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PokeAni Missed Opportunities

I've stated this before on BF, but I'll say it again in case someone doesn't remember or hasn't read it: Brock should have gotten Charmander.

Don't get me wrong, I like Ash's Charizard as much as the next guy. It's one of the reasons why I love Charizard as a Pokémon so much. So I'm happy that he has it. It's just that when you think about it, Charmander's capture episode clearly set up way more of a bond between Charmander and Brock than it and Ash. Brock is the one who first rises up against Damian upon hearing him having abandoned Charmander, he's the one who's most worried about Charmander's wellbeing, and he's the one who talks to Charmander when Damian tries to fool it into justifying his mistreatment towards it. And yet, after all that, Brock just casually tells that Ash can have Charmander, despite him clearly having been the one to have spent the most time bonding with it throughout the episode. And it actually makes sense why Brock would do that. Recall that he had had to deal with abandonment issues himself, with both of his parents having left home and left all of his numerous siblings for him to take care of. It makes sense that he'd resent someone who deliberately abandoned someone close to them. But no. It wasn't until Hoenn that the anime would finally realize, "Hey, you know what? Maybe we could give starter Pokémon to other main characters besides Ash!" So Charmander had to go to Ash.

I'm feeling kinda conflicted about this. On one hand, they it bothers me that they didn't give Charmander to a person who clearly bonded with it the most prior to its capture, but on the other hand, Charizard has ended up achieving so many great things under Ash's ownership that I'm also glad that things went the way they did.
 
As for missed opportunities, Ash not getting a mega in XY still bothers me. It is even worse now that both Brock and Misty have keystones. The big attraction of generation six was mega evolution and how do you not let your main character utilized the main gimmick of the new games? The excuse about Ash not being able to use old Pokemon doesn't make sense IMO since the whole point of mega evolution was to give older Pokemon a boost.

Ash would have rocked Mega Sceptile! That little boy who got him instead was so annoying I wish he wasn't a thing. I would have replaced him with Wally and Mega Gallade.
 
I think it did come down to how they basically didn't want Ash to use older Pokemon, which clashes with the point behind Mega Evolution. It is kind of strange that they went all into Z-Moves for Ash, but in that case, I think it helped that it wasn't limited to specific Pokemon. He could effectively use any Z-Crystal with any of his Pokemon as long as they knew a type specific move. The same can be said for Dynamax as well and Gigantamax would be more along the lines of Mega Evolution in the sense that it's limited to specific Pokemon.

To me, Ash not getting a keystone was a case of the writers sticking to a formula that didn't mesh with the current product they were promoting. Ash "only" using new Pokemon made sense for generation 3-5, but generation 6 was a throwback generation and there was just as much focus on the older Pokemon as there was on the newer Pokemon (I mean generation 6 only had 72 new Pokemon). However, I do wonder if Ash was intended to get Mega Charizard X or Y because they brought Charizard back for BW and made a big fuss about it's bond with Ash and then over the summer Mega X was revealed. So maybe that was the original plan, but then they dropped it when someone came up with Ash-Greninja.
 
To me, Ash not getting a keystone was a case of the writers sticking to a formula that didn't mesh with the current product they were promoting. Ash "only" using new Pokemon made sense for generation 3-5, but generation 6 was a throwback generation and there was just as much focus on the older Pokemon as there was on the newer Pokemon (I mean generation 6 only had 72 new Pokemon). However, I do wonder if Ash was intended to get Mega Charizard X or Y because they brought Charizard back for BW and made a big fuss about it's bond with Ash and then over the summer Mega X was revealed. So maybe that was the original plan, but then they dropped it when someone came up with Ash-Greninja.

I think that was a common theory about Ash's Charizard. We learned about Mega Charizard X and Y around the time it came back. It still did virtually nothing during BW, but a lot of fans thought that they were bringing Charizard back to Professor Oak's lab so that he could have easier access to it for Mega Evolution. I'm not sure if that was their initial plan, but if it was, it must have been dropped pretty early on into XY. Alain already had Mega Charizard X, they clearly weren't interested in showcasing Mega Charizard Y and having yet another Flying type on Ash's Kalos team would have been a bit much, although it might have taken Noivern's spot instead.
 
