Controversial opinions

[Hidden Mew]

I however didn't like how the end of the episode was handled. Goh almost abandoned Raboot and just got away with it because Raboot was conveniently there all the time . I feel that could've lead to some good conflict, and even if it didn't, Goh shouldn't have gotten away with it so easily. Imagine how horrible it must be to be abandoned by your Trainer like that. You wake up, and he's nowhere to be seen. He's just gone, with no previous warning, no reasons given, no farewells. Even if Goh did it with good intentions it is still a horrible thing to do and shouldn't just go unpunished like that.

I think that saying Goh abandoned Raboot is a bit too harsh of a way to describe it. He genuinely thought that Raboot would be happier without him and left it with Pokemon that Raboot went out of his way to help. Goh ideally should have asked Raboot if it wanted to stay there instead of assuming that was the case or gave a clear farewell to Raboot after it woke up, which probably ties into Goh not really undestanding his Pokemon's feelings at the beginning of the series, but I don't think it's fair to say that he got away with almost abandoning Raboot. I don't think he needed to be punished for it exactly either. Goh did immediately regret his decision after Ash confronted him about it and he was going to go back for it before the train left. I think it was less about giving Goh a free pass for what he did to Raboot and more like they wanted to mirror Scorbunny thinking that it lost its chance to find Goh at the beginning of the series with Goh thinking he lost Raboot.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

For me, the Unova League is the worst League Conference, followed by the Indigo League. They're the lower tier Leagues for me. Hoenn is in the middle. Kalos is the lowest of the high ranking Leagues for me (due to how rushed it was). It is then followed by Johto, while the Sinnoh and Alola Leagues (in no particular order, can't decide which one is better) are at the top.

 

[GrookeyFan77]

For me, the Unova League is the worst League Conference

Is that controvesial?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Is that controvesial?

No. But my post was about all the Leagues.

 

[GrookeyFan77]

No. But my post was about all the Leagues.

Ok.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

IMO, the dub music started making the dub unpleasant to watch during the Black & White series. Or at least, the quality of music between the original and the dub grew dramatically.

 

[Enzo]

I truly don't know if this is controversial or not (?), but imo Nurse Joy's best design has to be in BW. I don't dislike any of the other verisons of the uniform, but BW's version of it soo cute and charming. Galar gets very close with the hair and the historical clothes, but Unova still wins this one for me. And I get that the XY version is not that different, but I still prefer Unova lol.

As for Officer Jenny's designs, XY wins by a long shot. Never really liked any of the others versions of Jenny lol.

 

[LovelyChika123]

Not sure if this is controversal since Ash's pity badges have been discussed ample times, but...

Why do fans of the show try to say that Ash's badge from the 8th gym is a pity badge?? He defeated Team Rocket fair and square and they refused to give him the badge. Isn't it against the rules to deny a trainer a badge after he/she won fair and square? Yes Team Rocket weren't the official gym leaders, but don’t gym leaders have substitutes when the official gym leaders leave for some time?

Clemont had his clembot be the substitute and Brock had his younger brother or parents fill in for him when he left.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Not sure if this is controversal since Ash's pity badges have been discussed ample times, but...

Why do fans of the show try to say that Ash's badge from the 8th gym is a pity badge?? He defeated Team Rocket fair and square and they refused to give him the badge. Isn't it against the rules to deny a trainer a badge after he/she won fair and square? Yes Team Rocket weren't the official gym leaders, but don’t gym leaders have substitutes when the official gym leaders leave for some time?

Clemont had his clembot be the substitute and Brock had his younger brother or parents fill in for him when he left.

If I were to make a guess on to why Gym 8 is considered a pity badge by some, it might be because Team Rocket aren't generally considered a real challenge, seeing how Ash and his friends kick their butts on a regular basis. This is even reflected in how whenever win/loss ratios of main character Pokemon are discussed, wins against Team Rocket are almost always disregarded.

Granted, whether those parameters would even apply to this particular battle is highly questionable, since Team Rocket were using Giovanni's Pokemon, had a stage that injured challengers (something that imo would count as outright cheating), and later on in the battle tried to sick multiple Pokemon on Ash's at once.

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

If I were to make a guess on to why Gym 8 is considered a pity badge by some, it might be because Team Rocket aren't generally considered a real challenge, seeing how Ash and his friends kick their butts on a regular basis. This is even reflected in how whenever win/loss ratios of main character Pokemon are discussed, wins against Team Rocket are almost always disregarded.

Granted, whether those parameters would even apply to this particular battle is highly questionable, since Team Rocket were using Giovanni's Pokemon, had a stage that injured challengers (something that imo would count as outright cheating), and later on in the battle tried to sick multiple Pokemon on Ash's at once.

