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Misty or Iris?

Who?


  • Total voters
    50
In terms of Misty's Pokemon I really only felt Psyduck and Poliwhirl were interesting. Staryu/Starmie/Goldeen were really just there because of the games but they obviously had no personality and couldn't be developed.

Horsea could have been interesting but it was dropped in early Kanto after like 2 appearances. Then Togepi sits in Misty's arms for all of Johto.

Its no surprise people liked Poliwhirl so much, it was like her only other interesting pokemon at the time.
 
In terms of Misty's Pokemon I really only felt Psyduck and Poliwhirl were interesting. Staryu/Starmie/Goldeen were really just there because of the games but they obviously had no personality and couldn't be developed.

Horsea could have been interesting but it was dropped in early Kanto after like 2 appearances. Then Togepi sits in Misty's arms for all of Johto.

Its no surprise people liked Poliwhirl so much, it was like her only other interesting pokemon at the time.

Psyduck could have been a lot more interesting if it was actually trained and not just used a comedy relief. Horsea really could have been good since its capture episode was pretty good and seeing it evolve into a Kingdra would have been awesome, but that unfortunately didn't happen. Politoad was probably the best battler she had and Corsola seemed okay, even though I never understood why she would want it. A Chinchou would have been so much better. As for Togepi, it sat in Misty's arms throughout the later parts of Kanto and all of the Orange Islands too. That didn't start in Johto. Even with how weak and forgetting Misty's team was, that's still better than giving them upgrades out of nowhere to make them, and by extension her, look a lot stronger than they actually were. It's certainly less annoying.
 
That's part of the reason people don't like her. Iris's pokemon are just pulling moves out of nowhere. And there is absolutely NO way Axew should even be able to damage Garchomp, especially with how drastic the difference between their experience levels are.

Hey, I DID say he learned the moves a little early for my tastes. But I still liked seeing the little guy grow stronger. And it isn't like he damaged Garchomp much. Also, ever think that Iris could've trained Axew off screen?
 
Hey, I DID say he learned the moves a little early for my tastes. But I still liked seeing the little guy grow stronger. And it isn't like he damaged Garchomp much. Also, ever think that Iris could've trained Axew off screen?

It was still kind of ridiculous for Giga Impact to damage Garchomp when Dragon Rage did absolutely nothing, even though Dragon type moves are super effective. Not to mention it still came out of nowhere. It's also pretty unlikely that Iris did train Axew off-screen when it does so poorly in most of its battles. If Iris did train Axew more off-screen, then I think we would see more indication of that through the few battles it has. Learning Outrage and Giga Impact aren't really good indications of that when Axew only learns those overpowered moves when its pushed into a corner and on the verge of defeat.
 
Meh. I never cared much for Misty.

But I openly detest Iris. Iris actually impedes my ability to enjoy the show. Her catchphrase is annoying and not funny at all (especially since there's no variations of it so it gets really fucking redundant really fucking fast), they give her the biggest bullshit backstory ever to hype up that "child prodigy" aspect of her character, but then she usually just dicks around and no one calls her out on her bullshit. Even Misty was told to calm the fuck down whenever she was being a bitch - Iris gets away with needlessly being a bitch every time. They regress Ash's character just to give Iris an excuse to abuse her catchphrase. They hand Iris massive rewards on a silver platter for doing nothing. Her "problems" with her Pokemon hardly qualify as actual problems besides Dragonite, and are resolved in a very anticlimactic way.

At least with Misty there wasn't a fuckton of hype built around her character where she was given a backstory that made her a super special snowflake, and she wasn't rewarded for doing nothing. She even lost a tournament she was most justified to win (Whirl Cup), whereas Iris had nearly nothing to do with the first Don Battle but won anyway. And Misty wasn't gifted with a dozen superhuman abilities like climbing trees like a boss, massively enhanced senses, and literally being able to read a Pokemon's mind just by touching the damn thing. No, Misty didn't have any of that. Thus, she was significantly much less annoying and less obtrusive.

Oh yeah, and Misty's Pokemon didn't fit the criteria of babby Pokemon who can't fight worth a shit yet pulls stupidly powerful moves out of its ass at just the right moment. Or Pokemon who aren't suited to take a massive beating that ignore their character quirks for the sake of Iris that have abilities that kick in just at the right moment. Or Pokemon that can take multiple hits of a type it has a quadruple weakness to and not even flinch.

