Sun and Moon: Missed Opportunities

[Shadowlarvitar]

Poipole should never have left. It didn't do a thing, was released, evolved offscreen, and then brought back for one battle..... and then it's gone again. Poipole should have really stayed, look at that long gap before Ash got Meltan plenty of that time could have been used to further Poipole's development and perhaps even evolve it while facing Totem Kommo-o.

Incineroar's evolution; Honestly it should have happened way earlier, instead it happens as soon as the battle is over.... and he doesn't even get to battle. Then they have Kiawe and Ash finally battle, only for it to be Lycanroc and Charizard of all Pokemon?! Um.... why? Turtonator or Marowak vs Incineroar would have been way better, they're Kiawe's strongest Pokemon and it would allow for us to see Incineroar's new found strength.

Nanu and Giovanni. It was brought up and was one of the very few plot points that were actually interesting... and it literally went nowhere! Such wasted potential, could have been a way to finally give Anime! Giovanni some more backstory. Not to mention Gozu debuted and was hyped up.... only to never be seen again. It really looked like there was setup for Rainbow Rocket or for Team Rocket to have a big plot of some sort.... but Matori only appeared to try and get Bewear.... and that was it. Hopefully Team Rocket have a big arch this upcoming series

Team Rocket not seeing Tapu Fini's mist. Um.... they do know Jessie's mother died right? It's canon but never actually brought up in the series itself, and it'd be so refreshing to finally see the TRio's personal lives brought into perspective for the first time in well... forever. They even ditched James' family homes.... would have made sense for them to have one based on one of the other islands, no? Like Akala, the beach resort?

Ash and Kiawe's rivalry. It was hyped up all series(Unlike Ash and Kukui....) and the two didn't even get to battle at the League. Instead Ash battled Faba of all people, when in reality? Hau should have been eliminated first, then Kiawe, then Guzma, then Gladion. One of the TRio(Like James) battling Faba would have made more sense, given they had a rivalry with the guy

Hau. He really should have been around from the start, especially if they never planned for Rowlet to evolve. Instead they try and hype him up as Ash's rival even though the poor kid literally only appeared once before the League! Also, no Pikachu vs Alola Raichu was very disappointing.

Lillie not keeping the z-form outfit. The writers really missed the point of her outfit transition... it was so aggravating to see her go back to her regular outfit and for the z-form to appear a few limited times after that.

Dewpider. Lana should have really caught it, they practically spent that entire episode revolved around it.... and it didn't even return, even though it lived right next to the school. Dewpider should have been her second capture while Eevee went to Mallow

Shaymin. Mallow really ought to have gotten an official second Pokemon, Shaymin did hardly anything and then left like it was nothing.... That reason is why I say Eevee should have gone to her, Eevee(and potentially Leafeon) could have taken over as the restaurant's mascot as Tsareena outgrew the 'cute' mascot role she had.

Ash never getting to use a z-move with Melmetal and Naganadel..... really makes them look like they weren't as important as the rest of his team. Bad enough poor Torracat suffered through 100+ episodes without a z-move of his own

Team Rocket's z-ring. They literally got it just for Ash's trial, huh? Would have been nice if they got to utilize it more than they did

Team Rocket not getting jobs at the school, what is it with the TRio not being allowed to have friendly interactions with the cast nowadays? Instead they got random jobs around Alola.... which they could have done when school wasn't in session.

Oh yeah, and Ash's Alola team not getting to interact with his other Pokemon. It was easy to forgive Ash only seeing Bulbasaur, Muk, and... basically every one of his Kanto team par Kingler and Charizard, and none of the Johto -> Kalos Pokemon at the time since one figured Ash would probably get another lab episode at the end of the series..... nope! Yet again his team didn't get to interact with his old Pokemon, it would have been nice to see how his XY Pokemon were getting along(Cause they too didn't get a proper showing), maybe have Incineroar and Hawlucha become training buddies?

 

[Hidden Mew]

Poipole should never have left. It didn't do a thing, was released, evolved offscreen, and then brought back for one battle..... and then it's gone again. Poipole should have really stayed, look at that long gap before Ash got Meltan plenty of that time could have been used to further Poipole's development and perhaps even evolve it while facing Totem Kommo-o.

While I would have liked to see Poipole stick around to develop past the Necromza storyline, I'm kind of fine with it just leaving after the arc. The reason for leaving felt pretty justified and becoming stronger off-screen between that large gap of time is less frustrating for me than if they had suddenly made Poipole a powerhouse like they did with Goodra.

Ash and Kiawe's rivalry. It was hyped up all series(Unlike Ash and Kukui....) and the two didn't even get to battle at the League. Instead Ash battled Faba of all people, when in reality? Hau should have been eliminated first, then Kiawe, then Guzma, then Gladion. One of the TRio(Like James) battling Faba would have made more sense, given they had a rivalry with the guy

Did they really have a rivalry hyped up throughout the series? Their interactions early on in SM definitely gave off a kind of rivalry vibe, especially when Kiawe would clash with Ash a bit, but I think that wore off pretty quickly. Despite having training battles throughout SM, I wouldn't really say that they were rivals. They were good friends who wanted to be the strongest trainer and trained with each other, but I didn't get much of a rivalry between them, let alone one that was hyped throughout the series.

