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The Current Fate of Pokémon


Jon the VGNerd

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Now, I'm not talking about the Pokémon games, but rather, the animated show itself. And yes, I was a Pokémon fan back around the late 90's and loved every bit of it. Now, I have absolutely nothing against new species of Pokémon, but I do, however, have something against the current state of the show itself. I apologize in advance if I've offended you people for my point of view for the state of Pokémon animated series; just remember that I was a devoted fan of the show back then.

Back in the 90's, the show Pokémon (or Pocket Monsters in Japan) was a huge hit and I loved every bit of it, including the main character, Ash Ketchum, alongside Pikachu; the storyline, and supporting characters like Misty and Brock (And Tracy as well) on an adventure, even by capturing and training new Pokémon to their greatest potential. And you have no-gooders like Team Rocket, who stop at nothing from capturing Pokémon for their evil deeds, Then once having collected all badges, he doesn't become the master after losing (result of a plot device, I know), but their friends soon part ways, as well as Ash's previous Pokémon (not counting Butterfree, since Ash had to let it be free).

While I do like Max and May and even Dawn, the new characters are bit on the on & off side in my honest opinion. In all fairness, however, as years went by, I start to notice the same pattern on each and every new series, with same plots being recycled over and over, and Ash's maturity have never sought improvement. It seems the show's creator has shown serious disconnect to veteran fans out there. And the fact that Ash Ketchum doesn't age is baffling. I get that this is a kids show, but recycling the same thing over and over, like friends parting ways, Ash leaving old Pokémon to meet and capture newer ones, and making new friends whilst older ones are forgotten just proves that it eventually becomes too good to be true. And the fact that Ash's old Pokémon back in the 90's and early 2000s having long forgotten means there's something fishy going on with the show. I had thought that Ash would've already been in his 20's, or at least 18 and have seriously matured enough to understand new and old Pokémon species, yet it seems the show's creators think it's a good idea to keep him 10 years old and never age any further, as if he was immortal. That's a red flag right there, especially when he should've already been a Pokémon master a LONG time ago and would've grown into adulthood and started a new family in his hometown, but the creators were like "Nope, it never happened", just to fool their own older fans while catering to the younger, oblivious generation.

Also, Team Rocket is no longer considered the main villain and Giovanni is no longer considered the big bad (they basically forgotten all about him), because simply put, it never happened. Instead, Team Rocket, mainly Jessie, James and Meowth (and Wobbuffet of course, however you spell it), have become less as threatening villains and more of a comic relief, just to show how cringeworthy they've become, and in a bad way. And they appear in almost EVERY. SINGLE. EPISODE in the 2010s more as a running gag than villains. I could be wrong, but since Pokémon was pulled from the airings on Cartoon Network, I've come to realize that the overall quality of the show is gradually diminishing and it's gonna continue on because now it's rinse, recycle and repeat when it comes to the actual storyline. I get that they want their show to be catered for kids, but, all good things have to come to an end and move on to a newer series with a newer protagonist. I liked Ash Ketchum as a kid back then. Nowadays, he's seriously overrated, with the same old personality that's gotten utterly predictable since stale bread. He's just flat-out annoying. And the fact that creators refuse to make Ash older and more mature and caring enough doesn't help at all either.

In addition, older, notable friends Ash made are basically forgotten; Brock, Misty, Dawn, Professor Oak, May, Max, Gary Oak and Paul, all are forgotten and it's extremely rare that they'll be seen again, same with Ash's previous Pokémon (not counting Pikachu) which were never reunited. The last Pokémon he got to reunite with (if I remember correctly) was Cyndaquil, which evolved into Quilava, the ONLY Pokémon to date to have ever evolved (previous of his Pokémon such as Squirtle and Bulbasaur NEVER evolved throughout, no matter how strong they've become). Otherwise, the rest of the Pokémon Ash had acquired from the past seasons are an afterthought.

In the end, while I loved Pokémon back in the past, the storyline eventually became all the same with each and ever new season, all while Ash remains a kid and not having since fully grown into a full-grown adult and should've achieved his ultimate goal as a Pokémon master and retired long ago. Instead, it just became utterly monotonous because of the show's creators' serious disconnect among veteran fans, which means the show goes on forever and ever with no end to it and which has run its course long ago.

