SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion

[Litra]

Wait, donuts?

I couldn't resist.

On a more serious note, the new movie sounds interesting...mainly cause Shiny Mega Rayquaza. And I am honestly curious how Hoopa (especially Hoopa Unbound) will be portrayed.

I am placing my bets on Hoopa being portrayed as the "mischievous trickster god" type of character since his looks and behavior indicate him as a gadfly.

On the other hand, I hope Hoopa is a manipulative troll who forces Ash into helping unlock his Unbound form via threatening to teleport a thunder stone on Pikachu to force him to evolve. Not going to happen, but I can dream.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Wait, donuts?

I couldn't resist.

On a more serious note, the new movie sounds interesting...mainly cause Shiny Mega Rayquaza. And I am honestly curious how Hoopa (especially Hoopa Unbound) will be portrayed.

They seem to be playing it as a mischievous character. It creates a portal to just steal donuts from Ash & co., when it accidentally drags Ash & Pikachu through it laughs sinisterly and asks are they surprised, and when asked what its name is it answers with excitement.

I am placing my bets on Hoopa being portrayed as the "mischievous trickster god" type of character since his looks and behavior indicate him as a gadfly.

On the other hand, I hope Hoopa is a manipulative troll who forces Ash into helping unlock his Unbound form via threatening to teleport a thunder stone on Pikachu to force him to evolve. Not going to happen, but I can dream.

It really doesn't take much to trick Ash, it just needs to say that something special was stolen from it and Ash would more then be happy to help get it back without asking any questions (at least not until its too late).

 

[precita]

The preview to the "date" episode is coming tomorrow on TVTokyo after Ash's Gym battle with Ramos.

I'm not a shipper, but I'm glad we can finally put Misty/Pokeshipping to bed once and for all. I'll never forget the way Misty fans would constantly troll Pokemon forums for years whining about her leaving the anime and claiming she had to come back. Obviously these last 12 years of watching Misty stay gone since 2002 proved them wrong in every way possible.

When you think back to it now, its rather baffling. Had the order of the girls been reversed or if Misty wasn't the first girl, they would be whining about a completely different character leaving instead. Just goes to show you how much nostalgia and being a kid when the Kanto saga was airing can impair your judgement. Sad thing is many of those people were teens and in their early 20's and they still had nothing better to do but whine about Misty for years and years. What an utter waste of time.

Although to be fair when the anime first started nobody could have predicted it would go on for nearly 20 years either, so back in the early days when we expected the show to end at some point the main cast was a lot smaller.

 

[Karxrida]

The preview to the "date" episode is coming tomorrow on TVTokyo after Ash's Gym battle with Ramos.

I'm not a shipper, but I'm glad we can finally put Misty/Pokeshipping to bed once and for all. I'll never forget the way Misty fans would constantly troll Pokemon forums for years whining about her leaving the anime and claiming she had to come back. Obviously these last 12 years of watching Misty stay gone since 2002 proved them wrong in every way possible.

When you think back to it now, its rather baffling. Had the order of the girls been reversed or if Misty wasn't the first girl, they would be whining about a completely different character leaving instead. Just goes to show you how much nostalgia and being a kid when the Kanto saga was airing can impair your judgement. Sad thing is many of those people were teens and in their early 20's and they still had nothing better to do but whine about Misty for years and years. What an utter waste of time.

Although to be fair when the anime first started nobody could have predicted it would go on for nearly 20 years either, so back in the early days when we expected the show to end at some point the main cast was a lot smaller.

Hilarious thing about that is it's been explicitly Jossed by the original head writer that they'd never get together, but that was before he quit halfway(?) through Johto. I will concede that she's the most memorable of them all due to having a personality that's not bland, but yeah the shipping was/is stupid.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Shipping is pointless in general (at least for Pokemon), as that's not what Pokemon is about. While I do support Pokeshipping, I'm not delusioned in thinking it or any other ships will go anywhere (since they made Ash oblivious to love). It's also why the whole "Serena having a crush on Ash" story doesn't really interest me since it means they're going to waste time on it instead of developing Serena as her own character. It makes me curious what they plan on doing with the "date" episode, are they going to do something like Serena thinks they're on a date but Ash thinks they're just hanging out? Eitherway I foresee shenanigans... and Serena leaving at the end of the XY saga to replace her with Gen VII's female companion. :P

 

[precita]

Hilarious thing about that is it's been explicitly Jossed by the original head writer that they'd never get together, but that was before he quit halfway(?) through Johto. I will concede that she's the most memorable of them all due to having a personality that's not bland, but yeah the shipping was/is stupid.

