SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion

[Pikachu315111]

Meanwhile, a new character for the next series have been revealed. And for those who have been worried about there being no sign of Pikachu, don't worry, the Pokemon Company hadn't forgotten about their mascot:

• The new character is named Friede and he's known as the battling Pokemon Professor as he's proficient in Pokemon battles.
• His partner is Captain Pikachu.

I'm assuming by "Professor" they don't mean like Professor Oak but rather a teacher, possibly an anime exclusive instructor for the Paldea Academy?

Will Friede be part of the main cast or a recurring character? How does he relate to Liko and Roy? And most importantly, where did Pikachu earn its "Captain" title?

 

[R_N]

His title is "Pokemon Professor" so I assume he's an actual Pokemon Professor like all our other Pokemon Professors. Or "Doctor", as the Japanese goes with.

The academy teachers don't actually have titles beyond Mr/Ms/Nurse/Director

 

[XaCez]

Friede is German for peace. Whether that's important to any agree is to be determined.

 

[mertyville]

I am about 50 episodes into the original Pokemon anime run and oddly enough not sure but I think both Pokemon and adults seem to be charmed by Misty in weird kinds of ways. Not sure if it was the case in the original too.
Like I remember Caterpie going after Misty, but I used to think because of what she is wearing as bugs are attracted by certain colors. Guess it was just because she is a girl.

 

[PokemonCrusader]

These last episodes aren't hitting the spot for me. Too much Kanto nostalgia. I grew up with the original trio but they were only good in Kanto itself. Horribly dull in Johto.

Oh well, Ash is the World Champion.

 

[Perriechu]

Preview for next week - doesn't look to be Team Rocket but rather just Jessie, James and Meowth - Infernape and Hawlucha are returning so far.

Poster for the New Series;

Hide

Looks like Fuecoco is Roy's, Sprig is Liko's and Quaxly will belong to the Captain.

Dark/edgy rival return!!

 

[Perriechu]

Oh there's an actual trailer for the new series too, my bad!

This looks clean, I'm kinda hyped??

Liko is searching for something (Guessing she is the Treasure hunting part of the games) and Roy wants to battle the Pokémon in the "legends" (Potentially Rayquaza?)

Airs April 14th with a one hour special!

oshawott in the background!!

 

[PokemonCrusader]

Preview for next week - doesn't look to be Team Rocket but rather just Jessie, James and Meowth - Infernape and Hawlucha are returning so far.

Poster for the New Series;

Hide

Looks like Fuecoco is Roy's, Sprig is Liko's and Quaxly will belong to the Captain.

Dark/edgy rival return!!

Hawlucha is returning? Huzzah!

The poster has a Charizard and a Pikachu. Ah, Pokemon.

 

[Pikachu315111]

The poster has a Charizard and a Pikachu. Ah, Pokemon.

Would it be too presumptuous to assume that all the Pokemon in the upper right corner belong to Friede?

BTW, here's a bigger version of the poster and there's certainly some interesting details about it (apologize if these were already known, either I didn't know or forgot):

Poster

• Over to the middle left we see a mysterious character (not sure what gender, looks to be older teen/young adult) with a Ceruledge (likely the one we saw in the trailer). Certainly giving an antagonistic feeling, though not sure if just a rival trainer (which I'm more likely to put my money toward) or a bit more villainous.
  
  
• Upper right is a rather complex looking airship (would say blimp but I'm not sure if a blimp would be able to fly with all that additional stuff attached to it). Well, with Friede and Captain Pikachu dressed as pilots, I'm guessing this belongs to him, possibly even being his lab (because nothing says financially sound planning than a flying laboratory... eh, its the Pokemon world, probably doesn't cost too much to fly the thing)?
  
