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Do you think Ash will get a Galar starter in PM2019?

Will Ash get a Galar starter?

  • Yes, he'll get Grookey.

    Votes: 11 20.8%
  • Yes, he'll get Sobble.

    Votes: 18 34.0%
  • Yes, he'll get both Grookey and Sobble.

    Votes: 11 20.8%
  • No, Grookey and Sobble will go to someone else.

    Votes: 13 24.5%

  • Total voters
    53
Joined
Dec 2, 2019
Messages
742
Reaction score
1,251
So we know Go got a Scorbunny. I don't see any way Ash gets one himself, which is why it's not in the poll. Grookey and Sobble have yet to appear after 19 episodes (and it looks like it'll be a few more given the titles and summaries for episodes 20-23). We've seen these two starters appear on some merch, but it's unknown if they'll go to Ash or not, which is why I'd like to know if you guys think Ash will get Grookey or Sobble or both or none.

Personally, I think he'll get both. While it's true Ash is getting all the powerhouses this time around, I still think he's got a realistic shot at getting both Grookey and Sobble. If he does, I can easily see him turning those two into powerhouses themselves with them evolving into their final forms and potentially making use of their Gigantamax forms. Plus, it would feel weird for Ash to not get a starter for the newest games. I know this anime has been breaking some trends, but in my opinion, I don't think it would break this trend. I definitely see him getting at least one. If he only gets one, my guess would be Ash gets Sobble, but it's just a guess and I'm basing it off the latest merch we got, which could mean nothing really. We'll see.

What do you guys think? We'll be going 20+ episodes without seeing Grookey or Sobble and it's still a mystery as to which of these two Ash will get, if any. He could get both, he could get none, he could get one or the other. They could both go to Gou, maybe Koharu will get one, or maybe a new character like Hop or someone else comes along and showcases one of these starters. It's hard to say. Please post your thoughts below.
 
I think that he'll get a Galar starter. While Ash's captures thus far have been with fully evolved Pokemon like Dragonite and Gengar, I don't think that they'd limit him to just capture evolved Pokemon. I felt this way before it was confirmed that Ash was getting a Riolu egg. If he can get a baby Pokemon, which would have absolutely no experience in battle, then he can get either a Grookey or a Sobble. They can easily just make them stronger than usual or have some special power to make them more powerful than most would expect in the same vein as Chimchar and its Blaze ability. Or they just have Ash training a Pokemon from effectively the ground up instead of making it extra special or fully evolved from the start since that's also pretty typical for his teams.

Despite how they haven't featured the other starters yet, I'm sure that they want to feature them within the main cast. Sword/Shield promotion is still a priority to some degree at least. They have Raboot as Gou's partner, Koharu has Yamper and Ash's goal is to defeat Leon. The starters are some of the most marketable Pokemon within a generation and they already have anime artwork for Grookey and Sobble. I'm not sure why they haven't been featured yet, but they obviously will at some point.

I'm not sure about Ash capturing both of them though. That is possible, but unless they don't plan on having Ash rotate his team, I'm not sure how they could handle it. Even if they didn't include Mr. Mime as part of Ash's current team, Ash would have five Pokemon by the time his egg hatches and he gets two starters. I don't know if they'd want to give Ash a full team that early into the series unless they were going to rotate. I'm still pulling for Ash to get Grookey. It's my favorite Galar starter and my favorite Grass type starter, so I would love to see Ash get one. Plus, I think that would fit him pretty nicely. I could still see Koharu with Sobble for some reason. Gou getting another Galar doesn't seem as likely to me if they want to primarily associate him with the Scorbunny line like they have been doing since he was initially revealed.
 
I didn't vote since I'm not sure which, but I'm pretty confident he'll get at least one of them.
If he'll get both is trickier to decide. If Koharu doesn't join them I feel like he probably will--however, I think she is going to go with them eventually, though that doesn't guarantee she'll get a starter--Brock didn't get one in DP, after all, and Yamper is her signature partner at the moment.
Sobble is getting merchandise soon so I sort of think Ash might get him first but there are other ways for Sobble to appear--maybe Hop will make an appearance soon and have Sobble?