I think that was a common theory about Ash's Charizard. We learned about Mega Charizard X and Y around the time it came back. It still did virtually nothing during BW, but a lot of fans thought that they were bringing Charizard back to Professor Oak's lab so that he could have easier access to it for Mega Evolution. I'm not sure if that was their initial plan, but if it was, it must have been dropped pretty early on into XY. Alain already had Mega Charizard X, they clearly weren't interested in showcasing Mega Charizard Y and having yet another Flying type on Ash's Kalos team would have been a bit much, although it might have taken Noivern's spot instead.
The XY anime had a number of oddities when you look back. Aside from Ash never using proper Mega Evolution, the Malamar's plot never got entirely resolved (if I recall correctly they just fled and promised to succeed one day like Doctor Claw), Alain was a blend of the "Gary" and "Harrison" archetype that probably contributed to the controversy over the league, Ash started releasing Pokémon again after having mostly stopped after Johto, and it was the first time we didn't get to see the reserves at Oak's ranch.

I've said it before, but I'm sure behind the scenes info from the staff on the post-Johto anime like Shudo gave for the earlier parts would be very, very interesting.
 
The XY anime had a number of oddities when you look back. Aside from Ash never using proper Mega Evolution, the Malamar's plot never got entirely resolved (if I recall correctly they just fled and promised to succeed one day like Doctor Claw), Alain was a blend of the "Gary" and "Harrison" archetype that probably contributed to the controversy over the league, Ash started releasing Pokémon again after having mostly stopped after Johto, and it was the first time we didn't get to see the reserves at Oak's ranch.

I've said it before, but I'm sure behind the scenes info from the staff on the post-Johto anime like Shudo gave for the earlier parts would be very, very interesting.

The Malamar plot was really weird. At first, I thought it would either be just a one off filler episode or setup for Team Flare, but it was kind of neither. I think that they teleported into the future, unless that was something that the dub added, but since they bothered to bring it back a second time, one would think that that would have done something about it. Goodra wasn't really released per say when Ash still had its Pokeball.
 
Mallow's "getting" of Shaymin though not a bad idea in itself was so poorly panned out and kind of blemished the otherwise fantastic Poni Island arc imo. It's like they plonked it in the last episode just so Mallow had something to takeaway from their time there. On top of this being the nth time this season the characters got special pokemon handed to them (Nebby, Poipole, Meltan and arguably Lycanroc) and compared to Lilie's acquisition of Magearna on the other hand which was pretty well done, this was extra frustrating.
 
Mallow's "getting" of Shaymin though not a bad idea in itself was so poorly panned out and kind of blemished the otherwise fantastic Poni Island arc imo. It's like they plonked it in the last episode just so Mallow had something to takeaway from their time there. On top of this being the nth time this season the characters got special pokemon handed to them (Nebby, Poipole, Meltan and arguably Lycanroc) and compared to Lilie's acquisition of Magearna on the other hand which was pretty well done, this was extra frustrating.
Mallow’s Shaymin was handled terribly. From day 1, it did nothing other than simply exist and had zero buildup within its own story. The entire thing came down to such an afterthought that they literally resolved it at the last minute of the series. For all that, they might as well have not given her it in the first place. Between it and Sandy, it felt like they were just given so Mallow and Lana would have more than one Pokémon.
 
Mallow’s Shaymin was handled terribly. From day 1, it did nothing other than simply exist and had zero buildup within its own story. The entire thing came down to such an afterthought that they literally resolved it at the last minute of the series. For all that, they might as well have not given her it in the first place. Between it and Sandy, it felt like they were just given so Mallow and Lana would have more than one Pokémon.
And even in the one battle where it participated in, we didn't see it doing anything! All the stuff it and Sandy did in that match happened off-screen. What a waste.

