Underused characters, powers, items...

[Acrobatic Crobat]

Simple as that - this is thread for talking about anything that you wish saw more use in the anime.

Snorunt/Glaile was easily the least developed of all Ash's Pokemon (okay, maybe Primeape not whistanding). After being caught, it just kinda sticks around, does some funny things, has a sideplot about learning to use Ice Beam, but never really gets in the spotlight. It was hardly ever used in battles, and even then would be usually knocked out almost immediatedly, and outside of the battle it almost always appeared as a part of the group rather than by itself. Then the BF saga came, giving the writers opportunity to develop it some more... only for it to be left at Oak's. And then never seen again.

Still watching D/P and can't be sure yet, but it seems Gliscor is going in the same direction. Not as bad as Glaile, but it's also hardly ever used in battle, overlooked and ignored by Ash so often that it started to turn into a running gag, and aside from very few episodes dedicated to itself, tends to appear mostly in the group shots.

Tracey... man, I love the guy, but he was so damn underused. He had the second shortest stay out of all companions (only beaten by Todd, and even then it's debatable is he even counts) and was mostly a replacement of Brock who was never really given opportunity to develop into a more fleshed out character despite having a potential. Had he stayed with the team throughout Johto after Brock rejoined, it would give him a chance to distinguish himself (and would turn the cast into a nice temperament ensemble, with sanguine Ash, choleric Misty, phlegmatic Brock and Tracey himself developing into a melancholic). It helps that him running erands and doing research for prof. Oak would both give him a reason to travel with the party and make for a nice subplot.

Items in general are never used, even though rhey regulary appear and are identified as items usable in battle. It would add another layer of strategy into the anime if those cool shades Squirtle wears actually did boost his Dark type moves like they do in games (then again, not that Ash's Squirtle knew any Dark moves).

 

[BigDocFan]

I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels Tracey was underused

Bulbasaur was under used in Johto, Bulbasaur left after the 6th gym but wasn't used in any of them

 

[ManUtd22]

Me too. But surw you should say that tracey is vanished for the world of pokemon

 

[BigDocFan]

Many fans do jokingly say Tracey who? on here

He seems forgotten but not by me

Last psychical appearance was BW116, last speaking role was AG192, last appearance was BW142

 

[nickdt]

I would hardly call Glalie underused in battle (It literally was the ace and the MVP during the Hoenn league), despite being the newest addition.

 

[Acrobatic Crobat]

I would hardly call Glalie underused in battle (It literally was the ace and the MVP during the Hoenn league), despite being the newest addition.

Ace and MVP? The most memorable thing it did during the Hoenn League was getting knocked out by Destiny Bond. While it did score two wins against Clark's Charizard and Morrison's Metang, the only reason either was seen as important in any way was because in both cases it was Ash's last Pokemon (and in case of Glalie vs Charizard, it used an unorthodox, but not exactly overpowered tactic). Had it been any other Pokemon of his, they'd manage just as well.
And outside the league it was used in only one battle (against Juan) and was knocked out almost immediatedly after being sent out. I'd say that yes, it was underused.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I just finished rewatching the Hoenn League and I don't think I'd call Glalie underused per say. It did get a good amount of screentime during the Hoenn League. Not to the point where I'd say it was Ash's ace Pokemon, but it did get some victories most likely to make up for being caught so late in the arc. I don't think that it was a good example of a late series capture though. I just found it annoying as a Snorunt and it wasn't too interesting as a Glalie either. I also didn't like that Snorunt mastering Ice Beam took up some screentime away from May's Contest and even the Grand Festival. They had a similar kind of subplot with Gible learning Draco Meteor, but it didn't take time away from Dawn's storyline and the gag was pretty funny.

