Pokemon - Festival of Champions (Doujinshi) - Ch. 17 - The Power of Evolution

[kurobaraito]

Compare it to Steven vs random. The Pokemon don't have any personalities or emotions and just fight. We dont really learn anything about steven and we don't really care enough to invest in his story.

Or this is a setup for Pikachu's inner conflict, which is briefly touched at the end of the chapter. Can't exactly say 'Steven Mega Evolve' and then draw Pikachu getting mesmerized by the power. You have to show how powerful it is to move Pikachu's heart.

 

[Knighto]

Red v misty was definitely nessesary. Skyla battle was about green and eevees recovery after raticates death. It was less nessesary but we see how they've grown and their own personalities.


Compare it to Steven vs random. The Pokemon don't have any personalities or emotions and just fight. We dont really learn anything about steven and we don't really care enough to invest in his story.

because you have the main trio as the focus, so you can't just make every character be that heavy in the story, but he still is a friggin champion in the games and also here (I would have preferred if the lose here would have helped him reach new hights there, but he already peaked there) so he deserves his moment at least.

Lorelei's hot.

Lol at Steven keeping it flashy for the crowd and his image. RIP Excadrill having its claws and drill shattered by not very effective moves. I wonder what Pikachu's gonna roll with. A Light Ball? A Z-Crystal? Gigantamax?

AND YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MY BOY FRIEDE IS MENTIONED

I hope for the light ball, gigantamax it can only happen in that region.

 

[Omniracle]

Peak is back on the menu, boys.

 

[NGD_OMEGA]

From what I understand, in Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee, the starter Pikachu and Eevee's are boosted stat wise, and have generally stronger upgraded moves (As well as HM skills), but are locked out of evolution, so this may be a hint to that. The boost here would either be Gigantomax, though I think that's impossible outside of Galar since the energy is specific to there, or an item being either evoite or more obviously the Light Ball that's specific to Pikachu's.

I suppose the more recent type change mechanic with Terastalizing might be possible too but I'm not as familiar with that one and the specifics there or if it's possible in this region like Gigantomax.

 

[KiraEllion]

Didn't really like these 2 chapters. Festival to me has been less about the battles but more about what the battles represented. To quote rlm, the "internalization of the characters", whether that be the trainers, or the Pokemon themselves.

And while this battle was flashy and we got mega evolution, it felt to me all style no substance.

It's very clear to me that seijun had the first part of the story planned out, probably up to Karen vs blue, and some parts of episode 0 with pikachu. And he probably had red vs blue as the final battle all mapped out too. But everything between that, and now, is probably new territory for the author which is why each chapter takes so long. Just hope the battles between now and the climax isn't just all flash and style that don't mean anything

.....That is what Steven is tho? all style no substance

did you blink and miss it hes the rising superstar prodigy who is so super awesome special amazing that he essentially wins without trying

any character will come when someone beats his ass.

 

[NGD_OMEGA]

Another option actually for an upgrade I forgot: Z-Moves. Pikachu has both Catastropika which is an Upgraded Volt Tackle that might be viable with a specific item and 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt which is technically specific to cap Pikachu but could be handwaved here. I think they can be used outside Aloha too, so as long as he gets said item, that'd be viable for a boost in theory.

 

[my08087]

Return of the peak

 

[damadicius]

Putting battered Pikachu on an end page after inquiring its evolution is kinda dirty 🥲

 

[hlben10]

I love Steven, he's in my top 5 favorite Pokemon Champions, but why do you gotta do Veteran Trainer like that man...
Veteran bro's the highlight of this chapter for me. His Excadrill fought like hell! Glad Red gave him the respect he deserves at least.

 

[BebopZX2]

After reading the comments, I do think the criticism is warranted. Steven beating this veteran who to league lost in prelims is a bit much. But at the same time battles from the very get-go have been more of the character and possibly Pokémon showing growth.

These battles are mind games whether it's a flashy as Stevens showing, or as deep as Pikachu's internal conflict. But again Steven fighting an E4 and showing this power would prove more of a point than him being humble while having his ego against a veteran.

Tournaments will always be pace killers but to expand on the characters world it is needed. For example the ones like this I can think of is dragon Ball initial world tournaments. Where our scope is expanded at the cost of several chapters/episodes being dedicated to it. What matters I think for a good tournament is that they focus on what they can do, while expanding Thier characters growth. Sorry if it's too long.

