Don't pokemon in the anime have 4+ moves? Pikachu has quick attack, thunderbolt, volttackle, electroball, iron tail.....
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SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion
- Thread starter Jellicent
- Start date
Ash's Pikachu currently only knows Quick Attack, Thunderbolt, Electro Ball, and Iron Tail, and those have been its moves since Electro Ball replaced Volt Tackle.
Wtf volt tackle was pikachus thing! Just one more reason why unova arc sucks.....
There was Drake's Dragonite, where the writer in charge of the episode deliberately ignored the four moveslot format by giving the thing ten moves to enhance the feeling of how much of a juggernaut it was. Aside from that, they usually do a good job sticking to the details and matching the number given to you in the games.
In regards to Pikachu's choice of moves, I agree with the above statement that dropping Volt Tackle for Electro Ball was just one of the many horrible things they did in Unova. As if lobotomizing Ash offscreen to make him a grade-s dumbass wasn't bad enough.
Agreed. I'm actually down with many things the anime does for two reasons:
1) Many things that exist in the games are solely gameplay mechanics, such as turn based combat and only having four moves. Also, certain things would be hard to depict in the series, such as hold items (how do they hold Life Orb anyway?) and levels. Plus, I doubt the video games show every location, building, and person that actually exists in a "real" version of the Pokémon world (including huge cities such as Goldrenrod City, which has a total population of 105 (Crystal)/126 (HeartGold & SoulSilver). This also includes anime exclusive locations.
2) The anime is, in the end, for kids. And I don't mean that in a derogatory way. It's just a fun show aimed at younger children so things can happen in a way that couldn't happen in a more realistic story (such as Pokémon Adventures), especially for slapstick humor. Just look at Pikachu's Thunderbolt and how it never has once killed anyone. And before anyone says that Pikachu's Thunderbolt is likely too weak to hurt people, here is the Pokédex entry from Emerald:
"It stores electricity in the electric sacs on its cheeks. When it releases pent-up energy in a burst, the electric power is equal to a lightning bolt."
He's hitting them with 1.21 gigawatts, dang it. If it could get Marty back to 1985, it can kill someone. But I'm not complaining cause Saturday morning cartoon.
Just because something is "for kids" doesn't mean it can't be made with adults in mind, too. Shows like Batman:The Animated Series, Animaniacs, and Avatar: The Last Airbender are all "for kids" yet still appeal to adults with complex characterization and storytelling (or really funny adult jokes that got past the censors for Animaniacs).
What irritates me about the anime is that it has so much potential to be one of those great kids shows that can still appeal to adults but decides to waste time following Ash around with the same old goddamn formula. Formulas can still work if they're subverted or played with enough (especially for comedies) but the writers are lazy bums who play everything ridiculously straight like the identical Nurse Joys (which breaks suspension of disbelief on their own due to how stupid it is outside of parodies), Team Rocket's recycled plans and bad disguises, Ash's resets, and fwiendship.
TL;DR - The anime has a ton of potential that's wasted by the fucking horrible writing.
Oh, I fully agree, but there really is two different kinds of for kids. I'm just referring to the more slapsticky elements where things that would be impossible are possible, which some people do complain about. That's what I mean when I say "for kids". Can it be done better? Of course! You gave one of the best examples in Animaniacs, a show which gets better as I've gotten older (that show had some dirty jokes. Still, it wasn't as bad as Rocko's Modern Life in terms of vulgarity. My childhood still twitches from that discovery).
Also, the identical Nurse Joys is a reference to how the nurses all look the same in the games due to using the same overworld sprite.
I know the Nurse Joys thing is a reference, they just play it completely straight and it kills a ton of my willing suspension of disbelief. I mentioned parodies because you could get a lot of good jokes out of that one aspect of the franchise (and video games in general), but treating it seriously makes me take it seriously. Then I start asking a bunch of questions that take me out of the show and ruin my enjoyment cause I'm obsessing over this one thing that doesn't make any sense.
They've made jokes about it before (especially with Brock being the only one who can keep them apart).