Yeah, early Misty pre-Johto was a funny character, but that's because the style of the show was written differently in the first two seasons. Johto was more like the seasons that came after, hence Misty getting bland since she had nothing to do and got stuck with Togepi.

The preview to the next episode:

Very shippy. Serena actually tries to hold Ash's hand without him knowing, she's blushing up a storm, and Ash and Serena seem to exchange presents at the vow tree.

Kinda funny they're promoting Serena's crush on Ash so much when as we've been saying, shipping goes nowhere in Pokemon. Makes you wonder if Serena is going to cry her eyes out at the end of XY when she realizes she can't travel with Ash anymore...lol.

 

[11pikabro]

Oh, look, there's a Rocky Helmet in that episode preview! Not what I went to watch the preview for, but it was a nice surprise cameo.
_____________
On a different topic, I've always been curious of how frequent certain Pokemon moves appear in the anime. There's always going to be the everyday Thunderbolt from Pikachu, but other moves like Flamethrower, Ice Beam and Double Team are quite commonly seen, too, regardless of which region Ash is in. On the other hand, I've noticed that certain moves only appear for specific episodes, like Trick Room has only been seen in the battle between Ash and Conway.

But then there are moves that have been in the games for quite a while now but have yet to make an appearance in the anime. Take U-Turn, for example. U-Turn was something I always wanted to see done in the anime because the game's animation made me unsure of what was really happening. It hasn't been seen once though, yet it's Electric equivalent, Volt Switch, has at least been seen once even though Volt Switch is from Gen V while U-turn is from Gen IV. If the writers are saving it for something special later, then I'll be fine with that, but it feels quite late for its debut.

Has anyone else ever expected a Pokémon move to appear in the anime at some point but hasn't appeared at all?
For me, the ones I'm still keeping an eye out for are U-turn, Baton Pass, Gravity, and Imprison, as I think the anime could make some interesting battle scenarios with these moves (although I might cringe at the thought of seeing a Baton Pass chain in the anime).

 

[Pikachu315111]

Obviously some moves are going to be seen more then others, especially strong attacking moves. From what I've seen "special" moves are usually kept to make important feels more complex. For example I was pleasantly surprised when I saw Conway use Trick Room during the Sinnoh League. Usually in the anime one way they demonstrate a Pokemon being powerful is by making them naturally fast, so them subverting that by using Trick Room made the battle more interesting. So while I would like to see more move variety which they do try to do when Ash & co.'s new Pokemon (usually making it that Pokemon's signature move even if it isn't), at the same time I like it when they use a move you don't see that often to bring a new element to the battle.

Call me unimaginative, but all I can see from U-Turn is that the Pokemon attacks (maybe doing some fancy aerial moves), lands the attack (and maybe flip "jump" away), and while the opponent is knocked back the attacking Pokemon turns into energy and returns to its Pokeball.

While a Baton Pass chain would actually be kind of funny to watch, I think if it was ever to appear in the anime it'll probably be one defensive/very quick & agile Pokemon who powered themselves up and passing it to a slow attacking Pokemon.

Hmm, a move I'd like to see... well how about the Pledges? We've seen Ash's Pignite use Fire Pledge, but I don't think we saw the other two. And it's especially odd since Ash & co. always have the 3 starters with them so you'd think they'll have them show off the combinations. Oh, and another set of moves I'd like to see are the ones that involve items. Since holding items don't exist (yet said items do exist... what exactly are those items for?) how would Thief, Covet, Embargo, Switcheroo, Recycle, Bestow, or Trick work? They sort of can use Knock Off, Bug Bite, Incinerate, an Pluck since they sound like a normal attack. And they did use Fling in the anime, as it turns out the Pokemon just picks up a nearby item and throws it.

