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Review New series: Initial thoughts

Odd thing was five of the silhouttes for the Master Class seemed to be generic; I'm not sure if that means we'll never find out who they are, if it's just to hide their identities, or what.
You're probably right in that it was likely just to hide their identities from the audience, but it would be cool if it was something like this year's rankings are still being determined - "Leon and Raihan have made it into the Master Class already, do you have what it takes to join them?" then Ash sees that and tries his hardest to rise in the Ranks whilst there's a time limit as one by one the slots for the MC get filled in until Ash really has to battle hard for that final eight slot.

Just an idle idea of mine, kinda like what happened in the Medabots anime. :unsure:
 
So this has been nagging me but...how many Pokemon in this series have consistently shown themselves as using more than three moves in a battle? Beyond the Lance v Leon fight, I feel like a lot of battles only show three off (example Ash v Visquez I don't think Pikachu used Quick Attack and Gengar did not use Shadow Ball, while none of her Pokemon used more than three. Same with the recent bout with Meganium).

That's very Go like...
 
So this has been nagging me but...how many Pokemon in this series have consistently shown themselves as using more than three moves in a battle? Beyond the Lance v Leon fight, I feel like a lot of battles only show three off (example Ash v Visquez I don't think Pikachu used Quick Attack and Gengar did not use Shadow Ball, while none of her Pokemon used more than three. Same with the recent bout with Meganium).

That's very Go like...

That’s probably a coincidence, tbh.
 
My future favorite Pokémon sword and shield is anime YouTube gogoanime 2020-20?? Galar region Championship world tournament finals top 8 he’s never not lose!!. Named satoshi’s partners six is hard Pokémon Rillaboom Cinderace pikachu and legendary Pokémon Zacian Zamazenta Eternatus. Satoshi vs Leon
 
I'm still so mixed on this show lol. It really boils down to the two protagonists.

I'm enjoying what they've done with Ash and think his story this time has a lot of promise. His characterisation has been the right blend of enthusiastic child and wise trainer. He's like halfway between XY and SM now, being eager to battle but still spending plenty of time enjoying other parts of being a Pokemon trainer. The PWC is a significant step-up in challenge for him and he's getting stronger Pokemon from the get-go, which is exciting and opens up all sorts of possibilities for his team. His story will see old characters return as well so there's a lot to look forward to.

On the other hand, I'm struggling to care much about Gou. Part of it is losing the appetite to see newbie trainers learn the usual lessons about how to raise their Pokemon, but the biggest issue I have with him is his goal. I just can't get into the catching all the Pokemon thing, not when it results in routine captures. I just remember the struggle Ash had catching Primeape when he was a newbie and feel disappointed when Gou can catch evolved Pokemon by only throwing a ball.

I'm happy Ash has a new male friend and still think that's a positive. They're kinda like dormmates and that's something you wouldn't really get if Gou were a girl. I just want to see Gou challenged more.

Apart from that, I'd like to see more characters, in general. Koharu had one strong episode to herself but it seems she's going to be in the background a lot, which is a shame. Team Rocket are a bit flat so far. Not having their own Pokemon removes a lot what makes them entertaining in the first place. We've got more people showing up and I hope they bring some interesting things along with them.
 
You know the one thing that could really fix Gou's goal? Have him dedicate himself to building a team that can defeat and help him catch Mew. No incredibly pointless and unnecessary captures. No Pokemon Go capture elements. Have him dedicate himself to training a small group. Let us get to know his Pokemon. Give us a reason to route for Gou.

I imagine he could even grow frustrated after several losses against Mew. He'd do stuff like push his Pokemon and even release them, creating actual conflict between him and Ash.
 
20 episodes in and I'm really enjoying the series

Although most episodes seem to be set in Kanto and Go catches a Pokemon nearly every episode, the art style is way better, the battles are more enjoyable and we're getting a wide variety of Pokemon featured
 
Spacebattle user World Turtle observation repost with ihs permission

Indeed. This is a most interesting saga 2 of the Big 3 Ones That Got Away (Haunter/Gengar, Larvitar/Tyranitar, and Riolu/Lucario) have been caught all that's left is Tyranitar (who better be THE Larvitar given the cameos he gets).