  
• Speaking of Friede, he is right below it with a whole bunch of Pokemon. Being a major battler, guessing most if not all of these Pokemon are his. He has a Charizard (of course), Elekid, Rockruff, Alcremie (Strawberry Ruby Swirl), Nosepass, Pawmi, Shuckle, Alolan Muk, Chansey, Metagross, Snorunt, Noctowl, Carkol, and Slugma. I'm going to guess a few of these Pokemon are probably more crew of his ship than Pokemon he would use in battle (Nosepass would be good as a navigator or at least compass, Chansey would run the medbay, etc.), guessing the other not fully evolved Pokemon he's either doing research with or training, and some of the fully evolved Pokemon being his main battlers (though I'm also going to guess all his Pokemon are capable of effective battling). Seeing Shuckle in particular is making me wonder if we're going to see more unique strategies like Shuckle using Power Trick (yes, we've seen it used before by Conway during the Sinnoh League, but that was just one battle).

 

[R_N]

some concept art as well

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1631655677184688136

 

[ScraftyIsTheBest]

The new Gen 9 anime is looking really good from what I'm seeing, great animation, the artstyle is great, and there's definitely great potential for this brand new story.

Liko and Roy have so much potential as new protagonists and while it still feels surreal to not have Ash around anymore, having these new characters with new stories to tell and journeys to go through is going to be an immensely refreshing experience for the anime. Liko seems like the main main character in the vein of Ash though, and hopefully she'll be a worthy successor to him as a protagonist. I enjoy the feminine perspective of the anime more often and relate to the girl characters more in many cases with the anime so a girl taking on the role of being the battler of the cast is pretty cool this time around, as much I enjoyed Ash's story. I'm definitely looking forward to her story the most in that regard, and I'm excited to see her journey and the story she has to tell.

Roy will hopefully have a cool story of his own, and Friede will definitely add his own fun dynamics to the group and is seemingly the Brock/Cilan/Clemont of the Gen 9 anime squad, ie he's the big brother figure to Liko and Roy and will likely be the comic relief. Liko, Roy, and Friede seem like a great main cast and I also look foward to seeing fun dynamics between them, I live for fun character interactions and these three seem like they'll deliver in spades.

This is an exciting new era for Pokemon, and the anime is one case where I'm definitely excited for the new era. This is very interesting and I am already looking forward to watching this new season with our new cast of characters.

 

[R_N]

The thing I'm most curious about with the new series is one we probably won't know for....years, likely, which is: do they plan to just keep them around for a short period of time and every generation or so they have a new set of characters so each series more firmly does its own thing?

 

[RocketSurgery]

I know the new anime is the shiny new thing, but I am still stuck on the fact that the episode actually showed a plush doll (that looks like a substitute) poof into a fully formed Banette. No Shuppet, just poof! Banette. Not just a wacky dex entry a little imaginative kid wrote or an urban legend, an actual real thing that happens in the Pokemon universe.

So I guess now I head-cannon that Banette poofed into existence first, and then when they laid eggs that hatched into Shuppet.

 

[mertyville]

After rewatching the first season of Pokemon, a lot of things just feel weirder in modern Pokemon. Like why would the police so easily coorperate with other trainers out of random. Previously, certain things happened where the police took at least a while or resisted help from outsiders in certain situation as they themselves are professionals (or suppose to be). If they at least recognized Ash as a Champion or something, I am more willing to accept them taking help from others. Not to mention, casually sharing all the information is really odd.

Misty also used to be very unfriendly around Ash. I like modern Misty a little better. But her and Ash's relationship were full of fights and disagreements with Brock being the middle man. I also noticed since Generation 2, Brock stopped being corruptible. His love for women was not that flanderized and not his only weakness. He did make some dumb decisions or used Misty or Ash as scapegoats to get something he wants. They often got lost because he didn't read the map properly and ending up often without indigence for a meal. Also he didn't flat out reveal his malicious intends to be a boyfriend with the girl he compliments nor did it happen everytime he saw someone "beautiful".
He also admired Bruno a lot, an actual man, and there were many situations where we got to see more of his other interests explored besides taking care of Pokemon and wanting a girlfriend. No wonder I got tired of him in Sinnoh. Sometimes I felt like he was just a character who was there because fans didn't like Tracy replacing him without understanding what made Brock such a good character.