Out of Ash's Hoenn team, I think Torkoal was much more underused. It had a good capture episode where the bond formed between Ash and Torkoal felt genuine and a memorable gag that I don't think was overused, but it was only used in one Gym battle and didn't get to shine too much during the Hoenn League. It does come back during the Battle Frontier arc, as well as in DP, but it still felt like it didn't get much spotlight during the Hoenn arc itself, which is kind of a shame. I remember not really caring much for Torkoal before, but now I felt like it didn't get much screentime as I think it deserved.

I also think that May's Bulbasaur was underused. It was only featured in a couple of Contests and the Grand Festival before being left at Professor Oak's Lab. It also just felt kind of unnecessary to leave it behind. Her Bulbasaur was impressed with Ash's Bulbasaur, but May already left her Beautifly and Skitty at her home and only ended up with four Pokemon during the Battle Frontier. She could have totally kept her Bulbasaur, so I don't know why they had her leave it behind. It would have made the reveal that it had evolved into a Venasaur much less jarring. It just seemed like a shame to not include it and help give May's team more variety for her Contests.

 

[Sakuraa]

Glalie the least developed? When Ash's BW team exists? Palpitoad's neglect was a tragedy. Ash literally used it like 3 times.

I do agree that it would be nice to see items used. They've been a staple since Gen 3 yet the anime rarely acknowledges them.

 

[Daren]

I just finished rewatching the Hoenn League and I don't think I'd call Glalie underused per say. It did get a good amount of screentime during the Hoenn League. Not to the point where I'd say it was Ash's ace Pokemon, but it did get some victories most likely to make up for being caught so late in the arc. I don't think that it was a good example of a late series capture though. I just found it annoying as a Snorunt and it wasn't too interesting as a Glalie either. I also didn't like that Snorunt mastering Ice Beam took up some screentime away from May's Contest and even the Grand Festival. They had a similar kind of subplot with Gible learning Draco Meteor, but it didn't take time away from Dawn's storyline and the gag was pretty funny.

From my admittedly old memories, Glalie and Swellow were his two big winners during the Hoenn League to the point I'd almost call them sharing the "ace" role (with Pikachu doing actually quite poorly, won the prelims, but then getting no wins against either Katie or Morrison, finishing a badly damaged Metagross, then losing to Meowth).
Edit: Speaking of Swellow, that reminds me that at the time there was discussion about just how much better he was treated than Pidgeot(to) and Nowtowl, in terms of wins and scenes (like freaking out when he accidentally "rescued" Wobbufett's wig instead of Wobby himself in the Claydol episode, or getting episodes for his training, or the ringer competition). In comparison Pidgeot in particular was mostly "balloon popper expert" and since they were released that's probably the end for them unless the writers surprise absolutely everyone and have him come back (which isn't really any harder than Charizard's numerous reappearances but I don't think Pidgeot has the same massive fanbase to drive them to do so.)

I found Snorunt annoying myself, but I tend to find the Pokémon attacking their own trainer gag usually not very funny in general (James did it okay with Victreebel).

Out of Ash's Hoenn team, I think Torkoal was much more underused. It had a good capture episode where the bond formed between Ash and Torkoal felt genuine and a memorable gag that I don't think was overused, but it was only used in one Gym battle and didn't get to shine too much during the Hoenn League. It does come back during the Battle Frontier arc, as well as in DP, but it still felt like it didn't get much spotlight during the Hoenn arc itself, which is kind of a shame. I remember not really caring much for Torkoal before, but now I felt like it didn't get much screentime as I think it deserved.

Yeah, poor Torkoal had it rough. He was pretty much the Hoenn team's prime jobber, and his defeats were, if I recall, often just getting 1-shotted.
If the next series brings in reserves as theorized I'd like to see him get some nice wins.

I do agree that it would be nice to see items used. They've been a staple since Gen 3 yet the anime rarely acknowledges them.

I wonder about that, too. My best guess is they felt it would be odd to reveal suddenly that Pokémon are allowed to carry man-made objects to help in battle after a few years or so of it not happening (games get away more easily with that kind of change than a narrative work, in my opinion).
Revealing Pikachu had a Light Ball would have explained a lot (honestly I pretty much headcanon it swallowed one as a child or something, even before Rowlett's everstone thing happened), and would tie into the games where a Pikachu from yellow has one if transferred to GSC.

