Pokemon Generations: Anime shorts series featuring game highlights from all generations

[Johta]

Hmm, I was also kind of thrown off by the way they portrayed Courtney since that isn't how I read her character at all, but I'm ok with it.

Now onto the episode itself: it wasn't some hot stuff like The Chase or The Challenger, but it was passable enough for me. I would've been much more satisfied with it if they had invested more time into the "What if" scenario that Courtney had a glimpse of. Besides Team Magma getting obliterated, they could've flashed through Hoenn as a whole being extremely solarized. This would've truly fleshed out how dreadful Primal Groudon has been said to be, but alas, now that's just wasted potential.

I'm really hoping the next episode focuses on Wally, 'cause that is something I'd really like to see ( his Battle Theme could even be thrown somewhere in the episode as well to make it all the more awesome ). Fingers crossed.

 

[Pikachu315111]

This is how I see Courtney in the games, from dialogue to comparing it with her actions in the episode:

Warning: Character Interpretation

First encounter with her on Southern Island.

"... Who are you?"
"Yes. For the time being...get away from me. The Pokemon behind you... Its Mega Stone... No more...no less. That is what... That's what we of Team Magma seek. How about it? Will you get away from me... or not?"
"... Well then..."
"Deleting..."

Very robotic, gets straight the point, little to no emotion. She even calls getting you out of her way "deleting" you. But then you beat her in a battle:

"... Slurp. ♪"
"As anticipated. Unanticipated. You. Target lock...completed. Commencing...experiment. You. Forever. Aha... ♪"
"Returning home."

She's essentially malfunctioning here. Up till now she didn't think many could get in her or Team Magma's way, especially a kid. But here it is, her, a top Team Magma admin, being defeated by an unknown kid. She's having a difficult time processing what just happened, even after getting back some of her posture. She and her grunts retreat nothing else can be done (and for her to get her thoughts together).

Next encounter is at Mt. Pyre:

"...Ha."
"... ...Analyzing."
"...Hah. ♪"

Odd (and unnerving). Defeating her:

"...Funny. ♪"

Not the expected response, you talk with her again:

"...Again? That's unanticipated. ...I knew it. You...are interesting! ...Haha. ♪"
"I'm looking forward to... I'm looking forward to... When we...can meet again."

Now we see some of her thought processes. Unlike Tabitha and Maxie who considers the player a nuisance, able to put their loss aside and recognize the player as a new threat, Courtney is like a machine. She had already identified who might be a threat to Team Magma, yet this kid comes out of nowhere and proves that, despite all her figuring she was wrong. But she can't just let it go, now there's a new threat. In order for her to plan and predict she feels she has to know who the player is. She becomes obsessive, at least when she expects the player to appear. She could also maybe be feeling excitement, adrenaline from not only getting into a battle but then losing that battle. Before she had dealt with and figured out who she could or couldn't defeat that she made herself dull to these moments; she wouldn't be surprised or feel anything if she lost to Archie, the Aqua admins, or Pokemon League officials (since she probably would have a plan B). "But why would she feel this way battling the player a second and third time"? You have to remember in the games the player character is sort of a strange phenomenon, while most NPCs stay the same the player is constantly changing things up and gaining new achievements. They aren't in a static state, each encounter might as well be a new encounter.

In the Magma Hideout this all comes to a head:

"... ... ...I knew you would come."
"...Too bad, though. ...It's all over now. ♪ ...The submarine has been upgraded."
"...Look. ♪ ...At that drill. ...With that...even the seal on the Seafloor Cavern is in for a walloping! ♪"
"... ...There's still more...work for me to do. ...I must...stop you. ...Until Leader Maxie...departs... ...But... ...Now...I just...want to... ...With you... ...I want to...engage... ...You... ...I want to...analyze. Ahahaha. ♪"

She's pretty much as her breaking point. On one hand she wants to see what else the player can do, but also realizes that the player may very well be able to stop them. I don't think Courtney would have tried leaving as she in the episode, I think eitherway she would have wanted to stay behind and battle the player (either Maxie ordering her or her volunteering). That way she gets to see what more the player can do while also buying Maxie time he needs.

