How do you feel about the Pokemon choices given to the main characters this gen?

[Cybersai]

I'll have to say I'm pretty pleased.

Ash's team has gone through a number of changes this gen, randomly getting Paul's Chimchar, trading away Aipom, getting a Gliscor and then releasing it, (although it'll likely return), and getting many evolutions. Ash has two fully evolved starters on his team for the first time, his first dragon Pokemon, and while Buizel/Staraptor didn't break any new boundaries, they've been handled well.

Dawn has pretty much gone down the cute/girly route with most of her team sans Mamoswine, so I'm not that surprised there. Like May, Dawn got a starter that Ash had that advertises the current gen. Unlike May, Dawn's starter refused to evolve. Buneary/Pachi are the typical cute Pokemon and Togekiss was a big surprise. Shame Ambipom was released.

Brock's team was good. Loved Croagunk, and as little screentime as Sudowoodo/Happiny get, I like them.

Team Rocket got Carnivine and Yanmega, simple replacements for Cacnea and Dustox. No big surprise here.

I wish some of the pacing of the evolutions were handled better, but I'm happy with the DP teams.

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

Save for Ambipom/Gliscor, yes, I'm very pleased. I was a bit disappointed with Dustox's release and Cacnea's giveaway. Yanmega is good, Carnivine is too. Dustox's release episode was great as well, but... Too bad, Cacnea didn't evolve in Gardenia's care, or yet at least.

It is a shame that Brock's Croagunk got more spotlight than Brock himself. It's mascot status was also the reason of Saturn Toxicroak being somewhat uber, which I didn't like at all. Anyways, at least thanks to that, Saturn's toad got some personality.

 

[Hellion]

I'll have to say I'm pretty pleased.

Ash's team has gone through a number of changes this gen, randomly getting Paul's Chimchar, trading away Aipom, getting a Gliscor and then releasing it, (although it'll likely return), and getting many evolutions. Ash has two fully evolved starters on his team for the first time, his first dragon Pokemon, and while Buizel/Staraptor didn't break any new boundaries, they've been handled well.

I agree, Ash getting Paul's chimchar was an amazing move cause it really established their philosophical differences as trainer. The Dawn and Ash trade was a refreshing first, giving Aipom the chance to shine in both contests and gym battles... Three fully evolved pokemon, a first (hilarious) dragon pokemon, I'm really happy about Ash's team...

Except I could have done without Gliscor and pikachu needed to learn a new move in my opinion...

Dawn has pretty much gone down the cute/girly route with most of her team sans Mamoswine, so I'm not that surprised there. Like May, Dawn got a starter that Ash had that advertises the current gen. Unlike May, Dawn's starter refused to evolve. Buneary/Pachi are the typical cute Pokemon and Togekiss was a big surprise. Shame Ambipom was released.

I like the fact they didn't go the May route and just give her cute pokemon... Mamoswine is amazing and I'm glad we have a big strong pokemon doing contests instead of just cute ones... Was Ambipom really that cute, looked really weird to me ??? Piplup refusing to evolve is great (though it needs to learn a new move, it's been using the same 4 since DP22), Buneary is ok (needs to learn a fourth move and or evolve), Pachirisu and Cyndaquil were handled well by the writers... I'm really curious to see how togekiss will be handled... So in conclusion NEW MOVES, NEW MOVES, NEW MOVES...

Brock's team was good. Loved Croagunk, and as little screentime as Sudowoodo/Happiny get, I like them.

Do the writers even remember that Brock has other pokemon than Croagunk ? I could have done with more Happiny and more sudowoodo...

Great pokemon this series (with a few exceptions)

 

[V Faction]

Too bad, Cacnea didn't evolve in Gardenia's care, or yet at least.

One of my major gripes in the past was not having Cacnea evolve. Of course, when Harley made his mark, that hope had evaporated, and doubly so when Cacnea left for good. I can't change what's happened though.

