Orchid's Pokeani blog

Orchid · Feb 27, 2021

I have a lot of disjointed thoughts about this show and nowhere to put them. Hence this blog was born! Now I can document it all!

Here you will probably see me talking to myself about:

my thoughts on the current saga (JN) and current events from it
my thoughts on previous sagas
the episodes that I like/don't like
the characters that I like/don't like
things that I want to happen/don't want to happen in the future
anything else like stuff that happens in the fanbase or my headcanons or whatever
...And So Much More!

Worth noting these will probably not be structured very well since I'll just be saying whatever's on my mind that can't go anywhere else. Also please be warned there are spoilers in here, I've been watching JN subbed not dubbed.

Oh yeah also I have to clarify these are just my opinions or whatever.

Okay see you around.

Orchid · Feb 27, 2021

Yesterday marked the last episode for the month of February, JN057: Love is Koduck!

I'm going to be completely honest with you here... I haven't actually sat down and watched a full episode of Journeys since 051. I've just been gathering bits of information on each episode since then, from what I read about it and the screenshots/clips I see. I promise I'll catch up sooner or later... I just think procrastinating is fun.

That being said, we're moving into March now. Here's what I expect going into this new month (058-061):

March 5th - JN058: Panic! Gokulin Ball!! / Come on, Kamukame - The Turtle Race!
This is one of the two-parters. We know how the two-parters go. Do I really have to say anything? Do you guys remember when we all thought Ash was getting Marshtomp in that last one? How did that work out?? ...Okay but for real, I don't think the Gachat is gonna break forever here and never be seen again. I'm not a huge fan of the thing either (in fact I don't really have an opinion on it at all), but that's like, too much of an important event for it to be in one of these wacky fillers. It's gonna break at the end of this saga and that's it.
Predictions: There's some Gulpin and some turtles.

March 12th - JN059: The Lost Sarunori! Who is the Trainer!?
I know this is a touchy subject right now... but I really believe Gou's getting Grookey here, and if not here, sometime soon. If that ends up true, I have absolutely no issue with that. I'd prefer that over it going to Ash, by FAR. When Gou got Sobble, I immediately assumed "oh, so he's getting all of them, right?" so it wouldn't really be a surprise to me. Giving Gou 2/3 of the Galar starters but not the third one, especially this far into the series, would be a really baffling move in my opinion. Plus... I just... don't really like the thing all that much when it evolves. I know on Gou's team it probably won't evolve beyond its second stage, if at all. It's gonna go full Rillaboom eventually if it ends up on Ash's team and I really don't want that for him if I'm being honest.
Predictions: Grookey belongs to a CoTD who either released it, and/or gives it to Gou out of the goodness of their heart when it sees how much Grookey likes him. That or it's something literally no one is expecting and the internet goes into a frenzy for a week until we all forget about it again by next Friday. Grookey/Sobble/Pikachu/Eevee do something silly and cute onscreen for like... a little bit too long.

March 19th - JN060: Aim to Be a Scallion Master! Charge with Chivalry!!
Sirfetch'd? Sirfetch'd is FINALLY on its way, even though we were seeing Sirfetch'd anime merch as early as before the Darkest Day?! Uh, I'unno, maybe. Maybe not. I'd hope so, since this bird has gotten a crapton of focus recently. I know it won't disappear after it evolves (at least I would hope it doesn't, oh god) but... like... poor Dracovish.
Predictions: I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is where we see Rinto again. If they battle they probably tie like the Bea rematch. Other than that... I have no idea. It'll probably be good.

March 26th - JN061: Leave It to Us! Prasle Minun Handymen!!
Filler time already?! No way! Yeah I totally forgot that we even saw those Plusle/Minun trucks and CoTDs in the opening. I like Plusle and Minun a lot so hey whatever I'll watch it.
Predictions: Too early to say. Hopefully Renji is there. I like that guy.

Right now, that's all we know of. What about beyond that?

If I had to guess, we're probably going to be seeing titles for April cropping up pretty soon. Something I thought of a while back is that they might put out another one of those 30-second preview trailers after Grookey's debut, covering the next few months. Grookey was the last thing we have yet to see from the one they dropped last Christmas (everything else like Wikstrom, Inteleon, Ponyta, Gulpin/Chewtle, etc. is all accounted for).

What is there we haven't covered that could be hiding out in April? Eh... well...

Iris: We've all seen the opening. I've seen it, you've seen it, we all know she's on her way... eventually?
I'll even be so bold as to say she might actually be the first thing we see right after the Plusle and Minun handymen. At least that's what I assume; she shows up first chronologically in the OP right next to... someone else (who I'll get to in a minute) so I assume her episode would be before his? I could be wrong. I kinda hope I'm wrong. Meh, like everyone else, I hope her Axew and Gible are evolved. Her having an Applin would be kinda funny too. I like Iris in general.

Dracovish: Hello? Where IS this thing??? ._.
Poor thing debuted in early January and is still absolutely nowhere to be seen, not even in background/group shots, WTF man? This might be related to the above. I think Iris would probably be pretty interested in seeing a Dragon fossil, so they could just be holding off on giving it focus until then, I guess...? But then why not focus on their Dragonites?? I dunno. I know I'm not saying anything new here, it's just making me sad that my two favorite Ashmons this series (the other being Gengar) seem to have learned Sobble's invisibility powers. Come on now.

G-Ponyta: Koharu's gonna get one of these, for real, right?
She's shown with it in a poster and the opening and it's still showing up in merch. It's gotta have more purpose than just being a bait-and-switch... right? It's not even like I REALLY want her to have it or anything; it's just gonna be really weird if she doesn't.

