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Is Ash Getting Smart?

Lord Fedora

Master of Hats and Ponies
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So one of the things that I've seen mentioned is that Satoshi has, this season, become ridiculously noob-like since the beginning of Best Wishes. But, is that really the case? Let's look at the kinds of things he's done so far:

Smart moves:
-Using Mijumaru's Water Gun with precise angling to hit his shell and knock it back into Miju's hand (requiring at least some level of geometry and physics, even subconsciously)
-Actually using Tsutaja's Attract, instead of ignoring the obvious game-breaking strategy
-Pikachu's epic moves against Shooti's Hatoobo.

Dumb moves:
-Having Tsutaja use physical attacks on Shooti's Pururiru
However, we have to bear in mind that Satoshi has never encountered the Cursed Body ability before. It's entirely understandable that he wouldn't understand it quite yet.
-Using Monster Balls on Pokemon that haven't been battled with yet
Well obviously this is basic common sense, but remember the reaction when the ball absorbed Tsutaja and let it go. "That means it has no Trainer." It's entirely plausible that Satoshi is doing so as a test of their ownership-unlikely, but plausible, especially considering his experience with other trainers who leave their Pokemon outside of the ball-Dawn's Piplup, Iris' Kibago, etc.

In any case, I consider this worth discussing. Is Satoshi being particularly n00bish in this season, or has he actually shown the kind of growth as a Trainer that we've seen him go through for the last decade or so?
 
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I would say over excitement (and perhaps overconfidence) is the issue here. He seem to have lesser control of his unlimited energy he's bursting throughout Best Wishes. I don't mind him trying to catch Pokemon Safari Zone style but the latest battle he's into makes me question his battle structure. Unsure what the upcoming Shippo Gym battle will bring in him. A first loss? Possibly. But I would save that when he meets Kamitsure at least.
 
So one of the things that I've seen mentioned is that Satoshi has, this season, become ridiculously noob-like since the beginning of Best Wishes. But, is that really the case?

No. As was mentioned, he's just overexcited, which leads to acting before thinking sometimes.

Dumb moves:
-Having Tsutaja use physical attacks on Shooti's Pururiru
However, we have to bear in mind that Satoshi has never encountered the Cursed Body ability before. It's entirely understandable that he wouldn't understand it quite yet.

Did you even watch that episode? The first time he used a physical attack, he hadn't even HEARD of the Ability before, and the second time it was clearly established he used a physical attack because he wasn't hitting with his distanced attacks due to Pururill's speed, and was gambling on that Leaf Blade knocking it out (which didn't happen). That's not dumb.
 
Not battling and defeating Team Rocket often anymore probably caused him to get overexcited whenever there is an actual battle going on which causes him to act before thinking. Maybe he likes to be creative or a rebel for not following the Pokemon types whenever he battles. That's my guess on this. :p
 
Now that I think about it, there's actually a good chance that it might be true. The over-excitement led Iris and Dento to believe how he's inexperienced, but I really do hope he changes his strategy soon and starts using more often some status/defensive over offensive moves like he always does. Attract was a nice surprise, let's hope Ash keeps it up. ;-)
 
He may look dumb now, but when he drops the Infernape bomb on the Isshu League, he will be redeemed ;)

I think Ash's problems are over excitement like you said, and writers making him look like a newbie for the sake of new viewers. If Pikachu started Counter-shielding or Ash actually trained his pokemon, it wouldn't be interesting.
 
I think Ash's problems are over excitement like you said, and writers making him look like a newbie for the sake of new viewers. If Pikachu started Counter-shielding or Ash actually trained his pokemon, it wouldn't be interesting.

They always regress him at the beginning for new viewers.

I do think Ash will return to what he was in DP, but not until later on in Best Wishes.
 
They always regress him at the beginning for new viewers.

I do think Ash will return to what he was in DP, but not until later on in Best Wishes.

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

Oh and for Ash throwing the pokeball without attacking, there was that deer pokemon whose name I've forgotten, as well as Iris' head and if I remember correctly, Mamepato too.
 
