So what is going on with Ash's team this generation?

[Joshawott]

I'm guessing that at some point, Ash will catch another fire-type (probably a Heatmor). So that we have the starter-type trio for advertising (Snivy/Tepig/Oshawott) and the same type trio for srs battling (Swadloon/Heatmor/Palpitoad). This could hint at a stronger performance in the Unova league. Although to be honest, I wish the Pokémon were more evenly distributed around the trio.

Also, maybe someone finally decided to give the writers a heads up that the series is about catching Pokémon?

 

[Cybersai]

This is why Ash should capture one of those candles. Its a fire AND ghost type, so he can get a secondary fire and ghost type at the same time.

 

[suciune]

I'm guessing that at some point, Ash will catch another fire-type (probably a Heatmor). So that we have the starter-type trio for advertising (Snivy/Tepig/Oshawott) and the same type trio for srs battling (Swadloon/Heatmor/Palpitoad). This could hint at a stronger performance in the Unova league. Although to be honest, I wish the Pokémon were more evenly distributed around the trio.

Also, maybe someone finally decided to give the writers a heads up that the series is about catching Pokémon?

Agreed I mean the theme for pokemon is Gotta catch them all or gotta collect them all.It definitely took the show long enough to figure them out.

 

[Cybersai]

Agreed I mean the theme for pokemon is Gotta catch them all or gotta collect them all.It definitely took the show long enough to figure them out.

That was only used for the first few generations. Ash was never going to capture every pokemon.

 

[suciune]

That was only used for the first few generations. Ash was never going to capture every pokemon.

Good point however I am happy that ash is getting more variety on his team unlike me when I play the games.

 

[Cybersai]

I wonder if the writers decided to change their method in late DP when Ash captured Gible. I think the writers began to realize Ash's Sinnoh team was getting stale because they were the same pokemon for 190 episodes, and Gible was an attempt to fresh things up.

Nowadays while the starters still get the most focus, he's going to cycle through everything else.

And as we can see, this almost feels like Kanto done right. Ash won't be releasing Pokemon right and left, nor are they being immediately Oak'd. After YEARS of complaining, the writers have fixed many mistakes plaguing Ash's team.

And at least they won't wind up as badly handled as Ash's Johto team was, so that is a plus.

 

[Ampharos King]

It is important to remember that while Ash is catching more and more pokemon of similar types, those pokemon either have a different sub-type or a different moveset overall. They are not just clones of that first pokemon.

Look at Swadloon, for example. Swadloon knows Razor Leaf and Energy Ball, two Grass-type attacks that Snivy does not know. Swadloon also has the principles of being a Bug-type and was given Bug-type attacks like Bug Bite and String Shot. This isn't just another "Snivy" ripoff. Even something like this adds variety to Ash's team. When was the last time that he actually had a Bug-type pokemon on him, let alone one that actually knew Bug-type attacks in addition to the attacks of its other type?

Palpitoad is also different from Oshawott. Make no mistake, this isn't like AG when Brock caught a Mudkip while had had a Lotad on him, and both pokemon were seen using Water Gun together numerous times throughout Hoenn. All of Palpitoad's moves are different from Oshawott's. It knows the Ground-type attacks such as Mud Bomb, as well as Hydro Pump. Meanwhile, Oshawott has all of the physical Water-type attacks that its species is known for that Palpitoad cannot use.

I do agree that adding new members to Ash's roster without giving the current members of that roster a decent amount of screentime seems to be a waste of time. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is: The writers are finally giving Ash the variety in his team set that he deserves.

In past series, Ash has only obtained one or two pokemon with a type that is not Grass, Fire, or Flying. Remember how people complained in Johto because Bulbasaur and Bayleef had almost the exact same attacks, or that Totodile and Cyndaquil spammed Water Gun and Flamethrower while having little else to offer? Well, the pokemon Ash has on him right now are far from being "clones" of the pokemon he had on his past teams.

I do not expect each and every pokemon to receive this screentime... because Best Wishes! has a finite number of episodes. Who wants to bet that none of the pokemon Ash will use in Unova will ever be seen after the end of this series? What is the point in giving each pokemon a storyline or a personality if they will just be dropped anyway, especially if those pokemon are just "clones" of the pokemon Ash had in the past?