Iris actually made me appreciate Misty in a small sort of way. A reminder that despite my distaste of Misty, it could always be much much much worse.
 
Better at what exactly? The other poll at least asked who was the stronger coordinator.

.......actually you know what I'm just gonna vote for Misty because she has a duck and a mallet.
 
Both are awful but I'm gonna go with Misty because I liked some of her pokemon better than Iris'.
 
.......actually you know what I'm just gonna vote for Misty because she has a duck and a mallet.

Come to think of it, you're right. Misty actually made me laugh a number of times and she had her funny moments, but I don't think I've *ever* laughed at anything Iris has done. I mean I find her making some sly comments towards Cilan amusing, but that's it.

Kanto/Orange Misty was fairly enjoyable for what she was, even if in terms of the battling/goal aspect wasn't handled well.
 
.......actually you know what I'm just gonna vote for Misty because she has a duck and a mallet.

Come to think of it, you're right. Misty actually made me laugh a number of times and she had her funny moments, but I don't think I've *ever* laughed at anything Iris has done. I mean I find her making some sly comments towards Cilan amusing, but that's it.

Kanto/Orange Misty was fairly enjoyable for what she was, even if in terms of the battling/goal aspect wasn't handled well.

Yeah, her attitude was hilarious. The mallet and how she always wanted to strangle Psyduck...haha. XD.

That's pretty much the only time I laugh at what Iris says as well (the comments she makes about Cilan). Other than that, never really laughed at what she says/does.
 
Well we have polls about Misty and the other two girls, so why not the fourth?

This one is a bit different because Iris has a much more similar role to Misty than the other two, and her actual personality is somewhat closer. Who is better to you?

I'm not sure how to compare Misty and Iris to be honest. I mean they have little in common. As for which one is better, that's hard to say. If we're talking about battle prowess then Iris would come out on top. But if we're talking about popularity then Misty would win.
 
Well we have polls about Misty and the other two girls, so why not the fourth?

This one is a bit different because Iris has a much more similar role to Misty than the other two, and her actual personality is somewhat closer. Who is better to you?

I'm not sure how to compare Misty and Iris to be honest. I mean they have little in common. As for which one is better, that's hard to say. If we're talking about battle prowess then Iris would come out on top. But if we're talking about popularity then Misty would win.

I would say comparing them on every aspect. Their personalities, their role in the group, their stories, their pokemon, their battles, etc.

Its basically comparing every aspect of their characters.
 
Kasumi and Iris had many of the same faults only Iris lacks the 'early inexperienced writing' excuse. I tend to see Kasumi in an overall neutral light though I thoroughly believe that she had more potential to be great and with more experienced writing could be really really awesome. Iris though, it's pretty hard to argue that, since there already has been many fine series of pokemon containing many fine characters.

Looking at it most positively, I have been entertained by Kasumi for whole episodes at a time: an achievement Iris has yet to get.
 
It also comes down to Misty's criticisms of Ash were justified since he really was a clueless rookie back then. Likewise Misty knew when to back off or Ash would tell her off right there.

Had Misty not faded away into the background during early and middle Johto she might have stayed more interesting though it her entire run.
 
Tomboyish redhead gets my vote. First i feel she had the best chemistry and character dynamic with the group going through big character development turning from little girl exploding over every little thing into more mature and responsible person better controlling her temper.
Her flamboyant,kind and complex personality provided depth to her character more than i noticed with others,providing some comedy and humor to this show making it more interesting.

I like Misty because of her enjoyable and unique character and personality. She isn't afraid to say what she thinks,and while she can be sometimes explosive,at the same time she can be very caring and optimistic as well. She is smart,sarcastic,funny,temperament (little less in these days but she can still erupt if its provoked enough) and i like how she has developed still being the good old redhead with added doze of maturity in mix.

Right below May she probably changed most as person starting out as short tempered girl exploding over everything trying to cover up her insecurities with temper, with time gradually growing in more mature and confident character starting to realize her qualities as trainer and person breaking free from influence Daisy and others imprinted on her. Compared to Iris while there was put less focus on her own story i feel Misty had more believable growth working hard for very pokemon or achievement she got with no shortcuts involved. She gave us insight in her own problems and past struggling and showing weakness as character learning on her mistakes and growing further. Whether it was in establishing closer bond with water pokemon feeling guilt when not understanding Horsea warning about Tentacruel attack, Marill who she couldn't tolerate saving his life becoming close friends or Psyduck which she wanted to get rid growing to appreciate him more than ever.

