Pokémon Sword and Shield anime speculation thread

[KrspaceT]

In not wanting that you stand against both the Het and Slash shippers: are you ready against their combined onslaught.

(At least I can only seem to find Ash x Clemont when I see Ash x Male companion stuff pop up. That at least makes better sense than Ash x Paul)

 

[game3524]

You know I never had a big problem with Serena's crush. Like martianmister said earlier, there has always been a romantic subplot in the series. The big difference when it comes to Serena's crush is the writers weren't subtle about it like they have been in the past. If I were to change anything, I would have had Serena develop a crush over time, instead of having one from the start. I think that may have helped her from being seen primarily as the "shipping girl", even though she was much more then that.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Ash/Serena shippers, please get over it already! She was just there to fit the stereotype of France. A one off for one arc based on the Gen 6 games.

That logic still makes no sense to me. Serena's crush never came off as the stereotype of France. That is such a huge stretch considering her crush had nothing to do with France and no, Kalos being inspired by France doesn't make Serena French. Telling fans of the pairing to get over it already also seems a bit rude.

Although, I find these complaints about Serena and her pairing with Ash all of a sudden pretty ridiculous. First off, these episode titles are incredibly fake. I don't think that's even up for debate, so I'm kind of surprised that this conversation started up again over clearly fake titles. Plus, I think that writing Serena off as just the love interest is a bit inaccurate. To be fair, I'm not surprised that is how people remember her for a few reasons. I just think it's a bit of a disservice to her character when all of her best character moments during the series really had nothing to do with her crush on Ash.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Let's hope SwSh's companions are treated better. Perhaps like Ash's schoolmates from SM.

 

[Hidden Mew]

Let's hope SwSh's companions are treated better. Perhaps like Ash's schoolmates from SM.

Were they really treated that well though? Aside from a couple like Lillie and Lana, most of the schoolmates didn't really have consistent focus throughout SM. Even Lillie might be a stretch considering how little she did between the Nebby arc and finding her father's Z-Ring. Despite my issues with Serena's storyline, I'd say that she was treated overall better than most, if not all of Ash's classmates in SM.

 

[RileyXY1]

I think that there will be less companions here than in SM, so they would probably get better treatment.

 

[Yami-no-Game]

Ash/Serena shippers, please get over it already!

Why not take your own advice and also get over the idea of Cynthia ever returning, which is something that you somehow manage to sneak into many conversations here that have nothing to do with her.

 

[Hidden Mew]

If the series goes back to the traveling format, which it hopefully will, then there would have to be less companions in SWSH. One reason why I think that SM having a larger cast arguably worked was because they weren't traveling around Alola. They could have episodes where not everyone of Ash's friends showed up or only focused on a few of them. That was easier to do in SM because everyone was living at their homes with their families. They wouldn't have to figure out reasons as to why some of the characters weren't with the group if they were traveling around. I don't think that they'll have Ash stay in one place in Galar for a few reasons, so we'll probably see another group of three or possibly four main characters again.

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

Why not take your own advice and also get over the idea of Cynthia ever returning, which is something that you somehow manage to sneak into many conversations here that have nothing to do with her.

I only said that in case a Gen 4 Remake does come out, since Steven appeared in XY.

 

[RileyXY1]

If the series goes back to the traveling format, which it hopefully will, then there would have to be less companions in SWSH. One reason why I think that SM having a larger cast arguably worked was because they weren't traveling around Alola. They could have episodes where not everyone of Ash's friends showed up or only focused on a few of them. That was easier to do in SM because everyone was living at their homes with their families. They wouldn't have to figure out reasons as to why some of the characters weren't with the group if they were traveling around. I don't think that they'll have Ash stay in one place in Galar for a few reasons, so we'll probably see another group of three or possibly four main characters again.

That's what I think will most likely happen.

 

[El Squibbonator]

Perhaps this is a good time to speculate on which of the currently revealed Galar Pokemon Ash might catch? He'll be getting Grookey for sure, and I can see him getting a Drednaw as his Water-type if he doesn't get Sobble instead. I can also see him having Rolycoly and Wooloo.

 

[Daenerys]

Perhaps this is a good time to speculate on which of the currently revealed Galar Pokemon Ash might catch? He'll be getting Grookey for sure, and I can see him getting a Drednaw as his Water-type if he doesn't get Sobble instead. I can also see him having Rolycoly and Wooloo.

Ash getting Drednaw would be dreadful, so nah. I don't want him to get Sobble either, so I'd rather he gets a different Water type or maybe none at all. Honestly other than maybe Wooloo, Grookey and Scorbunny, there aren't any currently revealed Pokemon that I want Ash to get.