 

[11pikabro]

Hmm, a move I'd like to see... well how about the Pledges? We've seen Ash's Pignite use Fire Pledge, but I don't think we saw the other two. And it's especially odd since Ash & co. always have the 3 starters with them so you'd think they'll have them show off the combinations. Oh, and another set of moves I'd like to see are the ones that involve items. Since holding items don't exist (yet said items do exist... what exactly are those items for?) how would Thief, Covet, Embargo, Switcheroo, Recycle, Bestow, or Trick work? They sort of can use Knock Off, Bug Bite, Incinerate, an Pluck since they sound like a normal attack. And they did use Fling in the anime, as it turns out the Pokemon just picks up a nearby item and throws it.

I would love to see the other Pledges, too, now that you mention it. It was fun watching the fire pillars shoot out from the ground whenever Ash's Pignite used Fire Pledge. I'm guessing that the other Pledge moves could show up later on in a Double/Triple battle or a Pokémon performance, where combining the Pledges would be a practical combination.

I remember one episode where Trick was used. It was used by that Chef Mr. Mime (Battle Frontier, if I recall), and the Mr. Mime used Trick to swap a cage key Jessie was holding with the ladle that Mr. Mime was holding. I don't remember any instance of Switcheroo or the others, though.

 

[Litra]

Seeing Gravity being used in the anime would have since we could see either see how humans would be affected (used by a villain) or show how mons who would get affected fight, like one of Ash's birds. Terrain moves come to mind as well.

It would kill to see certain abilities portrayed, especially hidden ones. How would Contrary and Defiant appear? Would the lattee come off in the form of sheer determination? I could see Magic Bounce showing up and acting like an attack reflector, such as will o wisp swirling around like a ring of fire and being flung back.

 

[Pikachu315111]

So they just put up Pikachu, What's This Key? on the official website! It's a nice surprise, for some reason they sometimes don't dub the Pikachu Shorts (though it look like recently they've been doing them).

I guess I'll give my quick opinion of it. It was okay, though it started out pretty interesting. I liked the idea of each Mythical Pokemon having worlds based on them and the idea of them traveling through all the different worlds was a neat idea... and then they botched it. For some reason they decided to dedicate half the episode inside the Jirachi world. If it wasn't for Team Rocket's Pokemon we'd only have seen Victini and Jirachi's world, but even then we only saw Manaphy and Darkrai's world. Why the focus on Jirachi world? Because the Tanabata Festival was close? If you want to make a Jirachi special make a Jirachi special, don't mess up a premise of something that doesn't solely have to do with Jirachi (hmm, I wonder if Japanese Pokemon fans are tired of the constant Jirachi spam they must get during Tanabata)! Anyway, it was still neat to see the worlds we did get, though we could have probably fit a few more if we didn't mess around in the Jirachi World. Also, that ending bit when they were trying to escape Jirachi's world felt kind of forced since, you know, they had a JIRACHI with them. Jirachi could have made a wish to left them into the portal, or use its Psychic powers to lift them. Why do they make the cute Legendaries look useless? Anycase, it was an okay short and I kind of wish they put all the Pikachu Shorts on the main website or at least their official Youtube Channel.

BTW, there's apparently only a limited time to watch this (though I'm sure someone would load it up somewhere else).

So, now this has been dubbed, when can we be expecting that Darkrai the Japanese audience got? Or being Jirachi World was featured so much, how about giving us the Shiny Jirachi that was given out during this year Tanabata?... No? Well, maybe a special Klefki at least?... PUSA seriously needs to hire a new Event director because the current one doesn't give a S***!...

Oh, speaking of Pokemon's Official Youtube Channel, they also uploaded two videos related the Mega Pokemon Special where a chibi Alain and Mairin talk about Mega Sceptile and Mega Swampert. No Mega Blaziken though, odd, guess because it isn't new (though it was previously an Event so it might as well be)? Not really anything to say about it, but they make Mega Sceptile and Mega Swampert look cool.

=========

New Movie News! This month's CoroCoro just revealed a whole batch of stuff in addition with a whole bunch of Events which I created a new thread you can talk about them here. BUT this is about the anime/movie so let's discuss that!

