Pokémon Sword and Shield anime speculation thread

[Hidden Mew]

Mallow seems more tomboyish than Lana who is often quiet.

Not really. Lana has more of a soft spoken tone in her voice, at least in the dub, but she isn't really a quiet person per say. Mallow's goal is to make a new dish for her family's restaurant and cooking is often seen as a traditionally feminine, despite how there are a lot of professional male chiefs out there. She's a bit more energetic compared to Lana at times, but there's nothing about Mallow that makes me think of her as a tomboy either.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

So. In that case, we haven't really had a real tomboy so far. Even more reasons for me that Nessa will become a teammate.

 

[RileyXY1]

So. In that case, we haven't really had a real tomboy so far. Even more reasons for me that Nessa will become a teammate.

That's not a really good reason to think that someone will be a companion.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

I had an unusual dream last night, and it's Serena returning in Sword and Shield, but no Clemont nor Bonnie. instead their role is replaced by one of the Galar Gym Leaders.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

That's not a really good reason to think that someone will be a companion.

Sure, but this could lead to some new interesting character interactions. And this is the best thing about Pokémon for me.

I had an unusual dream last night, and it's Serena returning in Sword and Shield, but no Clemont nor Bonnie. Instead, their role is replaced by one of the Galar Gym Leaders.

No. Please, let her stay in the X&Y saga where she belongs. I really do not want her to return. She was after Tracey the most boring character. She had a similar goal like Dawn and May before her, also owned an Eevee, barely interacted with other characters besides Ash and she was only really popular because of the shipping. And I'm not a fan of shipping in general, because writers use that as a gimmick for marketing and ratings.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Sure, but this could lead to some new interesting character interactions. And this is the best thing about Pokémon for me.


No. Please, let her stay in the X&Y saga where she belongs. I really do not want her to return. She was after Tracey the most boring character. She had a similar goal like Dawn and May before her, also owned an Eevee, barely interacted with other characters besides Ash and she was only really popular because of the shipping. And I'm not a fan of shipping in general, because writers use that as a gimmick for marketing and ratings.

Perhaps after Sun and Moon, they would've probably learn so much about character development that they would use it in Sword and Shield.

 

[Hidden Mew]

No. Please, let her stay in the X&Y saga where she belongs. I really do not want her to return. She was after Tracey the most boring character. She had a similar goal like Dawn and May before her, also owned an Eevee, barely interacted with other characters besides Ash and she was only really popular because of the shipping. And I'm not a fan of shipping in general, because writers use that as a gimmick for marketing and ratings.

I disagree that Serena's goal was really that similar to Contests. If anything, it was just a poor man's version of Contest since it lacked a lot of a the strategy and difficulty that made Contests a challenging and engaging goal. May and Serena's Eevee were also pretty distinctly different. Serena's Eevee was much more nervous and terrified of most Pokemon before it evolved. May's Eevee was more energetic and outgoing by comparison. As much as I disagree that Contests and Showcases were that similar, I can at least understand that reasoning. Complaining that May and Serena both had an Eevee doesn't make much sense. It would be like saying Lana and May are too similar because they both caught an Eevee with similar personalities.

I also remember Serena interacting with other characters in the group. There was more focus on her relationship with Ash, but I thought that she had a nice sister kind of relationship with Bonnie. I don't remember Serena having a lot of noteworthy interactions with Clemont, but they still gave off a nice group friendship vibe, which I think can help out a lot. Even in SM, I don't think that Ash has a lot of noteworthy individual interactions with his classmates aside from Kiawe and maybe Lillie, but they all still feel like a group of friends even without a lot of one-on-one interactions and that can make a group more endearing to me.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

I disagree that Serena's goal was really that similar to Contests. If anything, it was just a poor man's version of Contest since it lacked a lot of a the strategy and difficulty that made Contests a challenging and engaging goal. May and Serena's Eevee were also pretty distinctly different. Serena's Eevee was much more nervous and terrified of most Pokemon before it evolved. May's Eevee was more energetic and outgoing by comparison. As much as I disagree that Contests and Showcases were that similar, I can at least understand that reasoning. Complaining that May and Serena both had an Eevee doesn't make much sense. It would be like saying Lana and May are too similar because they both caught an Eevee with similar personalities.