Gary: Oh boy. Yeah, this is in my wheelhouse...
I'll be real, these past couple months since the new OP aired have been complete torment for me. I'm sure anyone who's ever heard me talk about anything, ever, knows this about me: I totally love Gary. He's like, my favorite character from anything ever, along with Ash. I've been sitting here, waiting for him to come back, for like... ten or eleven years now? So needless to say, I might have freaked out a little bit... okay, a LOT, when I woke up to that opening last month. >_>; please, just... don't look at me.
I could write a whole essay about what his episode could be about and what he could be doing, but I'll control myself and spare you the wall of text... for now. I feel like he could potentially appear any time in April (JN062-066), or at least I would hope he does, because it's already been quite a while since we learned he was turning up. Seriously, I'm not gonna make it to May or June if we don't get a trailer showing him before that. Where is he, I'm dyin' here.

Will I be right? Will I be wrong? Dunno. I'll check back on these periodically to see if I actually hit anything or if I completely missed the mark.

Journeys seems to be picking up quite a lot lately so I'm looking forward to whatever's coming up from this point onwards.

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

Okay, listen.

Two months from now, when this game actually releases... if I'm somehow totally 100% wrong about this tangent I'm about to go on, or I missed something incredibly painfully obvious here... don't quote me on this. Just pretend I was never here, alright? It's speculation. It's a theory. A hypothesis. Based on a teeny weeny bit of evidence. Therefore I cannot be held responsible for being the wrongest person to ever live, okay? Okay. Good.

So listen.

You guys remember Todd Snap, don't you? Did you know that he debuted in the anime more than half a year before he was the protagonist in Pokemon Snap, and even reappeared for a brief arc during the Johto seasons long after that?

Yeah, technically he's an anime-original character that happened to get a spinoff title, which differentiates him from the other spinoff protagonists that have also appeared in the anime. (Take Solana and Kellyn, for example; their only purpose for showing up was to promote the Ranger games. Kellyn's game, Shadows of Almia, even released on the same day as his debut.)

For some reason though, some people insist that it's a Ranger situation and Todd is somehow a game character. Heck, Pokemon Snap even has the same art style and the same voice actors as the anime. I'll die on this hill if I have to, the game was based off the anime, not the other way around. This is the entire basis on which this post is built, so if you disagree with that... you should probably turn back now.

I promise I'm getting somewhere with this...

New Pokémon Snap was announced in June of last year in the very first Pokémon Presents stream, and after a long bout of silence on it, they finally put out a second trailer for it on January 14th, 2021 (happy birthday to me). In that one, we finally got a good look at the two new protagonists, complete with character customization, and the new professor named Mirror that accompanied them. It takes place in the never-before-seen Lental region.

It makes sense. Even if the original game was based on the anime, the sequel isn't. No surprise there. They don't really do games based on the anime at all anymore; in the current day and age, they've kinda separated the two into their own entities, almost entirely unrelated from each other. The last one I can think of (that wasn't a Sega Pico/Beena title) was like... Pokemon Puzzle League, which never even released in Japan? Pokemon Channel, if you squint? The Ash-Greninja you could get from the Sun and Moon Special Demo...? Pokemon Zany Cards??

The point is... it's exactly what it says on the tin, a New Pokemon Snap. I remember when the site first went up for the game, it had some vague blurbs saying it was "inspired by" the original. The fact that Todd isn't anywhere to be seen, in the sequel to the game named after him? Sure, it bummed me out for a bit, but it's not like I was exactly shocked. Not at all, actually. He last appeared in the anime 20 years ago, and his game was even longer ago than that; probably more than half the people that play New Snap won't even know who he is. There's a reason why it's not called Pokemon Snap 2, it's more of a reboot than a direct sequel. It's a standalone title, disconnected from its roots. Times have changed. That's fine by me.

So.

There was another Pokemon Presents stream last Friday. The world, right now, as I write this, has been thrown into a state of utter chaos about Brilliant Diamond/Shining Pearl and Pokemon Legends: Arceus. Sinnoh confirmed, twice, and in the most polarizing ways possible. No one can tell left from right or up from down anymore. It's mayhem out there.

Seemingly lost under all this confusion, the first part of that Presents was dedicated to more information about New Pokemon Snap. It was a nice little update showcasing more of the game, and it featured gameplay alongside quite a few things that we didn't know about yet - photo editing, online sharing, a tossable item called Illumina Orbs, even a new rival character.

But none of that is what I wanna talk about from that trailer.

I know.

I know what you're thinking. I know I am one of approximately five people in the world that cares about Todd Snap, like, at all. I know he's objectively super boring, especially compared to other recurring characters in OS like Sakura and Casey. I'm aware. I can't help it.

BUT LISTEN.

If what I'm about to say sounds familiar, I posted about this in the game's thread when it happened, but I really just can't let it go without saying at least something else about it. All of that long-winded exposition and context in this post was leading up to this point. You ready?

Amongst all that other information, in a really brief shot towards the end of that trailer, there's a character standing next to Professor Mirror. Wearing a vest, kind of an assistant type by the looks of it, gingery-brown hair...

Hey, instead of telling you about it, here's a picture. Go on, zoom in a bit.

...What is going ON in this game.

I've honestly only seen... three other people bring this up so far, across every site I use. There's no way this CAN'T be Todd. The hair, the gloves, the wristband that's striped the exact same colors as his old shirt, the fact he's not mentioned at all on the websites or in the trailer... there's no way. (...remember, you can't quote me on this...)

