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Most overrated and underrated Pokemon characters

JessicaTR

Delicate Darling~
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Who are the most overrated and underrated Pokemon characters in your opinion?
 
Overrated:
-Dawn: Her story was well-handled, but as a character overall she pales in comparison to May.
-Tobias: Yes, he destroyed Ash and the fandom's dreams in the Sinnoh League, but just because he has legendaries it doesn't mean he is more important or has more chances of coming back than Harrison and Tyson.

Underrated:
-Gary: I loved his interactions with Ash. I think Best Wishes should've had an expy of him instead of Paul.
-Iris: Her story was full of wrong desicions, but at least there was some effort put into her. Had she gotten better reception we wouldn't be having the same problems with Serena's "girly goal".
 
Overated:
-Brock: Really he seems really dull, especially in DP, honestly the other tertiary male characters were slightly better.
-Alain: I just really feel like there really isn't anything better about him, he still comes nothing more than another Paul just bland and trying to fulfill a simple goal of beating others.

Underated:
-Alder he really was a cool champion, it was a shame he barely interacted with the main characters he only got one episode to interact as a character of the day and he was seen only as a background character past that point, really he was really cool and understood the silly/serious cliché in my opinion.
-Dino: I never understood why was he just a background character, he appeared in a lot of episodes yet he barely got anytime to develop, honestly with no interaction he felt really cool, honestly I think he would of been a better final rival rather than Cameron in the BW league.
 
Underrated:
Cilan. From what I see, the only reason people hate him is because he was essentially a semi-permanent replacement for Brock. I find Cilan a little more fleshed out due to his various hobbies/interests and his "evaluation time" speeches .Plus he participated in Pokemon battles outside of his gym battle with Ash and fighting against the regional super villains and had a reason for participating beyond just impressing a pretty lady. I might also be a bit biased here since I like using Dwebble/Crustle and I'm a sucker for nice characters like Pansage even if these type of characters are usually flat.
 
Overrated:
Serena: Let me start this with i do like her, but a lot of people seem to think she is on a level with May (and even Dawn to a lesser extent). She just doesn't have enough personality for me. She isn't really funny, doesn't tease often, and is way too positive. Also she rarely battles and hasn't caught nearly enough Pokemon and showcases are pretty lame.

Underrated:
Tracey: I thought Tracey was a good character and I really like how they kept him in the show by making him Professor Oak's assistant. I thought it was cool how he was a Pokemon watcher, which is a new and different goal from other characters. His Pokemon were pretty neat, I really love Marill and his Scyther had a neat back story, and Marill and Venonat both helped him with his hobby, which was pretty cool. I wish they would show him more often in association with Professor Oak in current episodes.

Barry: I thought Barry was absolutely hilarious, plus he was a very good trainer and had some cool Pokemon. I loved how he interacted with Dawn especially, but just his personality in general. He also did very well in the Sinnoh league, which was the most difficult league we have seen thus far, and if not for Paul he would have made a very solid main rival (better trainer than any of Ash's current rivals).

I don't know if we're only talking about main characters, but there are a lot of COTD's I like that aren't really "rated" enough to be underrated or overrated. A couple of multi episode characters I really like that I wish would have gotten more screen time include Duplica, Sakura, Ursula, Lyra, and Morrison.
 
Overrated:
-Brock; I keep seeing people say they want him back, but for the life of me I can't understand why. He stopped being useful or interesting after the OS and was just the butt of running gag(s) that went on far too long.

- Misty; Oh yes, I'm going there. After she got Tokepi, she barely did anything. Don't get me wrong, she did quite a bit when she got the spotlight, but by and large she would've worked better as a recurring guest than a main character.

