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Anime & Manga General Discussion

Mark my words, Leon will conveniently have counters for all of Ash's battle gimmicks:
  • Stoked Sparksurfer Alolan Raichu vs 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt Pikachu (I chose Stoked Sparksurfer because it's the only signature Z-Move that hasn't appeared in the anime and doesn't belong to a Legendary or Mythical Pokemon)
  • Mega Swampert vs Mega Lucario (I chose Mega Swampert because the Mudkip line got the short end of the stick during the XY anime, so Leon using one would sorta make up for that. Plus, it'd serve as a great stand-in for the Seismitoad he uses in the games)
  • and of course Gigantamax Charizard vs Gigantamax Gengar
YES MEGA SWAMPERT
 
This is the exact reason why I'm so bored of Ash, his team, and the PWC story-line altogether. I just don't see a reason to be interested in these fights or battles except for the end goal of seeing Ash battle Leon. But like, why is that so important? There's a big loss in stakes and emotional investment here that can honestly only be rivaled by the Unova League. Kanto through Sinnoh were all part of consistent character development for both Ash and his pokemon alike-which Journeys lacks, Kalos was...lackluster, but it had emotional investment in Ash's rivals-which Journeys lacks, and Alola had emotional investment for many characters involved AND had development for another. The only real "rival" Ash has for Journeys so far is Bea and Leon. And what do we know about them?

Not to mention, aside from Ash's pokemon not feeling like they play a substantial role in the narrative, there's a big lack of stakes here. When was the last time Ash lost in a meaningful way? Cause I genuinely can't even remember, and the first thing that comes to mind is that forced "development" after his loss against Bea. There's no real sense of struggle here, adding on to my feelings on the PWC feeling incredibly lackluster in the narrative.
You know, I've been meaning to write this for a while, but I could've sworn that I read somewhere someone saying that Pokemon Journeys was going to focus less on the Pokemon themselves, and more on the human characters of the show. If that's true, then I'm sorry but what? I don't wactch this show for the human drama. I could easily watch another show for that. There's literally a million of them. The human drama on the show keeps things interesting, as the humans are obviously important characters in their own right, but they're not who the show's named after, nor who I primarily watch the show for, anyway.
 
You know, I've been meaning to write this for a while, but I could've sworn that I read somewhere someone saying that Pokemon Journeys was going to focus less on the Pokemon themselves, and more on the human characters of the show. If that's true, then I'm sorry but what? I don't wactch this show for the human drama. I could easily watch another show for that. There's literally a million of them. The human drama on the show keeps things interesting, as the humans are obviously important characters in their own right, but they're not who the show's named after, nor who I primarily watch the show for, anyway.
You might be thinking of this?
Executive Director Tomiyasu ordered the Staff to make the Series feel more like Pokemon in Humans World rather than in the flip way around.
 
Yeah, I think I also drew that comparison with Kukui, that'd be kinda weird if they both shared exactly two Pokemon with their in-game teams. I can get on board with what you're saying, though. I guess it would be pretty cool if Leon's team paralled Ash's, especially if Leon has all the existing gimmicks as you suspect. Would definitely make for a close, exciting match. Having a foil or counter for Ash's gimmicks with his own gimmicks would definitely put more pressure on Ash. Though that would be fitting for his (seemingly) final battle, as I suspect this will be.
Heh, yeah. I've actually already made a headcanon anime team for Leon:
  • obviously Charizard as his designated Gigantamax Mon (counterpart/parallel to Ash's possible Gigantamax Gengar)
  • the confirmed Dragapult as his pseudo-legendary native to his home region (counterpart/parallel to Ash's Dragonite)
  • Alolan Raichu with access to Stoked Sparksurfer (counterpart/parallel to Pikachu and his 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt)
  • Mega Swampert (counterpart/parallel to Ash's upcoming Mega Lucario)
  • Falinks as a Gen 8 mono Fighting-type (counterpart/parallel to Sirfetch'd)
  • Tyrantrum as a Dragon-type fossil (counterpart/parallel to Dracovish)
Mind you, I'm fully expecting to be WAY off the mark here. Heck, maybe Leon won't have any gimmicks at all besides Gigantamax but will still beat Ash anyway because he's just that good lol, but I feel like it wouldn't make much sense for the strongest trainer in the world to not have access to all currently existing battle gimmicks while his opponent who is still a fledgling Champion does.
 
You might be thinking of this?
I'm pretty sure that was what I read, thanks for taking the time to find that.

