Pokémon Sword and Shield anime speculation thread

[Islander Princess]

Not to mention crowds at Showcases.
Excellent point.

If they can have crowds for those, I guess they could have it for Galar gym battles if they aren't lazy or stingy (though it's usually one or the other with them. Sometimes both)

And here's something that recently hit me...what if they take advantage of the what the Switch can do to have more than 8 gyms???
I also have to wonder if they'll have a side feature like Contests, Musicals, or PokeMovies to give players something else to do, which in turn might make for another subplot the Show could use...
Just saying
(the UK has an active performing side )

I think something like that (a new type of performance-esque goal) for the female character would be very fun! Heck, I'd take Contests back...I really miss them. But a theater type thing could be very interesting...I could imagine almost like a West End style side quest where you sing, dance, and act with your Pokemon (similar to Pokemon Musicals, which were pretty clearly meant to be based off of Broadway.)

I saw artwork today of the female PC in the sports uniform, and she looked so cute...but I know that won't happen with Ash taking on the gyms I honestly think it could work if they start introducing different sets of gym leaders (that way they can challenge different leaders and not make it so redundant). I got excited when I saw there were version exclusive gym leaders for that reason, but I doubt there will be enough of them to make this feasible (and I don't really think the writers would go for it anyway...they really seem to want Ash to be the main focus for gyms.)

 

[Parissong]

I saw artwork today of the female PC in the sports uniform, and she looked so cute...but I know that won't happen with Ash taking on the gyms I honestly think it could work if they start introducing different sets of gym leaders (that way they can challenge different leaders and not make it so redundant).

It's this that makes me thing perhaps there'll be a more sports-focused theme on this one as the "side games" as opposed to a more contest-focused one like in the previous games. Remember in Nimbasa City the Big Stadium and Small Court? Maybe we'll finally get to see a fuller version of it here in SwSh.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

I suppose. Personally, between that and his design, he just doesn't interest me. Then again, they did a nice job with Acerola and I quite enjoyed her character in the anime, but who knows. The more of the gym leaders we see, the more I'm starting to veer towards none of them being companions (though I don't know who exactly would fill the void then...I guess the female PC if there's something interesting for her to do.)

That's because we are not used in seeing new concepts for the anime. The anime is stuck in a specific template when it comes to stuff like story progression, characterisations, tone, Pokémon that the characters should get, etc. It is not like these ideas wouldn't work, it has more to do with our own minds. We automatically think that those concepts wouldn't work because the anime never tried them out: A gentle giant like Milo can't be a companion because the anime never had such a character before, Nessa and Sonia can't work as companions, because the anime never had a tall woman as a companion before, Bea can't work because the anime never had a tough girl as a companion before, only cute ones, and Allister can't work as well, because the anime never tried in using such a character like him before, a gloomy, sad, shy, creepy guy.

Girl companions so fare were just cute and boy companions were comic reliefs. Although I have to say that the boys can be a bit diverse from each other in terms of design, gags and image. At least more than the girls.

But personally, I think the anime could at least try in given Ash more unusual companions for once. If the next girl companion is once again a cute girl, that owns an Eevee and other cute Pokémon and is doing contests or something similar then she will not stick out. This is sadly already a case with the S&M girls. Especially with Mallow who is sadly the most forgettable girl at the moment. Same goes with the new boy companion, if he will be another cook, or inventor and has his own running gag going on, he will just be a copy from other boy companion characters.

I personally think that Sword and Shield could at least try shaking things a bit more up with its companions this time around.

 

[Daenerys]

Girl companions so fare were just cute and boy companions were comic reliefs. Although I have to say that the boys can be a bit diverse from each other in terms of design, gags and image. At least more than the girls.

That's why I can't imagine Bea being the female companion character in Galar. She just doesn't look like the stereotypical female traveling buddy. She's also not very pretty in the usual sense of the word, so she wouldn't make very effective eye candy imo (just going by Masamitsu Hidaka's previous comment about how the production staff views female cast members).

 

[Parissong]

That's why I can't imagine Bea being the female companion character in Galar. She just doesn't look like the stereotypical female traveling buddy.

A serious, mature female companion and a funny, light-hearted, comic relief male companion? Oh boy!

 

[RileyXY1]

A serious, mature female companion and a funny, light-hearted, comic relief male companion? Oh boy!

That's what we will most likely get if Bea and Allister turn out to be the companions. I would like that because both characters are rather unconventional companions and would stand out more as a result.

 

[Tomboyish Mermaid]

I take every character at this point who isn't something we have seen so far. But my fear is that this will turn out to be that way. That we will get another cute girl and another boy cook as companions. If this is the case then they should have just kept Brock as the male companion and also kept either May or Dawn as the female lead.

I personally do not see the point in changing the protagonists if the core personality is always something very familiar. Why did they bother with Cilan, if they could just use Brock? Why create someone like Serena if Dawn could fill in the role as well? They also keep Ash as the main protagonist all the time.

 

[Parissong]

They also keep Ash as the main protagonist all the time.

I mean, at least this has got to be constant

 

[RileyXY1]

That's why I can't imagine Bea being the female companion character in Galar. She just doesn't look like the stereotypical female traveling buddy. She's also not very pretty in the usual sense of the word, so she wouldn't make very effective eye candy imo (just going by Masamitsu Hidaka's previous comment about how the production staff views female cast members).

She would be more unique and interesting that way because she's so different from the other main female companions (if she does end up the main female companion).

