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SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion
- Thread starter Jellicent
- Start date
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
The animation of the battle was great, especially the movements.
But it's so strange that Gardevoir kept using shadowball instead of some fairy/ psychic moves.
Ash-Greninja can fly @_@
But it's so strange that Gardevoir kept using shadowball instead of some fairy/ psychic moves.
Ash-Greninja can fly @_@
Not using Psychic-type attacks make sense since Greninja is a Dark-type, but I admit I found weird as well that Mega Gardevoir shot only one Fairy attack (was it Moonblast?) during the battle, especially after considering the fact that Dark is weak to Fairy...
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
XY122: Find Melecie! Numelgon and Dedenne!!
Goodra will be back on June 9.
It is confirmed that this is indeed Ash's Goodra.
- Bulbaforums
Goodra will be back on June 9.
It is confirmed that this is indeed Ash's Goodra.
- Bulbaforums
I hope its permanent. Ash needs a 6th Pkmn for The league
Freaking finally.
The butterfree sub plot was poorly received in Japan as far as I know and didn't really accomplish much as Goodra is one of those Pokémon that becomes really iconic for its target demographic.
Also this means no grass type for Ash, seriously this is a first, the elemental trio is broken for the first time and it's glorious, no vine whip ex machina, no exploding leaves...seriously this is great.
The butterfree sub plot was poorly received in Japan as far as I know and didn't really accomplish much as Goodra is one of those Pokémon that becomes really iconic for its target demographic.
Also this means no grass type for Ash, seriously this is a first, the elemental trio is broken for the first time and it's glorious, no vine whip ex machina, no exploding leaves...seriously this is great.
So, who will Ash get?
Rowlet: Both a starter and Flying-type, could also serve as Ash's main Flying-type he'd send out on searches (thus not needing to catch the region's bird so he could have a bit more of a diverse team... if he doesn't get all the Alola starters). Plus Noctowl could use some company.
Litten: Being a cat plus a Fire-type (plus a disinterested expression) Litten is just ripe to have a sad backstory (a standard of all of Ash's Fire Starters, exception for Cynaquil but it was being chased by a jerk trainer). Also if they make it female they could have a running gag of Meowth having a crush on it (remember, Meowth always gets a crush on each gen's cat Pokemon. Though I suppose they could do that anyway by giving it to another of Ash's companions, though by having Ash have it it'll feel a bit less they're copying that gag with May's Skitty).
Popplio: Ash seems to have a preference for the Water-type starter, or at least have them stand out among the other Starter he gets. And being Popplio is a performer it'll probably continue this trend. Also Popplio is unpopular with players, the same thing happened to Oshawott but views on it improved partly due to Ash's Oshawott so if it's not too late for them to write it maybe they'll give Ash a Popplio to try and improve perception of it?
Two/All of Them: With Gen VI having done the "give each character a Starter" thing they could give Ash two or all of the Alola Starters.
So, who do you want Ash to get?
Rowlet: Both a starter and Flying-type, could also serve as Ash's main Flying-type he'd send out on searches (thus not needing to catch the region's bird so he could have a bit more of a diverse team... if he doesn't get all the Alola starters). Plus Noctowl could use some company.
Litten: Being a cat plus a Fire-type (plus a disinterested expression) Litten is just ripe to have a sad backstory (a standard of all of Ash's Fire Starters, exception for Cynaquil but it was being chased by a jerk trainer). Also if they make it female they could have a running gag of Meowth having a crush on it (remember, Meowth always gets a crush on each gen's cat Pokemon. Though I suppose they could do that anyway by giving it to another of Ash's companions, though by having Ash have it it'll feel a bit less they're copying that gag with May's Skitty).
Popplio: Ash seems to have a preference for the Water-type starter, or at least have them stand out among the other Starter he gets. And being Popplio is a performer it'll probably continue this trend. Also Popplio is unpopular with players, the same thing happened to Oshawott but views on it improved partly due to Ash's Oshawott so if it's not too late for them to write it maybe they'll give Ash a Popplio to try and improve perception of it?