And re-reading that, it's just as baffling. The Pokemon are the main characters for God's sake, not the humans! As that old song from way-back when says, "We all live in a Pokemon world," not, "We all live in a human world and oh the Pokemon are here too, I guess." It just furthers my opinion that the new director, or whoever's replaced him if not that guy, has absolutely no idea what they're doing overall.
 
On: World Ash Ketchum Day

I don’t celebrate it today.

I don’t see why World Ash Ketchum Day should be on the day he won Alola, because in my opinion, it’s not a big deal because the Alola League is a league where anyone could enter. Adding on to this, the main deal is the reactions that people had to Ash winning Alola; they were declaring him a Pokémon Master. I feel like when Ash truly became Alola’s Champion was when he beat Kukui because that was actually impressive. Ash losing to Tobias, Alain, and winning the Battle Frontier are all on their own more impressive than Ash winning Alola. Plus, I cannot take Alola seriously when it comes to the tone and art style after XYZ. It makes me so infuriated that Ash lost Kalos when he had the ability to win it and the writers decided to wait, ruin his character, and make him win Alola. Ash’s silliness and SM’s overly comedic and stupid tone meant that I couldn’t take it seriously. I watched the whole series, but I still hate the Alola League, SM Ash, and Ash’s Alola League win. I respect the people who celebrate today and like SM Ash but to me, I have a totally different opinion.

Post on Ash's Win
 
Heh, yeah. I've actually already made a headcanon anime team for Leon:
  • obviously Charizard as his designated Gigantamax Mon (counterpart/parallel to Ash's possible Gigantamax Gengar)
  • the confirmed Dragapult as his pseudo-legendary native to his home region (counterpart/parallel to Ash's Dragonite)
  • Alolan Raichu with access to Stoked Sparksurfer (counterpart/parallel to Pikachu and his 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt)
  • Mega Swampert (counterpart/parallel to Ash's upcoming Mega Lucario)
  • Falinks as a Gen 8 mono Fighting-type (counterpart/parallel to Sirfetch'd)
  • Tyrantrum as a Dragon-type fossil (counterpart/parallel to Dracovish)
Mind you, I'm fully expecting to be WAY off the mark here. Heck, maybe Leon won't have any gimmicks at all besides Gigantamax but will still beat Ash anyway because he's just that good lol, but I feel like it wouldn't make much sense for the strongest trainer in the world to not have access to all currently existing battle gimmicks while his opponent who is still a fledgling Champion does.
I don't know, though, I really think they're shaping up our boy to win this one. I for one, am all for it. I think it's high time Ash finally ascended to the top of the ranks, I mean, hell, he's been on this damn journey of his longer than some people on these forums have been alive! I for one would like to finally see some sort of payoff for all the years of galavanting around he's been doing. The poor guy's been handed pne too many losses already, if you ask me. (I'm still salty about the Kalos League finale, and that was over five years ago!) I'd say it's time for him to go all the way to the top.

Unfortunately, that brings up the topic of what happens if Ash wins? Does his story end? The answer is: not necessarily. After his ultimate victory, they could have him play the mentor figure to the next generation of up-and-coming trainers, since everybody will be looking up to him if he wins, as he'll essentially be a celebrity at that point. What does the future hold for him and Serena? Will she ever reappear? (Please!) Will they get serious, settle down, maybe even have a kid or two? (The way I see it, if Goku can get married and have children, then so can Ash, since those two are verrrry similar.) Because that would be the way to pass the torch. What better way to continue the series with someone new than to see Ash's child set off on their own Pokemon journey and continue their father's legacy? I don't know if they'll actually go that route, but if other anime like Digimon and Dragon Ball can show us what becomes of the characters in adulthood, why can't Pokemon? I think that their obsession with holding on to Ash forever as the main character for fear the audience won't like someone new is keeping them from truly moving forward with his story.

(Side note, do you think we'll ever see Ash with most of his Pokemon fully evolved in the future? Because I'd like it they showed him as an adult with most of his Pokemon having fully evolved with the passage of time.)
 
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Heh, yeah. I've actually already made a headcanon anime team for Leon:
  • obviously Charizard as his designated Gigantamax Mon (counterpart/parallel to Ash's possible Gigantamax Gengar)
  • the confirmed Dragapult as his pseudo-legendary native to his home region (counterpart/parallel to Ash's Dragonite)
  • Alolan Raichu with access to Stoked Sparksurfer (counterpart/parallel to Pikachu and his 10,000,000 Volt Thunderbolt)
  • Mega Swampert (counterpart/parallel to Ash's upcoming Mega Lucario)
  • Falinks as a Gen 8 mono Fighting-type (counterpart/parallel to Sirfetch'd)
  • Tyrantrum as a Dragon-type fossil (counterpart/parallel to Dracovish)
Mind you, I'm fully expecting to be WAY off the mark here. Heck, maybe Leon won't have any gimmicks at all besides Gigantamax but will still beat Ash anyway because he's just that good lol, but I feel like it wouldn't make much sense for the strongest trainer in the world to not have access to all currently existing battle gimmicks while his opponent who is still a fledgling Champion does.
Me too, my Leon head canon team is:

Charizard-Gmax Charizard(Pikachu’s Journeys Rival basically, so it is the final matchup)
Dragapult(Dragonite Counter)
Mr Rime(Gengar Counter)
Dracozolt(Dracovish Counter)
Gallade-Mega Gallade(Lucario-Mega Lucario Counter). Plus it is from Sinnoh
Corvisquire(Sirfetch’d counter)
 
I don't know, though, I really think they're shaping up our boy to win this one. I for one, am all for it. I think it's high time Ash finally ascended to the top of the ranks, I mean, hell, he's been on this damn journey of his longer than some people on these forums have been alive! I for one would like to finally see some sort of payoff for all the years of galavanting around he's been doing. The poor guy's been handed pne too many losses already, if you ask me. (I'm still salty about the Kalos League finale, and that was over five years ago!) I'd say it's time for him to go all the way to the top.
Well, if Ash really does beat Leon then I'd say that's all the more reason to give the Galar Champion a Z-Move and a Mega Evolution to complement his Gigantamax Pokemon too, since otherwise it would feel both unfair and kinda unearned for Ash to beat Leon when the former has access to battle gimmicks that the latter doesn't.

Unfortunately, that brings up the topic of what happens if Ash wins? Does his story end? The answer is: not necessarily. After his ultimate victory, they could have him play the mentor figure to the next generation of up-and-coming trainers, since everybody will be looking up to him if he wins, as he'll essentially be a celebrity at that point. What does the future hold for him and Serena? Will she ever reappear? (Please!) Will they get serious, settle down, maybe even have a kid or two? (The way I see it, if Goku can get married and have children, then so can Ash, since those two are verrrry similar.) Because that would be the way to pass the torch. What better way to continue the series with someone new than to see Ash's child set off on their own Pokemon journey and continue their father's legacy? I don't know if they'll actually go that route, but if other anime like Digimon and Dragon Ball can show us what becomes of the characters in adulthood, why can't Pokemon? I think that their obsession with holding on to Ash forever as the main character for fear the audience won't like someone new is keeping them from truly moving forward with his story.
I'm not sure on this. I feel like if there was ever a point where Ash could have ended his journey it would be the DPP saga at the latest, mainly because it's the last time Ash ever called upon his reserves (which would have been a fitting swansong), he was so strong and skilled that the writers had to resort to making him face an overpowered self-insert OC with a team of deites just to ensure he'd lose in a believable way, the Elite Four bracket was introduced (which could have been used to foreshadow Ash eventually facing them), and the very next Generation was something of a soft reboot, so it would have been perfect for it to star a new protagonist in Ash's place. Alas, that didn't happen, so I feel like if Ash hasn't been let go of by now there's a good chance he never will be.

I don't think the anime's insistence on keeping Ash around necessarily has to do with them being afraid that the audience won't like a new protagonist, but rather simply because he's been the protagonist for so long that it could very well be too late to change him at this rate. That, and his main Pokemon is Pikachu, who is the mascot of the entire franchise. Getting rid of Ash would mean to get rid of Pikachu as well, and leaving out the franchise mascot would be unthinkable. Granted, this arguably could be fixed by simply giving each new protagonist their own Pikachu, but I think that could become stale and annoying pretty fast: I mean, just look at how sick and tired the fanbase generally is of the female companions catching Eevees, and this is with a Pokemon that has multiple evolutions and thus is far more flexible in presentation because all you need to do to differentiate it from its predescessors is evolve it into an Eeveelution that hasn't been part of the main cast yet. Pikachu doesn't have that advantage (not to mention that any MC Pikachu would most likely not evolve anyways for obvious reasons). Plus, it would effectively bar any other Electric-types from joining the main character's team.

Meanwhile in a parallel universe: "Oh, what's that viewers, you wanted SWSH saga protagonist Gloria to catch a Yamper? WELL TOO BAD THAT AIN'T HAPPENING SHE GETS A PIKACHU JUST LIKE ALL THE BOZOS WHO CAME BEFORE!!"

(Side note, do you think we'll ever see Ash with most of his Pokemon fully evolved in the future? Because I'd like it they showed him as an adult with most of his Pokemon having fully evolved with the passage of time.)
Eh... well, this one's pretty much entirely dependent on if Ash Journey ever actually gets a conclusion, which as of now is very much up in the air at the absolute best.
 