Also isn't it odd that every Pokemon Ash meets becomes a friend or something. Back then, many Pokemon were territorial or flat out aggressive. Not to mention, they reacted to certain things animistic like the Kangaskhan episode where Team Rocket threw a bomb and the Kangaskhan just charged towards Ash and the others forcing them to escape. I kinda missed this kinds of things.
Same with human, there used to be people who can't be redeemed that aren't just thugs for 4 minutes nor belonged to an evil team. Like that episode with the Tentacools or where James had big booba.

I guess I can forgive some of the issues in the last episodes because they suppose to make Latias respect Ash.

 

[precita]

I always view the first season as basically its "own thing" because it's basically so different from what the rest of the anime became. The show was originally intended to just last 1 season before Pokemon exploded in popularity, and most of Kanto is written to be an unfriendly place with a lot of weird things happening that never really happened again. Misty/Brock are fun in Kanto but don't get too much focus toward themselves because the show was about Ash and it was going to be a one and done thing.

I also gather Ash wouldn't have released so many pokemon in the first season if the writers knew the show would go on more than one series, and he probably would have won more of the Gym battles properly with Sabrina being the biggest offender who he never actually beat to this day. The show gets toned down a lot also in terms of violence and slapstick as soon as Orange Islands starts, so I miss that aspect of the early episodes before they realized the show became popular overseas and they had to tone things down.

 

[mertyville]

I also feel many of the modern characters feel artificial or overexaggerated to the point you can't take them as real people. I mean overexeggerated characters did exist in the first season, but you could still see them as human/Pokemon. Like Dublica is really good at changing her outfit and entertain people, but she shows how much she knows about Ditto in just a short exchange against Ash.
Or about that Sandshrew guy who seems like he is treating his Pokemon harsh but he still gets all the respect of the Pokemon he trained, cares about them, looks after their health and even makes food for each specific one. He had far more potential as a rival than any of the ones we saw in the Pokemon League, sadly he didn't transition over after 1 episode.
We also never get to see Ash fight Bruno which they apparently teased in the Japanese version.

 

[Yung Dramps]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1631603743857733638

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1631606821378043905

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1631607907392397314

Some cool info tidbits for the road. This looks pretty cool, might try to actively follow Pokeani for the first time... probably ever really

 

[pokemon4eva]

Same with human, there used to be people who can't be redeemed that aren't just thugs for 4 minutes nor belonged to an evil team. Like that episode with the Tentacools or where James had big booba.

I also noticed this, for example, the Orange Islands has this episode in which a corrupt mayor abandonded a Bulbasaur in his youth bc of petty reasons. He gets outed and tries a fake apology to the Bulbasaur only to get thrown away. On the other hand, there's a Battle Frontier episode about a corrupt businessman who wants to own a lake to build his resort, but there's a family who owns a fishing spot, so he sends a Crawdaunt after them to scare the clients and Pokemon away."Oh but he almost drowned one time as a kid so he's doing it bc he's afraid of the lake". Even though Ash beats him and then he changes his mind and everyone forgives him, this guy still sucks...

I think the only genuine asshole not belonging to a team or that isn't a poacher is that business guy in Alola, whose face suspiciously looks similar to Guzma, yet they never confirm if they are related or not...Speaking of poachers, I wish we get to see more dangerous poachers. I think J is prob the closest we had in the anime to a legit intimidating villain because of her advanced tech, relentless greed and what seems to be pure hatred for Pokemon.

Oh btw, I liked the Banette episode, Ghost types have the best lore and character.

 

[pika pal]

Banette episode was great. I like when Pokemon does more small-scale story conflicts like this, the Banette itself was adorable with the Dex lore nicely integrated, and I'm also just bias by a good episode centered on one of my favorite Pokemon that isn't often spotlighted. Really enjoyed the prominence given to Ash's Gengar and indirectly contrasting the two outlooks on the abandonment/separation. If I had to nitpick, the resolution with figuring out the girl was Nurse Joy did feel a little bit rushed, less because I doubt Brock figuring it out and more just the time frame of the episode, which I think could have done with a montage of them searching for a few days before he figures it out and Banette initially decides to leave to look elsewhere.