If anything, Ash winning against them even through all this foul play is something that should be used as praise to him, not mockery.

 

[LovelyChika123]

If I were to make a guess on to why Gym 8 is considered a pity badge by some, it might be because Team Rocket aren't generally considered a real challenge, seeing how Ash and his friends kick their butts on a regular basis. This is even reflected in how whenever win/loss ratios of main character Pokemon are discussed, wins against Team Rocket are almost always disregarded.

True, but those weren’t Team Rocket’s Pokémon that Ash battled & defeated. They were Giovanni’s. The fact that Team Rocket used Giovanni’s Pokémon all at once against Ash, to me, made Ash’s challenge against them much more difficult that it usually is. They used all those tactics to ensure Ash wouldn’t win, but he still won. I think Ash won fair and square.

Now it wasn’t Ash’s fault that Giovanni had to leave his gym on such short notice due to Mewtwo going berserk.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

True, but those weren’t Team Rocket’s Pokémon that Ash battled & defeated. They were Giovanni’s. The fact that Team Rocket used Giovanni’s Pokémon all at once against Ash, to me, made Ash’s challenge against them much more difficult that it usually is. They used all those tactics to ensure Ash wouldn’t win, but he still won. I think Ash won fair and square.

...I know, I said exactly that XD

 

[trubbish-eat-rubbish]

I think that saying Goh abandoned Raboot is a bit too harsh of a way to describe it. He genuinely thought that Raboot would be happier without him and left it with Pokemon that Raboot went out of his way to help. Goh ideally should have asked Raboot if it wanted to stay there instead of assuming that was the case or gave a clear farewell to Raboot after it woke up, which probably ties into Goh not really undestanding his Pokemon's feelings at the beginning of the series, but I don't think it's fair to say that he got away with almost abandoning Raboot. I don't think he needed to be punished for it exactly either. Goh did immediately regret his decision after Ash confronted him about it and he was going to go back for it before the train left. I think it was less about giving Goh a free pass for what he did to Raboot and more like they wanted to mirror Scorbunny thinking that it lost its chance to find Goh at the beginning of the series with Goh thinking he lost Raboot.

Yes, I think I was a bit harsh by saying Goh almost abandoned Raboot. I just didn't like how the episode ended. If Ash hadn't confronted Goh, he would probably just have left Raboot there with no previous warning. Again, I know he had good intentions, but he made a pretty bad mistake that could have deeply hurt Raboot, and made for a good episode plot! It could've made for a heartwarming episode where Goh realises his mistake and goes back to Hoenn to find Raboot. But the conflict was just resolved in two minutes in a way I personally found unsatisfying. I like Goh, and that's exactly why I wish they did something more interesting with him. I feel he has potential, but the way he's being handled he just comes across as supremely boring.

IMO, the dub music started making the dub unpleasant to watch during the Black & White series. Or at least, the quality of music between the original and the dub grew dramatically.

I watch the Latin American dub and for me the music lowered in quality since XY. I liked all the opening themes from OS to BW: Adventures in Unova (and Beyond) but there was not one opening from XY to SM: Ultra Legends that I liked. Which is sad because the Japanese opening/ending themes for SM were so good, the dub deserved much better music. At least the Journeys opening theme is nice.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Yes, I think I was a bit harsh by saying Goh almost abandoned Raboot. I just didn't like how the episode ended. If Ash hadn't confronted Goh, he would probably just have left Raboot there with no previous warning. Again, I know he had good intentions, but he made a pretty bad mistake that could have deeply hurt Raboot, and made for a good episode plot! It could've made for a heartwarming episode where Goh realises his mistake and goes back to Hoenn to find Raboot. But the conflict was just resolved in two minutes in a way I personally found unsatisfying. I like Goh, and that's exactly why I wish they did something more interesting with him. I feel he has potential, but the way he's being handled he just comes across as supremely boring.

I can understand that. Part of that probably does have to do with how Journeys seemingly isn't interested in having more two parter episodes or arcs, even when there is potential for them to do so. The Suicune episode easily could have been made into a two-parter for example. I'm not sure if Ash was the only reason Goh changed his mind. He was pretty heartbroken about it already and could have still changed his mind on his own. I would say that Ash confronting him about it accelerated that thought process rather than being the only reason it happened. Raboot being on the train already also kind of fits with its behavior throughout the episode. It had been disappearing during the night only to show back up at the Pokemon Center multiple times, so having it be on the train beforehand doesn't really feel like a cheap cop out with that setup in mind.

I can still understand not being satisfied with the resolution. I still kind of wish that Raboot's behavior change was the result of Goh getting upset at it for trying to learn Ember, but I still think it worked given that Goh still thought he was the problem instead of Raboot, Raboot's behavior change being the result of its evolution still fits with its moody teenager design and Goh's excitement over seeing Raboot smiling in front of him was just heartwarming. While I do agree with some of the common complaints about Goh and how he has been handled, that episode is one of my favorites in Journey thus far. It really cemented how much I love Goh and his bond with Raboot is quite touching too.

