Which pokegirl's storyline was written the best?

[Islander Princess]

This sounds almost exactly like Serena's story except she had less episodes and they also managed to squeeze in a love story so Serena wins. I also like the way Serena was integrated into Ash's story. It's not often you suddenly decide to go on a months long journey with a complete stranger the way the other girls did.

Eeeeh. I really can't compare May and Serena. I really didn't like Serena's storyline and felt the "love story" was incredibly forced and actually took away from Serena's development. I feel like her storyline was one of the weakest, personally.

 

[Islander Princess]

I wouldn't mix her career's development and love story. I'm impressed when it comes to Serena as an artist but I'm not really into her love life...it was funny sometimes (Meeting with Miette, shaunaknows, etc. ) but I don't know...I don't see them together...perfect Serena's match would be some Prince or something...It's that kind of girl I think

I do think they kind of go hand-in-hand though. By no means was I a big fan of showcases, but that should've been the driving force of Serena's story and development, not her romantic feelings. And they weren't doing a bad job at first. I still believe Serena breaking down and changing her whole appearance, particularly when she cuts her hair off, is one of the best and most powerful scenes the anime has ever had. I wanted them to take off from that and really have Serena realize that she could be independent and accomplish things on her own, set her own goals and not follow the expectations of others (i.e. her mother.) I actually forgot about the weird crush subplot after a little while because the focus was being moved to her burgeoning confidence as a performer. But by the end, they ran right back to the flimsy crush storyline, and I never really felt like we got good enough closure to her personal growth.

 

[Nicolas721]

May it's the best for me, for reasons explained by other users. She was relatable and had a very good relationship with her Pokemon.

Serena would come a close second...if we only take into account episodes 40-80. She went from a boring Ash-praiser, to someone who got to find a goal after working hard in a believable way, to someone who just sweeped through Showcases while never listening to the advices people gave to her. And the way its crush was developed was terrible.

Bonnie and Dawn had their moments of drama, crying and determination, but their personality didn't changed much after those events.

I don't know what to think about Iris. Her story is not as bad as other people make it to be, but it's true that her achievements were based on natural talent rather than effort.

Misty is my favorite character in the anime, but after rewatching season 5 I can say that story is not her thing.

 

[Unbeatable HoennMon]

@Islander Princess
Totally agree about what Serena should do to develop more. She ought to focus on herself...she's so talented that, if only she thought more about her future- But, I think she could avoid a lot of problems by listening what advice her Mom gave her. However, I'm sure one day she will become the Queen of Kalos, and, as Violet would say, meet her Charming Prince and live hapilly ever after...cause she simply deserves it as the best Kalos character ( And Brock would say he likes that Charming Prince )

@Nicolas721

The same about Misty- I grown up with her, I'll always be on her side but I definetely don't like ending of her story- actually, the lack of ending...I think she was definetely better in Chronicles than in season 5...I'm sure she'll become the best gym leader of the world! Of course, it's extremely sad we won't watch this
About May- for me, DP has the best plot, I grown up with OS which was the funniest series, but AG...I'm not sure how to put it...It's really nice to watch these episodes, they were...hmmm...great for everybody, interesting, funny, had really good plot ( however, I'm not a fan of Drew and Harley) and were like that largely thanks to May who was simply a good pal to Brock and Ash, that's why I've always enjoyed that series

And one thing about natural talent and effort- I would say it's like footbal- people say Messi has a great, natural talent and Ronaldo is a great footballer thanks to hard work but the truth is it's great to watch them both playing I think it's the same way when it comes to Pokegirls and their talents and hard work

 

[SerenaToAlola]

But by the end, they ran right back to the flimsy crush storyline, and I never really felt like we got good enough closure to her personal growth.

I somewhat agree with you... I just wish that they had given more time to develop her cause her story was going so well until the last few episodes. That's why I wish she continued on as Ash's traveling companion so that we can see her story develop further. I'm just concerned about how she would look in the SM art style... She looks good in anything though! She could easily just put on the player character's default costume for all subsequent games and just make it work.

Also I guess it was frustrating how Serena practically did nothing until she cut her hair.

That said, Lillie has the potential to be the most epic pokegirl imo!

 

[Silktree]

If this thread is strictly about Pokemon training/progress, then I agree that the honor goes to Dawn. But I am not a fan of the very premise of a coordinator's path. Her highlight was having to tame Mamoswine because it rightfully rejected her path.

Misty's sisters were very much bitches (belittling her as a gym leader during Kanto, but forcing her to fulfill their duties by the end of Johto), and we know from Shudo's novel that the parents abandoned the family, which is obvious from the show itself. The finer moments of Misty's story occur in the Cerulean gym (a good introduction to Misty's sibling issue), Tentacruel episode, Togepi hatching, Poliwag episode, Lugia movie, Poliwhirl vs. Poliwrath (two separate episodes), Misty and Sakura (two episodes), Whirl Cup, Johto Water gym, Hoso specials (the first three of hers), Togepi arc and the Max bonding episode. That is nothing to sneeze at even if she had a long run of not standing out. I can't come up with that many pivotal character building moments for Ash, let alone the other companions. Not everything is about competitions even in the Pokemon world.

