So, Pokémon 2019 is just SwSh anime after all

[Hidden Mew]

@Hidden Mew But when the school ever important? It was just part of the Melemele setting and an excuse for the cast to be together. As far as I know, graduation was never mentioned.

I just don't see why they'd pick the beginning of PM to showcase other regions if the long-term plan were just about Galar.

I think that they referred to Illima as a Pokemon School graduate when he first appeared, but other than that, I don't think that graduation was mentioned. It wasn't a goal for Ash or any of the cast members like fans speculated. I'm just saying that despite the Pokemon School being the main marketing gimmick for SM when it was first announced, it wasn't all that important in the long run. The world traveling aspect is the main marketing gimmick for PM, but that might eventually change as well, or more likely that they'll stay in one location for a longer period of time as opposed to hopping around multiple regions within a few episodes. Ideally, I would like them to give more focus to Galar than the other regions, but equal amount of focus compared to the other regions could work too.

I think Galar is going to get the same level of focus as the other regions. If Galar promotion was their main focus, they would have called the series "Sword and Shield" and fully embraced it. Honestly at this point I don't ever see them going back to a traditional gym circuit. Ash won a league, and I'm pretty sure from the writer's perspective all the league's are on the same level; he beats one, he might as well have beaten them all. Now they're being super vague about what Ash's goal is, but hopefully we'll get clarification in episode 9. Worst case scenario, Ash's goal remains vague for the whole series while the story just focuses on Gou's Mew quest.

That really doesn't make any sense in regards to Leagues. Just because Ash won a League doesn't mean that there wouldn't be any point in going through a traditional Gym quest again. It's especially strange considering that the Alola League wasn't even really on the same level as a regular League. There is a pretty big difference between winning a tournament that's open to everyone and winning a tournament where only certain strong trainers can qualify for. Beating one League doesn't mean that he's beaten them all. By that logic, he shouldn't have bothered to enter the Johto League since he won the Orange Island League. I really doubt that the writers don't see the Leagues in that way either, mainly because we have seen other characters going off to new journeys after winning Leagues and Grand Festivals too.

I also really hope that they aren't going to keep Ash's goal as vague for the whole series. Ash's goal in SM being so vague was a major problem for me. He loved being in Alola, making new friends and meeting new Pokemon, but I couldn't tell what he was getting out of it that he couldn't from traveling around the region in a more traditional format. Neither the Pokemon School or the Island Challenge were important enough to be considered his main objectives in SM as well. Ash not having a clear objective for PM would probably pose a similar kind of problem. Plus, I'm not sure if Go's Mew quest would be interesting enough to focus on for the entire series.

I'm pretty sure the pacing of the show will slow down quite a lot after every region has been showcased. I think we'll get small batches of episodes in a given region at a time, similar to the Ula Ula/Poni Island arcs in SM. If they keep this rapid-fire region hopping throughout the series that would get really disorienting and I don't think they would be doing the individual regions any service.

I'd hope that the time spent in a single region would be a bit longer than those arcs, but I think that they'll go in that direction as well. It would give them more time to showcase various regions. Jumping around from different regions within just single episodes will probably get boring after awhile, or at least make it harder to make the regions distinct from each other.

 

[Daren]

I'm fine with the anime advertising Pokemon as a whole, not just the latest generation

Yeah, if nothing else breaking from the same formula it ran for twenty years could be refreshing.

I think that they referred to Illima as a Pokemon School graduate when he first appeared, but other than that, I don't think that graduation was mentioned. It wasn't a goal for Ash or any of the cast members like fans speculated. I'm just saying that despite the Pokemon School being the main marketing gimmick for SM when it was first announced, it wasn't all that important in the long run. The world traveling aspect is the main marketing gimmick for PM, but that might eventually change as well, or more likely that they'll stay in one location for a longer period of time as opposed to hopping around multiple regions within a few episodes. Ideally, I would like them to give more focus to Galar than the other regions, but equal amount of focus compared to the other regions could work too.

I could have sworn some of the early advertising made references to him trying to graduate, but that was three years ago so I doubt I could track them down.
I do think Galar should get more focus than the others--if only since we've seen so little of it, and the Gym Leaders really deserve to be introduced like previous ones were.