Not counting Pikachu and Raboot anyone else notice there seems to almost be a 1 to 10 ratio between Ash and Gou's capture rate?
Gou gets 12 Pokemon (EP6) Total: 12 (1.2 = 1)
Ash officially adds Mr. Mime to his team (EP7) Total: 1 (it gets confusing if he counted as Ash's already or not...)
Gou captures 10 more Pokemon (EP7-10) Total: 22 (2.2 = 2)
Ash captures Dragonite (EP10) Total: 2
Gou captures 5 more Pokemon (EP13-15) Total: 27 (2.7 = 3)
Ash captures Gengar (EP16) Total: 3
Gou captures 11 Pokemon (EP17-21) Total: 38 (3.8 = 4)
Ash captures Riolu (EP21) Total: 4

If we remove Mr. Mime since he was left out of some recent magazine scans with Ash's other Pokemon, but count the upcoming Sobble this can still work. Gou just got an early lead which is fine given how many he needs to catch.

EDIT: Either way I do enjoy a sense of pacing with Ash's captures and I hope they keep it up for at least the rest of the year or into the next year at most. I assume we're getting a 4 year saga since either this one or Gen 9 have to be so they can have Gen 10 come out on the 30th Anniversary year. Which means 2+ years to rotate everyone around.
 
After a slow start, the series does seem to be picking up some steam.
Episode 1 was the train pulling out of the station with the driver opening the throttle right up so the carriages all jerk when the train starts moving
Episode 2 was the easy straight just outside the station
Episode 3 was the loco beginning to lose steam because the fireman used coal that worked in locos from 20 years ago instead of the loco they're actually firing
Episode 4 was the train beginning to slow from the lack of steam
Episode 5 was the train hitting a downhill grade and getting a bit of speed back
Episode 6 was the driver forgetting that downhill grades require braking, with the train running away down the hill and crashing at the bottom
Episode 7 was the breakdown train cleaning up the wreck of episode 6
Episode 8 was the train trying to start again with barely any steam
Episode 9 was somebody chucking water on the fire expecting it to somehow solve the steaming problem
Episode 10 was the fire being recreated with optimal coal
Episode 11 was the train proceeding at full steam with a roaring fire
That roaring fire has lasted well since aside from episode 17 where Ash fell off the train and they hired Dragon Ball Super Goku to impersonate him for the day while somebody recovered the fallen one and episode 20 where they split the train in two and the guy driving the Gou half ignored the danger signal and had to apply the emergency brake to just barely avoid rear-ending the Ash half.
Hopefully they'll have tapped out the resulting wheel flats on the Gou train before episode 22.
Episode 22 they tried to fix the wheel flats, but they did it on the cheap, so about 45% of the way through one of the improperly repaired wheels fell apart, derailing the train and logpiling all the cars into each other.

I went a lot further with that than I intended to...
 
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I knew I was not the only one seeing this.

Ash is a bland character, my only hope is that the PWT forces him out of that DBS Super Goku shell he is now.
Someone said that Ash getting mad or cocky is out of character. Guess they had not seen the AG series.

He needs a true rival, or someone in that ranking that have not sportmanship or does not treat well his Pokemon, Or only cares for strong pokemon (Someone like silver but not like Cross, Cross was trash).

Also I have been thinking . Personality wise what's the difference between Go and Ash?

Can somebody explain it to me so I can understand?
 
I knew I was not the only one seeing this.

Ash is a bland character, my only hope is that the PWT forces him out of that DBS Super Goku shell he is now.
Someone said that Ash getting mad or cocky is out of character. Guess they had not seen the AG series.

He needs a true rival, or someone in that ranking that have not sportmanship or does not treat well his Pokemon, Or only cares for strong pokemon (Someone like silver but not like Cross, Cross was trash).