I just want to see how far the writers are willing to push Ash's team to its limit. I loved when Ash caught numerous pokemon of different types back in Kanto, and how each of those pokemon were able to achieve something great. It shows that Ash had an initiative to become a Pokemon Master by adding variety to his team. I hated the Hoenn League because Ash did not use variety at all. With the exception of an evolved Glalie, Ash used the exact same team of pokemon that we have seen him using in over 60 episodes. And remember that in the Hoenn League, Ash battled a total of six times.

I want to see Ash battle alongside Pokemon in general, not just Pokemon that he had trained and/or were seen in other battles in the past anyway. I am tired of seeing Ash use the same Electric-Grass-Fire-Water-Flying formula. Now he has pokemon of dual types to abuse with. We may not get to see too much of Palpitoad or Swadloon, because the starters seem to have first priority in team placement and screentime. Nevertheless, I am just glad that the writers are making this series more lively.

 

[Duckgon Z]

Look at Swadloon, for example. Swadloon knows Razor Leaf and Energy Ball, two Grass-type attacks that Snivy does not know. Swadloon also has the principles of being a Bug-type and was given Bug-type attacks like Bug Bite and String Shot. This isn't just another "Snivy" ripoff. Even something like this adds variety to Ash's team. When was the last time that he actually had a Bug-type pokemon on him, let alone one that actually knew Bug-type attacks in addition to the attacks of its other type?

Swadloon is the only one that's feeling really redundant. I mean how many times have we seen Energy Ball and Razor Leaf over the years? Not too exciting. And even when it evolves, it gets Leaf Blade and X-Scissor...again, not too exciting. If Ash was going to get another Grass type, I would have much preferred Cottonee or Petilil.

 

[MasterJedi]

Who wants to bet that none of the pokemon Ash will use in Unova will ever be seen after the end of this series? What is the point in giving each pokemon a storyline or a personality if they will just be dropped anyway, especially if those pokemon are just "clones" of the pokemon Ash had in the past?

I was agreeing with you, until you had to go ahead and say something that is so obviously wrong. In some way they'll obviously be seen again, it's just that as the series progresses there are more and more Pokemon so they'll each be seen less and less. I personally feel that once Ash (and Oak and Delia) head back to Kanto Juniper will send all his Pokemon to Oak's so they'll all be there.

 

[Slipstream]

It is important to remember that while Ash is catching more and more pokemon of similar types, those pokemon either have a different sub-type or a different moveset overall. They are not just clones of that first pokemon.

Look at Swadloon, for example. Swadloon knows Razor Leaf and Energy Ball, two Grass-type attacks that Snivy does not know. Swadloon also has the principles of being a Bug-type and was given Bug-type attacks like Bug Bite and String Shot. This isn't just another "Snivy" ripoff. Even something like this adds variety to Ash's team. When was the last time that he actually had a Bug-type pokemon on him, let alone one that actually knew Bug-type attacks in addition to the attacks of its other type?

Palpitoad is also different from Oshawott. Make no mistake, this isn't like AG when Brock caught a Mudkip while had had a Lotad on him, and both pokemon were seen using Water Gun together numerous times throughout Hoenn. All of Palpitoad's moves are different from Oshawott's. It knows the Ground-type attacks such as Mud Bomb, as well as Hydro Pump. Meanwhile, Oshawott has all of the physical Water-type attacks that its species is known for that Palpitoad cannot use.

I do agree that adding new members to Ash's roster without giving the current members of that roster a decent amount of screentime seems to be a waste of time. Nevertheless, the fact of the matter is: The writers are finally giving Ash the variety in his team set that he deserves.

In past series, Ash has only obtained one or two pokemon with a type that is not Grass, Fire, or Flying. Remember how people complained in Johto because Bulbasaur and Bayleef had almost the exact same attacks, or that Totodile and Cyndaquil spammed Water Gun and Flamethrower while having little else to offer? Well, the pokemon Ash has on him right now are far from being "clones" of the pokemon he had on his past teams.

I do not expect each and every pokemon to receive this screentime... because Best Wishes! has a finite number of episodes. Who wants to bet that none of the pokemon Ash will use in Unova will ever be seen after the end of this series? What is the point in giving each pokemon a storyline or a personality if they will just be dropped anyway, especially if those pokemon are just "clones" of the pokemon Ash had in the past?

