Controversial opinions

[Rainbow-Rain]

As much as I complain about Charizard shilling I do appreciate that it, along with Sceptile, Krookodile, and Inteleon were on the Main cast as they are some of the rare few cases of actual Positive Portrayals of Reptiles in Media

All too often, whenever I see shows, movies, video games, etc with Animals or Furry characters, 9 times out of 10 the Reptile characters (usually Lizards) are portrayed as Bad Guys, Antagonists, or Villains

As a Reptile lover this portrayal has always saddened me even as a kid.

It was like Media was saying, "No kids, you shouldn't love Lizards, Snakes, Alligators, or any Reptiles! Those are "Evil" animals!"
"Only the Mammals and maybe the Birds are trustworthy!"

Meanwhile Pokemon just???? Doesn't give a flying fuck about Animal stereotypes and treats Lizards Pokemon just as kind hearted and Heroic as the Mammalian Pokemon?

Even to the point of having unconventionally non cute Lizard Pokemon allowed on the main cast in the Anime?

And in the cases of Charizard, Sceptile, Krookodile and Inteleon, 3 out of 4 of those Pokémon were Aces of the PROTAGONIST of the series.

The last one belongs to the Co Protagonist who gets just as much attention as the actual Protagonist


Seeing Lizards portrayed as anything other a Moustache twirling villan is actually kinda rare in most media


For example look at The Galar Starters respective species

-You'll find plenty of Heroic Rabbits in Fiction with Bugs Bunny is one of the most Iconic characters in fiction

-There's also Roger Rabbit

-With Heroic Gorillas, They have Donkey Kong who is again, one of the most Iconic characters in fiction.

-They also have Goku, Vegeta, and Broly from Dragon Ball who are Saiyans which are technically Gorillas (Great Apes)

-Also while not Gorilla himself, Tarzan was raised by Gorillas



But what makes Inteleon particularly stand out to me is, How many Heroic Lizards do you see in Fiction?

Only one that comes to my mind off the top of my head is Rango. An obscure movie from over a decade ago.....

Goh's Inteleon being portrayed the way it is (as Heroic, Suave, and Charming) would've been unheard of in literally ANY other series

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

That actually reminds me, for all of Pokemon's good work at bringing obscure and unpopular species into the spotlight with positive portrayals, I feel that even it has fumbled a bit when it comes to certain depictions of its own creatures, which is even more egregious when the anime itself is what pioneeered the idea that no Pokemon is truly evil in the franchise. Take Spearow and Fearow, for example. These days they languish in obscurity even despite being part of the original 151, but back when they were more prominent pretty much all of those birds' major roles were antagonistic: literally the very first "villains" of the Pokemon anime were the Spearow flock that hospitalized Pikachu, and later a Fearow was pitted as the arch-enemy of Ash's loyal and noble Pidgeot. Then a Team Rocket admin used two Fearows in the Red Gyarados arc against Lance and his Dragonite. Essentially, if we were to judge Spearow and Fearow by their anime appearances alone one could easily get the impression that those guys are basically feathered demons.

I dunno, I guess I just find it really odd that we never really saw a single heroic Fearow when even things like Houndoom and Malamar were allowed to have such positive portrayals.

 

[SlyGecko]

That actually reminds me, for all of Pokemon's good work at bringing obscure and unpopular species into the spotlight with positive portrayals, I feel that even it has fumbled a bit when it comes to certain depictions of its own creatures, which is even more egregious when the anime itself is what pioneeered the idea that no Pokemon is truly evil in the franchise. Take Spearow and Fearow, for example. These days they languish in obscurity even despite being part of the original 151, but back when they were more prominent pretty much all of those birds' major roles were antagonistic: literally the very first "villains" of the Pokemon anime were the Spearow flock that hospitalized Pikachu, and later a Fearow was pitted as the arch-enemy of Ash's loyal and noble Pidgeot. Then a Team Rocket admin used two Fearows in the Red Gyarados arc against Lance and his Dragonite. Essentially, if we were to judge Spearow and Fearow by their anime appearances alone one could easily get the impression that those guys are basically feathered demons.