Two/All of Them: With Gen VI having done the "give each character a Starter" thing they could give Ash two or all of the Alola Starters.
So, who do you want Ash to get?
Option 4, for me. I would like him to get Rowlet and Litten, while the girl could get Popplio. The male partner could have a team of wild cards.So, who will Ash get?
Rowlet: Both a starter and Flying-type, could also serve as Ash's main Flying-type he'd send out on searches (thus not needing to catch the region's bird so he could have a bit more of a diverse team... if he doesn't get all the Alola starters). Plus Noctowl could use some company.
Litten: Being a cat plus a Fire-type (plus a disinterested expression) Litten is just ripe to have a sad backstory (a standard of all of Ash's Fire Starters, exception for Cynaquil but it was being chased by a jerk trainer). Also if they make it female they could have a running gag of Meowth having a crush on it (remember, Meowth always gets a crush on each gen's cat Pokemon. Though I suppose they could do that anyway by giving it to another of Ash's companions, though by having Ash have it it'll feel a bit less they're copying that gag with May's Skitty).
Popplio: Ash seems to have a preference for the Water-type starter, or at least have them stand out among the other Starter he gets. And being Popplio is a performer it'll probably continue this trend. Also Popplio is unpopular with players, the same thing happened to Oshawott but views on it improved partly due to Ash's Oshawott so if it's not too late for them to write it maybe they'll give Ash a Popplio to try and improve perception of it?
Two/All of Them: With Gen VI having done the "give each character a Starter" thing they could give Ash two or all of the Alola Starters.
So, who do you want Ash to get?
Update on synchro-evolution: Thinking too much causes it to fail.
More seriously though, the more info we get on synchro-evolution the more it seems to be based in the trope of feeling battle and just going with the flow and YELLING AND PASSION; strategizing, a lack of confidence, or over-thinking seem to mess it up.
This caused Ash to lose his third battle against Shota since he and Greninja failed to synchro, giving Shota the chance to exploit Greninja's hesitation with a leaf storm/leaf blade combo
More seriously though, the more info we get on synchro-evolution the more it seems to be based in the trope of feeling battle and just going with the flow and YELLING AND PASSION; strategizing, a lack of confidence, or over-thinking seem to mess it up.
Well, it does depend a large part on what the three evolve into. I liked Tepig the best out of the three on first impression, but didn't like the fat Emboar it became. Samurott caused me to choose Oshawott. I'm annoyed to this very day that Oshawott stayed in his annoying little form, instead of evolving into the infinitely cooler Samurott.
If Popplio were to pull of the same stunt, and not evolve, I'd probably get even more annoyed, because at least Oshawott pulls off the cuteness rather well. I just don't like Popplio's big, pink nose.
There is always the possibility that any one of them could evolve into something that isn't as nice looking as what we see now, even Rowlett, my favorite of the three, though how you'd mess up a stealthy bird of prey is beyond me.
If Popplio were to pull of the same stunt, and not evolve, I'd probably get even more annoyed, because at least Oshawott pulls off the cuteness rather well. I just don't like Popplio's big, pink nose.
There is always the possibility that any one of them could evolve into something that isn't as nice looking as what we see now, even Rowlett, my favorite of the three, though how you'd mess up a stealthy bird of prey is beyond me.
If anyone else showed the whole "Synch-Evo failing due to too much thought" thing, it would be ok, but that fact that it was Ash, of all people, showing that particular fact of Synch-Evo makes it funny. He isn't exactly the sharpest tool in the shed, after all.
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
Ash didn't really discover much regarding to the Ash-Greninja evolution.
And this wasn't THAT Butterfree...
But I think the episode was really good. The flashbacks, helping the Spewpas, and that they evolved into Vivillon in the end of the episode.
