Why was Serena written out?

[PkmnTrainerV]

I hope we're not going to argue that Sylveon is more popular than Charizard based on that single poll, cause it'll be hopeless just to think about that...

And by that logic, Greninja is more of a Lucario than Sylveon, since he ranked no. 1, got a new form due to popularity, and was still relevant in the Gen 7, BUT the anime just released it. If Greninja couldn't survive the anime cut, then Sylveon wouldn't, either.

 

[Wishy-Washy]

Sylveon may have been popular during generation VI and some of that popularity may have passed on to Generation VII but when the next Eeveelution comes round, probably next generation based off previous generations so maybe around 2019 or 2020, The Pokemon Company will forget all about it and focus on promoting the new Eeveelution that why Serena having Sylveon won't work because Game Freak will keep creating Eeveelutions that they will want to promote more than the last one and Sylveon would just get in the way of that promotion.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

On top of that, the Pokemon that got amiibos (a VERY important selection as Nintendo wants them to sell a lot. They're not your traditional merch. And you can only get a select few 'mins to get one) were the most iconic selection: Pikachu (obvious), Charizard (even more obvious), Greninja (ranked no. 1 in Japan), Jigglybuff (became iconic due to the anime), Mewtwo (arguably the most popular legendary), and Lucario.

These are the Pokemon game freak themselves consider the most iconic, and will promote.

 

[Wishy-Washy]

How do you know that they'll make a new Eeveelution ? Do you work for gamefreak ? If nothing is made , Sylveon can work until gen 9 easily. I proved that it's a marketable Pokemon and you guys are still talking about other things.

Like I said it based off a patern thats been around since Gen II, Gen II Espeon and Umbreon was released, they skipped Gen III and during Gen IV Leafeon and Glaceon was released, they skipped Gen V and Gen VI Sylveon was released, and now they have skipped Gen VII and if the pattern holds which it will likely will a Eeveelution will be released during Gen VIII for the Switch will be out by at least 2020 though it will likely be 2019, and of course they will want to promote that Eeveelution during Gen VIII because the more its promoted the more people want it and the more people want it more likely people are the buy the game to get it and that will make Game Freak more money, if Sylveon was promoted in Gen VIII it would likely get in the way of the Gen VIII Eeveelution's promotion .

 

[Morningstar]

Re: Why Serena was written out.

The way I see it, I agree with Hidden Mew on this. Having Serena go to Alola would just be a disservice to her Character and Armourshippers. But lets face it. Sisyphus pushing boulders up mountains is more obtainable than any long term goal int his anime, and more likely to happen in the equally as likely chance of the franchise ending...and after a Time Skip at that.

Pokemon is not the kind of show with a long planned out arc and romances, a soap opera where romance and shipping are the main focus or a harem comedy where the humor is derived from a number of women being interesting in the same man. Its a show in the same vein as Transformers, My Little Pony, and Yu-Gi-Oh (and Digimon, and Bakugan, and Beyblade... youg et the point). Its existence was to promote a product typically aimed at children. Can a show be good despite that? yes. But there are various factors in play that make such a show prone to decisions in the name of promotion.

Re: Sylveon.

I should point out that Eeveelutions are generally popular to begin with. But that also means that if a new Eeveelution appears, that they would be more likely to promoted the most, and that their popualrity does not mean they or their trainers would carry over to anime seasons. At best it merely ensures that they could be found in the latest games, but there are some hurdles even with that.

Greninja, Goodra and Squishy are the recent examples of this, as they had similar sendoff (Greninja and Squishy moreso), and I'd argue that other cases become popular, even infamous because they were released by Ash (Butterfree and Pidgeot are the stand out examples there). Even Charizard was effectively release until BW brought him back (staying in the Charific valley save for helping Ash out in a movie of dubious canoncity).

Re: The cycling out of traveling companions

One of those decisions made in the name of promoting the new games would include having Ash travel with the locals only (starting in AG with May and later BW when Brock decided to get a doctorate). The companions tend to either be based on Player characters much like how Ash is based off Red or they are Gym leaders. SM slightly messed with that a bit, but the result would still be the same. This I feel is emblematic of a larger issue...continuity.

The anime and continuity seem to have an...interesting relationship at least. While they are liable to reference Ahs's past adventures, they tend to be few and far between or very subtle. Another post claims the director says this is a show about a story that goes in circles, and it does seem to be an apt comparison. Whenever Ash visits a new region, All previous continuity is in Limbo, Even when specifically referenced. The exceptions are when a previous companion visits (which in fitting with the games own iconoclastic tendencies, seems to be unlikely to happen this time) or When Ash decides to use a Pokemon he had at Oaks. The latter of which exclusively happens during the Conferences, but everything from the start of his journey and then becomes placed in its own bubble. SM's case has gotten tot he point where there was even a thread discussing if the upcoming movie was the actual canon preceding the SM series and not the XY or earlier series.

