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Controversial opinions

Satoshi didn't meet any of them before.
Just because they competed in the same tournament doesn't mean they had to met each other.

Why? If Kanto region of Japan suddenly declares its indepence from Japan, it became a country, not stay as a region.
A world made exclusively out of thousands of microcountries? Be realistic. Even ignoring the fact that for secession to happen majority of people in the region would have to feel like a completely separate from said country, even ignoring the fact that it's doubtful UN and especially Japan itself would accept said independence (meaning it would mean nothing), even ignoring the fact that said hypothetical now-independent Kanto would likely soon be occupied - it's extremely rare for such small teritory to have nough resources for a whole country, even small one. Yes, there are small countries in the world - but they're exceptions rather than rule and usually have something that helps them maintain its independence (like Vatican's role in world's biggest religion or Monaco's status as one of the worlds biggest banking centre).

We haven't seen any proof about the existence of different coutries other than some petty kingdoms.
Kanto-Kalos all sharing the same National Dex, while Alola has a different one. That's the very first thing that comes to mind, though we could easily find some more by looking slightly deeper into source material.

Why he needs though? Shinji has no reason to remember the name of some 5th/8th place winner from Hoenn region unless they're battle each other. He didn't even know that Satoshi beat Battle Frontier, because he doesn't care about other people.
Repeating this for uptenth time: a) Paul/Shinji wasn't Ash's/Satoshi's only rival or only person who should've recognised him but didn't. b) He may not care about other people as people, but he cares about them as potential threats that he wants to be prepared for. c) Ash wasn't "some random guy" - despite him not winning his performance was considered one of, if not the best in the whole League. AND he saved the Holy Fire of Moltres from being stolen just before the League (before three separate Leagues in fact, but only incident before Hoenn League made it on TV), which was also something that was widely acknowledged. And even that is ignoring some other things that Ash did throughout Hoenn that should've also made him at least somewhat recognisable (Team Aqua/Magma incident, theft of the Ribbon Cup, easily everything that happened during 7th movie).

Sinnoh is not next to Kanto, it's even farther away compared to Hoenn (if we accept Japanese regions they based on).
...Except that only regions themself are based on real world - not their relative positions to each other. HeartGold/SoulSilver (specifically Arceus event) confirms that Sinnoh is just next to Kanto and Johto.
 
A world made exclusively out of thousands of microcountries? Be realistic.
Real world Kanto region is bigger than several countries like Belgium, Armenia, Albania and Israel. None of these are called microcountties.
...Except that only regions themself are based on real world - not their relative positions to each other.
Game canon is not anime canon.
HeartGold/SoulSilver (specifically Arceus event) confirms that Sinnoh is just next to Kanto and Johto.
How so? In Arceus event they teleport you from middle of Johto to someplace in north, between Johto and Sinnoh.
Just because they competed in the same tournament doesn't mean they had to met each other.
If Shinji was in Hoenn league at the same time as Satoshi, he would remember Satoshi as one of quarterfinalists, I think.
even ignoring the fact that it's doubtful UN and especially Japan itself would accept said independence (meaning it would mean nothing)
Do country of Japan and UN even exist in Pokemon world? I don't think so.
Yes, there are small countries in the world - but they're exceptions rather than rule and usually have something that helps them maintain its independence (like Vatican's role in world's biggest religion or Monaco's status as one of the worlds biggest banking centre).
So, now you're claiming that the existence of smaller countries doesn't make sense?
Kanto-Kalos all sharing the same National Dex, while Alola has a different one. That's the very first thing that comes to mind, though we could easily find some more by looking slightly deeper into source material.
Again, game canon.
He may not care about other people as people, but he cares about them as potential threats that he wants to be prepared for.
But he didn't, obviously.
Team Aqua/Magma incident
Did anyone even know about it?
 
Real world Kanto region is bigger than several countries like Belgium, Armenia, Albania and Israel. None of these are called microcountties.
Real world Kanto is not Pokemon World Kanto.

Game canon is not anime canon.
Aside from regions having more realistic sizes, it's clear any time any map is shown (like the title card throughout most oh AHoenn) that geography is the same. And I'm pretty sure the existence of "National Dex" was also mentioned somewhere in anime.