Somehow, this development managed to take place without the writers even making a conscious decision to make it happen. Almost as if it were a real story driven by Misty.

@Silktree@
For me, Misty is something more than simply a pokegirl. She is an icon of PokemonAnime and she always will be no matter what will happen, but I think she was really hurt by writers. Look- where is her development as a trainer? Where are powerful pokemon (except of my beloved Psyduck )?

She has a powerful Pokemon in Gyarados, which she sadly got in a Hoso special. But her Staryu and Corsola were quite the little badasses.

And what is the way they ended her plot? She's waiting for the boy who has never cared about her (last episode of Johto),

I don't know what you mean by that at all. Ash was clearly upset when Misty and Brock left, and that wasn't the case with the other companions. He also looked for her after she had stormed out, saving her from the gangsters.

 

[Silktree]

And whose fault was that meeting with gangsters? Who told her ,,Ooo you have your bike? Ok, bye, you can finally go home". He cried in the end of episode? Ok, right, you got a point there but it was about Misty and Brock leaving not his bond with Misty. Actually I'm happy you mentioned Misty's meeting with Max- I think they would be very good friends and it would be wonderful plot for pokemon chronicles 2...Adventures in Cerulean and Petalburg...ehh sorry I was dreaming

Because he's a dense character that needs time to understand what is going on. If you're implying that he cares more about Brock than Misty, there is no evidence of that. He did not cry when Brock left for good.

Anyway, my feelings about Misty don't really have much to do with Ash. I do think that she no doubt had a role in his own development in Kanto.

 

[Silktree]

It isn't going to happen anymore after the mess the anime has become, lol.

I take comfort in knowing that she is a strong, independent character. She still has good friends in Tracey, Brock, Sakura and Casey. Maybe Max despite the distance?

I'd also like to give May props for some of her interactions with Max. Namely the Jirachi movie and Donphan episode. But the Manaphy movie... was not good even though she wasn't at fault.

 

[Silktree]

I saw the Piplup picture. I can imagine the pain for Dawn fans (unless they only liked her for Piplup, lol), but she isn't the one who should appear in a Kanto movie to begin with.

 

[Silktree]

We can't be sure that the new Piplup is that similar to the old one, but if it is, then clearly the writers are a little too smitten with that kind of obnoxious personality.

 

[IncineROAR]

I'm not going into detail, but I'd have to say Dawn was the best written and developed character for the anime females. I would place May second, and despite limited time for development, I'd put Serena third.

The other two ladies, not saying names, were treated horribly by the writers and really had no development outside of being antagonistic.

 

[Islander Princess]

The other two ladies, not saying names, were treated horribly by the writers and really had no development outside of being antagonistic.

Antagonistic is a little much. Misty and Iris are in no way, shape, or form "antagonistic" characters. I agree that they didn't get tons of development (although I personally think Misty, though subtle, got more development than Serena...) but to go so far as to label them antagonistic is off base.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

About her sisters- they're definetely selfish but I like them cause they love Misty...in their strange way, but still (especially Daisy- I'm curious she wanted Tracey to be her husband or brother-in-law)

You can be friends without becoming spouses, relatives whatever. This thing bugs me the most that people somehow always end up together like that.

Especially Max is more mature than Ash, at least, he doesn'st believe in magic powder xD )

You can believe in magic powder and still be mature lol.

I saw the Piplup picture. I can imagine the pain for Dawn fans (unless they only liked her for Piplup, lol), but she isn't the one who should appear in a Kanto movie to begin with.

Well, I was introduced to Pokemon with the DP series, and from those memories, Dawn wasn't into focus or anything. I was annoyed at the lame excuse given to have Piplup not evolve.
I liked Dawn, but not to fanboy-levels. Ash's Pokemon were the highlight for me.

 

[Mikuri]

It has been a long time since I watched the original series and I could be wrong here, but what I remember is that Misty's sisters made fun of her for caring too much about the Gym when they could not care less. Their only concern was to put on shows and entertain an audience. How could they belittle Misty as a Gym Leader if they were never concerned about being good Gym Leaders in the first place? Misty could not do worse than handing out Badges for free, that's for sure.

Like I said earlier, they teased her like all older siblings do. They are beautiful girls who want to conquer the whole world with their beauty and talent, while Misty is an ugly duckling who cares about keeping the Gym up and running. It was a joke. This is not some serious childhood trauma who had a negative impact on Misty's life and has prevented her from enjoying herself during her journey with Ash. It's something that bothered Misty and was brought up a few times, sure, but the fans put too much weight into a thing that was meant to be a joke. Even Ash and Brock have laughed at Misty for not being as good looking as her sisters.

I also don't remember Misty being forced to end her journey and return to Cerulean to run the Gym. Forced is too strong a word. Her sisters sent her a note saying they were going on a world tour and the Gym would be empty. Misty took on the responsibility of running the Gym upon herself. You can say that the Gym is the treasured memory she has of her parents or any other bull, but the fact is she could have left the Gym be closed and continue on with her life if she so desired. There was no one forcing her to keep the Gym open.

