Briging Brock back (early) for generation 3 was a mistake

[JohnLogan]

What the title says. I like Brock, there will be no hate on him here. I don't like how his liking girls let to him being pulled away or stabbed from Jotho onwards, I prefer pre-flanderisation Brock, but that's neither here nor there.

The farewell between Ash, Mistry and Brock at the end of Jotho was truly heartfelt! Ash setting of on his own earned. His one on one dynamic with May was cute and I wouldn't have minded keeping that up for just a few episodes before Max is introduced but regardless, the interactions of the new trio were interesting. Ash truly WAS starting all over again.

Just feels cheapened by Brock returning so quickly. Couldn't they have waited till DP or at least Battle Frontier?

And it makes Misty's exclusion feel more painful honestly.

 

[Falaish]

You're right, but you have to remember where the fandom, and the franchise as a whole, was way back in 2002. Back then we only had 2 generations (barely starting the third), and the Pokemon anime had only been airing for 5 years from 1997-2002. At the time Misty leaving was a big deal, so the writers probably didn't want to drop Brock too as having Ash's two companions leave permanently at the same time would be a big risk. At the time the writers had no idea how May would be received as a protagonist, or if the show could even be successful after the original trio split up, and that's exactly why they "played it safe" back then.

Not only did Brock come back in only 4 eps, but Misty got frequent specials at her Gym and cameos frequently in 2003 (if you look at the Japanese air dates, Misty already got 3 specials and her 2-part Togetic cameo in early 2003 when Hoenn was barely 6 months in). It was only until AG started progressing and it became obvious May was popular, and then the Contests took off in popularity once they were introduced, that the writers realized they could move on from Misty and the original trio. That's also why Misty's cameos gradually dwindled and then stopped entirely as AG went on, and even though Brock came back...his screentime was severely reduced.

In general, you could say May's popularity and the initial success of the Contest episodes is what convinced the writers to "move on" from Misty/Brock for good. It's only that Brock lingered around for such a long time that people didn't realize how early on the writers were going to phase both Misty/Brock out of the anime entirely. When you look back on the anime now 26 years later now that it's over, it's pretty apparent the writers essentially, "gave up" on Misty/Brock circa around late 2003, even if they still had some roles in the series still at the time. Had they had a young male Gym leader to replace Brock with from the games like they had later with Cilan and Clemont, I do think he might have left after AG ended.