If Shinji was in Hoenn league at the same time as Satoshi, he would remember Satoshi as one of quarterfinalists, I think.
...Did you seriously just try to debunk my counterargument by repeating the exact same thing it was counter to with slightly different wording? Just because they didn't meet each other (and thus wouldn't remember each other) doesn't mean they couldn't particiapte in it at the same time.

Do country of Japan and UN even exist in Pokemon world? I don't think so.
I never said they did. You strated talking about real life Kanto instead of Pokemon world Kanto, so I replied with real life example that still works the same in Pokemon world - simply replace Japan and UN with whatever are their Pokemon World equivalents.

So, now you're claiming that the existence of smaller countries doesn't make sense?
You... din't even read my post, did you? Answer is right here in the very part you quoted: They. Are. Exceptions. Not. Rule.

But he didn't, obviously.
I... fail to see the sense of this post.

Did anyone even know about it?
It is mentioned several times, so...
 
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Real world Kanto is not Pokemon World Kanto.
How is that related to things I said? We were talking about the real world Kanto, not pokemon world Kanto.
It is mentioned several times, so...
When?
You... din't even read my post, did you? Answer is right here in the very part you quoted: They. Are. Exceptions. Not. Rule
How about learning history before making absurd claims like such? Some countries are really small, some are really big. There is no reason call a pokeworld made out of real life Kanto region size countries as unrealistic.
I never said they did. You strated talking about real life Kanto instead of Pokemon world Kanto, so I replied with real life example that still works the same in Pokemon world - simply replace Japan and UN with whatever are their Pokemon World equivalents.
Is there pokemon world equivalents of Japan and UN? I don't think so.
...Did you seriously just try to debunk my counterargument by repeating the exact same thing it was counter to with slightly different wording? Just because they didn't meet each other (and thus wouldn't remember each other) doesn't mean they couldn't particiapte in it at the same time.
So, Shinji joined the same Hoenn tournament yet he failed to rise to top 8?
Aside from regions having more realistic sizes, it's clear any time any map is shown (like the title card throughout most oh AHoenn) that geography is the same.
Not really, considering how much anime-only cities and towns there is.
And I'm pretty sure the existence of "National Dex" was also mentioned somewhere in anime.
I doubt it. ND first established in Gen3 games and we never seen any difference between Satoshi and other characters' pokedexes.
 
The same thing about Ilma participating in the Kalos league, but never heard of Ash before, even if he isnt remembered by being runner-up, he would be remembered as helping saving Kalos from Lysandre.
 
Thus as I prepare the flames of hate to fall before me, I'm gonna have to admit that (in my eyes so no, I'm not gonna come over here and command you all to agree with everything I say here) the Sun & Moon anime has been really forgettable... not terrible (although some episodes have steered dangerously close or even into that territory), just incredibly mediocre fluff.

I just haven't been feeling all that much excitement or thrill as I normally have with other seasons and I feel as if there's been a bit of a decline in terms of the writing (then again you can technically say that for every season, yesI'mtalkingaboutyouXY) and the battles which is one of my favourite parts of the show for the most part have ranged from okay to boring or straight up garbage (I hate you so much Lurantis) with only one or two really standing out.

Even the comedy is starting to really fizzle out feeling more obnoxious than ever. There's only so many times where I can stand seeing Ash or Pikachu or both stumble and trip through everything before I can only roll my eyes in absolute disbelief.

Oh and the less said about the so called "Ultra" Guardians shite, the better. I'm gonna be so freakin happy once all that's over (besides the Zeraora two parter), the Ultra Beast episodes have easily been one of the lowest points of the series (in my opinion)

I still do have some favourite episodes from the show (the Litten episode, the Zeraora two parter: especially the second part, anything related to Masked Royal and Gladion) and when the show does excel in quality, hot dang does it excel in said quality and if you're enjoying the series


we're all fine and dandy

give yourself a pat on the back and keep enjoying the show

but otherwise after we've packed our bags and left Alola for the next region (ignoring my favourite eps that I'll surely come back to) I don't think I'll be coming back to this series any time soon.
 
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Thus as I prepare the flames of hate to fall before me, I'm gonna have to admit that (in my eyes so no, I'm not gonna come over here and command you all to agree with everything I say here) the Sun & Moon anime has been really forgettable... not terrible (although some episodes have steered dangerously close or even into that territory), just incredibly mediocre fluff.

