Who's return did you like best: Misty's, May's, or Dawn's?

[pokemon fan 132]

You mean the episode in Pallet where she joins Tracey in the background while the majority of it was Ash showing his old Pokemon to May and Max, then deciding to do Battle Frontier, then a TR battle? The Misty/Max episode was the only decent characterisation for Misty upon her return.

Also the less that is said about the awful Mastermind special the better.

Last time i checked point of Pallet reunion wasn't to signal out any character over another hogging spotlight for himself, but in this being writers way of gathering all Ash friends at one place serving as nice throwback to past and oppšortunity that his friends get to know each other better.

Likewise Misty had amusing scenes when talking with Ash joking about his battle abilities and deciding to surprise him with unexpected visit being happy over seeing him again, felt embarrassed along with May over appearing on Tv without being dressed up better, battled TR with her Azurill etc.

If that is to you notion of "someone being in background", than we can say how all of them were background fodder than.

Speaking of decent characterization she had pretty good, fun interactions with Ash and Brock too during her appearances being believable and natural giving out impression of long known friends which already know their weak and strong sides hence explaining lighthearted, endearing atmosphere.

Also the less that is said about the awful Mastermind special the better.

It was maybe awful to you, but this doesn't speak in everyone name. As far as im concerned Mastermind special had innovative plot, good characterization and trippy twists. Only real downside to it were voices, and even than this doesn't apply to all characters.

 

[Pokémon Master Ash]

It was maybe awful to you, but this doesn't speak in everyone name. As far as im concerned Mastermind special had innovative plot, good characterization and trippy twists. Only real downside to it were voices, and even than this doesn't apply to all characters.

True. Misty, Jessie, James, and Meowth all had decent voices (all of which I think were the best replacement VAs we got as well and TRio was fairly easy to adjust to despite my preference for the originals).

Misty was average, I guess. I didn't hate it, but it was lacking tomboyish nature to me.

James sounds like Eric's with a cold...it always has, really. Meowth sounds too gruff but still it's lighter here than later on.

Jessie is near spot-on with Rachael Lillis, but too high-pitched.

Ash, Brock, May, and Max...on the other hand. -_- --> >_<

 

[Cybersai]

The Misty/Max episode was the only decent characterisation for Misty upon her return.

So? Neither May nor Dawn got more than an episode for "decent characterization" upon their return. Misty's interaction with Max was more believable than Dawn being so friendly with May or Iris.

The difference is both times Misty was only in 2 episodes, her lack of a proper stay means the writers had to get a move on with whatever they were doing. The Mirage Kingdom eps especially were plot focused.

The next was just a Pallet Visit that oddly had Misty more with Tracey on the sidelines while it was about Ash and May talking about their next journies. The Misty/Max episode was good though.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

I agree with claim how Misty cameo appearances were kinda short. I always felt two part about Togepi, colonel Hanson and evolution would have better worked if it was spread across at least three to four episodes leaving enough time to have characters interact more and showcase their abilities.

However regardless of that what liked about her return in Hoenn was that she was main center of attention not sharing spotlight with others like May and Dawn did during their returns, as well fact that she learned and grew most as character gaining something out of it . Writers subject episodes for most part to Togepi and Misty who was treated like heroine there dealing with her attempt of trying to save Togepi from colonel Hanson leading to confront, strong bond established between pokemon and trainer which culminated when it evolved with split being one of most heartwarming and teary moments in pokemon show reflecting how much Misty cared for her pokemon with sad heart letting it go and realizing whats best for him. Along with saving day herself by defeating colonel Hanson.

As far as character interacting goes i wish she interacted more with May to have opportunity to get each other better and click on closer level, but i have to say i liked her dynamics with characters in general being full of energy, flare and pride while reflecting maturity and growth she went through in natural, endearing manner. Whether we are talking about playful teasing of Ash or ribbing on his tendency to react before thinking, joking with Brock about girls and talking about her life at gym while showing great deal of concern when she was separated from them worrying for safety along with relief and happiness when she saw them. Bizarre fear from bugs or her outbursts exploding at Hanson not willing to give up at any cost.