Also I have been thinking . Personality wise what's the difference between Go and Ash?

Can somebody explain it to me so I can understand?

A) Ash getting cocky is something he was when he was a noob. People see it like a step back.

B) Ash is the leader I think?
 
Also I have been thinking . Personality wise what's the difference between Go and Ash?

Can somebody explain it to me so I can understand?

Ash is instinctive, Gou is a thinker.
Ash is self-assured, Gou has doubts.
Ash improvises, Gou goes by the book.
Ash puts his Pokemon's needs first, Gou puts his Pokemon's needs second.
Ash never gives up, Gou is prone to giving up.
Ash doesn't brag, Gou does.
Ash doesn't sweat the small details, Gou cares about those small details.
Ash is outgoing, Gou is a shy boy.

Check out episode 20 for a neat illustration of their personality differences. Gou brags to Koharu about his accomplishments and focuses on catching any Pokemon they come across, while Ash only wanted to show kids how cool battling was and even turned a battle down because he was guiding them.

Outside of both being impulsive and really liking Pokemon, their personalities are night and day. It was shown in episode two when after both jumped onto Lugia, Gou obsessed over the texture of its skin while Ash just thought it was cool to be there.
 
Ash is a bland character, my only hope is that the PWT forces him out of that DBS Super Goku shell he is now.
Someone said that Ash getting mad or cocky is out of character. Guess they had not seen the AG series.
You did not just say that...

Just because one writer messed up, that doesn't make him "DBS Goku" automatically, since there's a day and night difference between the intention behind Goku's behavior in DBS and Ash's OOC writing in Akao's episodes. I'm pretty sure I already explained it to you once?
I wouldn't say Ash is DBS Goku level of OOC, that's a bit of a long stretch since the only parts he's been OOC in were written by Deko Akao or just some of the GO stuff (the latter is more of a problem with character based interactions with Gou in general, which also extends to Gou's captures). Otherwise, Ash has been very much in character especially when it comes to helping people or Pokemon. You can't really expect Ash to go back to being a cocky and arrogant brat, now that would be highly OOC. "Always smiling always happy always silly" doesn't make him like DBS Goku in any way. I assume you missed out on every previous series that characterized him a lot? Or even some of the episodes from this series itself that focused on him.

DBS Goku was outright different from DBZ Goku, he was more arrogant/egoistic and came off as an a-hole, not to mention that they made him a numbskull with the intelligence of an 8 y/o who doesn't even know what a kiss is (despite several moments in DBZ showing that he has romantic knowledge). Ash's OOC moments came because of writer flaws/incompetence, whereas DBS Goku was straight up written that way to fit DB Super's theme and attempts to appeal to a different audience.
Also...
Ash is an only child who lived with his mother Delia, until he left for his Pokémon journey at the age of ten. His main goal in life, as described in the first episode, is to be the world's greatest Pokémon Master. One particular characteristic about Ash that has not changed throughout the series, aside from his determination and his passion for raising and training Pokémon, is that he is incredibly selfless. He will often go to extraordinary lengths to earn a Pokémon's trust and respect and to better understand a Pokémon that he sees as troubled. He is also very fair-minded and trusting, a true testament to his good-natured character.

Ash has a strong sense of justice, especially when it comes to Pokémon. If a Pokémon is in trouble, he will make every effort to help them, even if he has no prior connection to them. If they are the cause of trouble, he will stop them, and then try to understand them, with almost all such occasions being a case of the Pokémon, or their Trainers or friends, having a problem which can't be resolved normally. In those cases, he will selflessly volunteer to help them. Should the problem be caused by humans, such as Team Rocket, Pokémon thieves, hunters, or poachers, Ash will resolve to do anything in his power to stop them.