I think both would suit Ash quite well; Grookey's energetic personality is a clear fit, while Sobble has a built in character arc.
 
I'd say Ash is likely going to get 1 Galarian starter (my money's on Grookey). I honestly prefer it when each "main" character gets 1 current starter per series like they did in Hoenn/Kalos. Ash having 2/3 starters in past generations was a bit much.

When/If they get Koharu to do something, I think Sobble would be a good match for her.

On the other hand, I wouldn't mind just seeing other characters having the starters with major roles in the series (like a recurring travelling PWC trainer), either. It would be an interesting change of pace to see Ash without a current generation starter Pokemon.
 
I'm afraid he will, the producers wouldn't waste the opportunity to shove the starters down our throats.
I can't say I'll be happy about it - I'm waiting for him to go starterless ever since Hoenn (and only because I didn't care back in Johto), and it was especially jarring to me that the starters became aces of their respective teams.
All I can hope for is that they treat the starters more like Sceptile and less like Infernape/Greninja/Incineroar and they won't go "from zero to hero" in the span of one series.
 
All I can hope for is that they treat the starters more like Sceptile and less like Infernape/Greninja/Incineroar and they won't go "from zero to hero" in the span of one series.
They don’t get to appear for more than one series, though, and Sceptile and Incineroar have almost identical numbers of episodes for evolution, and Incineroar worse so since it literally spends 5 minutes of screentime fully evolved. Torracat pretty much spent the entire series ignored compared to Rowlet and got its limelight in the last episodes,
 
No. Ash has already been filling up his team rather quickly, and I just can't see why the writers would randomly decide to give him new starters last. Reserves are another story, and there is just as much merchandise for the Kanto starters as for Grookey and Soobble (not to mention key visuals that actually place them in Ash's vicinity).

In contrast, Go only has one staple so far, so they're waiting for something in that department. Likewise for Koharu who hasn't decided to be a trainer yet, and her one focus episode implied that it's just a matter of time.
 
No. Ash has already been filling up his team rather quickly, and I just can't see why the writers would randomly decide to give him new starters last. Reserves are another story, and there is just as much merchandise for the Kanto starters as for Grookey and Soobble (not to mention key visuals that actually place them in Ash's vicinity).

In contrast, Go only has one staple so far, so they're waiting for something in that department. Likewise for Koharu who hasn't decided to be a trainer yet, and her one focus episode implied that it's just a matter of time.

There are two spots remaining in Ash's team, and I really doubt Kanto starters would be taking them long term. Maybe focus episodes like Charizard in BW, not not permanent party members. The random reason could be probably the same reason why Ash suddenly ended up with strange choices like Gengar and Dragonite.

It’s also incredibly clear that the idea is not an All-Kanto team, nor an all caught at final stage team, since he’s got Riolu.

There’s also the fact that they’ve themselves kickstarted speculation of Ash getting Grookey/Sobble among Japanese children thanks to that contest, and Sobble is seen in merchandise where only the main cast Pokémon are present, so there’s currently decent case for Sobble going to Ash.

Grookey hasn’t been featured prominently yet so I’m not sure about it, maybe Go or Koharu could get it. There’s no way they're not representing Galar in Ash‘s team: there’s a reason why Go and Koharu's signature Pokemon are Galar species.

As for the something they’re waiting for, it might easily be Morpeko, which has been featured, and supporting characters tend to get the Pikaclones, or Eevee.
 
All I can hope for is that they treat the starters more like Sceptile and less like Infernape/Greninja/Incineroar and they won't go "from zero to hero" in the span of one series.
The starters going from “zero to hero” in the span of one series is a staple of all the starters they choose to fully evolve because this isn’t a series where Ash really goes back and uses his older Pokémon on his journey beyond their region and as such, if they don’t evolve there, there’s a good chance it won’t happen at all. Cyndaquil was a lucky case in getting to evolve in Sinnoh but even that could be reasoned to Heart Gold/Soul Silver advertisement as the root cause. Also not sure why you separated Sceptile from the rest as it did evolve in the same generation like the others. Advanced was just broken into 2 parts Hoenn and Battle Frontier.
 
