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Pokémon Evolution/Capture/Release Thread

This actually looks like a pretty exciting episode. It would be nice if Gou didn't catch anything though.
Doesn't seem likely.
Even if he does capture a mon, it should have some sort of substance like what the upcoming Cubone episode just might have.

His recent Skwovet capture was absolutely selfish of him and done in an inconsiderate manner.
 
Most of his captures are selfish, so that is not a surprise.

I hate the way Gou captures his Pokémon as much as the next person, but isn't it a little unfair to call it "selfish".? Gou catches his Pokémon in the same way that Red caught his in Origins (I do acknowledge that Red had to battle them to catch them). I don't understand why the slogan of 'Gotta Catch Em All' is suddenly wrong when Gou does it. We as players aren't forced to befriend a Pokémon before we catch them in the games, so I don't understand why there's a double standard for Gou there.
 
I hate the way Gou captures his Pokémon as much as the next person, but isn't it a little unfair to call it "selfish".? Gou catches his Pokémon in the same way that Red caught his in Origins (I do acknowledge that Red had to battle them to catch them). I don't understand why the slogan of 'Gotta Catch Em All' is suddenly wrong when Gou does it. We as players aren't forced to befriend a Pokémon before we catch them in the games, so I don't understand why there's a double standard for Gou there.
People in the games aren't, but this isn't the games. People are upset about it because the anime has, for the longest time, put emphasis on befriending your Pokémon. Quality over quantity. And Go is doing pretty much the exact opposite.
 
I hate the way Gou captures his Pokémon as much as the next person, but isn't it a little unfair to call it "selfish".? Gou catches his Pokémon in the same way that Red caught his in Origins (I do acknowledge that Red had to battle them to catch them). I don't understand why the slogan of 'Gotta Catch Em All' is suddenly wrong when Gou does it. We as players aren't forced to befriend a Pokémon before we catch them in the games, so I don't understand why there's a double standard for Gou there.

I'm so glad Go is portraying a vast majority of Pokemon gamers! ... and now he's "selfish" I have to LOL.

People in the games aren't, but this isn't the games. People are upset about it because the anime has, for the longest time, put emphasis on befriending your Pokémon. Quality over quantity. And Go is doing pretty much the exact opposite.

Are we seeing the same show? They have shown Go who lives in the same laboratory as his Pokemon is a nice guy that really likes and take care of his Pokemon, Ash, him and every other character has flaws and traits and being selfish is NOT one of those...
 
Are we seeing the same show? They have shown Go who lives in the same laboratory as his Pokemon is a nice guy that really likes and take care of his Pokemon, Ash, him and every other character has flaws and traits and being selfish is NOT one of those...
Yeah, I won't deny that he acts friendly and caring towards his Pokémon. But with him making so many catches, there isn't really that much time in forming a closer bond with most, if not all of them.
 
Yeah, I won't deny that he acts friendly and caring towards his Pokémon. But with him making so many catches, there isn't really that much time in forming a closer bond with most, if not all of them.
I agree with this, after Ash and Gou have visited every region at least once, Gou just needs to make a team of 6 that he's gonna use for the rest of the series.
 
Are we seeing the same show? They have shown Go who lives in the same laboratory as his Pokemon is a nice guy that really likes and take care of his Pokemon, Ash, him and every other character has flaws and traits and being selfish is NOT one of those...

Good question, are we seeing the same show.
Gou literally said he wants to catch every Pokemon to get to Mew, which is selfish.
He only caught Taillow to locate Wurmple, ergo, selfish.
He caught some Bugs, despite them not wanting to be caught, since they fled, ergo selfish.
 
I'm so glad Go is portraying a vast majority of Pokemon gamers! ... and now he's "selfish" I have to LOL.
Game worldbuilding =/= anime worldbuilding. Nice try though, although it didn't work at all.
Are we seeing the same show? They have shown Go who lives in the same laboratory as his Pokemon is a nice guy that really likes and take care of his Pokemon, Ash, him and every other character has flaws and traits and being selfish is NOT one of those...
I'm pretty sure you're not the one who has seen the same show. Yeah of course they've shown him to be a nice guy but the way that nicety is shown and how his Pokemon are somehow content right away with being captured (not that we can tell much given how flat as cardboard their personalities come off as) screams poor writing.

Moving on, he wants to capture every Pokemon and Mew for what humanitarian purpose? Because I can't pinpoint any other than selfish ones. The recent Skwovet capture is the one that sparked up the Gou criticism again... so with its context in mind, I'd like to know how you'd feel if you were literally grabbed and put into a sack while trying to enjoy a nice and tasty hotdog in a park, then promptly dumped into a glass zoo enclosure.
 