Despite this, and previous dealings with villainous teams, Ash has retained a remarkably optimistic and naive outlook, a trait his companions seem to share. He is quick to praise and has an unshakable trust in both his Pokémon and his friends. Also, Ash is determined to see the best in everybody unless he has a very good reason not to. An example would be Team Rocket's frequent 'sudden appearances' that coincide with their needs at that time, and Ash never questioning it until it is too late. Another example would be how he always praises Clemont for his inventions, no matter their high failure rate, and the near-inevitable explosion, or Cilan for his various hobbies. Furthermore, even though almost all of his friends have large dreams, Ash fully supports them and has never doubted their ability to accomplish them, possibly due to his own highly ambitious goal. He also encourages Pokémon to do the best they can, even if they aren't his own and has even helped train wild Pokémon.

In the original series, though Ash actively took part in battles, he was rarely seen independently training his Pokémon. However, since the Advanced Generation series, Ash is shown training more noticeably, having practice battles with his friends and focusing on moves, techniques, and strategies with his Pokémon. A noticeable trait of Ash's is his willingness to learn from both his victories and defeats. For example, after winning in a Gym battle against Winona in Sky High Gym Battle! and witnessing her Pokémon's powerful Aerial Ace, Ash was motivated to have his Swellow learn it. Even his losses can inspire him, such as when he lost to Clayton in Short and To the Punch! and decided to teach his Buizel one of the moves Clayton's Mr. Mime had used during their battle. He believes nothing he and his Pokémon do on their journey is a waste of time.

In the beginning, Ash had a bit of an inferiority complex, as well as some form of personal pride, most likely stemming from his rivalry with Gary. As a result, he had some bad habits, such as shamelessly boasting of his skill if he were ever on a winning streak, and becoming angered easily if he were personally insulted, as seen in The Path to the Pokémon League. Ash used to complain about perfectly legal things, like Giselle's Cubone using a bone in The School of Hard Knocks, or Blaine's use of the lava in Volcanic Panic. He even locked himself up in his room and sulked after losing to Ritchie, although this anger was not entirely unfounded as the loss came as a result of both his Charizard's disobedience and Team Rocket wearing out his other Pokémon before the match began. He overcame his disappointment after seeing and listening to how Ritchie took his loss as a way to better himself as a Trainer in Friends to the End. Fortunately, during his journey, Ash has gotten over this particular character trait and is now more accepting of criticism of his skill, though he still gets upset if his Pokémon are insulted or degraded.

Perhaps one of Ash's greatest rivalries was against Paul during his time in the Sinnoh region. On the contrary of Ash, who strongly believed in the bond between Trainer and Pokémon, Paul's only concern was with a Pokémon's strength, believing that bonding only caused them to become spoiled and unmotivated. Due to this, aside from winning the Sinnoh League, Ash's biggest goal during his Sinnoh travels was to ultimately change Paul's mindset and have the latter finally acknowledge him as a Trainer worth of his attention. After a long and exhausting journey, he finally managed to accomplish this after defeating Paul at the Lily of the Valley Conference, after which Paul finally recognized Ash as his rival and equal.

In most episodes of the anime, especially those during the Johto League arc, Ash befriends someone who will influence him and cause him to strive to become a better Trainer. Although he is not a dependent individual, he is still young and has learned to make his way relying on his friends, particularly the maternal skills of Brock. The honor of "best friend" is usually reserved for Pikachu, but Ash has come to see his closest human friends in the same light over time; using the term for Misty and Brock in Gotta Catch Ya Later! as well as May and Max in Battling the Enemy Within.

Ash has changed a great deal throughout the series, particularly in regards to his skill at Pokémon training, but his earnestness, rashness, and determination have remained. Never straying from his goal, he has remained loyal to his friends, family, and supporters, but most of all his Pokémon. Ash became a great Trainer by learning to find and use the inner strength of each of his Pokémon by bonding with them. For example, when he received a banner filled with prints from his Pokémon in The Unbeatable Lightness of Seeing!, he knew which Pokémon placed specific prints, showing his close bond with them. He also learns where their hidden abilities lie, as well as resorting to unorthodox strategies when fighting particularly challenging opponents. For example, he uses his Pikachu's speed to outmaneuver larger foes and attack. In another instance, his Charizard defeated Gary's Blastoise by causing the field to overheat before mounting a close-quarters attack while Blastoise was blinded by the steam. He also prefers to train a Pokémon to be the best it can without forcing it to evolve, as evidenced by his treatment of Gligar in Fighting Fear With Fear!. He is happy when his Pokémon evolve but lets them choose whether or not they want to evolve instead of forcing them.

