• A new LGBTQ+ forum is now being trialed and there have been changes made to the Support and Advice forum. To read more about these updates, click here.
  • Hey Trainers! Be sure to check out Corsola Beach, our newest section on the forums, in partnership with our friends at Corsola Cove! At the Beach, you can discuss the competitive side of the games, post your favorite Pokemon memes, and connect with other Pokemon creators!
  • Due to the recent changes with Twitter's API, it is no longer possible for Bulbagarden forum users to login via their Twitter account. If you signed up to Bulbagarden via Twitter and do not have another way to login, please contact us here with your Twitter username so that we can get you sorted.

Unexpected Captures

LagCross

Member
Joined
May 24, 2020
Messages
24
Reaction score
55
Hi new member here. Just here to lay out my opinions about pokemon.

With Journeys, Ash's captures has been pretty shocking for numerous reasons. It got me thinking on the other unexpected pokemon he had captured. So let me guys ask you a question: What was the most unexpected captures in the series and what is your opinion on it?

To me the most unexpected is Ash's Lycanroc. True, Lycanroc was one of the more requested pokemon Ash should get but before it was revealed that it was a wild pokemon, it was pretty much Kukui's pokemon in all but name. By the time its capture episode, I thought it was filler but nope it was an Ash capture episode all right.
 
Ash's Palpitoad and Cilan's Stunfisk are the only real unexpected captures for me because they were the only ones that happened without hints before hand as far as I know at least from the more recent sagas.

I don't know how captures were promoted wayyyy back in OS or AG since I wasn't around then but it seems like all captures from DP forward had foreshadowing of some kind except those two that I mentioned.
 
Palpitoad was a big WTF moment. Of course he did absolutely nothing since the league sucked and Krokorok took his spot.

Yanmega was quite unexpected for Jessie and Yammask it was a blessing cause James finally got his own Pokemon. Let's see what this series got in store for us.

Now captures meant nothing thanks to certain character...
 
My own guess on Palpitoad was that he was not supposed to happen. I think that he was supposed to get Krokorok earlier and their plans were messed up as a result of the disaster. This also is why I think Boldore lost Stone Edge, a move Krokorok had at the time
 
Dawn getting Buizel was something I didn't expect at all, for several reasons. She already had a Water-type, who was her main partner, so catching another seemed redundant; especially since Ash didn't possess his own Water-type yet. We were also following the previous three sagas where it was custom that Ash got a Water-type fairly early in a region. Secondly, she promptly failed during her first battle with it whereas Ash and Pikachu were more successful. Thirdly, its battle-thirsty personality seemed more fitting for Ash's Gym Battles rather than Contests. Yet, despite all of those aspects, she ended up as its initial Trainer. After cutesy mons like Buneary and Pachirisu, Buizel was truly a capture I didn't see coming.

This was also before I started watching Japanese episodes and following along with promotional material, so there wasn't any potential foreshadowing for me.
 
Honestly, Snorlax was a big shock for me when it happened way back, to the point I assumed he'd just be sent off to the ranch and never used or mentioned. Instead he became one of Ash's reliable heavy hitters.

Dawn getting Buizel was something I didn't expect at all, for several reasons. She already had a Water-type, who was her main partner, so catching another seemed redundant; especially since Ash didn't possess his own Water-type yet. We were also following the previous three sagas where it was custom that Ash got a Water-type fairly early in a region. Secondly, she promptly failed during her first battle with it whereas Ash and Pikachu were more successful. Thirdly, its battle-thirsty personality seemed more fitting for Ash's Gym Battles rather than Contests. Yet, despite all of those aspects, she ended up as its initial Trainer. After cutesy mons like Buneary and Pachirisu, Buizel was truly a capture I didn't see coming.

This was also before I started watching Japanese episodes and following along with promotional material, so there wasn't any potential foreshadowing for me.
That was a wild time. I remember the "Buizel would be traded to Ash" theory was fiercely debated for a while before it ended up happening.
 
For me the biggest surprises were for ash, mostly it was ash's torkoal, melmetal, boldore, goodra, and gligar. For me, it just seemed like out of place for ash to catch heavy and slow pokemon. And gligar, I didn't recognize had a new evolution in gliscor.
 
Please note: The thread is from 4 years ago.
Please take the age of this thread into consideration in writing your reply. Depending on what exactly you wanted to say, you may want to consider if it would be better to post a new thread instead.
Back
Top Bottom