 

[Parissong]

She would be more unique and interesting that way because she's so different from the other main female companions (if she does end up the main female companion).

She'll definitely be the straight man of the group. A developing romance maybe that will break her hardened, loveless, exterior facade?! doki doki

 

[Hidden Mew]

But personally, I think the anime could at least try in given Ash more unusual companions for once. If the next girl companion is once again a cute girl, that owns an Eevee and other cute Pokémon and is doing contests or something similar then she will not stick out. This is sadly already a case with the S&M girls. Especially with Mallow who is sadly the most forgettable girl at the moment. Same goes with the new boy companion, if he will be another cook, or inventor and has his own running gag going on, he will just be a copy from other boy companion characters.

I'm still not sure why owning an Eevee is a factor as to why the female lead won't stick out. So far, only three female leads have own an Eevee, but they were all handled pretty differently and each Eevee had their own distinct personality traits too. I agree that Mallow is the most forgettable girl right now, but that isn't really because she's just another cute girl type of character. It's because she doesn't really do anything to make her stand out. Mallow is likable, but prior to her sudden tragic backstory, I would rarely hear much talk about her. Her goal isn't particularly interesting either and she doesn't have a lot of noteworthy personal interactions with the cast. That's the bigger problem for Mallow than being another typical traditionally cute girl type of character.

I take every character at this point who isn't something we have seen so far. But my fear is that this will turn out to be that way. That we will get another cute girl and another boy cook as companions. If this is the case then they should have just kept Brock as the male companion and also kept either May or Dawn as the female lead.

I personally do not see the point in changing the protagonists if the core personality is always something very familiar. Why did they bother with Cilan, if they could just use Brock? Why create someone like Serena if Dawn could fill in the role as well? They also keep Ash as the main protagonist all the time.

I think it's a bit much to say that the characters' personalities are that similar just because they fit a similar kind of role. Brock, Cilan and Clemont are secondary male traveling companions who cook and have their own running gags, but I don't think that their personalities are so similar that Brock could have been kept for BW and XY without any major changes involved to make it work. They still have different personalities, different goals and different chemistry with their respective cast members. May and Dawn both were into Contests, but their personalities and storylines are so different that I don't think that fair to say that they could have stuck around without changing anything either. Dawn certainly couldn't have fit Serena's role exactly considering that Showcases aren't exactly like Contests and their personalities aren't identical either.

Admittedly, the biggest reason why these characters are replaced is primarily because they want to promote the then newest generation. Brock stayed around as long as he did most likely because there wasn't a character from the games that would fit his role and possibly because they didn't want to replace both Misty and Brock at the same time. Ash is obviously the exception given that he is the main character and at this point, he's too iconic/too connected to the anime to reasonably replaced. But I also think it gives the writers something new to work with since each character does offer something different to the table. Just because these characters fit similar roles doesn't mean that they're all just copies or they aren't distinct from each other. I couldn't see how Clemont is another version of Brock or Serena and Dawn could be interchangeable.

Wanting something different for the main cast in SHSW is obviously fine, but being different for the shake of it isn't a guarantee that it will be good or well received. My main hope is that whoever is in the main cast are likable, have clear goals, with the female lead having something battle oriented if possible, and having a good amount of focus throughout the series. Whether they're drastically different or fit within the usual roles the male and female cast members doesn't really matter to me.

 

[marshiyanmisuta]

Also, calling it now: Ash's jersey number will be 15

I'll go with 025.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

I'll go with 025.

I second that

 

[ii kanji]

What about 004? SatoSHI who left Masara Town fourth...

 

[nickdt]

Its possible they give Ash four numbers: 1997, the year the anime first aired.

 

[Sakuraa]

I'll go with 025.

I thought the same thing

 

[Daenerys]

I personally do not see the point in changing the protagonists if the core personality is always something very familiar. Why did they bother with Cilan, if they could just use Brock? Why create someone like Serena if Dawn could fill in the role as well? They also keep Ash as the main protagonist all the time.

I thought it was fairly obvious that they change the female sidekick characters in order to promote the latest games. The same applies to the male sidekicks in recent sagas, and Brock only overstayed his welcome because the writers probably just didn't feel compelled to replace a character who didn't really do much to begin with, but they obviously had a change of heart beginning in BW.

 

[BigDocFan]

Would love if they created a brand new character for Sword and Shield, don't even need to get rid of Pikachu as a Mascot, have the new character catch one early on or get the Professor to give him one

 

[nickdt]

Would love if they created a brand new character for Sword and Shield, don't even need to get rid of Pikachu as a Mascot, have the new character catch one early on or get the Professor to give him one

IMO, marketing wise its better to stay with Ash, since its a staple of the franchise at this point (Especially since if you replace Ash, you also have to replace Team Rocket)
I noticed for myself that for a show to keep my interest, its best to keep a Main Main character, while you can have a rotating cast with the side/supporting characters, because its hard to be invested in a character if you know he is gonna leave anyways if the whole cast is being replaced. Having a Main Main makes the transition towards new supporting/side character much easier as well, since as a viewer, you don't need to invest that much in the Main Main and can invest and care for the other characters in the group as well, despite knowing they leave anyways, because they keep the connection via the Main Main. I feel like changing up casts season after season is the downfall for many shows, without having at least one main character that stays.

 

[RileyXY1]

I think that Pikachu will still be around in some form even if Ash is replaced.