It's been 2 years (and 2 hours and 5 minutes) since Ash won the Alola league. We mark this day as #WorldAshKetchumDay. Now I know this league is controversial, but this day isn't all about the win. It's about Ash's achievements and how far he's come. I personally celebrate a little due to the creator of this doing horrible things. Celebrating with a modified version still leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but nevertheless, Happy #WorldAshKetchumDay
 
I don't know if they'll actually go that route, but if other anime like Digimon and Dragon Ball can show us what becomes of the characters in adulthood, why can't Pokemon?
This reminds me, actually, that when Sun/Moon was starting I saw a meme image (it was actually on a Dragon Ball site though) that I believe originated in the Spanish internet community about how Tai was going to college, Goku was a grandfather, Naruto did something (never saw that one so I can't recall what) and Ash...was going to grade school.
Ironically that was the gen where the games had Red appear as an adult.
 
Most franchises don't wait over twenty years to age their main character either. Pokemon isn't really designed to age with the audience and that's okay. It's about Ash's adventures as he catches/battles Pokemon and makes new friends along the way. Having him be an adult wouldn't necessarily be better than keeping him forever ten with that premise in mind.
 
It's been 2 years (and 2 hours and 5 minutes) since Ash won the Alola league. We mark this day as #WorldAshKetchumDay. Now I know this league is controversial, but this day isn't all about the win. It's about Ash's achievements and how far he's come. I personally celebrate a little due to the creator of this doing horrible things. Celebrating with a modified version still leaves a sour taste in my mouth, but nevertheless, Happy #WorldAshKetchumDay
I personally prefer the #NationalAshKetchum hashtag over this new one, to be honest.
 
Most franchises don't wait over twenty years to age their main character either. Pokemon isn't really designed to age with the audience and that's okay. It's about Ash's adventures as he catches/battles Pokemon and makes new friends along the way. Having him be an adult wouldn't necessarily be better than keeping him forever ten with that premise in mind.
So much this. Its not like aging Ash up is gonna make him incredibly competent or unstoppable, very likely wouldn't change his core personality either. There's tons of teenage protagonists out there with Ash's qualities. It'd be cool to see him aged up but that's only because I, like many, grew watching/playing Pokemon, but narratively speaking? Not much of a reason to do so.
 
So much this. Its not like aging Ash up is gonna make him incredibly competent or unstoppable, very likely wouldn't change his core personality either. There's tons of teenage protagonists out there with Ash's qualities. It'd be cool to see him aged up but that's only because I, like many, grew watching/playing Pokemon, but narratively speaking? Not much of a reason to do so.
I guess you do have a point. But I'm not saying that aging him up has to change anything about his personality or make him competent or unstoppable or anything ike that. I just think that, if his old Pokemon Lapras can age, if Kukui and Burnet can have a literal child, both things that involve the passage of time, then it's extremely unrealistic (even by anime standards) to keep Ash 10 forever, don't you think?
 
So today is #WorldAshKetchumDay which celebrates not just two years since Ash won the Alola league but both Ash and my favourite Pokémon ever Pikachu.

I know this'll sound so cheesy and corny but...

Thanks for being part of my life for years Ash and Pikachu.
I feel you, the Pokemon anime has been a part of my life now for over 15 years, and I gotta thank Ash and Pikachu for being a part of it all this time, not to mention all his other Pokemon and the friends he made along the way. I'll always cherish the memories of the Pokemon anime in my life. At this point, I'm a loyal follower of the Pokemon anime for life, I think. I'll keep watching it till it ends, or I die, whichever comes first.
 
I guess you do have a point. But I'm not saying that aging him up has to change anything about his personality or make him competent or unstoppable or anything ike that. I just think that, if his old Pokemon Lapras can age, if Kukui and Burnet can have a literal child, both things that involve the passage of time, then it's extremely unrealistic (even by anime standards) to keep Ash 10 forever, don't you think?
I wouldn't say it's unrealistic, but rather a sign of just how time makes no sense within the anime. If anything, I still think it's hilarious that Kukui and Burnet had a child, which would imply roughly a year has passed since the SM finale assuming that pregnancies in the anime last as long as they do here, but Ash is still ten. I just don't think that Ash being ten bothers anyone who is within the target demographic, so there's really no reason to make him older.
 
Hm. If Ash is going to be receiving a Key Stone, where exactly do we think he’ll put the accessory? There’s been staff, gloves, keychains, necklaces…
I would like to see the Key Stone on his hat, seeing how he doesn’t have his gloves anymore.
 
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