Underrated:

- Giovanni; At some point, OLM stopped giving a shit about Team Rocket outside the TRio and just kept it around as an excuse for them to be here (they'd be even MORE obnoxious and pointless without it). This extends to poor Giovanni being more a plot device than an actual character (you can count the times he's actually DONE something on one hand) with many of his appearances being him being annoyed by the TRio instead of being the kickass villain he could be :cry:
 
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Underrated:

Ash: His character get's a lot of hate because people think he's boring and has no character development but I disagree; he's come a long way (and maybe BW didn't do him justice, though I did enjoy the series, the exception was Iris and her "Such a kid" gag and him losing to Cameron of all people) from when he started. this boy started off knowing less then Gary his childhood friend/rival and most of his badges were given to him in Kanto, but by Johto he was earning his badges on his own and becoming a better battler and coming down from his high horse a bit (which I think most of that part of his personality was due to Gary pushing his buttons and Ash wanting to prove Gary wrong). He may be the main character (with Pikachu) but I feel like he doesn't get enough love when in my opinion he's the only one who should matter. #TeamAsh

Gary: His interactions were great with Ash and though he gave Ash a lot of crap I would have liked if he made more appearances in BW & XY because I think he's very wise and would be a benefit to Ash in the long run. I am not sure about in the beginning but during the OS, AG, & DP, I think (though maybe not intentionally) made Ash a better trainer and to prove himself so as not to be left behind and Gary helped with that. he's underrated because he's not used as much as he should be just like Ash needs to be more center of attention.
 
Most overrated:

Dawn/Hikari:
now don't get me wrong I enjoyed in Dawn character and whole thorny path she went through emerging from mother shadow, but way people praise her development and achievements acting like she has been superior female lead to everyone else is just pure blowing things out of her proportion.
Because when you see frequently statements such as "best pokemon team, strongest skills, best development, best story, best dynamic with others etc, etc. It starts to give out impression of Dawn character being given a bit too much credit.

Dawn did had best development career wise. But did she really changed in personality sense as result of that? To give out impression how all those experiences, new people, pokemon struggles and new lessons she learned molded her as person developing new sides to her personality and changing outlook on life'

Not much still staying largely same cheerful and girly girl introduced from stat and whatever changes there did happen, I felt May and Misty matured much more as characters growing and evolving emotionally than Dawn had during her journey.

More over Dawn contest career while good for her growth in career sense was just worse version of contests AG saga introduced imo. Liking more competition and rules under which May played with battling rounds containing more tension, strategy and excitement than Sinnoh contests. Where all those flashy capsule balls, frequent dressing up and sparkles all around the place took away from intensity and heat of competition.

I general I liked it better when there was put bigger attention of battling and raw power of pokemon themselves(something May contests to extent had), compared to Dawn arc where too much emphasis was instead put on appeal rounds.

And yes sure you could say how DP stayed more faithful to what contests supposed to mean, but for me this only watered down appeal of such type of competitions.

Lastly I don't really think Dawn chemistry with Ash was so intricate and complex as many tend to say. It was good(in fact very good) but as far as im concerned it lacked that same level of depth, variety of feelings, charm, humor, drama and tension Ash had with May, and especially Misty. Making their friendship feel much more innate, realistic and endearing to follow.

Better living up to message of how how friends can have disagreements, joke with each other, tease, support and get themselves in al kind of embarassing situations. Slowly building on their relationship and discovering each their positive and negative sides learning how to accept them. Deepening thus on their dynamic.

Paul/Shinji: he is my favorite rival Ash ever had and I appreciated greatly what his presence brought to DP series and Ash character in general managing to get under his skin.

But was he really superior in every possible aspect to all other rivals Ash ever had? Not really.

For once you can say all you want about Gary and way his rivalry with Ash was handled which can be excused given it came from OS when show was still very young with writers experimenting.

But Gary exuded with more emotion, personality and energy as character opening gate toward two way alley where communication between him and protagonist could flow resulting in more enjoyable dynamic, Not just helping Ash to grow as trainer, but also managing to grow himself through that journey as he built on friendship with Ash. Having overall better closure and more development than Paul had.

Most of all I don't think Paul is stronger trainer than Gary. Who was considered prodigy among young trainers, regularly defeated much older trainers than he was, relied on lot of tactic improvisations and strategy just like Paul but using different methods to accomplish his aims and went very far before he changed career. And even than fact that his Electivire managed to defeat for example Ash Pikachu who just two episodes earlier defeated Brandon Regiice says a lot about his strength as battler despite not even being anymore active trainer.