I nearly cried when Ash said thank you to Greninja.
And this wasn't THAT Butterfree...
But I think the episode was really good. The flashbacks, helping the Spewpas, and that they evolved into Vivillon in the end of the episode.
I nearly cried when Ash said thank you to Greninja.
Nope, it's Trevor's Charizard
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
Aree.
Alan has Charizard X, Trevor has Y.
WHAT!?
Oh... sorry I thought the anime was going to do something competent for a second.
Because Ash has to be a goddamn special flower, doesn't he? Give Ash a Mega Pokemon? Nah! That would make him an actual threat and we can't very well have that. Instead let's throw one of his new Pokemon, the starter he gets, into the spotlight and give it a vague power-up that's strong enough to take on a Mega but has enough drawbacks it can still lose to any Pokemon we want it to.
I just have one question for the writers: why bring Charizard out from the Charicific Valley if you're not going to do anything with him? I thought at the time they were going to have it and Iris's Dragonite take on Reshiram during the Plasma plot. But nope, Team Plasma had a Pokemon mind control device so they couldn't be used without getting their minds controlled. Okay, oh, hey, Gen VI revealed Mega Pokemon and Charizard is getting two, surely that's why they brought Charizard back, to give it a Mega. It even felt like they were setting it up, like they showed a Pokemon had to be disciplined and in sync with their trainer to Mega Evolve which Charizard is. But nope, Ash-Greninja out of nowhere. At this point bringing Charizard back felt like a cheap stunt to bring up views, which honestly makes no sense as it was the end of the BW saga and I would think a lot of people would be coming back to at least check out the beginning of the next saga. So they brought back Charizard for nothing, good job writers, you truly know what the fans want, ugh.
"But hey, they're still having a Charizard X & Charizard Y battle at least"! Yeah, but look who the trainers are. Alain, who's a main character of a side series we've seen as a powerful trainer and working for Team Flare, and Trevor, a beginning trainer who barely counts as a rival for Ash. Trevor's Charizard Y may get a few good hits in but you know Alain is going to get the upperhand and have Charizard X beat Y. At least if it was Alain vs. Ash than Charizard Y may stand a chance of winning (especially since it'll also be Ash's Charizard, I'm sure Trevor's Charizard is fine but we don't know anything about it).
Can we please get new writers? Some who actually gives a s***? Ones who follows the story of the games, based filler on stuff in the games, when they debut or write stories around a Pokemon have their dex description and/or stats play a part (and save a Gym Leader's ace Pokemon to be debut in the Gym Leader battle). How about have the writers play the game and while doing so have them take notes of their Pokemon journey, if they're good writers they should have a saga worth of storylines and plots to tell.
Sort of related to the above:
It seems like so many of the Anime's problems could have been solved by making Ash the mentor. Let him keep a team of Pokémon, but put him in the background, and have a new main character for every region. The show is meant to introduce Pokémon to a young, wide audience, so the relatable main character has to be a complete newbie. Instead of giving Ash a lobotomy (and giving all of his Pokémon away) every time he builds up some competence, they could easily just start with a new, incompetent character every time. Ash could stay near the center of the show, and be the overarching main character who travels between regions, but he doesn't have to stay the star.
The problem, though, is the other big "requirement" for the show to function as it does today: The main character not only has to learn something new (new to the audience, at least), he also has to be the star. It's his Pokémon that have to solve all the problems. The main character should stay in focus, learn new things and solve problems life (or the writer) throws at him. It'd be no fun for the main character to run away at every sight of danger, while competent, grown-up Ash handily solves the problem with his high-level Pokémon and years of expertise. For the main character to truly be the main character, he should also be at the center of every problem, and their solutions.