And you know what? Sure! I'll admit it, I was wrong to think they wouldn't link the new game to the old one. It's a cute reference to make to the original. Those people who do know who he is, like, uh, me... will notice that. I'm really glad he's back after such a long time. Nothing wrong with a little callback for the veteran players, right? Right.

...BUT SERIOUSLY, WHAT'S GOING ON?!?

I could leave it right here. I could end this post at "oh look, they brought back this anime character" and that'd be the whole point of the post. If you want it to end here, then you can hit that close tab button and never look back. But... I gotta do it.

I knew, immediately, that I was going to over-analyze this. It's kind of what I do. I love analyzing little details that I know are meaningless. I love analyzing stuff that I know I should just accept at face value and not think about it too hard. Sometimes things just don't make sense. Sometimes things aren't anything. But... there's just something about picking apart this series that will always compel me. Do not judge me for who I am.

So now that all that's out of the way...

I'm going to put my ~~conspiracy theory~~ speculation about this under the cut. If you don't wanna read complete nonsense... well, you probably shouldn't be on my blog at all, because this certainly won't be the last time, but... well, what I'm saying is, everything in this spoiler tag is going to be totally baseless hypothesizing. Everything I'm about to say will mean nothing. You can leave it alone, or you can delve into the depths. It's your choice to make.

Wait, you're still here?

Okay, so... in Todd's debut episode, it was stated he was 10 years old, just like Ash. It wasn't in the dub, but in the original it was written in the issue of Pokemon Times that he shows to him.

As we all know (and so love to make fun of him for) Ash has been incapable of aging since at least BW. Every single saga, despite everything that's happened, no matter how many days pass, he is still 10, even to this day in Journeys. Nobody else ever ages, either, for that matter. Linear time just does not pass at all. The anime, if you choose to believe what's stated in the canon, is stuck in some sort of time bubble, where as soon as they hit double digits they're cursed forever. Unless you're already an adult. It's complicated.

Why is this important? Well, if we assume those other characters pictured here are the universal Pokemon Trainer age of 10... Todd is definitely not 10 here. He's clearly much taller and visibly older than them.

You know what this means, right?

Someone who has had two whole adventures with Ash... aged.

[audience gasps]

Let's not panic. Let's not panic at... this.

So... let's dissect the situation. If we are to believe this is the same Todd who knows and remembers Ash and his friends, and is not from some bizarre alternate universe, this could mean... a few things.

The most obvious assumption you could make is that this game takes place in the future, a set number of years after the first Pokemon Snap. The NEO-ONE looks like a much more high-tech machine than the ZERO-ONE, right? Everyone's cameras are much more advanced too.

If that's true, that makes the implication that time has passed normally. It implies that this game takes place in a world where the aforementioned time bubble has actually been broken, for the first time ever. That is, or it would be, a heavy thing to try and process. I just don't think they would ever go that far. They'd never age Ash, even as an accidental side-effect. They wouldn't ever open that can of worms.

Another thing that could be true, though, that would not technically break that rule?

Well...

It's time travel.

I promise I'm not losing my marbles.

YET.

Celebi is a Pokemon that is well known for being able to cross through time. In the fourth movie, Celebi brought a young Professor Oak from the past to the present. In Pokemon Chronicles, Celebi brought Ritchie from the present back to the past. There's other examples, but these are the ones that come to mind first.

In both cases, the people involved retained their appearance from the time period they came from. The past Oak that was brought to the present is young, but the present Oak is old. The present Ritchie that was brought to the past is still a kid, and not... non-existent. Still following me here?

Now imagine this: in theory, if Celebi were to travel to the future, it would see the future version of someone. For example, if you went forwards in time 5 years, you would see that person as they look 5 years from the present. Yes? Yes.

If Celebi took that future person back to the present, they would still look the same. Yeah? Okay.

What Pokemon did we see, prominently displayed at the end of that New Snap trailer, presented with an air of mystery?

CELEBI.

We don't know anything else about it. We just know it's there, and it's gonna be important.

This game takes place in the present day... but this Todd was brought back from the future.

...Yeah, I'm thinking about it too hard.

I know, in my heart of hearts, this is probably just spinoff nonsense. Think of everything that goes on in Pokemon Masters - much like we're never going to hear about the Pasio region in the main games, we're probably never gonna hear of Lental in the anime. Therefore, they can do whatever they want, in both cases. Spinoffs may as well take place in another universe, if they don't already. Nothing that happens in them ever really means anything important.

I mean, it's not like Ash ever heard about Pokemon Island and the Rainbow Cloud from Professor Oak... maybe Todd just lives by his own set of rules. Maybe he lives in the game world now, so he escaped the bubble. Maybe it's all just a dream! Maybe he's still asleep on that frosty mountain in Johto with Articuno somewhere. Sure, why not.

...but for real, is it time travel? It's gotta be time travel.

Oh also this totally rules out him ever coming back in Journeys. DANG IT!

Anyway... The game's not out until April 30th. This is all based on one little shot from the trailer. When we can actually play it, we'll know everything there is to know, and all of this will be totally irrelevant. I just had to get all this outta my system before it's released.

...Maybe this is actually not Todd, but his long-lost brother... or his cousin... or something.

I'll seriously eat my hat if that's true.

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

It's my favorites from the first season, in order!