With May and Dawn while i enjoyed in their appearances in retrospection i always felt how they didn't got much time to shine in their own right either sharing focus with other characters helping them about their issues or not getting much update and development resulting in not gaining much from their return. Like it was case with Dawn. Along with not seeming to have as close bond with Ash and Brock like Misty seemed to have imo.

True. Misty, Jessie, James, and Meowth all had decent voices (all of which I think were the best replacement VAs we got as well and TRio was fairly easy to adjust to despite my preference for the originals).

Misty was average, I guess. I didn't hate it, but it was lacking tomboyish nature to me.

James sounds like Eric's with a cold...it always has, really. Meowth sounds too gruff but still it's lighter here than later on.

Jessie is near spot-on with Rachael Lillis, but too high-pitched.

Ash, Brock, May, and Max...on the other hand. -_- --> >_<

To be fair with some of them like Misty new voice actor was used just once since she didn't returned afterwards, not leaving time for some of new VA to adjust to characters they voice and learn how to capture their emotions adequately. Still from what was showed in Mastermind special i definitely agree how TR and Misty had most closest voice to their original Va there with Michell managing to add some life and fire to her character. Though not as much like Rachel did.

Still Misty behavior seemed outgoing and tomboyish in special and in Japanese all of them sounded good. So my gripe with voices is mainly directed to dub.

 

[Sakuraa]

I think May’s return was the best. I feel that she was the only one who’s return had a major impact for the time she was there. She actually helped Dawn to overcome her nervousness and made significant progress in the Wallace Cup. Seeing all of her new evolutions and moves for her Pokemon was also great since it showed how much progress she’d made in Johto. I think her friendship with Dawn and Zoey was the best and most believable in comparison the other girls. The battle’ she had between Zoey and Dawn were also amazing. I also liked seeing her interact with Ash with the ribbon pieces especially. There’s still a part of me that wished she’d won, but I can let that go. 9/10

Misty’s return was also enjoyable. It was nice to see her come back to the main cast for 3 different occasions. I also liked seeing her battling with her Pokemon again and especially using Gyarados. I kind of wish her appearances had lasted longer since I feel she could have done much more, particularly during the Togepi episodes. I also would have preferred that she didn’t release Togetic, but I guess it was a nice ending regardless. The bonding episode with with Max was also really cute. I also loved seeing her again in the Mastermind of the Mirage Pokemon special and I enjoy it even with the voices. 8/10

Dawn’s was undoubtedly the worst. I find it ironic how she came back for the longest time, yet did the least. She came back for nine episodes and only really did something in the 2nd and the 7th. We found out nothing about her travels during Johto other than Piplup and Mamoswine learning new moves. None of her Pokemon evolved besides Quilava and that was only for non-Japanese viewers. Buneary, Pachirisu, and Togekiss did absolutely nothing. After being gone for like a year, I know there were people who wanted to see these 3 with some new moves, Buneary especially, but none of them even battled. I was sure that they’d somehow have Emolga and Pachirisu interact and finally reveal the latter’s gender, but they never even interacted. (Unless you count Emolga watching Pachirisu kick Oshawott’s scalchop as an interaction) Only 1 lagamorphshipping scene, really? I find it hard to believe that Buneary wouldn’t try to spend as much time with Pikachu as she could before leaving. And Piplup. After having him shoved down our throats for most of DP, they have him battle with his clone for most of his stay. Dawn barely interacted with Ash and one time she did she was making fun of him. Dawn’s reason’s for entering the Junior Cup were never explained and it was utterly pointless for a coordinator to be entering a tournament focused on battling. She didn’t even battle in a contest-like manner She was used as fodder for Iris’ Dragonite and then the worst part is that she didn’t even help Iris with her Dragonite after her she had similar experiences with Mamoswine; saying “I know you’ll be good friends” isn’t helping in my book. Her friendship with Iris felt so forced that it’s ridiculous. I thought putting the fashonista with the wild child would have been interesting and maybe conflicting, but they just had Dawn use Iris’s catchphrase and spend and episode together and all of a sudden they’re besties. I literally could go on forever about how bad this was, but I think we all understand. 1/10

 

[Hidden Mew]

So? Neither May nor Dawn got more than an episode for "decent characterization" upon their return. Misty's interaction with Max was more believable than Dawn being so friendly with May or Iris.