That really doesn't make any sense in regards to Leagues. Just because Ash won a League doesn't mean that there wouldn't be any point in going through a traditional Gym quest again. It's especially strange considering that the Alola League wasn't even really on the same level as a regular League. There is a pretty big difference between winning a tournament that's open to everyone and winning a tournament where only certain strong trainers can qualify for. Beating one League doesn't mean that he's beaten them all. By that logic, he shouldn't have bothered to enter the Johto League since he won the Orange Island League. I really doubt that the writers don't see the Leagues in that way either, mainly because we have seen other characters going off to new journeys after winning Leagues and Grand Festivals too.

The Alola League seemed so intentionally put on a lower level than previous ones I suspect it had to be intentional, though of course I could be wrong and it was just a result of them wanting to include mostly established characters instead of inventing new ones like usual.
I think the whole focus on Ash wanting to be the strongest battler combined with Galar turning the Gym challenge into such a huge event makes it an obvious choice for another high-intensity league like Sinnoh and Kalos. With Ash and Gou flying around it's not even hard to throw a Gym episode in once in a while without needing lengthy traveling between the cities.
However, the interview mentioning wanting this series to be episodic (because of the Sunday time slot, if I recall) makes me worry about the possibility they really do think winning Alola was just as good as winning any previous league and Ash's league days are finished.

I also really hope that they aren't going to keep Ash's goal as vague for the whole series. Ash's goal in SM being so vague was a major problem for me. He loved being in Alola, making new friends and meeting new Pokemon, but I couldn't tell what he was getting out of it that he couldn't from traveling around the region in a more traditional format. Neither the Pokemon School or the Island Challenge were important enough to be considered his main objectives in SM as well. Ash not having a clear objective for PM would probably pose a similar kind of problem. Plus, I'm not sure if Go's Mew quest would be interesting enough to focus on for the entire series.

My gut tells me we'll get answers on Ash's goal in episode 9--even if that answer turns out to be "no idea."

 

[Beatsy Ray]

That really doesn't make any sense in regards to Leagues. Just because Ash won a League doesn't mean that there wouldn't be any point in going through a traditional Gym quest again. It's especially strange considering that the Alola League wasn't even really on the same level as a regular League. There is a pretty big difference between winning a tournament that's open to everyone and winning a tournament where only certain strong trainers can qualify for. Beating one League doesn't mean that he's beaten them all. By that logic, he shouldn't have bothered to enter the Johto League since he won the Orange Island League. I really doubt that the writers don't see the Leagues in that way either, mainly because we have seen other characters going off to new journeys after winning Leagues and Grand Festivals too.

I also really hope that they aren't going to keep Ash's goal as vague for the whole series. Ash's goal in SM being so vague was a major problem for me. He loved being in Alola, making new friends and meeting new Pokemon, but I couldn't tell what he was getting out of it that he couldn't from traveling around the region in a more traditional format. Neither the Pokemon School or the Island Challenge were important enough to be considered his main objectives in SM as well. Ash not having a clear objective for PM would probably pose a similar kind of problem. Plus, I'm not sure if Go's Mew quest would be interesting enough to focus on for the entire series.

I agree that the Alola league shouldn't be considered on the same level as past ones, I just don't think the writers see it that way. The overwhelming sentiment at the end of SM was "Ash finally won a league" and I don't think they would retroactively cheapen that by admitting that it was less valid. Unlike the Orange league and the BF, the Alola league was definitely considered an official Pokemon league. Personally I don't think it's a coincidence that right after winning the Alola league, the entire series formula was turned on it's head to focus more on research and travelling. This decision most likely came from an executive believing that the usual gym challenge + league formula would be redundant since Ash just won one, even if fans know that there's more to it than that. We also can't ignore the finality of reverting the name to "Pocket Monsters". If this isn't the last series then I think it's the start of a new era, so I really just don't see the show ever returning to the classic formula.

What I'd like to see is an alternate version of the Galar league that's treated as an international event. That would make it a bigger deal than any previous league and be the perfect next step for Ash.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I could have sworn some of the early advertising made references to him trying to graduate, but that was three years ago so I doubt I could track them down.
I do think Galar should get more focus than the others--if only since we've seen so little of it, and the Gym Leaders really deserve to be introduced like previous ones were.

I think I recall that bit of early promotional for SM as well, but I could also be mixing it up with people assuming that he would need to graduate. I'm sure that we'll see the Gym Leaders. They'll still want to promote Sword/Shield to some degree at least and Ash would want to battle against them. Hopefully they can get a good amount of attention, especially when most of them have really great designs and memorable personalities.