I dunno, I guess I just find it really odd that we never really saw a single heroic Fearow when even things like Houndoom and Malamar were allowed to have such positive portrayals.

The only time I can recall a Fearrow not being a full on antagonist was the one Ash owned in "the Electric tales of Pikachu" Manga. Though that's mainly because it basically replaced Pidgeotto as Ash's bird.

 

[JinksChow]

That actually reminds me, for all of Pokemon's good work at bringing obscure and unpopular species into the spotlight with positive portrayals, I feel that even it has fumbled a bit when it comes to certain depictions of its own creatures, which is even more egregious when the anime itself is what pioneeered the idea that no Pokemon is truly evil in the franchise. Take Spearow and Fearow, for example. These days they languish in obscurity even despite being part of the original 151, but back when they were more prominent pretty much all of those birds' major roles were antagonistic: literally the very first "villains" of the Pokemon anime were the Spearow flock that hospitalized Pikachu, and later a Fearow was pitted as the arch-enemy of Ash's loyal and noble Pidgeot. Then a Team Rocket admin used two Fearows in the Red Gyarados arc against Lance and his Dragonite. Essentially, if we were to judge Spearow and Fearow by their anime appearances alone one could easily get the impression that those guys are basically feathered demons.

I dunno, I guess I just find it really odd that we never really saw a single heroic Fearow when even things like Houndoom and Malamar were allowed to have such positive portrayals.

Even in the games, Fearow and Spearow aren't really treated any better. I don't recall any notable characters who use either in the mainline games, and in base SM, wasn't Lillie attacked by a group of wild Spearow at the beginning of the game?

 

[Kurolegacy]

That actually reminds me, for all of Pokemon's good work at bringing obscure and unpopular species into the spotlight with positive portrayals, I feel that even it has fumbled a bit when it comes to certain depictions of its own creatures, which is even more egregious when the anime itself is what pioneeered the idea that no Pokemon is truly evil in the franchise. Take Spearow and Fearow, for example. These days they languish in obscurity even despite being part of the original 151, but back when they were more prominent pretty much all of those birds' major roles were antagonistic: literally the very first "villains" of the Pokemon anime were the Spearow flock that hospitalized Pikachu, and later a Fearow was pitted as the arch-enemy of Ash's loyal and noble Pidgeot. Then a Team Rocket admin used two Fearows in the Red Gyarados arc against Lance and his Dragonite. Essentially, if we were to judge Spearow and Fearow by their anime appearances alone one could easily get the impression that those guys are basically feathered demons.

I dunno, I guess I just find it really odd that we never really saw a single heroic Fearow when even things like Houndoom and Malamar were allowed to have such positive portrayals.

Honestly it ends up being a bigger missed opportunity that Ash didn’t capture Fearow despite trying to back when Pidgeotto evolved. Had he given it another try after Pidgeot weakened it rather than just giving up after one attempt, Fearow would have ended up with a better showing. Being Ash’s Pokémon, it would have inevitably become friendly towards him and could have been given positive feats as the series went on.

 

[Jersey Jimmy]

I can't really speak from experience considering I don't watch the anime anymore, but Journeys seems like a really cool change of pace from the outside looking in. two big positives: first, they go to every region, and it's really nice to see a lot of old places and characters again. especially Iris, who I feel like has always been shafted by the fanbase, but that's a topic for another time.

the second is how absolutely yoked Ash's team is, and how different the composition is compared to a lot of his other regional teams. he doesn't have any Obligatory Regional Starters or the Obligatory Regional Bird, and while Gengar and Lucario in particular are pretty, uh... pander-y, they at least make sense for him to have (Lucario because of his aura usage, Gengar because it gives me so much closure for him to finally own a member of the Gastly line). also, he has a Dracovish. and Dracovish is cool.