I don't see how that was more believable than Dawn being so friendly with May. They actually had a bit in common with being Coordinators, like with Misty and Max's issues as being the younger sibling giving something in common to them, and May was providing support and encouragement as an experienced Coordinator as Dawn tried to deal with her previous two defeats and entering the Wallace Cup. It was pretty believable to me. Though, I agree that it was more believable than Dawn being friendly with Iris since they practically became instant BFFs without much of anything in common to make their connection feel genuine and it just felt like they wanted them to be friends right off the bat, even though it felt rather forced to me.

 

[CrackFox]

So? Neither May nor Dawn got more than an episode for "decent characterization" upon their return. Misty's interaction with Max was more believable than Dawn being so friendly with May or Iris.

I don't see how that was more believable than Dawn being so friendly with May. They actually had a bit in common with being Coordinators, like with Misty and Max's issues as being the younger sibling giving something in common to them, and May was providing support and encouragement as an experienced Coordinator as Dawn tried to deal with her previous two defeats and entering the Wallace Cup. It was pretty believable to me. Though, I agree that it was more believable than Dawn being friendly with Iris since they practically became instant BFFs without much of anything in common to make their connection feel genuine and it just felt like they wanted them to be friends right off the bat, even though it felt rather forced to me.

I agree. I think May and Dawn's friendship was very believable, the only problem I had with that meeting was Dawn beating May in the Wallace Cup. Certainly in my opinion Dawn's character changed a lot in her BW cameo. She was much more silly and childish than we saw her ever being previously. The bond with Iris, if it can be explained i'd say was the childlike 'boys are twerps' attitude they both shared, something that Dawn was previously, much too mature to go along with prior to BW.

 

[Enzap]

I really enjoyed May's return because we really got to see how much she had grown as a coordinator and trainer. Also, she made for an interesting rival to Dawn. I don't really agree with their decision to allow Dawn to beat her in the Wallace Cup, since she had much more experience, but her appearance was overall enjoyable.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I agree. I think May and Dawn's friendship was very believable, the only problem I had with that meeting was Dawn beating May in the Wallace Cup. Certainly in my opinion Dawn's character changed a lot in her BW cameo. She was much more silly and childish than we saw her ever being previously. The bond with Iris, if it can be explained i'd say was the childlike 'boys are twerps' attitude they both shared, something that Dawn was previously, much too mature to go along with prior to BW.

While I didn't quite like Dawn beating May either, the Wallace Cup was built up as her comeback from her previous defeats and she barely defeated May's Glaceon, her Pokemon with the least amount of experience, so at least it made sense. Dawn acting more childish with Iris on the other hand was just so out of character for her, but they just really wanted to make those two instant friends, regardless of how that didn't make sense. Dawn's entire return felt so pointless in the grand scheme of things. All it did was give another person to praise Iris and have another character thrown under a bus for her Dragonite.

 

[CrackFox]

I agree. I think May and Dawn's friendship was very believable, the only problem I had with that meeting was Dawn beating May in the Wallace Cup. Certainly in my opinion Dawn's character changed a lot in her BW cameo. She was much more silly and childish than we saw her ever being previously. The bond with Iris, if it can be explained i'd say was the childlike 'boys are twerps' attitude they both shared, something that Dawn was previously, much too mature to go along with prior to BW.

While I didn't quite like Dawn beating May either, the Wallace Cup was built up as her comeback from her previous defeats and she barely defeated May's Glaceon, her Pokemon with the least amount of experience, so at least it made sense. Dawn acting more childish with Iris on the other hand was just so out of character for her, but they just really wanted to make those two instant friends, regardless of how that didn't make sense. Dawn's entire return felt so pointless in the grand scheme of things. All it did was give another person to praise Iris and have another character thrown under a bus for her Dragonite.