OK, but that sounds like it could still be done with a new main character, right? Just put him and his Pokémon on center stage, delegate Ash to the periphery, problem solved? Not so fast. For merchandise-related reasons, one of those Pokémon that solve problems together with the main character has to be Pikachu. The main character of the series and the franchise mascot have to be in the spotlight together. Pikachu always outside its Poké Ball, always visible on the main character's shoulder, the one Pokémon to be in every shot. To sell merchandise, the show needs to throw Pikachu at the viewers, giving it the most exposure and the most screen time. Pikachu has to zap the villains once every other episode, at least. That role can't be taken over by any other Pokémon (save for Lucario, I guess). The main character himself should also be marketable in the long run, nobody would buy lunch boxes or T-shirts picturing the main character from two seasons ago.
So... let's review the requirements: Pikachu needs to be the main Pokémon of the main character. The main character needs to be "our hero", so the supporting cast can't be too competent, lest they solve every problem without the main character. The main character needs to be relatable to viewers that are not familiar with the games. Something new (to the viewers) has to be learned every episode. The main character can't be swapped out too often, or he'll "go out of fashion" and fall into obscurity.
By far the easiest - but not necessarily the best - solution to all these requirements is to keep Ash and his Pikachu around. Dumb down Ash to the level of the viewers every time a new region happens. Keep introducing the same basic concepts of the games at the beginning of every region. Pretend like the current "season" of the Anime is the first season, that you are always watching Ash's first journey. Very few viewers are going to watch the show for long enough to notice the pattern, and the show isn't meant to cater to those who do. Introducing new viewers to Pokémon is the main purpose of the show.
So I guess the core problem is this: The Anime is a commercial and a tutorial. That dictates how it is developed and written. It essentially pictures a guided play-through of the games, a sneak peek of the fun viewers could have if they bought and played them. It also keeps reinforcing the idea of Pokémon to non-playing viewers, ensuring that most people know what a Pikachu is and looks like. The Anime the fans demand wouldn't be profitable in the long run. If they introduced all the concepts once and never again, it would alienate new viewers, especially since the show has been running for close to 20 years now. Power creep would be a problem really fast, if the main character kept his team when travelling to a new region, it'd be like trading over your post-game team from the previous game when starting a new one.
That being said, I agree with this:
As it stands, I guess the Anime fulfills its core goals well enough. It does what it has to, but nothing more. And that has earned it a reputation of being really dumb, and most fans of the franchise despise it. I've found ignoring it to be the best solution. It's not the show we want, it can't be the show we want, and it's written by (and for) people who have no understanding of the games. Might as well pretend it doesn't exist.
It seems like so many of the Anime's problems could have been solved by making Ash the mentor. Let him keep a team of Pokémon, but put him in the background, and have a new main character for every region. The show is meant to introduce Pokémon to a young, wide audience, so the relatable main character has to be a complete newbie. Instead of giving Ash a lobotomy (and giving all of his Pokémon away) every time he builds up some competence, they could easily just start with a new, incompetent character every time. Ash could stay near the center of the show, and be the overarching main character who travels between regions, but he doesn't have to stay the star.
The problem, though, is the other big "requirement" for the show to function as it does today: The main character not only has to learn something new (new to the audience, at least), he also has to be the star. It's his Pokémon that have to solve all the problems. The main character should stay in focus, learn new things and solve problems life (or the writer) throws at him. It'd be no fun for the main character to run away at every sight of danger, while competent, grown-up Ash handily solves the problem with his high-level Pokémon and years of expertise. For the main character to truly be the main character, he should also be at the center of every problem, and their solutions.
OK, but that sounds like it could still be done with a new main character, right? Just put him and his Pokémon on center stage, delegate Ash to the periphery, problem solved? Not so fast. For merchandise-related reasons, one of those Pokémon that solve problems together with the main character has to be Pikachu. The main character of the series and the franchise mascot have to be in the spotlight together. Pikachu always outside its Poké Ball, always visible on the main character's shoulder, the one Pokémon to be in every shot. To sell merchandise, the show needs to throw Pikachu at the viewers, giving it the most exposure and the most screen time. Pikachu has to zap the villains once every other episode, at least. That role can't be taken over by any other Pokémon (save for Lucario, I guess). The main character himself should also be marketable in the long run, nobody would buy lunch boxes or T-shirts picturing the main character from two seasons ago.