Hau. He really should have been around from the start, especially if they never planned for Rowlet to evolve. Instead they try and hype him up as Ash's rival even though the poor kid literally only appeared once before the League! Also, no Pikachu vs Alola Raichu was very disappointing.

Yeah, that was disappointing. Hau would have been a perfect main rival for Ash in this series and he was a fan favorite character among the video game based characters too. There would have been actual buildup for their League match. I'm surprised that they didn't really have a Pikachu vs. Alolan Raichu battle myself. It seemed like it would have been the perfect opportunity to create a new Pikachu vs. Raichu battle without retreading the previous two due to Alolan Raichu being part Psychic. Not to mention it would have been a good way to explain to the kids watching SM why Ash's Pikachu doesn't want to evolve.

Lillie not keeping the z-form outfit. The writers really missed the point of her outfit transition... it was so aggravating to see her go back to her regular outfit and for the z-form to appear a few limited times after that.

Honestly, I think that was one of the most frustrating aspects of Lillie's storyline for me. Her Z-Powered form actually had meaning in the games because she finally felt comfortable enough to break out of her mother's emotional abuse by wearing an outfit that she chose. SM Lillie just says that it is her Z-Powered form, but without that backstory or that context behind her usual outfit, it just felt like such hallow and meaningless fanservice. I think that bothers me more than just going back and forth between the two outfits.

Shaymin. Mallow really ought to have gotten an official second Pokemon, Shaymin did hardly anything and then left like it was nothing.... That reason is why I say Eevee should have gone to her, Eevee(and potentially Leafeon) could have taken over as the restaurant's mascot as Tsareena outgrew the 'cute' mascot role she had.

While I don't mind that Mallow didn't get an official second Pokemon, I like the idea of Mallow getting Eevee instead of Lana. I never would have pictured Mallow with a Leafeon, but I do find that more appealing than the Vaporeon theory going around after Lana caught Sandy. Granted, most, if not all of that, is due to how Leafeon is one of my favorite Eeveelutions and I don't think that could have happened given that Sandy was a bit of Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee promotion, but it is a pretty interesting idea. Mallow was so dull that if it wasn't for her sudden tragic backstory, I think she would have become the most forgettable SM character, if not the most forgettable main character thus far in the anime. So I don't really mind that she didn't have another Pokemon. Aside from Kiawe, none of the goals for the SM cast involved battling, so they didn't really need more Pokemon. They needed more consistent focus and more interesting goals instead.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Should have introduced Guzma a lot sooner and done more with Team Skull in general. I would have loved more Skull vs. Rocket episodes.

 

[BigDocFan]

@Shadowlarvitar Agree with everything you said there, so many missed opportunities, especially with Hau

 

[TheGoldenToon]

Another thing is Marshadow needed a more proper episode; having it only appear a little in SM057 with no major plot relevance AND then pokedex entry gets deleted before we could all see it was a shame.

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

We should have seen Hau doing something during the Battle Royal. But nope. Did Fujisaku secretly hate Hau or something?

 

[BigDocFan]

We should have seen Hau doing something during the Battle Royal. But nope. Did Fujisaku secretly hate Hau or something?

Does look that way, would have been nice to have seen Stoked Sparksurfer but no, Hau was kept off camera until the end

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Does look that way, would have been nice to have seen Stoked Sparksurfer but no, Hau was kept off camera until the end

Not to mention of the fake-out win treatment Fujisaku gave to him in the battle with Ash.

 

[BigDocFan]

Not to mention of the fake-out win treatment to him in the battle with Ash.

Agreed, if it wasn't for Hala noticing, Hau would have won

 

[sc190191]

We should have seen Hau doing something during the Battle Royal. But nope. Did Fujisaku secretly hate Hau or something?

Pikachu not battling Raichu was another big miss in my opinion. For all the Raichu Pikachu has battled, he hasn't had a real battle with an Alolan one (just that race), and it could be really interesting for him to have to overcome the psychic abilities. Would have been a lot more interesting than the lazy bird getting a cheap win (or just have 2v2 by the top 8, really not that unreasonable).

 

[FinnishPokéFan92]

Why did we never see Samson Oak do anything with his Vulpix? Such emphasis was put on it when it debuted, and yet, it didn't participate in anything important afterwards. All it did was make a couple cute cameos, but that's it. Couldn't it have been used in the Alola League, maybe even evolving?

 

[BigDocFan]

A big missed opportunity was the absence of some Z-Moves, Mina could have used Twinkle Tackle on Guzzlord but no, she disappears leaving the main characters and Kahuna's to deal with the Guzzlord

 

[sc190191]

This is kind of half missed opportunity, half maybe it can still happen in the future, but I think it would have been fun if Matori's Meowth could use Pay Day. I think it would further increase our Meowth's hatred/jealousy, making the rivalry more humorous. I suspect Matori will continue to be a part of the new series, and with some old Trio plots possibly returning, more highlighting of Meowth's inability to use Pay Day would be pretty funny, and his rival being able to use it could lead to some interesting conflict. I've always enjoyed the bizarre coin-creation move, so any chance to see it would be a plus.