"... ...Change...the world."
"...Leader Maxie... ... ...Mission... ...Complete. ...Leader Maxie...has departed. ...For the development...of humanity. ...For our...dreams... ...To you...whom I had not foreseen. ...I will give a hint. ...So that you...may dream...the same dream as us. ...Leader Maxie...is headed for...the sea stretching out from Lilycove. ...In the depths of the sea...lies the Seafloor Cavern. ...What are you...going to do? ...Looking around...in seaside towns. ...That might work. ...Ahaha. ♪"
"...I don't know...what you could do to get there. ...Even if I knew...I wouldn't tell. ...Ahaha. ♪"

So this is where it gets interesting. Now that she believes Maxie is on his way to release Groudon (thus creating the new world) she still wants to see what the player will do. She tells the player all she knows and watches them go, letting the game continue. She's caught between her mission and her obsession at this point... so what happens when one overcomes the other? In the Delta Episode we see the aftermath of the player stopping Team Magma and Maxie realizing he almost ended the world, and how Courtney took it:

(Petalburg)
(Talking to Wally)
"Tedious...bothersome...child...You should...just be quiet...and give me...the Key Stone!"
"I already know...that you can...use...Mega Evolution!"
(Player arrives)
"...?!"
"...You."
"Aha. ♪ Nice timing...maybe. ♪ I'll be taking...yours first! Give me...the Key Stone!"
(Defeating her)
"Huh..."
"...No! You're always meddling! If that's...how it is...at Meteor Falls...the Leader's...Key Stone..."

(Mossdeep Space Center)
"...Ha ha. ♪ Ahahaha! ♪ Ahahahaha haha! ♪ ♪ ♪ Ahahahaha hahahahahahaha! ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ... My team...The team I put all hope into...Leader Maxie...was broken. He was broken! He was broken by this brat!"
(Battles player)
"Don't. Get. In. My. Way."
(After defeat)
"Why? Why must...you always...Always, always, always, always...Get in my way!"

It was all fun and games when Team Magma was near completing their plan and the player was trying to stop them. But now that the player stopped them and Maxie has probably isolated himself to think she feels she has failed. We've seen how she's been acting from simply not predicting there might be another strong trainer, so how do you think she was going to react to failing? Suddenly her obsession turns from interest to hatred for the player now that the player had stopped the game.

Finally, at the end of the Delta Episode, Courtney finally takes off "the mask" she made for herself. She realizes she's a person, she has emotions, and instead of dwelling on things she and Team Magma should work to improve everyone's lives. She also becomes friendly toward the player and greets them like a normal person would.

To me Courtney is a character who decided to model herself after a machine (she probably has a mental disorder and found things are easier to understand/handle as a machine would) and though she had everything calculated. Than there was one thing she didn't plan on and, due to her way of thinking, couldn't really handle not knowing why. This made her obsessive and excited, even going a bit against her team's goals just to see the game continue. But when that resulted in Team Magma's plans being foiled and her idol, Maxie, becoming distant she feels its her fault so starts trying to fix it (and not understanding why people are trying to stop her thus her hating everyone). When its all over and she's meeting with Maxie she isn't able to keep it in, she let's go of her previous beliefs to better help Maxie, Team Magma, and hopefully the world (a world she probably feels an outsider too and just wanted to find a place in).

In the episode I didn't feel she was a machine logic person who is going a bit crazy but someone who's meekly naive. It felt odd she acted "normal" when with Team Magma, "whimsical" on her own, and then "crazy" when facing the player without much connecting the three personalities. Opening a can of worms here, I sort of see her being autistic, not multiple personality disorder.[/quote]

 

[Mad Ram]

The problem with that interpretation, in AS she has very few lines, and one of them was saying she'll make Wally cry all because he called her "ma'am", and remember she wasn't shown to have any such character development so she was always like this. The more likely answer is she is how Generations portrayed and veers more toward psychopathic (wo)man-child than the kuudere personality most give her.