The Alola League seemed so intentionally put on a lower level than previous ones I suspect it had to be intentional, though of course I could be wrong and it was just a result of them wanting to include mostly established characters instead of inventing new ones like usual.
I think the whole focus on Ash wanting to be the strongest battler combined with Galar turning the Gym challenge into such a huge event makes it an obvious choice for another high-intensity league like Sinnoh and Kalos. With Ash and Gou flying around it's not even hard to throw a Gym episode in once in a while without needing lengthy traveling between the cities.
However, the interview mentioning wanting this series to be episodic (because of the Sunday time slot, if I recall) makes me worry about the possibility they really do think winning Alola was just as good as winning any previous league and Ash's league days are finished.

It might have been a bit of both. I'm sure that they liked the idea of having a Pokemon League where they didn't have to design new characters for Ash to battle against. I don't think Ash's League days would be finished. There's really no benefit in Ash not participating in a Pokemon League and he still would want to focus on becoming a strong battler anyway. I don't think that it would make sense from a character or story perspective for Ash to call it quits for any other Pokemon League just because he won the Alola League.

I agree that the Alola league shouldn't be considered on the same level as past ones, I just don't think the writers see it that way. The overwhelming sentiment at the end of SM was "Ash finally won a league" and I don't think they would retroactively cheapen that by admitting that it was less valid. Unlike the Orange league and the BF, the Alola league was definitely considered an official Pokemon league. Personally I don't think it's a coincidence that right after winning the Alola league, the entire series formula was turned on it's head to focus more on research and travelling. This decision most likely came from an executive believing that the usual gym challenge + league formula would be redundant since Ash just won one, even if fans know that there's more to it than that. We also can't ignore the finality of reverting the name to "Pocket Monsters". If this isn't the last series then I think it's the start of a new era, so I really just don't see the show ever returning to the classic formula.

I don't see why the writers would see it that way though. I don't think that they would admit that the Alola League wasn't on the same level as other Leagues in the anime, but the idea that they think Ash doesn't need to take part in another League just because he won the Alola League is a pretty big assumption. The Orange Island still had its own League and that didn't really change anything. Granted, that was in the middle of the original series, but even saying that it wasn't an official Pokemon League doesn't mean much when the Alola League was more along the lines of a Club Battle tournament than a traditional Pokemon League. The logic is kind of questionable and I don't know if that was the thought process behind the decision to do something different with the anime.

I also still think that is reading way too much into the Pocket Monster title. The idea that it's the last series or a new era where the classic formula can never return are pretty huge leaps, especially when we are so early into the series' run. Being the start of a new era is more plausible by comparison, but I don't know if they'll never go back to the more traditional formula. It's just way too early to make big assumptions like that for me.

What I'd like to see is an alternate version of the Galar league that's treated as an international event. That would make it a bigger deal than any previous league and be the perfect next step for Ash.

That does sound pretty cool. I don't know if they'd play more into the international aspect with showcasing characters from different regions taking part in it, as they don't seem interested in revisiting older characters anytime soon, but it would make the Galar League different and it would be a good way to still feature the region more regularly than the other ones as well.

 

[Konja7]

I think I recall that bit of early promotional for SM as well, but I could also be mixing it up with people assuming that he would need to graduate. I'm sure that we'll see the Gym Leaders. They'll still want to promote Sword/Shield to some degree at least and Ash would want to battle against them. Hopefully they can get a good amount of attention, especially when most of them have really great designs and memorable personalities.



It might have been a bit of both. I'm sure that they liked the idea of having a Pokemon League where they didn't have to design new characters for Ash to battle against. I don't think Ash's League days would be finished. There's really no benefit in Ash not participating in a Pokemon League and he still would want to focus on becoming a strong battler anyway. I don't think that it would make sense from a character or story perspective for Ash to call it quits for any other Pokemon League just because he won the Alola League.



I don't see why the writers would see it that way though. I don't think that they would admit that the Alola League wasn't on the same level as other Leagues in the anime, but the idea that they think Ash doesn't need to take part in another League just because he won the Alola League is a pretty big assumption. The Orange Island still had its own League and that didn't really change anything. Granted, that was in the middle of the original series, but even saying that it wasn't an official Pokemon League doesn't mean much when the Alola League was more along the lines of a Club Battle tournament than a traditional Pokemon League. The logic is kind of questionable and I don't know if that was the thought process behind the decision to do something different with the anime.