I just haven't been feeling all that much excitement or thrill as I normally have with other seasons and I feel as if there's been a bit of a decline in terms of the writing (then again you can technically say that for every season, yesI'mtalkingaboutyouXY) and the battles which is one of my favourite parts of the show for the most part have ranged from okay to boring or straight up garbage (I hate you so much Lurantis) with only one or two really standing out.

Even the comedy is starting to really fizzle out feeling more obnoxious than ever. There's only so many times where I can stand seeing Ash or Pikachu or both stumble and trip through everything before I can only roll my eyes in absolute disbelief.

Oh and the less said about the so called "Ultra" Guardians shite, the better. I'm gonna be so freakin happy once all that's over (besides the Zeraora two parter), the Ultra Beast episodes have easily been one of the lowest points of the series (in my opinion)

I still do have some favourite episodes from the show (the Litten episode, the Zeraora two parter: especially the second part, anything related to Masked Royal and Gladion) and when the show does excel in quality, hot dang does it excel in said quality and if you're enjoying the series


we're all fine and dandy

give yourself a pat on the back and keep enjoying the show

but otherwise after we've packed our bags and left Alola for the next region (ignoring my favourite eps that I'll surely come back to) I don't think I'll be coming back to this series any time soon.
But battles are improving since the league is coming
 
How? Because of what I seen (up to ep 98) the battles have been meh to bad over all.

I'd say so far the Kanto battles we had in the gym have so far been the high point in terms of them so far. On the Trial side Olivia has been my favourite of the lot, left a far nicer taste in my mouth compared to what came before it.

I'm hoping the third Gladion battle is decent compared to the first two which ended too quickly.
 
I don't think that the Ultra Guardian episodes have been that bad. Sometimes the comedy feels a bit strange and a couple of episodes didn't really present the group as particularly competent, mainly the Blacephalon vs. Xurkitree and Stakataka episodes, but for the most part, those episodes have been okay. Capturing other Ultra Beasts was mainly a side quest in the game, so I didn't think it would get a lot of attention. Even not being completely serious seems pretty fitting. Aside from Guzzlord, none of the Ultra Beasts appeared to be particularly threatening when they appeared in Alola. They were mostly just confused and wanted to go back home.

I also don't quite see how it is a Power Rangers/Super Sentai ripoff. I saw that comment a lot when they first started the Ultra Guardian plot, but I didn't really get that much of an impression from the group. Even the sequence where they get their uniform reminds me more of magical girl transformation sequences than Power Rangers getting their suits. Granted, I'm not too familiar with the genre beyond my experience with Power Rangers, so maybe I'm just missing something with that comparison, but it didn't really come off like they were trying to make a Pokemon Power Rangers team with the Ultra Guardians.

In regards to SM as a whole, I like it, but I can definitely understand the complaints about it. It has a clear lack of focus, especially in regards to Ash's goal, having a more slice of life approach after so many other series is rather jarring and few of the main characters get a good amount of focus, let alone actual character development. That being said, I still don't think that a lot of the issues I have with the series bother me too much since it is still pretty enjoyable to watch. I like Ash's upbeat personality, the group chemistry/friendship among the main cast is pretty nice, despite how a few of them don't really stand out that much individually, most of the new running gags have actually been funny, especially Bewear, there have been some good battles and it does have a nice relaxing tone to it that fits with the Alola region.

I don't think that the series would rate high among my list of favorite Pokemon series. If I had to rank it now, I'd put it above BW since none of the characters are annoyingly unlikable or poorly written, but I still like SM. If I had less issues with BW or my issues with SM bothered me a lot more, SM might have become my least favorite series, but despite my problems with the series, I'd still say that SM is fun to watch.

I also been rewatching the XYZ season of XY and I forgot just how much I actually liked Jessie's Showcase Performances. While I still hate Showcases immensely, her performances were one of the few bright spots since they were the closest to a regular Contest appeal. She also didn't do the same routine with little to no variations like we saw from pretty much all of the other Performers. Serena's Pokemon learning more moves might have helped to make her routines more interesting, but I think that they just needed to be a bit more creative with her Pokemon's limited movepool. Honestly, Showcases kind of fit with Jessie's personality more than Contests did, if only because the trainer is required to share the spotlight with their Pokemon during a Showcase. It's a shame that we didn't see how Jessie won her other two Princess Keys. I'm not surprised since Showcases were most likely designed with Serena specifically in mind and we would have only seen them briefly at best, but it would have been nice to see a bit as to how she was able to make it to the Master Class.
 
