What Pokemon would you like to see the Masters 8 use?

[FelipePR]

- For Steven, I'd like to Armaldo or Claydol; I think Skarmory would be a bit boring and Aggron is overused as an antagonistic Pokémon in the anime.

Personally, I wouldn't want Steven to use a Claydol. I always thought that his owning such a Pokémon was a farfetched stretch with respect to his specialization and interest.

I would like him to use Skarmory. Certainly the metallic bird is one of the most classic Pokémon of the third generation, although it was introduced in the second, being notorious in the competitive Pokémon scene. I'm sure the producers never thought that this understated bird would shine in the sun for so long. In short, it is a Pokémon that embodies and accentuates the notable characteristics of its type. And, as Steven himself says in the games, his favorite move is Steel Wings. And well, which other Pokémon will make better use of this move? NOTE: I wouldn't mind if he uses a Corviknight, though.

His last Pokémon should certainly come from a fossil, as this is one of his trademarks and passions.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I want to say that I would like Cynthia to use her Kommo-o against Iris. One reason is because if she uses it in the first round then she almost certainly won't use it against Ash, and I want Ash to battle as wide a variety of types as possible, and since he's already faced several Dragon-type users in Journeys (and Ash is all but guaranteed to fight at least two more in Cynthia's Garchomp and Leon's Dragapult), then I hope Cynthia uses a different and more varied lineup against him (excluding Garchomp, of course, as that one is pretty much mandatory). If I were to pick, I'd want to see her use Togekiss and either Spiritomb or Roserade against Ash.

For Diantha, I'd like to see either Goodra or Tyrantrum to go along with Aurorus; Hawlucha and Gourgeist have had a lot of battle screentime already.

I... think you got Goodra and Gourgeist mixed up XD Goodra is the one who's shown up in battle while Gourgeist hasn't even had a cameo.

For Alain, I don't really care. But if I had to pick, then Bisharp - only so it can get KOed again for Guillotining Ash's Goodra

Unfortunately, there's some rumors that Alain's third Pokemon will be like Chesnaught in that it's going to be something that he never used against Ash (specifically a Malamar), so unfortunately the RNG-cheating Bisharp still gets to get away with its cheap wins.

 

[puddleths]

Iris should use Excadrill, or maybe Emolga, against Cynthia.

Then she'll have a Garchomp for Ash to take down . Round it out with the one Dragon we have yet to see, Salamence.

 

[Alola]

I... think you got Goodra and Gourgeist mixed up XD Goodra is the one who's shown up in battle while Gourgeist hasn't even had a cameo.

Nope! I was referring to all the screentime and battling Jessie's Gourgeist has received. When you consider that, all the screentime Ash's Hawlucha had, add in Bea's Hawlucha, then Goodra becomes the least animated of the three.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Nope! I was referring to all the screentime and battling Jessie's Gourgeist has received. When you consider that, all the screentime Ash's Hawlucha had, add in Bea's Hawlucha, then Goodra becomes the least animated of the three.

Ah, okay XD

I was only taking the screentime of Journeys and not the show as a whole. Though even then I'd argue that since Gourgeist pretty much never appeared outside of Jessie's and like almost any TR Pokemon tended to get its butt handed to it ridiculously easily then seeing a Gourgeist under a different trainer and at least put up a decent fight would be nice.

 

[Alola]

Ah, okay XD

I was only taking the screentime of Journeys and not the show as a whole. Though even then I'd argue that since Gourgeist pretty much never appeared outside of Jessie's and like almost any TR Pokemon tended to get its butt handed to it ridiculously easily then seeing a Gourgeist under a different trainer and at least put up a decent fight would be nice.

I can't disagree there. Seeing Bea's Hawlucha was interesting and nice after primarily only seeing Ash battle with one, so another Gourgeist wouldn't hurt; it's actually my favorite Gen VI Grass-type and what I raised in my first ever Y playthrough. I just like Goodra more and would like for it to win decisively for once, barring Ash's Gym Battle with Clemont, which was a guaranteed obligation. No getting KOed first, no draws - just some nice animation of a Goodra handily winning with any Bide usage far, far away.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I can't disagree there. Seeing Bea's Hawlucha was interesting and nice after primarily only seeing Ash battle with one, so another Gourgeist wouldn't hurt; it's actually my favorite Gen VII Grass-type and what I raised in my first ever Y playthrough. I just like Goodra more and would like for it to win decisively for once, barring Ash's Gym Battle with Clemont, which was a guaranteed obligation. No getting KOed first, no draws - just some nice animation of a Goodra handily winning with any Bide usage far, far away.

