Has Sinnoh been repeating plots lately from earlier seasons?

[*Leeney*]

I'm not sure if there is a thread like this. If so, feel free to close it. I've noticed that Sinnoh's episode plots have some similarities to the earlier season. Like when Ash released Butterfree and when Jesse released Dustox. Is this the time when the writers decide to bring back old memories?

 

[Musashi]

Everyone has pretty much agreed that they're doing this because the kids watching now were too young/not born yet when these plots first happened. I remember when the Dokucale/Pikachu episodes aired in Japan they showed clips from their Kanto counterparts, so I'm sure they're just letting the new generation of kids have their own episodes with these plots.

I don't really have a problem with it because they've mostly been more enjoyable than the originals.

 

[Ino-Chan]

I mean, It's okay for them to do this, but there is no more reason for them to do this anymore.

 

[Duckgon Z]

Yeah, but remember that there are kids that may not have even been BORN when the old episodes aired. And incorporating/updating those plots is an interesting twist not done with earlier seasons.

 

[Flaze]

Yeah, he's right, I mean I know this seven year old, he's crazy about Pokemon but he hasn't seen the first season so I mostly have to tell him everything that happened during it. Back to topic, I'm actually glad they're doing this, it actually makes you remember.

 

[PockyAddict]

The show's been on since 1997 in Japan and there are some younger fans who were either infants or were'nt born when the 1st season came on. So I'm all for remaking episodes if it helps them remember the plot of said episodes.

 

[Cybersai]

The Burmy ep in the Cheryl arc was also a repeat of the Paras ep in Kanto. Team Rocket were even trying to help Burmy evolve like they did with Paras.

You can also say Chimchar is a repeat of Charmander's story, just better handled. Let's see, both Charmander/Chimchar come from abusive trainers and Ash takes them over and turns them into powerhouses?

 

[Luxio2k8]

I don't really have a problem with it because they've mostly been more enjoyable than the originals.

I feel the same way. I mean if I had to pick between bad new original episode or good re-make. I much rather have the good re-make. It really doesn't bother me because the episodes have been good for the most part and there are plenty of new fans that never saw the old episodes anyway.

Even epsidoes like, "Pika and Goliath" make referneces to the episode it's based on ("Electric Shock Showdown"). And continuity referneces is always a big plus in my book.

 

[ii kanji]

Since everyone's already said the "fans were unalive", "episode improved" points, I'm also gonna add that these plots are actually fairly original in that:
1. the idea's only been used once before, unlike the plentiful help COTD one.
2. the episodes tend to be completely different. You've used Butterfree/Dokucale and the only similarities are the concepts - bug poke goes off to make babies. Otherwise they're 2 completely different eps. Butterfree is about Satoshi's trying to impress the other one. Dokucale is about Musashi regretting not going off with clone-dude, and stopping heer moth from making the same mistakes.

So yah, I'm all for "remakes"

 

[StellarWind]

I can't help but notice Dawn's Mamoswine being a reuse of the tired Ash's-Charizard plot device.

But yeah. Totally are intentional tributes to old episodes. Either that or the writers ARE running out of ideas.

 

[PDL]

I can't help but notice Dawn's Mamoswine being a reuse of the tired Ash's-Charizard plot device.

"Tired"?

Tired would imply that that the plot has been used a million times over the course of the anime's run.

Honestly, find me a show that's been around as long as this one that has never ever repeated a plot once. Surely you must have heard of the saying "Nothing is new under the sun."

 

[Sleet]

The other posters have it explained pretty well. They're banking on most of their viewers never having seen the plots the first time they happened, and for the most part, it worked. Those of us who have to watch the same episode twice are a very small minority, and are out of their target audience.

I think it's very lame, but it's their show, and I'm not who the show is intended to be watched by. I think Ash contemplating evolving Pikachu after losing to a Raichu owned by a trainer who speaks with exaggerated American dialect, which Pikachu refuses and then wins with its speed is probably the worst case of borrowed plot. At least they acknowledged that it's been done before, but still.

 

[Cybersai]

You know I'm surprised they never remade classic eps like "Showdown at Dark City" from the first season. Have they ever done that plot again, with two unofficial Gyms having a gang war over which one becomes official?

It seems like the kind of ep that's begging to be remade, but they never did it.

 

[PokemonHero]

You know I'm surprised they never remade classic eps like "Showdown at Dark City" from the first season. Have they ever done that plot again, with two unofficial Gyms having a gang war over which one becomes official?

It seems like the kind of ep that's begging to be remade, but they never did it.

That would be an interesting episode to remake, so long as it doesn't come to the same conclusion.

Also, it would be awesome to see Pikachu infatuated by ketchup again. Though I do recall a Hoenn episode where Pikachu had a bottle of ketchup (I think it was the Oldale Town episode right after May and Ash first met).

 

[Jesse GS the II]

I don't mind older episodes being used as the basis for new episodes. As many have said, this show's been running for twelve years at a rate of one episode per week - some recycling is entirely acceptable at this point. And often times, it proves how much better the writing has gotten since Kanto - Satoshi bidding goodbye to his Butterfree almost pales in comparison to Musashi saying goodbye to her Dokucale.

 

[Sleet]

I dunno, I don't think that episode was quite as good as the first one.

While I don't encourage remakes per se, I think Showdown at the Dark City would be one of the more reasonable concepts to reuse.

 

[Cybersai]

On that note, did anyone else think the BF ep "Pasta La Vista" finally gave us that fighting dojo from Saffron City that the original Kanto skipped over?

I'm pretty sure that's what that ep was based on, hence they were in Saffron at the time and the dojo was based on Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.

 

[Trainer'sInsomnia]

To "answer" the thread question, yeah, Sinnoh's re-used some plots.

In some instances, like the Butterfree/Dustox mirror, I think it's a re-used plot thing...

In other instances though, like the whole "destroyed bike" thing... I think that's more of a returning gag?

Anyway, like others have said, they can pretty much get away with it because the newer/younger fans, who tend to be their target audience, aren't going to know that these plots have even been done before. We just kind of have to deal with it.

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You know I'm surprised they never remade classic eps like "Showdown at Dark City" from the first season. Have they ever done that plot again, with two unofficial Gyms having a gang war over which one becomes official?

I think that episode was made strictly to give an explanation as to how gyms come about. Kanto actually had a lot of really quirky, interesting ways of giving explanation to something, or stretching their abilities a bit.

I think RBY gave them a lot to work with. Now we're in Sinnoh, and it's like, they've had so many different ways of explaining so many different things in the games. The signs, cities, etc...
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I still dislike Turtwig's introduction to the show... His intro, personality and backstory just seemed to be such a watered down version of Bulbasaur's.

"Protector of the other Pokemon. Tough, stubborn thing. Looking out for the others, and taking care of me as well."

 

[Adamant]

On that note, did anyone else think the BF ep "Pasta La Vista" finally gave us that fighting dojo from Saffron City that the original Kanto skipped over?

I'm pretty sure that's what that ep was based on, hence they were in Saffron at the time and the dojo was based on Hitmonchan and Hitmonlee.

Yep.

We got the Cycling Road shortly after that, too - I guess the writers realized there were a couple previously un-covered Kanto locations that could make for decent episodes.

Shame they once again ignored the Silph Co., though.

 

[Cybersai]

The schoolkids from "The Pur-fect Hero" from the first season are back in the new Snover ep. Haha, re-using old designs too.