EP063: The Battle of the Badge
EP039: Pikachu's Goodbye
EP065: Showdown at the Po-ké Corral
EP002: Pokémon Emergency!
EP003: Ash Catches a Pokémon
Snow Way Out!
EP079: Friend and Foe Alike
EP078: A Friend In Deed
EP075: Round One - Begin!
EP001: Pokémon, I Choose You!
EP080: Friends to the End
EP077: The Fourth Round Rumble
EP023: The Tower of Terror
EP058: Riddle Me This!
EP046: Attack of the Prehistoric Pokémon
EP031: Dig Those Diglett!
EP070: Go West Young Meowth
EP048: Holy Matrimony!
EP012: Here Comes the Squirtle Squad
EP037: Ditto's Mysterious Mansion

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

I cut this one down to 15 because there's only like 30-something episodes in it anyway.

EP115: The Rivalry Revival
EP114: A Tent Situation
EP110: The Stun Spore Detour
EP081: Pallet Party Panic
EP105: Charizard Chills
EP097: Tracey Gets Bugged
EP096: Meowth Rules!
EP086: Pikachu Re-Volts
EP103: Misty Meets Her Match
EP082: A Scare in the Air
EP084: The Lost Lapras
EP102: The Mystery Menace
EP104: Bound For Trouble
EP087: The Crystal Onix
EP088: In The Pink

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

EP157: The Fortune Hunters!
EP121: Illusion Confusion!
EP134: Charizard's Burning Ambitions
EP140: Wired for Battle!
EP148: No Big Woop!
EP118: The Double Trouble Header
EP155: Forest Grumps
EP126: The Chikorita Rescue
EP146: Tricks of the Trade
EP150: Hour of the Houndour
EP151: The Totodile Duel
EP138: The Superhero Secret
EP129: Ignorance is Blissey
EP127: Once in a Blue Moon
EP154: Fowl Play!
EP137: Foul Weather Friends
EP130: A Bout With Sprout
EP136: Chikorita's Big Upset
EP145: A Farfetch'd Tale
EP123: Spinarak Attack

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

EP171: Power Play!
EP183: Trouble's Brewing
EP206: The Joy of Water Pokemon
EP189: Freeze Frame
EP161: The Bug Stops Here
EP160: Air Time!
EP188: Spring Fever
EP174: Imitation Confrontation!
EP187: Moving Pictures
EP170: A Better Pill to Swallow
EP203: The Screen Actor's Guilt
EP207: Got Miltank?
EP198: The Heartbreak of Brock
EP173: Wobbu-Palooza!
EP205: The Kecleon Caper
EP197: The Art of Pokemon
EP201: Doin' What Comes Natu-rally
EP190: The Stolen Stones
EP193: Sick Daze
EP200: Turning Over a New Bayleef

Orchid · Feb 28, 2021

EP266: A Claim to Flame!
EP273: Gotta Catch Ya Later!
EP269: The Ties That Bind
EP272: Johto Photo Finish
EP270: Can't Beat the Heat!
EP222: A Promise is a Promise
EP228: Extreme Pokemon!
EP227: For Ho-Oh the Bells Toll!
EP221: A Parent Trapped!
EP226: Espeon, Not Included
EP225: Bulbasaur... the Ambassador!
EP263: Address Unown!
EP244: Enlighten Up!
EP211: Fly Me to the Moon
EP217: The Perfect Match!
EP245: Will the Real Oak Please Stand Up?
EP219: Hi Ho Silver... Away!
EP232: Just Waiting On a Friend
EP258: Hatch Me If You Can
EP237: As Cold as Pryce

Nicolas721 · Mar 2, 2021

Are you being serious with the time travel theory? Because it's easier to assume that New Snap just takes place in a different universe to the anime.

Illusion Confusion is a very underrated episode. It has everything I hoped for a Hoothoot filler and more.

Pokemon Emergency on the other hand I didn't like it much. It has a great climax but most of the episode is just presenting a ton of main & secondary characters instead of continuing the Ash & Pikachu development.

Orchid · Mar 2, 2021

Nicolas721 said:
Are you being serious with the time travel theory? Because it's easier to assume that New Snap just takes place in a different universe to the anime.

Illusion Confusion is a very underrated episode. It has everything I hoped for a Hoothoot filler and more.

Pokemon Emergency on the other hand I didn't like it much. It has a great climax but most of the episode is just presenting a ton of main & secondary characters instead of continuing the Ash & Pikachu development.

Nah, I'm half-joking about all that. I know it's almost for sure just some alternate continuity, especially since it's been so long. I just like to mess around and look into things too hard and then inevitably get proven wrong... It's a bad habit of mine to never take the easy route. Hence the "rambling" tag. : P

Illusion Confusion really is underrated, there's a whole lot of fun stuff happening in that episode but I don't really ever see it brought up. It's probably due to just being brushed off as another boring early Johto filler, which is too bad really.

As for Pokémon Emergency, I'm not really sure why I like it so much... I'm aware it's not as important plot-wise as the episodes around it, but something about the beginning of Indigo League as a whole kinda hits home to me. It's mostly because of that "this is just like real life, except there are Pokémon in it" angle they went for early on — the scene in it where Ash is sitting in the empty Pokémon Center waiting room comes to mind. There's just something about that kind of relatability that I appreciate, though it's probably just me being attached to that season lol.

Orchid · Mar 9, 2021

Well I'll be darned. Looks like we're getting a break on March 26th, and most likely April 2nd as well. That throws a bit of a wrench into my earlier predictions, but oh well, nothing that can be done now.

Last time we had a small hiatus like this was actually back in December, when we got that special preview that I mentioned. I kinda wonder if they'll do the same thing again here. It'd be something to look forward to, so fingers crossed, eh?

Orchid · Mar 17, 2021

yeesh. sorry about that threadmark name, everyone. I promise I'm not the one who's been coming up with the dub titles this season.

