managed to pull off Byron well before ever seeing him in the anime, I imagine I can do the same with Candice.
Yeah, I know. They look JUST LIKE YOURS, Brandon.
You just wanna wipe the floor with his ass, Brandon. Admit it. We wouldn't blame you. Also, yeah, this is old news, but Paul claims he's wanting to battle Brandon only so he could do what Reggie failed to do in the past. Saying "That's all" right afterwards, though? Who are you trying to convince here, Paul~?
So Paul sort of has an issue with Regirock in particular since this was the Pokemon that KOed every Pokemon in Reggie's party way back when. This also raises the point that Brandon's apparently had Regirock for much longer than most of us thought. Obviously, Regice was a very recent capture of Brandon's. Registeel... I don't think it's been confirmed yet, but I was under the impression that Brandon didn't have it as long as he had Regirock. Still, this was an interesting bit of knowledge, and knowing Paul particularly doesn't like that one is kinda fun~.
Another little discrepancy was the assumption that Paul traveled through Kanto before any other region. The way I've had it set out, the order I had Paul go was Hoenn-Kanto-Johto-Sinnoh. That way, there is no possible way Paul could have crossed paths with Ash in the past. So when we had Paul (who pretty much looks the same as he does now) who just received his Turtwig watching Reggie get his ass kicked in Kanto, people generally assumed that Paul actually did go through Kanto first. However, it evidently doesn't seem to be worded that way, as it could be taken that Paul only went to Kanto to see his brother battle.
That'd make a cute little story twist, actually. Paul goes to Kanto to see his brother battle and initially figures he would travel Kanto first rather than his native land of Sinnoh - but after seeing his brother lose so miserably, Paul gets upset and really can't handle being in Kanto at this point... hence he goes to Hoenn instead, which is niiiiice and far away from Kanto.
Also, since I know you all probably want it: Higher-Res pics of the little bitchface:
I particularly love it when his Turtwig glares. ♥
Reggie having a Drapion doesn't particularly bother me. Considering his profession, the guy could pretty much have anything on his team, so it doesn't necessarily need to match the team he has in the fanfic.
Now this was an interesting little factoid I didn't pick up on when I first watched this. So Reggie was a Frontier Brain candidate. Well, I guess anyone who is chosen to challenge the Battle Frontier would be by definition, but still, this adds an interesting little twist to the story that will no doubt be touched upon in my fic. This makes it much easier to see why Brandon would be so disappointed in Reggie for quitting.
This is the harsh speech Brandon gave Reggie after kicking his ass all those years ago. It's something that still seems to bug him a bit to this day, and it's easy to see why. Major buzzkill, huh?
Interesting that it's so focused on Reggie's lack of a unique battling style, since that's exactly what Reggie is struggling to find in my story, and what had a mental breakdown over in Chapter 3 that ended up getting himself nearly killed. Spooky~!
Gee Brock, Reggie's like right there. It almost sounds like you're blaming Reggie for why Paul is such an asshole. ♥ No seriously, though, the "unique strength" aspect of what Brandon criticized Reggie for is what got Paul's attention and gets that evil look out of both him and his Turtwig.
Sadly enough, Reggie's ultimate phail and probably Brandon's proud personality seem to be the root of it all.
So...! This may just insinuate that Reggie did try to find his unique strength but somewhere along the way discovered that it wasn't battling at all, hence Paul saw that as him giving up. Actually, that's probably pretty much confirmed. Only thing that doesn't mesh is what Paul brought up in DP100 - particularly the fact that rather than being bitter, Reggie smiled after the loss like an idiot. We didn't see any of that in the flashback, so that raises a few questions indeed...
One thing that came to my mind is thaaaat ~ if we follow the fic, Reggie could have actually become a Frontier Brain if he had beaten Brandon. That means he would've been able to stay with his father in Kanto. Paul wouldn't have been an issue because he was already old enough to go journeying on his own at this point. However, Reggie flat-out refused to go this route. Sounds fun and angsty, right? I'm so gonna love getting into this one.
Ah yes, the other thing: Paul's determination to not be like his brother - yet he will get his ass kicked just as badly when all is said and done.
Brandon pretty much hits the nail right on the head: Paul's waaaaay too consumed with the past to really develop the way he should be. Even though Paul claims this is not the case in the fic... Chapter 9 will prove that he's totally lying. He's so stuck to the past that even his repressed memories are coming back to haunt him.