The Joys are similar:Interestingly enough, the Officer Jennys also look identical to each other. But upon closer inspection, you can see that they're not completely alike...
The color corresponds to which Center they are from (though it repeats when you look at multiple regions). In Kalos, they use badges like the Jennys.
I get what Vader_the_White is saying. As M. Night Shyamalan (don't laugh) said, in animation you can use exaggerations that would just be too ridiculous otherwise. I don't think there's anything wrong with taking advantage of the benefits you get from the medium. It's just a convenience they take to avoid having to create so many different designs, just like having the kids wear the same clothes every day. The Nurse Joys thing doesn't really bother me. Just because kid's shows do not have to dumb down the plot and dialogue does not mean they have to get rid of all silliness or oddities, and personally I find it pretty funny that all of the Nurse Joys look the same, yet Brock is able to differentiate them.
One of the new titles announced is, "Ash and Serena's first date."
I bet whatever Misty fans/Pokeshippers still exist at this point are crying their eyes out. Sure, Ash will be clueless as usual and nothing will happen, but the fact that the writers are actively writing Serena as a love interest is basically the final nail in Misty's coffin.
Whatever small ray of hope Misty fans were still clinging to over the last decade has been extinguish.
I bet whatever Misty fans/Pokeshippers still exist at this point are crying their eyes out. Sure, Ash will be clueless as usual and nothing will happen, but the fact that the writers are actively writing Serena as a love interest is basically the final nail in Misty's coffin.
Whatever small ray of hope Misty fans were still clinging to over the last decade has been extinguish.
I approve of this, if only because watching Pokeshippers get pissed off is hilarious.
Meh, come the end of the series and Serena will be written out anyway, to be replaced with another functionally identical girl. She may get an occasional cameo in later series, but I really doubt they'll commit Ash to her permanently. The anime lives and thrives on the fact that nothing ever really changes between series.
Fixed.
Hopefully the writers are learning and might actually keep things changed for once. I might watch these new episodes of that's the case.
There are actually quite a few but unfortunately I can't remember them all. Usually it's something Team Rocket did, they were the best.
Eric Stuart said that hands-down this was his favorite line he ever did. It's not hard to see why!
Another line I thought was really funny was when, in the Diamond and Pearl series I believe, Team Rocket was spinning around and (I'm not sure who had which line exactly) someone said "I'm going to lose my lunch!" and another replied with "That's okay, you're about to get mine!"
Funnily enough the writers don't actually create new female companions anymore, all the new girls are essentially repeats of the older ones.
Initially Misty and May were the two unique companions who were designed to be fairly different from one another. Then Dawn was largely designed to be similar to May (and Ash). Then we had Iris who was designed to be similar to Misty. Now we have Serena who is designed to be similar to Dawn, and then May before her.
Sure they all have their own unique quirks and personalities, but its like the writers just take May, make some slight alterations here and there, and now pass it off as a new character. They tried to make Iris similar to Misty in the same fashion. The writers really only cycle through, "newbie beginning girl who tags along with Ash and is more girly and often a coordinator" or "Gym leader tag along who argues with Ash and is already a trainer before we meet them."
The writers can't think of anything for the female companions to do other than be a Gym leader tag-along or a girly female coordinator.
Now I'm gonna ask what your opinions are on Paul and if you think he was designed to be a strawman for competitive battling (as in, what this community is based around)?
Paul to me stands out as the kind of Trainer who is only concerned about the strength of his Pokemon. He has shown this a lot with Chimchar in particular when he released it and also often treated it harshly. His personality contrasted a lot with Ash's, as Ash and Paul were literal opposites in terms of their personality, which is what really fueled their rivalry. Paul really looked down upon Ash, and thought of his philosophy on Pokemon as wrong, and Ash the other way (though Paul admitted by the end of the series that his real qualm with Ash is how much he reminded him of Reggie, and Paul disagreed with how Reggie had done). Imo he was really not likable at all, but that is really what made him such a good rival. I personally disliked Paul's personality but I have to admit he was a pretty respectable character.