The starters going from “zero to hero” in the span of one series is a staple of all the starters they choose to fully evolve because this isn’t a series where Ash really goes back and uses his older Pokémon on his journey beyond their region and as such, if they don’t evolve there, there’s a good chance it won’t happen at all. Cyndaquil was a lucky case in getting to evolve in Sinnoh but even that could be reasoned to Heart Gold/Soul Silver advertisement as the root cause. Also not sure why you separated Sceptile from the rest as it did evolve in the same generation like the others. Advanced was just broken into 2 parts Hoenn and Battle Frontier.
Sceptile wasn't a screenhogger and didn't have any huge feats until the Sinnoh League.
I prefer realistic approach and I think all the best feats should be either saved for Pikachu or already strong Pokémon Ash caught in its final stage.
 
I'm afraid he will, the producers wouldn't waste the opportunity to shove the starters down our throats.
I can't say I'll be happy about it - I'm waiting for him to go starterless ever since Hoenn (and only because I didn't care back in Johto), and it was especially jarring to me that the starters became aces of their respective teams.
All I can hope for is that they treat the starters more like Sceptile and less like Infernape/Greninja/Incineroar and they won't go "from zero to hero" in the span of one series.

They kind of have to go from zero to hero in the span of one series. Outside of the rare chances of Ash rotating his team, his Pokemon apart from Pikachu don't really get a chance to shine outside of their respective series. Sceptile came back to defeat Darkrai in DP, but all of its growth in strength was covered in AG. Same with Infernape, Greninja and Incineroar in their respective series.

No. Ash has already been filling up his team rather quickly, and I just can't see why the writers would randomly decide to give him new starters last. Reserves are another story, and there is just as much merchandise for the Kanto starters as for Grookey and Soobble (not to mention key visuals that actually place them in Ash's vicinity).

In contrast, Go only has one staple so far, so they're waiting for something in that department. Likewise for Koharu who hasn't decided to be a trainer yet, and her one focus episode implied that it's just a matter of time.

I really can't see Ash's team being almost entirely Kanto Pokemon. That would be so boring, especially with the whole world tour gimmick where ideally he could have more Pokemon from different regions for once. Admittedly, giving Ash Galar starters last is kind of weird, but I don't think it would be a huge stretch when they still want to promote Galar to some extent with this new series and they've gone in a different direction with Ash's team in general here. Considering how they seemingly avoided Ash using reserves or at least delayed his first capture in PM with retconning Mr. Mime as a battler, I'm not sure if I could see them bringing the Kanto starters back for his team. I'm sure that they'll appear eventually due to their popularity, but I don't know about using his last two slots for Charizard and Bulbasaur. Koharu getting one of the starters does sound likely if they do want her to become a proper trainer though.

Sceptile wasn't a screenhogger and didn't have any huge feats until the Sinnoh League.
I prefer realistic approach and I think all the best feats should be either saved for Pikachu or already strong Pokémon Ash caught in its final stage.

Sceptile was one of Ash's main battlers in AG though. Granted, defeating Darkrai is probably its most noticeable victory, but a large part of that is due to how Tobias was hyped during the Sinnoh League too. I'm not really sure if most fans would consider Incineroar a screenhogger either. I don't think it was ignored nearly as much as other people do. I never forgot that Incineroar existed like I did frequently with Rowlet and Incineroar actually has consistent strength, which is still more than I can say about Rowlet. I'm not really sure how it's unrealistic for Ash's starter Pokemon to become stronger by the end of their respective series. Pokemon like Treecko, Chimchar and Froakie were some of the main battlers for Ash's various teams, so Sceptile, Infernape and Greninja being strong at the tail end of their series seems pretty believable to me.
 
They kind of have to go from zero to hero in the span of one series. Outside of the rare chances of Ash rotating his team, his Pokemon apart from Pikachu don't really get a chance to shine outside of their respective series. Sceptile came back to defeat Darkrai in DP, but all of its growth in strength was covered in AG. Same with Infernape, Greninja and Incineroar in their respective series.

