XY032: Mega Lucario VS Mega Lucario! The Wave-Guiding Storm!!

What was the particular reason why Korrina's Lucario lost control after it Mega Evolved? Did it have to do with Korrina's impatience of wanting her Lucario to Mega Evolve?

An influx in "hadou" from Mega Evolution caused it to go beserk.

I think I found my favorite XY episode, this was one of the best if not the best "loss of control" episode of, not just XY but, the whole series. This episode just really did everything precisely.

Korrina and Lucario slayed so hard in this episode. They are both such a delight. A lot of expressive moments from both Lucario and Korrina, a stronger look into Korrina's personality. This is definitely the episode where we saw Korrina at her weakest as a person. Lucario's rampage was handled so well and seeing how influenced her so much was heart-rending as this is the first time we've seen a dent in her armor, she's usually confident, strong and energetic most of the time. Seeing her so unnerved by Lucario really was a strong contrast and when I was watching her during her sad streak I just had this potent feeling of, "Am I watching the same character?" The animator did a fantastic job showing off her facial appearance, there were moments where she looked sad with it be subtle that you could tell she was truly feeling down on her luck. Lovely scene of her getting the reprint of her burned picture back from Makita, a glimmer of a happiness even when you're going downhill for a while.

She was even better in this episode because, well just a lot of great scenes of her showing a genuine and enthusiastic interest in the Pokemon world and going uphill alongside her Pokemon in a very authentic-feeling way. When you see her eyes sparkling and her voice raise(Kakkoii!) and her run toward her Pokemon, there's just a strong sense of fulfillment. It's her goal to mega evolve Lucario and she did it finally, it's a heartening scene before things eventually go wayside in the match against Pikachu. I thought it was pretty refreshing that at scenes where Korrina was more impassioned Ash seemed to be a bit more stable and serious. Even Lucario was excellent and adorable in its own way with the way it gave off aura and kept testing the limits of its new found power by doing little playful things like influencing Korrina's hair or Ash's hat or give off a massive wave of hadou(aura) like that. The animation and its movements this episode were so fluent.

There's a purpose behind every pain and I felt like Gurkinn really gave off a strong and great mentor vibe, I thought he would end up being this bland stereotype but he was knowledgeable and interesting. His constant scolding of Korrina and subtle delights at her being able to Mega Evolve Lucario and continued guidance was what really made him for me. The tongue-lashing he gave Lucario and Korrina at the end was really was amusing. Him stepping into the fight to stop Lucario with his own was pretty badass too and I like the contrasting colors in gauntlets that the respect Lucario held their Lucarionite in and seeing Korrina's faith restored somewhat when she gives it to Lucario and seeing her hyping herself up before the match against Gurkinn was a nice, endearing moment.

Even in their battle you can really feel some awesome tension and I like that his Lucario repelled Korrina's with one flick of aura, showing his to have perfect control over the influx of aura that comes from Mega Evolution. Which was great because Korrina's defeated his Blaziken last episode and she didn't get off easy there but could still deal with everything accordingly, but things didn't happen the same way this episode. It showed Gurkinn and Korrina to not be equals which I liked. Not sure if that was intentional but I wonder if the difference between the two that was being highlighted through their Lucario is Gurkinn's seems to be more about aura and special-based fighting with Korrina's having a leg-up in-terms of physical prowess? As Korrina's seems to mainly work with Power-Up Punch and Bone Rush and seemed to be very skilled in swift, speedy strikes with its legs in-particular...?

The battles this episode were both short but sweet and I was impressed by the visual, animation and drama of both. In the Pikachu battle seeing Lucario hunt Pikachu down like a predator going after its prey(I kept thinking of Attack On Titan) was absolutely brutal, the sharp movements and how Pikachu could not escape the demonic-looking Pokemon kept me glued to the battle and taking notice to everything and Lucario's unwillingness to stop and Korrina's outburst and everyone else's was so just gut-wrenching. As for the match against Gurkinn, it as a personal battle with stakes and really gave off a powerful feeling of "this is the end all be-all" during with the music and Lucario's rampage. You can really really tell they've gotten so much better over the years with making berserk Pokemon look menacing.

With this episode having ended, Korrina and Lucario are on their way to see Maple and her Mega Mawile and though Lucario is at a disadvantage I do hope after mastering Mega Evolution Korrina wins with it. It could show her progress in the most preferable light through a victory and I just would like to see one of my favorites characters with a win on her belt. Because Korrina's match against Blaziken, Mega Lucario and Maple are all going to be personal battles and struggles. It'd be a brilliant way to wrap up her five-episode Mega Evolution arc. with a bang and after going through hell she can get to see heaven.