As for funny moments, I don't remember when this was (this wasn't in a mainstream episode), but I loved when Brock once said "Hey I know...I'll use my trusty frying pan....AS A DRYING PAN." That was seriously the funniest line ever and imo that line is a literal legacy (though Brock himself is awesome). Brock in general is a hilarious character, even in DPP because it was hilarious when he starts hitting on the girls and Croagunk Poisons Jabs him...it was funny seeing the jab and then seeing Brock scream in pain. Brock has always been a really hilarious character in general and there are hundreds of funny moments with him imo, Cilan and Clemont are both decent characters but can never beat Brock when it comes to comedic relief.
Also Ash is getting a Goomy which is totally awesome, I hope Goomy is interesting when it appears in the anime.
As for funny moments, I don't remember when this was (this wasn't in a mainstream episode), but I loved when Brock once said "Hey I know...I'll use my trusty frying pan....AS A DRYING PAN." That was seriously the funniest line ever and imo that line is a literal legacy (though Brock himself is awesome). Brock in general is a hilarious character, even in DPP because it was hilarious when he starts hitting on the girls and Croagunk Poisons Jabs him...it was funny seeing the jab and then seeing Brock scream in pain. Brock has always been a really hilarious character in general and there are hundreds of funny moments with him imo, Cilan and Clemont are both decent characters but can never beat Brock when it comes to comedic relief.
Also Ash is getting a Goomy which is totally awesome, I hope Goomy is interesting when it appears in the anime.
Brock suffered from the same stagnation affect as Ash/TR. Since Brock could not develop as a character given the context of the anime, the writers left him as a repetitive gag character just to explain battles to kids. The same happened to Misty in Johto, who instead of developing as a character, just stagnated into the background.
For some reason the writers never cared much about giving Misty or Brock any actual character development after Kanto ended. Its pretty much why over the entire span of Johto the two characters do practically nothing outside of whatever random filler episodes the writers gave them. Its kind of a shame in retrospect, it always felt like Misty and Brock had the potential to do amazing things but the writers kept them in the background and didn't care to showcase them or their pokemon.
For some reason the writers never cared much about giving Misty or Brock any actual character development after Kanto ended. Its pretty much why over the entire span of Johto the two characters do practically nothing outside of whatever random filler episodes the writers gave them. Its kind of a shame in retrospect, it always felt like Misty and Brock had the potential to do amazing things but the writers kept them in the background and didn't care to showcase them or their pokemon.
Pretty much all characters who don't have a main game mechanic as their goal sink in the background. Ash has the Pokemon League while May and Dawn had Pokemon Contests. Sadly this didn't give much to anyone else so they're forced to be in the background either occasionally chiming in on what's happening or having an episode that actually reminds you why they're traveling with Ash:
Misty was assigned "the collector" as she wanted to catch all the Water-type Pokemon. In group dynamic she was also meant to put things bluntly, if a character (specifically Ash) was acting rather stupid she would point it out. Of course as soon as Togepi came onto the scene her role changed to caring for its well being mostly. She occasionally still pointed out how dumb someone was acting, but a lot of her shtick became worrying about Togepi, which also took a lot away from her Water-type collector focus.
I guess maybe they could have made her more active by have her, your know, actively wanted to catch any Water-type she came across. As soon as she saw a wild Water-type she'd try to catch it or if she saw a trainer with a new Water-type she'll want to go look for one. This could even bring her into conflict with Ash/Brock who also want to catch a certain Water-type but Misty wants it so they argue over it (like they did with Totodile).
I guess maybe they could have made her more active by have her, your know, actively wanted to catch any Water-type she came across. As soon as she saw a wild Water-type she'd try to catch it or if she saw a trainer with a new Water-type she'll want to go look for one. This could even bring her into conflict with Ash/Brock who also want to catch a certain Water-type but Misty wants it so they argue over it (like they did with Totodile).
Brock was the "breeder" as well as the team mom. He was there to explain why Ash "I-have-no-survival-instincts" Ketchum didn't die from starvation or kept getting lost. Now they did their best to constantly show Brock taking are of Pokemon but sadly that only goes so far as that could be taken care in the background. If anything, Pokemon Contests would have been the moment where Brock could have shined but they decided new female companions should fill that role. So Brock was left taking care of everyone and their Pokemon.