Moving on, he wants to capture every Pokemon and Mew for what humanitarian purpose? Because I can't pinpoint any other than selfish ones. The recent Skwovet capture is the one that sparked up the Gou criticism again... so with its context in mind, I'd like to know how you'd feel if you were literally grabbed and put into a sack while trying to enjoy a nice and tasty hotdog in a park, then promptly dumped into a glass zoo enclosure.

If that's the case, Ash's goal to become a Pokémon Master is selfish too, because I don't see him doing it for anyone else than himself.
 
Go makes friends with his Pokémon, he spends time with them at the lab... I suppose we should assume more bonding is done of screen given how his Cascoon cuddled with him.
 
If that's the case, Ash's goal to become a Pokémon Master is selfish too, because I don't see him doing it for anyone else than himself.

Except there is a slight difference between Ash and Gou: He cares for his Pokemon and takes their needs in mind. Gou hasn't shown he does any of that yet (Taking in mind the needs).
 
If that's the case, Ash's goal to become a Pokémon Master is selfish too, because I don't see him doing it for anyone else than himself.
Oh dear, are we really going to do this dance all over again? Very well then, here goes.

Ash's goal involves actual growth and progression of character of both himself and his Pokemon (regardless of ups and downs)... and both him and his Pokemon actually manage to learn something from the experience and come out better. Other than a few rare examples, Ash never catches any Pokemon not willing to join him or showing an interest in his path (Dragonite capture is the latest proof). Also, Ash has always put the happiness and wellbeing of his Pokemon ahead of himself and released them when he knows that they need to be away from him.
Gou on the other hand doesn't just manage to somehow catch them without any effort, he does so without any thought for the Pokemon itself. His goal of attaining Mew has no correlation to his mass capture sprees and what not, he doesn't exactly grow in any meaningful way from those captures... ironically, he was actually progressing as a character far better and actually being a research assistant when there were no captures involved like in the 2nd, 3rd and 10th episodes. Then there's his proclamations of wanting to catch every Pokemon (and that includes legendaries like Ho-oh) which pretty much either makes him really ignorant and stupid, or just flat out inconsiderate. I'm banking on the latter because of how Skwovet was caught.
Go makes friends with his Pokémon, he spends time with them at the lab... I suppose we should assume more bonding is done of screen given how his Cascoon cuddled with him.
This wouldn't normally be a problem... except for the fact that the Wurmple were flat as hell and lacking personalities so them cuddling Gou when he's done nothing beneficial for the three comes off as forced "friendship".
 
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I think the biggest issue I have with Gou catching Skwovet isn’t anything to do with Gou himself or how he caught it but how the writers arbitrarily forced it into the episode. Honestly that’s my biggest issue with Gou. It’s that the writers treat his captures so mindlessly and carelessly but for some reason put so much effort into having Gou project this goal (a poorly defined one) while having the more interesting parts of his character (like his problems with making friends and his insecurities regarding that) get shoved to the back burner. And it’s only him these captures are happening to. Putting Dragonite aside, this very episode demonstrated they can have a quick (possible?) capture and still have it be cute and funny. For Gou’s however (minus Scorbunny), they’ve been strangely determined to spend as less time and effort as possible on them. If the writers slowed down the pace of his captures, made him work for them, and allowed Gou to spend more time with them, I feel like Gou would be much better received. I’m also really hoping the upcoming Cubone episode moves his captures to being less of the former and more of the latter.

Also I don’t think Skwovet’s capture is as bad as people are making it out to be. If it were sitting on the ground or in a tree eating a nut, I’d be more inclined to agree but as the scene goes, it’s more like when you’re talking to a friend when a seagull steals something off your plate. I honestly think the Wurmple capture, the Stantler and Misdreavous capture, and how Dewgong’s disappearance was handled way worse (Unless the writers refer back to it for development purposes, I will die on the hill that Gou not being concerned that Dewgong was lost is OOC writing.)

Then there's his proclamations of wanting to catch every Pokemon (and that includes legendaries like Ho-oh) which pretty much either makes him really ignorant and stupid, or just flat out inconsiderate.
Or it could be overexcitement and cockiness. Personally overexcitement’s both my main and linked to several of my personal theories and headcanons for Gou.
 
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Ash caught Starly to find Pikachu. Does it make Ash selfish, too?
1. Starly was given enough time to process it was being captured, unlike the poor Tailow.
2. Starly ended up being one of the heavy hitters of Ash's team and had a lot to it’s personality, as contrasted by the Tailow who was used to capture Wurmple and never seen again.
 
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