Physically, Ash is in very good shape, especially for someone 10 years of age. He has a lot of stamina, walking miles upon miles through all kinds of environments, while journeying between towns on his journey. He also has huge endurance, as seen when he took powerful attacks from various Pokémon head-on and then recovering quite quickly. Furthermore, Ash has demonstrated himself to be a bit acrobatic, occasionally being able to keep up with Iris, who virtually grew up swinging and jumping through treetops. Ash has occasionally displayed great reflexes, being able to dodge attacks or catch falling objects out of the blue, and even being able to save himself, or others, in the last second during perilous situations. What's more, Ash has exhibited tremendous will power, as seen when he took attacks for long periods and keeps advancing, which also drives his "never give up" attitude when it comes to Pokémon battles. He is also strong, being capable of picking up heavy Pokémon such as Larvitar and Hippopotas.

Ash is also quite dense when it comes to matters of the opposite sex, more specifically in the field of romance. Throughout the series, Ash has only displayed open interest in a female only once, and nothing came out of it. Though some girls in the series have shown obvious (and subtle) affection towards him, Ash meets it with nearly unfailing obtuseness, which some characters have also noticed. Even when it involves other people's romance, Ash is usually oblivious until someone points it out to him. Also, on a few occasions when it came to a matter of Pokémon love, with a male who's experiencing difficulty in gaining the attention of a female, while his friends will often mainly advise on improving the male's looks or charm, Ash's advice is simply to be stronger. Despite this, however, it is shown on several occasions that Ash does seem to understand the concept of marriage, most notably in The Professors' New Adventure, when he got excited by the news of Professor Kukui and Professor Burnet's engagement, and subsequently worked with his classmates to organize a big wedding ceremony for them.

Early on, Ash originally trained not to further himself but instead to catch more Pokémon than Gary, a feat that he never accomplished. Ash later slowed his pace, which allowed him to focus on the individual traits of each Pokémon. At the Silver Conference, with great humility and maturity, Ash finally won a battle against his old rival, signifying a great milestone in his history as a Trainer. His maturity has also increased in his dealings with Pokémon. This was shown when a Mankey stole his hat in Primeape Goes Bananas, he screamed and yelled at it, even climbing trees just to get his hat back, but when an Aipom did the same in Slaking Kong, he stated merely that he would feel strange without a hat. When Aipom stole his hat again on several future occasions, however, while she was under his ownership, he chased after her in the same manner as before, most likely out of exasperation that she still hadn't learned her lesson.

Ash has traversed much of the Pokémon world and has thus far participated in various Pokémon League Conferences, but he is still learning new things about Pokémon all the time. He has also gained a close connection with many Legendary and Mythical Pokémon, such as the ones who played major roles in the movies. In the English dub second movie, he was revealed to be "The Chosen One" - the one who would bring balance back to the world when it was disrupted.

Although viewed as a normal human, Ash does have some special abilities, as he is said to have the same Aura as Sir Aaron, a legendary hero, and is theoretically able to manipulate it in much the same way. Therefore, he made a connection with Sir Aaron's Lucario. However, he has not received any training in this field, opting to continue his Pokémon journey instead. He has also been likened to an ancient Aura guardian in The Keystone Pops!, who also had a partner Pikachu. Later, in Pokémon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu! Part 1 and Part 2, Ash uses Aura again to locate a lost Riolu and read Riolu's mind as well. This time, however, he merely senses the Aura, rather than manipulating it. In SS021, an unhatched Riolu reacted to Ash's Aura, and Ash was able to sense the Egg's response, leading him to it. Ash also has the unique ability to use Bond Phenomenon.