 

[HiroHunter]

I can't really speak from experience considering I don't watch the anime anymore, but Journeys seems like a really cool change of pace from the outside looking in. two big positives: first, they go to every region, and it's really nice to see a lot of old places and characters again. especially Iris, who I feel like has always been shafted by the fanbase, but that's a topic for another time.

the second is how absolutely yoked Ash's team is, and how different the composition is compared to a lot of his other regional teams. he doesn't have any Obligatory Regional Starters or the Obligatory Regional Bird, and while Gengar and Lucario in particular are pretty, uh... pander-y, they at least make sense for him to have (Lucario because of his aura usage, Gengar because it gives me so much closure for him to finally own a member of the Gastly line). also, he has a Dracovish. and Dracovish is cool.

I agree at first glance JN does look really good. Its only when you start digging deeper into it when you find out how much of a mess it really is.

 

[Kurolegacy]

I can't really speak from experience considering I don't watch the anime anymore, but Journeys seems like a really cool change of pace from the outside looking in. two big positives: first, they go to every region, and it's really nice to see a lot of old places and characters again. especially Iris, who I feel like has always been shafted by the fanbase, but that's a topic for another time.

the second is how absolutely yoked Ash's team is, and how different the composition is compared to a lot of his other regional teams. he doesn't have any Obligatory Regional Starters or the Obligatory Regional Bird, and while Gengar and Lucario in particular are pretty, uh... pander-y, they at least make sense for him to have (Lucario because of his aura usage, Gengar because it gives me so much closure for him to finally own a member of the Gastly line). also, he has a Dracovish. and Dracovish is cool.

Journeys is basically like a mirage; it can look nice, maybe even great from a distance but get up close and the entire illusion falls apart to reveal just how empty it really is. Changes that have been made that break tradition are basically changes just for the sake of changes rather than because they actually have good story to tell. And as for the world travel, it’s the ultimate irony that for them having access to the entire world thus far, the Pokémon world has never felt so empty and lifeless. Really, in comparison to past series, Journeys is exceptionally shallow, like an empty shell of the series it’s supposed to be.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Honestly Pokemon gives no effort in the anime since DP. However XY had effort but XYZ only did for Team Flare.
JN is the worst offender of this. “We care about the fans” Looks at how they have treated Ash’s Pokemon, both reserves and current team members

 

[HiroHunter]

Honestly Pokemon gives no effort in the anime since DP. However XY had effort but XYZ only did for Team Flare.
JN is the worst offender of this. “We care about the fans” Looks at how they have treated Ash’s Pokemon, both reserves and current team members

No XYZ and SM had effort put into them. Now them being good or bad is one thing but at least they tried with them unlike with JN.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

No XYZ and SM had effort put into them. Now them being good or bad is one thing but at least they tried with them unlike with JN.

I mean yeah but JN they are just lazy with most things.

 

[HiroHunter]

I mean yeah but JN they are just lazy with most things.

JN feels like they but the bare minimum in the writing.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

I got a pretty big controversial one.

As much as I love Cinderace, I think evolving Scorbunny all the way to it's final stage so early in just the 1st year was a mistake

I honestly low-key wish that it stayed a Scorbunny or Raboot for a little while longer just so it could be outside of it's Pokeball more

We should've had Scorbunny for at least as long as we had Sobble and Grookey

 

[HiroHunter]

I got a pretty big controversial one.

As much as I love Cinderace, I think evolving Scorbunny all the way to it's final stage so early in just the 1st year was a mistake

I honestly low-key wish that it stayed a Scorbunny or Raboot for a little while longer just so it could be outside of it's Pokeball more

I would've had Scorbunny for at least as long as we had Sobble and Grookey and then evolved it part way into the 2nd year and then reached Cinderace by the end of the 2nd year

There are a lot of problems with how the Galar starters are being handled in the anime. The biggest ones for me is giving them all to Goh and Grookey.