 

[LovelyChika123]

I’ll be the elephant in the room and say that Serena is my least favorite of the girl companions (that doesn’t mean I hate her...I just like her the least). In the first season of XY, she seemed boring and she felt like filler. Her Pokémon are the only things I like about her because I feel they have more personality at the time (like Iris’ Dragonite, I enjoyed how her Fennekin/Braixen had this diva like personality, making it unique). To me, Serena feels like she’s just there to be a fan girl for Ash for the first few episodes (I’ve even see some of her fans say that they’ve had issues with Serena’s character regarding her goal).

Yes I understand she does pursue showcases later on, but I never felt showcases really required any effort for one to be skilled in. That’s why I found it weird that Serena tried to compare showcases to gym battles when Ash lost to Wulfric at the Snowbelle Gym. Serena, to me, needed a stronger goal and another reason to be on the show despite just being fan service.

EDIT: I do believe that Serena does go through some development, but there were still some issues I had with her character. Also, I do believe that Serena did a good job regarding raising her Pokémon, I’ll give her that (I’m guessing I’m saying this because she has my favorite Eeveelotion Sylveon). I never understood why anyone would hate Serena for only having 3 Pokémon when she’s not even a trainer.

 

[Hidden Mew]

In retrospect, I think it was a bad idea to give Ash fully evolved Pokemon like Dragonite and Gengar. That isn't because I dislike either Pokemon. They both had great capture episodes, it showed that they were going for something different with Ash's team this time around and Dragonite's skills during the Korrina battle was a real highlight of the match for me. So I do understand why people are upset that they have such minimal screentime. I say that it was a bad choice to give Ash fully evolved Pokemon because that does limit how much development and growth his team can go through. Dragonite and Gengar aren't super powerful exactly, but since they are fully evolved and the show doesn't seem interested in doing a lot of on-screen training, there isn't a lot that they can do with them. That is probably one reason why Riolu got so much attention. It had room to grow and evolve. Obviously Lucario being incredibly popular was a big factor too and most of Riolu's moves were still taught off-screen, so I don't know if Dragonite and Gengar would have fared much better if Ash caught them unevolved either. This is one reason I hope that Ash catches more Pokemon since it would give him more Pokemon to raise and grow instead of getting more fully evolved Pokemon off the bat.

I was going to wait until I finished watching Journeys' first season, but at this point, I think it's safe to say that I prefer Goh's catching Pokemon goal over the PWC. It's probably more accurate to say that Goh's goal doesn't frustrate me as much as Ash's does, but I still prefer it at this point. I do agree with some of the complaints about Goh's goal. If they really want to mimic the Pokemon Go capture style, Goh should really struggle more to make these captures. However, I still generally enjoy watching Goh catch Pokemon, if only because it does remind me of how going on a capture spree can be fun in the games. It probably does help that I play Pokemon Go all the time too, so this catching method, while not really fitting within the context of the anime too well, still doesn't bother me because I'm used to doing it myself. Admittedly, that still probably isn't good when the anime treated captures as bigger deals before, but I don't put the blame on Goh for that. That is more on the writers for not treating most of his Pokemon as actual characters and being more focused on quantity than quality. Despite that, I still like seeing Goh capture Pokemon.

The PWC, on the other hand, is beyond salvageable for me at this point. To be fair, I think that the hype around this goal that I heard about prior to seeing the series is a big factor. People have been saying that going back to Gyms would be a downgrade for Ash and that this is a step up for him because it's a bigger grander tournament, but I just don't see it. Aside from three Gym Leaders, he has only battled against one shot opponents in short one-on-one battles. Am I really supposed to think that Ash is getting one step closer to Leon because he defeated an Elekid in a minute or defeated the bug girl's Heracross in two minutes? If they wanted to make the PWC into a bigger deal, not having most of Ash's matches being footnotes would have helped. This also makes the whole Ash's over confidence with his first match against Bea much harder to pull off. Winning non-stop would feed into Ash's ego, but it usually helps when he's defeated multiple strong opponents. Outside of Korrina, who Ash already defeated, none of his opponents prior to Bea were that strong, making the over confidence point harder to really pull off.

The match against Bea didn't make me think that Ash could potentially have stronger opponents as the PWC progresses. It made me think that getting the Galar Gym Challenge would be far more interesting and challenging. Bea is only the fourth Gym Leader in Sword, so all of the other Gym Leaders should be especially strong as well. I suppose that there is still time to make the PWC actually a good and compelling goal, but if this how they start it out within Journeys' first year, I don't have much confidence that they'll suddenly make it good as Ash progresses through the ranks.

