Preview BW123 - Farewell, Isshu! Setting Sail Once Again!!

[Ampharos King]

I'm guessing Giovanni is just going to talk to TRio on the phone instead of directly being involved.

 

[Cybersai]

I'm guessing Giovanni is just going to talk to TRio on the phone instead of directly being involved.

Probably, but it could very well set-up some sort of TR conclusion in Kanto.

Its very likely the reason there's a few weeks of episodes left for Kanto after this island arc is to do some final plot element with Giovanni and TR. I'm guessing its going to be their final arc as the writers "wipe the slate clean" for the next gen. Its great that they're bringing Giovanni back into focus in a speaking role in this episode though since we haven't seen him in a while.

 

[Satoshi_Pikachu]

Here it comes again, a tiny sparkle of hope that TR will go back to being awesome. But at this point, the rational part of my brain is telling me I'll be disappointed. Ah, well, I guess we'll find out next week...

 

[Playerking]

Summaries from Adamant.

"Satoshi and friends have finished their battle with the Plasma Gang. As they rest up at the Araragi Laboratories, Satoshi decides to return to Masara Town in the Kanto Region. Iris, who is set on following the road to becoming Dragon Master, and Dent, who wants to broaden his knowledge in the Pokémon Sommeliering field, both decide to accompany Satoshi to the Kanto Region in order to further their goals.

At Professor Araragi's suggestion, they decide to board the ferry that will take them to the Kanto region via the Decolora Archipelago. The group doesn't have all that high expectations, but still board the ship. The presence of a Pokémon playroom makes Pikachu and the others quite happy, though, but suddenly the door out of the room won't open. And neither will the door from Satoshi and the others' room. And up on the bridge, a mysterious trio boldly laughs... who can they be!? Is this the beginning of a highly eventful journey!?"

 

[Garren]

At Professor Araragi's suggestion, they decide to board the ferry that will take them to the Kanto region via the Decolora Archipelago. The group doesn't have all that high expectations, but still board the ship

Man, you know it's bad when even the main characters aren't excited about this Arc.

 

[UnovaCastaway]

I cracked up when I read they were going to be stuck in rooms thanks to TR.

 

[Jukain]

What? Continue their goals by going to Kanto? Bugger. You just had to keep that alive, didn't you? I don't like the sound of this at all.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I'm not quite sure how going to Kanto is really going to further on either of the goals, especially when they haven't really done much in Unova for their goals for that matter, but they couldn't have Ash traveling along to Kanto on his own when there's still months left until the X/Y series.

 

[Karamazov]

Travelling would allow Iris to discover Dragons from different Regions (all 5? of them) and Cilan's goal seems to be keeping Ash alive.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Travelling would allow Iris to discover Dragons from different Regions (all 5? of them) and Cilan's goal seems to be keeping Ash alive.

She seemed fairly familiar with Dragon Pokemon from other regions if Dragonite is any indication and she really doesn't have to travel to Kanto specifically to do that anyway, especially when there aren't a lot of Dragon types native to Kanto either. Though, that is a good point about Cilan and they had to come along anyway just because a whole arc of Ash traveling by himself wouldn't work and this will probably lead up to both of them leaving Ash anyway.

 

[Karamazov]

A Region she's never been to would likely have Pokemon (maybe even Dragons) she's not familiar with. She can't know about every Dragon, and travelling would still offer her a chance to see new Dragons. Or at least see what their habitats and behavior is like in other counties. Besides, Iris might know Dragons, but the only ones we've seen her know about are the ones native to Unova (as in, Dragonite, the Axew line, Altaria, things in the BW2 Dex.)

 

[Solace]

I'm sure someone that lives in a region that was previously pretty unknown to the rest of the world, and vice versa, wouldn't know about all of the Pokemon native to said unknown other regions. Iris can't possibly know everything there is to know about Pokemon in a place like Kanto. Then again, that barrier was broken when Cilan shared his somehow unending knowledge of Kanto-native Pokemon and BW2 was announced, leading to Roxie owning a Koffing, Iris getting a Dragonite, etc. It was a pretty fine limitation, then BW2 ruined it all. So maybe there's a bunch of paradoxes intermingling here and the producers/writers have really mucked up somewhere.