Now we already know that in the newest (18th) movie, Archdjinni of the Rings: Hoopa, that Hoopa will be teleporting over a Primal Kyogre, Primal Groudon, and Shiny Mega Rayquaza. However they aren't the only Legendary Pokemon going to duke it out. Hoopa will also be teleporting over a Lugia, Latios, Latias, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, Arceus, Zekrom, Reshiram, and Kyurem (and another promotional material shows a Regigigas).

Hide

GEEZ, is that enough Legendaries? Oddly, though there's a Lugia there's no Ho-Oh. I got to thinking why that is and remembered that Ash never encountered a Ho-Oh (at least in the movies, he seen a Ho-Oh just flying by two times in the anime). So could it be that these Legendaries that Hoopa teleported over are the same ones Ash had met? But wait, if that's true then why is there a Latios there since it died? Well ANOTHER image for the movies shows a rather interesting scene of Hoopa teleporting over dozens of Pikachu.

Hide

Hoopa not only can teleport things from different locations but also from different times, so its possible that this is the same Latios and Latias that Ash met in Alto Mare but they're from a different time period (maybe they were even plucked right out of the time of the events in the movie!). And even if they aren't the same ones, what about the Dialga, Palkia, Giratina, and Arceus? It's pretty much implied there's only one of them so would they remember Ash? There's a lot of questions this movie is going to bring up, hopefully it can answer them.

 

[Norne]

Gotta love the direction the anime took with the Tripokalon, I'm enjoying it more than the contest.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Gotta love the direction the anime took with the Tripokalon, I'm enjoying it more than the contest.

Looks like the Pokemon Showcase is the Performance Round from Pokemon Contest and that's all which actually fits more in line with the game's version of Pokemon Contest oddly enough. No Battle Round and Tauros Mulch meter that in several episodes the writers used to come up with a reason for someone to win, lose, or create false tension. However here it's just trying to appeal to the crowd, the more cheers you get the higher your score. Nice and simple.

Anyway this episode makes for a big turning point in Serena's character.

Hide

She finally did what she wanted to do... and sucked at it. HARD. She botched her performance by making Fennekin's clothes to long that it tripped over itself, knocking her out of the competition immediately. Worst yet, she watched fellow newb performer and game rival Shauna win the showcase, so it's now like she lose to a more skilled performer. We get a seen after the showcase of her breaking down to her Pokemon, but she quickly made her resolve complete with cutting her hair, ZOMG! She's also now wearing a new set of clothes:

Not bad, though I looked and those clothes aren't in the game (which is a bit disappointing as they could have had her show off the female character's other actual clothing options, though at the same time I can understand them wanting to keep her red color association), though her hair looks similar to the female character cutting it short (though not exactly the same, Serena's new short hair looks more ruffled up). Not quite sure what the red thing she has, though. At first I thought it was a sleeveless jacket but looking at other pictures it appears to be a scarf that hangs down the front of the body and has pockets. Weird.
ANYWAY I hope they decide to have Serena keep changing clothes, like give her a new outfit after every Pokemon Showcase. It'll not only link to the game's ability for you being able to customize your character but also show she's taking Showcases seriously by even fashionably dressing outside of them.

 

[precita]

Gotta love the direction the anime took with the Tripokalon, I'm enjoying it more than the contest.

I don't see Tripokalon remaining very interesting after we start seeing 3-4 of them. Its not really all that different than a DP Contest appeal round. Without battles it takes the sting out of them and makes them less interesting. It also makes it obvious Serena will never have good battles in the series in general, since if her goal has no battling, the only other time we see her battling is blasting off TR. She's only had one trainer battle in 60 episodes.

 

[Pikachu315111]

Movie News!
While nothing on the movie itself, those who order special tickets will get a DVD which will have a brand new short: "The Minidjinni of the Word "Appear!": Hoopa". Here's the summary of the short:

This is a story set when Hoopa's companions Balza and Mary were still children. The three of them lived happily together with the villagers in "Arkhe Valley", a place far from Désser City where Hoopa later met Ash and the others. Everyone there loved Hoopa's rings, which could make anything and everything appear! One day, the three of them were helping an old woman make donuts. Hoopa's eyes started glittering at the sight of these round treats it had never seen before! But when Hoopa's rings get used to make donuts, things quickly get silly!

