Is Ash Getting Smart?

[Yankees4life]

Will the writers make him smart??? NOPE

 

[UpbeatFerno]

Like many have said, its not that he's stupid, just that he gets overexcited and overconfident. But somethings I'd like to add is his strategy and training style:
-From what I've seen, Ash doesn't train his Pokemon very often, relying on their confidence and trust to win battles, which doesn't work out against the rival, who believes in training Pokemon alot I think, like Paul and Shooti
-This also applies to his strategy, most of time he brings out Pokemon that he believes is best, not taking into account type advantage or moves, but this does not apply to all his battles.

But this will most likely change over the saga, He did make a good choice using Snivy against Janovy when battling Shooti, taking into account the use of attract, so hopefully he'll start thinking about strategies more thoroughly.

 

[Lord Fedora]

I think its odd that they don't even explain why Ash leaves behind his Pokemon team anymore.

When Hoenn started they explained it, saying Ash only wanted to bring Pikachu along as if it was a new journey.

When Sinnoh and Isshu started, they just abandoned the previous team with no explanation.

Actually Isshu does kind of have some reasoning behind it. He hadn't planned to start a journey there in the first place, and when he did make the decision, Oak was in Isshu with him and he only had Pikachu on hand. Plus, it's entirely plausible that, given the exceptional distance, he can't transfer his old Pokemon to Isshu at the moment.

What I want to know is, exactly how does Shooti have his pokemon evolve in four episodes?

Grindan all day erry day.

In all seriousness though, I don't think we're necessarily meant to believe that it was a Janoby at the time. I think Dent was only indicating that it was the same Pokemon.

I've got a better question though. Shooti's always going on about the "basics," so... why did he challenge Pod, who has Baopuu, and then use his Grass type starter. Hypocrite.

Bah, I think Shooti is a joke. If we grabbed Ash's old pokemon, then Shooti would be singing a different tune.

I'm holding out hope that next time Satoshi battles Shooti, he'll pull out Infernape, and turn the "basics" thing around on him when Blaze activates and it rapes his ass.

 

[Agent_Kir]

Actually, it's a good idea. Though I would change "smart" for "creative".

He doesn't listen to Iris' and Dento's advices because... he really knows that already! Maybe he wants to change the rules of game for himself. For challenge, fun, or just because of stubbornness.

That's why he sends Pokabu against a fire Pokemon and Mijumaru against grass one. He COULD curbstomp all these leaders and trainers with super effective and experienced Pokemon, but where is the fun of such acting?
Like challange, like challanger.

 

[Cybersai]

He's better at battling than most people on the show.

He surpassed Misty as early as the 7th episode and has more powerful Pokemon than Brock does, despite Brock's experience/knowledge.

Granted, there aren't many people that much stronger than Ash in the show. Just the Elite 4 members, and his rivals are on equal ground with him, etc.

 

[nattfly]

I personally think it would be more interesting to see Ash dominate for once, just me though.

Not just you, think of the battles we could get if Ash's development from Sinnoh had been kept!
Having new low level pokemon like mijumaru and pokabu would also keep it interesting, since Ash would have to keep in mind that they're weaker than Pikachu or Tsutarja. Watching him make his team with mixed experience levels work in battle against other experienced trainers would, I think, be real fun. This is quite rare outside of gymbattles and the gymleaders are for the most part people that's stronger than Ash, not equal in strength.

Keeping Shooti as a secondary rival and having a primary rival at the same level, or making Shooti a non-beginner would have made for an interesting rivalry. And yes I'm saying this with Paul in mind. Although they weren't equals from the beginning, it was the first rivalry for Ash that was more than "I'm gonna be a master. No I am!". Or have Ash being the better trainer for once, with a less experienced rival could make for some serious personal growth. At least that's my opinion.

 

[Palgia]

not really, he still gets fooled by Team Rockets horrible disguises

 

[Caseydia]

No one on the show sees through Team rockets costumes. Only we do because they show us what they put on first. in the Pokemon world, there could be a bunch of people who may have more that seven red and violet color hair.

 

[Lazyboy0337]

Ash was already smart, he just decided to act stupid. Remember when he first fought brock? Pikachu ca't do jack-shit to Onix, so Ash creates a fire using eletricity to activate the sprinklers.

 

[Lord Fedora]

not really, he still gets fooled by Team Rockets horrible disguises

Erm, when? They haven't used their crummy disguises yet this season.

 

[Hellion]

Pokemon has a thing about not keeping character development; it usually only lasts one series

Agreed, pokémon writers have gotten much better at continuity but it's solely within the saga itself.

That being said, to find the reason Ash is "dumbed down" and that pikachu is "depowered", you have to use a logic that is external to the plot. Simple, producers want to renew their audience and bring in new members, so they use the beginning of a saga to explain to the newcomers the mechanics of the world of pokémon and battling. Why did Iris complain that Ash wasn't using Mijumaru against Pod's Baoppu? To explain to the kiddies at home about types. Why did Ash's Tsutarja fell to Purriru's Cursed body? To explain to the kiddies at home about abilities. Why did Iris tell Ash that you just don't throw a pokéball at a pokémon to capture it, that you have to battle it first? Well, you get the picture.

People who have watched the show from the start and know all this are in far fewer numbers, so they prefer renewing their fanbase.