Fun Fact: Despite appearing back in the Hoenn seasons as one of Harley's Pokemon, I believe this is the first time Banette has had a Pokedex entry in the anime.

 

[precita]

It's weird to think there's only 3 episodes of Ash left for the forseeable future. Granted I am pretty sure he might get a special, or TV-type movie by the end of the year, so I doubt this is the end of him forever, but it's going to be a weird feeling.

 

[mertyville]

I recall saying that Pokemon used to be very aggressive and not immediately turn into friends in older Pokemon as they act very animistic. I think the best example I recently saw was in the Orange Island episodes with the Pink Pokemon where the Pink Nidoking attacked anyone without discrimination. It had to be Officer Jenny who had to stop it by herself and she showed actual competence instead being overshadowed by the main characters.
I really enjoy the rewatch of the Orange Island episodes and I noticed a lot of details many modern Pokemon episodes don't pay attention too like how the people involved in the episodes are experts in their craftsmanship field.
For example, did we ever see Viola try take a photo of a Pokemon or whatever and the works that went into?

In the Orange Island episodes, we see the struggles of the Glass Manufacturer and how he crafts Glass Pokemon. It is not insanely detailed, but enough to feel the writers and the staff did their homework. Or the episodes with the islands of fruits where Snorlax's hunger was equivalent to a natural disaster where the only way to stop it was to capture it. We see a glimpse of what went into to make the trees with the fruits as healthy as they are and how the team tries to figure out how to save their product from Snorlax. Also a nice touch was that while Snorlax was portrayed as a natural disaster, his destruction created room for new sprouts to flourish.

Generally I would say Orange Island may be one of my favorite seasons of Pokemon. And I haven't rewatch the Charizard turns a new leaf episodes which are probably the best Orange Island has to offer. However, I noticed a few times Charizard isn't much of a bad Pokemon before listening to Ash. I used to think he accidentally turned the ice pillar into an ice boat in the gym challenge putting some comedy into the mix. But Charizard did that knowingly to help and smiled when Ash was satisfied.
Also so far the Gym Challenges were fantastic and very cleverly done. Sadly I don't think that can be implemented the way it was done into the games. Shooting empty cans with Water Gun. Surf Race. Turning a geyser into a pillar of ice and crafting a boat to race down a mountain. I think gameplay wise there amazing looking challenges would be executed badly.

 

[Perriechu]

So Hawlucha and Infernape are apparently the only reserves used in this episode, also (spoilering cause it's p big)

Hide

TRio broke up at the end - although it seemed a little rushed and not much closure was given, so there's still a chance their send-off is the final episode potentially

Details for the new series have been announced, focusing on Friede's "crew";

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1634139533141852163

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1634139785051746305

That explains the Metagross, Chansey and Rockruff on the poster then!

 

[pika pal]

So Hawlucha and Infernape are apparently the only reserves used in this episode, also (spoilering cause it's p big)

Hide

TRio broke up at the end - although it seemed a little rushed and not much closure was given, so there's still a chance their send-off is the final episode potentially

Hide

I doubt given the TRio's portrayal that even if they split the gang up, they'd have them leave on bad terms with each other, so I definitely doubt this is the last we're seeing of them, whether or not it's the end of their stint as Team Rocket.

I'm imagining something akin to how Phineas & Ferb ended with Doofenschmirtz deciding he wasn't happy or cut out with Villainy in its last chronological episodes.

 

[Yung Dramps]

 

[R_N]

Hide

I doubt given the TRio's portrayal that even if they split the gang up, they'd have them leave on bad terms with each other, so I definitely doubt this is the last we're seeing of them, whether or not it's the end of their stint as Team Rocket.

I'm imagining something akin to how Phineas & Ferb ended with Doofenschmirtz deciding he wasn't happy or cut out with Villainy in its last chronological episodes.

glancing at the photos for the episode...

Hide

Yeah I don't see that being the final good bye for the gang. It's a pretty dire thing and presented as a bad thing considering the literal framing of the scene is all their pokemon being upset and watching them walk away as everything is cast in dark shadows.

I imagine they'll come back together to help Ash/Latios or something in the next episode or something.