*Sigh* When I first began reading the summary the voice in my head was mystical sounding... until we got to the very end where it turned into a sitcom announcer voice. Say, remember the short Mewtwo's Origin? You know, the deep and emotional story about about how Mewtwo was created and everything that was happening around it, adding onto the Mewtwo lore and helping explain his later behavior and actions in the first Pokemon movie? Would you like another story delving into a starring Legendaries past giving it depth and helping explain its goals? Well too bad, instead we have to have wacky comedy! Can't make the general audience think too much, now can we?

Done with my rant, this synopsis does reveal there will be two other characters in the movie who are friends with Hoopa: Balza and Mary. Of course nothing much else is said about them (aside they aren't children).

 

[Cresselia~~]

I think it's the first time alegendary appear in both the movie and the short?
I wonder why they give Hoopa this attention

 

[Pikachu315111]

I think it's the first time alegendary appear in both the movie and the short?
I wonder why they give Hoopa this attention

Note the Hoopa short isn't the Pikachu Short. The Pikachu Short for the 18th movie is called "Pikachu and the Pokemon Band". In my below coverage I'll talk about it and interesting thing it maybe revealing (mainly evolution hints).

18th Movie Update:
The past few weeks more information and trailers for the 18th Pokemon Movie has been revealed! Because all this information connect with one another, I'm going to post all the info first and then my thoughts and opinions.

Plot Summary

One hundred years ago, the desert city "Désser City" got severely damaged in a battle between Pokémon. The battle was started due to one specific Pokémon. However, the Pokémon got sealed by someone, and the city went back to being as peaceful as ever, a state it still is in today.

As Ash, Pikachu and the others continue their journey, they encounter the mythical Pokémon Hoopa, who carries "rings that can summon anything and everything", and a girl named Mary who takes care of Hoopa.

The mischievous Hoopa starts summoning all kinds of things from its rings, including its favorite food, donuts, to everyone's surprise and enjoyment. Ever a prankster, the simple-minded and innocent Hoopa starts referring to Ash and Pikachu as "Saton" and "Pikan". It quickly befriends the group, and they all decide to travel together.

Once they arrive in Désser City, Ash and the others meet Mary's older brother, Barza. However, something seems off about him. On a closer look, he's holding the "Prison Bottle" that's said to have sealed the Pokémon that once destroyed the city!

An evil air drifts out of the bottle. It appears that the seal has become undone over all this time. Just then, legendary Pokémon giving off that same air appear! Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, Giratina and Kyurem... This will put the city in extreme danger.

In order to protect the city, Hoopa makes more legendary Pokémon "Appear!" from its rings! Will Satoshi and his friends manage to protect Désser City alongside the legendary Pokémon Hoopa made "Appear!"? And what is the true identity of this evil power?

LEGEND VS LEGEND!

The most fierce battle in Pokémon movie history is about to begin!

Movie Characters

Mary:

Mary and her brother, Barza, lived together with Hoopa in Arkhe Valley.

Barza:

Barza is Mary's brother who lived in the Arkhe Valley. He found the Prison Bottle that was lost in the desert.

The Traveler:

An enigmatic man only known as "The Traveler", he was the one who sealed the Pokemon in the Prison Bottle 100 years ago.

Pikachu Short Summary

Pikachu and the Pokemon Band: A musical performance using Pokémon cries! The Pokémon produce a lovely harmony! Will Pikachu and the others manage a successful performance?

Trailers

A LOT of info to digest. Starting with the summary and the trailers, there's a few questions we get from it:

1. Who's the destructive Pokemon inside the Prison Bottle.
2. Why does Barza have the Prison Bottle? What does he plan on doing with it? Is he the cause for the dark energy releasing from it?
3. Why did the dark energy summon the Legendary Pokemon? Why are they immediately destroying the city? Are they under control of the dark energy?
4. What is happening to Hoopa when the dark energy surrounds it? Is it getting possessed?

Well I can't really answer question 2 or 3, we'll have to wait for the movie to find out those answers. As for questions 1 and 4, the hackers who delved into ORAS's code most likely revealed what's going on. If I were to make a guess, the "destructive Pokemon" inside the Prison Bottle is Hoopa's dark side. Hoopa getting possessed by the dark energy at the end is it becoming whole again and will probably transform into its Unleashed Form.

