Controversial opinions

[DarkraiKnight]

It always bothers me how people insult and ridicule Ash for not catching Larvitar.

I mean, I get that it was a pseudo and all, but he was specifically tasked to return it to its mother. What did people expect, that he flipped her off and kidnapped the baby?

Agreed - and the same goes for Greninja. Even if the reason he was released was a bit ham-fisted, Ash was still morally correct to do so, and the fact that some people don't care about that bothers me.

 

[HiroHunter]

Agreed - and the same goes for Greninja. Even if the reason he was released was a bit ham-fisted, Ash was still morally correct to do so, and the fact that some people don't care about that bothers me.

For me its more of the case that I get why he did it. I only have two things to talk about it.

1. Can't Aura or psychic ability see the vines if not why I wish we got more about that.
2. I wish Ash went with them to help out.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

For me its more of the case that I get why he did it. I only have two things to talk about it.

1. Can't Aura or psychic ability see the vines if not why I wish we got more about that.
2. I wish Ash went with them to help out.

Ash had to travel to the next region. He couldn't stay.

 

[HiroHunter]

Ash had to travel to the next region. He couldn't stay.

Why not use a time skip to when he in the next region.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Why not use a time skip to when he in the next region.

That's not how it's done. Ash needs to return to Pallet Town in between regions.

 

[HiroHunter]

That's not how it's done. Ash needs to return to Pallet Town in between regions.

Then what was Decolora Adventure back in BW?

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Then what was Decolora Adventure back in BW?

Umm... Ash did visit Pallet Town at the end of that arc. For an entire episode.

 

[HiroHunter]

Umm... Ash did visit Pallet Town at the end of that arc. For an entire episode.

Yeah at the end everything else before that filler to get to that point. You could had use a time skip to Ash being back in Pallet town and you would had gotten the same feeling.

 

[FluffleFi]

People are always trying to ridicule Ash for the most ridiculous reason; He never win, he releases all his good Pokemon, he forgets everything, he doesn't know his types..its a whole lot of whining. I mean, hasn't Ash stated before that he doesn't care about type advantages? If having the advantage was really THAT important, I doubt people would specialize in just one.

The thing I think I hate the most is when people compare him to the game version of Red. The two worlds are just two different for a fair comparison. Of course Red caught all 151 Pokemon, he doesn't have to worry about feeding and taking care of them all. But in real life, there's no way someone would be able to take care of that many creatures. And taining them all would be next to impossible. YOu can't just face the Elite 4 over and over again. And of course Red can single-handled take out Team Rocket. In-game they're a complete joke, and its not like Ash has ever had any desire to take down the whole organization. Really, considering Red is a playable character with no real personality to him, its not a case of 'Look at Red and his accomplishments, he's a badass!'. Nah, its more like the people who make these arguments are saying 'Look at my accomplishments! I'm a badass! I've done everything that Ash could only hope to do!'. Absolutely ridiculous.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I'm honestly tired of people saying that Ash gets rid of his best Pokémon. And this was something that I heard a lot after Ash released Greninja and Goodra. In other words, those people who were complaining about that completely forgot that Ash previously only released Pokémon during the original series, over a decade earlier. And Charizard doesn't even count, despite what some may partially see it as.

 

[DarkraiKnight]

Really, considering Red is a playable character with no real personality to him, its not a case of 'Look at Red and his accomplishments, he's a badass!'. Nah, its more like the people who make these arguments are saying 'Look at my accomplishments! I'm a badass! I've done everything that Ash could only hope to do!'. Absolutely ridiculous.

This. Just...this.

I don't see how people can logically compare themselves playing a game and Ash's experiences as a Trainer, and then claim that they're better than him. Not only are there many differences between the games and the anime, but there's also the simple fact that they're not and will never be real Pokemon Trainers. And if Pokemon did become real by some freaky cosmic miracle, I would bet 100 bucks that the same people who spew that stuff would find themselves doing just as poorly as Ash in the OS series.

(PS: Another controversial opinion incoming: Should such a miracle ever happen, Ledyba would be a top candidate for my starter Pokemon.)

 

[Daenerys]

People are always trying to ridicule Ash for the most ridiculous reason; He never win, he releases all his good Pokemon, he forgets everything, he doesn't know his types..its a whole lot of whining.

Er, minus the type advantage/disadvantage thing, those are all reasonable criticisms of Ash's character. Granted, sometimes folks make too much of a big deal about his losses, but I get why people are critical of some of his big losses since it's frustrating to see such a seasoned trainer lose to something like Snivy for instance (I'm not gonna delve into the mechanics of that match; I'm just using that instance as an example of losses that ticked people off). And Ash releasing some of his Pokemon might be unselfish on his part, but fans who grew fond of Butterfree, Lapras, Goodra, etc. would obviously have strong reactions about their goodbyes.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

And Ash releasing some of his Pokemon might be unselfish on his part, but fans who grew fond of Butterfree, Lapras, Goodra, etc. would obviously have strong reactions about their goodbyes.

Like I've said before, people mainly remember Butterfree because of its emotional release.

But true. Ash only releases or gives away Pokémon if he thinks it's for their best. He's the kind of person who's willing to sacrifice his own happiness and well-being for the sake of his Pokémon.

@FluffleFi
Your post about how Ash shouldn't be compared to Red reminded me of a quite irritating YouTube comment war I've happened to witness and maybe even participate in. Not giving any usernames, but here are some examples of some comments that seriously tick me off.