But I'm rambling. My point is. Pokemon's continuity is essentially rebooted the moment Ash sets foot on a new region, only to suddenly bring previous events back in canon for either quick mentions or the tournament hat Ash will inevitably lose. And Pikachu's frequent losses around those points seems to prove that.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

Like I said it based off a patern thats been around since Gen II

Something happening twice doesn't mean that there is a pattern that they need to follow.

 

[Morningstar]

That was my point, Sylveon is popular I proved it but I actually said that it doesn't mean that Serena will be back because she has one , my point was JUST to prove that indeed Sylveon is popular and can be a marketable Pokemon until 2020 (assuming there's a new Eeveelution in 2020 if GameFreak follows the patern, if not Sylveon can carry on until gen 9 easily).
I'm pretty sure if we see Serena again , special or whatever it is , we'll see more her Sylveon than her Braixen.

I see. My apologies.

I have a question for the thread. Alola doesn't seem likely to have any contests or spectaculars. So what reason could Serena have to go to Alola besides visiting Ash?

 

[Cresselia92]

I see. My apologies.

I have a question for the thread. Alola doesn't seem likely to have any contests or spectaculars. So what reason could Serena have to go to Alola besides visiting Ash?

Well, if we want to be honest, Dawn didn't really have a reason to be brought back, and yet she returned during BW, so nothing is stopping Serena for being brought back without a reason. Not that I would approve that, I'm just saying.

If she were to get a reason for being brought back… I'm not really sure what said reason could be. Perhaps there could be some kind of presentation of Pokémon Showcases in the Alola archipelago and she could be invited, as a runner up of the latest competition?

The problem with that is that it may appears as Showcases being shoehorned in the series just to bring Serena back, but it would still be better than having Serena being brought back for no reason.

 

[Rath]

Dawn's cameo is likely what killed previous Pokegirl cameos.

Misty came back to tie up the loose ends with Togepi, and Chronicles was airing at the time, so she wasn't completely gone from the series just yet.

May had the Wallace Cup, which furthered Dawn's character.

Dawn... Basically no reason for her to come back aside from selling more Piplup merchandise and having Piplup and Oshawott interact with each other. It did play a part in developing Iris and Dragonite's bond, but that's it.

There's no loose ends to tie up with Iris or Serena, and then coming back wouldn't have an impact on any character. May and Dawn were both Coordinators, so they had something in common, but Iris had nothing in common with Serena (but Clemont did have things in common with Cilan which is why he appeared in Clemont's special), and Serena has nothing in common with Lillie.

There's no plot or character-related reason to bring Serena back, it would just be shallow fanservice.

 

[SinnohEevee]

Dawn's cameo is likely what killed previous Pokegirl cameos.

Misty came back to tie up the loose ends with Togepi, and Chronicles was airing at the time, so she wasn't completely gone from the series just yet.

May had the Wallace Cup, which furthered Dawn's character.

Dawn... Basically no reason for her to come back aside from selling more Piplup merchandise and having Piplup and Oshawott interact with each other. It did play a part in developing Iris and Dragonite's bond, but that's it.

There's no loose ends to tie up with Iris or Serena, and then coming back wouldn't have an impact on any character. May and Dawn were both Coordinators, so they had something in common, but Iris had nothing in common with Serena (but Clemont did have things in common with Cilan which is why he appeared in Clemont's special), and Serena has nothing in common with Lillie.

There's no plot or character-related reason to bring Serena back, it would just be shallow fanservice.

I believe they brought Dawn back for the same reason they brought Charizard back: fanservice because of all the backlash BW was getting.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I believe they brought Dawn back for the same reason they brought Charizard back: fanservice because of all the backlash BW was getting.

I don't know if that was the reason. I'd be more likely to believe that they just wanted more Piplup merchandise and get it to interact with Oshawott. Piplup was really popular during DP and it still is given that it's going to be in the upcoming movie. While it's possible that it could have been due to the backlash towards BW, I don't think that was too likely in this case.

I didn't think of Lucario being a mascot character before. It does seem to be popular enough to not just be associated with the fourth generation, but I'm not sure if they'd be interested in giving one to a main character, as cool as that sounds on paper. Sylveon is popular, but I don't know if that would work either. It was a brand new Eeveelution, so of course it would be popular. The entire Eevee evolution line is marketable, so other than being a new type of Pokemon, I don't know if Sylveon really had something to make it more popular to make Serena, or really any character, stay for more than one series.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

While it's possible that it could have been due to the backlash towards BW, I don't think that was too likely in this case.

It's likely the case. BW Season 2 is full of references and callbacks to the past seasons, and other kind of fanservice.

