• 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.

What Happen to the GS ball?

I think they decided to stick with the 'random Pokémon of the day' episode formula rather than use story arcs to develop their characters. I can almost understand it, since it is based on a game, but it's frustrating nonetheless.
 
Scott85 said:
Which is exactly how it was resolved, they're friends, they've always been friends, and they always will be friends.

Yes, they have always been friends and they still are. I don't see that as a resolved plot hole. And like Barb said, there's potential for them to be more than just that. Sadly, as it has been said in this topic, the writters and producers don't give a tiny rat's ass about plot and character development since they just make the series to advertise the games.
 
Kasumi-san said:
Yes, they have always been friends and they still are. I don't see that as a resolved plot hole. And like Barb said, there's potential for them to be more than just that. Sadly, as it has been said in this topic, the writters and producers don't give a tiny rat's ass about plot and character development since they just make the series to advertise the games.

I was just reacting to how it's considered a plot hole. A "crush" does not make a plot hole. It's just simply disregarded as a childhood crush that never went anywhere.

Something like the GS ball is indeed a real plot hole, but Misty's crush? I don't see how that somehow puts a hole in the plot considering her show ended and she's not even in the new series.

Sadly, as it has been said in this topic, the writters and producers don't give a tiny rat's ass about plot and character development since they just make the series to advertise the games.

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.

Barb said:
Although it might make for an interesting story arc, especially if it came at the series finale. And who besides you says it's useless? How is a plot device that provides character development and potential conflict to a story 'useless'?

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.
 
Last edited:
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.

Pokeshipping, on the other hand, was a plot point as it had several scenes devoted to it and influenced the story in multiple episodes, especially in Orange. However, I think that the writers actually did a pretty good job resolving it, so we shouldn't complain.
 
Scott85 said:
Something like the GS ball is indeed a real plot hole, but Misty's crush? I don't see how that somehow puts a hole in the plot considering her show ended and she's not even in the new series.

Uh... her show ended? As far I know this is still Pokémon.


Scott85 said:
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.

Correction: there has been character development for May, not Ash. He is the same boy he was in Gotta Catch Ya Later. And as for the other characters there has been zero character development as far as I've seen.
 
I hate to be the one to do this, but these additional plot holes weren't quite part
of the topic, so shall we reasonably get back on topic? Sure the G/S ball is a useless
storyline on the cutting room floor now, but thats no reason to bring in these other
issues.
 
Kasumi-san said:
Uh... her show ended? As far I know this is still Pokémon.

Her show was Pocket Monsters. Advanced Generation is not her series. The writers consider Advance a different series, which is why the episode # goes back to 1.

4kids counts them as all one series however, but of course, the Japanese version is what counts.

Correction: there has been character development for May, not Ash. He is the same boy he was in Gotta Catch Ya Later. And as for the other characters there has been zero character development as far as I've seen.

Ash is certainly not the same boy from GCYL. He's grown signifigantly since then. For one thing, his role has become a teacher/mentor to May ever since she joined, something Ash never had to do before.

In Pokemon, Ash was the newbie. He had to rely on Misty and Brock for support. Now in Advance, Ash is the experienced trainer and May is the newbie. Ash has basically taken her under his wing and gives her advice every so often. Ash has moved into Brock's role in a sense (not counting the cooking), and May has moved into Ash's role. It's a nice contrast to the 1st season, and even GCYL, with Ash now being the experienced trainer who helps support a younger trainer, and another boy (Max) who is learning from him as well.

As for the other characters I'm talking about characters like Drew, Harley, the groups Pokemon, and even Misty/Tracey. (If you count the Hosos as part of the Advance saga).
 
Last edited:
He's been the same trainer since GCYL, that's what I mean. If you see his battle style it's the same in late Johto as it is now in AG.

I really haven't seen Ash mentoring May except one time when she made Bulbasaur nervous in a Pokémon Contest.
 
Ash is not a "real" mentor per se, I mean he's a mentor to May in the same way that Misty and Brock were to Ash back in Kanto. He gives her advice and calms her down in certain situations, but obviously they don't show him teaching her in every ep.

His battle style has improved, he never used to train and teach his Pokemon new moves before. He's also much more fierce and aggressive during his battles now, especially in the GYM battles. He seems to be displaying the perfect match of pure power and technique, and succeeding for the most part.
 
Jo-Jo said:
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.



Didn't the producers themselves say that the series was going to shed some light on the subject of Ash's father in "season 5"/Master Quest? (obviously,it turned out to be BS)


But if the producers can bring him up,why can't we?
 
Nomekop Oen said:
Didn't the producers themselves say that the series was going to shed some light on the subject of Ash's father in "season 5"/Master Quest? (obviously,it turned out to be BS)

But if the producers can bring him up,why can't we?

The American producers or the Japanese? Biiiig difference.
 
