I love it! Honestly once I knew he was getting an arc suit I was a little worried given how the Neo Champion story went. But DeNA I think really did well in addressing a lot of the issues I and others had with how Blue was treated in the Neo Champion Story. The first was actually giving him the spotlight by himself as I and many others assumed that the Kantrio would all be blessed by Arceus at once. I think the Arc Suit chapters do so much better when it’s just one person getting their suit as it allows for more focus on that one character
I really appreciated how a lot of the focus of this chapter was on Blue’s ability to be a mentor. I felt like the Neo Champion event really downplayed his abilities but here we get to see them in their full capacity. Him taking not only Chase and Elaine under his wing but the two Pokekids was adorable and it shows how much he truly cares about everyone which is a stark contrast to what we see of him back in FireRed and LeafGreen
I don't need it because I don't give a hoot about others - Blue after giving you the fame checker in Cerulean City
You can see how much of a change in his mindset he has considering that he sees training the next generation as part of his own training rather than seeing fighting trainers as just stepping stones.
I appreciate how much like in the Kanto Villain Arc, Blue takes the lead in pushing back Team Rocket. In a way, it’s an apology to Red for not helping him out against team rocket during the gen 1 story while also showing how capable Blue is as a leader.
For me one of the highlights of the story is Blue challenging Giovanni not necessarily in a straight hero vs villain fight, but as two gym leaders. Even when Giovanni talks about his bonds of evil Blue doesn't try to dissuade him from forming the bonds he wants. I also love how Giovanni didn’t even know Blue had beef with him like that on a personal level, but was like “okay bet we can throw hands for Arceus to judge us”! I also thought it was hilarious that Blue even says he’s going to tell Looker to back off and just let this be a fight between the two of them.
Now my one major criticism of the story is that I wish they spent more time reflecting on both Blue and Giovanni in their roles as gym leaders. Like we get little hints that Blue wasn’t initially keen on being gym leader (something mentioned in Let’s Go but of course not everyone played that) and now we learn Blue had a huge mess to clean up after taking over. But they don’t really go further than that and considering how the marketing hyped up that this battle was about the pride of the Viridian Gym Leaders, I do wish they had of spent time diving more into these plot threads
Like what eventually made Blue decide to take up the role? Who was the one who even asked him in the first place and why did they choose him? We’ve never gotten an explanation for that decision and I feel that’s a huge turning point in Blue’s character
What were the struggles he faced in taking over the gym? Was it solely the reputation of the gym? As much as gyms have been a focal point in the Pokemon series as a whole, we don’t really get a lot of explanation as to the process of running a gym and I feel like we could’ve at least slightly gotten into that with Blue here.
And this criticism also applies to Giovanni. I really appreciate how Giovanni is shown to be nostalgic about being a leader and willing to accept Blue’s offer on a level of being gym leader, which is a reference to his gym battle with Red in Pokemon Origins where you can see he does have some enjoyment of battling. Yet I wish at some point we got Giovanni reminiscing about himself as a trainer and not just the boss of Team Rocket, even if it was by himself (as I doubt he’d be that vulnerable to anybody else). However I think this is a set up for that to eventually happen down the road, which I’m for because Giovanni definitely needs more exploration into his character beyond his identity as the leader of Team Rocket.
Of course anybody who knows me, knows that I’m a huge Leon fan so seeing Blue and Leon practicing together was really sweet. I love how Blue’s finally truly being acknowledged as a powerful trainer in his own right and not just in his relation to Red in this story. Also I’m enjoying the friendship we’re seeing being built between Blue and Leon. Blue hasn’t gotten a lot of chances to really interact with the other champions and I’m happy that of all of them it’s someone like Leon who is canonically one of the most powerful champions to exist.