So... let's review the requirements: Pikachu needs to be the main Pokémon of the main character. The main character needs to be "our hero", so the supporting cast can't be too competent, lest they solve every problem without the main character. The main character needs to be relatable to viewers that are not familiar with the games. Something new (to the viewers) has to be learned every episode. The main character can't be swapped out too often, or he'll "go out of fashion" and fall into obscurity.
By far the easiest - but not necessarily the best - solution to all these requirements is to keep Ash and his Pikachu around. Dumb down Ash to the level of the viewers every time a new region happens. Keep introducing the same basic concepts of the games at the beginning of every region. Pretend like the current "season" of the Anime is the first season, that you are always watching Ash's first journey. Very few viewers are going to watch the show for long enough to notice the pattern, and the show isn't meant to cater to those who do. Introducing new viewers to Pokémon is the main purpose of the show.
So I guess the core problem is this: The Anime is a commercial and a tutorial. That dictates how it is developed and written. It essentially pictures a guided play-through of the games, a sneak peek of the fun viewers could have if they bought and played them. It also keeps reinforcing the idea of Pokémon to non-playing viewers, ensuring that most people know what a Pikachu is and looks like. The Anime the fans demand wouldn't be profitable in the long run. If they introduced all the concepts once and never again, it would alienate new viewers, especially since the show has been running for close to 20 years now. Power creep would be a problem really fast, if the main character kept his team when travelling to a new region, it'd be like trading over your post-game team from the previous game when starting a new one.
That being said, I agree with this:
Ash and co. could do good stuff within the frames imposed by the needs of marketing. There could be better mini-story arcs, especially since there have to be so many padding episodes to fill in the time between important events. After all, they're stretching out the content of a region to last for several years - which at this rate averages out to more than 150 episodes per region (which basically comprise eight gyms and a short Pokémon League arc). They could drop the obligation to have an episode focusing on every single Pokémon out there, since that leaves very little time left to develop the main characters and their Pokémon.
As it stands, I guess the Anime fulfills its core goals well enough. It does what it has to, but nothing more. And that has earned it a reputation of being really dumb, and most fans of the franchise despise it. I've found ignoring it to be the best solution. It's not the show we want, it can't be the show we want, and it's written by (and for) people who have no understanding of the games. Might as well pretend it doesn't exist.
Cresselia~~
Junichi Masuda likes this!!
The writers of XY are way better than BW already, and XY is very popular in Japan.
(Though most of the popularity actually comes from Serena)
I don't know about other places, but overall, people from Asia are very satisfied with the XYZ anime.
The writers of XY (which is different from BW) know what they are doing.
Maybe we should just accept that the anime arc is different from the games arc.
I mean, look at the great manga arc, which is also so different from the games, yet it is said to be fabulous by so many people.
Stuff can be great too even without being adhered to the games.
Another example is Yokai Watch, which the anime is very diffferent from the games too, but nowadays, every single children is so obsessed with Yokai Watch the anime.
In order for them to buy the games, they have to get obsessed with the anime first.
The anime is not shit at all. They know what they are doing. They know what will become popular.
The anime is like an introduction for people into the world of Pokemon, so it cannot be too hardcore.
It's designed to lure amateurs into the world of Pokemon.
But that said, I find the Gym battle between Ash and Wulfric to be very accurately adhered to the games, in terms of damage calc.
Trust me, I'm not even the only one who watches XYZ every week. I have a group of REAL LIFE friends who ARE watching XYZ every single week.
Moreover, the anime is under TPCi, not Game Freak. It all goes down to marketing of what will maximize the popularity of the anime.
(Though most of the popularity actually comes from Serena)
I don't know about other places, but overall, people from Asia are very satisfied with the XYZ anime.