Don't know really how to fix that, maybe have Brock more involved with the training of their Pokemon? Like suggesting what moves a Pokemon could know and showing ways the Pokemon can learn the move? Honestly, shipping Brock off and making him a Pokemon Doctor was probably one of the best moves I've seen the anime do.
Don't know really how to fix that, maybe have Brock more involved with the training of their Pokemon? Like suggesting what moves a Pokemon could know and showing ways the Pokemon can learn the move? Honestly, shipping Brock off and making him a Pokemon Doctor was probably one of the best moves I've seen the anime do.
Max was the smart kid making him a full background character. He didn't even have any Pokemon. He was mainly there to recite facts from books though at the same time also learn you can't learn everything from a book. Infact I almost forgot to include him until I got to Bonnie and remembered "oh yeah, May also had a younger sibling traveling with them".
I think they could have given Max a turning point. They could have started him as the background smart kid but then he learns more about Pokemon until eventually he got one. And they had a perfect moment to do this when Ash & co. helped a lost Ralts which Max formed a strong bond with. Had at the end of the episode the Ralts decided it wants to travel with Max they could have started a character arc where Ash & co. are actively teaching Max what it's really like to be a trainer now that he has a Pokemon. As a bonus they could have also done some more Wally references.
I think they could have given Max a turning point. They could have started him as the background smart kid but then he learns more about Pokemon until eventually he got one. And they had a perfect moment to do this when Ash & co. helped a lost Ralts which Max formed a strong bond with. Had at the end of the episode the Ralts decided it wants to travel with Max they could have started a character arc where Ash & co. are actively teaching Max what it's really like to be a trainer now that he has a Pokemon. As a bonus they could have also done some more Wally references.
Iris is a tough one to define. She's basically a prodigy who doesn't feel she fits in/doesn't want to take responsibility. Her role in the group is pretty much Misty's, pointing out when someone is acting stupid. But as Misty showed that can be done in the background and since she doesn't want to take responsibility for her actions she sort of wants to stay in the background so she can make snarky comments. Only time Iris is pushed to the spotlight is when she wants to catch a Pokemon or is dealing with a Dragon-type.
Once again a problem I don't know how to fix without it feeling forced. I guess they could have dropped the avoiding responsibility bit and had her actively trying to find ways to train and strengthen Axew which she's suppose to be training.
Once again a problem I don't know how to fix without it feeling forced. I guess they could have dropped the avoiding responsibility bit and had her actively trying to find ways to train and strengthen Axew which she's suppose to be training.
The Pokemon Connoisseur, Cilan's quest to go from an A rank to an S rank was brought up but only in episodes focusing on him. Otherwise he was just the comic relief doing "IT'S (SOMETHING) TIME!" and acting as extravagent as a kids show can get about that episode's theme. Like Iris took over Misty's role, Cilan took over Brock's role so he was meant to just make sure Ash & co. survived between cities/towns. And while he did his evaluations time to time, they were pretty much the same thing (trainer and Pokemon bond well) unless the theme of the episode was that a character was bonding well with their Pokemon.
I think they shouldn't have Cilan be a bit more critical in his evaluations. Not to say he should never be positive, not at all, he can perfectly list off the good qualities of a relation. However how can any relation improve without the faults being pointed out? Like with Brock, Cilan could have provided advice to Ash, Iris, trainers of the day, and even rivals and offering his assistance to help improve. It would show he's constantly putting his skills to use as he tries to go from an A rank to an S rank.
I think they shouldn't have Cilan be a bit more critical in his evaluations. Not to say he should never be positive, not at all, he can perfectly list off the good qualities of a relation. However how can any relation improve without the faults being pointed out? Like with Brock, Cilan could have provided advice to Ash, Iris, trainers of the day, and even rivals and offering his assistance to help improve. It would show he's constantly putting his skills to use as he tries to go from an A rank to an S rank.
Can't really comment on Serena, Clemont, or Bonnie until XY is over. Well, I can, but the writers could do something being is the current season which invalidates any point I bring up.