SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion

I agree w/R_N that the Virizion reveal was a little odd, in the way it was done. Like this guy has a Bayleef, they could've just had him use Meganium to fight Swampert, but it's not really a huge deal. It is a little sus that Suicune and Virizion are the ones used, given what we know about Scarlet/Violet, I wonder if it'll play any genuine role or if it's just pure coincidence?

Mew is Groudon/Kyogre, right? Is that what we're going with? They look a lot smaller than what they usually are and I think it's just Mew trying to push them away. I haven't watched the episode in full, I'm waiting until this weeks airs so I can watch them together but overall I'm not thrilled with how Project Mew has gone down
 
Honestly my bigger issue with the Virizion reveal is it kind of crosses from "downplaying" Legendary status into making them just a "yeah that's a thing" territory since it's just a thing now. At least with Goh's Suicune, or something like Lana fishing up a Kyogre in Alola, there was this sense that seeing it was a momentous once-in-a-lifetime event for them, and that the circumstances to even interact with or catch them were heavily dire, extenuating ones caused by a group of other people making a targeted effort. Even with the game-referencing one in Eternatus, the Capture was something that took other Legendaries intervening and was thought to require a trainer as famously powerful as Leon, literally the best of the best by the World Tournament's metrics. Whatever one thinks of the encounters, the act of catching a Legendary Pokemon is clearly something that doesn't cross the characters' minds as normal.

Now here's a character with barely half a dozen appearances just revealing he caught a Virizion off-screen and it still battles for his team, compared to Goh as a main character getting an entire episode towards befriending and only nominally catching his Suicune (as it leaves the lab after acknowledging the capture for the Lab and everything). People found that kind of off-screen character gain cheap with something like Iris's Axew achieving its long-sought evolution, now imagine suddenly pulling a repeat of a major upset episode as just a thing that happened in passing.

It also feels like something done for a parallel to Goh without thinking about worldbuilding implications (in a season that's been pretty heavy on continuity and callbacks to even things like OG Mewtwo). They wanted to give Horace a Trio Member that fit into a similar mold of Goh's Suicune since everything else seems a parallel (another Project Mew member with a personal life goal of seeing a Mythical Pokemon themselves), and had to go with Virizion because the other Trios either were accounted for (the Regis), were used in too strong a manner by the anime (Birds), or were not feasible by nature of their role in things (Lake Trio).

The Swords of Justice are the closest remaining option (as a "powerful and legendary by reputation" trio that can exist in the wild and are simply rarely seen), but now we're glossing over yet another story beat compared to Suicune. The Beasts have always been depicted as roaming the land, thematically linked but keeping to themselves rather than a pack outside major events (frequent Solo appearances and even in group-moments like the Zoroark movie they were shown assembling from other parts of the world). The Swords by comparison seem to form a pack, seen training and traveling together in the Keldeo movie while displaying a salient/sapient level of intelligence since they have routines and ritual practices like battling Kyurem. In which case, were they involved in the event where Horace captured Virizion? Did they have any reservations about him taking Virizion with him? Was Virizion the only one captured by a trainer? And this is just if we go by anime depiction, because the games where they're separated then bring up the fact the Swords fought humans to protect Pokemon during War, which doesn't suggest they're the most trusting or holding high opinion of humans and see them more as a potential danger to Pokemon that they have to keep an eye on.

It's not simply the act of Horace having Virizion that I think undermines the reveal and the Legendary image, it's the fact that the information essentially starts and stops at "Horace has a Virizion. Wow!"
 
I think that since they started this trend with that one character having an Urshifu, the writers think anyone can just have any of the minor legends no problem. Thing is, Urshifu's different if we're looking to the Isle of Armor DLC. It's a gift Pokemon.
 

QuentinQuonce

formerly green_typhlosion
I think that since they started this trend with that one character having an Urshifu, the writers think anyone can just have any of the minor legends no problem. Thing is, Urshifu's different if we're looking to the Isle of Armor DLC. It's a gift Pokemon.
Idk there's also been a lot of "legendary decay" as the series goes on (in all canons).

I don't just mean things like certain mythicals becoming normally available or legendaries in general becoming more common, I mean in the way people in-universe tend to react to legendaries and the way the narrative itself frames them. Over time, they've gone from being rarely-seen to just being an accepted and relatively mundane aspect of the setting.

It doesn't exclusively pertain to older legendaries; it still bugs the hell out of me that Zarude is a mythical yet explicitly described as living in packs. Why is it a mythical, then, when there's potentially hundreds of them running around? Heatran is very much treated by people as a low-tier legendary; it's less of a deity than it is just a really powerful species that is strongly implied in all canons to be numerous in number. But it has been more evident with a lot of the older legendaries, particularly Lugia and the Kanto birds.