The only thing Misty really developed during her time on the show was a friendship with Ash, and that's it. She started to follow Ash around because she wanted a new bike and by the end of her run she was pissed off with Ash for thinking that she had been with him all along due to that, when in fact it was because she was enjoying their journey together. And while this is a nice cute story, it is really small specially when all the other girls have developed a friendship with Ash (maybe take Iris off this list). It's not like Misty has some magical connection with him that sets her apart from the other girls.

Misty was an useless companion for most of her time on the show. In early Kanto she would belittle Ash for being a rookie Trainer and after Ash got his shit together Misty's role was reduced to drag Brock away and serve as a pair of legs for Togepi. She has a few notable episodes here and there, but in the long run these episodes do nothing to show her growing as a person and a Trainer. Misty's fear of Bug-type Pokémon was played most for comedy relief and never got any closure and she rarely did anything to get near of achieving her goal of being a Water Pokémon Master.

I agree that competitions aren't everything but the writers have proved time and again how tournaments are the best tool to develop a character. But even if Misty was lacking a chain of events for her to participate, she still could have done more towards her goal. She had a Psyduck and she never put any real effort into making the Pokémon grow stronger. Anyone with common sense would think that a person trying to become a master in Water types would have handled the situation a little better than being annoyed at her Pokémon rather than trying to discipline it.

Misty entered the Queen of the Princess Festival tournament and she borrowed Ash's Pikachu and Bulbasaur as well as Brock's Vulpix and when her Psyduck popped out of its Poké Ball she was less than pleased to see the poor thing. She had no intention of using one of her own Pokémon to win the competition. By the time the Whirl Cup rolled around Misty was still ignoring her Psyduck and the prospect of using it in battle was still non-existent. That's how terrible a Trainer she really is.

The best thing that happened to Misty was going back to the Cerulean Gym because it allowed her character to go from being an excuse of a Trainer who sat on her ass waiting to become a Water-type expert by the power of magic dust to a recognized Gym Leader of the Kanto League. That's the progress Misty made and it's really sad because we never saw Misty training her Pokémon and thinking that they had to be competent battlers since one day they would be used in Gym battles. It happened just because the writers needed something to write her out of the show.

With all that said, I'd like to point out that I don't hate Misty before I get accused of being a hater. Misty never got on my nerves and I was fine with her being around. The one character I have a real problem with is Iris. Misty is fine. But I don't see her storylines on the show as something to write home about. She is an underdeveloped yet overrated character.

 

[Shoutmon]

Misty got obviously the worst lmao. You can be a fan of her and admit this. Not that a character needs to be developed to be liked, just look at Cilan's popularity.

 

[SinnohEevee]

Misty got obviously the worst lmao. You can be a fan of her and admit this. Not that a character needs to be developed to be liked, just look at Cilan's popularity.

I found Cilan "too perfect".

 

[Islander Princess]

Misty got obviously the worst lmao. You can be a fan of her and admit this. Not that a character needs to be developed to be liked, just look at Cilan's popularity.

No, Iris definitely got the worst. She had that nice backstory about her childhood, and she got Excadrill to trust her again. That's literally it.

 

[Shoutmon]

No, Iris definitely got the worst. She had that nice backstory about her childhood, and she got Excadrill to trust her again. That's literally it.

More than Misty at least. At least she tried to train her Pokemon.

 

[Shadao]

Dawn. Simply for the fact that she is the only female protagonist to be treated as a co-star on par with Ash himself. Take a look at what was said in the Japanese opening:

The mysterious creatures of this planet
Pocket Monsters...
"Pokémon" for short!
Now, the story of Satoshi and Hikari,
and Pokémon,
Their meetings, adventures, and battles
Are about to begin!

Compare that to what was said in seasons other than DP:

The mysterious creatures of this planet
Pocket Monsters...
"Pokémon" for short!
Now, the story of a boy, Satoshi, and Pokémon
Their meetings, adventures, and battles
Are about to begin!

As such, Diamond and Pearl is much about her as it is for Ash. Given the lengthy pace, you could easily ignore Ash's Gym Quest in favor of Dawn's Contest Matches. I remember watching the first episode of DP back in 2006, and I nearly thought that she was going to replace Ash for the whole season (or that it was a mini-series of some kind) simply because of how well she was able to a hold an episode without his presence. Now May could have been the same with her dislike of Pokémon being an interesting premise, but her premise was more of giving Ash a Casey-esque character as a foil for Ash's veteran status. Dawn, while a rookie Coordinator, was essentially a female version of Ash.

 

[Islander Princess]

More than Misty at least. At least she tried to train her Pokemon.

I really don't have any interest in just that, which is probably why I feel the way I do about Iris' storyline as a whole. I could not stand the whole "trying to teach Axew dragon rage" storyline. I actually have nothing against Iris as a character, but to me her storylines were the worst of all the girls.