 

[BigDocFan]

This is kind of half missed opportunity, half maybe it can still happen in the future, but I think it would have been fun if Matori's Meowth could use Pay Day. I think it would further increase our Meowth's hatred/jealousy, making the rivalry more humorous. I suspect Matori will continue to be a part of the new series, and with some old Trio plots possibly returning, more highlighting of Meowth's inability to use Pay Day would be pretty funny, and his rival being able to use it could lead to some interesting conflict. I've always enjoyed the bizarre coin-creation move, so any chance to see it would be a plus.

That would certainly be funny to see, here's hoping we see more of Matori's Meowth

 

[Shadowlarvitar]

Another thing is Marshadow needed a more proper episode; having it only appear a little in SM057 with no major plot relevance AND then pokedex entry gets deleted before we could all see it was a shame.

I really didn't enjoy that, Marshadow got a brief cameo yet literally every single other Alola Pokemon got a full fledge appearance?! Always my favorite legendary of the gen that gets the worse treatment. You'd have thought Acerola would have gotten an episode with it

They also should have done more with the entire Jangmo-o line. They were quickly sidelined and never appeared again until a Kommo-o was literal cannon fodder at the League!

This is kind of half missed opportunity, half maybe it can still happen in the future, but I think it would have been fun if Matori's Meowth could use Pay Day. I think it would further increase our Meowth's hatred/jealousy, making the rivalry more humorous. I suspect Matori will continue to be a part of the new series, and with some old Trio plots possibly returning, more highlighting of Meowth's inability to use Pay Day would be pretty funny, and his rival being able to use it could lead to some interesting conflict. I've always enjoyed the bizarre coin-creation move, so any chance to see it would be a plus.

She should appear more, with Team Rocket based in Vermillion they can't really get away with not communicating. And not to mention they came out of Alola with literally nothing to show for it, not even 'credit' for dismantling a rival org! Giovanni and Matori probably won't be happy about that and them literally chasing Ash all over the planet probably won't be doing them favors either

 

[Hidden Mew]

I don't think that Meowth ever saw an Alolan Persian, which seems really weird. I guess that they wanted to focus more on its rivalry with Matori's Alolan Meowth, but since Meowth doesn't like Persian in general, it would have been interesting to see his reaction to what an Alolan Persian looks like.

 

[BigDocFan]

There were certainly many wasted opportunities in the anime, Alolan Grimer only appeared briefly during a flashback and wasn't acknowledged

 

[Hidden Mew]

There were certainly many wasted opportunities in the anime, Alolan Grimer only appeared briefly during a flashback and wasn't acknowledged

That reminds me of how much I wanted Ash to catch an Alolan Grimer. He already has a regular Muk, but he could have raised a Grimer from the start this time around and it would have been unique given its type combination. There weren't a lot of Alolan forms, but it would have been nice if Ash caught at least one of them and out of the batch, I think that Alolan Grimer would have been a good fit for him.

 

[P_S_B]

The lack of a post-series special where Kiawe and maybe Sophicles met Clemont and Bonnie, preferably at Kiawe's farm so Bonnie and Mimo could meet as well. Of course this was the fault of whichever misguided television executive decided that talking-head clipshows were a better idea than the usual animated specials (although I am inclined to think it was at least partly from the budget getting blown somewhere because towards the end there it got really obvious they were running on loose change), but it still counts. Speaking of Mimo, seeing her brother treat her like a helpless flower when she's so much more mature than Harper and Sarah are just begged for an episode about the three of them hanging out because I think their hyperactivity would have bounced off Mimo's level-headedness well, while also giving Kiawe the chance to see that his sister isn't as helpless as he thinks she is. We had two Pokémon get lost episodes, why couldn't they scrap the awful one (Pikachu's Exciting Adventure) and give us a sisters get lost episode instead?

Another missed opportunity was not having the Ultra Recon Squad in the anime. They could have incorporated them into the Poipole arc with Zossie transferring into the Pokémon School to learn more about the main universe, with the other three monitoring her efforts. The other 3 have purposes in the games whereas all she does is sway back and forth so it's a shame that the anime didn't give her a chance to get some focus.

 

[Kurolegacy]

A big missed opportunity was the absence of some Z-Moves, Mina could have used Twinkle Tackle on Guzzlord but no, she disappears leaving the main characters and Kahuna's to deal with the Guzzlord

Speaking of Z-Move users who disappeared, where did Illima vanish to? He just kinda peace’s out after he lost to Guzma. You’d think he’d be interested in seeing how the rest of the league went.

Another missed opportunity is that he and Ash never battled especially when he was established to have competed in the Kalos League and thus was also an experienced trainer who had traveled outside of Alola.