I also still think that is reading way too much into the Pocket Monster title. The idea that it's the last series or a new era where the classic formula can never return are pretty huge leaps, especially when we are so early into the series' run. Being the start of a new era is more plausible by comparison, but I don't know if they'll never go back to the more traditional formula. It's just way too early to make big assumptions like that for me.



That does sound pretty cool. I don't know if they'd play more into the international aspect with showcasing characters from different regions taking part in it, as they don't seem interested in revisiting older characters anytime soon, but it would make the Galar League different and it would be a good way to still feature the region more regularly than the other ones as well.

I think it is possible Ash's Regional Leagues days have ended.

I think it's pretty likely Ash will have a League at the end, but I really doubt it will be Galar League.

I see more likely a new League that involves 8 regions, which will fit the Tour World concept. Maybe it is related to the new Gym in Vermillion.

 

[sc190191]

Ash won a league, and I'm pretty sure from the writer's perspective all the league's are on the same level; he beats one, he might as well have beaten them all.

Here's two fun lists I put together

Trainers Lillie is better than (among others - these are the more famous ones):
The Astounding Mandi
Jeanette Fisher
Gary Oak (Kanto)
Vincent (Jackson)
Macy
Clark the Conductor
Katie
Nando
Trip
Bianca
Trevor

Trainers Lillie is just as good as:
Ash (Kanto)
Gary Oak (Johto)
Morrison
Barry
Conway
Stephan

Obviously ranking isn't the same in each league, but it is the "level of achievement" that is so frequently touted. I refuse to believe that the writers are so dense as to not realize the overwhelmingly obvious difference between the Alola league and all the other leagues, just as I refuse to believe they are so dense as to not realize what they are doing when they name and advertise new episodes in certain ways.

 

[Konja7]

Here's two fun lists I put together

Trainers Lillie is better than (among others - these are the more famous ones):
The Astounding Mandi
Jeanette Fisher
Gary Oak (Kanto)
Vincent (Jackson)
Macy
Clark the Conductor
Katie
Nando
Trip
Bianca
Trevor

Trainers Lillie is just as good as:
Ash (Kanto)
Gary Oak (Johto)
Morrison
Barry
Conway
Stephan

Obviously ranking isn't the same in each league, but it is the "level of achievement" that is so frequently touted. I refuse to believe that the writers are so dense as to not realize the overwhelmingly obvious difference between the Alola league and all the other leagues, just as I refuse to believe they are so dense as to not realize what they are doing when they name and advertise new episodes in certain ways.

The writers likely realize the difference from Alola League to other Leagues.

That doesn't change the writers could use the fact that Ash won a Regional Legional to "justify" why Ash won't compete in another Regional League.

 

[RileyXY1]

The writers likely realize the difference from Alola League to other Leagues.

That doesn't change the writers could use the fact that Ash won a Regional Legional to "justify" why Ash won't compete in another Regional League.

Except Galar's League is completely different to other leagues. It's pretty much like a professional sports league in the real world.

 

[Konja7]

Except Galar's League is completely different to other leagues. It's pretty much like a professional sports league in the real world.

How that change something I say?

 

[Daren]

Trainers Lillie is better than (among others - these are the more famous ones):
The Astounding Mandi

To be fair, Mandi got swept by a Pokémon Ash had never used before. I'm pretty sure he got his badges by bribing Gym Leaders.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think it is possible Ash's Regional Leagues days have ended.

I think it's pretty likely Ash will have a League at the end, but I really doubt it will be Galar League.

I see more likely a new League that involves 8 regions, which will fit the Tour World concept. Maybe it is related to the new Gym in Vermillion.

I like the idea of a League that involves all eight regions. That would explain more as to why they'd wanted to travel between various regions this time around, but I still can't really see them not having Ash participate in a regional League again. Winning one League doesn't mean that there would be no point in entering another one, especially when the Alola League is not a typical League in itself. If it wasn't for the fact that Alola is a game related region, I'm positive that fans would be questioning whether or not the victory counted as a League victory much like they've been doing with the Orange Island League for years.

Here's two fun lists I put together

Trainers Lillie is better than (among others - these are the more famous ones):
The Astounding Mandi
Jeanette Fisher
Gary Oak (Kanto)
Vincent (Jackson)
Macy
Clark the Conductor
Katie
Nando
Trip
Bianca
Trevor

Trainers Lillie is just as good as:
Ash (Kanto)
Gary Oak (Johto)
Morrison
Barry
Conway
Stephan

Obviously ranking isn't the same in each league, but it is the "level of achievement" that is so frequently touted. I refuse to believe that the writers are so dense as to not realize the overwhelmingly obvious difference between the Alola league and all the other leagues, just as I refuse to believe they are so dense as to not realize what they are doing when they name and advertise new episodes in certain ways.