Being the person I am, I've been speculating wildly for the past couple of months in anticipation of my favorite character Gary making his return. I feel like it's enough to warrant its own post by now, so here's the rundown of what I've been thinking about since January.

1. What'll he be doing?

This is a divisive topic right now, I'm aware. From what I've seen, it seems like it's pretty evenly split between the people who want him to keep doing his research, and the people who want him to go back to his roots of being a plain ol' competitive Trainer. And y'know what... for the longest time, I was totally in the former! I thought, "wow, it'd be really dumb if they gave him that development and then retconned it all out of existence". And maybe it is dumb! I get it. But listen... I really think it'd be better for him, as a character, to move on.

I don't know if this was a dub-only line, so please forgive my antiquated ways if it is... but back in Chronicles, he actually expressed a lot of doubt about it! When hearing about what Ash was up to, he said "Maybe I should have stayed on my journey to become a Trainer, rather than deciding to be a researcher". Sure, it was the first time we'd seen him since he chose that goal, so it'd be completely understandable if he thought that early on... but it really did seem like he was this close to quitting. Heck, even in Sinnoh, he didn't really seem like he was thrilled about it... would it really be all that unbelievable if he just changed his mind, especially after all this time? As long as it's reasonably explained why he went back to competitive battling, what would be the issue? Have YOU ever decided what you were gonna do and stuck with it for the rest of your life?! Didn't think so.

I'm not saying that he absolutely should give it up... and I'm not one of those people that outright hates that the writers chose that path for him or anything, either. I'll be okay with it either way. I just think that narratively, it would be a lot more interesting if he tried something, it didn't work out for him, and he went back to what made him happy. For that matter, what's stopping him from doing both, doing Pokemon research and participating in the PWC on the side? I just don't understand why some people seem to think he's completely locked into his researcher role and can't do anything else ever again.
(...also, obligatory mention of that anipoke_PR tweet everyone brings up that said he might be Ash's rival again.)

The only thing I don't especially want to happen is that theory floating around that he'll be the new Viridian City Gym Leader. I get why, but also like... c'mon, he got totally wrecked by Mewtwo last time he was there. Why would he ever wanna set foot in that place again? =P

2. Will he have any new Pokemon?

It's probably a safe bet to say yes either way, right? The only question is... what, exactly?
There's a lot of options here. Since Gary is pretty much a wildcard when it comes to his Pokemon, it's harder to make any definite assumptions (like, Iris will have a new Dragon-type? wow, you don't say! /s) but I feel like after thinking about this for a while, I feel like I've settled on a few I can plausibly see him having.

1. Pretty much any fossil Pokemon! This saga is really keen on showcasing fossils for some reason. I have no idea why, but hey, it makes it a lot easier for him to have one now, since his research specialized in them! Aerodactyl or Bastiodon would be fun callbacks but I'd be happy with either Armaldo or Cradily too. I know we're all sick to death of Kanto, but since Kabutops hasn't had a chance to shine in... forever, I think it deserves a shot too. ...I wonder how he's gonna react to Ash's newest abomination, Dracovish... *shudder*

2. A Galar Pokemon! Full disclosure, I am... not really a fan of most Galarian mons, but I feel like it'd be kind of weird if he didn't have one. He could potentially have a Toxtricity, since it's popped up in merch a lot. There's been a few hints of Falinks coming up soon lately too, and if it doesn't belong to Bea, I would totally love if it went to Gary instead. Falinks is adorably weird, he has a severe lack of Fighting-types, and its strategic nature fits him pretty well.

3. A pseudo-legendary! Yes, I know, made-up fan term, pseudos aren't real, etc. etc. but like... for real though. I think a Metagross would suit him nicely. I'd say Garchomp, but I feel like we have more than enough of that line already.

As far as my personal, "I-just-want-this-and-I-don't-care-about-logic-and-reason" picks... Mismagius, Ferrothorn, Lunatone, Tangrowth, and Cloyster. (...and Dunsparce. Ash has tried to catch a Dunsparce multiple times and just can't hack it. It'd be hilarious if Gary owned one just to annoy him. Make it happen.) Or even some of those Pokemon we saw he owned on his Silver Conference page but never used, like Alakazam! THAT would be neat.

...Or maybe the answer is no, and he'll just have Umbreon and Blastoise and nothing else. It could always happen...

At least bring back his Electivire too! It was Sinnoh promotion when Sinnoh was new, use it again to promote the Sinnoh remakes! ...oh god, has it REALLY been THAT long?! AGH!!!

3. Will Gou and/or Chloe know who Gary is when he shows up?

This is oddly specific, but it's probably what's been on my mind the most. They'd really have every reason to! It's been established a bunch of times the Cerise family is really close friends with the Oak family. The first time we even saw them was when they were both at Professor Oak's Pokemon Camp! I guess Gary was... busy that day though? Y'know, important 6-year-old business. Couldn't show up. Point is, it would be totally possible.

Buuut then that raises the question... what's weirder? Neither of them even knowing Gary exists, or having known him for years without anyone ever bringing it up? >_>; In my opinion, either one would be a strange choice to make. Either Professor Oak has completely neglected to ever mention to anyone that he has a grandson... or surprise, they've actually known him the whole time! Both options are kinda iffy lore-wise. But it's gotta be one of the two, so... which one's it gonna be?