Going to the characters, I don't really have anything to say about them except one thing: the pendent they're all wearing resembles Arceus' arc. Being Arceus is going to appear in the movie, I have a suspicion that isn't coincidence. Also "The Traveler" isn't mentioned in the movie summary or in the trailers (though he's seen on the poster holding the Prison Bottle), and being he's over 100 years old I'm wondering what exactly is his role. Is he still living presently and does he still look like that? If so then that's a few more questions right there. What I will say if he is still living, due to him not being mentioned I'm guessing he'll probably be appearing late to help save the day. Guess I should also bring up Barza's noted strange behavior. Is he under the control of Hoopa Unleashed or is he doing all this for different reasons? Is he even a villain? As I said above, we'll just have to wait and see.

Ending the speculation on a lighter note, the Pikachu Short displays an interesting cast of Pokemon. There's one in particular I want to point out: Gourgeist. We see all of Team Rocket's Pokemon are there except for Jessie's Pumpkaboo, and Pumpkaboo evolve into Gourgeist. So is it possible that Jessie's Pumpkaboo is going to evolve into a Gourgeist in an upcoming episode? Also I'm assuming everyone knows that the recent Japanese opener spoiled Serena's Fennekin was going to evolve into a Braixen.

Opinion

I'm hiding this in a tag since it's my opinion thus not really pointing anything out. I just want to say I find the selection of Legendaries kind of strange.

First off, the ones attacking the city. We have Primal Groudon, Primal Kyogre, Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina but why is Kyurem alone? Where's Zekrom and Reshiram? Is Kyurem going to be able to transform into its alternate forms like in the 15th movie and that's why they were excluded? Actually, considering the Pokemon that Hoopa summons, wouldn't it make more sense to have Zekrom and Reshiram causing havoc and Hoopa summoning Kyurem to stop them?

That goes right into my second point, the Legends that Hoopa summon. Now Rayquaza makes sense because it's the "leader" of the trio it makes with Groudon and Kyogre, and I guess you can argue that Latios the Latias is they need all the help they can get (and to promote ORAS), but Lugia is kind of random. Why just Lugia alone, why not also summon Ho-Oh? And here's an idea, if they want only Kyurem as the Gen V Pokemon causing havoc why not have Hoopa summon Zekrom and Reshiram to help fight it (after all they're still outnumbered even if Hoopa itself enters the fray). While we're at it, while I can see why it wouldn't summon the Legendary Trios, Cute Legendaries, or other Event Legendaries; there are still other Legendaries that Hoopa can summon like Regigigas, Heatran, Cresselia, and the Kami Trio? And while Mewtwo is up in the air, what not also summon Yveltal and Xerneas (it is there generation after all)? Not only are you outnumbered, the Eon Duo are weaker then all of the Legendaries are Hoopa Unleashed summoned.

Finally, are we going to address that Ash at least knows the Creation Trio? The Groudon, Kyogre, Rayquaza, Latios, Latias, and Lugia can be different members of their species since we know multiples exist, and I guess you can also say that could be a different Kyurem since we don't know whether there was only one of it (there seem to be multiple Zekrom and Reshiram, so there are probably multiple Kyurem). However for the most part they kept the story of there only being one Dialga, Palkia, and Giratina (as well as Arceus) consistent. And though Ash doesn't really know Dialga and Palkia, Ash is at least friends with Giratina and Arceus. And assuming Giratina is under mind control so it doesn't really matter, it doesn't look like Arceus is being controlled so would they address it and Ash knowing each other?

 

[Karxrida]

The Hoopa movie might actually be enjoyable if they don't fuck up having all the Legendaries in one spot so they can fight each other. Knowing the writers though, they'll probably focus on the boring-ass main cast and the power of friendship with Hoopa. Or something.

 

[Norne]

As it is now they might release a certain pseudo on Ash team going full primeape just to keep Ash an underdog... Ugh I had faith on XY anime till now.

 

[11pikabro]

I don't think Ash would just simply give the 'mon away like he did with Primeape. If something would happen to said pseudo, I'd be leaning towards a Pidgeot type of experience, or hopefully just an experience similar to Gliscor where it's only temporary.