Believe me,if it was something that 4Kids said I wouldn't bother bringing it up. =/ But as Blackjack pointed out,it was apparently something that came from the japanese production of the series.


Lots of people say that if they haven't brought up Ash's father by now,then it's probably not an issue to begin with.I say if the series has been this successful,why would they 'fix what's not broken' by adding something like a main story to the series? The answer is that they won't and they'll keep on riding the gravy train as long as they can.


I've always believed that they aren't going to add any kind of main story to the series until they either decide it's time for the anime to end,or there's a significant drop in the popularity of the series in Japan.(the latter being more likely) Basically,once most of the people start getting tired of the badge/symbol/shiny thing BS,it's ONLY then that they'll add a plot to bring viewers back.That's my prediction.


So I figure they might have a good idea of who they want Ash's father to be.And personally,I'm a Ash/Gio supporter myself.Not only because I think a Ash/Gio story has the most potential,but just imagine if Jessie and James FINALLY capture Pikachu only to find out they just stole from the boss' son. @_@; They couldn't really handover Pikachu to Gio knowing that.All that time tracking down the twerps,all those blast-offs,would've meant jack squat.An appropriate end to Jessie and James' journey I'd say. ^^;
 
But the American team also inferred heavily that Gio was Ash's father before then, in the musical. The Japanese producers may have been stunted for possibilities if word spread to Japan or whatnot. Also, I can understand not getting into mundane things, but this is a question that's been around since the second episode. When you saw Ash's mom tell him that he got there before his father, didn't you ask yourself, "Oh, I wonder why he's not here," or "Where's he at now?" If it's not such a big issue, why not give us an answer?

Pokemon's still getting very good ratings in Japan; I don't see it wavering as much or as soon as it did here. I think they're gonna leave it until the end of the series, where everything will become clear. like a Luke Skywalker wait-until-the-last-movie kinda thing.

I'd be crushed to see that happen to TR. At least let them be happy, I guess...
 
Actually, Delia said in Pokemon Live that she had dated Gio for a while before meeting Ash's father.

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.
 
Scott85 said:
I was just reacting to how it's considered a plot hole. A "crush" does not make a plot hole. It's just simply disregarded as a childhood crush that never went anywhere.

Something like the GS ball is indeed a real plot hole, but Misty's crush? I don't see how that somehow puts a hole in the plot considering her show ended and she's not even in the new series.

Her show ended? The animé is titled 'Pokémon,' not 'The Adventures of Misty.' She still makes cameo appearances from time to time, and I can't see why TPTB wouldn't consider bringing her back at a later time.

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.

It's annoying only to you, apparently. Not everyone shares your opinion. I posted valid reasons for bringing Ash's father into the animé, even if only for a few episodes.

Jo-Jo said:
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.

I agree with you. The show should not raise more questions than it answers (which is a problem I have with 'Lost'). But then why all the build-up about the GS ball if they're not going to tell us what's in it? And, as Murgatroyd mentioned, why did they drop Jessie's backstory? The solitary line of dialogue that you're referring to raises many questions, at least in my mind, and I wish they'd included more details about Ash's pre-journey life in subsequent episodes.
 
Barb said:
Her show ended? The animé is titled 'Pokémon,' not 'The Adventures of Misty.' She still makes cameo appearances from time to time, and I can't see why TPTB wouldn't consider bringing her back at a later time.

Sign. Misty was a major character in the first Pokemon anime. Misty is a minor character in the second Pokemon anime. This doesn't mean that Misty won't ever return, but as it stands, Pokemon Advance is not her series. Whether Misty will return for the "Pokemon Ranger" series remains to be seen, but since Advance looks to only last another year (until D/P comes out), it's quite obvious that they're not going to make her a main character in the middle of a saga. All cast changes have always happened at the very beginning or the very end of one saga to another. Which is why IF Misty becomes a main character again, it won't be until the very end of Advance or the beginning of the Pokemon Ranger series.

It's annoying only to you, apparently. Not everyone shares your opinion. I posted valid reasons for bringing Ash's father into the animé, even if only for a few episodes.

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.
 
Last edited:
Scott85 said:
His battle style has improved, he never used to train and teach his Pokemon new moves before. He's also much more fierce and aggressive during his battles now, especially in the GYM battles. He seems to be displaying the perfect match of pure power and technique, and succeeding for the most part.

Not really. Perhaps not as far as teaching them moves, but I remember Ash taking a whole day with his Cyndaquil back in Johto so he should be able to face that girl's Scarmory. So it's obvious he trained his pokémon back in early Johto days.
 
Never a real issue

The point of this thread has been lost (as many have noted). 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.

Unless there is some pressing need to get Ash to go back to Johto (maybe a Johto section in the new games) we will not be hearing about it ever again, if even then.
 
Please note: The thread is from 3 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