Did you even watch that episode? The first time he used a physical attack, he hadn't even HEARD of the Ability before, and the second time it was clearly established he used a physical attack because he wasn't hitting with his distanced attacks due to Pururill's speed, and was gambling on that Leaf Blade knocking it out (which didn't happen). That's not dumb.

Which is why I quite specifically said that.

Anyway, I would agree that it's largely because of his excitement. Not only because of being in this new region, but because he did appear to take a break inbetween journeys. It seems to be implied that a good period of time passed between the end of DP and the beginning of Best Wishes, so he's probably just anxious now that he's out on the road again.
 
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.
 
It's easier the make Ash seem "newer" for the new audiences. If he walked around with Infernape, Sceptile and the like most of the gym leaders would lose badly. Also, it's easier to have Pikachu depowered than someone like Infernape. Pikachu is pretty much a base level Pokemon, so making it really weak make some sense.

As for the topic, Ash diplays a good level of intelligence, and awareness when plot calls for it. When plot wants him to lose, he just does dumb shit.
 
Its sad that every time Ash reaches his best at the end of a region, he's just downplayed at the start of the next.

Its almost as if all his character development gets undone once a new saga begins.
 
Ash isn't that smart, but he is pretty creative and resourceful. I sort of wish that he would be on the same level that he was at the end of Sinnoh, but I think that that's just wishful thinking.

A lot of his "flukes" this season could probably be attributed to his excitement and probably his break after Sinnoh. He's probably going to get better, but it'll take a while. After all, they want to show Ash's development as a trainer so they have to start him off as less competent than he really is.

I hope that he'll start being able to battle at his full strength soon. I want miju to be on the same level as infernape and sceptile once he's through ^^.
 
It's not over-excitement at all, it's Shooti.

Since the writers decided to give him a Rookie Trainer as a rival this time around, they had to adjust Ash's skill level to accommodate the rivalry. If Ash would have maintained the skills he had in DP, he would be defeating Shooti with ease, which would of course be boring for the new and younger viewers. So the writers had to bring his skill level down to keep things interesting.
 
Nah, he isn't. He's resourceful. But not smart as in "If I use Newton's third law and apply it to Water Gun... That's it!" But he's not always clever though. For me to consider him smart he'd have to be kinda like Yellow from Special.
 
It's not over-excitement at all, it's Shooti.

Since the writers decided to give him a Rookie Trainer as a rival this time around, they had to adjust Ash's skill level to accommodate the rivalry. If Ash would have maintained the skills he had in DP, he would be defeating Shooti with ease, which would of course be boring for the new and younger viewers. So the writers had to bring his skill level down to keep things interesting.

Well, either that or Shooti's incredibly gifted :rolleyes:

If you ever watch some of the earlier episodes of Kanto, I don't think that you'd be complaining about his intelligence. He's just a kid; he's prone to having a short attention span and hyperactivity, give him a break.

He's only smart when it's convenient for the plot. Pokemon has a thing about not keeping character development; it usually only lasts one series :p
(well, other than Gary who had quite a drastic character change ._.)
 
I agree with what some said, its likley just cuz he's too excited about all these new Pokemon and the new land. Once the series moves on, I'm sure Ash will get those skills back. Onto Ash/Shooti's rivalry, like all of Ash's rivalry's, he won't beat him till the league. However, I am hopping its a little different this time.
 
I agree with what some said, its likley just cuz he's too excited about all these new Pokemon and the new land. Once the series moves on, I'm sure Ash will get those skills back. Onto Ash/Shooti's rivalry, like all of Ash's rivalry's, he won't beat him till the league. However, I am hopping its a little different this time.

What I want to know is, exactly how does Shooti have his pokemon evolve in four episodes? Bah, I think Shooti is a joke. If we grabbed Ash's old pokemon, then Shooti would be singing a different tune.

Either way, Ash has shown ingenuity in his battles lately, especially the one against Dento, and the one lately against Shooti against his Janoby. The old Ash, even in DP, would have never used Attract if he had it. At least, that's what I think.
 
Not in Best Wishes.

Ash was at his best in DP battle-wise.

i've got to agree here, he would have won that league if some uber-noob hadn't gone and entered with a DARKRAI and a LATIOS!!!!!
it makes me angry.
 
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