Plus, Paul does not answer Brandon's question at all. This is the precise point where he fucking snaps and stays that way for the rest of the battle. Brandon certainly hit a sore spot there. ♥ Perhaps, perhaps... Paul doesn't really know what he's fighting for when it comes right down to it!
Ooh, this was harsh, too. This is right after Paul loses the entire battle. 0-6. :D
So Paul is flat-out being called emotional here. :D God, in his head, Paul must be tearing shit apart. He will be in the fic; that much is guaranteed.
So if it does turn out that they are getting close to wrapping up Paul's rivalry with Ash and will be writing him out after Sinnoh, I imagine this is how they will do it. Instead of following Ash to wherever, Paul decides to take on the Kanto Battle Frontier. Which... means I'll have to alter the story again, but whatev.
Didn't expect this, but Paul's so torn up about his loss that he doesn't feel like battling Candice now, meaning that he does not face her on this day and that's not why he and Reggie abruptly leave the scene right before the episode ends.
I guess I can do something with this.
And this was a pleasant surprise! While Reggie IS the one who sets up the full battle between Ash and Paul, Brandon does have quite a bit of input for this as well. So that was nice to know.
Hopefully DP132 might tell us that? Brandon IS mentioned in DP131, but most likely in passing since it was only once. Still, I'm not sure in what context he was mentioned in.
This will be much shorter since this particular episode was not nearly as dialog-heavy as the last. Main attraction here was Regigigas going fucking apeshit, but some interesting things were found within.
Talking about Regigigas here. Again, this confirms that Brandon is in Sinnoh for the same reason he's in Sinnoh for the fic.
I'm putting this up to show what specifically went wrong with the Battle Pyramid after the hoards of Skarmory and Metang assaulted it. They had to make an emergency landing because of how severe it was. This'll be an important detail for my chapter that I'll have in between the DP129 chapter and the DP131+2 chapter.
These three pillars obviously represent Regirock, Registeel, and Regice. J pretty much destroys all three and then attacks the unprotected orb in which Regigigas sleeps, which prompts it to wake up and go berserk all over the place. Evidently, it DID pretty much destroy the majority of the Snowpoint Temple.
In order to calm Regigigas down, Brandon confirms that he'll try to catch it. Fic!Brandon wanted this in the first place, so this serves as a convenient excuse. :3 He damn near does catch it, too. If only J didn't interfere...
Using Confuse Ray, Regigigas gets its Regi followers to cause mayhem as well and we get the pillar foreshadowing again.
Okay, I just really liked this Dawn shot. ♥ And in an extreme bit of geekery, I could've sworn this was the background they used for Conway's intro waaaay back during the Tag Battle arc~.
This is in regards to the Battle Pyramid's condition. So obviously, Brandon won't be going anywhere anytime soon. It means we'll have some fun exploiting that in my chapter between the adaptions, oh yes we will~!
So Brandon's inspired by his (already-solidified) Regis to do his own suicide-dive sacrifice for the sake of Regigigas! How touching. You crazy bastard.
At some point, J's solidifying-bracelet is broken. Is it confirmed that she has spares, or is this the last time we'll be seeing her statue-fy any Pokemon (or people)?
I thought that was very touching. D: Trifectaverse Brandon feels especially strongly about it, so this can really only end in tears, man.
And contrary to what we initially thought, J did not hastily flee the scene because the police was quickly approaching (Brandon did tell Samuel to contact Officer Jenny earlier in the episode). Really makes you wonder who the client was though, huh?
Thanks to Brandon, the beast has been tamed. He's just that badass and awesome.
And man, you'd think this is where Brandon would for-sure have Regigigas for himself based on how he words it, but oh how cockteasy it is...
Another interesting detail! So Brandon will actually be staying around even after the Battle Pyramid is fixed, because it would probably take a while to rebuild the temple. I mean, Regigigas really did a number on it.
... wouldn't it be just as easy to, uh... you know, capture Regigigas if you wanted to protect it? You're a BAMF, Brandon. No one likes to mess with you. Even J was kinda like "oh fuck this" after a while and shit.
Guhhhhhh... so yeah, Brandon failed to get Regigigas and he also loses his other Regis in a selfless act that is sure to have Paul reeling with laughter once he learns about it. I mean seriously, he's going to be SO HAPPY when he learns about it. You know he'll rub it in Brandon's face and everything.
Okay, that was all crazy! I'm out! I still have half an hour left before DP132 airs!