Most underrated:

Misty/Kasumi:
no im not kidding. She is always considered as someone inferior in comparison to other girls like May/Dawn, even Serena, but Iris as well when it comes to girls just because she didn't collected some sorts of tokens when entering competitions(despite entering many tournaments like Princess festival, Kanto Flame athon race, Balloon race, tournament for Togepi, Acapulco contest, Whirl Cup, Seaking tournament, need I go on?). I already counted more competitions than what Iris and Serena entered, yet people just remember Whirl Cup passing out there as only event she entered apparently.

Her pokemon are often viewed as joke based on what I see on various sites and "extremely boring picks". Despite having one of most devastating forces out there Gyarados not needing to battle to earn its respect. With her strong personality and attitude being enough. Despite Psyduck being best enabler of humor and various embarrassing scenes with its unique escapades. Having extremely agile, resistant and very cool as far as im concerned in design pokemon like Staryu, Starmie etc.

Her skills as trainer are underestimated being considered weak trainer despite being gym leader already at such a young age with her talent and resourcefulness being noticed by various authorities like PIA inspector Joy, winning or coming high in several tournaments(coming top 8 in Whirl Cup which had higher number of participants than even Grand Festivals had) and beating much older and more experienced trainers(Dorian, Harrison, Georgio, Sylvester to name a few)..

There is also large misconception circulating around fandom of Misty not having any character development despite changing far more emotionally and in personality sense than any other Ash traveling companion(except May). In overcoming complex of feeling less worthy compared to sisters, becoming more open and compassionate toward friends and other people. Accepting her pokemon for who they are like Psyduck, becoming more independent and responsible better coping with new challenges, overcoming childhood trauma etc. But since her goal wasn't fleshed out much that apparently equals "not having any growth or achievements".

Speaking of which for some reason her dreams of becoming water pokemon master and desire to reach E4 member position are often ignored and discarded as ultimate failure.
Which is shame because her passion and devotion toward water pokemon is admiring with no other character in this show being so attached and enthusiastic over one pokemon type like she was. Having unique dreams of learning as much as she can about them and life in oceans learning how to use them to full potential becoming water master. And possibly first E4 female in history specializing solely in water specie living up to her idol Lorelei from elite trainers.

With her story having mysterious touch to it and unpredictability allowing writers to take her through various directions growing forward(for example Whirl Cup was great way to dive deeper in meaning of water master and what this dream entails, but various other alternatives like what manga did with her and Suicune, passing tests to become E4 one day etc).Such dream not being fleshed out enough during time writers were less experienced and unsure of what they wanted from anime to become doesn't mean this career don't have potential to make creative arc out of it.

In general I feel there is lack of any interest and appreciation for Misty role, support she gave to Ash development, anime humor, drama and lot of emotion her personality brought to series back in day or story she helped move forward through her strong willed nature and curiosity often being involved in various subplots in how to resolve mysteries, stop villains etc. Speaking in present , because past and how much support she once had is irrelevant now.

With first poke girl being at least I have such impression ;undervalued with there existing very small interest of her return in pokemon series, advancement of her own story and goals which were left unfinished and chance to be relevant in anime again.

Was she maybe less exposed than some other characters? Depends on what you consider exposition to be.
But did Misty needed a lot to be compelling, well rounded character leaving impact on storyline? I say not.

Tracey/Kenji: while he's not exactly definition of most vibrant and memorable character out there. Thing is he never had chance to be explored and developed to even decent degree. Tracey was main character for just 36 episodes never getting enough time to learn about his origins and family. From where does he come from, did he pursued other careers before becoming pokemon watcher, how he got his pokemon etc. Let alone having time to create meaningful story with his character and flesh out his pokemon, career and personality at all.

But if Tracey short stay in main cast and pokemon chronicles were something to go by, Tracey revealed to have potential and energy to deliver so much more than what he got with pokemon fandom never giving him fair chance.

He was immediately discarded as "inferior version of Brock with no personality or any unique traits" before he got even introduced in pokemon. In nutshell Tracey was hated and even nowadays still is just because he replaced much more popular character not giving writers even opportunity to make something concrete out of his creation and existence.