Her insecurity feeling obligation to prove herself to several trainers which downplayed her going through turmoils such as Andreas, Dorian, Egan, Giselle etc. Along with gradually honing her skills becoming stronger trainer ending recognized among several people, and making good score in several competitions she entered.

I like characters who are complex and have depth in their personalities.
Her life was hard,and i like how she had to work hard for everything which she achieved by herself,being strong and independent.
One of the things which made her great is also her unpredictable and impulsive nature,never knowing how she would react in certain situations.

Nevertheless her goals may have not been fleshed out in same measure like Iris, but that doesn't make her role any less important since she set up way for future female protagonists to come bringing lot of identity and charisma for pokemon series, playing very vital role in series. I enjoyed how she often pointed out Ash's mistakes, playing big role in his growth as trainer helping him to teach basics, giving advices prior to battles, often pushed him forward to try harder through criticism and teasing which often inflamed fire between her and him often bickering or going into clash in determining who is better trainer being like rivals in character sense. Along with preventing him from getting too overconfident with success hitting him in head making fool out of himself, preventing him from rushing into TR traps and danger saving his life acting like "older sister" at times.

Furthermore she often played role of heroine by saving people lives, saving towns from destruction or preventing wild pokemon from going wild, baited others out of dangerous situations coming up with plan taking initiative herself etc.
Such as getting everyone out of sunk ship and coming up with plan to escape St. Anne, battled various trainers like Giselle at pokemon school, bridge bike gang , Marina which shared same dreams like she did, disguising herself to get Ash and Brock out of jail, ,managed to convince Tentacruel and Tentacuel from stopping to destroy town, get group out of forest thanks to befriending Hoot Hoot,etc etc.

Entered various other competitions like pokemon race in Kanto which Ash won with Rapidash, tournament to get Togepi, Alto Mare race, battled gym leader, won Princess festival which played important part in her storyline giving us insight in why doll set is so important for her etc.

Giving people hope and moral support to believe in themeselves along with battling trying to achieve her goal of becoming water master.

I liked her pokemon team too collecting impressive and diverse collection of water types. Whether its Corsola which part rock, part water made her team more flexible through defense techniques/mirror coat or recover), Staryu who was one of her most used and agile pokemon, Poliwhirl which proved to be strong battler both in physical sense through dynamic punch or slam but when battling in distance too through bubblebeam and water gun , Gyaradops which is a real beast with move set of flamethrower, hyperbeam, hydropump and protect making him tough nut to get over etc.

And Psyduck while not much reliable in battle was excellent source of comic relief often spicing atmosphere by irritating its trainer causing various tantrums and clash, while hiding huge potential inside itself never losing official battle.

Iris is good character with me too .Her hyperactive and calm side with her wild attitude and bratty behavior works well within group providing humor and interesting character interaction.Her capability of taking things on her own while being little wild,being already somewhat experienced as trainer and rich back-story only filled her with more substance adding for compelling and complete character.Pokemon team from somewhat stubborn Emolga,insecure Axew and one hell of a hitter in form of Excadrill packed with Dragonite is also something which i like about her.

But in comparison with Misty i find her personality isn't as captivating and multi faced like earlier one was, and my main issue with her growth is inconsistency and lack of cogency. Since at good chunk of saga she and pokemon barely get any growth just to have writers cram too many things at once whether its rushed Dragonite Capture and too soon resolution of issues, most of things related with her dragon career being showed near end of saga or lack of any real issues and struggles through which she failed and learned on them not being as complete and realistic like Misty was.

That aside i still appreciate her role and all things she brought to show.

I don't like either of them. Misty is the typical tsundere has little characterization beyond the stereotype associated with the character archetype.

Perhaps in early Kanto, but as time went on Misty was hardly something you would call typical tsundere if you ask me expanding on her persona gaining more depth.

So you're saying Iris ignores her pokemon for a while, yet the majority of Misty's Pokemon hardly battled for long chunks at a time? You do realize Iris has more on-screen battles than Misty if you compare their first 120 episodes together?