 

[Daren]

In retrospect, I think it was a bad idea to give Ash fully evolved Pokemon like Dragonite and Gengar. That isn't because I dislike either Pokemon. They both had great capture episodes, it showed that they were going for something different with Ash's team this time around and Dragonite's skills during the Korrina battle was a real highlight of the match for me. So I do understand why people are upset that they have such minimal screentime. I say that it was a bad choice to give Ash fully evolved Pokemon because that does limit how much development and growth his team can go through. Dragonite and Gengar aren't super powerful exactly, but since they are fully evolved and the show doesn't seem interested in doing a lot of on-screen training, there isn't a lot that they can do with them. That is probably one reason why Riolu got so much attention. It had room to grow and evolve. Obviously Lucario being incredibly popular was a big factor too and most of Riolu's moves were still taught off-screen, so I don't know if Dragonite and Gengar would have fared much better if Ash caught them unevolved either. This is one reason I hope that Ash catches more Pokemon since it would give him more Pokemon to raise and grow instead of getting more fully evolved Pokemon off the bat.

At this point I strongly suspect he was given fully evolved Pokémon specifically because they planned to give Ash Riolu than focus most of the development on it and wanted his other captuess to be low maintenance, so to speak.
...looking back maybe that's also why Pidgeotto and Noctowl were already evolved but the more prominent later regional birds weren't. Hmm.

The PWC, on the other hand, is beyond salvageable for me at this point. To be fair, I think that the hype around this goal that I heard about prior to seeing the series is a big factor. People have been saying that going back to Gyms would be a downgrade for Ash and that this is a step up for him because it's a bigger grander tournament, but I just don't see it. Aside from three Gym Leaders, he has only battled against one shot opponents in short one-on-one battles. Am I really supposed to think that Ash is getting one step closer to Leon because he defeated an Elekid in a minute or defeated the bug girl's Heracross in two minutes? If they wanted to make the PWC into a bigger deal, not having most of Ash's matches being footnotes would have helped. This also makes the whole Ash's over confidence with his first match against Bea much harder to pull off. Winning non-stop would feed into Ash's ego, but it usually helps when he's defeated multiple strong opponents. Outside of Korrina, who Ash already defeated, none of his opponents prior to Bea were that strong, making the over confidence point harder to really pull off.

Honestly I'm starting to worry that the "I have no idea if Ash will face Leon" statement in that one interview wasn't just playing coy, but they genuinely do not know what they're doing with Ash at this point and the PWC is going to be a big nothing that nobody is really happy with.
(It could be argued that's been true for years now but that the cracks are really starting to show now that they're not relying on a league as a focusing point.)

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

its ironic that you consider the PWC 'beyond salvageable' while enjoying the "catch em all" grind when ironically, the latter is responsible for the former not being handled well and given the needed focus.

Not necessarily.

 

[KenzeyEevee]

Journeys is getting less and less exciting

 

[Hidden Mew]

Honestly I'm starting to worry that the "I have no idea if Ash will face Leon" statement in that one interview wasn't just playing coy, but they genuinely do not know what they're doing with Ash at this point and the PWC is going to be a big nothing that nobody is really happy with.
(It could be argued that's been true for years now but that the cracks are really starting to show now that they're not relying on a league as a focusing point.)

The idea of the PWC being a big at this point sounds pretty likely to me. Not having a clear sign of progression like with the Gym badge quest is also probably part of the problem. There are the different ranks and the classes, but it is harder to see how winning one battle increases Ash's rank compared to just getting a badge.

its ironic that you consider the PWC 'beyond salvageable' while enjoying the "catch em all" grind when ironically, the latter is responsible for the former not being handled well and given the needed focus.

Not really. Putting all of the blame on Goh for how the PWC has been handled is just using him as a scapegoat. My problems with the PWC is really just how it has been handled from the ground up. Problems like the amount of short one-on-one battles against one shot characters or how incredibly unimpressive the PWC feels isn't because they spend so much time on Goh's goal. It's because the series is too fast paced for its own good and doesn't want to spend time fleshing out its plot points, which isn't exclusive to just Ash's goal either. That's probably why we rarely get multiple-part episodes, they barely spend time in any region not named Kanto and to a degree Galar, the longest battles thus far have been just two-on-two and why Goh catches Pokemon relatively easy. That is more of the root cause of a lot of Journeys' problems instead of saying it's all Goh's fault. Blaming Goh or how his his goal has been handled for the problems with the PWC is kind of missing the point, or at least the point of everything in my post. Goh isn't the reason why they decided to make most of Ash's PWC matches into two minute footnotes as opposed to making them to central focus of those episodes.