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Controversial opinions

I'm not exactly sure about how controversial this take is, but I'm actually glad that Chloe didn't get that Ponyta in JN055.

Don't get me wrong: I do want her to catch it. It's one of my favorite regional forms alongside it's evolution, but considering that Ash won't get one, I'm really happy that is pretty much confirmed she will be getting one.

But I just feel that it wasn't the best moment. She had just gotten Eevee and was pratically just starting to also interact properly with Yamper. And considering one of her biggest things is about her coming to like Pokémon and to stop being so aphatetic towards them, I don't know, seeing her capturing a Pokemon just after 6 episodes of her capturing Eevee would be... weird to say the least. Having her build a stronger relationship with her current Pokemon, and having some buildup for a future capture is honestly the best way to go imo.

And considering that JN is so fast paced, I'm glad that they have decided to take an slower and steadier approach with Chloe.
 
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And considering that JN is so fast paced, I'm glad that they have decided to take an slower and steadier approach with Chloe.
Here's my controversial opinion: I don't find the current series to be fast paced at all. I don't think it's a slug fest or anything, but because it's trying to do so much, it feels like a lot gets crammed in what seems like a small episode count. I honestly think we may not even be a third into what the series has to offer yet.
 
It's good to see someone else acknowledge this point, as I'm dyslexic myself. As much as I do enjoy watching subbed stuff, it is noticeably harder to keep up with at times due to that. Sometimes I just don't feel like expending (or outright can't expend) my energy on rewinding every few seconds to absorb what was just said.

Everyone has their reasons. Like you said, if someone only watches the dub out of personal preference, no harm done at all. At the same time, it's also important to keep in mind when talking about this that watching dubbed media can be easier on people who are dyslexic or have ADHD too.

To many the subs aren’t readily accessible, and the dubs are either through streaming services like Netflix or a DVD Collection. The western DVD releases don’t have a language option, just the dub.
 
You also need to keep in mind that there are viewers who genuinely can't watch subs properly for various reasons, such as say, being dyslexic or slow readers. To people with such conditions, it's much more practical to watch a dubbed product because having to continually pause an episode to read the dialogue is frustrating and time consuming and I imagine takes away from the enjoyment. But even if there's someone who isn't dyslexic or a slow reader and watches the dub... so what?

Not only that, but I was watching a video made by a dub voice actor just the other day that specifies that you tend to miss 30% of what's happening on-screen just by reading the subs. According to him the best way to fully enjoy whatever you're watching is to concentrate entirely on the image and the best approach is to understand everything the characters are saying instead of reading their lines.
 
To take the subject away from anime for a moment, I've got to talk about something regarding the Adventures manga. I don't really like how many of the main characters are prodigies, because that takes away from potential character growth. For example, in the latest chapter, Sword & Shield, one or the main characters has thus far won all of his five Gym battles without losing a single Pokémon. Him winning the latest one was actually what inspired me to make this post.

If a character is too perfect, there's not really much room for character development and just makes the character boring. Some other Gary/Mary Stus in the manga include Crystal, who was so perfect by her debut already that she could only be given character development by temporarily devolving her and having her climb back to being an expert; Red, who was a good Trainer already by the time of his first appearance, and has never needed any relatives, apparently, since we've never as much as heard of anything from them; and Blake, who's literally nicknamed "Mr. Perfect", because he's flawless at everything he does. I could honestly rant a lot about the last one, but I'll leave it at that before I start doing so.

It's stuff like this that makes me appreciate Ash and his friends, who are all flawed in certain ways that make you root for them.
 
So with the knowledge that Iris'll be returning pretty soon some people think'll it be treated how like the return to Alola was treated; With Goh taking up focus to get to know the older cast. Personally, while I DO wish his goal could be handled differently, i'm indifferent to him. So I just gotta ask; Hasn't the return of a previous character always been treated in such a way? With the new character getting to know the old?