I just want to see how far the writers are willing to push Ash's team to its limit. I loved when Ash caught numerous pokemon of different types back in Kanto, and how each of those pokemon were able to achieve something great. It shows that Ash had an initiative to become a Pokemon Master by adding variety to his team. I hated the Hoenn League because Ash did not use variety at all. With the exception of an evolved Glalie, Ash used the exact same team of pokemon that we have seen him using in over 60 episodes. And remember that in the Hoenn League, Ash battled a total of six times.

I want to see Ash battle alongside Pokemon in general, not just Pokemon that he had trained and/or were seen in other battles in the past anyway. I am tired of seeing Ash use the same Electric-Grass-Fire-Water-Flying formula. Now he has pokemon of dual types to abuse with. We may not get to see too much of Palpitoad or Swadloon, because the starters seem to have first priority in team placement and screentime. Nevertheless, I am just glad that the writers are making this series more lively.

Nice post. However, I'd like to chime in on the Razor Leaf thing. Razor leaf is nice, and it doesn't have any drawbacks, but Leaf Storm is essentially the same thing, and initially it's far stronger.

Also, for the person who mentioned having a heatmore for serious battling, and including Palpitoad in there. I'd like to state that while Tepig has underwhelmed and so has Snivy as of late, Oshawott has been fairly impressive in his battles...

Nope, couldn't say that with a straight face.

In reality, Oshawott has trolled almost 80% of his opponents. I thought Timburr and Blitzle were bad, this was even worse. Wait, no, Pansage was the worst. Blocking a goddamn solarbeam? Yeah, might as well have had two middle fingers up in the air when you did that.

 

[Sweet Veil]

There giving Satoshi more Pokemon because they want to market the Isshu Pokemon more because. More Pokemon. More Toys. More Merchandise. More Stuff. More Money. Nintendo gets richer simple as that. They just want to make more money is all the reason why there giving him more. Nothing special.

 

[Togemon]

I'm SO happy we're seeing more variety on his team! Best Wishes is doing it totally right, I think I'm falling back in love with the anime.

And I don't think the screentime is too much of an issue.. regardless, there was always going to be Pokemon that don't get as much screentime as the other ones, it happens in every region. I mean Hoenn only had 6 main Pokemon on Ash's team, but Taillow didn't get anything until it evolved and Torkal was pretty much under the radar the whole region. Plus Snorunt was a really late capture and Glalie was kind of boring, although strong.

So I'm totally happy with the direction Ash's team is going and I hope it continues to grow. ^_^

 

[The Puppetmaster]

Like I said in the Evolution/Capture/Release thread, I think the writers may be having Ash capture a second set of Grass, Fire, and Water-types so the starters may stay in their base forms. Snivy already has powerful moves like Leaf Storm and Leaf Blade, while Palpitoad has Hydro Pump and Hyper Voice. This allows the writers to not have to devote time to them learning new moves so they can focus on Ash's other Pokémon (though I don't understand why'd they do this with Snivy since it's a starter who should probably be showcased more than others).

Having Ash capture so many Pokémon also allows him to have variety when battling in the Unova League like others have said. Although Swadloon and Palpitoad share typings with two of the starters, their other typings set them apart (Swadloon's Bug-typing should be showcased more, though). I'm glad the writers are taking this route if having only Unova Pokémon in the league was such a big deal to them; at least we'll see Ash using somewhat different battling strategies.

 

[Hellion]

I'm SO happy we're seeing more variety on his team!

Variety? He had one water type, now he has two... that's not variety. Same for his two grass type. I don't get what the writers were thinking. If they want to give Ash a bug type... let's give him they could have given any other bug type than the one Grass/Bug or Fire/Bug... Now, with the highly limited screentime they're giving the bug, it'll most likely only evolve before the League and see its tackle replaced with another move... So instead of having a personable and interesting Snivy/Servine/Serperior with well animated Leaf Storm and Leaf Blade in one of the League battle, we'll have an ultra-bland Leavanny spam the blandly animated Razor Leaf and Emergy ball so we can be really sure to be thoroughly bored! Hurrah! Same with Palpitoad, who at least has some personality, but it's not like they'll have heaps of time to make that pokémon really compelling, so what's the point.