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

As it is now they might release a certain pseudo on Ash team going full primeape just to keep Ash an underdog... Ugh I had faith on XY anime till now.

From the looks of what I've seen, assuming we do end up going this "release" route with the said pseudo, it seems like it wasn't really meant to be a permanent team member, but it seemed they just wanted to implement a little story arc in the series with a said Pokemon that Ash helps out, but instead of it being a Pokemon of the day, it gets an expanded story arc over multiple episodes a la Lapras or Larvitar. This Pokemon from evidence seen in the anime seems to have its own little story going for it, being traumatized by the invasion of its homeland and being carried away by a Swanna right onto Ash's head. It lived peacefully in its wetland home with some other Pokemon before its home was taken over by a horde of Pokemon who attacked it, and it being so weak rendered it hopeless. The other Pokemon in its homeland were also, for the most part (as evidenced by this Pokemon's memories), hopeless too. So Ash helps this Pokemon become strong and when it comes back to its home, this pseudo-legendary, now a fully evolved Pokemon, reclaims its homeland and saves its lost friends from the violent intruders.

So yeah, this seems like more of a story arc, not to keep Ash an underdog but simply more of a Pokemon like Larvitar or Lapras where Ash helps said Pokemon to be able to achieve what it wants to fulfill, ie a story arc involving a Pokemon, being a temporary character like Alexa or Korrina.

Also, the term "pseudo-legendary" isn't truly a thing imo, I have an obsession with pseudo-legendaries and they are among my favorite Pokemon, but honestly, the term "pseudo-legendary" is just a fan made term that describes an interesting pattern of Pokemon that Game Freak has put into the games. Most pseudo-legendaries are just generic Pokemon like any other in the eyes of the people who make this kind of stuff.

Ash still has some good hope to do fairly well in the league even if this pseudo does get released, seeing as how he does have Fletchinder and Frogadier which do have potential to evolve in the future, and Hawlucha itself isn't shabby. There's always Pikachu, and there's also the possibility that Ash may be able to use Mega Evolution (though I'm kind of doubting), so of course Ash still has potential for more Pokemon and possibly using good old reserves for the league like he did back in the DP series.

 

[Pikachu315111]

From the looks of what I've seen, assuming we do end up going this "release" route with the said pseudo, it seems like it wasn't really meant to be a permanent team member, but it seemed they just wanted to implement a little story arc in the series with a said Pokemon that Ash helps out, but instead of it being a Pokemon of the day, it gets an expanded story arc over multiple episodes a la Lapras or Larvitar. This Pokemon from evidence seen in the anime seems to have its own little story going for it, being traumatized by the invasion of its homeland and being carried away by a Swanna right onto Ash's head. It lived peacefully in its wetland home with some other Pokemon before its home was taken over by a horde of Pokemon who attacked it, and it being so weak rendered it hopeless. The other Pokemon in its homeland were also, for the most part (as evidenced by this Pokemon's memories), hopeless too. So Ash helps this Pokemon become strong and when it comes back to its home, this pseudo-legendary, now a fully evolved Pokemon, reclaims its homeland and saves its lost friends from the violent intruders.

So yeah, this seems like more of a story arc, not to keep Ash an underdog but simply more of a Pokemon like Larvitar or Lapras where Ash helps said Pokemon to be able to achieve what it wants to fulfill, ie a story arc involving a Pokemon, being a temporary character like Alexa or Korrina.

Also, the term "pseudo-legendary" isn't truly a thing imo, I have an obsession with pseudo-legendaries and they are among my favorite Pokemon, but honestly, the term "pseudo-legendary" is just a fan made term that describes an interesting pattern of Pokemon that Game Freak has put into the games. Most pseudo-legendaries are just generic Pokemon like any other in the eyes of the people who make this kind of stuff.

Ash still has some good hope to do fairly well in the league even if this pseudo does get released, seeing as how he does have Fletchinder and Frogadier which do have potential to evolve in the future, and Hawlucha itself isn't shabby. There's always Pikachu, and there's also the possibility that Ash may be able to use Mega Evolution (though I'm kind of doubting), so of course Ash still has potential for more Pokemon and possibly using good old reserves for the league like he did back in the DP series.