Which is shame because i thought Tracey was likable and full of mystery character who if had stayed for longer would allow to see more of his personality and interests shared with audience to grow in appreciating his good sides. I liked his obsession over prof. Oak, love he had for sketching and he had some pretty good interactions with Ash and Misty(especially in chronicles with those two having great dynamic filled with comedy, embarassment, support or annoyance caused by third party). And i found interesting his ambitions when it comes to sketching being pokemon watcher providing unique and different way to see someone utilize pokemon contributing to plot(as evidenced with Marill super hearing or Venonat excellent radar abilities).

Not to mention as neglected and underdeveloped as he was, Tracey at same time is the only character so far who accomplished his goal considering his dream was to become prof. Oak assistant in end becoming one. Which is p'retty cool when you think about it having at least one main character already living its dream.
 
Overrated would be Ash given that he has hardly any dynamic traits, yet still gets support from fans. Underrated would be either Tracey or Airisu.
 
Overrated:-
Gary- He is so damn overrated. I can't stand him these days.

Underrated:-
Paul- I think he deserves a lot more appreciation than what he gets.
Dawn-She is good too.
May-She definitely deserves more love from the fandom.
Ash-I don't understand why people hate him so much. They need to start appreciating his efforts instead of just saying that he wins because of plot. By that logic I can say that he loses because of plot.
TRio- They are so funny and interesting and definitely neccesary for creating conflicts and all that.
Brock- He was MUCH better than that Tracey. Yeah he got a little boring in Sinnoh but come on, that's still preferable compared to some random guy like Gary suddenly joining the main cast or something. I had loved Brock's role in that Galactic arc too.

Can't decide whether Misty is overrated or underrated. I guess she gets enough love and hate in fandom to balance things out.
 
Uh, first off, why all the hate on Iris? Sure, she beats up on Ash, calling him a kid and all but if people hate her because she teases Ash, shouldn't Gary be hated too? Sure, she doesn't do much and I haven't watched all of Best Wishes yet, but when I do I'll probably be just as clueless as why people despise her.

Cilan is a little bit of an underdog. He's funny and even though his evaluations are all the same ("Crispy attacks full of vigor! A perfect match for a perky trainer!") but it's kinda funny. Also, he has a lot of potential and he's generally interesting. AND he's got a Dwebble! Cool! (Pansage is gorgeous, too) He doesn't get enough recognition. :(

As for overrated? I'd say Serena, cause she looks a little bit of a Mary-Sue character to me. :p (Dawn ftw!!)
 
Uh, first off, why all the hate on Iris? Sure, she beats up on Ash, calling him a kid and all but if people hate her because she teases Ash, shouldn't Gary be hated too? Sure, she doesn't do much and I haven't watched all of Best Wishes yet, but when I do I'll probably be just as clueless as why people despise her.

Cilan is a little bit of an underdog. He's funny and even though his evaluations are all the same ("Crispy attacks full of vigor! A perfect match for a perky trainer!") but it's kinda funny. Also, he has a lot of potential and he's generally interesting. AND he's got a Dwebble! Cool! (Pansage is gorgeous, too) He doesn't get enough recognition. :(

As for overrated? I'd say Serena, cause she looks a little bit of a Mary-Sue character to me. :p (Dawn ftw!!)
Gary/Paul are Ash's rivals so they're expected to be antagonistic. Since they appear only several times throughout the show, they don't annoy the viewers as much as Iris who the viewers had to watch patronize Ash every episode.

The more I think about, the more I wish Iris could have been Ash's rival instead. She had the perfect personality to be one.
 
Uh, first off, why all the hate on Iris? Sure, she beats up on Ash, calling him a kid and all but if people hate her because she teases Ash, shouldn't Gary be hated too? Sure, she doesn't do much and I haven't watched all of Best Wishes yet, but when I do I'll probably be just as clueless as why people despise her.

It's not really Iris we hate so much as her very poorly handled storyline.
 