I also remember Serena interacting with other characters in the group. There was more focus on her relationship with Ash, but I thought that she had a nice sister kind of relationship with Bonnie. I don't remember Serena having a lot of noteworthy interactions with Clemont, but they still gave off a nice group friendship vibe, which I think can help out a lot. Even in SM, I don't think that Ash has a lot of noteworthy individual interactions with his classmates aside from Kiawe and maybe Lillie, but they all still feel like a group of friends even without a lot of one-on-one interactions and that can make a group more endearing to me.

If Eevee did get a new evolution in SwSh, and if Lana did make an appearance, her Sandy would probably evolve into that.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

In fact, Serena's goal is actually very similar to the Pokémon Musicals from the BW games. Obligatory picture to show how does it work:

Spoiler

 

[Eeveely]

Kanto-Misty wated to catch an eevee and Gary had one
Johto-Sakura's eevee evolved to espeon while Gary's evolved to umbreon
Hoenn-May caught eevee
Sinnoh-May evolved her eevee to one of the new eeveelutions (glaceon)
Unova-Iris didn't catch an eevee mostly because they had no plans of adding the fairy-type
Kalos-they had to give Serena an eevee and evolve it to sylveon
Alola-Lana caught an eevee
So Galar-Lana returns and evolves sandy to one of the newly introduced eeveelutions

They're still special only appearances, and they didn't appear in the actual anime like Brock, Misty, May, and Dawn did.

But it is still a canon

 

[Hidden Mew]

In fact, Serena's goal is actually very similar to the Pokémon Musicals from the BW games. Obligatory picture to show how does it work:

Spoiler

View attachment 119923

That is a much more fitting comparison for Showcases than Contests are. There is more emphasis on dressing up and dancing similar to how Pokemon Musicals looked like in B/W too.

Kanto-Misty wated to catch an eevee and Gary had one
Johto-Sakura's eevee evolved to espeon while Gary's evolved to umbreon
Hoenn-May caught eevee
Sinnoh-May evolved her eevee to one of the new eeveelutions (glaceon)
Unova-Iris didn't catch an eevee mostly because they had no plans of adding the fairy-type
Kalos-they had to give Serena an eevee and evolve it to sylveon
Alola-Lana caught an eevee
So Galar-Lana returns and evolves sandy to one of the newly introduced eeveelutions

I don't know if they'll have Lana's Eevee evolve. Since it was given to help promote Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee, they may just choose to not evolve it just to tie into the games more. Plus, I'm not sure if it would make sense for Sandy to evolve into anything besides Vaporeon given that it loves the water. I wouldn't be too shocked if Lana appeared in Galar since she has gotten arguably the most focus out of all of the SM classmates for some reason. I still don't dislike Lana. She's okay, but I do think she's a bit overly hyped for my tastes.

 

[RileyXY1]

Also, we might not get any new Eeveelutions in Sword & Shield.

 

[Daenerys]

In Chronicles, Cilan met Brock whilst Iris met Clair

I mean technically, those special episodes weren't even part of Chronicles. Tbh if Serena was gonna come back at all, it probably would've happened in SuMo. It's not impossible that she might show up in ShSw, but I don't like the "Galar is near Kalos so Serena will come back" excuse since Serena isn't even in Kalos right now anyway.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

Well, at least they got their own special. Serena so far is the only one main travel companion that didn't get her own special or did get a guest appearance in the new saga.
And personally, I can see why. Serena is a character that sadly can not really stand on her own. She is a character that is much to depend on her relationship with Ash. Without him and her crush on Ash, there is nothing much you can do with her. I mean, is it possible for Serena to be written in a special where she meets Iris or Lana for example? I can not really see that. She is kinda like Tom or Jerry, those two characters can not really tell a story on there own, because they need the other character in their life. And with Serena, it is kinda the same case. She as a character is too much connected to Ash and his journey and story.

