Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of them?

[Cybersai]

Back in the early days Ash didn't have too many travel companions. Now he's had a total of 9. That's 9 different people who have traveled with Ash for at least one saga.

9 travel companions is quite a lot. Do you feel it makes Ash's friends feel less special to Ash or the show itself now that there's been so many of them?

Now you can't say Ash has a closely knit group of friends anymore. Some of his friends were closer with him than others, and now most of his friends have never met each other and probably will never meet.

Do you think Ash having 9 different travel companions essentially makes them feel less internal to Ash and the show itself?

 

[Karamazov]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Not really. Each character has something special about them, and they each brought something to the group at the time. Sure they may leave, but they'll always be remembered.

 

[Aestivate]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

I don't think they themselves become less special, because all of us fans are going to pick and choose favorites... And our favorites are going to be special regardless. What I feel happens is that the influx of traveling partners and the constant rehash of them makes SATOSHI less important, and I become less prone to care about him than I do about his partners...

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Not really. Each character has something special about them, and they each brought something to the group at the time. Sure they may leave, but they'll always be remembered.

But are they still as important to Ash? One would say Brock was Ash's overall best friend simply because of how long he lasted. Cilan probably won't become as close with Ash as Brock did.

And lastly, it seems like Ash no longer keeps in contact with his old friends once they leave.

 

[Kaitou Kid]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

No. All of Ash's friends are unique in their own way and they have their own differing personalities, I don't think any of his friends are less special than the previous, be they his original traveling companions (Brock and Misty) or his latest (Iris and Cilan) people might not like certain characters or their Pokemon, but I don't think him having 9 different friends makes them any different. The main point is they all have traveled with Ash and care for him, even if at some times they don't see eye to eye or something. I honestly don't care if not all of his companions gain this ultra close Pikachu like special bond or whatever, they like him enough to travel with him so that's all that matters to me. Plus, if Ash ever traveled by himself, Pikachu would be sold on a black market somewhere by now, cause god knows Ash is hopeless without his friends.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

At the same time, they're also all only with Ash for one part of his adventure, with the rare exception of Brock due to how long he lasted.

Misty will never know what Ash's journies in Hoenn/Sinnoh/Unova were like. Iris/Cilan will never know what Ash in Kanto was like, etc. It seems to me since these characters only see one part of Ash's adventure, they essentially become less important to Ash's overall story.

 

[Karamazov]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

At the same time, they're also all only with Ash for one part of his adventure, with the rare exception of Brock due to how long he lasted.

Misty will never know what Ash's journies in Hoenn/Sinnoh/Unova were like. Iris/Cilan will never know what Ash in Kanto was like, etc. It seems to me since these characters only see one part of Ash's adventure, they essentially become less important to Ash's overall story.

He can always write to them or otherwise communicate to them somehow. Just because they leave, it doesn't mean they lose contact completely.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

He can always write to them or otherwise communicate to them somehow. Just because they leave, it doesn't mean they lose contact completely.

Is there any proof to that? I remember when May called Ash at Snowpoint, he acted surprised and when she showed up, he had no idea what she was doing in Johto at all.

Likewise, was Misty ever aware Dawn existed? For all Misty knows, Ash is still traveling with May and Max. I don't think Misty has any clue what Ash has been up to since Battle Frontier.

It seems to me as if Ash doesn't keep in contact with old friends at all.

 

[Kaitou Kid]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

But why do they need to know his past? If they ask him, I'm sure he'd tell them. If the topic ever comes up, but if it doesn't why pry?

 

[Winterdaze]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

I don't think they themselves become less special, because all of us fans are going to pick and choose favorites... And our favorites are going to be special regardless. What I feel happens is that the influx of traveling partners and the constant rehash of them makes SATOSHI less important, and I become less prone to care about him than I do about his partners...

I'm inclined to agree, especially because to me it seems much of Ash's perceived development was tied to them (being a mentor figure to May for example), so once those travelling partners are gone it's easy to forget about how far his character has come, or be bothered caring. Especially when the writers decide to go and have him turn back into knucklehead again for no good reason :|

Poll needs more choices

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

I'm inclined to agree, especially because to me it seems much of Ash's perceived development was tied to them (being a mentor figure to May for example), so once those travelling partners are gone it's easy to forget about how far his character has come, or be bothered caring. Especially when the writers decide to go and have him turn back into knucklehead again for no good reason :|

At least Cilan admires Ash rather than acting like his mentor like Brock did. Its not as if Ash is learning from Cilan.

 

[Winterdaze]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Only Ash hasn't really been shown to be particularly admirable in the series so far,those skills that made him admirable in the past are AWOL. Maybe Dento can just tell Ash is a better trainer than he seems by using his sommelier senses or something.

 

[Aestivate]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

The topic is about the super special awesomeness (or lack thereof/diminishing of) of Satoshi's companions. Not how Dent can taste Satoshi (yes the word taste is used veryyyyyy purposefully here :3c).

Please stay on topic; any discussion about Dent and his role specifically can go in his own thread in the Live Caster.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

But why do they need to know his past? If they ask him, I'm sure he'd tell them. If the topic ever comes up, but if it doesn't why pry?

Because it proves Ash's friends become less special to him.

When Ash pulled out the Misty lure in DP37, Dawn asked, "Who is Misty?" What does that prove? That Ash/Brock never made one mention of Misty until that episode, and if Ash hadn't used the lure, they probably never would have mentioned her to Dawn.

