PokeAni Missed Opportunities

[EscLucy]

I wouldn't have wanted to see that. I think it shows better progression in her character if she went to another region to hone her skills. I think that because Johanna worked so hard to get Top Coordinator, it wouldn't seem right if she won. Also, Zoey was always set up to win and I think it would be wrong to make her lose EVEN THOUGH Dawn was always on the backfoot and it would be nice to see her win over Zoey as a personal triumph. Also, I think they wanted to keep the status quo like they did with May.

 

[SinnohEevee]

Why didn't we get the special rules from the games during the Battle Frontier? The BF battles were treated like upgraded Gym battles. What's the use of getting [insert skill] Symbol if you don't display that skill? While Charizard vs Articuno was amazing, shouldn't Noland be battled with rental Pokémon?

 

[prog rocker]

Why didn't we get the special rules from the games during the Battle Frontier? The BF battles were treated like upgraded Gym battles. What's the use of getting [insert skill] Symbol if you don't display that skill? While Charizard vs Articuno was amazing, shouldn't Noland be battled with rental Pokémon?

I kinda get why they didn't do this for Tucker, but the others had no excuse. I also would have preferred they used their game teams, but they only used Brandon's, and I think they only did this to put him as the "final boss" of the season.

I would have also liked if Ash met in the League the characters that he says he is going to meet again but never does. Giselle and AJ are good examples. Or that Ash battled Gary in the Indigo League since I found his off-screen loss underwhelming. Or a fair loss against Richie since I found the whole Charizard thing a Diabolus Ex Machina. I know that Ash should not have used him, but having him disqualified is pretty cruel.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Or a fair loss against Richie since I found the whole Charizard thing a Diabolus Ex Machina.

It was actually pretty symbolic, showing that Ash had only gotten that far with more luck than skill. It symbolised his immaturity as a Trainer.

 

[prog rocker]

It was actually pretty symbolic, showing that Ash had only gotten that far with more luck than skill. It symbolised his immaturity as a Trainer.

Yeah, but disqualifying him when the whole season was hyping up the event is pretty harsh and anti-climatic. It's for that reason that I find the rest of his losses way better than what happened there. Except possibly the Tobias loss, of course.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Yeah, but disqualifying him when the whole season was hyping up the event is pretty harsh and anti-climatic. It's for that reason that I find the rest of his losses way better than what happened there. Except possibly the Tobias loss, of course.

The Indigo League was full of controversial moments, I admit, but the way Ash lost at least was good. Not only did it show off Ash's immaturity as a Trainer, it also defied the trope that anime heroes should always win big tournaments like this.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

The Indigo League was full of controversial moments, I admit, but the way Ash lost at least was good. Not only did it show off Ash's immaturity as a Trainer, it also defied the trope that anime heroes should always win big tournaments like this.

I found it highly unrealistic that an attack on a prestigious league participant would have a ‘Meh’ reaction from the authorities without any effort to ask what happened or even heal his Pokemon before being thrown into battle again.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I found it highly unrealistic that an attack on a prestigious league participant would have a ‘Meh’ reaction from the authorities without any effort to ask what happened or even heal his Pokemon before being thrown into battle again.

Yeah. That is one of the controversial moments I mentioned. It was the way Ash lost that is the saving grace here.

 

[P_S_B]

I would like to have seen Jeanette Fisher appear at some point during the Johto run, possibly during the Grass Tournament episode or even to showcase Scizor. With her traditional Japanese outfit, Pokémon obtained in or around the Bug Catching Contest and extensively trained Bellsprout it's pretty clear that she is from Johto, probably somewhere between Violet City and National Park. As one of the few genuinely skilled trainers we've seen it would have been nice to see her again.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

I would like to have seen Jeanette Fisher appear at some point during the Johto run, possibly during the Grass Tournament episode or even to showcase Scizor. With her traditional Japanese outfit, Pokémon obtained in or around the Bug Catching Contest and extensively trained Bellsprout it's pretty clear that she is from Johto, probably somewhere between Violet City and National Park. As one of the few genuinely skilled trainers we've seen it would have been nice to see her again.