...I would honestly prefer it if Gou and Chloe both just have no idea who Gary is. I would excuse it if they know of him to some degree but have never met him before (kinda like Dawn did, if she wasn't so obsessed with ~~senryuu~~ poetry)... but it's gonna be reeeal awkward if they attempt to introduce a whole bunch of new backstory out of nowhere. Maybe it's just me, but I'm gonna find it really hard to believe it if they try to convince us Chloe has known Gary just as long as Ash has, yet somehow nobody has EVER talked about it before now. Retroactive continuity bad. No thanks.

Either way, I'm interested to see what their dynamics will be, even though it's much harder to predict than everything else. Gary's Umbreon and Chloe's Eevee could potentially get along. I can just imagine Gou sulking when he finds out Gary had over 200 Pokemon by this point while he still only has around 76...

The possibilities are endless! Who knows what could happen! So let's all prepare for the most predictable outcome so no one gets disappointed, okay? Okay. See you in two months!

Orchid · Mar 27, 2021

Oh hey, would you look up there. We have an actual title for this thread now! Not much different, but it's better than it was before. How fun!
Yesterday was the last Friday of the month... again. As such, I feel it would be a good idea to start making these posts a routine. I did it back in February, so why not make it permanent around here, eh?

March came and went seemingly a lot faster than I thought it would, somehow. I was sure that it was going to go by slower than molasses like last month, but nope, here we are. It feels like just yesterday we were all clamoring for Grookey's debut, and just as quickly, it now feels like nobody is talking about it anymore. That seems... um, like an unusually common occurrence this saga, which is probably not good, but... oh well! Time to talk about next month!

Before we get into it, let's go over my previous predictions. I'll see where I was right and where I was totally wrong, and say my one last thing on the episodes of March:

March 5th - JN058: Panic! Gokulin Ball!! / Come on, Kamukame - The Turtle Race!

Orchid said:
Predictions: There's some Gulpin and some turtles.

Results: Guys, I'm a prophet.
Final Thoughts: It was funny. The end.

-

March 12th - JN059: The Lost Sarunori! Who is the Trainer!?

Orchid said:
Predictions: Grookey belongs to a CoTD who either released it, and/or gives it to Gou out of the goodness of their heart when it sees how much Grookey likes him. That or it's something literally no one is expecting and the internet goes into a frenzy for a week until we all forget about it again by next Friday. Grookey/Sobble/Pikachu/Eevee do something silly and cute onscreen for like... a little bit too long.

Results: Nahhh. It was actually a Gachat mon, which was one of the things I outright thought wouldn't happen! So that's a surprise. I thought the preview was just some plain-ol' misdirection, but yeah, nope. A bit after I wrote this post, I actually thought that maybe Grookey actually belonged to Gou's parents, who were going to give it to him... but NOPE, that wasn't it either. It really was just Team Rocket. Man, after the Suicune capture got spoiled in the preview, you think I'd learn, huh? I need to expect less bait, I think. Also yeah they totally made the little mascot Pokemon do stuff that makes you go "awwww" just because they could. Sigh.

Final Thoughts: I... uh... yeesh. I don't know. Let me make this part clear: I actually really wanted Gou to be the one to get Grookey! That is definitely a good thing that he did. From here on out, I'm sure I will be very glad that this happened. But this episode in particular was just... weird. Their whole "bonding experience" in particular was... REALLY weird.
Look. I know the power of friendship is a mysterious thing. Especially in this universe. But all that little grass monkey did in the past 12 hours was cause you a metric ton of trouble and hit you in the face with a stick, Gou. Why do you want it back so bad that you're acting like this is the worst thing that has ever happened to you? Why did Grookey also start reminiscing about hitting that kid in the face all of a sudden, and then immediately decide it wanted to do that forever?? Seriously... I know it's just me, but I never find Pokemon like this cute like they clearly are intending them to be. I thought the same about Riolu back when it was going through its attention-seeking phase as a puppy. I'm never endeared by it... I just find it kind of annoying.
TRio were pretty silly in this one which was fun to watch, and there were actually some pretty cute moments here and there (like Gou's phone saying "Don't be a thief!" or Ash bringing those snacks with him), but the rest was just... all over the place, and to me felt oddly long and unnecessary. I felt like this could have been better and it really didn't make me like Grookey any more. Meh.

-

March 19th - JN060: Aim to Be a Scallion Master! Charge with Chivalry!!

Orchid said:
Predictions: I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say this is where we see Rinto again. If they battle they probably tie like the Bea rematch. Other than that... I have no idea. It'll probably be good.

Results: Hooray, Rinto! ...what's that? Oh, we're probably never going to see him ever again now? Kinda speedran the whole rival arc there, huh. ...Alright, well... erm... tough crap for me for actually liking that guy, then. BOO. >_> G-Farfetch'd did evolve here like I thought it would in the rest of the post, which is nice, but therefore, no tie.

Final Thoughts: Sigh. PWC battles are so few and far between now that we have to be reminded what the PWC is via recap every single time it comes up. It still stings.
Okay, being serious, this one was good. I have far less to say on this one due to it being less crammed full of stuff, but their battle was pretty darn cool, especially all the drama of the bird's leek breaking and such. It's always good to see an actual battle in this series since they happen so infrequently; I remember its battle with Gurdurr being good too. It's also always good to see when Ash actually gets to do something! All in all, this one was just a good time.
Lol what in god's name was happening to that Bellsprout though.

And now we leave that in the past, moving on to the future:

April 9th - JN061: Leave Everything to Us! Prasle Minun Handymen!!
Yeah, this one still hasn't aired, funnily enough. It was originally supposed to yesterday, on March 26th, but was pushed to April 9th due to other shows airing on TV Tokyo for two Fridays straight. April 2nd won't have anything going on either. Kinda bleh that this is what we're gonna be tuning back into in two weeks, but it wasn't intentional, so... shrug.
Predictions: Do I have to? *cough* Erm... funny CoTD filler misunderstandings that get resolved by our heroes due to something something friendship?