I'd say that both Barry and especially Conway are stronger than Lillie. Maybe Morrison as well, but I can understand putting them on equal level. I still agree with your point. Aside from Kiawe, none of the main SM cast were particularly strong battlers, although I'll give them credit in that Sophocles did better in his match against Kiawe than I expected. The only really strong battle driven trainers in the Alola League were Ash, Kiawe, Gladion and Guzma. Everyone else was taking part in it mainly for the fun of being in the first Alola League. I'm glad that Ash won, if only because we finally avoided another infamous defeat and all of the excitement people had when it first happened was genuinely touching, but winning the Alola League is not the end all, be all of League victories. I'd argue that it's still no where near impressive as winning the Battle Frontier primarily because it was only available to certain strong trainers. Getting a trophy and winning a traditional League aren't the only accomplishments that matter.

The writers likely realize the difference from Alola League to other Leagues.

That doesn't change the writers could use the fact that Ash won a Regional Legional to "justify" why Ash won't compete in another Regional League.

That would be really stupid and forced though. Why would they want to limit what Ash can do by not letting him compete in another regional League? That would just make his goal even more vague and give him less to do. At least part of the problem with SM not giving him a clear objective came from how the Alola League wasn't already established, but they don't have that kind of excuse for other regional Leagues.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

The main purpose of the anime is to advertise stuff, and the time to advertise something is when it's still fresh in people's minds.

Yet, they still don't do that right now. So?

 

[Daren]

If it wasn't for the fact that Alola is a game related region, I'm positive that fans would be questioning whether or not the victory counted as a League victory much like they've been doing with the Orange Island League for years.

Being from the game hasn't stopped that; not so much here but I've seen a bit of "it doesn't count because it wasn't a real League" on some sites. I think I've seen it on twitter, at least.
Although since I'm pretty sure official things have mentioned Ash never winning a league during the buildup to the Alola league it seems the Orange League isn't considered to count even by the series runners, although it being completely different from others is probably why (not a tournament, just one battle, and if I recall it seemed anyone who gets all the badges can just challenge Drake whenever).

I'm glad that Ash won, if only because we finally avoided another infamous defeat and all of the excitement people had when it first happened was genuinely touching, but winning the Alola League is not the end all, be all of League victories. I'd argue that it's still no where near impressive as winning the Battle Frontier primarily because it was only available to certain strong trainers. Getting a trophy and winning a traditional League aren't the only accomplishments that matter.

The huge positive reaction from the internet surprised me but was pretty sweet. I suppose it showed Ash's status as being hated might be a loud minority.

I tend to think the Frontier is still his best accomplishment, though I also think they undercut it a little by having Brandon use all the Regis against Paul and smash him, making it look like Ash's win was a "pity victory" where Brandon barely tried.

 

[sc190191]

I'd say that both Barry and especially Conway are stronger than Lillie. Maybe Morrison as well, but I can understand putting them on equal level. I still agree with your point.

I kind of think you missed at least part of my point, I was saying literally all of those trainers (and many, many more that we have known to have not even made a Pokemon league - including lots of coordinators, even showcase girls) are far better at Pokemon battles than Lillie, while making a joke that if the Alola league was as good as other leagues, those trainers would be worse/on the same level as Lillie. Lillie had next to no interest in battling, had one Pokemon, and if we are to take any stock in game mechanics, has one of the lower base stats of any Pokemon (trust me, I know how hard it is to use, because Vulipx is my second favorite Pokemon and I use them all the time), has one offensive move, which is one of the worst offensive moves of the ice type, etc. It can easily be expanded to other members of the Alola League top 16 as well, really the only trainers I think were "other league" quality were Gladion, Guzma, Ash, and maybe Illima (but we didn't see a lot of him in action), even Kiawe was not an 8 badge earning quality trainer in my opinion. I think putting Lillie in the top 16 did a lot to undermine the apparent quality of the league, if she would have lost easily in the Royal round it might have made the league feel a bit less underwhelming, although it was still always going to feel lower quality than past leagues that had entry requirements.

To be fair, Mandi got swept by a Pokémon Ash had never used before. I'm pretty sure he got his badges by bribing Gym Leaders.