Now as for Dawn, I probably have to give her the award for most diverse team. All of her Pokemon are variations of previous 'archtypes' done in such a way as to make them appealing. Piplup is a mascot that doesn't evolve (they brought up the Everstone even), Pachirisu is the gang's second Electric-type ever, Mamoswine is a HUGE Pokemon that wasn't listening to Dawn at first, and Cyndaquil is a Pokemon given to promote remakes of older games. And Buneary is probably the most 'Dawn-like' Pokemon of the bunch, something you'd expect a girl of Dawn's character to get.

And have you noticed most of her Pokemon have beady, black eyes or half-circle eyes? (or at least mamoswine did when it was swinub)

I'm happy with Ash's lot. Most of his Pokemon just feel right with him. For my own selfish personal reasons I wish they'd tried something new instead of letting him catch Starly, but I suppose that's one stigma we can't escape.

Brock has the best team image he's ever had. A Pokemon that hurts him, a Pokemon that reminds us of Nurse Joy, and freaking Sudowoodo. Do you know how many times people had cried for Brock to have Sudowoodo back in the day?

 

[Hitomi]

For my own selfish personal reasons I wish they'd tried something new instead of letting him catch Starly, but I suppose that's one stigma we can't escape.

I also wanted him to get a different flying type than Starly, but I guess the writers just wanted to continue on giving Ash the regional bird (Pidgeot, Noctowl, Swellow).

As for Dawn's team, I didn't care for them initially (I thought they were too stereotypically girly - a baby penguin, a cute squirrel, a bunny) but when she got Mamoswine, it seemed somehow less girly (really, how many preteen girls would think that a giant woolly mammoth thing would be a good Pokemon to add to your collection of Contest specific Pokes? Swinub was cute. Mamoswine? Not so much, IMO).

 

[Grave-E]

Ash's team is great thus far. I'll admit that I was taken aback by a lot of choices made initially, such as him getting Turtwig in the first place and Gliscor being ditched, but it's all worked out for the best. Grotle's really hit it's stride now, and it's done well in setting itself apart from his other grass pokemon. Monferno is a personal favourite of mine already, but it's back story and personality have been nicely fleshed out to the point where I can like it for those reasons too. Staraptor is often citied as 'boring' I see, but with Brave Bird, Close Combat and the underlying ability to spaz out, I feel it's got the chops to surpass Swellow if they play their cards right. I can't bring myself to dislike him anyway...fond memories, don't 'cha know?
The only one I'm really not sure about anymore is Buoysel. I mean, it's got enough techniques to keep it interesting, but as a character, there's something about it that really keeps it at a distance. I dunno, he just feels a little shallow I suppose. Yeah, he likes battling and training and more battling and training. But what else? We never really see any other side to him.

I've got no complaints about Brock's roster other than Sudowoodo's lack of character or usage. Croagunk is sheer excellence and Happiny is fun enough when it actually sees the light of day. The way all three are utilised is less than perfect, but it's the best Brock's had since...well...ever, which I suppose is all I can ask.

I liked Dawn's team at first, but quickly grew tired of them. Piplup can make me smile on occasion, but as a battler it's painfully boring. It's movepool feels limited, and it's used so often that any fun there was initially has been sucked out of it. Buneary and Pachirisu I feel the same about in that regard, but they're worse off because their gimmicks lost steam pretty quickly. Buneary's crush on Pikachu has never been particularly funny or endearing, and Pachirisu came to a halt almost as soon as it's debut episode ended. Cyndaquil I'm not particularly enthused about, since it's largely a re-tread of Ash's with a personality that isn't quite as stand-out.
Mamoswine is brilliant though. It's got personality, it's got the moves, it's entertaining and it's a trend breaker. I'm all for that. For me, if there was ever going to be a definitive reason to keep Dawn around, it'd be him.

 

[Cybersai]

Yeah, Brock's Pokemon are underused sans Croagunk, but its still the best team he ever had.