April 16th - JN062: Damp Jimereon
Wait, this thing is evolving already?? Didn't we just get Sobble like, two days ago? *checks Bulbapedia* Oh... no, it was in July of last year. ._. Well okay then. I guess I did expect this, after it met an Inteleon and Gou caught Grookey, but somehow seeing it happen seems completely out of nowhere. I ain't complaining, just seems odd to have it happen now so soon after Sirfetch'd.
Predictions: You tell me. It's kind of too early to tell, but I think Drizzile will be similar to Raboot in a lot of ways. Maybe more sulky than rebellious, though.

April 23rd - JN063: Challenge! The Pokémon Marine Obstacle Course!!
We saw part of this episode in a preview recently and that's all we know about it. What do we know, exactly? WOOHOO, DRACOVISH IS BACK!!! And it only took... thirteen episodes of being completely non-existent. Cripes.
Predictions: Also still too early to tell. Chloe's Eevee is there with a Vaporeon in the brief little snippet of it that we saw, so maybe something about that. This whole concept of a Water-type race seems kinda similar to that episode with Piplup and Croagunk...

[old post from 3/27/21:] This is all we know so far; we don't have a title for the 30th yet. If I had to make a guess, it's probably something involving Absol and Glalie since those were the other Pokemon we saw in the preview, and they don't really seem like they would fit in a marine obstacle course... uh, whatever that means. No worries though, once we get it I'll update this post accordingly.

--[second edit from 4/5/21 after this point]--
Damn it, I should have known to trust my gut. The titles have been goofed with yet again (seriously what is wrong with this month?? did that postponement curse us all or something?) so my old edit is now moot. Here's the real one though. Presumably. Who knows anymore, with how things have been going.

April 30th - JN064: The Detested Absol!
Well that's a bit harsh isn't it? This is obviously where the shot of Absol is from, probably not Glalie though. *shrug*
Predictions: I got nothing on this one other than someone is definitely going to catch this thing. Whom exactly? Eh... I would like the concept of Ash with an Absol but also I'm not holdin' my breath for it or anything. Gou, you enjoy your Absol, buddy.

There was another title scheduled for April 30th before this, one that now nobody knows whether it's real or not, but either way it's not happening on that date anymore. I don't wanna delete my old edit, since the purpose of this blog is to document everything as it happens to look back on in the future, so if you want to see a bunch of weird crap that everyone believed for a week in March 2021 here you go.

--[first edit from 3/29/21 after this point]--
Well that was quick. I was also completely off the mark! Makes me wonder why I assume anything in this series... Anyway, here goes nothing.

April 30th - JN064: Reunion of the Past, Present, and Future!? VS Kairyu!!
This title just went up today so we literally know nothing! Everyone seems to be in agreement that this has to be where Iris is. Hooray!
Predictions: Dragonite VS Dragonite battle, maybe with guest appearance by Dracovish, aaand I'm just gonna say Ash wins because meh why not. Or, conversely, screw it, I'm gonna say this episode is actually about Lance again. SURPRISE.

(Oh yeah, I guess it's also worth mentioning that since my original post, some video-on-demand services in Japan didn't account for the preemption of the April 9th episode and it was up on there early for a while by mistake. It got taken down real fast but some people saw it. Supposedly, some have said Gou will get Plusle and Chloe will get Minun. Whether or not that's actually true has yet to be seen, but personally... I have my doubts. The preview at the end got actual screencaps from it leaked, but we all knew Sobble was evolving into Drizzile anyway so I don't know why that's such a big deal???)

Now get out your binoculars, because it's time to look even further into the future:

[old post from 3/27/21:] So, what about May? The month, not the coordinator, mind you.

Honestly, I was going to make another big list, but... a lot of what I said back in February still applies. We're seeing Dracovish again of course, but we have yet to get Galarian Ponyta's return, even though it's still showing up on merch. Iris and Gary are both still nowhere to be seen, which is just... like, they didn't forget about them, right?? Can we at least get an update on that?! At least one of them has to be hiding out in May, methinks. I won't accept ANYTHING later than that! ...Just kidding, I think I'll have to be patient whether I like it or not... but still, it feels weird that they're holding out on these returning characters for so long. When the Alola crew showed up in the last opening, their episode aired only five weeks later. What exactly do they have to gain by putting it off for several months? I'm sure there's some reason that I'm too ignorant to understand. But it's just... kinda bizarre.

One thing that's been floating around is that they're really pushing Piplup lately. LOTS of anime stuff with Piplup on it, because DP remakes, etc. etc., you get why. It's leading to a rumor one might make it onto the main cast soon, which I can definitely see happening with how popular it is. If anyone were to get it, I would love if Ash were to evolve it into an Empoleon, but if Gou or Chloe get it instead I won't throw a fit. I just don't know what either of them would... do with it, really.

Other than that? There's... not much to go on. I feel like after this break we're going to get more information about what's coming up later on, but recently it's been a liiittle bit barren. My whole theory about getting another big special preview seems to have been thrown out the window as of the moment. Of course, like I've said, if anything else crops up, I'll update this or make another post, no doubt! But right now, this is what we're working with.