 

[DynamicFusion]

I think it notion of SM's Cast being "underdeveloped expect for Lillie" shouldn't even pop up as reason anymore especially after the Poni Island Arc. As for Serena, I didn't really have an issue with her, but there really isn't anything that stands out and screams different from her rather than her crush on Ash. No offence to her character, but the only reason she's even popular is because of her crush. I say Dawn, May, and even Lillie were better developed than her to be fair.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think it notion of SM's Cast being "underdeveloped expect for Lillie" shouldn't even pop up as reason anymore especially after the Poni Island Arc. As for Serena, I didn't really have an issue with her, but there really isn't anything that stands out and screams different from her rather than her crush on Ash. No offence to her character, but the only reason she's even popular is because of her crush. I say Dawn, May, and even Lillie were better developed than her to be fair.

To be clear, I didn't say that the SM cast is underdeveloped, although I do think that Mallow and Sophocles would fit that description. I just wouldn't say that they were handled overall well or at least would be examples of how to treat companion characters well in large part because they don't get more consistent focus. Only Lillie, Lana and maybe Kiawe had pretty good amount of attention throughout the series. I like most of the SM characters. I just don't think that they were all handled better than Serena.

The crush is certainly a huge gimmick that made her popular, but I think that there's more to her than just that. To be fair, I can understand why people tend to write her off as just the girl with a crush on Ash for multiple reasons. I just don't think that's entirely fair read on her character. I like Serena, but she isn't the best female lead by a long shot. Dawn and May have better overall storylines, although I don't think that some of the writing for May's Contests have aged all that well. I can kind understand thinking that Lillie has better development, but at the same time, I still feel like that long gap between the Nebby arc and working on her Z-Move really weakened her storyline too much for me. I'd probably need to rewatch SM to see Lillie's story unfold all over again to see if I do prefer her storyline over Serena's.

 

[Fan of Jarrus]

I mean, all three of Ash's Kalos buddies were basically an Ash fanclub. Clemont and Bonnie idolized Ash almost as much as Serena (Clemont even had a 'bromance' with Ash). So it's not like Serena was the only one who acted like a 'satellite' character imo.

God help us if any of the ShSw cast members act that way though. I don't think I can stand 3 years of crap like that again.

How is admiring someone bad? I have people who I admire.

 

[Daenerys]

How is admiring someone bad? I have people who I admire.

I'm not just talking about characters simply 'admiring' Ash; I was talking about the writing staff's decision to have Serena, Clemont and Bonnie act like Ash's cult following. It gets annoying when the main characters continuously kiss Ash's ass for 3 whole years. Why anyone would want something like this in ShSw is beyond me.

 

[Panky..]

I'm not just talking about characters simply 'admiring' Ash; I was talking about the writing staff's decision to have Serena, Clemont and Bonnie act like Ash's cult following. It gets annoying when the main characters continuously kiss Ash's ass for 3 whole years. Why anyone would want something like this in ShSw is beyond me.

Would you rather have an Iris-esque character that constantly berates him for no reason while being kind of a hypocrite, for 3 years?

 

[Grass Type Gardenia]

If we want to know who Ash’s Companions are, then we would have seen then by now. I’m sure Iris and Cilan were revealed before BW anime reveal. Same for Clement before XY anime reveal, and the Trial Captains before SM anime reveal. I’m sure the anime crew wouldn’t show off characters we haven’t seen without a game trailer showing them beforehand, with the exception of anime exclusives.

 

[DynamicFusion]

To be clear, I didn't say that the SM cast is underdeveloped, although I do think that Mallow and Sophocles would fit that description. I just wouldn't say that they were handled overall well or at least would be examples of how to treat companion characters well in large part because they don't get more consistent focus. Only Lillie, Lana and maybe Kiawe had pretty good amount of attention throughout the series. I like most of the SM characters. I just don't think that they were all handled better than Serena.

The crush is certainly a huge gimmick that made her popular, but I think that there's more to her than just that. To be fair, I can understand why people tend to write her off as just the girl with a crush on Ash for multiple reasons. I just don't think that's entirely fair read on her character. I like Serena, but she isn't the best female lead by a long shot. Dawn and May have better overall storylines, although I don't think that some of the writing for May's Contests have aged all that well. I can kind understand thinking that Lillie has better development, but at the same time, I still feel like that long gap between the Nebby arc and working on her Z-Move really weakened her storyline too much for me. I'd probably need to rewatch SM to see Lillie's story unfold all over again to see if I do prefer her storyline over Serena's.

That's fair.

If we want to know who Ash’s Companions are, then we would have seen then by now. I’m sure Iris and Cilan were revealed before BW anime reveal. Same for Clement before XY anime reveal, and the Trial Captains before SM anime reveal. I’m sure the anime crew wouldn’t show off characters we haven’t seen without a game trailer showing them beforehand, with the exception of anime exclusives.

All the Trial captains that are companions now were revealed in August, 1 Month before the Anime, so the chance of Marnie becoming a companion is higher.

 

[RileyXY1]

All the Trial captains that are companions now were revealed in August, 1 Month before the Anime, so the chance of Marnie becoming a companion is higher.

Characters don't have to be revealed in August in order to be a companion, considering Lillie was revealed in June. Marnie is also a Gym Challenger making her unlikely to be a companion.