Yeah, that does sound like Lapras's story (then again it also sounds like Torkoal (and a few more of Ash & co's Pokemon if you count their tribe being attacked by Team Rocket)), I didn't that was the situation with it (looking at Serebii I see that they just aired the Goomy episode so I have some catching up to do). However what you said is very possible and its not like they haven't had another Pokemon join Ash & co.'s team looking like a permanent member before then leaving, Ambipom anyone?

As for keeping Ash an underdog, usually they only do that story if Ash is against a well known strong trainer (like a Gym Leader or a rival) or suddenly in a middle of a battle when the opponent suddenly gets the upperhand and Ash has to think a way out of the situation. However usually when Ash goes up against another trainer they treat it just like that, he's going up against this complete stranger so for all intent and purposes they're equal in strength. So unless a trainer gets any sort of buildup beforehand (for example Tobias was periodically mentioned throughout the Sinnoh League as the trainer with a Legendary who swept all the Gyms with just that Legendary), I don't recall Ash being considered a loss cause against a newly introduced trainer until some point in the battle where the opponent employs a tricky strategy. In eithercase, as long as Ash keeps evolving his team he should be in good hands, not to mention he has all his reserves when he gets the brains to use them (DP had Ash use his reserves during the League and still gave plenty of time to his new team).

And though the term is fanmade, the "pseudo-legendary" are not considered generic Pokemon by the creators. Game Freak may not have a group name for them, but ever since the first gen there has been a family of normal Pokemon who's final evolution BST is 600. They're most often hard to get, you having to either go out of your way or wait till end game to get one, and are most often used by the Champion or another strong trainer (only Tyranitar was never used in such a way, though in GS you had to wait till the very last area, Mt. Silver, to get one). And in the anime they're often portrayed as a super strong Pokemon, often causing a LOT of damage when they got on rampages. So yeah, they may not be called "pseudo-legendary" officially but they're far from considered generic Pokemon by the creators.

Ash still doesn't have a whole team yet, with Goodra he still has one more capture. If he does release Goodra then that means he'll need to catch 2 more Gen VI Pokemon. Right now his team composes of Electric, Water (and possibly part Dark), Fire/Flying, Fighting/Flying, and currently Dragon. Looking through the list of Gen VI Pokemon, if I were to pick possibly candidates for Ash to catch I'd say Skiddo (Grass) and Bergmite (Ice). Other possibilities include Honedge (Steel/Ghost), Carbink (Rock/Fairy), and Phantump (Grass/Ghost). And if Ash were to use any Mega Pokemon it ha BETTER be Charizard, they brought him back from his training for what? He's staying at Oak's now, unless they give Ash the option to Mega Evolve it into probably a Mega Charizard Y (Alain from the Mega Evolution special already is using MCX and he wants to battle every Mega Pokemon, so what better way for him to battle a MCY then by having Ash use it?). Actually since Ash has several Pokemon with Mega forms it would actually be kind of interesting/funny if he gets Mega Stones for all his Pokemon with Mega Evolutions. But even without a Mega Pokemon, as I said he still has his reserves for the League. I see no reason not to use them, especially after that shameful display at the Unova League which should teach him not to hold back.

 

[Litra]

Finally got caught up to now. While I am very happy Serena got a good amount of development and had her Fennekin evolve, Ash's quickly-evolved Goodra has been ringing up red flags in my head. Namely, the flags that have my intuition guessing "team punching bag" what's coming up in my head. Perhaps I am just basing it on Valerie coming after Clemont, but getting a fully-evolved pseudo 4 badges in the journey is suspicious.

 

[Cresselia~~]

I am worrief that Goodra might leave the team.
"Goodra, go over the rainbow! " episode title really sounds like he's leaving.

 

[precita]

If Goodra leaves hopefully it comes back for the league like Charizard, Squirtle and Gliscor did.

As for Serena I'm glad they're finally doing something with her rather than just having her be there for the first 50 episodes of XY doing practically nothing. She's probably the slowest developed female companion of the series, we're also over 70 episodes into XY and Serena only has 2 pokemon.