--[second edit from 4/5/21 after this point]--
Same thing I said back in the last segment. We thought some stuff was happening, now it's not, don't wanna delete my old edit, here you go. (kinda funny how my original post became relevant again though LOL)

--[first edit from 3/29/21 after this point]--

I swear, it's like someone heard me. As of today, Iris has been all but confirmed for April 30th. WELP. ...Don't get me wrong, I love her and all but it doesn't take away from the fact that Gary seems to be non-existent still. >_>; May, right? May. Definitely. Right. Otherwise I might burst into flames. ...Okay, I'm exaggerating, I'm in a bad mood here. I'm just relieved she isn't showing up even later than I thought.

One thing that I and many others have noticed over time however is that we only really tend to get one returning character in every batch of ~10 episodes, like so:

10-19: Lance (JN012)
20-29: Korrina (JN025)
30-39: Alola crew (JN037) and a minor appearance by Chuck (JN039)
40-49: Mewtwo (JN046)
50-59: Wikstrom (JN056)
60-69: Iris (JN064... presumably)

It could veeery well just be a coincidence, but so far it's been working out like this so it's safe right now to think it'll continue in this pattern. So, assuming they don't break this trend, and assuming we don't get any more skipped weeks, I think the absolute earliest we're seeing Gary is June, which will be when the 70-79 range starts. The latest would be August.

...This trend being broken sure would be nice right about now. Else I feel like they're going to change the OP again before he even gets here. Cripes x2. ._.

[edit from 4/5/21: looking back on this after Iris's episode got pushed back even further... this doesn't bode well at all, now does it... O_O]

And that's about it!

Orchid · Mar 29, 2021

Crud, the last ~~episode title~~ for the month of April decided to show its face today. My last post has now been reworked to include it! The original text is still there for posterity but it should be all up to date now thanks to the magic of editing. I'm kind of amazed at just how quickly it became outdated in the first place though. C'est la vie. TT_TT

Orchid · Apr 2, 2021

The chaos and rampant misinformation of April Fool's Day has come to a close, and we are now only one week away from things fully returning to normal as the break ends! To pass the time until then, I made two pointless little charts just for fun. With our return to Alola far in the past now, and more old friends on the horizon, Journeys has made it clear it's no stranger to ~~fanservice~~ continuity. Why not keep track of it all going forward?

The following tables list all of Ash's former companions and main rivals from previous sagas, and the last main series episode they've appeared in. If they have returned in Journeys, it lists the amount of time that passed between their last two appearances. If they have not returned yet, it lists how long it has been since their last episode, at the time of writing.

This is not including specials, movies, and most importantly any non-speaking/non-physical roles like flashbacks, fantasy, et cetera. I'm also not including Chronicles since it's a side series.

I just think it will be interesting to see at the end of this saga how long it took for certain main characters to come back over others, and which ones didn't end up making it.
(please note: I WOULD include all other recurring characters, Contest/Showcase rivals, League/friendly rivals

i AM including Ritchie though because I like him lol

, and temporary traveling partners... but then we'd be here literally all day and I couldn't possibly manage that.)

I will slowly be updating and adding more to this over time whenever something major changes, but if you see anything incorrect/missing at the moment let me know and I'll amend that.

Companion(s)	Last appearance	First JN appearance (if applicable)	# of episodes between	Time between
Misty & Brock	SM103 (Jan 6, 2019)	N/A (cameos via silhouette in JN018)	103	2 years, 3 months, 0 days
Tracey	AG192 (Sept 14, 2006)	N/A	679	14 years, 6 months, 23 days
May	DP079 (May 15, 2008)	N/A	600	12 years, 10 months, 22 days
Max	AG192 (Sept 14, 2006)	N/A	679	14 years, 6 months, 23 days
Dawn	BW093 (Sept 6, 2012)	N/A	395	8 years, 6 months, 28 days
Iris	BW141 (Sept 19, 2013)	JN065 (May 7, 2021)	352	7 years, 7 months, 19 days
Cilan	BW141 (Sept 19, 2013)	N/A (cameo in JN065? via flashback)	347	7 years, 6 months, 18 days
Serena, Clemont, & Bonnie	XY140 (Oct 27, 2016)	N/A	210	4 years, 5 months, 10 days
Alola family	SM146 (Nov 3, 2019)	JN037 (Sept 13, 2020)	37	10 months, 14 days

Rival	Last appearance	First JN appearance (if applicable)	# of episodes between	Time between
Gary	DP152 (Nov 12, 2009)	N/A yet, but confirmed	527	11 years, 4 months, 25 days
Ritchie	EP222 (Nov 1, 2001)	N/A	923	19 years, 5 months, 5 days
Paul	DP188 (Aug 19, 2010)	N/A	491	10 years, 7 months, 18 days
Trip	BW104 (Nov 29, 2012)	N/A	388	8 years, 4 months, 8 days
Sawyer	XY140 (Oct 27, 2016)	N/A	210	4 years, 5 months, 10 days
Alain	XY140 (Oct 27, 2016)	N/A	210	4 years, 5 months, 10 days
Gladion	SM146 (Nov 3, 2019)	JN037 (Sept 13, 2020)	37	10 months, 14 days

Last two columns, for N/A characters, are only up to date as of the time of last edit.

Orchid · Apr 5, 2021

yeeeeesh. Something is seriously up with the titles this month. Stuff is springing up all over the place and no one seems to know what's real or what's fake or what's coming now or what's coming later. Either way, my posts are out of date... AGAIN.

~~I'll be fixing them tomorrow when I have the energy to look into it.~~ yay done

Nicolas721 · Apr 5, 2021

It was crazy that people got fooled after all this time lol. I mourn the loss of the Iris episode, but at least the whole thing was probably funnier than the upcoming episodes themselves. ~~And now there's hope that my Star Tournament theory is real.~~

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