Most of Brock's Kanto/Johto Pokemon had literally no personality and were hardly used, and while I loved Ludicolo in Hoenn, it was also seldom seen.

Brock's pokemon usage is no different than usual as we've seen with Sudowoodo/Happiny, but thankfully Croagunk escapes the "Brock curse" and gets tons of screentime.

 

[CoordinatorBrandon]

Yeah I like their choices as well. Esp since all of their pkmn have personality. Bt btw does any know where Dawn gets a Togekiss? I heard she gets in in Sunyshore, but gives it to Cynthis -__-

 

[CoordinatorBrandon]

I meant Cynthia

 

[Falconwing]

^ don't double post. Use Edit.

I like Ash's team, especially Buizel and Infernape. I'm surprised he got a Gible and two evolved starters. The writers have given Ash a good team.

Brock... well, I like Croagunk.

Dawn... Well, it's a good contest team and they've done pretty well. I miss Ambipom.

 

[V Faction]

Most of Brock's Kanto/Johto Pokemon had literally no personality and were hardly used, and while I loved Ludicolo in Hoenn, it was also seldom seen.

It's funny because his Johto Pokemon were his Kanto Pokemon! The boring bastards never left.

And this is what Brock's Pokemon accomplished in Hoenn:

Brock: "Mudkip use Water Gun! Lotad use your Water Gun! Mudkip, use Water Gun! Lombre use Water Gun! Mudkip use your Water Gun! Ludicolo use Bullet Seed! MUDKIP! Use Water Gun! Forretress, stand there and do nothing!"

Brock's pokemon usage is no different than usual as we've seen with Sudowoodo/Happiny, but thankfully Croagunk escapes the "Brock curse" and gets tons of screentime.

Croagunk is amazing. It gets buttons, stickers, spots in endings and openings, silverware, plush dolls, backpacks, clothing, and whatever else you can think of. When it's time to throw all the Pokemon away except for one in the next region, I'd bet my balls that Croagunk is the keeper.

 

[pikachu200]

Pikachu's still the cutie (even with the lower voice lol) Staraptor's cool but really is just a replacement Pidgeot since he left for good, Grotle is another awesome one despite his less screen time, Monferno is another one I seem to like since Ash got it after his rivsl released it but I liked the chain of Ash having Turtwig his friend Dawn having Piplup and his rival Paul having Chimchar it could have been interesting, Gliscor is the funny one on the team, and the Gible is cute once you get past its biting problem

Piplup is stealing Pikachu's thunder! Pikachu is the only out of the ball pokemon in my opinion and Togepi since he was Pikachu's little brother pokemon of the old trio, Buneary's crush is getting a little less cute and less like the cuteness of Amy's crush on Sonic lol, Pachirisu is just a Sinnoh clone of Pikachu, Mamoswine is Mamoswine I see no problems, Cyndaquil nah she just likes to copy off of Ash's old team

Sudowoodo is just a mystery to me now, Croagunk is funny when it stabs Brock when he gets all nutty ove a girl, and Happiny is way too cute and way too strong!

 

[CoordinatorBrandon]

Pikachu's still the cutie (even with the lower voice lol) Staraptor's cool but really is just a replacement Pidgeot since he left for good, Grotle is another awesome one despite his less screen time, Monferno is another one I seem to like since Ash got it after his rivsl released it but I liked the chain of Ash having Turtwig his friend Dawn having Piplup and his rival Paul having Chimchar it could have been interesting, Gliscor is the funny one on the team, and the Gible is cute once you get past its biting problem
hdear: Pikachu is the only out of the ball pokemon in my opinion and Togepi since he was Pikachu's little brother pokemon of the old trio, Buneary's crush is getting a little less cute and less like the cuteness of Amy's crush on Sonic lol, Pachirisu is just a Sinnoh clone of Pikachu, Mamoswine is Mamoswine I see no problems, Cyndaquil nah she just likes to copy off of Ash's old team

Sudowoodo is just a mystery to me now, Croagunk is funny when it stabs Brock when he gets all nutty ove a girl, and Happiny is way too cute and way too strong!