 

[Pikachu315111]

The problem with that interpretation, in AS she has very few lines, and one of them was saying she'll make Wally cry all because he called her "ma'am", and remember she wasn't shown to have any such character development so she was always like this. The more likely answer is she is how Generations portrayed and veers more toward psychopathic (wo)man-child than the kuudere personality most give her.

We have no idea what she (or any other other admins) went through in the game where they weren't the main villain and only showed up post game for essentially a cameo. Their cameos sort of tried squishing and combining as much of their personalities from their game, so for Courtney she's especially all over the place for that cameo.

 

[Karxrida]

Episode 8: The Cavern

 

[Taistelu]

...

...

...

THAT WAS AMAZING.

This is my favourite episode by far. Primal Kyogre's model was like, twice the size of the player, here, it's ABSOLUTELY HUGE. This episode shows the power of Primal Kyogre completely. Words don't even do this thing justice. I also like how it was the longest episode yet, which I felt actually let me showcase Kyogre's power, rather than 15 seconds of fame for Groudon. Archie sounds like a pirate, the voice is a bit weird, but it's clear that Archie still believes in his goal (well, apart from when he says "destroy everything!"). Story wise, not much happened that we don't know, but the cinimatics make this episode amazing. The remixed music here is also amazing. One of my favourites by far.

EDIT: Sad the quote in my sig wasn't used though :(

EDIT 2: But a few...strange things. If Archie needs the Orb to control Kyogre...why did he throw it?

 

[Johta]

....

wow.

That was amazing; absolutely fantastic. The way I see it that's a what if scenario where the player doesn't intervene and as result, well... it's pretty clear what happens to team Aqua. Those last 2 minutes legitimately had me on the edge of my seat. 10/10.

Also, I really like how they basically portrayed Kyogre as an incredibly menacing space whale.

 

[mertyville]

7.8/10 too much water

What is with Archie?
He says "Listen to my command" and immediately throws away the Blue Orb.
Tells Kyogre "Destroy everything", Kyogre starts destroying everything and then he says "Oh no!"

Also, why is Kyogre flying and using Aerial Ace? Kinda surprised it transformed immediately to Primal Form

 

[WaffleTitan]

WOW!!! Best episode so far. Probably the first time I've seen a legendary pokemon properly represented in any media. I can't even put into words how great this was. Obviously in the games legendaries have to be defeatable and catchable, but it does kinda cheapen their perceived strength. With no "game mechanics" to have to work with, they finally got it right. It's actually great how Primal Kyogre actually straight up destroys the world. While watching, I was just waiting for the player character to jump out and take on Kyogre, but I was pleasantly surprised when that did not happen. Pokemon generations is actually amazing.

 

[Kurona]

I agree with everyone here; this was actually really good. Some eh voice acting aside this really increased the feel of tension and disaster from the Primal Pokémon you don't quite get to see in the game.
And holy heck, that sequence from Archie calling out to Kyogre onwards at 4:19? Actual honest to god TERRIFYING. I don't know I just; I just sort of felt right there in the moment, feeling the fear of something that big ramming towards you with nothing you can do. I can't believe I'm saying this but it actually scared me a little. Well friggin' done!