 

[Soniman]

Though I at least like Cinderace I can say overall this is probably the worst bunch of starter treatment I've seen in the show period. Sucks to people that are huge fans of these starters, maybe next gen lol

I can't really speak from experience considering I don't watch the anime anymore, but Journeys seems like a really cool change of pace from the outside looking in. two big positives: first, they go to every region, and it's really nice to see a lot of old places and characters again. especially Iris, who I feel like has always been shafted by the fanbase, but that's a topic for another time.

the second is how absolutely yoked Ash's team is, and how different the composition is compared to a lot of his other regional teams. he doesn't have any Obligatory Regional Starters or the Obligatory Regional Bird, and while Gengar and Lucario in particular are pretty, uh... pander-y, they at least make sense for him to have (Lucario because of his aura usage, Gengar because it gives me so much closure for him to finally own a member of the Gastly line). also, he has a Dracovish. and Dracovish is cool.

As opposed to everyone else rushing to "warn" you how irredemable the show is I say give it a chance if your interested. I say this as someone with major problems myself, it definitely does have its good point and does get a little exhausting sometimes because as a half glass full kind of person I would much rather discuss things I enjoy in a piece of media than dislike if I think it's worth it. But like I said if your interested check or out

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

I hate when characters return especially in JN because of how they are spoiled and how they are handled and plus there’s too many of them

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Though I at least like Cinderace I can say overall this is probably the worst bunch of starter treatment I've seen in the show period. Sucks to people that are huge fans of these starters, maybe next gen lol

The writers hated SWSH as much as the fandom did and it really shows

Inb4 Goh stays and collects the Gen 9 Starters

 

[HiroHunter]

The writers hated SWSH as much as the fandom did and it really shows

I knew that from the moment they did the darkest days plot way too early and sped right though it without even trying to make it better (like the Team Flare arc in XY) or do anything with it after that fact (like with the AF arc in SM) and acted like it never happened.

 

[Rainbow-Rain]

Do you ever just realize....

 

[Hidden Mew]

I got a pretty big controversial one.

As much as I love Cinderace, I think evolving Scorbunny all the way to it's final stage so early in just the 1st year was a mistake

I honestly low-key wish that it stayed a Scorbunny or Raboot for a little while longer just so it could be outside of it's Pokeball more

We should've had Scorbunny for at least as long as we had Sobble and Grookey

Yeah, while I'm not as upset with how Scorbunny as a whole was handled as I think other fans are, I definitely don't think that they needed to rush through its evolutions. It's especially sad for me since Goh's relationship with Scorbunny was one of the reasons why I found him to be so likable. Raboot opening up to Goh is one of my favorite moments in the series. Given that they evolved it so fast and Journeys' issue of not giving Pokemon more attention unless they're being caught, evolving or getting an upgrade, it kind of put Cinderace on the sidelines way too soon. It also felt kind of odd to rush its evolution when they were willing to keep Sobble in its first form for awhile and Grookey doesn't have an evolution in sight yet either.

The writers hated SWSH as much as the fandom did and it really shows

I'm sure that this is another case of me taking a joke literally yet again, but despite the poor treatment of Galar, I don't think it was done because they hated it. Honestly, none of the regions really come off particularly well in this series, aside from Kanto and maybe Alola, if only because it didn't come off like a generic background. I still remember watching the Suicune episode and thinking that if they didn't label that the forest was in Johto, I would have just assumed that they were still in Kanto. I think that the writers were just more interested in this world tour format, as well as possibly showcasing more returning characters given how many we got in just the first year, and as a result, Galar got the short end of the stick. It's really disappointing, especially for someone like me who genuinely loves Sword/Shield and still thinks that the fanbase was too harsh on it, but I highly doubt that it has been treated this way because of the writers hating it or because of how much backlash the games got.