How possible is a Pokemon without filler episodes?

KrspaceT

KrspaceT

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Filler episodes seem to be generally agreed to be bad these days, and have mostly become forgettable.

While I'll wait on SM to finish to figure out what is an isn't filler in that series, even a series I like like XY basically only has four filler episodes that are memorable (Filler being episodes without new major character debuts, new move debuts, not being tied to an arc, evolutions, captures, etc)

Maybe 4.5 if I add that Pokeball Factory one, but basically without a Evil Malamar, dimensional jumping cave walls, or Serena dressing like Ash they don't stick out.

Same goes with the other series really.

So...the simple question goes...can a Pokemon series be rid of them?

My main observation is that a Filler Episode is generally used these days to either fill an empty slot or debut a new Pokemon. A small generation might be able to pull it off if the new Pokemon are all captured, evolved, or such by main characters, rivals, and gym leaders. .

Any other ways you can think of?
 
I wouldn't say that all filler episodes are bad/forgettable. There certainly are some filler episodes that I would describe as such, but I don't think it's fair to brush them all aside like that.

As for the question at hand, I don't think it's possible to have a Pokemon series without any filler episodes. They often do have filler episodes to showcase a new Pokemon, but it also gives a chance for the characters, and by extension the audience, some breathing room. Battles and training where Pokemon learn new moves can be great, but I think it would be a bit overwhelming it a Pokemon series was all about battling all the time without any chance to really cool down. I'm not even sure a small generation could handle all of the new Pokemon being captured/evolved by main characters, rivals and Gym Leaders either. That would still require Ash and his friends to have a good amount of Pokemon and some Pokemon wouldn't evolve due to being more marketable. It just seems more impractical to me more than anything else.

Plus, filler episodes help to make a series last through a generation. It isn't the only way, but it can help them make a series last a bit longer. They do have to make a series last for at least three years and they normally don't rush through Ash's Gym badge quests either.
 
I'm not really sure its generally agreed upon that filler is bad? Although I don't like SM filler at all (or SM in general), I don't think any of the other series "filler" was bad at all. There were many interesting episodes, with some really cool characters, interesting places, character development in the group, etc. Most of my favorite episodes are what is considered "filler" and even these episodes usually have some development as far as training, relationships, teamwork, traveling, etc. I will admit there are a couple XY I thought weren't necessary (especially the lock one), but for the most part they were still very entertaining.

I think its pretty clear a series can't be rid of them unless GF starts releasing new generations every 2 years (maybe would have to be even shorter) or the anime stops being weekly. People were upset by how many Pokemon Ash caught in BW, so trying to wipe out fillers by adding catches is probably not a good idea (plus I have heard a lot of complaints about episodes that were not very good, but had a catch or evolution stuck in at the end that maybe takes up 30 seconds so it wasn't "filler", so that isn't really a solution anyway because the content is essentially the same). Also the faster paced gym battle series have more of an "empty" feeling in my opinion, less development makes the wins seem cheaper.

I guess they could slow down on the random CODs, but I think SM has already done that a lot and still has a lot of what might be considered filler. And some of the CODs are quite entertaining and memorable, and if you don't like them, guess what, you'll never see them again.

I think a really helpful limit to filler is the series that have goals other than Ash's. But a situation like SM where you have 6 main trainers for example, say each of them had a different goal, I think it would be too much clutter to keep up with. Even if you traded off episodes every week, or tried to split and focus on two goals an episode, you would wind up with a lot of time in between, so it really isn't feasible without being choppy and lacking depth. 2-3 different goals seems to be enough to keep things interesting, but I think series with only Ash's goal may possibly have to rely on filler more.

I'm just thinking of it like a Pokemon game (what the anime promotes). Some people like to speed run and just battle trainers and gyms, and others like to explore all the areas, participate in contests, talk to all npcs, do stuff like trick house or amie, etc etc. In fact, newer games (especially Alola) have added side quests that are almost exactly like "filler episodes" meet random NPC (COD), get asked for help, help them out, never see them again. I think its more fulfilling/immersive to do all the stuff, but everyone is different. I think if you really don't find filler necessary, you can probably just skip the episode (just like you can in the games), there's still plenty of content (maybe not in SM, but for sure in XY and past) to keep you entertained. I don't think there would be enough content for a weekly show, however, without any of what is typically consider filler, and for a lot of us, we really enjoy those episodes anyway.
 
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KrspaceT said:
Filler episodes seem to be generally agreed to be bad these days, and have mostly become forgettable.
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I have an issue with this premise: a small group of fans have always had a problem with the concept of episodes where something mind-blowingly epic doesn't happen. This feeling has not become more pronounced (if anything it has become less so!) as far as I have noticed over the years.