Fair, Indigo League was probably closest to Alola League in terms of quality, I think at that time the writers didn't really know how good they wanted to say Ash had gotten, so they had the league seem pretty underwhelming considering all of those trainers should have earned 8 badges, but some didn't seem like they really could have. Kanto gym leaders must have given out a lot of pity badges, not just to Ash.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

To be fair, league rankings doesn't have to show true strength, as there is a big luck factor. For example, I think both Satoshi and Shinji got rankings in Sinnoh league that they didn't deserve, as they were pretty close to Darkrai guy in strength.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I kind of think you missed at least part of my point, I was saying literally all of those trainers (and many, many more that we have known to have not even made a Pokemon league - including lots of coordinators, even showcase girls) are far better at Pokemon battles than Lillie, while making a joke that if the Alola league was as good as other leagues, those trainers would be worse/on the same level as Lillie. Lillie had next to no interest in battling, had one Pokemon, and if we are to take any stock in game mechanics, has one of the lower base stats of any Pokemon (trust me, I know how hard it is to use, because Vulipx is my second favorite Pokemon and I use them all the time), has one offensive move, which is one of the worst offensive moves of the ice type, etc. It can easily be expanded to other members of the Alola League top 16 as well, really the only trainers I think were "other league" quality were Gladion, Guzma, Ash, and maybe Illima (but we didn't see a lot of him in action), even Kiawe was not an 8 badge earning quality trainer in my opinion. I think putting Lillie in the top 16 did a lot to undermine the apparent quality of the league, if she would have lost easily in the Royal round it might have made the league feel a bit less underwhelming, although it was still always going to feel lower quality than past leagues that had entry requirements.

I understand that you were saying that a lot of trainers are better at Pokemon battles than Lillie, but I didn't realize that you were making a joke. I was taking the list more literal than perhaps intended, which unfortunately happens a lot for me. I just wouldn't see Lillie on the same level as Barry or Conway since they were shown to be strong trainers despite being used for gags. I definitely agree that Lillie shouldn't have realistically made it to the Top 16. A part of me kind of doesn't blame them for doing so. They obviously wanted the main cast to make it past the preliminary round and having Lillie lose in a quick battle during the Battle Royal would be anticlimactic after they focused on her mastering her Z-Move. But they also should have made Snowy stronger so that the idea that it would last through the preliminary round wouldn't have felt so forced. Not to mention Snowy helping to take down a Salamence with Powered Snow is still one of the most unbelievable event in SM. Realistically, I don't think most of the main cast should have made it past the first round, but that would have been counterproductive since it would have made including them in the League more pointless. While there was some buildup for their inclusion in the League, it should have been something more natural for their storylines instead of just something that they wanted to do for fun.

I don't really see how Illima was more League worthy than Kiawe. They hyped him up a lot, but it didn't really matter beyond giving someone for Guzma to crush to establish his own power. Plus, we didn't see much of his battles. Kiawe definitely seemed more worthy to end up in the semi-finals than any of the other classmates and he was the only one besides Ash with a battle active goal too. He still only had a few Pokemon and didn't battle as often beyond training matches with Ash, but I still think he was the only classmate who had a believable determination to compete in the Alola League.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

So, we've got our second Galar episode and yet there is still no more Galar pokémon introductions. We just seen a mysterious sheep looking pokémon, yet it's neither named or scanned. They're still saving them for the future.

 

[Silktree]

The Wild Area has relatively few new Pokemon. They still showcased a Gigantamax form.

Plenty of Pokemon have gotten the Wooloo treatment in their debuts.

 

[Nicolas721]

After these two episodes, it seems to me that Galar was the first region visited only because Scorbunny is Go's starter and to promote the Snorlax event. We'll obviously know they'll return there, but there isn't really any indication that they'll do something important. The only hint of favoritism is the wolves' scene in the opening, which wasn't there for the first episodes and who knows if it'll be there by next episode.

 

[Rath]

Yet, they still don't do that right now. So?

It means they're never going to do it. That's how marketing works.

I'm fine with the anime advertising Pokemon as a whole, not just the latest generation

This isn't going to work long-term because it'll hurt the identity and uniqueness of each new generation if they have to share spotlight with all of the previous generations. And so far, what we've gotten out of the new series is what feel like filler episodes that could have taken place in any region without changing much. The regions so far feel interchangeable.

This is part of why Gen 8 doesn't feel like a new generation. It still feels like we're in Gen 7. If this continues, we'll probably just reach the point where people don't even view Pokemon in terms of generations anymore and it all just sort of blurs together into one thing.