Likewise this also proves that Misty isn't secretly calling Ash on the phone off-screen to keep up with his adventures. She didn't even watch the Sinnoh league.

 

[djulienr]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Is there any proof to that? I remember when May called Ash at Snowpoint, he acted surprised and when she showed up, he had no idea what she was doing in Johto at all.

Likewise, was Misty ever aware Dawn existed? For all Misty knows, Ash is still traveling with May and Max. I don't think Misty has any clue what Ash has been up to since Battle Frontier.

It seems to me as if Ash doesn't keep in contact with old friends at all.

Misty knows he was in Sinnoh because she sent him her lure to Sinnoh, and Prak probably told her about Dawn.

 

[Cybersai]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Misty knows he was in Sinnoh because she sent him her lure to Sinnoh, and Prak probably told her about Dawn.

Um, no. Ash got the Misty lure during Battle Frontier right before his final Brandon match.

Misty never sent anything to Ash in Sinnoh.

 

[AceTrainer14]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Not all friends stay in contact for long. Misty could very well be off having her own adventures that we don't know about and wouldn't be able to stay in contact with Ash for very long. Your making it sound as if Misty and May are back at home, waiting on every single word of what Ash does. They have their own lives to live: if they cared about Ash, they'd contact him as well.

These series don't have that much connection asides from Ash, Team Rocket and Brock up until now. Do Iris and Cilan care about what Ash did back in Kanto? Has Ash ever asked Cilan about his past? No. They are focused at the journey at hand, not at what happened so long ago that Ash probably doesn't even remember.

Finally, in a series like this that has been running since before most of the fans today were born, it does need to stay current and interesting. Changing the friends allows the show to be current and so anyone could pick it up. If they kept referencing every other series every single episode, it would become confusing for new fans. Ash could be doing a number of things off screen, including contacting them. We don't see him contacting his mother, checking up on his Pokemon, even going to the bathroom, it doesn't mean he doesn't do it.

 

[Likeitornot.]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

No, I don't. He only has had 8 friends, so there's not too many.

I think they'll come out with new and different personalites and new interactions to Ash. Look at Dento. Postively, or Negatively however you may think of him, he's certainly not dull. Characters may be annoying, but that doesn't mean that they're not special.
If they were less special, I don't think I'd find much interest in the show, anyways.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

Does it really matter how many traveling companions Ash had?
Even though im against character replacing(especially so often like pokemon does)each of Ash friends was special and important part of his life with their significance not dwindling out just because Ash is traveling with new friends.

Brock will always be remembered as his longest traveling companion playing important role in teaching him basic things about pokemon battles and strategies being of great help as mentor and caretaker for group.Misty will always be recognized as girl which helped him to grow in better trainer making sure to keep him stay on ground when being carried away and out of trouble providing useful tips and moral support both as his coach and friend.May is special because she pulled out different side from Ash being tied to his development of becoming more mature since he took up role as her mentor.etc,etc.

Just because thy no longer travel with Ash doesnt make them any less relevant since each of his past friends played important part in Ash life helping him to grow in better trainer over the years.They will always have their place in pokemon history being remembered.

Although their neglect nowdays making them seem nonexistent might lave different impression on people.

But are they still as important to Ash? One would say Brock was Ash's overall best friend simply because of how long he lasted. Cilan probably won't become as close with Ash as Brock did.

And lastly, it seems like Ash no longer keeps in contact with his old friends once they leave.

I think that sole fact of Misty and May knowing about Ash new traveling companions when making their cameos in Hoenn and DP as well new characters hearing about them before they even met them serves as pretty good indication how contact between Ash and his friends of screen exists.

It just happens that writers dont see need to show everything happen on screen.

Misty will never know what Ash's journies in Hoenn/Sinnoh/Unova were like. Iris/Cilan will never know what Ash in Kanto was like, etc.

Seeing how Misty is often in contact with prof.Oak its safe to say how she most likely knows where Ash headed next and how h fared at pokemon league.We get to see with Hoenn tournament and Battle Frontier when Misty watched his battles on screen or sending him lure how she is familiarized with his journeys.

Finally, in a series like this that has been running since before most of the fans today were born, it does need to stay current and interesting. Changing the friends allows the show to be current and so anyone could pick it up. If they kept referencing every other series every single episode, it would become confusing for new fans.

I dont think references to past pokemon,companions etc represents any problem for new generations of kids though.As we get to see with Hoenn or DP when older characters returned or Ash used his reserves new kids werent confused about this and thanks to reruns of older season on many TV stations like Cartoon network,Pokemon Smash or Boomerang as well other medias like internet im pretty sure good chunk of today kids already know about Ash past adventures.

Pokemon was always treated as one big continuity revolving around Ash journey so its reasonable to expect that some connection to his previous journeys and past is bound to exist.
Lastly seeing how kids dont seem to have problem picking up with other long lasting shows which dont replace their cast,i dont think changing traveling companions is main reason which makes series current and easier for other to pick up on it.

 

[Blue1225]

Re: Do you feel that Ash's friends become less special now that he has so many of the

If you have 9 friends then they're all your friends and all of them are important to you. You might be closer with a few of them than others based on how long you've known them and what you've been through together, but each of those 9 people is unique and special in their own way and each is important to you in his or her own way. Doesn't make any of them more important than the other.