If they wanted variety with a bug type, why not Venipede, Durant, the two that evolve by stealing the armor. If they wanted a ground type (which really why? we've seen enough already), why not Golett/Golurk? They'd bring actual variety, different attacks, match up differently than the starters, offer more option, allow us to see more different strategies. Still might not be developped all that much, but all least they wouldn't be redundant and pointless.

And I don't think the screentime is too much of an issue.. regardless, there was always going to be Pokemon that don't get as much screentime as the other ones, it happens in every region. I mean Hoenn only had 6 main Pokemon on Ash's team, but Taillow didn't get anything until it evolved and Torkal was pretty much under the radar the whole region. Plus Snorunt was a really late capture and Glalie was kind of boring, although strong.

To me, the fact that half the Hoenn team was totally forgettable and unmemorable is precisely why they should spend more time on developping the pokémon. Cause it just makes the wins the underdevelopped and bland pokémon get just... insipid, without any kind of flavour.

If the writers had really established all the members of Ash's A-team (Tepig, Snivy, Oshawott, Tranquill and Scraggy), then I'd probably be fine with more reserves being added, but most of these five (except for Oshawott) are lacking in at least one of those areas: battles, personality, storyline.

So yeah, quite frankly, at the rate Best Wishes is going, the writers are just confirming the fears I had expressed way back when BW018 came out.

 

[Cybersai]

I don't know what you mean, Hellion, they all got proper development back then.

 

[Cuddy]

Like I said in the Evolution/Capture/Release thread, I think the writers may be having Ash capture a second set of Grass, Fire, and Water-types so the starters may stay in their base forms. Snivy already has powerful moves like Leaf Storm and Leaf Blade, while Palpitoad has Hydro Pump and Hyper Voice. This allows the writers to not have to devote time to them learning new moves so they can focus on Ash's other Pokémon (though I don't understand why'd they do this with Snivy since it's a starter who should probably be showcased more than others).

Having Ash capture so many Pokémon also allows him to have variety when battling in the Unova League like others have said. Although Swadloon and Palpitoad share typings with two of the starters, their other typings set them apart (Swadloon's Bug-typing should be showcased more, though). I'm glad the writers are taking this route if having only Unova Pokémon in the league was such a big deal to them; at least we'll see Ash using somewhat different battling strategies.

If this is true, Ash might catch a second stage fire Pokemon. I wonder if they thought of not evolving the starters some time ago. The starters are very good sellers, aswell as the final stages. This time, the final stage, the writers might not think they sell as good. Either that or if they count Scraggy as the fighting type Pokemon to prevent Tepig to evolve so it will not learn the secondary fighting type.

Swadloon and Palpitoad are as good choices against Clay aswell. It gives Ash different options against Clay aswell as Elesa. The only problem Ash will have is against the dragon trainer, Drayden or Iris, unless he gets an ice type.

 

[Rocketshipper]

Maybe the writers have finally got it into their heads to have Ash train like a person who is playing the games might train?? I mean, I'm sure most players don't go through the entire game only cathing 5 to 6 pokemon. They catch lots of pokemon and rotate them. I think its nice to finally see Ash doing this, especially since it means the spotlight won't be stuck on the starters. When I found out Ash would be catching all three starters and the new bird this saga, I was very dissapointed, because it meant there was only really one slot on his team for them to actually be creative with. But now, with them giving him reserves he can rotate in, things have the potential to be much more interesting to me.

Screen time and development for the pokemon could be a problem, its true, but (and I'm probably very much in the minority here on this point) I've personally never cared about wether the writers gave tons of character development to the pokemon. I'd rather they gave lots of development to the human characters, honestly. I definitly want to see all the pokemon get their chance to shine in a gym or trainer battle, don't get me wrong on that, but I don;t really think we need to have 6 plus little subplots going for every pokemon on the team dealing with their own stuff.

 

[Ampharos King]

Meh, it seems that some people are "wishing for more variety" on Ash's team. Some people might go ahead and ask, "Why even give Ash these pokemon if the pokemon he caught beforehand have yet to be showcased in battle?"

Well, to be fair, it is not like Snivy or Tepig haven't battled over the course of these 30+ episodes. Tepig got three gym battles and a few trainer battles in its own right, as well as supplementary training alongside Ash. In addition, Snivy personally received a lot of characterization and personality which allows her to stand out with Ash's pokemon.