The writers of XY (which is different from BW) know what they are doing.
Maybe we should just accept that the anime arc is different from the games arc.
I mean, look at the great manga arc, which is also so different from the games, yet it is said to be fabulous by so many people.
Stuff can be great too even without being adhered to the games.
Another example is Yokai Watch, which the anime is very diffferent from the games too, but nowadays, every single children is so obsessed with Yokai Watch the anime.
In order for them to buy the games, they have to get obsessed with the anime first.
The anime is not shit at all. They know what they are doing. They know what will become popular.
The anime is like an introduction for people into the world of Pokemon, so it cannot be too hardcore.
It's designed to lure amateurs into the world of Pokemon.
But that said, I find the Gym battle between Ash and Wulfric to be very accurately adhered to the games, in terms of damage calc.
Trust me, I'm not even the only one who watches XYZ every week. I have a group of REAL LIFE friends who ARE watching XYZ every single week.
Moreover, the anime is under TPCi, not Game Freak. It all goes down to marketing of what will maximize the popularity of the anime.
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Frankly speaking, I think that it's perfectly fine for the anime and manga to drift away from the games, while still referencing to the latter once in a while. After all, why watching or reading something that completely repeats the plot of the games when you can experience said plot personally? Even Pokemon Origins, which referenced heavily Pokemon Red and Green, tweaked some things to differentiate itself from the games (like the Cubone part in the tower and Mega Charizard X).
I agree that the anime may be a bit "childish" at times, and it would be great if it aimed at a bigger audience, but overall I say that it is doing a decent job so far, especially considering that its main goal is to promote the games. And as such, why fix what isn't broken? You may attempt to increase the efficiency of the unbroken thing, but if the lore itself still works even after all these years, then why change?
Probably a solution could be to keep the main series and have another anime aimed at an older audience, but if they didn't have done anything yet it may be because there is no true need to do something.
I may be mad at some ridiculous antics of the anime at times, but despite everything I still like it. Besides... for the viewers, get hyped for the League!
I agree that the anime may be a bit "childish" at times, and it would be great if it aimed at a bigger audience, but overall I say that it is doing a decent job so far, especially considering that its main goal is to promote the games. And as such, why fix what isn't broken? You may attempt to increase the efficiency of the unbroken thing, but if the lore itself still works even after all these years, then why change?
Probably a solution could be to keep the main series and have another anime aimed at an older audience, but if they didn't have done anything yet it may be because there is no true need to do something.
I may be mad at some ridiculous antics of the anime at times, but despite everything I still like it. Besides... for the viewers, get hyped for the League!
Count me in at watching it every week dude, it's awesome.
I'm sorry, but have you actually watched any of XY or XY&Z? I ask because, in my opinion, XY was really good, but XY&Z has been amazing so far compared to the shows normal standards. I mean, as of right now, XY is probably my favorite season of Pokemon ever(yes even more than season one, which surprises myself), so it baffles me that you want new writers or you think the current ones don't give a shit because I think the writing has been the best it's been in years.
Okay, you know, the current writers are okay at writing a story and having their characters have a wide range of personalities. But here's the thing about that: the story and personalities can honestly be placed in any kind of setting. The Pokemon anime kind of feels like they have the Pokemon setting as just a backdrop, if anything it kind of feels like they only follow things in the game out of obligation. It feels like the writers want to make their own show, something that isn't "shackled" by expectations of a previous existing franchise.
Then again it could be the executives messing up. Maybe the executives don't think what's in the game can stand on its own so they tell the writers to do their own thing and don't worry about pesky little things that are in the game like the plotline (which I remind you have vastly improved in recent generations and only need expansion upon), many notable locations and the lore behind them, and the individual Pokemon's stats/dex description/relation to a certain character.
So to answer you question, yes, I've been watching XY & XYZ and what I'm watching is Anime Adventure featuring Pokemon.