 

[game3524]

Heracross

Likely Ash's strongest Johto Pokemon didn't get a single gym battle in that region and then got replaced with Noctowl, who was as boring as watching paint dry. On the flip side, he played a major role in league battles like Snorlax, so all was not lost.

 

[Galactic_V]

Years ago when I was a vivid fan of the anime (way more than the games), I didn't like that you could use items mid-battle (especially since it was not something they did in the show and all). Now I really can't imagine how they'd be used during battles at all... My best bet would be a trainer throws, for eg, a potion, but it doesn't seem to work in the show universe.

Of course there was the stuff about being able to use all Pokemon in a battle while in the anime it'd be proportional, which is something that makes a lot more sense. I still don't enjoy Homika's battle or Origins' 6 vs 3 battles because of that factor.

Now something I believe could've been used more (or just introduced earlier) are other kinds of Monster Balls. Instead of using only the red, Monster type, why didn't we see Supers and Hypers in, let's say, Kanto? Why wait until Kalos to feature those over 10 years old by the time the episode aired balls?

 

[CaptainBuggles]

While there are a semi-decent amount of double battles, I still would like more. It's always been slightly odd to me that the 'official' metagame is all about double battles but the story mode and anime are mostly singles. I mean, I sort of get why, but it wouldn't hurt to change it up some more.

Besides just how much extra strategy they allow for, they also make a good way to develop relationships between both human and Pokemon characters.

(Also, even though a good chunk of Team Rocket encounters sort of end up being double battles, I don't really count them because it doesn't take much to beat Team Rocket.)

 

[Super10ZX]

“Have you ever heard the tragedy of Tracey the generic?”

Me and my friend have made so many jokes about Tracey and how bland he is that it’s insane. But he could have been much better. The whole idea of someone going around studying Pokémon and drawing them is fairly interesting (to me at least). If they really followed through with that, on top of making him a little smarter about most of the Pokémon they incountered, and he could have been a fun character. Definitely couldn’t replace Brock, but let’s be fair, almost no one can replace Brock.

Another character with missed potential is Trip. I would have loved if they went all the way with the idea that what motivated Trip to become a Pokémon Trainer for years was a lie. But after he finds out the truth about Alder... it just kinda goes nowhere.

N and Team Plasma was also a case of missed potential (and probably the biggest case in my opinion). I know that Team Plasma was supposed to appear early on but due to disasters in Japan they had to scrap it, and I understand that. But it would have been awesome if N was one of Ash’s rivals during Best Wishes, being a counter to Ash in how they view Pokémon being with humans, and maybe have him hate Ash for it, but he grows to respect him more throughout Unova as he questions if the way Ghetsis raised him was right or wrong. It would have really made Best Wishes better in my opinion if done well, but oh well.

 

[Acrobatic Crobat]

When you think about it, the idea of there being more than 8 gyms per region and 8 badges simply being a minimum requirement to qualify for the League Championship is vastly underused. Heck, it hardly even appears anymore after the first season, with just some occasional vague reference (like Candice mentioning that hardly anyone bothers to travel to Snowpoint Gym while collecting badges) and Ash's rivals being shown to possess badges that didn't appear in the games. Of course the real reason is because they gotta advertise the game characters and gyms, but still - having Ash & co. visit some other gym with Ash not getting the badge there and not trying again for some reason, or simply having him already have 8 badges by the time, would help give us more info on how the League functions.

 

[Daenerys]

Torkoal and Glalie were totally underused. IIRC, Torkoal was only involved in a couple of high profile battles prior to the Hoenn League and it seemed like Glalie only existed as a way to fill up Ash's Hoenn team in preparation for the Hoenn League too. Then they both got dumped at Oak's retirement home lab and Glalie hasn't battled since AG...