The problem is, and I repeat, this was something that Trip had mentioned in BW034: Snivy is not evolved, and as such, it can be easily overpowered by an evolved opponent. That seems to be the only "challenge" Snivy has at this moment. Snivy is already a powerful pokemon in her own right. She does not present the "challenges" that were associated with pokemon like Oshawott or Scraggy that received the most focus.

The only pokemon that received very little focus right now were the ones that evolved quickly: Tranquill and Swadloon. Nevertheless, Tranquill has had a few battles of her own, and Swadloon had that one gym battle against Burgh. However, those pokemon are not "mascot" characters. Their presence in this series is not as necessary to convey the advertising.

"If Ash's team keeps getting bigger and bigger, why even bother showing the pokemon in his reserves?" Well, as seen in a previous episode, Ash switches his reserves around in between episodes. It is possible that we may get to see his Palpitoad once again.

For the last time, we do not know how long this series will last. Make no mistake, just because Ash already has 3 badges in a span of 30 episodes, does not mean that this series will end sooner than others. There is already a 13-episode gap from the third and fourth gyms. Right now there is no predictably behind the pacing. Let's just see what the writers have in store before we make irrational conclusions about how "Ash's main team will not receive enough screentime on their own anymore now that he caught another pokemon."

Nice post. However, I'd like to chime in on the Razor Leaf thing. Razor leaf is nice, and it doesn't have any drawbacks, but Leaf Storm is essentially the same thing, and initially it's far stronger.

Grass-type attacks that can inflict damage are very limited due to the nature of plants. We either have seeds, leaves, thorns/vines, or beams of solar energy.

Cilan's Pansage already has Bullet Seed and Solarbeam, so what can you ask for?

Nevertheless, this isn't like the situation back when Bulbasaur and Bayleef both knew Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, and Tackle. Bayleef was essentially Bulbasaur's bigger clone.

In this case, the writers are not going to go as far as give these pokemon "the same attacks." They are adding enough variety by introducing pokemon with dual typing as opposed to a single typing. They are covering the grounds of that type by introducing an additional type to supplement that.

The fact that Swadloon had a secondary Bug-typing allowed it to be a mixture of two different things Ash had used before. To me, this is more variety than what Ash has right now with Snivy. With the exception of Attract, Snivy's moves are virtually the same as the Grass-type moves that were used by Ash's Grass-types in the past.

 

[Hellion]

I've personally never cared about wether the writers gave tons of character development to the pokemon. I'd rather they gave lots of development to the human characters, honestly.

One doesn't exclude and often leads to the other. We saw it in DP with Ash and Dawn working on the problems of their pokémon, and growing as people and trainers at the same time. Storylines for the pokémon are never just for the pokémon, they're for the trainer too.

Their presence in this series is not as necessary to convey the advertising.

So... why have them there in the first place? They're not bringing drama or comedy, they barely battle, they're not advertising anything, they are of a type that Ash already has on his Unova team, they aren't contributing to the developpement of other characters or Ash, so... why are they there?

For the last time, we do not know how long this series will last.

Ok... 35 episodes, in three more, we're hitting the 20% mark (that's the most conservative estimate of the overall lenght of the saga), and given the geography of Unova, the League will probably not be at the tail end of the saga, but more a little bit after the middle. Knowing all that, at this point, most of the pokémon on Ash's team are underdevelopped. Forget individual storylines, I've long since given up on expecting that from teh writers at this point, but wow... except Oshawott, no pokémon on the main cast has been showcased in both a lot of character moments and a lot of battles. It's one or the other, sometimes neither...

So, we get to the League with a bunch of Pokémon who've barely battled and, for the most part, have no personality to speak of... How's that interesting again?

The fact that Swadloon had a secondary Bug-typing allowed it to be a mixture of two different things Ash had used before.

Yes... Tackle, Razor Leaf, and Energy Ball, the sheer number of offensive Bug move is staggering here... Comes the League, it's just gonna be one battle where they replace the personable Snivy/Servine using Leaf Storm and Leaf Blade, with the bland Leavanny using Razor Leaf and Energy Ball... Again... how's that interesting again? How can that be considered variety?

 

[Peppermint Phoenix]

I hope Ash puts his starters in training to learn the oaths and/or hyper beam varitions