Though his passion remains in battling, Ash is always eager to try new things, especially if he can do them together with his Pokémon, having participated in other events like Pokémon Contests, PokéRinger tournaments, and even a fashion show and a cosplay convention as well as various other Pokémon competitions. He has Contest Passes for Sinnoh and Hoenn. Ash carries with him half of a broken Poké Ball, while Gary Oak has the other half, as a symbol of their ongoing, but now friendly, rivalry; Misty's special lure, which she sent to him as a gift; and half of the Terracotta Medal he received after his Contest Battle with May in the unofficial Terracotta Contest ended in a tie.
 
At first coming into this series, my expectations were set low because the usual first 3-6 to set the basis of the series felt weaker than average to me, it seemed like there would be no new types of captures in the main cast, and it never really felt like the series a definitive image or goal of what it wanted to be. The extremely small dynamic compared to last series felt odd to me, even more considering there was no female companion, and what we were left with made me believe that I was in for a dull series.

But then, from episode 10 onwards I feel the show really started to hit a strong point and then the basis of what the series would offer for what's to come began to kick in. From 10-16, you got two powerhouses for Ash which cements how much he's grown as a trainer instead of yet another dull and slow reset which is a pleasant change of pace from what the anime has offered for years, *slightly* better characterization from Go, and the PWC would be established to set the premise for what Ash will actually do for the remainder of the series.

The structure of this series is probably among my favorite in the anime so far because it allows for more chance of continuity like SM because of the homebase but allowing them to easily shift from region to region can make the locations and stories more unique and if Korrina is any hint, maybe bring back old characters.

The art style is also really good in the series, and the animation in a good heft of episodes is fluid without being a complete eyesore when it isn't at its best. All of the character redesigns really fix up a lot of the problems I had with SM's look and for even some of the more minor returns a lot either feel faithful or improved much more to resemble their game of original like Professor Elm or Lance.

For characterization, I believe this is the possibly the strongest version of Ash in the sense that he still has the childish and goofiness traits from SM without making him feel like a complete caricature, and the might and confidence that XY was full of but without making me forget he's 10 because his design matches great in this series. His team for only 21 episodes in is probably his peak in the anime and though I didn't initially enjoy him not catching any Galarmons, giving him more popular, strong Pokemon is better for both fanservice and reminding you that he's still a very competent trainer.

Go, who I already didn't like at the beginning of this series, even if the flaws of his character are heavily shown in the scenes that focus on him still doesnt work to me because he barely has any other traits to make up for it besides playing off of Ash's personality and being the sometimes straight man. His goal so far doesn't really suggest anything about how it will develop him further as a character, but the Raboot subplot gives me a seed of hope that they can flesh him out in later episodes. I will say I enjoy his interactions and personality he shows with some of the captures he has in small scenes, but if he's only going to be restricted with one Pokemon for the majority of the series I don't think there's much room for him to grow.

Team Rocket I found were at their worst initially because of a combination of lack of exposure and little scenes to remind you that each individual is a different character. The Rocket Gatcha removes any chance of them getting focus developing with any new captures in this series, and like Go dumping his captures in the park, just leaves them off with little mainstay Pokemon. I don't think sacrificing occasional stale battles with interesting characters was worth getting unique battles with dull one-offs because even if some of the ideas they can use with the concept are interesting they still get curbstomped anyways which ultimately makes it no different. From SS012 though, their characterization has steadily been improving with a fair-ish amount of appearances just by showing what makes them so loveable outside of being everyday jobbers and if they manage to be consistent with them for the rest of the series in personality I'm personally fine with where they stand now (more captures are always appreciated though!!)

While there's still a lot of things I still want to see change about the series right now (that staggering 42% TRio appearance rate, Koharu being such a non-character, and Go's capture sprees) and the first impressions were probably the weakest in a while, it still shows a lot of promise for where it can go in the future and now that it's starting to find itself it could grow into something much more exciting.
 
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