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Since I'd seen XY already and now I had a good grasp of what Contests looked like before Performances, I decided to see what Journeys did with them real quick. Since the episode took place in Hoenn, did they keep the spirit of Contests in Hoenn (ORAS did not change them that much) or did they lean into the idol shit of Performances since Serena was the focus of the episode? The answer is kind of both. In the Contest Spectacular, Serena and Chloe stay out of the middle of things, putting the focus on the Pokemon and their moves more than XY did. There's no cooking contest or fashion show. At the same time, apparently the appeals round is the only round now, so there are no Contest Battles. The method of winning is just as indiscernible as ever.
Other things of note: The dub is kind of bad. I'm pretty sure the line Ash kept telling Serena in XY that was supposed to be meaningful here was "if you're uncertain, keep moving forward," not "try new things." The sub confirmed this more or less. It's the same company dubbing it, so I don't know why there's such an inconsistency. The animation itself was much less dynamic than even the Contests in AG were, aside from the effects, I guess. I have nothing original to contribute to the Great Gatsby scene, aside from the fact that it was kind of funny to just see Serena stand still at the dock while time passed.
Going back to DP after work. This episode did not inspire any desire to watch Journeys.