As someone whose favorite Pokemon got OHKOd in the most humitilating way possible just to glorify another Pokemon that already had numerous epic wins under its belt and would continue to get them in the years to come (albeit in separate animated mediums), I completely understand your pain. The fact that Raihan's Goodra was technically knocked out in one hit while his Flygon (which is supposed to be a much squishier species) was able to endure several also doesn't help poor Goodra's rep.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

As someone whose favorite Pokemon got OHKOd in the most humitilating way possible just to glorify another Pokemon that already had numerous epic wins under its belt and would continue to get them in the years to come (albeit in separate animated mediums), I completely understand your pain. The fact that Raihan's Goodra was technically knocked out in one hit while his Flygon (which is supposed to be a much squishier species) was able to endure several also doesn't help poor Goodra's rep.

What moment are you talking about! What’s your favorite Pokémon?

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

What moment are you talking about! What’s your favorite Pokémon?

In Pokemon Origins Red's Jolteon got oneshotted by a Rhyhorn's Thunderbolt just so that Red's Charizard would come off looking more impressive for defeating said Rhyhorn's more powerful evolved form. I know it's not an example from the main anime, but it's by far one of my least favorite examples of a Pokemon being wimpified for the sake of plot. Not just because Jolteon is my favorite (tied with Flygon), but also because of how absurd it is: Electric resists itself, the attack was not STAB, Rhyhorn has absolutely atrocious Special Attack, and one of Origin's supposed perks is its greater faithfulness to the games and their mechanics when compared to the anime (which honestly just makes this KO even worse).

Basically Origins saw fit to make a Pokemon near and dear to my heart into the most pathetic thing in existence for no good reason. And I absolutely will never forgive it for that. It also really doesn't help that because this KO happened in Origins (which stars precious baby fandom darling self-insert fantasy Red instead of longtime butt of the joke Ash) instead of the main anime, there's an unreasonably large amount of people willing to defend and/or justify it by any means necessary when I just know for a fact that if it had happened in the main Pokemon series, everyone would've freaking crucified it.

So yeah, the scene is already bad all by itself even without taking into account that my favorite Pokemon is the main victim, but the fact that there's so many people unwilling to admit that it's bad just makes me hate it even more.

 

[puddleths]

In Pokemon Origins Red's Jolteon got oneshotted by a Rhyhorn's Thunderbolt

Hear me out. I believe Red's team outside of Charizard is supposed to be underleveled. Now, Jolteon has to be severely underleveled, but crit Thunderbolt from level 45 Rhyhorn (its level in RGB) with a perfect Special DV guarantee OHKO's a Jolteon with a 0 Special DV up to level... 13.

 

[Daren]

Hear me out. I believe Red's team outside of Charizard is supposed to be underleveled. Now, Jolteon has to be severely underleveled, but crit Thunderbolt from level 45 Rhyhorn (its level in RGB) with a perfect Special DV guarantee OHKO's a Jolteon with a 0 Special DV up to level... 13.

Was Origins based off Fr/Lg or the original R/B/Y, though? Because Jolteon is outright immune to electric attacks thanks to Volt Absorb, so if any Abilities popped up in it there's still a problem unless we assume a game based off Kanto somehow had Red getting the worst hidden ability Jolteon in the world.

 

[puddleths]

Was Origins based off Fr/Lg or the original R/B/Y, though? Because Jolteon is outright immune to electric attacks thanks to Volt Absorb, so if any Abilities popped up in it there's still a problem unless we assume a game based off Kanto somehow had Red getting the worst hidden ability Jolteon in the world.

If it was based off FR/LG, the calc would be a little more in Giovanni's favor. Without Volt Absorb, Jolteon could be up to level 15(!) with 0 IVs in HP and Sp Def, lol.

Edit: Level 16 with a -Sp Def nature, 17 if Rhyhorn is +Sp Atk! Okay, I'm done.

My apologies for the joke calcs @Ghost Diplocaulus

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Hear me out. I believe Red's team outside of Charizard is supposed to be underleveled. Now, Jolteon has to be severely underleveled, but crit Thunderbolt from level 45 Rhyhorn (its level in RGB) with a perfect Special DV guarantee OHKO's a Jolteon with a 0 Special DV up to level... 13.

sigh If I could have a penny for every time I've heard this tired "defense" I'd have enough money to not need a job for the rest of my life.

