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Controversial opinions

Controversial Opinion: Pikashunium Z was the worst exclusively created powerup for Ash, and yes, it was worse than Ash-Greninja.
Just were the writers thinking with this? Instead of having the Z-crystal come and go as the plot needs, it should've been something for Ash and Pikachu to work on throughout the series, similar to Infernape with Blaze and Ash-Greninja. It was a brand new crystal unique to the duo, so who knows how much power they'd need or what kind of dance to preform, maybe even the other cast members could pitch in and try to help, adding to the whole family setting the Alola series was going for.
 
Instead of having the Z-crystal come and go as the plot needs, it should've been something for Ash and Pikachu to work on throughout the series, similar to Infernape with Blaze and Ash-Greninja
While I feel like it wouldn't have been something new, it would've been interesting to see Ash and Pikachu's relationship challenged for once had they actually done this. I guess the writers assumed that since Ash and Pikachu were already super close they didn't need to do this... But...that's like basically saying they can't grow further as characters, which...is not only quite literally impossible, but it doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

Actually, now that I think about it, Z-moves perfectly represent evolution throughout the show... :unsure:
 
Speaking of Pikachu, I cannot stress enough how much I cannot stand the arguments that Pikachu should evolve into Raichu. Especially considering that, if you actually stop and think about it, Pikachu evolving into a raichu would make ZERO sense and the only way for it to actually make sense would end up in a ridiculously contrived scenario that renders all of Pikachu's development meaningless. All the arguments FOR Pikachu evolving ultimately amount to ignoring giving an actual reason as for WHY Pikachu should do so and try to offer moral standpoints which really make no sense within the narrative of the show. For instance, the argument that "Pikachu didn't change for Ash which makes him selfish"(or something among those lines) which...do I need to even explain??? Like, seriously, I want to see someone come up with a valid reason for Pikachu to evolve that makes sense within the narrative and isn't contrived or lazy writing that eventually adds up to "just evolve to get more powerful".

If you just want Pikachu to evolve so there's positive Raichu representation-even though this could easily be solved in a way that makes much more sense by introducing CotDs or side characters with Raichu-then I'd like to see you come up with a valid reason. Because so far, there's been absolutely none.
 
I don't necessarily think this is a hot take, but I want to throw it out there: So far, Gengar is one of the worst written team members out of all of Ash's pokemon. The capture episode was about Gengar getting abandoned, but guess what Ash almost completely ignores him as well.. Give the poor guy some attention!
 
Speaking of Pikachu, I cannot stress enough how much I cannot stand the arguments that Pikachu should evolve into Raichu. Especially considering that, if you actually stop and think about it, Pikachu evolving into a raichu would make ZERO sense and the only way for it to actually make sense would end up in a ridiculously contrived scenario that renders all of Pikachu's development meaningless. All the arguments FOR Pikachu evolving ultimately amount to ignoring giving an actual reason as for WHY Pikachu should do so and try to offer moral standpoints which really make no sense within the narrative of the show. For instance, the argument that "Pikachu didn't change for Ash which makes him selfish"(or something among those lines) which...do I need to even explain??? Like, seriously, I want to see someone come up with a valid reason for Pikachu to evolve that makes sense within the narrative and isn't contrived or lazy writing that eventually adds up to "just evolve to get more powerful".

If you just want Pikachu to evolve so there's positive Raichu representation-even though this could easily be solved in a way that makes much more sense by introducing CotDs or side characters with Raichu-then I'd like to see you come up with a valid reason. Because so far, there's been absolutely none.
... there are people still hung up on that?? Jesus, 20+ years and they still can’t let it go?

I’d reckon a lot of people whining about Pikachu not evolving probably stem from the same who rant about Ash being pathetic for not evolving his pokemon... implying he should have just told Pikachu to get over his decisions as an individual and chucked the Thunderstone down his throat. Surely that would never backfire both in and out of universe, hm?
 
I'm not personally sold on the idea it would be impossible to come up with a convincing reason for Pikachu to evolve but in my mind it always takes the form of either an accident or him doing it during some sort of emergency out of a desperate need for more power. Not very likely and would feel like a ratings stunt.

I sort of suspect the people saying Ash should forcibly evolve him are younger people, though.
 