I've never been a Dawn fan but for those who were, I can see why they'd be disappointed by her BW cameo. She had a notably different personality, it just so happens that I preferred her new attitude over he DP one. In fairness, BW is a lot more laid back and silly than DP was. They had to change her character to suit the new feel of the show. I do think her return could have been a lot better though. In terms of developement there was almost none since we last saw her. Even a new outfit and an evolution would have been something cool. It did feel pointless.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I've never been a Dawn fan but for those who were, I can see why they'd be disappointed by her BW cameo. She had a notably different personality, it just so happens that I preferred her new attitude over he DP one. In fairness, BW is a lot more laid back and silly than DP was. They had to change her character to suit the new feel of the show. I do think her return could have been a lot better though. In terms of developement there was almost none since we last saw her. Even a new outfit and an evolution would have been something cool. It did feel pointless.

I don't think that they needed to change her personality to fit with BW. In my opinion, it's bad writing to change a character's personality just so that she could instantly click with another one, especially when the friendship between Iris and Dawn felt pretty artificial as it was. They didn't need to make her act out of character and that was one of the reasons I didn't like her cameo appearance. I would have preferred it if she had some new Pokemon, instead of the ones she had before, to show more of a growth of her skills. A new outfit might have been nice, but I don't mind that as much as Dawn's story actually have no progression and the most she did in her cameo was giving Iris another undeserved victory, which pretty much anyone could have done at that point.

 

[CrackFox]

I've never been a Dawn fan but for those who were, I can see why they'd be disappointed by her BW cameo. She had a notably different personality, it just so happens that I preferred her new attitude over he DP one. In fairness, BW is a lot more laid back and silly than DP was. They had to change her character to suit the new feel of the show. I do think her return could have been a lot better though. In terms of developement there was almost none since we last saw her. Even a new outfit and an evolution would have been something cool. It did feel pointless.

I don't think that they needed to change her personality to fit with BW. In my opinion, it's bad writing to change a character's personality just so that she could instantly click with another one, especially when the friendship between Iris and Dawn felt pretty artificial as it was. They didn't need to make her act out of character and that was one of the reasons I didn't like her cameo appearance. I would have preferred it if she had some new Pokemon, instead of the ones she had before, to show more of a growth of her skills. A new outfit might have been nice, but I don't mind that as much as Dawn's story actually have no progression and the most she did in her cameo was giving Iris another undeserved victory, which pretty much anyone could have done at that point.

Well true, she didn't necessarily have to change but with the contrast of Ash's changed persona, coupled with Iris and Cilan's zany antics, if she'd have been her usual self, she would have seemed rather boring. You speak about Dawn's cameo just being another opportunity to advance Iris, I agree and I have to say that this is pretty much how I felt about May's loss to Dawn. May appeared and all her past efforts and accomplishments were underminded by a novice, in comparison at that point. Dawn hadn't been training anywhere near as long as May had. It just seemed like a cheap way to make Dawn's character grow a little and become stronger at the cost of belittling May's capability by having her lose to an amateur co-ordinator, which Dawn was at that point in time, compared to May.

 

[Palamon]

As much as I love Misty and everything about her I prefer May's return arc better. We got to see here interact with Ash again, and we got to see her without Max. I like her without Max. Her arc was by far my favorite because it was a contest arc instead of some useless fillers. Misty's return arc was alright, but I didn't enjoy it. I also hate Dawn so I hated it every second when she was around again.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Well true, she didn't necessarily have to change but with the contrast of Ash's changed persona, coupled with Iris and Cilan's zany antics, if she'd have been her usual self, she would have seemed rather boring. You speak about Dawn's cameo just being another opportunity to advance Iris, I agree and I have to say that this is pretty much how I felt about May's loss to Dawn. May appeared and all her past efforts and accomplishments were underminded by a novice, in comparison at that point. Dawn hadn't been training anywhere near as long as May had. It just seemed like a cheap way to make Dawn's character grow a little and become stronger at the cost of belittling May's capability by having her lose to an amateur co-ordinator, which Dawn was at that point in time, compared to May.