 

[Hidden Mew]

A Region she's never been to would likely have Pokemon (maybe even Dragons) she's not familiar with. She can't know about every Dragon, and travelling would still offer her a chance to see new Dragons. Or at least see what their habitats and behavior is like in other counties. Besides, Iris might know Dragons, but the only ones we've seen her know about are the ones native to Unova (as in, Dragonite, the Axew line, Altaria, things in the BW2 Dex.)

She's probably familiar with at least most non-legendary Dragon types since she knew about Dragonite well before they made it native to Unova. Besides that, there aren't a lot in Kanto beyond the Dragionite line anyway. Learning about non-Dragon Pokemon wouldn't help her with her goal. She could learn about their habitats and behavior in other regions, but I don't think that's going to help her that much into becoming a Dragon Master. Though, they haven't done a good job with defining that goal either or make Iris look like she isn't already familiar with Dragon Pokemon, so I don't really see her getting much from traveling, especially when she learned basically all she knows about Dragon types from when she was in the Village of Dragons anyway.

 

[Karamazov]

She's probably familiar with at least most non-legendary Dragon types since she knew about Dragonite well before they made it native to Unova. Besides that, there aren't a lot in Kanto beyond the Dragionite line anyway. Learning about non-Dragon Pokemon wouldn't help her with her goal. She could learn about their habitats and behavior in other regions, but I don't think that's going to help her that much into becoming a Dragon Master. Though, they haven't done a good job with defining that goal either or make Iris look like she isn't already familiar with Dragon Pokemon, so I don't really see her getting much from traveling, especially when she learned basically all she knows about Dragon types from when she was in the Village of Dragons anyway.

The Decolora Archipelago has Pokemon ranging from all sorts of generations, so I'm willing to bet it'll have Dragon-types not native to Kanto. And considering this show, an expert in a certain type could go years without knowing about many Pokemon of a certain type, like how Misty didn't seem to be aware of many Johto Water types, IIRC. I don't remember Iris having any contact with or mentioning the Bagon line, the Trapinch line or Seadra, but I'm probably wrong. She didn't know Charizard was a Dragon type and only just assumed based on how it looked, showing that she isn't completely familiar with Dragons or other species.

Which brings me to my next point: anything she was told about at the Village would be superficial, and she should still go out and seek knowledge on her own. She left the Village to pursue knowledge at Drayden's school, and she went on a journey to raise Axew. (Plus the Village seems to be a pretty shitty place, not gonna lie.) Since her village seems isolated from most of society and filled with Unova-exclusive Dragons, she likely wouldn't be able to meet many Dragon types and could only go by what she's heard from other people or seen in pictures or books. Any knowledge she would likely have about foreign Pokemon would be superficial, and she wouldn't have real experiences with these. You can just base all your knowledge on something based on what other people have encountered, but to see and experience things for yourself is usually much more beneficial.

And learning about their habitats and how they act in different in other Regions is a great way to learn. If you're passionate about something, you want to learn everything about them. And honestly, if I had a choice between staying in my crappy village with the same few Pokemon and a Shannon, travelling around the same Region you've already been through like twice, taking up residence as a Gym Leader and tying yourself down to one location when you're not fully versed in the Pokemon you're training yet, and going to a new land where you have a chance of meeting new Dragons you haven't met before, I'd go with the latter choice....That, and since her goal is not that defined (I only assume it's like being completely versed in your field of choice, but that's just an assumption), new experiences would be a good excuse to justify her meandering about and waste time until she figures out another way to occupy her time in order to reach her goal.

Edit: Holy shit I just pulled all this out of my ass and I wrote so much. I'll just give it a tl;dr because that's too boring to read:
Travelling may or may not give her a chance to meet different Dragons and learn new things about Dragons (and possibly Pokemon in general), but it's better than rotting in a Gym or that Arceus-forsaken hell-hole she once called home.

 

[Hidden Mew]

She's probably familiar with at least most non-legendary Dragon types since she knew about Dragonite well before they made it native to Unova. Besides that, there aren't a lot in Kanto beyond the Dragionite line anyway. Learning about non-Dragon Pokemon wouldn't help her with her goal. She could learn about their habitats and behavior in other regions, but I don't think that's going to help her that much into becoming a Dragon Master. Though, they haven't done a good job with defining that goal either or make Iris look like she isn't already familiar with Dragon Pokemon, so I don't really see her getting much from traveling, especially when she learned basically all she knows about Dragon types from when she was in the Village of Dragons anyway.