I'm not personally sold on the idea it would be impossible to come up with a convincing reason for Pikachu to evolve but in my mind it always takes the form of either an accident or him doing it during some sort of emergency out of a desperate need for more power.
The thing is though, every reason that people have ever come up with is ridiculously contrived and has absolutely no reason to even exist. A common one is Pikachu evolving to save Ash from danger, but then not only would Ash have to be in danger in the first place, Pikachu would have to be in a position where he's struggling-and why would the dangerous situation specifically require Pikachu to evolve anyway(?), a Thunderstone would need to be present for one reason or another, and not to mention...it would be yet another Evolution Ex Machina that the anime just loves to shove down our faces. :cautious:

I sort of suspect the people saying Ash should forcibly evolve him are younger people, though.
Unfortunately, no. There are still plenty of older fans who wish for Pikachu to evolve.
 
The thing is though, every reason that people have ever come up with is ridiculously contrived and has absolutely no reason to even exist. A common one is Pikachu evolving to save Ash from danger, but then not only would Ash have to be in danger in the first place, Pikachu would have to be in a position where he's struggling-and why would the dangerous situation specifically require Pikachu to evolve anyway(?), a Thunderstone would need to be present for one reason or another, and not to mention...it would be yet another Evolution Ex Machina that the anime just loves to shove down our faces. :cautious:
Yeah, that's pretty much what I was trying to get at. You can come up with an in-character reason for Pikachu to do it, but it would likely feel contrived.
 
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I may vastly prefer Raichu over Pikachu, but I can't think of any reason as to why Ash's Pikachu would need to evolve. An increase in speed and strength? Sure, but the two work amazing well together already, and considering everything Pikachu's beaten already evolutuion isn't going to make him unstoppable or anything. Its like a said about two years ago about a similar subject; If Ash just evolved his Pokemon against their will people would still be complaining, the kid literally can't win no matter what he does. Plus, what kind of message does that send to the target audience? That its OK to force someone to do something as long as you get some kind of benefit from it?
 
Plus, if Pikachu did evolve, he would not be able to ride on Ash's shoulder as easily as he could as a Pikachu.
Or a table. :p
Screenshot 2021-05-31 5.27.47 PM.png
 
I may vastly prefer Raichu over Pikachu, but I can't think of any reason as to why Ash's Pikachu would need to evolve. An increase in speed and strength? Sure, but the two work amazing well together already, and considering everything Pikachu's beaten already evolutuion isn't going to make him unstoppable or anything. Its like a said about two years ago about a similar subject; If Ash just evolved his Pokemon against their will people would still be complaining, the kid literally can't win no matter what he does. Plus, what kind of message does that send to the target audience? That its OK to force someone to do something as long as you get some kind of benefit from it?
In addition to this, I'm just gonna bring up my essay from a while back:
On a different note, I've been thinking about Pikachu's refusal of evolution and how back in the day there were quite a few people lamenting that he wasn't a Raichu... but really, when you think about it, Pikachu remaining unevolved is kind of a blessing in disguise for how long the anime has been running: the fact of the matter is, they can't make Pikachu win literally every battle ever. It would just make things boring, stale, and predictable because even if it makes sense, a protagonist that does nothing but win at everything all the time simply isn't that fun to watch after a while. And I think Pikachu being unevolved in a way can help explain why he loses even after having overcome Legendaries in the past: sure, Pikachu may be incredibly experienced, but at the end of the day he's still an unevolved mon and thus has to work twice as hard to maintain his power and skill, and sometimes there's gonna be days when his lack of natural raw power is going to work against him, hence why he can go from beating a Legendary Tapu Koko to losing to a regular old Grapploct for example. Sure, such dissonance might be perplexing to some, but I think Pikachu being unevolved helps keep his losses plausible and believable: if he was a Raichu it'd at best be borderline impossible to believe his fluctuating power levels.

Also, yes, there's some losses that absolutely can't be justified like everything about Trip's Snivy/Servine but we don't talk about that shhh

TL; DR, Pikachu staying unevolved is also very practical for long-runner purposes, since him being unevolved in a way keeps his power level from getting too out of control and thus makes (most of) his loses more believable than they would have been if he were a more powerful Raichu.
 
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