Like the whole thing with Project Mew having field tasks like "find Articuno and engage it in a raid battle" rubs me up the wrong way because of how casual it is. This is just my view, but that feels like the sort of thing that should take even a talented trainer literal years. Indeed, in the games one occasionally does meet NPCs who've been investigating ancient ruins or whatnot for years, sometimes even as their life's work. Obviously that doesn't make for terribly engaging television (and the player is meant to be a prodigy) but it unravels all of the mystique that was previously there. Articuno isn't literally just sat on top of a mountain for anyone to find; it's a literal mirage Pokemon that is rarely seen even by those who are actively searching for it.

Lugia appearing in Vermilion City - on a time delay no less - feels like it should be a monumental once-in-a-generation event; there's even an NPC in Ecruteak in GSCHGSS who describes in reverent tones the time when, decades ago, Lugia was sighted overhead and momentarily blocked out the sun. It didn't stick around and it didn't (we're to assume) deign to land or deign to battle anyone.

And also when other characters in the anime did capture legendaries, it was generally given due weight (that one bloke with a Heatran aside). Noland's Articuno is very much implied to not be his Pokemon, it's just a friend he can call on. Brandon's Regi trio do seem to be his, but everyone's still awed by the fact that he has them. There are some times when it's been low-key: Ash, of course, had a Meltan for ages, and numerous characters have befriended mythicals in the movies and the regular series.

But... eh. Legendary decay. That's the term that sums it up, I think.
 
At the very least everyone still seems to be treating the other legendaries with a "whoa wtf, wild" type deal



just not this virizon, specifically.
 
There are some times when it's been low-key: Ash, of course, had a Meltan for ages, and numerous characters have befriended mythicals in the movies and the regular series.
Meltan always felt like an edge case to me for some reason, because similar to Zarude, it's a Pokemon that by its nature has to exist in large quantity, so Ash catching an individual one is less of an event compared to something like the Birds.

Gimmighoul has reminded me a bit of what Meltan has felt like conceptually, as a very small Pokemon they debut (partially/image-wise) in Go, whose evolution is based on a giant scavenger and gathering quest (Meltan on the Box luring others for Candy, Gimmighoul for the coins). Gimmighoul is a mundane Pokemon thematically, mostly made special because it's not native to the "Go World" despite suddenly appearing in it, in a "forme" that is harder to document (quotes since it's just Gimmighoul out of the box rather than an environment or physiology based transformation). In that sense, Meltan almost feels like it would be the same, we just haven't seen the region it is meant to hail from.

It feels like the "mythical" label is down to Meltan simply not fitting into conventional encounter/capture practices, since it's not distributed through limited time promotions like most previous debuts (given PoGo is free to play, still supported, and has its own account system distinct from any individual Switch game). Even then with things like Manaphy's PLA encounter or the "Old Save" bonuses, they seem to be pushing more to do away with Mythicals as a distinction on old Pokemon at least (which does make me wonder why non-Uber-Stat "De-Mythed" Pokemon are still VGC banned like the Deoxys forms).

tl;dr Meltan and Melmetal feel very "Mythical by technicality", so they didn't contribute as heavily to the Legendary decay topic in my mind. At least not in the manner being discussed.
 
as far as recent mythicals go Meltan & Melmetal have a fair amount of lore to them.
Like Meltan & Melmetal were things that existed in ancient times
They're sealed away in Mysterious Boxes
Melmetal in particular hasn't been seen in 3000 years and was revered for its abilities

Meanwhile Zarude being in packs can still be in the mythic bin for the same reason shaymin exists in multiples: they're very rarely seen and more like cryptids clearly what they should be called instead of Mythic or Phantom

'course ultimately it's more just a classification for event stuff so...is what it is.
 
has the episode already aired in Japan? usually it's 11am my time (in the UK) but a lot of people on twitter are talking about it already, did they change the airing time? I couldn't find a #135 preview nor was there any Gen 9 updates, other than the Fuecoco special with Team Rocket. They could potentially do it next week since we'll get a Quaxly + Team Rocket special, but idk - I'm just happy Ash isn't leaving cause there's a LOT they can do in Paldea with him.

also.. him

EDIT:

The next episode title, seems that Go is going to Paldea as well!


JN136: Satoshi and Go! Depart for a New Journey!!
 
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has the episode already aired in Japan? usually it's 11am my time (in the UK) but a lot of people on twitter are talking about it already, did they change the airing time? I couldn't find a #135 preview nor was there any Gen 9 updates, other than the Fuecoco special with Team Rocket. They could potentially do it next week since we'll get a Quaxly + Team Rocket special, but idk - I'm just happy Ash isn't leaving cause there's a LOT they can do in Paldea with him.
I'm also from the UK and noticed the same thing! Seems it airs an hour earlier now, although I couldn't tell you why.