And speaking of that battle: where the heck was Hau during it?! He was supposed to be one of Ash's main rivals, and yet, we see even less of him than Shaymin and Sandy. Namely, not at all! He just randomly shows up at the end of the match to say, "Hey! I got through too!" I would have loved to see his Alolan Raichu kicking butt, but nope! Between the Battle Royal and The Battle Which Must Not Be Named, I'm genuinely wondering if Jun'ichi Fujisaku had some sort of dislike or even hatred of Hau. Poor guy deserved so much more.
 
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And even in the one battle where it participated in, we didn't see it doing anything! All the stuff it and Sandy did in that match happened off-screen. What a waste.

And speaking of that battle: where the heck was Hau during it?! He was supposed to be one of Ash's main rivals, and yet, we see even less of him than Shaymin and Sandy. Namely, not at all! He just randomly shows up at the end of the match to say, "Hey! I got through too!" I would have loved to see his Alolan Raichu kicking butt, but nope! Between the Battle Royal and The Battle Which Must Not Be Named, I'm genuinely wondering if Jun'ichi Fujisaku had some sort of hatred or even dislike of Hau. Poor guy deserved so much more.
Let's just hope Hop is not mistreated the same way, because he was an even better rivals than Hau in the games.
 
Let's just hope Hop is not mistreated the same way, because he was an even better rivals than Hau in the games.
Hop's absence in the Lance vs Leon episode worries me a bit. You'd expect him to be there in the stadium, watching his older brother battle Kanto's Champion in the grand finals of the World Championship, but nope, he's nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he's watching the battle live from somewhere else, but still, his complete absence was a bit weird. His presence wasn't necessary in regards to the story of both episodes, but the writers could've simply gave him a cameo by including him in the stadium's audience (or briefly showing him watch the battle live from somewhere else) just so we know that he exists and will be appearing in future episodes.
 
Mallow’s Shaymin was handled terribly.
The most nothing Pokémon member I've seen in dog years.

At least with the other special Pokémon like Poipole and Lycanroc, they got something to do.

You could literally replace it with an empty soggy old cardboard box and no one would notice a difference.
 
Mallow’s Shaymin was handled terribly. From day 1, it did nothing other than simply exist and had zero buildup within its own story. The entire thing came down to such an afterthought that they literally resolved it at the last minute of the series. For all that, they might as well have not given her it in the first place. Between it and Sandy, it felt like they were just given so Mallow and Lana would have more than one Pokémon.

Mallow really got the short end of the stick. Even her acquisition of the Z-ring was terrible.
 
I didn't really mind how Mallow got her Z-Ring, but the whole notion that she would want to make food that people and Pokemon could enjoy in their restaurant really should have been her goal from the start instead of something she learned through her own Trial of shorts. One of the big issues I had with the bulk of the SM classmates is that a lot of their goals didn't really connect back to Pokemon that much and that definitely applied to Mallow.
 
In Dummy, You Shrunk the Kids!, Faba talks about how the principle that everyday Poké Balls use to make even the biggest of Pokémon portable could also be applied to other things to make them more easily portable too. The idea ends up being played for laughs, as Faba's invention doesn't work like it's supposed to, but I can't help but think that this idea could seriously be explored in some form of Pokémon media.
 
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but the whole notion that she would want to make food that people and Pokemon could enjoy in their restaurant really should have been her goal from the start instead of something she learned through her own Trial of shorts.

That was exactly the problem with how she got her z-ring. It just feels tacked on. Sophocles at least was kind of like a recurring thing.
 
That was exactly the problem with how she got her z-ring. It just feels tacked on. Sophocles at least was kind of like a recurring thing.

In Sophocles' case, it did help that a good portion of his focused episodes revolved around Vikavolt. Togedemaru practically felt like an afterthought by comparison. I think that they were more limited with Mallow since most of her focused episodes centered on cooking and being a better chief, which goes back to the issue that Pokemon wasn't really a factor for her goal. I think it was a fitting realization for her, but just came way too late in the game to be as effective as it could have been. It might have helped if she got another Z-Crystal instead since Ash already had Grassium Z, if only so that she'd at least be able to show off a different Z-Move that wasn't already featured within the main cast.
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 years ago.
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