Yes, I understand that the writers wanted to show that Red's non-Charizard team was severely underleveled, but the thing there is that it just raises a ton of questions and paints Red in a seriously negative light: I mean, what the hell was he thinking when he sent out a low-leveled Electric-type to fight at the final Gym which is also freaking Ground-type? Was he dumb enough to think it would actually accomplish something or was he just being a callous jackass who purposefully allowed it to get defeated when it would have been completely unnecessary? Same thing for the rest of Red's team, actually: if Charizard was the only one strong enough to actually win, why even bother sending out the rest of his neglected Pokemon to fight an opponent that they clearly never stood a chance against? What makes it worse is that Red spends a good deal of time chastising Giovanni and the rest of Team Rocket for being cruel to Pokemon when his actions in this battle make him look no better.

Besides, the only Eevee that can be obtained in RBY/FrLg is level 25, meaning it's absolutely impossible for Red's Jolteon to have been any lower than that. Also, Jolteon's only Ability in Gen 3 is Volt Absorb, which means that if we're going by FrLg logic it wouldn't even have been damaged at all regardless of level.

 

[puddleths]

sigh If I could have a penny for every time I've heard this tired "defense" I'd have enough money to not need a job for the rest of my life.

I refuse to believe there are more people equally dumb enough to actually do the calcs and ignore the Eevee's level.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I refuse to believe there are more people equally dumb enough to actually do the calcs and ignore the Eevee's level.

Most may not bother with hard calcs, but every single person defending that stupid KO will still try to play the "super-underleveled team" card (or sometimes the "Giovanni just super stronk and OP so unbeatablez!!!" card), which is basically the same thing, just with way less thought put into it. And it still doesn't explain the rest of my counter-argument.

Anyway, the fact that you yourself went through the trouble of trying to use calcs to try to explain that scene as if it would make me feel any better just proves my previous point of how people just won't stop twisting themselves into pretzels trying to defend it when the main anime gets nowhere near the same amount of leeway. Because I hardly ever see people using this kind of defense for the anime's more absurd KOs (people mostly just complain about them) but when Origins does it not only is it perfectly fine, but it also must be defended, excused, and given a pass whenever anyone tries to call foul. And frankly, I just find that exhausting. Of course, the fact that my favorite Pokemon is involved in it just makes things even worse, but the fact of the matter is that the scene would've sucked regardless of which poor Electric-type the writers had chosen to humiliate for the sake of putting Charizard on a pedestal.

 

[puddleths]

Anyway, the fact that you yourself went through the trouble of trying to use calcs to try to explain that scene as if it would make me feel any better just proves my previous point of how people just won't stop twisting themselves into pretzels trying to defend it when the main anime gets nowhere near the same amount of leeway.

I can understand it from the standpoint it's just one battle in a mini-series vs the main series' hundreds (thousands?) of battles. I mean, if you did calcs for Ash's battles, Pikachu would lose practically every time he's ever taken a hit.

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

I can understand it from the standpoint it's just one battle in a mini-series vs the main series' hundreds (thousands?) of battles. I mean, if you did calcs for Ash's battles, Pikachu would lose practically every time he's ever taken a hit.

That still doesn't really make it any less double standard-y, imo. Heck, if anything the fact that Origins is supposedly more faithful to the games should net it more detractors for still disregarding the type chart in such a ridiculous way. But I guess when Red and Charizard are the main stars instead of Ash and Pikachu it's totally forgivable/s

 

[Ghost Diplocaulus]

Spoiler: Aww, man...

I was so looking forward to seeing what Leon's third Pokemon was gonna be only for him to only need two. Let's hope whoever wins between Lance or Diantha can give us a better sneak preview of Leon's team.

 

[R1ke]

I’m liking everyone’s teams so far, in particular

• Alain gets more kalos rep, also uses 2 starters like you’d get in the games, Chesnaught was the least popular as well
• Lance actually gets to use dragon types, Hydreigon is also a refreshing pick
• Leon and Diantha give their other party members more time to shine, Rillaboom especially since it hasn’t done much
• Cynthia gradually shows her whole team, over the course of the series

For future mons I’d give Leon either Gallade/Rhyperior/Corviknight and let Iris use Excadrill, it’s not technically dragon but Lance uses Gyarados anyway