Sceptile was one of Ash's main battlers in AG though. Granted, defeating Darkrai is probably its most noticeable victory, but a large part of that is due to how Tobias was hyped during the Sinnoh League too. I'm not really sure if most fans would consider Incineroar a screenhogger either. I don't think it was ignored nearly as much as other people do. I never forgot that Incineroar existed like I did frequently with Rowlet and Incineroar actually has consistent strength, which is still more than I can say about Rowlet. I'm not really sure how it's unrealistic for Ash's starter Pokemon to become stronger by the end of their respective series. Pokemon like Treecko, Chimchar and Froakie were some of the main battlers for Ash's various teams, so Sceptile, Infernape and Greninja being strong at the tail end of their series seems pretty believable to me.
There's growing stronger and there's going toe to toe with / defeating much more experienced E4/Champion level Pokémon with brute force.
 
There's growing stronger and there's going toe to toe with / defeating much more experienced E4/Champion level Pokémon with brute force.
In Litten's case, it was already pretty much established that the thing wanted to grow stronger, and had specifically set sights on a champion level Pokémon as a rival, even in its base stage, so defeating it was the most logical end for its character arc.

Chimchar and Froakie were not your standard starter Pokemon in the way that they were equipped with a something special factor, Chimchar's Blaze, and Froakie's Battle Bond. The Pokémon as well as the trainer were determined to master it so it’s no surprise Ash harnesses their power effectively in the end.

These Pokémon, that end up being Ash's aces, tend to be determined to reach the level by default and Ash too happens to be just the correct person to bring out their power, so it’s not unrealistic that Ash can get them to go toe to toe with powerful opponents. Incineroar has been studying Kukui's Incineroar since the start, Infernape defeats most Pokemon of its own power level, and we haven’t seen it battle against a team more powerful than Paul's so we don’t really know it’s power cap, and Greninja effectively did this in pseudo-Mega Evolution.

The writers are somewhat bound in the sense that starter Pokemon get a fixed period of highlight so they need to complete their arcs in the generation, or the arcs will have to be abandoned in favour of new stuff. Incineroar kinda suffers from this, since it never got any closure apart from its victory. We still don’t know what new powers it gets post evolution.
 
There's growing stronger and there's going toe to toe with / defeating much more experienced E4/Champion level Pokémon with brute force.

Litten's main rival was Kukui's Incineroar, so it had to eventually defeat it. Otherwise, we'd have another Mega Charizard X vs. Greninja situation in which people wondered what was the point of their rivalry if Litten didn't eventually win. The main issue that really held Torracat back was how SM wasn't a battle heavy series, so it had less opportunities to battle compared to pretty much every other series, but I don't think it was a stretch for Torracat to win with brute force. It had already absorbed fire to increase its own power a couple of times and it just barely won given that it was knocked out right after it evolved. While it was disappointing that it couldn't get one proper battle as an Incineroar, that victory was pretty believable and satisfying.

Infernape is powerful with its Blaze ability, but I don't know if it really defeated any E4 or Champion level Pokemon. Paul is a strong trainer, but I don't think he's considered Elite 4 or Champion levels of strength based on what we saw of him. Alain's Mega Charizard X was more on an Elite 4 level of strength, but considering that Ash-Greninja was basically a Mega Pokemon, I don't think it was that much of a stretch for them to go head to head with each other either. Both Chimchar and Froakie were extra special and Ash was able to bring out more of their strength, so the idea that they could become so powerful as an Infernape and Greninja made sense. Paul spent a lot of time training Chimchar himself, but he couldn't tab into its power or get it to evolve like Ash did.
 
Infernape is powerful with its Blaze ability, but I don't know if it really defeated any E4 or Champion level Pokemon. Paul is a strong trainer, but I don't think he's considered Elite 4 or Champion levels of strength based on what we saw of him.
I think Paul gets overhyped somewhat. Ash not using reserves in their battles gave Paul a massive advantage (it could even be argued Pikachu's serious injury at the start of DP and than near-death injuries from Sho could explain Pikachu's poor performance), and Paul got so utterly crushed by Brandon it's pretty clear he's nowhere near Elite Four level. I think even Torkoal (Ash's weakest AG Pokémon) did better against Registeel than Paul's team did.
 
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