News The Official Pokemon Company Makes a Contemplation of Ash's League Loses

[OniCornwalis]

If it makes people on this forum feel better, most of the responses on Twitter were defending Ash and saying that this was unnecessary shade, so our boy Ash Ketchum’s reputation hasn’t really been damaged.

Personally, I found this article pretty hilarious. It’s great how they hype up all of these intense matches in each league and then immediately just say “And then Ash loses” at the end of all of them.

 

[Emmy]

Looks like Ash is going to need a Burn Heal for all that fire the Pokémon Company be spitting at him.

Ah, it's a day too late to make that joke, but screw it I thought it was funny.

 

[Poke Trey]

Honestly, the replies and comments made on this article, did make my weekend slightly better. Like HOLY, everyone went off on this!

 

[kantoskies]

Is there anyone out there who regularly uses social media who doesn't know Satoshi won the league? This makes TPCi's refusal to simulcast the dub/make official subs/do anything even more frustrating.

And"Underpowered in Unova"? Did Bulbagarden Forums write this article?

 

[P_S_B]

If I'm honest that article is genuinely funny, but only in a 'so bad it's good' kind of funny and certainly not the kind they were going for.

 

[ii kanji]

Someone else who found this offensive


View: https://twitter.com/TheVeronicaT/status/1190877095666298880

 

[Poke Trey]

Sarah actually quote tweeted it on her account, I don't know if Rica even acknowledges the Dub to care.

 

[Moonbyum]

I've just read the article from their website and.......................

Who the hell wrote this at TPCI?!

 

[Daenerys]

On one hand, I love self-awareness. On the other hand, it comes across as try-hard and """"edgy""""" in this case all for the sake of sensationalism and controversy. So idk where I stand on this.

 

[HiroHunter]

Who.... who wrote this? And why where they given the ok to post this? And why did they think this was a good idea to make?

 

[Lightning Flame Blast]

The author of that post must be fun as hell at parties...

 

[Poke Trey]

We still got how long in America til reach EP139? Them doing this will make sense in the long run as infuriating as how we the fanbase made it out to be.

 

[WatcherMark]

On the one hand... yeah, this is just really mean. We don't need the kid's losses all lined up... and what were with these titles? The Johto Jobber? What?!

On the other hand though, I did laugh a couple of times at the way the descriptions ended.

"...which only serves to increase Ash's vigor when he sends in Pikachu to stage an amazing comeback! And then Ash loses."

"Even though Pikachu hasn't fully recovered from its efforts earlier in the match, our heroes are determined to win! And then Ash loses."

"...setting the stage for a battle for the ages! And then Ash loses."

 

[Shadao]

You know, after skimming it a bit several times (mostly because the language used is just awful jabbing), it does highlight how the US treats winning (or should I say losing) differently from Japan. In Japan, you have a montage of Ash battling in the Pokémon Leagues but they don't merely show the battles that Ash ultimately lost in the Leagues. They show you the battles that people remember him for. Against Gary, against Paul, against Trip, and against Sawyer.



Heck, they don't really feature how Ash lost those League battles. Just that Leagues are part of tradition in Pokémon history, and Alola is going to be a special League. The only time that Japan ever mentions Ash losing was an interview but it was worded as Ash never won the League championship, not Ash losing the Pokémon League. And that makes more sense because nearly ever League has Ash climbing up a rank higher than the previous League. He's getting better every battle and no one expects a fresh player to become a champion overnight. Even a seasoned veteran can take years to win a championship if the competition is that fierce. After all, there's only one winner in a tournament, and it would be unfair to ignore the other competitors all vying for the championship in favor of the winner. That's why interviews in Japan leading up to the Alola League emphasize on the importance of learning from battles, whether it's winning or losing, as the key to Pokémon Master.

Of course, the US media doesn't really have that attitude towards runner-ups. It's always about the winner and winning alone. I recall that the film Patton had an infamous line that sums up the whole attitude:

"When you were kids, you all admired the champion marble shooter, the fastest runner, big league ball players, the toughest boxers. Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser. Americans play to win all the time. I wouldn't give a hoot in hell for a man who lost and laughed. That's why Americans have never lost, and will never lose a war... because the very thought of losing is hateful to Americans."

Oh the dramatic irony of Patton's quote. I'm almost inclined to ramble on and on of how that statement is harmful and wrong but I cannot deny that's how prevalent attitude I see in the West and in this English-speaking article. You remember all of those "Red is better than Ash" memes, right? I sometimes speculate that the reason why people, especially YouTubers who just played the Pokémon games and skimmed the details on the anime, put Red on a pedestal (making up facts about him in the process) and always bash Ash is because they're overcompensating for a protagonist as a winner. They don't see Ash as a person on his own merits but rather on his immediate battle results no matter what the circumstances or build up was. It's also why the only praise I see of Red is that he's a silent winner at everything. That's it. Nothing about his actual character or moments that make him feel human. In fact, any emotions on Red other than stoic seems to be forbidden, even in official artworks. Which is sad really because when Ash goes "serious" and "boring" in the XY series, he was still smiling with all the carefree in the world. It's as if Ash's true strength as a character is his core love for Pokémon and his friends, which makes him applicable for any situation thrown at him. That's why he still remains as the main protagonist, no matter what his win-loss record may be.

 

[Daren]

I got the impression from one Japanese Pokémon site that Satoshi gets jokes at his expense about it just like Ash does, but it might be more playful than him being disliked like in the west.

A comparison comes to mind, actually.
Yamcha from Dragon Ball is generally treated as a joke in both the english speaking and Japanese fandoms, but while a lot of the english community seems to dislike him (at least in the older days when the show was still running Z for the first time) he's seems generally well liked in Japan (think he places pretty well in a popularity poll a few years ago). Part of that might be from the series being translated out of order, though--dragon ball's really weird in that regard and it's affected how a lot of characters are viewed in the west.

Although in the end, I think a lot of his bad reputation comes from the show being written halfway between an episodic low continuity series and a slow burn plotted out series. I'm actually planning to write an article about this on the blog at some point so I won't go into it here.

 

[Sakuraa]

LMAO this is freaking hilarious

 

[Poke Trey]

Well, let's just see how the reactions will be like when the Dub airs this particular episode because man that'll make my day! Still at awe with this article though.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Which is sad really because when Ash goes "serious" and "boring" in the XY series, he was still smiling with all the carefree in the world. It's as if Ash's true strength as a character is his core love for Pokémon and his friends, which makes him applicable for any situation thrown at him. That's why he still remains as the main protagonist, no matter what his win-loss record may be.

I've noticed both fans and detractors of XY treating him as essentially Meme Red in that series, which isn't what I got out of it at all. To me he seemed like the same goofy-yet-heroic kid as established in the very first episode, just with more emphasis on the latter due to being more action-oriented (same as DP and most of the movies).

 

[Shadao]

I've noticed both fans and detractors of XY treating him as essentially Meme Red in that series, which isn't what I got out of it at all. To me he seemed like the same goofy-yet-heroic kid as established in the very first episode, just with more emphasis on the latter due to being more action-oriented (same as DP and most of the movies).

Yeah. He may have some serious frowns but they're always outnumbered by his numerous happy smiles and comedic quirks. He wasn't lobotomized like Team Rocket during the BW series. And heck, I'll say that XY Ash is pretty much Red done better. A stoic frown may suggest that this trainer is not messing around but a confident smile is a sign that this trainer knows what he's doing.