When Misty returned in Hoenn didn't she spend more time with Max, bonding over being younger siblings? He even started pulling on Brock's ear like she use to. With May returned in Sinnoh Dawn recognized her as the Princess of Hoenn and the two became best friends pretty fast. When it was Dawn's turn to come back she and Iris bonded quick and liked to tease Ash. If Iris had come back in Kalos I bet she and Serena would have gotten along, and Serena with the Alolan cast

I feel like this is how its always been After all, we had already seen their dynamic with Ash through a whole region(in Misty and May's cases, multiple), so doesn't it make sense to see how the old character's bounce off the new ones?
 
So with the knowledge that Iris'll be returning pretty soon some people think'll it be treated how like the return to Alola was treated; With Goh taking up focus to get to know the older cast. Personally, while I DO wish his goal could be handled differently, i'm indifferent to him. So I just gotta ask; Hasn't the return of a previous character always been treated in such a way? With the new character getting to know the old?

When Misty returned in Hoenn didn't she spend more time with Max, bonding over being younger siblings? He even started pulling on Brock's ear like she use to. With May returned in Sinnoh Dawn recognized her as the Princess of Hoenn and the two became best friends pretty fast. When it was Dawn's turn to come back she and Iris bonded quick and liked to tease Ash. If Iris had come back in Kalos I bet she and Serena would have gotten along, and Serena with the Alolan cast

I feel like this is how its always been After all, we had already seen their dynamic with Ash through a whole region(in Misty and May's cases, multiple), so doesn't it make sense to see how the old character's bounce off the new ones?

The difference being that all those returning characters you mentioned appeared in at least 2 consecutive episodes, meaning we have more opportunities to see new and old dynamics.
 
The difference being that all those returning characters you mentioned appeared in at least 2 consecutive episodes, meaning we have more opportunities to see new and old dynamics.
and never sidelined Ash completely with those interactions.

also doesn't help that the reason they went to Alola was because of the Exeggutor capture rather than being something more wholesome
ex: Ash depression arc where Kukui invites him over to cheer his spirits up
 
The difference being that all those returning characters you mentioned appeared in at least 2 consecutive episodes, meaning we have more opportunities to see new and old dynamics.

That still means that the problem is less on Goh taking up attention in the Alola episode and more on how they chose to cram in a lot of reunions and introductions into one episode. It wasn't rushed, but having another episode at least would have given them more breathing room, show more of what the SM cast had been doing and showcase both new and old dynamics more easily. Putting the blame on Goh for this episode just seems unfair to me when that isn't the actual problem.

Plus, it's pretty likely that they'll go back to Alola and interact with the SM cast again. It isn't a guarantee, but with the setup of the series, it is a good possibility, so I doubt that this will be the only chance Ash will have to be back in Alola again in Journeys at least. I could see Ash and Goh running into Lillie and her family down the road too.
 
That still means that the problem is less on Goh taking up attention in the Alola episode and more on how they chose to cram in a lot of reunions and introductions into one episode. It wasn't rushed, but having another episode at least would have given them more breathing room, show more of what the SM cast had been doing and showcase both new and old dynamics more easily. Putting the blame on Goh for this episode just seems unfair to me when that isn't the actual problem.
I mean... if they’re cramming a lot of stuff in one episode they should ensure that the focus isn’t lopsided for any one protagonist...
 
I mean... if they’re cramming a lot of stuff in one episode they should ensure that the focus isn’t lopsided for any one protagonist...

I didn't think that the focus was lopsided though. Ash didn't feel like an afterthought compared to Goh and I didn't think that Goh meeting with Ash's friends or battling Kiawe was given more importance than Ash reuniting with his friends and Alola family either. Most of the best moments of the episode still involved Ash reuniting with his friends or Professor Kukui. Even Goh's battle with Kiawe sticks out to me mainly due to Kiawe being an overprotective friend for Ash. Granted, I still feel like the complaints about the screentime come off more like exaggerations more than anything else, but even without factoring that in, I didn't think that Goh took up significantly more attention than Ash in the Alola episode.