Just because Iris battled more doesn't necessarily make her stronger trainer. While she may be prodigy after taking in account how she didn't trained her pokemon like Excadrill for years due to disobedience and couldn't keep Dragonite under control without help of others, with her achievements being less impressive than Misty's who won several competitions, battled several experienced trainers and build lot of battle experience in short period makes me think how between her and Misty it could be anyone game.

Especially when aside from Dragonite, rest of her team doesn't seem any stronger than Misty pokemon. If anything Axew and Emolga seem fairly mediocre to me.

What does that have to do with anything? Misty's Pokemon were either incompetent at battling (Togepi, Psyduck), or were unuseable outside of water like Goldeen and Horsea.

Horsea is perfectly capable of battling on dry land or you seem to forget that judging by what was showed with Kingdra? Either way majority of Misty pokemon are usable showing to be highly resistant and strong often defeating several high level trainer pokemon for back in day standards.

If anything Misty was recognized as talented and fast learning trainer by several authorities and powerful trainers whether it was Koga, Marina, Trinity, Dorian, PIA inspector Joy etc. showing a lot of innovation and quick thinking over time coming of in light of smart, competent trainer.

The difference between the two is Misty never really made an effort to train her pokemon. She never could control Psyduck's power and didn't seem to care. Likewise she mothered Togepi so much that it virtually never battled even when it started to show signs of using attacks. Her only decent battler at the time was Staryu until she got Poliwhirl.

It was showed that Misty tried to teach her pokemon attacks like Togepi but realized how it was still too young as baby to have him engaged in battle often not being even aware of superpowers it possessed. Same deal with Psyduck we saw several times trying to teach him attacks, tried to make him learn how to swim in OS and chronicles but without success due to duck not being too bright.

Likewise there were several instances where it was confirmed how Misty trains her pokemon like Staryu or Corsola about who she made remark of intensive training allowing it to go far in Whirl Cup.

Looking at Misty team and strongly raised up Staryu, Politoad, Corsola, Starmie, Gyarados etc it becomes clear to me how Misty was definitely strong trainer who knew how to pull out best from her pokemon.

Only reason why we didn't saw her too often being showed to train pokemon on screen was because of whole nature of anime back than being less focused on development of pokemon themselves and more on human characterization and exploration of concept of friendship and adventure back than.

I also don't think you remember how rarely Misty battled in the original series. She very rarely battled other trainers aside from a few instances and wasn't involved in any major tournament till the Whirl cup. Whenever she tried to battle the writers turned it into a gag fight with Psyduck just getting a headache. It wasn't until she got Poliwhirl and Corsola that she started battling a bit more but that was halfway into Johto.

You seem to ignore one small little detail and that's how Misty was second most active battler right after Ash in original series.

Strength of trainer shouldn't be measured by how often we seen him battle and enter tournaments, not being valid indication to determine someone potential ans strength. What counts is how skilled you are at establishing bond with your own pokemon, ability to take advantage of situation turning opponent attacks against himself and through how skilled and knowledgeable he was portrayed during battles he/she entered.

And as such we can definitely say Misty was competent trainer having several achievements during her run whether its quarterfinal of prestige tournament like Whirl Cup, winning Seaking contest, being champion of Princess festival and Alto Mare race defeating several more experienced ad much older trainers going further in less time than it took them to get there. Showed impressive amount of knowledge about all kind of pokemon and not only water handling perfectly those from other types despite never battling with them before as seen when borrowing Ash and Brock pokemon. How to adapt to unfamiliar environment as seen in underwater battles being highly resourceful as trainer, knowing how to reach to pokemon hearts and establish close bond with them as noticed when convincing mutated Tentacruel from not destroying town, Marill whose life was saved by her, several of her pokemon like Staryu implying to share strong connection or Poliwhirl helping him to overcome confidence issues ad stand up for himself.

Or Gyarados managing to tame down uncontrollable pokemon in much shorter period of time than Ash, Dawn, or Iris did lacking steadiness and talent to approach to them and earn thrust so quickly like she did.

On top of that she was ended recognized as powerful, manageable trainer by several professionals out there holding position of gym leader already by age of 10 which is real rarity in pokemon world revealing to have what it takes to become water master one day and surpass her idol Lorelei becoming possibly E4 eventually.

As trainer Iris may be prodigy but Misty showed high level of experience and skill proving herself through several tournaments or when battling strong trainers constantly training and battling at gym, making me believe how she might likely be stronger than Iris really is when it comes to utilizing your pokemon in most optimal manner.

