What Happen to the GS ball?

[Jo-Jo]

Let's just settle this here and now - No matter what you think are and are not plot lines established and subsequently abandoned and whether or not you thin that was a good idea, I don't think that anyone can doubt the following: The GS-ball was just a plot device to drag the characters to Johto. Once it had fulfilled that role, it had no further purpose and has been forgotten.

Not sure I totally agree with that. The GS ball was set up as a mystery. The writers devoted several scenes to showing that nobody could open the thing and nobody could figure out what was inside it, etc. If they'd just wanted a plot device, they could have had Professor Oak hand Ash any old thing to deliver to Kurt.

 

[Nomekop Oen]

Actually, Delia said in Pokemon Live that she had dated Gio for a while before meeting Ash's father.

Didn't they say in the Pokemon 3 audio commentary that Gio turned out to be Ash's father? I'm pretty sure I heard that.But anyway,it wasn't until late 2003 that I found out what "Pokemon Live" was.That's around the time I got the 3 Pokemon movie pack and heard it being mentioned in the commentary.So it's not like I believe Gio and Ash are father and son because of that play.

And I maintain that a single, solitary mention right back at the beginning of the series does not equate to a dangling plot thread. They can pull a Star Wars revelation on us if they want to, but currently there is no set up for any such thing in the anime. It's unfair to criticise the writers for not tackling something that they never gave us any reason to believe they would tackle in the first place.

Well I'm not bringing up the Ep. 2 mention and I've never really used it as some sort of evidence either.I think Mewtwo Returns is much more interesting evidence involving Ash/Gio since the two were on a small island together and STILL didn't meet.


But again,if the japanese production of the series mentioned something about his father,why can't we discuss about him?

If you think that bringing Ash's father in the show would somehow create an amazing storyline, then fine. I just don't care for this angle, as it doesn't seem interesting in the least. It's just something a lot of (bad) fanfic writers desperately try to write about, always making Ash's father this "Super Elite" trainer. Meh.

Bleh,that's exactly why I'm against the 'mysterious elite trainer' theory.If some old looking man comes along and happens to be a strong trainer,EVERYBODY will start to suspect that it might be Ash's father.And if it does turn out to be him,they'll explain why he left,and that's pretty much it.

At least with Gio we have Team Rocket and it's potential orgin,why he left his family and became evil,and maybe even try to convince Ash to be his successor of Team Rocket.

 

[FabuVinny]

Well, the GS Ball was to get Ash to the Orange Islands first. And it also shows that Professor Oak trusts him to run mindless errands. (Does taking the letter to Steven in R/S/E do anything except take your character to Dewford Island?)

At the moment, none of us know what the writers are thinking. They might surprse us and bring it back in at a later date.

 

[Jo-Jo]

But again,if the japanese production of the series mentioned something about his father,why can't we discuss about him?

I didn't say you couldn't discuss him; I said it's unfair of us to blame the writers for not including him.

 

[FabuVinny]

Like the GS Ball, the series isn't over so he may appear yet.

 

[Unregistered]

I remember when people went nuts and thought that Silver was Ash's father from the Richie special.

Apparently, any old guy who knows/understands who Ash is has some connection to him.

 

[fruitsmoothierevenge]

And I ask what is the point? Ash's father is such an annoying concept that has been around ever since the 1st season. Why people can't accept the fact that Ash is an anime character with no father is beyond me.

There has been more character development in AG than any other season. The way they've developed Ash and May in particular from their first appearances were very well done. The point about Ash's father isn't that the show could never include him, just that there hasn't been any indication so far that he's going to be important. If we're going to criticise the writers for dropping plot points, we should stick to, you know, plot points. Which Ash's dad is not.

But he's not without a father, he has one, but no one knows where he is. I think they're bound to bring it up later; it's almost inevitable. Everyone's speculating, everyone's guessing, and the writers have us where they want us. If it wasn't a big deal, they would have mentioned something by now.

Should we start a new thread for this?

 

[Kasumi]

Well, there was a thread about it not long ago but it died.

 

[Misty]

Yeah, I think a new thread would be best.

Edit: I went back and found the last discussion on it, but that thread got rather off-topic, so yeah, let's start a new thread.

 

[Jo-Jo]

But he's not without a father, he has one, but no one knows where he is. I think they're bound to bring it up later; it's almost inevitable. Everyone's speculating, everyone's guessing, and the writers have us where they want us. If it wasn't a big deal, they would have mentioned something by now.