 

[kantoskies]

I always thought the increased number of callbacks in Best Wishes season 2 was because it was based on the then-upcoming Black and White 2 games, which had older Pokemon reappearing and that Pokemon World Tournament thing.

 

[Likeitornot.]

The tradition has been to re-introduce the previous female companion into the new series and have her familiarise herself with the new travelling group for a few episodes; I don't think BW was necessarily clinging to fanservice, but just upholding a tradition.

You could argue that the timing as well as the inclusion of Dawn on the Best Wishes! 2 poster even though she was only to stay a couple of episodes was definitely a promotional ploy, but that just means the timing of her appearance might have been marketable - she was going to appear in BW regardless, they just picked a pretty good time to advertise it.

Writers can invent reasons to have characters appear in seasons after their own original season, and yes, some of it is to appeal to the fans - but considering how marketable that can be, I don't really see a problem with that.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I always thought the increased number of callbacks in Best Wishes season 2 was because it was based on the then-upcoming Black and White 2 games, which had older Pokemon reappearing and that Pokemon World Tournament thing.

That's what I thought too. While BW season 2 had more nods to previous series, I took it more like they really wanted to promote Dawn and Piplup's return due to how marketable and popular they both were. They were even included on a promotional poster for the new season, despite only staying for a few episodes.

 

[MarshiyanMisutaa]

I always thought the increased number of callbacks in Best Wishes season 2 was because it was based on the then-upcoming Black and White 2 games, which had older Pokemon reappearing and that Pokemon World Tournament thing.

I'm pretty sure neither Hikari nor Pochama has anything to do with these. So, no.

 

[SerenaToAlola]

It was a brand new Eeveelution, so of course it would be popular. The entire Eevee evolution line is marketable, so other than being a new type of Pokemon, I don't know if Sylveon really had something to make it more popular to make Serena, or really any character, stay for more than one series.

I feel like Sylveon is unique compared to the other eeveelutions because she is the first fairy type Pokemon revealed. The fairy type was the first type introduced in more than a decade and the marketing for this type was also crafted with a very specific target audience in mind. On top of that, it is also an audience group that is arguably new to Pokemon since the only Pokemon with a similar appeal is I think Jigglypuff. Even if a new eeveelutions were to come along, I don’t think they are likely to reach out to a new audience group the same way Sylveon did since the existing types don’t really have the kind of unique appeal that the fairy type has. I also don’t think Pokemon would be able to bust out any new type that could broaden the Pokemon franchise’s appeal the way the fairy type did so I think this gives Sylveon a unique position in spite of being an eeveelution.

That said, there really is no good reason for Serena to be back at this point. I don't mind if they do it just for fan service though. That said, I'm 100% sure that Sylveon would be prioritised over her other Pokemon if we do see her back.

 

[kantoskies]

I'm pretty sure neither Hikari nor Pochama has anything to do with these. So, no.

There's no need to be so dismissive, geez. And yes, the producers could have been like "these upcoming sequels are more connected to past games, so let's bring these older, fan-favorites back". I'm not pretending to act like I know what they were thinking, I'm just saying this has always been my best guess on what maybe, perhaps, might have happened behind the scenes.

 

[PkmnTrainerV]

I feel like Sylveon is unique compared to the other eeveelutions because she is the first fairy type Pokemon revealed. The fairy type was the first type introduced in more than a decade and the marketing for this type was also crafted with a very specific target audience in mind. On top of that, it is also an audience group that is arguably new to Pokemon since the only Pokemon with a similar appeal is I think Jigglypuff. Even if a new eeveelutions were to come along, I don’t think they are likely to reach out to a new audience group the same way Sylveon did since the existing types don’t really have the kind of unique appeal that the fairy type has.
I also don’t think Pokemon would be able to bust out any new type that could broaden the Pokemon franchise’s appeal the way the fairy type did so I think this gives Sylveon a unique position in spite of being an eeveelution.

I'd like to disagree with that. The Gen 1 in Kanto had some Pokemon that filled the role- in fact, Clefairy, the planned mascot reached out to the very same audience group that Sylveon is currently doing. From what I can remember, the following Pokemon intended to fill into the 'cute, girly Pokémon' market (it is sort of notable that many were retconned to be Fairy types in XY:
Clefairy, Jigglypuff, Chansey, Snubbul, Audino, Beautifly and Espeon first come to mind. I'm sure many more are there but these were the ones that came to the top of my head.
I also disagree that Sylveon is in a unique situation. During the reveal of the Dark type, Umbreon was one of the few pure Dark types, so the one to give us full representation of the type. It also ended up being very popular, and appealed to a very different target demographic.
The fairy types do NOT open up a new market, but give a new, definitive name to the market. The market was already explored in the form of the Pokémon I mentioned above.

 

[Muur]

Because merchandising