 

[Pikachu315111]

Episode 8: The Cavern

(Watch Episode)
0:27: Well we had a Team Magma episode, only fair to have a Team Aqua episode.
1:11: Taistelu, I think what Archie is saying here is a re-worded version of that speech.
1:23: Huh, Shelly is here. A scene in which there are suppose to be two other characters present, they rhyme with "Paxie" and "Mlayer".
1:53: I always wondered what exactly did Shelly/Tabitha look up at the Weather Institute to realize their leaders were about to cause an apocalypse? Like I know its possible to research the effects of strong storms or weather patterns from the past, but could that really reveal how powerful Kyogre/Groudon are? At most it'll tell them how strong a storm/drought they can bring, though at the same time the two were fighting each other so who's to say that doesn't play a factor into what was going on with the weather.
1:57: Glad to see Shelly got barely dressed before coming. Seriously her pants are one slip away before revealing it all (and do you really think she's wearing anything underneath that wet suit they call a uniform?). And good Arceus, EAT A HAMBURGER!
2:03: Same to you female grunt!
2:16: Archie says Kyogre will listen to him as long as he has the Blue Orb... throws Blue Orb to awaken Primal Kyogre. I suppose this is why Shelly is the smart one among Aqua's top officials.
2:44: Archie, do you even listen to yourself?
3:05: Well this is certainly different from how things happened, sorta. Mainly that Kyogre never Primal Reverted until encountering the player in the Hall of Origins.
4:00: I got to say, seeing Kyogre's Primordial Sea wreaking havoc is pretty awesome. It's a shame that last episode we only saw Groudon use a few Hyper Beams instead of its Desolate Land starting to wilt, burn, and melt everything. Also, though the "Vs. Primal" remix is nice and very fitting, I was hoping to hear "Heavy Rainfall".
4:05: Okay, what exactly is that x-mark on Archie's face? Face paint? A scar?
4:50: Dead.

Overall a better episode than last time, though a bit more confusing. Was this a "what if" scenario episode had the player not intervened and stopped Team Aqua? Up till now these episodes kept to semi-continuity but this episode I would say is the first to completely disregard the canon and instead focus on what would have happened if Team Aqua's plan came to full fruition (good job, Zinnia). That said, it was awesome to see Kyogre's Primordial Sea causing a huge storm with water funnels, whirlpools, and seeing how Pokemon in the air, sea, and on land were being affected by it. That'll raise it up a bit, but I'm still not ranking it high as we didn't really learn anything new, just a possible "what if" of something we could have already predict would have happened.

Episode Rankings

1. The Chase
2. The Challenger
3. The Lake of Rage
4. The Legacy
5. The Cavern
6. The Reawakening
7. The Adventure
8. The Vision

 

[TPP]

Loved how this episode turned out, and 2 things that really stuck out to me were:

1). Team Aqua is freaking swole. Archie and Matt are ripped and Shelly and the other grunts (aside from the fat one) all looked really good, which imo helped them look older/more adult like.

2). Kyogre was beasting and feasting and it truly represented how an enraged legendary beast should act.

Not sure what the next episode will be, but I am definitely excited as it could involve the player either handling the legendary, taking on the Elite 4 + Steven/Wallace, or if they really go for it, the Battle Frontier. Otherwise they got plenty of options with the Lati twins and then the Regi trio, not to mention Deoxys as well. Really wish they made these episodes longer or had plans to continue them in the future (after the planned 20 episodes are done), because they have really been fantastic up to this point.

 

[Cutefluffysheep]

Those team aqua members really need to pull their pants up

Advice for Shelly and the grunt

Don't forget to put an ice cream sundae in you occasionally. It doesn't hurt. In fact, it might even give you the nutrition you need!

 

[Xen]

Holy hell, they really nailed the sense of overwhelming power and intimidation that legendary Pokemon are supposed to convey with this episode. Quite a shame Groudon got jipped in screen time last episode, when Kyogre got this kind of treatment.

The episode definitely reinforces my thought that the Hoenn weather trio are truly the most fearsome legendaries in the series; they aren't minding their own business in entirely different dimensions like the Sinnoh deities, and they're not friendly with humans like the Unova dragons. They dwell on Poke-Earth as the personification of nature itself, and if you piss them off, they won't think twice about scorching or drowning the planet to get back at you.

The only downside with this episode is the fact that it really highlights just how dumb Archie (and Maxie) really are in the games. "Destroy the world Kyogre....oh wait, don't destroy the world plz!"