 

[Cero069]

Absolute peak

 

[Dirtbug]

Or this is a setup for Pikachu's inner conflict, which is briefly touched at the end of the chapter. Can't exactly say 'Steven Mega Evolve' and then draw Pikachu getting mesmerized by the power. You have to show how powerful it is to move Pikachu's heart.

Definitely. Remember Green also provoked Pikachu by saying it reached it's peak potential and can go no further beyond. There's stuff to dig in here, where Pikachu is clearly outclassed by all these other pokemon currently.

 

[Radicool21]

Sorry, triple digits? Has Agatha won over 100 pokemon leagues in this story? I guess that's possible if you're participating in multiple regions each year, but jeez.

With how the leagues are set up in this manga, there appear to be multiple yearly leagues (like the Cinnabar "Ultra Ball" League where Misty beat Red) which influences your tournament seeding for the Indigo "Master Ball" League, which is the biggest one held every three years. Agatha probably won a ton of those smaller leagues on top of winning multiple Indigo Leagues. Basically like winning multiple state and regional competitions on top of Nationals.

Thanks for the chapter. We just completely forgot that 'kanto/johto Pokemon' thing didn't we? Probably for the best.

I kinda wonder about that, honestly. While I'm not a genwunner by any means, I liked how limiting it to the first 151 gave the manga a little more grounding in the original RBY. It felt like a retelling of those games with callbacks to the later titles integrated in. With Megas and the rando veteran it feels like the plot is veering a little bit more into OC territory - which isn't necessarily a bad thing, tbf, but it introduces a lot more unknowns and potential inconsistencies. Plus powercreep issues.

I do think it's funny how Mega Evolution being rare is explained by the mega stones being stupidly insanely expensive. Most realistic way to gatekeep it from the general populace. I expect Pikachu to receive a Light Ball, since narratively it's basically a functional equivalent to a mega stone.

As for the fights, I do generally agree with the other comments with one caveat - I think the real value of the battles is how they characterize the pokemon themselves as much as the trainer. Red vs Misty wasn't just about them, but also about Lapras specifically and how Red's team developed into a cohesive unit. Leaf vs Skyla was about their philosophies in battle, but also about Clefairy's personality and Espeon's growth. Blue vs Karen was about their definitions of self-worth, but also about Houndoom's story and Rhydon's self-awareness watching its teammates deal with grief and deciding to become a pawn if it means they can win. It's all super compelling and I hope we can get back to more of it after this battle.

We haven't seen much of the fully-evolved starters yet, so I'm really looking forward to seeing what they're like as characters. We've seen Charizard is a bit of a crybaby but also rises to the occasion (like in the Golem fight and vs Giovanni), and Ivysaur/Venusaur as very gentle and nurturing. Blastoise's personality is gonna be interesting to see. Hopefully we get to see em fight in their default forms first and Megas are like a post-tournament thing.

Thanks for translating!!!

 

[DLRevan]

It's very clear to me that seijun had the first part of the story planned out, probably up to Karen vs blue, and some parts of episode 0 with pikachu. And he probably had red vs blue as the final battle all mapped out too. But everything between that, and now, is probably new territory for the author which is why each chapter takes so long. Just hope the battles between now and the climax isn't just all flash and style that don't mean anything

I didn't like this chapter that much, as you say it didn't have much substance and I particularly think the stone being expensive is a really crappy plot point.

But trying to get into an author's head based on 1~2 chapters is just ridiculous imo.

It's very clear to me that when a really highly praised series gets some elements that people don't like, there are people who want to analyze not only the material, but also the author. What better way to stroke their own ego than to compartmentalize and criticize someone on a higher pedestal.

If you think that's presumptuous of me to assume that much about you, then maybe turn that around and realize what you're doing.

 

[Someanon]

Crossing my fingers for a cool ass OC a la RedPikachu like AshGreninja.

 

[animetuber2199]

PEAK ALSO PIKA ZMOVE MAYBE?

 

[exLightning]

Tiny error on page 35, "Price" should be "Prize"

Also Pokemon battles confirmed Pay 2 Win.

 

[Siranimetactic]

So peak

 

[MaxxLycan]

Interesting...is Lorelei implying that Pikachu might be a G-Max? Because the way she mentioned that Pikachu is unable to evolve implies the fact that it can't due to having the Gigantimax Factor somehow...this will be interesting~

 

[TetraSky]

Probably one of the best pokemon fan manga.