The real issue was just trying to cram in so much into one episode and that would have most likely been the case regardless of Goh's role. Not having more multi-part episodes or arcs is a consistent problem with Journeys too, so it isn't an exclusive problem with just this one episode either. That's a big reason why it feels unfair to put the blame on Goh here, especially when it just makes me think that Goh seemingly can't do anything without getting any kind of backlash.
 
just a reminder that the reason they went to Alola in the first place is only so Goh could catch the Alolan Exeggutor and not because of the family reunion. once that goal was achieved, they instantly teleported back. the interactions ended up feeling secondary. that only harms the organics worldbuilding and further validates the complaint about Goh screenhogging
 
just a reminder that the reason they went to Alola in the first place is only so Goh could catch the Alolan Exeggutor and not because of the family reunion. once that goal was achieved, they instantly teleported back. the interactions ended up feeling secondary. that only harms the organics worldbuilding and further validates the complaint about Goh screenhogging

I wouldn't say that it makes the interactions feeling secondary. Despite being the reason for them going to Alola, catching an Alolan Exeggutor wasn't the main focus of the episode. It was still ultimately about Ash and Goh going to Alola and seeing his friends. Goh catching an Alolan Exeggutor was just the rationale behind the trip. Perhaps it wasn't the best reason for their first Alola trip, but I don't think it invalidates the focus on Ash interacting with his Alola family or friends again. I think that would be more of the takeaway fans get from this episode than going there because Goh wanted Alola Pokemon, especially when they do still want to go back there again someday and not just so that Goh can capture more Pokemon.

I definitely disagree that it validates the complaints on Goh's screentime. Teleporting back right after catching the Alolan Exeggutor seems more like another issue with trying to fit the whole Alola return trip into one episode. I didn't get the impression that the rest of the episode didn't matter because Goh achieved what he wanted to do in Alola at least. This just seems like too harsh of a read on the episode on both accounts in my opinion. I guess I shouldn't be surprised when there are quite a few episodes in Journeys that I really like and other fans tend to be more harsh and negative about them, but it really just makes me think that Goh can't really do anything without people getting upset about it at this point.
 
just a reminder that the reason they went to Alola in the first place is only so Goh could catch the Alolan Exeggutor and not because of the family reunion. once that goal was achieved, they instantly teleported back. the interactions ended up feeling secondary. that only harms the organics worldbuilding and further validates the complaint about Goh screenhogging
Ash can barely visit his own mother without a reason to do so and you want him to fly to Hawaii without some silly excuse? I mean, if there's one thing consistent with Ash is how good he's at ghosting his loved ones lmao
 
"Ash's old Pokemon shouldn't reappear because he has so many someone's favorite is going to be left out" is a terrible argument. If after Sinnoh 7 of Ash's old Pokemon were reused in each following tournament that's 21 of Ash's old Pokémon that would have be reused. That's not insignificant. Just because I really really really really want Kingler to reappear doesn't mean I wouldn't appreciate Torkoal or Krookodile reappearing. People who like a specific Pokemon are likely to like other pokemon from those types and gens or just other Pokemon in general. Granted you can argue in Best Wishes he had too many pokemon already or that we didn't have time for Ash's pokemon to reappear in Sun and Moon because they were focusing on other characters but those are specific cases and they still could have still squeezed in a couple. They had to spend significant screen time Naganadel reappearing when they could have just thrown a less used Kanto mon a bone because of Let's go.
 
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I don't really understand why Ash's Sliggoo learned Dragon Breath upon evolving, only to forget it a few episodes later upon evolving again in favor of Dragon Pulse. Seems kinda pointless to me.
You know? This here actually gives us a glimpse of a version of the anime where Goodra's evolution is less rushed: the episode where Goomy becomes Sliggoo could have just been an episode where Goomy learns Dragon Breath (since it's not like Goomy needs to evolve to learn it), while the episode where it evolves into Goodra could have been the episode where it evolves into Sliggoo. Then the evolution into Goodra could have happened either during or just before the Gym battle against Clemont, or the Wetlands arc could have been rewritten so it took place before Clemont's Gym and the full evolution into Goodra takes place during it while also not ending with Goodra's release.

The evolution still would have been a tad rushed like this, but at least it'd have been slightly less so.
 
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