It's still early in the final bout between Ash and Leon, but things are at a stalemate! Both trainers are down one Pokémon each, and neither are giving an inch! Ash may be quick on his feet, but Leon's got something up his sleeve. Can he overcome the odds?
This episode contains the following tropes:
- Call-Back:
- Ash having Sirfetch'd use Fury Cutter to get rid of Psychic Terrain is like when he had his Hawlucha use X-Scissor get rid of the Trick Room during his match with Valerie back on XY.
- Lucario using its Aura to detect the movements of Mr. Rime are the same as when his Frogadier used its own skills to detect Gogoat's movements during his battle with Ramos.
- Dracovish swallows Dragapult's Dragon Darts like Grotle and Dawn's Mamoswine did with similar moves.
- The Cameo: Korrina, Bea, Gurkinn, and Wikstrom are seen watching the match. Except for Bea, the others would make their last appearance in the anime here.
- Cliffhanger: The match is down four to three in Ash's favor, but his entire team are exhausted to varying degrees...and Leon busted out his Rillaboom, with Cinderace still fresh for battling and Charizard yet to be used.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- Leon failed to see Ash using Sirfetch'd to eliminate the Psychic Terrain with Fury Cutter, and then how Lucario's aura is able to detect the movement of Mr. Rime's Triple Axel.
- Leon is caught off-guard again when Dragonite uses Dragonite Meteor.
- Everyone is shocked by Dracovish's new power. Cynthia only has a slight hypothesis on what happened.
- Didn't Think This Through: Leon has Dragapult charge at Dracovish after zapping it despite literally just seeing Dracovish stretch its spikes. The Dragon/Ghost type is grabbed and pummeled with Ice Fang and only gets away via Dragon Tail.
- Foreshadowing: When Lucario Mega Evolves, it manages to send Galar particles flying into the air above the stadium. This will become important later.
- Just Toying with Them: The basis of Leon's strategy in this episode.
- Later-Installment Weirdness: Dragon Tail is shown as a Switch-Out Move for the first time in the anime.
- Made of Iron: Leon's Dragapult is an exceptionally durable Pokémon, being able to tank several Dragon and Ice moves while simultaneously wearing down its opponents, leaving them vulnerable to the rest of Leon's team. It takes Dragonite literally tackling it with a Dragonite Meteor to finally bring it down, and even then Dragapult had done its job and left the rest of Ash's team in a bind.
- Switch-Out Move: Dragapult has Dragon Tail, which forces its opponent to switch out when it contacts. As part of Leon's strategy, he uses it to wear down each of Ash's team, that way if Dragapult falls, the rest of Ash's Pokémon will be worn out enough that his next member can take them down easily.
- Took a Level in Badass: Dracovish becomes so enraged, it learns a new power—being able to entrap opponents using the spikes on its torso.
- The Unreveal: What exactly the new power Dracovish gains is never revealed.
- Worf Had the Flu: Dragapult taking damage from Dracovish and Lucario's attacks allows Dragonite to finish the job.