The same thing about Ilma participating in the Kalos league, but never heard of Ash before, even if he isnt remembered by being runner-up, he would be remembered as helping saving Kalos from Lysandre.
Now, that's a true case of bad writing.
He may have only taken on the Kalos League in a sense of challenging a Gym or two.
 
How is that related to things I said? We were talking about the real world Kanto, not pokemon world Kanto.
We were talking about real world Kanto as analogy to Pokemon world Kanto.

How about learning history before making absurd claims like such? Some countries are really small, some are really big. There is no reason call a pokeworld made out of real life Kanto region size countries as unrealistic.
How about learning economics before making absurd claims like such? There are historic cases of extremely small countries - and that's all: history. 2000 years ago all a society really needed to exist resourcewise was place to hunt and farm, some building materials and possibly some metals. Nowadays... not so much. You're unlikely to find all resources needed for stable economy (wood, coal, iron, cooper, oil, silicon... those are just the first that come to mind, far from all) on small teritory - and while you can import some, you also need something to export in turn. It's not impossible for a very small country to exist, but they're rare cases. And we're also ignoring the fact that humans are generally more inclined psychologicaly towards joining smaller societies together than splitting bigger.

Is there pokemon world equivalents of Japan and UN? I don't think so.
Any evidence for it not existing?

So, Shinji joined the same Hoenn tournament yet he failed to rise to top 8?
Excuse me for a moment while I facepalm over the stupidity of this claim.
...Okay, now that I am finished... let me get this clear. Top 8 are 8 participants that fight in four matches at different times and possibly different stadiums. How many of other top 8 particiapnts did Ash himself meet? They could both get there and still not remember each other.

Not really, considering how much anime-only cities and towns there is.
Which is part of "more realistic size". Geography itself and relative locations of landmarks appearing both in games and anime stay the same - it's just that... how to explain it... everything is "bigger".

I doubt it. ND first established in Gen3 games and we never seen any difference between Satoshi and other characters' pokedexes.
Because they always get them at the same place.

Honestly though... this leads to nowhere. Can we just agree to disagree?
 
How about learning economics before making absurd claims like such?
So, apparently international trade doesn't exist and all countries needs to be economic nationalist in your world. Did they not teach you about EU?
We were talking about real world Kanto as analogy to Pokemon world Kanto
Doesn't matter. You said that real world Kanto region (not pokemon world one) can't be an independent country.
Any evidence for it not existing?
If you're claiming that something exist, you need to prove its existence, it's not the job of other side of the argument.
Top 8 are 8 participants that fight in four matches at different times and possibly different stadiums.
Wouldn't he see their faces in screens? He didn't look up to other people equally successfull as himself? That's like the literal opposite of your original argument.
Geography itself and relative locations of landmarks appearing both in games and anime stay the same - it's just that... how to explain it... everything is "bigger".
So, you mean...compared to games...everything is farther away from each other? Including regions? It's nice that you undermined your own position for me.
Honestly though... this leads to nowhere. Can we just agree to disagree?
You're calling me stupid and then end your message with this? Seriously...
 
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The biggest mistake was not replacing Ash at the end of XY/XY&Z when he was at his best. They should have given Ash the league win, make a promise to reunite with Serena in the future, and be done with his journey once and for all. The anime forever lost their chance to reboot or start the show anew and promote a protagonist who would be the new face.
 
The biggest mistake was not replacing Ash at the end of XY/XY&Z when he was at his best. They should have given Ash the league win, make a promise to reunite with Serena in the future, and be done with his journey once and for all. The anime forever lost their chance to reboot or start the show anew and promote a protagonist who would be the new face.
Looking at it optimistically, they changed Ash's personality like they did every single season till now, so even through it's theoritically the same character, at least we get to watch him acting diffirent.
 
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They lost their chance to replace Ash when he was still the main character in AG. I can understand why people would want Ash to be replaced for a few reasons, but I still find the concept of replacing the main character after twenty years really strange. Maybe it could have worked if they did it much earlier, but that ship sailed ages ago.
 
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