Piplup isnt stealing thunder! I like it alot. The writers are giving him more screen time to match his perspnality. Face it: piplup cant stay in its pokeball with the amount of action and screen time it gets. and i think pikachu needs another friend^^

 

[Snake Bandage]

I was happy with Ash's team until he gave up Gliscor to make room for his stupid dragon. Now I'm not as happy with it. But I still really love that he got Chimchar. Infernape is an ace Pokemon.

I never liked Dawn's Pokemon, though I suppose they fit her. I'm unhappy about her getting Cyndaquil and Togekiss, though. They're too cool for her. Also, I absolutely hated what they did with Ambipom (who was the only member of Dawn's team I liked). And let's not talk about my dislike of The Penguin.

Brock's team is pretty much the best he's ever had. Happiny is amazing (and WTF-worthy), Sudowoodo is fun when he's being used, and Croagunk. Oh, Croagunk, my love. Initially I was a bit worried when Brock got him, since Brock's Pokemon have always been underused, but they're doing so much fun stuff with Croagy. I'm really happy about that, he's one of my favorite Gen IV Pokemon.

I'm never unhappy with Team Rocket Pokemon. They're always kickass. I'm just sad when the old ones have to go away.

 

[Thingamajig]

Ash's team had a slow start, what with Staravia being the only evolution he had until Gliscor came along. It's a shame the writers never really gave Gliscor a chance. But Gible will hopefully fill the absence left by Gliscor...

Spoiler

... and Turtwig's personality. Which is what I like least about Ash's team, Grotle eventually evolving into Torterra. It seems like each evolution of Turtwig will have less personality than the last. At least Sceptile and Bayleef still kept some semblance of their pre-evolution personalities when they evolved - but how interesting could a largely immobile Tree-tortoise possibly be? It kind of makes me glad that Bulbasaur never evolved (not that Ivysaur would be a bad character, but Venusaur would've just been dull dull dull)

Infernape is great, but now that it's been established as a strong character against Paul - it's pretty much Blaziken 2.0 (I s'pose that's partly GameFreak's fault for giving us a second Fire/Fighting starter). Buizel's also a decent character - but I wish it would evolve instead of Grotle.

I'm mixed on Dawn's team. I liked Piplup a lot more when it wasn't trying to be Pikachu. It's mildly amusing when it gets pwned, but most of the time - it's camerawhoreyness is just annoying. Buneary and Pachirisu should ideally, IMO, be getting about half of Piplup's battle time. I have no real problem with how Mamoswine has been handled - when it first evolved into Mamo, I thought perhaps the evolution was a bit rushed, but Mamo's turned out to be much better as Mamoswine than it was as Swinub. I'll refrain from commenting on Cyndaquil until I see the episodes in English.

Aipom was a lost cause the moment she was traded to Dawn... evolving into Ambipom made it ugly, too.

Brock's team is the best he's had... but that's really not saying much. It'd be nice if Happiny and Sudowoodo got to spend more time out of their Pokeballs, but they're far more interesting than his Hoenn Pokemon.

As for TR... well, I'm kind of glad they mercy-killed Cacnea, because there was really no way of focusing on two different Grass-type battlers when James had no real outlet to showcase even one of them. Dustox outlived its usefulness from the moment the whole Beautifly/Dustox confusion was resolved. Yanmega's cooler, too. And you've got to love the fact that she's a girl Yanmega.

 

[DarkDreams]

I'm indifferent >>

 

[hhhhdmt]

Happy.I like Monferno alot and cant wait for him to evolve. Never liked Grotle or Torterra (mainly because of its design) but its still ok for me. Buizel is cool and would get even stronger with its new ice punch. Staraptor is ok with me but it would have been intersting to see if Ash did not catch the reigonal bird for once. Gliscor is pokemon that i liked and i do want it to return later. Its also very good that he go his first dragon type, Gible.