 

[jordanthejq12]

My reaction to Ep. 8 in two words: HOLY SHIT!

Generation III really raised the stakes for the games' story. (And not just in the main series--the first Mystery Dungeon has you run out of town on a lie with other teams trying to kill you; Gale of Darkness has Shadow Lugia annihilate an entire ship's worth of people, etc.) This episode reflects that perfectly--now it's not just a community at stake, it's the entire freaking world.

 

[Jeronado]

The visuals in this one were really good. Just the way Kyogre moved and the storm it summoned. I really enjoyed this episode.

 

[Count Bleck]

I guarntee that Archie's VA was no other than Jamieson Price. I'd know that amount of ham any day of the week. Animation was spectacular, Kyogre was amazing to watch, Archie maade some....questionable choices in this, but HOLY BALLS THE ANIMATION QUALITY!!!

Also, since it was going to be here sometime today...

 

[EJ190]

Dear God that was terrifying. Dafuq at Archie throwing the blue orb at Kyogre though...

 

[Deck Knight]

4:22: "And that was when I knew... I dun goofed." ~Archie

The sense of terror in this episode is overwhelming, and it's great. Yes, the Hoenn cover legends are easily the most terrifying from a human perspective. Like, if Dialga screwed with time so you never existed or Palkia shifted the dimension you would also probably be terrified, but assuming you weren't otherwise affected it wouldn't give off the same terror as everything around you being driven into the sea or evaporating into nothingness.

Incidentally, watching Primal Kyogre in action it reminds me a LOT of Gen 7's Ultra Beasts, in that they just seem so powerful and alien despite having some recognizable qualities in animals.

 

[MegaFlareon]

"As long as I have the Blue Orb, Kyogre will do my bidding"
Instantly throws orb
Genius

Anyway, The Cavern is an awesome episode specifically showcasing the power of Primal Kyogre. It also gives some character to Team Rocket Admin Shelly, just as the previous episode did to Courtney.

I'm really curious on which Pokemon Generations 4 and 5 will highlight in 2-3 episodes, especially when these Generations introduced a bucketload of Legendary Pokemon.

 

[meowmachine]

Maybe it's just reflex to throw the ball in your hand to buy yourself a few seconds in the pokemon world?

 

[Count Bleck]

Looks like we're double dipping today!

 

[Taistelu]

Beautiful Idle animations of being completely still.

THAT SNEAKY TRAINER CAPTURING THAT DEOXYS OMG LOL THAT WAS AMAZING. (it came to my attention that this was the Gen 3 Protagonist but it was still pretty cool) I felt like this whole thing was a set up for the Deoxys battle but I loved it so yeah, this episode is A-OK by me.

OMG CHANSEY IS ADORABLE. Ok these episodes have STEPPED UP THEIR GAME. The utter destruction of Hoeen in Episode 8, they intense Deoxys battle in Episode 9 and the....the Episode 10...the what...they ate Ghost food? He was...creepy...OH HI HAUNTER. Episode 10 was a little subpar compared to 8 and 9 but um...yeah I got nothing, ok. It was creepy and it was creepy.

Episode 9 was amazing..Episode 10 was weird but I can accept that, it was alright to me.

 

[Karxrida]

Wasn't expecting more double episode releases.

"The Scoop" in general is awesome, and not just because Zinnia wasn't there. The animation for the Deoxys fight was amazing and the presentation of Gabby and Ty trying to cover the event was interesting.

"The Old Chateau" felt weak to me. They waited too long for the creepy stuff and things like Chansey's stupid face took me out of it.

 

[Taistelu]

"The Old Chateau" felt weak to me. They waited too long for the creepy stuff and things like Chansey's stupid face took me out of it.

The "stupid face" could be to help add to the innocence of Chansey? I can't think of anything else.

Who cares though Chansey is literally the most adorable thing in that Episode.