Speaking of other friendships I really enjoy how Blue and Silver also interact, with Silver telling Blue to not lose to Giovanni. Silver respects Blue a lot, even if he’s not one to outwardly admit it as seen by this quote from him in his Sygna Suit
"I bet that guy Blue acts like your mentor or something, trying to teach you all kinds of stuff. He does the same with me. If he does, you're better off doing what he says and picking up on his technique and his moves..."
This story really highlights how much people from across regions respect Blue which makes sense given how an NPC from Viridian City in HGSS states how people eventually would come from all over the world to try to train under Blue as a gym leader. It's just really refreshing to see Blue being shown as a powerful and respected trainer in his own right outside of his relation to Red or Professor Oak.
I also really appreciate how Blue also tells others to keep Red and Leaf out of it. Now y'all know I love the Kantrio but it's nice that they're all getting some time a part to focus on what makes each of them individually great. Blue respects his friends' time but more importantly he sees this as a chance to prove himself. It's a callback to the PML finals where Blue was starting to get anxious about how much he was leaning on Red and feeling less of a rival and more of a right-hand man to the living legend
And I’m glad it was Pidgeot he got his arc suit with. I know people weren’t too happy that we got another Flying type arc suit so soon, but Blue definitely deserved to have his Pidgeot pop off. I’ve talked about it before, but his Pidgeot is the symbol of his character growth so it was only natural that Pidgeot would be the one he showed his bond with to Arceus
I have to for once give Oak credit for actually being supportive of Blue once genuinely. It was actually a nice touching moment between the two after so many years of feeling like Professor Oak only cared about Red’s growth.
I also appreciated how Blue freely admitted he just really wanted to kick Giovanni’s ass more so than he was trying to prove his bonds to Arceus or even protecting the other trainers. The whole set up of this fight is very unhinged on Blue’s part but it works given his character. He’s a blood knight when it comes to battling, and personally that’s one of my favorite parts of Blue as a character and I’m glad we get to see that with him channeling his blood knight tendencies into a good cause.
Like the subtle hint throughout the story is that people are somewhat assuming Blue is just doing this out of pride. Which to be clear he is doing it out of pride. But unlike who he was during his journey through Kanto he's not being reckless about it. He's not forgetting to appreciate those along the way who have helped them. This fight isn't out of desperation but to prove a point. And there's nothing inherently bad about doing things to prove a point as long as it doesn't come at the expense of others.
I was laughing so hard with Lear being so done with this Arceus Cup match before it began. This is a minor nitpick, but I would've loved to see a scene where Lear is screaming at Blue for suggesting this. I think it could’ve helped with Blue exploring his time as a leader but also just for the sheer audacity of Blue submitting this and Lear losing his shit.
I think the other major highlight for me of this story was how Blue was playing chess while Giovanni was playing checkers. Of course Giovanni was going to try to use the cup as a way to sow chaos and further his agenda, and Blue wasn’t naive to the fact by making sure his proteges were keeping an eye out. It’s one of the rare times we actually see Giovanni flustered and caught off guard. He underestimated Blue thinking Blue’s challenge was just him being hungry for Arceus’ power and he paid for it dearly. Blue used this opportunity to show his strength, train the next generation of trainers, humiliate Giovanni and Team Rocket, and show off that he’s learned how to bond with his team to the point Arceus blessed him?
Absolute Cinema, absolute power move
I really appreciated how Blue's talk to Giovanni lowkey highlights how similar they were at one point. Both are very talented trainers as even Professor Bellis had to admit. But both of them were at one point very consumed by the idea of being powerful. But where Giovanni still seeks out any source of power, Blue has learned to take things day by day and grow incrementally. Giovanni talks about results (referring to the fact that Blue at least hasn't been able to beat Red) but Blue showing his growth that he's okay with still growing even if goal is still out of reach (although please DeNA let him beat Red once)
Overall this was fantastic. Blue is my favorite character in all of Pokemon and I've enjoyed how much Pokemon Masters EX uses him but this has been the best of it. It's so nice to see him shown in such a powerful and positive light it's what he deserves.