This is also a reason why I personally do not want Serena to return as a major character. She can not really offer much for me personally as a character.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Well, at least they got their own special. Serena so far is the only one main travel companion that didn't get her own special or did get a guest appearance in the new saga.
And personally, I can see why. Serena is a character that sadly can not really stand on her own. She is a character that is a way to depend on her relationship with Ash. Without him and her crush on Ash, there is nothing much you can tell with her. I mean, is it possible for Serena to be written in a special where she meets Iris or Lana for example? I can not really see that. She is kinda like Tom or Jerry, those two characters can not really tell a story on there own, because they need the other character in their life. And with Serena, it is kinda the same case. She as a character is too much connected to Ash and his journey and story.

I still think that there's more to Serena than just her crush on Ash. That does contribute to her popularity quite a bit, but there were people who enjoyed her storyline beyond that. In my opinion, Serena's best moments in XY had nothing to do with her crush on Ash and everything to do with her determination to become a Performer and her bonds with her Pokemon. I don't think writing a special with Serena doing Contests or doing something on her own would be that difficult to pull off. Being able to see a Contest again would be the only good thing to come from Serena using Contests as a stepping stone for Showcases. Although, since they aren't featured in any of the current games, that might have been a factor as to why they haven't made a special about Serena's trip through Hoenn.

I don't think I could see Serena meeting up with Iris. There are few characters who I think would be able to get along with Iris right away without being written out of character like Dawn was in BW, but I could see her interacting with Lana, at least more so than Iris. I am kind of glad that they didn't force a reason for Serena to suddenly appear in Alola though. I'd rather see good in-universe justifications for characters to return than just forcing them in their for the shake of a tradition. I'm not sure if they could have come up with a good in-universe reason for Serena to appear in Alola. They could have easily made a special about her though and I could still see that happening at some point. It may not be too likely, but I could see them doing it at some point.

This is also a reason why I personally do not want Serena to return as a major character. She can not really overmuch for me personally as a character.

I'm surprised that people really expect Serena to return as a major character. There's no chance of that happening, so there's no need to worry about it. Having Serena appear again in SWSH or more likely be given a special could happen, but they aren't going to have Serena become a main character again. Why bother doing that when her story was pretty much done at the end of XY? There are going to be plenty of eighth generation characters to choose from to become part of the main cast. They aren't going to bring the female lead who represents X/Y to promote Sword/Shield.

 

[Deadman]

Time for more speculation (and less arguing and complaining about if or why a character should return)!!!

Cast speculation:
Nessa will be misty 2.0 (obviously since she already is all over the fandom and the production staff will most likely pick up on that).

Milo will be Brock 2.0, maybe with the twist that instead of him hitting on every woman the group encounters for a running joke, all the woman go after him instead and while he just sighs, one of the new Pokémon always puts up a Barrier, Light Screen or Protect so just in time the women hit an invisible wall just right.

Regional Plot speculation:
Zacian and Zamacenta will be revealed as the Pokémon partners of Galars version of young King Arthur, who prevented the regions destruction or so by battling whoever the third Pokémon, yet to be revealed is. Until my Idea is busted or an official name is given, I will refer to him as "King Ashton" because I bet he would have looked/felt/have a similar aura like Ash has in the Anime. This will work well enough until a year or two when Nintendo announces the improved "Kings Sword" and "Kings Shield" (or so) versions of Sword and Shield where the plot then focuses more on the "Battling Giant Legend" (for reference, it either was Gnoggin & Lockstin or Treesicle on yt where I heard of it) for more emphasis on the Dynamax phenomenon.

Also, foot note game speculation not directly connected to the Anime: Nintendo most likely plans 7 DLC packs (maybe paid, maybe not) every 1-2 month to add earlier Gen Pokémons (save some legendaries for Events) to Sword and Shield and then announces (1-2 years after intial SwaSh release) improved versions under other things containing those already.