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Stopped watching the show about mid Hoenn. I think the pattern of not moving the show forward was a problem that was showing it’s ugly head many years ago. Ash was my childhood hero, but the anime keeps recycling everything, and not moving forward, including Ash himself. I have grown, but neither the show nor Ash did followed suit. I would dare to say they’ve actually regressed

Allow me to add yet another problem that has been plaguing the series back when I’ve stopped watching, and I’m sure it hasn’t improved: the so called “Characters of the Week”. Back in the day, Ash would find all kinds of characters each episode, some where quirky, others basic, others redeemable tought douches, others irredeemable assholes; now most are pretty generic, with pre-school problems instead of at the times life-threatening of yore

that’s one of the main plus of the Adventures manga, you never get to follow the same characters all the time, changing between them each arc and sometimes returns them in the remake arcs and even a guest protagonists. Not only that, they do develop as characters, AND grow-up. The three original protagonists are all in their 20s by now :fluttershy:

Edited by Steve Piranha
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I actually stopped watching the anime around halfway through the Kalos region. In all honesty, I should've stopped during the Sinnoh saga as I feel that was when the anime reached its lowest point. Unova did change things for the better though this didn't last and things went back to the usual status quo resulting in what has become a redundant program that is so predictable that you can see it coming. I've only seen a couple of episodes from Alola and judging from what I've been seeing and hearing, things didn't get any better, especially when it comes to the new art style. To the Pokémon Company, the anime is still a smash success which means they'll have no intention of changing anything. Unova changing the status quo was a blessing though I suspect it got changed back due to higher-ups not liking those changes.

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I tried watching the Sun & Moon series but the new art style just wasn’t for me. As usual, all character progression was thrown into the dumpster. Ash was at his height at the end of Diamond&Pearl and so was the show. Then it took a big nosedive with Black&White. Ash’s intelligence was reverted to back to the beginning of the series. Oh, and don’t get me started on a Snivy beating Pikachu. Unova was just mundane and boring. Kalos was so much better with fleshed out companions, especially Serena, and great introduction to mega evolution. 

Edited by Twilight Luna
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As a huge fan of pokemon, I just watch the series all the way through the season and every episodes. I never stop watching it, but the show is an adventure or a journey for me.. Some pokemon gets even more cute and adorable in the series like piplup, oshawott, fennekin, and others.

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@Bas IIRC, Team Rocket were much of a threat while still keeping comedic int he earlier seasons and almost succeeded as well. Now in later seasons, they've become nothing more than a total comic relief that it's basically hard to laugh. Also, I wouldn't mind a new protagonist, maybe Ash's future son. Of course, the show's creators seem to not care about that at all, do they?

And you'd be surprised that older fans like myself would surely love to watch a much newer series following Ash having reached his ultimate goal and reached towards young adulthood, including starting a new family and being with his older friends from time to time and being with their past Pokémon, and even have one of his future children to follow their father's footsteps. But again, the creators had showed serious disregard for their veteran fans out there because they utterly refuse to advance the story progression any further.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 1/19/2019 at 10:42 PM, Bas said:

As I said above - What is the target audience? I can feel your personal frustration, but that's simply not the selling point at all.

I forgot to mention something; continuity, which the show obviously lacks.

To me, target audience matters not. Adventure Time (just using it as an example) is targeted to younger audiences but at least they have continuity and are never recycled since its mainplot advances throughout. Pokémon doesn't have that, and unlike the show I mentioned, this show has one recycled plot after the next, and it's pretty obvious too.

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I am hoping for a reboot like the I Choose You movie did. The series needs a fresh start with a new protagonist that actually ages and grows. Ash has been 10 years old for almost 30 years and still hasn’t won a league (he should have won Kalos). Well have to see what Gamefreak has up their sleeve for the next game later this year. Maybe it will tell us which way the anime is going. 

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22 minutes ago, Twilight Luna said:

I am hoping for a reboot like the I Choose You movie did. The series needs a fresh start with a new protagonist that actually ages and grows. Ash has been 10 years old for almost 30 years and still hasn’t won a league (he should have won Kalos). Well have to see what Gamefreak has up their sleeve for the next game later this year. Maybe it will tell us which way the anime is going. 

My point exactly. The fact that the show creators have shown complete disinterest/disconnect to their veteran fans show that they have simply stopped caring. And Ash has become the least likeable character there is. He should've been in his 20's or 30's, and even have started a family, and having already achieved his true goal from the very beginning. Instead, it never happened, and plots were recycled from one generation after the next. Not only that, Ash's older friends and Pokémon have been forgotten, which is something I utterly detest. And the fact that he's unable to achieve his ultimate goal from past generations shows it's hard to even take him seriously anymore. Even if it's aimed at kids (particularly ones who are oblivious to the main plotlines), the lack of continuity shows that the creators care nothing more than money alone.

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