But - but - that doesn't make sense. That's saying, "this character is never mentioned, thus he must be important".

 

[Cybersai]

But he's not without a father, he has one, but no one knows where he is. I think they're bound to bring it up later; it's almost inevitable. Everyone's speculating, everyone's guessing, and the writers have us where they want us. If it wasn't a big deal, they would have mentioned something by now.

Should we start a new thread for this?

Could the mention of Ash's father just be another one of those early Kanto "screw-ups?" You know, like the "real" animals in early Kanto that have all but disappeared from the show.

The writers were busy discovering the show back then, they did some crazy stuff in Kanto (Ghosts, magic, real animals, James with breasts, etc), and since the mention of Ash's father happened in the 2nd ep, it can just be a result of the writers not knowing what type of show they were going for that early on.

Which is probably why his father was never mentioned in the show again, it has no point, and was just a result of the show discovering itself and it's structure. Why the Pokemon fan community took this mention so seriously, and STILL insists on some following up to it nearly 9 years and 400+ episodes later I'll have no idea.

Just let it go already, or keep it to fanfiction where it belongs.

 

[FabuVinny]

Why don't you let it go? Anyway, it has a new thread now so back to the GS Ball...

Do you think Kurt has made any more progress than Professor Ivy and Ash? Well, he'll probably find some old text explaining things just as the writers decide to bring it back in.

 

[Misty]

The only thing that will bring the GS Ball back is a return to Johto a la the Battle Frontier.

 

[The Big Al]

Poor GS Ball. It sits was dozens of great filler characters in the back hole that is the writers inability to follow up on squat.

 

[Cybersai]

Why don't you let it go? Anyway, it has a new thread now so back to the GS Ball...

Um, I did. I made that post before that new thread about Ash's father was made.

Do you think Kurt has made any more progress than Professor Ivy and Ash? Well, he'll probably find some old text explaining things just as the writers decide to bring it back in.

I don't think Kurt has it anymore, I mean c'mon, how many years has it been? My theory is it's being sent to numerous scientists around the world to check it out. One Pokeball expert in Azaela town is obviously not enough.

 

[FabuVinny]

Not many years...we can't really judge the time of the Pokémon World compared to ours since it seems to be very different. That theory would make sense, though.

 

[BookThrower]

But there is a question what those G and S stand for? Golden Start................ I don't know. What do you guys think.

 

[Kasumi]

Err. That stands for Gold and Silver.

 

[FireEmblemPride]

Returning to Johto would be pretty odd. It still feels like a recent event to me.

 

[Nomekop Oen]

Could the mention of Ash's father just be another one of those early Kanto "screw-ups?" You know, like the "real" animals in early Kanto that have all but disappeared from the show.

The writers were busy discovering the show back then, they did some crazy stuff in Kanto (Ghosts, magic, real animals, James with breasts, etc), and since the mention of Ash's father happened in the 2nd ep, it can just be a result of the writers not knowing what type of show they were going for that early on.

Which is probably why his father was never mentioned in the show again, it has no point, and was just a result of the show discovering itself and it's structure. Why the Pokemon fan community took this mention so seriously, and STILL insists on some following up to it nearly 9 years and 400+ episodes later I'll have no idea.

Just let it go already, or keep it to fanfiction where it belongs.

The animals I can understand,but I think it's more like anyone involved with the creation of the series had no idea just how HUGE the games and the anime would become.When anything becomes that popular,it's only natural for the series itself to take less risks now matter insignificant they may seem.That's why we don't see as many bikinis,guns,or as much people hitting one another with fists,mallets,fans,etc. Not to mention the American influence over the series and what it deemed unsuitable for a cartoon.



And just so I'm not completely off topic,there are 2 reasons why I still have hope for the G/S Ball.


1.Pidgeot

He did appear in the Glory Days ED.If they can remember that far back to the point where Ash had a Pidgeot,then it's possible that they haven't completely forgotten about the G/S Ball too.


2.Ho-oh

The last time we saw the G/S Ball was in Johto.So for the time being,it's something that's connected to the Johto region.Ho-oh is also connected to the Johto region and was one of the new legendaries from the Gold and Silver series.Both are closely tied to Johto,but the difference is that we suspect Ho-oh's official appearance is being purposely put off since we believe it might have an important role in the future.So instead of being forgotten,it's possible that they're holding back on the G/S Ball too.Sort of a stretch,but meh.