Episode 135 preview:

Summary for this episode comes from Dephender on Serebii:
"Now that they've both finished their challenges, Satoshi and Go reunite in Sakuragi Park, where they decide to go camping with Koharu! As the three find themselves surrounded by nature filled with Pokémon as far as the eye can see, they talk about childhood memories they shared with Pokémon... but there's something Go isn't telling Satoshi."

Quaxly is likely to appear in next week's episode, alongside a hint as to what the future holds! I mean it's the last episode we have official confirmation for, so either Journeys continues as it has so far or we get a whole new Gen 9 Paldea anime, or something new entirely.

Gen 9 update:

Turns out people on Twitter are... incorrect. No Gen 9 anime news currently, maybe next week!
 

BIG ASHLEY

ashley
is a Community Contributor
Now that Ash won, I hope he doesn't lose with Pikachu against a bread dog or something... I would love if he started to grow up for once and maybe take a mentor figure if they intend to use him further.
i appreciate & agree w this sentiment but also think that it'll be completely hilarious when the world-beating champion's ace inevitably gets beaten up by a nacli or le funny parrot
 
I'm also from the UK and noticed the same thing! Seems it airs an hour earlier now, although I couldn't tell you why.

Episode 135 preview:

Summary for this episode comes from Dephender on Serebii:
"Now that they've both finished their challenges, Satoshi and Go reunite in Sakuragi Park, where they decide to go camping with Koharu! As the three find themselves surrounded by nature filled with Pokémon as far as the eye can see, they talk about childhood memories they shared with Pokémon... but there's something Go isn't telling Satoshi."

Quaxly is likely to appear in next week's episode, alongside a hint as to what the future holds! I mean it's the last episode we have official confirmation for, so either Journeys continues as it has so far or we get a whole new Gen 9 Paldea anime, or something new entirely.

Gen 9 update:

Turns out people on Twitter are... incorrect. No Gen 9 anime news currently, maybe next week!
At least Dogasu apologized for the incorrect reading of the phrase he used


Also...if I knew the translation was wrong & had a sizable following for like one of three major pokemon fansites in the world, I would try to provide the correct translation when I saw the incorrect one going around. Or at least provided it in my thread tut-tutting people believing it after the fact.
 
You know what'd be a cool idea for Paldea? Ash not being the guy doing the League challenge. Make that one of the newbie characters, give Team Star to Companion 2, and have Ash focus on Path of Legends and the Titans.

Ash being the World Champ right now makes him the most sensible candidate for Arven to ask for help from in dealing with something like the Titans, meanwhile Team Star is localized in scale and the League is more about a newbie's progression as Ash fits less and less to after his League wins (the World Coronation series was framed as experienced Vets competing with each other instead of a Square-One start). Leon and the Darkest Day sets a decent precedent for the idea of Champions dealing with big/outside-context problems, and on top of skill Ash has it on reasonable authority/claim to go exploring the Crater whenever they want to do story for that.

Also, if they want to do both-versions for story like they sometimes do (Gen 4 Dialga AND Palkia for example), they could have the other 2 Protags receive Koraidon and Miraidon while Ash helps them as new trainers to learn how to look after them.
 
You know what'd be a cool idea for Paldea? Ash not being the guy doing the League challenge. Make that one of the newbie characters, give Team Star to Companion 2, and have Ash focus on Path of Legends and the Titans.

Ash being the World Champ right now makes him the most sensible candidate for Arven to ask for help from in dealing with something like the Titans, meanwhile Team Star is localized in scale and the League is more about a newbie's progression as Ash fits less and less to after his League wins (the World Coronation series was framed as experienced Vets competing with each other instead of a Square-One start). Leon and the Darkest Day sets a decent precedent for the idea of Champions dealing with big/outside-context problems, and on top of skill Ash has it on reasonable authority/claim to go exploring the Crater whenever they want to do story for that.

Also, if they want to do both-versions for story like they sometimes do (Gen 4 Dialga AND Palkia for example), they could have the other 2 Protags receive Koraidon and Miraidon while Ash helps them as new trainers to learn how to look after them.
I agree with a lot of this, but I think that Team Star is something that Ash would deal with, since that's very much his schtick. If it's true, and Go is coming to Paldea too, I think it would be great for Go to be the one taking on the league, since he has now achieved his dream of meeting Mew (Part of me thinks the part in the preview where he's crying is because he doesn't know where to go now) has now been completed. It would be great to see Ash offering advice to Go on how to battle properly and give him something to actively work towards.