Why can't [Pokémon Generations] be the Pokemon anime instead of ash doing nothing for 20 years

Eh the animes meh mostly cause Ash is this child who does things that are better in game even the battles seem to be better in the game to me :/

Ash is nothing compared to Sun/Elio who defeated all of team RAINBOW ROCKET. The anime refuses to take risks, I have no respect for it because it is no longer real storytelling, just a money machine. The manga and games may bring in money, but at least they tell stories that END.

the anime is really really really stupid. ash has plot armor, the "power of friendship and love" is too big of a factor in battles and types are basically completely useless

Ash sucks we need some game protagonist to play the head part I’m tired of seeing Ash Ketchup

PS. Sorry for the double post. Didn't mean to post this yet, hit "post reply" button out of muscle memory.

 

[Almonds]

I like Ash's Kalos team because it really shows his style and preference. It worked with him best.

 

[HiroHunter]

Origins Red is overhyped
Paul is overhyped
BW is a bit better than SM

 

[Nicolas721]

The thing I think I hate the most is when people compare him to the game version of Red. The two worlds are just two different for a fair comparison. Of course Red caught all 151 Pokemon, he doesn't have to worry about feeding and taking care of them all. But in real life, there's no way someone would be able to take care of that many creatures. And taining them all would be next to impossible. YOu can't just face the Elite 4 over and over again. And of course Red can single-handled take out Team Rocket. In-game they're a complete joke, and its not like Ash has ever had any desire to take down the whole organization. Really, considering Red is a playable character with no real personality to him, its not a case of 'Look at Red and his accomplishments, he's a badass!'. Nah, its more like the people who make these arguments are saying 'Look at my accomplishments! I'm a badass! I've done everything that Ash could only hope to do!'. Absolutely ridiculous.

I agree. There are two things about the games people forget when comparing themselves to Ash:

1. The league is closer in concept and execution to the World Championships than to the in-game league. Trainers can come from any part of the world, plan their teams very carefully, most have participated in multiple leagues and most of them don't rely on a single type (the in-game league is much easier because of that). So you can say the only people in the world who can actually laugh at Ash's place are the winner and the runner-up of all the past championships.
2. Evil teams don't disband because a badass 10-year old curbstomped them, but rather because their plans are very dumb and because their leaders take everything personal, which happens because of gameplay reasons. Knocking out the boss is the only thing that stops the evil team, and iy you lose you just have to start again.

Ash's progress hasn't been the best but to say that every player character is automatically better is definitely unfair.

 

[CaptainBuggles]

In my case, and likely some others, it's not that I want Ash's perfection, or constant badassery, or for him to prove he's "better than Red". It's more that I'm looking at the consistency and pacing. Basically, whether or not his progress feels timely, engaging, and logical.

Even the phenomenon of Ash "soft resetting" isn't entirely unforgivable in that regard, as it's at least consistent in itself, even if it makes the 'big picture' less consistent.

For me, it's not even purely a recent phenomenon. Even the OS has frustrated me at times when it feels like certain flaws and hurdles get overextended past their welcome. On one hand, playing off of flaws can make for a more entertaining experience... But on the other hand, this kid has already had plenty of losses and gotten into dozens upon dozens of dangerous situations. But still, he has to lose to Richie to finally begin to wisen up a little more when it comes to training, and his Charizard has to almost die for him to finally sort out the issue with him. His Top 32 position ends up feeling like it's not even really an accurate reflection of skill, due to the multiple factors that were more about how good or bad his luck was at a given point.

 

[FluffleFi]

If the next Pokegirl is the female protagonist from the games, I hope she's someone who's already experienced in whatever goal she's going to have. Not an expert by any means, but also not a complete rookie of a trainer who needs to learn from Ash. And maybe she can even have a similiar relationship to him that Dawn did; as in they learn from each other's unique styles.

 

[Daenerys]

I don't think an already experienced Pokegirl would work as well as some would think. Being a rookie allows for more room to grow, whereas having experience leads to quicker stagnation imo. Just look at Cilan; he was already an experienced Pokemon Connoisseur when he joined the cast, and by the end of BW he had changed very little. Do we really need a female Cilan in Galar?

 

[CaptainBuggles]

I don't think an already experienced Pokegirl would work as well as some would think. Being a rookie allows for more room to grow, whereas having experience leads to quicker stagnation imo. Just look at Cilan; he was already an experienced Pokemon Connoisseur when he joined the cast, and by the end of BW he had changed very little. Do we really need a female Cilan in Galar?

The problem there I think wasn't directly that Cilan was experienced. It was that his goal lacked structure and focus. By extension, he didn't change much because there wasn't much to change him in the first place.

You get a passing sense of what a Connoisseur is and does, but you don't really see much of the actual process behind it, or anything like that. They all just kind of exist, for the most part.

Plus, just look at the Battle Frontier arc. A bunch of people still liked that, even though Ash didn't reset or have fewer Pokemon at all. It just gave him a series of structured activities and things to accomplish, while still being appropriate to his skill level.

So basically, just give characters stuff to do and you're fine either way.

I actually think Galar might have a good amount of space for goals with more structure to them. Based on my guesses/extrapolations from the game trailer, it might have more of a sporty/athletic theme, which would work pretty well considering that battling is already basically a sport in itself. All you'd really have to do is come up with a good enough alternative sport, and you could get a good amount of mileage out of that.

In the past, they've already had quite a few episodes with alternative Pokemon sports, and a good chunk of those were relatively interesting.