But i am especially glad about Infernape since Ash will finally get a strong fighting type.

 

[TeddiUrsa]

And this is what Brock's Pokemon accomplished in Hoenn:

Brock: "Mudkip use Water Gun! Lotad use your Water Gun! Mudkip, use Water Gun! Lombre use Water Gun! Mudkip use your Water Gun! Ludicolo use Bullet Seed! MUDKIP! Use Water Gun! Forretress, stand there and do nothing!"

It´s all getting clearer now...
Kasumi wasn´t part of AG, but the writers felt that the viewers would miss the good old Water Gun. There was no escape!
At least there is no Water Gun overuse in DP anymore. Gotta love...Whirpool..and..Bubblebeam...:/

Takeshi´s team truely is his best team ever. Even Sudowoodo can be funny from time to time with its mimic antics. Nothing to roll over the floor while laughing, but a nice touch. Hey, it´s better than nothing! ( I´m looking at you, Takeshi´s Kanto/Jotho team!)

 

[Blazaking]

I'm very satisfied with Ash's team. Once he gets Infernape and Torterra, it'll be one of his best teams (next to his original one). Infernape could possibly be a rival to Charizard. I can see those two flaming it up now. Seeing Infernape make the finishing blow on Paul will be awesome. It'll also be interesting to see how Ash handles Torterra. Especially if it goes up against Paul's. I can see Gible either evolving during a League battle or the BF.

Dawns team is... meh. I don't really care.

Brock's Croagunk is one of his best. Next to Crobat. Croagunk has a alot of personality. And of he carries him over to the next region (which he will probably do) then I can see it evolving there.

 

[CynthiaLover]

I'm quite satisfied with this team setup, for all the characters. I'll start with Ash.

First, even though Staraptor doesn't break any new frontiers, but considering that Staraptor knows moves like Close Combat really make him more unique. Using that move when he first evolved, he gave Honchkrow a real issue. I feel that Staraptor is probaby one of his strongest Flying-types, after Charizard and perhaps Swellow.

Next: Buizel is super cool. I'm glad he won't evolve. Once he gets Ice Punch under his belt, it'll be a real contender. Buizel will probaby be a key factor in his upcoming battles, espeicially in the League. Hopefully the lovable sea weasel will give Paul's can a good kicking.

Grotle and Monferno are good. Grotle based on defense while Monferno is based on offense. Once they evolve, not only will this be the first time Ash will have two fully evolved Starters in the same team, but it'll be a good chance for Ash to really bring out the big guns. Torterra will, most likely, be his tank, while Infernape will be his star attacker. It's about time Ash got some really good teammates.

I wish Gliscor sticked aorund, I liked it a lot. Loved its comical-like position on the team. But I have a feeling it'll make a comeback by the time the League starts. Maybe it'll know a real Ground-type move by then, like Dig or Earthquake.

Gotta love Gible. Ash's first Dragon-type (for that matter, the first Dragon-type owned by a main character ever). He's just a lot of fun. Ash better get that Draco Meteor ready before the League. Although there isn't anything wrong with some Draco Meteor/Piplup comedy. Still, it's good to see him breaking into his first Dragon-type.

Pikachu is Pikachu, can't say much more than that. Although a new move would be nice.

As for Dawn and Brock, they both have pretty good line-ups.

For Dawn: Piplup refusing to evovle (and getting spammed with Draco Meteors), Buneary and Pachirisu the typical girly Pokemon (although a first with a new Electric-type with someone else), Ambipom's departure, Mamoswine's massive pressence and brute power, Cyndaquil's birth (always adorable), and a soon arrival of Togekiss, this should be interesting. It's good to see a female main character with a little more variaty in her team, no?

For Brock: love that Croagunk. Hopefull he sticks around for a while. Plus a muscular Happiny and comical Sudowoodo, his best team yet.

So, in short, yeah, best teams in the anime yet. (Although I still wish Ash had gotten a Blaziken in the Hoenn saga... hdear