While Misty did improve at battling in Johto, she certainly didn't come across as strong in Kanto. Ash nearly beat her in the Gym as Starmie was on the verge of losing energy before TR came.

Except he didn't. Misty defeated Ash Butterfree with Staryu, while he fight back with Pidgeotto bringing Starmie on verge of losing. Even if match wasn't interrupted and Starmie ended defeated, both sides would still have one pokemon making their battle record tied.

Starmie was losing to Pidgeotto who Ash just captured like 4 episodes prior.

What this has to do with anything? Ash constantly manage to defeat gym leaders and trainers with newly caught pokemon, but does that make others weaklings? Not really because outcome of battle is determined through several factors whether its luck, element of surprise, choice of attacks and strategy.

So Misty had less problems with her pokemon because the writers had no storylines for them. Psyduck was more comic relief than a real problem for Misty to overcome.

Or it could be because she showed to have better knowledge and understanding with her pokemon knowing how to earn their thrust and respect compared to others. This argument can go in two directions.

Also regarding storyline you seem to forget about Poliwhirl and Gyarados.

In terms of Misty's Pokemon I really only felt Psyduck and Poliwhirl were interesting. Staryu/Starmie/Goldeen were really just there because of the games but they obviously had no personality and couldn't be developed.

Not sure from where you get such impression but i can assure you how Staryu and Sarmie are one of most liked pokemon Misty has being preferred because of design, their speed, strength and flexibility they offer in battles judging by games. But anime as well.

They are liked because of their versatility and battle abilities as well unique shape. As far as personality goes every pokemon has some type of character naturally, but due to its shape and un anthropomorphic characteristics naturally its very hard to portray emotions and personality traits on surface from starfish pokemon(due to lacking face).

Also im not sure about your remark of not having room for growth but there is much more which they could've done with Goldeen making it eve evolve, Starmie which was largely unexplored leaving before showing full potential, and Staryu definitely progressed learning new attacks and becoming stronger.

Speaking of interesting pokemon, what about Corsola? It brought diversity to Misty team being dual type, i liked its moveset being nice breeze of fresh air using something different than water based attacks proving to be strong. I definitely liked oink coral pokemon seeming like fitting addition to Misty team.

Had Misty not faded away into the background during early and middle Johto she might have stayed more interesting though it her entire run.

To my knowledge Misty only faded in background during mid Johto, but as far as early Johto goes she was very active as character with her presence being possible to feel on daily basis by playing role in many episode plots.

Dunno about you but i find Misty was more fun in Johto and chronicles(see Tracey and Daisy interactions) compared to Iris too. I guess you could say she was less violent but that's understandable since she matured,still showing lot of spunk, passion for various hobbies having competitive flare and passion. She often ignited reaction from Ash side with snarky remarks and annoyance and better balanced out Brock eccentric personality having more memorable friendship with all companions in main cast than i could ever get same feeling from Iris. On top of that i enjoyed in healthy mix of prideful and mature, yet tomboyish and quirky side bringing more humor, tension and fun dialogue between characters in unforced, spontaneous manner than Iris did for me seeming to develop stronger friendship with her friends.

Misty just seemed to click of better with characters in general in my opinion.

p.s. Regarding people remark of Misty not being gym leader. Misty was gym leader before even meeting Ash. This was confirmed through several episodes in original series claiming to be Cerulan gym leader.Such as when meeting other trainers like AJ, Joe with Weepinbell in "School of Hard Knocks", when battling Ash for Totodile claiming how she has to defend her reputation as gym leader etc. Or in movies such as "Spell of Unown" where to Molly both Brock and Misty were referred as Pewter and Cerulean leaders respectively.

This also explains why she had three pokemon already with one being fully evolved when meting Ash showing more experience and knowledge.
 
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I like them both. I think they're both quite similar too. For me, it's definitely Misty. I think she had a better dynamic going on with Ash and she had better one liners than Iris. I think Iris has the superior Pokemon collection though.
 
LOL, I just noticed this is the only girl poll where Misty is winning by a landslide. Poor Iris. :p

Iris had a lot of potential at BW's start but I guess she just wasn't handled as well as she could have been. I think her backstory is better though.
 
Of course Misty. I never like a girl who swing around with vines like a jungle girl, climb like a monkey, rude, immature(call everyone a kid when actually she's the kid). Iris is not very likeable character to me.
 
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