I guess so, but whenever I hear people talking about Iris, they're usually just criticizing her. I guess Best Wishes was fairly toned down, and that's no reason to skimp on a storyline, but I still love Iris, sure, she's not Dawn's standard but she's pretty unique in her own right. :)
 
Overrated - Paul and Misty - One is apparently Silver remake and the other didn't do much in the series as whole.

Underrated - Misty's sisters. They were cooler. Gary - Everything needed more Gary.
 
Misty is definitely overrated, she was a great character but after Johto her story was finished, she had to go, there was nothing else for her to do, so I really don't get the constant complaining we get about not bringing her back.

Tracey is underrated for me, yes I know he was really only shoehorned in because the writers were afraid of how the west would react to Brock but overall Tracey wasn't a bad replacement, granted I'm glad his run with the cast was short because there wasn't really any story to go with him but I really don't think the time with Tracey was awful.
 
Misty is definitely overrated, she was a great character but after Johto her story was finished, she had to go, there was nothing else for her to do, so I really don't get the constant complaining we get about not bringing her back.
.

People want her back exactly because of reason of her story not being finished leaving while having lot of untapped potential to be explored more than what was the case in reality.

Because aside from pokeshippers who feel her crush on Ash was left open, Misty dreams of becoming water pokemon master which were began to be explored on more meaningful level through competitions like Seaking contest or Whirl Cup, love and passion for water pokemon learning everything she can about them unlocking full strength, interest in E4 members like Lorelei wanting to reach such level of strength and recognition herself idolizing her(something game counterpart does too) were left entirely unresolved with no conclusion.
Nonetheless clear up her future regarding gym and what will happen with her own dreams and desires. Due to taking over gym dure to necessity and obligation since her sisters are irresponsible and carefree expressing clearly in chronicles how they are main reason behind staying at gym expressing desire to travel again. Thus her ultimate goals and in what direction her story will go being left ambiguous and unclear.

There are other things like Misty past about parents who according to head writer for OS mr. Shudo abandoned her and sisters, fear from bugs, prejudices in choosing pokemon by looks, not coming to realization how to use her pokemon to full potential(like mega evolution of her Gyarados or realizing how to extract Psyduck for example potential)) were left unexplained having room to be done much more.

So i can understand why people miss Misty, want her back in some prominent role and enjoy in her strong, endearing personality which to them brought lot of entertainment. Thus wishing that she gets follow up.

Beside whole desire to see your favorite characters again is nothing strange. Even if character original plots were finished that doesn't mean sequel couldn't be done taking him in new directions. Unless we are supposed to believe how 10 year olds in this anime already reached their maximum with their lives and stories reaching dead end which really isn't true.
 
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I agree there is a potential return for Misty, but the writers wanted to end it where it ended and honestly it felt satisfying enough IMO, granted it could've been better.
 
To White Yoshi:
It was more so that they didn't had choice.

Explanation:
According to head writer Takeshi Shudo he was given choice by higher ups to either replace Misty or Jessie, James, Meowth by end of Johto with those at higher positions thinking of changing formula of pokemon series putting mr. Shudo to dead end in being forced to choose between fairly limited options of who would be spared or not. And since mr. Shudo felt show could do without female protagonist more than group of antagonist he made decision it was made.

Admitting through his blogs how there existed ideas to be done more with Misty story with whole Whirl islands arc showing staff had directions and concept of how to flesh out her character related to her pokemon and goals of becoming type master. But they run out of time to deliver more with Shudo expressing regret of Misty story ending in lot of ways unfinished and not explored as much as it could've been.

Granted we did saw her maturing an becoming more independent. Got out of sister shadow earning their respect and putting gym back on right track etc. And it was meaningful growth for her, but it did felt like there was potential to deelop her more having loose ends(more than I thought until I rewatched older series and what was introduced around her). One way to do continuation would be in leaving gym with collected knowledge to compete in strong events becoming E4 apprentice in future or something and later E4 herself(since they are type masters in games).

But things went in way they did and i respect your thoughts on it.
Still maybe for 20th anniversary and related to S&M saga writers do something more with her which wouldn't hurt imo feeling she could last for one more season at least.
 
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