 

[Daenerys]

Milo will be Brock 2.0, maybe with the twist that instead of him hitting on every woman the group encounters for a running joke, all the woman go after him instead and while he just sighs

Would they be blind women? Because I don't really understand why any respectable person would become smitten with Milo. He just ain't a looker.

 

[Deadman]

Would they be blind women? Because I don't really understand why any respectable woman would become smitten with Milo. He just ain't a looker.

Remember, Pokemon Battles are a very poular viewer sport in Galar and Milo is a Gym Master, thus like a top Hollywood or Sports star. This is enough of a reason for a lot of women to go crazy over him, despite his looks. Aside from that, isn't the whole world like "it's not the looks that counts but the character/personality?" but reality check, most are just lying to them in this regard though of course nobody would admit this.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

SM145 will probably be the last episode for Sun and Moon before transitioning to Sword and Shield.

Already, we are about to enter the Pokemon League segment of the anime, and after ''Battle Royal 151'', we would be up to SM130, with only 15 Episodes to go. So what is to expect after the Alolan League?

• Defeat of Team Skull
• More Slice of Life Episodes
• A Trainer with a Galar Pokemon
• The graduation from Pokemon School with Ash saying his goodbyes to his friends before returning to Pallet Town.
• Ash setting off on his next journey to Galar.

Gym Master

That's been debunked, they are Gym Leaders. The Tweet that said that made an error with 'Pokemon Masters' and 'Sword and Shield'

 

[IncineROAR]

Time for more speculation (and less arguing and complaining about if or why a character should return)!!!

Cast speculation:
Nessa will be misty 2.0 (obviously since she already is all over the fandom and the production staff will most likely pick up on that).

Milo will be Brock 2.0, maybe with the twist that instead of him hitting on every woman the group encounters for a running joke, all the woman go after him instead and while he just sighs, one of the new Pokémon always puts up a Barrier, Light Screen or Protect so just in time the women hit an invisible wall just right.

I sincerely hope that this does not happen. After getting a cast packed full of trial captains in SM, I'd like there to be less gym leaders (or in SM's case, trial captains) as part of the main cast. I am putting my money that Sonia will be one of Ash's traveling partners, assuming he doesn't decide to go to school in Galar (joke).

But if the anime were to follow it's typical pattern, Ash is due to get all three starters in this generation. So either we won't see the rival appear until way late in the series (I'm referring to Hop), or Ash will get just 1 or 2 of the starters. What I'm saying is there is a possibility based on the starter rotation that two of Ash's traveling companions could be gym leaders, but I think it'll be Sonia and one gym leader. I don't care for Milo, and in the traditional trio that Ash travels in, one companion is always male, and one is always female, so there is once again support for Milo. Or tradition can be broken and Nessa joins the traveling group. But if it's a going to be a gym leader, my money will be it'll be one we haven't met yet.

Also, foot note game speculation not directly connected to the Anime: Nintendo most likely plans 7 DLC packs (maybe paid, maybe not) every 1-2 month to add earlier Gen Pokémons (save some legendaries for Events) to Sword and Shield and then announces (1-2 years after intial SwaSh release) improved versions under other things containing those already.

In the typical pokemon game cycle, 1-2 years after the release of new games in a generation, we either get a "third version" (or "remixed versions" like Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon) or remakes (like Heart Gold / Soul Silver or Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire). So I don't see this happening, granted I wish this was the route that GF / Nintendo would go with Pokemon games to keep some life in them as opposed to blasting us with stuff like USUM. While I'd like what you say to happen in some form, history just doesn't support this.

SM145 will probably be the last episode for Sun and Moon before transitioning to Sword and Shield.

Already, we are about to enter the Pokemon League segment of the anime, and after ''Battle Royal 151'', we would be up to SM130, with only 15 Episodes to go. So what is to expect after the Alolan League?

• Defeat of Team Skull
• More Slice of Life Episodes
• A Trainer with a Galar Pokemon
• The graduation from Pokemon School with Ash saying his goodbyes to his friends before returning to Pallet Town.
• Ash setting off on his next journey to Galar.

I don't even wish Ash well in the league. I hope they make him lose on the first round so we can move on.