It's the final matchup of the first round of the Masters Eight Tournament: Ash vs Steven Stone! These two champions are eager to pull off the victory and go on to become the Monarch, but which of these two titans will emerge victorious?
This episode contains the following tropes:
- Always Accurate Attack: It is revealed that Pikachu's 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt is like this, at least to an extent. When Mega Metagross proves too fast for Pikachu to hit with any of his other attacks, Ash decides to use 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt. Mega Metagross manages to dodge the first three bolts and gets behind Pikachu ready to finish him, only for it and Steven to be blindsided when it is revealed Pikachu can control the direction of the attack even after it has started, causing Mega Metagross to be struck by the rest of the attack.
- Bring It: With Ash as her opponent for the next round, Cynthia is eager to face him with all her might.
- Chekhov's Gun: Ash brought his Dynamax Band, Mega Stone, and Z-Ring with him to the match against Steven. He uses his Z-Ring this round, which helps bring him victory.
- Continuity Nod:
- Ash has Dracovish use Fishious Rend to stop Steven's Shiny Metagross from using Agility and Psychic to blindside him, recalling Paul's training advice from before. Paul is then briefly seen watching the match, smiling with glee that Ash remembered.
- When Gengar uses Will-O-Whisp to burn Steven's Aggron, Ash's Fire types are seen back at Oak's lab cheering in celebration that their training with Gengar paid off.
- The Cameo:
- Drew, Harley, and Solidad are among the spectators rooting for Steven Stone back in Hoenn, while Tracey Sketchit is amongst the crowd back at Oak's watching Ash's battle.
- Paul and his brother Reggie tune in for Ash's fight.
- Curb-Stomp Battle:
- Aggron takes down Dracovish with only one move.
- While Gengar is able to get off a few hits, Cradily roots itself into the ground and continuously heals using Ingrain, brushing off the damage the Ghost type does before it takes it down. Pikachu turns it around by taking down Cradily without getting hit himself.
- Cuteness Proximity: Iris gushes over Hop's Wooloo, much to the sheep's dismay.
- Defeating the Undefeatable: Ash manages to bring down Steven Stone, the number 3 ranked trainer in the world, who's never lost a battle on screen before.
- Didn't See That Coming:
- Steven has his Cradily use Power Whip to hold Pikachu down, but Ash anticipated it and had Pikachu use Electro Web to trap the tendrils, hurting it and leaving it open for an Iron Tail.
- Steven and his shiny Mega Metagross are completely blindsided by Pikachu's ability to control his 10 Million Volt Thunderbolt and change its direction at a moment's notice. Such an opening hits Metagross, leaving Pikachu open to take it down with an Iron Tail.
- Genius Bruiser: When Mega Evolved, Metagross is capable of analyzing its opponent's movements and predicting exactly how it will attack. Diantha points out that it functions just like a supercomputer in this state.
- Irony: A literal example, despite pinning Mega-Metagross to the ground with its Z-move, Pikachu ultimately defeats the Mega Pokémon with an Iron Tail, the very move he learned when Ash traveled through Hoenn where Steven is Champion of, and is also a steel based move.
- Lightning Bruiser: In its Mega Form, Steven's Shiny Metagross not only hits like a freight train, but it moves as fast as The Flash, able to anticipate its opponent's moves and dodge them through constant analysis.
- Mythology Gag: The speech Steven gives Ash after he beats him is identical to the one he gives the player after being beaten in the games.
- Put on a Bus: Having all been eliminated from the Tournament, Iris, Steven, and Alain return home, wishing Ash luck in his battle against Cynthia.
- Vine Tentacles: Steven's Cradily knows Power Whip, which winds up eventually bringing Gengar down when the Ghost type is unable to escape its grasp.
- The Worf Effect: Dracovish gets one shotted by Steven's Aggron, despite it holding out against Steven's Metagross.