I don't know if Dawn would have seemed boring. Though, it probably helps that Ash's changed persona and the zany antics from Iris and Cilan doesn't really make them interesting, even though Cilan's behavior at least makes him entertaining to watch. Plus, she could have played the straight man kind of figure out of the group and her reactions could have made her entertaining, kind of like her reaction to Cilan giving an evaluation during their battle. While Dawn was a novice at that point, I don't think that beating May was anywhere near as bad as Iris defeating Dawn. They built up the Wallace Cup as Dawn's comeback from her previous two defeats, May was offering her emotional support and encouragement, Piplup was battling Glaceon, the Pokemon with the least amount of experience, and she barely won even with Piplup, who was then her strongest Pokemon. It was a believable victory and it made sense for Dawn to win. They wouldn't have made her lose three Contests in a row, at least not with the way they were handling the Wallace Cup arc, and as much as I like May, it wouldn't have made sense for her to win story-wise. It didn't undermind her past efforts and accomplishments when she lost by an inch of a point. If she was using Blaziken or Venusaur and still lost, then I could understand being more upset about that, but when she was using Glaceon, who hadn't been in a Contest battle since evolving, it was okay. Plus, barely being able to defeat May showed that she was still strong and Dawn was quite lucky that she was able to lower her points just a bit more to get the victory. If Dawn had won by a large margin, then I could understand being more upset with beating May, but as it was, it was believable and didn't make either one of them look especially weak in favor of the other.

Dawn vs. Iris didn't do anything like that. It didn't advance either Dawn or Iris's storylines, it made Dawn look like a weaker trainer when her Mamoswine couldn't do much damage to Dragonite, despite the huge advantage it had, and all that battle accomplished was giving Iris a completely undeserved victory. It was just a terrible battle all around, although every battle in the Junior Cup was bad to begin with, but this match did nothing but make Dragonite look unbeatable by easily taking down two fully evolved Ice type Pokemon. There was absolutely no reason why Iris had to win, unlike with Dawn when she battled against May, and it was just a horrible way of making Dawn lose. It was much worse than when Dawn defeated May.

 

[Enzap]

As annoying as Dawn got in DP, I was surprisingly relieved to hear that "No need to worry!" piercing my ears again as opposed to "You're such a little kid."

Spoiler

 

[Cybersai]

The problem with Misty's return is it was too short, and Dawn's return had potential but she was treated like an afterthought in the tournament.

I also don't understand why Dawn didn't have any updates on her journey, she didn't get any new pokemon or evo's and only 3 of her pokemon got decent screentime. Likewise not giving her a single important win at the Junior Cup was ridiculous.

 

[Hidden Mew]

The problem with Misty's return is it was too short, and Dawn's return had potential but she was treated like an afterthought in the tournament.

I also don't understand why Dawn didn't have any updates on her journey, she didn't get any new pokemon or evo's and only 3 of her pokemon got decent screentime. Likewise not giving her a single important win at the Junior Cup was ridiculous.

I thought she was treated as an afterthought throughout her return. She barely had any presence in some episodes before the tournament, such as the Dragonite capture episode. I would have liked for at least her Buneary to evolve or to finally learn a fourth move. She didn't really do well in the Junior Cup either since she only defeated one or two characters in a brief clip of everyone else defeating nameless characters, so that didn't really help her. She could have defeated Iris instead of losing, especially when Iris didn't need to defeat her and advance to the semi-finals.

 

[CrackFox]

I think Dawn was jipped in a lot of ways during her return but I don't really think she was ignored. She took quite a predomanant place in the group, befriending Iris and the two of them became the centre of attention almost. They had the Onix episode which was based on their bonding and they shared a lot of moments which were designed to make the audience laugh. So they didn't disregard her. It would have been worse if she hadn't of bonded with Iris and stayed in the background saying nothing. They had her make an impression on the audience as well as Iris and Cilan. The only thing her return was lacking was any real substance. Something that made it more meaningful.

 

[Necrozma]

To be honest, each 'return' arc had some really, really great moments. Misty's return featuring Togepi evolving and Misty being badass with her Gyarados was awesome. May's return featured some great contest battles while Dawn's return arc made for some pretty enjoyable interactions with the main cast (especially Iris) and other supporting characters as well as some cool battles.

 

[CyberCubed]

May's was probably the best of the three, Dawn just stood in the background most of the time in hers and there weren't any tournaments for Misty to participate in