I would also like Ash to be the one to befriend Koraidon/Miraidon - although not sure how they'd choose which to prioritise, since the whole "befriending hurt Pokémon" is a large part of Ash's entire character.
 
The easiest thing to do is just give Ash Koraidon & Go Miraidon so they can both be riding around Paldea on cool highly marketable lizards.


Also I know they always tweak the game plots but i feel they gotta do it pretty hard on this plot especially if they decide to merge the two together because could you imagine
both of Arven's parents dying and then both of their AIs ALSO dying like god damn it's bad enough he lost one and the other just walked out lmao
 
The easiest thing to do is just give Ash Koraidon & Go Miraidon so they can both be riding around Paldea on cool highly marketable lizards.


Also I know they always tweak the game plots but i feel they gotta do it pretty hard on this plot especially if they decide to merge the two together because could you imagine
both of Arven's parents dying and then both of their AIs ALSO dying like god damn it's bad enough he lost one and the other just walked out lmao
My guess would be they go the route they did with BW (production trouble a factor there though) and Sun & Moon, where they simply settle on one version as the build-up with things like the focus Legendary/Nebby's evolution, while other elements see change to accommodate the anime in ways that don't immediately align with either game (like the reduction of Lusamine's involvement in unethical Aether doings to fit her and Lillie as recurring cast members while passing more of the buck to Faba).

Like maybe instead of one obsessive Professor with a benevolent AI, the AI simply goes Rogue and pulls both Past and Future Paradoxes that has to be stopped (whether or not either Professor is alive, absent, or dead when this goes down). The anime's not necessarily a stranger to sanding off some harsher story elements when it comes to marketable characters' morality.

This is one reason I presumed both Ride Dragons being involved and perhaps Ash not having one: The two trainers have to overcome their partners' Aggressive counterpart while Ash is battling the Paradoxes to shut down the Time Machine. The alternative proposed though could be Ash and "Goh" doing this battle while Arven confronts the AI as a sort of "face your demons" parallel since the Paradoxes wounded his partner last time.
 
Man the budget for the show is dead now after Ash/Leon. They couldn't even fully animate the raid battle against Mew in this episode, we just got still screens after a point...lol.

Go didn't capture Mew, which people should be happy about, but I knew he wouldn't. Mew is portrayed as too powerful and it wouldn't go with a trainer anyway. I also liked how this ep linked Mew to the DNA of all pokemon and showed the creation of Earth and links to fossil pokemon.

This is also probably going to be the final episode Gary is in for some time. He may disappear for 10 years again like he did from DP till this series. Gary didn't appear in BW, XY or SM at all, so he went 10 years and 3 series without even being in an episode. I wonder if this is it for him again.
 
If the series shifts to a region-focus again, now that they've tried the "hop around" option for a bit, it probably will be. I'm guessing Paldea will have very few cameos, outside of some mid-gen9 games or a lab check in or whatever.
 

Karxrida

Death to the Undying Savage
is a Community Contributor Alumnus
Honestly the announcement is vague enough that it could range from "new normal season" to "yeah we're done but Ash will have another movie down the line maybe".

I still feel like switching to YouTube specials or possibly a seasonal format is more likely than continuing the endless episode factory.
 
The main channel put out a video with some of Ash's best battles. I think my favorite is the ending one. Utterly iconic.

Ash Ketchum’s Great Battles | Pokémon the Series - YouTube

Delightful trolling. Metapod vs Metapod, truly the best battle of all time.
Thank you YouTube Kids for not allowing comments. /s

Gotta love how the franchise has embraced the folklore traditions that the fan base has developed. Metapod vs. Metapod has been a cherished meme for years.
 
I figured out how the writers will continue Ash's story. Just like the games have gone back to being named after colors for the first time since Black and White, the anime will go back to Pikachu being depowered at the start of the season for the first time since Black and White. The obvious way to do this is to have Ash and Pikachu encounter a paradox mon that injures Pikachu just like Arven's Mabostiff in the games, setting off a quest to acquire Herba Mystica to heal Pikachu, and doing the gym challenge along the way to train new mons and test how Pikachu is recovering.

Somewhere along the way Ash also somehow catches 30 Paldean Tauros, with two being the blaze and aqua breeds.

:P
 
So next week we're getting a special episode, which looks to be focused around AU Ash from the Movies;


Then in January, for 11 episodes, we'll be getting a special series focusing on Ash and Pikachu, which is their final anime focus, so I guess they really are retiring Ash and Pikachu.



Then in April 2023, the new Paldea anime starts with new Protagonists.

 

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