Original series wasn't really a golden era of recurring characters.

 

[matt0044]

It was actually pretty symbolic, showing that Ash had only gotten that far with more luck than skill. It symbolised his immaturity as a Trainer.

That's really assuming a lot about the show considering it was suppose to end in Kanto originally.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Yeah. That is one of the controversial moments I mentioned. It was the way Ash lost that is the saving grace here.

The battle was an almost guaranteed win for Ash if he had a healed team so Charizard isn’t really the sole reason he lost.
I blame the league's attitude a lot more so it really isn’t a saving grace for me.

I guess it just comes down to what one blames more for Ash's first league loss.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

That's really assuming a lot about the show considering it was suppose to end in Kanto originally.

Maybe Ash was originally planned to win the thing, but by the time the League actually rolled around, it was already clear that the anime would go on for longer than a year and a half, so they made him lose.

 

[matt0044]

Maybe Ash was originally planned to win the thing, but by the time the League actually rolled around, it was already clear that the anime would go on for longer than a year and a half, so they made him lose.

It could've been better handled. I mean, the end of a story arc called for some semblence of fanfare.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I don’t think Ash was ever meant to win... his team doesn’t really scream ‘Champion!’

 

[matt0044]

I don’t think Ash was ever meant to win... his team doesn’t really scream ‘Champion!’

Never heard of "underdogs?"

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

Never heard of "underdogs?"

Even using the underdog factor (yes, I know what it is. Weird of you to assume I don’t):
Do you seriously expect Ash’s team to hold its own against the typical league finalist?

And Charizard, his only decently strong Pokemon not obeying him will not carry him through the league.

The underdog factor, yes, could be explained for a few matches, but winning the league thanks to it is another level of unrealistic.

 

[Hidden Mew]

When I first started to watch the original series, I remember thinking that Ash was going to win the Indigo League just because he's the main character. But looking back at the Kanto arc. Ash's battles and his team, winning would have definitely been too unbelievable. He was an underdog kind of main character, but it would be hard to believe that his underdeveloped and unevolved Pokemon would be strong enough to win his first Pokemon League. It's especially hard to believe considering that he relied on his reserved Pokemon like Kingler and Muk throughout most of his qualifying matches. Not to mention he didn't even have a full team on him by the time he first got to the Indigo League.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

When I first started to watch the original series, I remember thinking that Ash was going to win the Indigo League just because he's the main character. But looking back at the Kanto arc. Ash's battles and his team, winning would have definitely been too unbelievable. He was an underdog kind of main character, but it would be hard to believe that his underdeveloped and unevolved Pokemon would be strong enough to win his first Pokemon League. It's especially hard to believe considering that he relied on his reserved Pokemon like Kingler and Muk throughout most of his qualifying matches. Not to mention he didn't even have a full team on him by the time he first got to the Indigo League.

This reminds me of the description of Ash given by the anime reviewer Suede in his review of the first episode:

Most anime heroes follow the theme of starting out as completely average people, until they learn they're special in someway and that they need to save the world or something like that. At first they're uncomfortable with this idea, but then learn to accept it. Ash, on the other hand, starts his adventure craving to be special, but then learns that achieving this isn't as easy as he thought, not helped by the fact that he's already beaten to the punch (i.e. choosing his starter) by someone who's related to the professor.

And while most other anime protagonists almost never lose because the world is at stake or something, Ash once again defies this trope by losing the league. But in the process, he also gives the children watching an important lesson: failure is not the end of the journey.

 

[ii kanji]

Y'know, whether it had ended at at the end of Kanto or no, I don't reckon Shudo would have allowed Satoshi to win anyway (without having his arm twisted by the execs).