The Decolora Archipelago has Pokemon ranging from all sorts of generations, so I'm willing to bet it'll have Dragon-types not native to Kanto. And considering this show, an expert in a certain type could go years without knowing about many Pokemon of a certain type, like how Misty didn't seem to be aware of many Johto Water types, IIRC. I don't remember Iris having any contact with or mentioning the Bagon line, the Trapinch line or Seadra, but I'm probably wrong. She didn't know Charizard was a Dragon type and only just assumed based on how it looked, showing that she isn't completely familiar with Dragons or other species.

Which brings me to my next point: anything she was told about at the Village would be superficial, and she should still go out and seek knowledge on her own. She left the Village to pursue knowledge at Drayden's school, and she went on a journey to raise Axew. (Plus the Village seems to be a pretty shitty place, not gonna lie.) Since her village seems isolated from most of society and filled with Unova-exclusive Dragons, she likely wouldn't be able to meet many Dragon types and could only go by what she's heard from other people or seen in pictures or books. Any knowledge she would likely have about foreign Pokemon would be superficial, and she wouldn't have real experiences with these. You can just base all your knowledge on something based on what other people have encountered, but to see and experience things for yourself is usually much more beneficial.

And learning about their habitats and how they act in different in other Regions is a great way to learn. If you're passionate about something, you want to learn everything about them. And honestly, if I had a choice between staying in my crappy village with the same few Pokemon and a Shannon, travelling around the same Region you've already been through like twice, taking up residence as a Gym Leader and tying yourself down to one location when you're not fully versed in the Pokemon you're training yet, and going to a new land where you have a chance of meeting new Dragons you haven't met before, I'd go with the latter choice....That, and since her goal is not that defined (I only assume it's like being completely versed in your field of choice, but that's just an assumption), new experiences would be a good excuse to justify her meandering about and waste time until she figures out another way to occupy her time in order to reach her goal.

Edit: Holy shit I just pulled all this out of my ass and I wrote so much. I'll just give it a tl;dr because that's too boring to read:
Travelling may or may not give her a chance to meet different Dragons and learn new things about Dragons (and possibly Pokemon in general), but it's better than rotting in a Gym or that Arceus-forsaken hell-hole she once called home.

The thing is though that she didn't learn anything by going to Drayden's school or traveling to raise Axew. All of her knowledge was gained by staying at the Village of Dragon, which gave her good knowledge of Dragon types before the series even started. Although, I forgot that whole thinking Charizard was a Dragon type just based on its featured, which did show that she didn't have perfect knowledge of Dragon types, but based on her journey with Ash through Unova, I don't really see her getting much from traveling to Kanto. She could learn more about Pokemon in general, but that isn't going to help her goal to become a Dragon Master. All of her skills and knowledge regarding Dragon Pokemon came from being in the Village of Dragons. So, I don't see how this is better than training at the Gym with Drayden or going back home when staying in one place gave her more knowledge than actually traveling did. She has to stay because of how they can't have Ash traveling alone or just with Cilan for the next few months and with Clair appearing, they'll be setting up some way for her to leave by the end of the series, but I don't really think she's going to get much out of traveling to Kanto if her Unova journey was any indication.

 

[Silktree]

Cilan and Iris traveling to Kanto will end up being awfully silly unless we get to see them in the region for at least a few episodes.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Cilan and Iris traveling to Kanto will end up being awfully silly unless we get to see them in the region for at least a few episodes.

I think it's already kind of silly, but they'll probably at least be in Pallet Town for a couple of episodes, depending on when they actually reach Kanto.

 

[Silktree]

I think it's already kind of silly,

I can't say that I agree with you there. Regardless of their goals, I'd pity them both if they had to stay in Unova forever.

 

[Cybersai]

The only reason I can see Iris/Cilan in Kanto is just so their characters stay till the very end of the generation, rather than leaving like 8 episodes before. Although their "goodbye" picture on the poster for the end of the islands arc is telling.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I can't say that I agree with you there. Regardless of their goals, I'd pity them both if they had to stay in Unova forever.

I really wouldn't, especially with Iris, since traveling with Ash hasn't really helped them either one of their goals. Staying in one place did more for Iris than traveling through Unova anyway. The only reason they are traveling to Kanto with Ash is because of how they have to stay until the last episode or so of the series.