I think the only way to really eliminate filler is for fans' definitions of what is important to broaden. The character development that happens in episodes without major plot progression is indispensable and the story would be unwatchable without it.
 
some fillers where good, training episodes, new moves learned, abilities show, tornaments, epic battles like Poliwrath vs Charizard and others.
 
I mean, I stopped caring about whether an episode is filler or not in SM since even if not every single one of them is top tier, at least the ones that aren't as great feel different and unique most of the time. They're sort of necessary to make the series match the releases of the game and not have breaks that might lower the brand's visibility, while also allowing each Pokémon to be presented individually.

As long as fillers aren't:

- Ash and co. walking through a generic forest.
- They meet a Pokémon or trainer.
- "Oh no! They need help!".
- "Let's help them!".
- "Oh no! Team Rocket!".
- Absolutely mediocre one-sided stomp.
- "Okay, NOW let's help them!"
- Let's bid farewell under the sunset to our new friend we'll never ever meet again.

If they keep avoiding that then I can watch any filler without feeling like I wasted half an hour and most of the time even enjoy the episode quite a lot.
 
I don't think filler is bad at all, because the filler episodes still advance the story in some manner. My gripe with filler sets in when there is roughly 20 episodes between key plot points in the anime (Example: gym badge A was won, and then Ash decides to goof off for 15 episodes before reaching the next gym, and that gym takes 5 episodes to work through. SM for some reason just sticks out like a sore thumb - the series itself started with a terrible premise. After being a Pokemon trainer for 20+ years (probably the equivalent of a month in anime time), Ash suddenly deciding to go to Pokemon school is preposterous. What's the point? Chances are when the next series/generations starts, he'll get the dumb and not recall anything he learned in school. SM definitely has it's shining moments, but I have not been this turned off by the anime since the Johto Journeys.

My only qualms with BW was the dialogue given to a character who's name I will not mention, and Skyla who is a terrible human being and trainer. The Decalore island arc was pretty dumb too.

I think DP and AG are great examples of a Pokemon series that effectively used "filler" episodes. XY get's special mention for doing a decent job of telling the story with minimal filler between key plot points.
 
You can do it in Dragonball Z and Yu-Gi-Oh way, where every battle lasts several episodes while time is filled with Satoshi's friends commenting about every single detail of battle, flashbacks and dramatically slowed scenes. But that's just a different way to have fillers, spreading plot important elements into several episodes while filling the rest of these episodes with filler scenes. Pokemon is not strange to that, most of recent Nebby-Lusamine arc's episodes were like that. Another way is giving other characters goals and storylines similar to Satoshi's and giving them rivals and gym-like battle contest and tournaments. They already tried it with Pokemon Contests, Don Battles, etc. I'm not sure our writers can handle complex, years-long goals for more than two characters. Another way is making mini-arcs that lasts several episodes, but that would be just multi-episode fillers, not that different from the current show.
 
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In my Pokemon series I try to have as less fillers as possible, and I do the travelling sections with special arcs, appareances from secondary characters or Chronicles-like episodes where the protagonists do not appear. However, I've felt that seeing so many secondary characters constanly going in and out can be tiring to the reader, so a filler once in a while doesn't hurt. However, ir must progress either a main character or the group's friendship.

So yeah, a filler can give room to breathe and in a 3-year series they don't hurt much. Problems arise when there are 3 or more in a row, when the characters' development is undone right after the filler, when they take priority an important plot which really needs more time *cough*XYZ*cough* and obviously when they are bad.
 
Pretty much impossible considering the source material. The games they're based on don't provide enough material to work with for a 2-3 year series, so the anime has always had to take liberties.
 
In my opinion, I think fillers are necessary. I think they are good for character development in areas that we may not know a lot about. If we focus on goals such as battling then we won't know their true personalities and extra hobbies - I'm always interested in that. They are also good for showing off certain Pokemon in a different way from the games which is always refreshing and it makes you think deeper or in a different way about that Pokemon. I like some Pokemon more because of their portrayal in the anime e.g. Munchlax - it is in my Top 3. Also, it would be weird doing nothing between gyms/contests/showcases. Although I am an advocate of a reduced number, I still really enjoy most of them especially the most recent one in the dubbed series (Let Sleeping Pokemon Lie!)
 
Nothing is necessary in my opinion. I think it would be really easy for any fan to create an outline of a quicker retelling of Ash's Kanto journey in say 25 episodes.

As a anime I like density more stuff that happens per episode the better.

Filler can be fun on its own merits but it's a balancing act. If you don't enough main plot to go around having filler at times that are appropriate could be a good way to avoid having arcs that are too elongated. Likewise if you have too much filler it can come at the cost the a conclusion later down the line. Obviously to me having proper battles and conclusions are more important than baseball and having Ash drop everything to get incredibly excited over something forgettable he just learned existed.
 
I say, it could be done in minimum 50 episodes.

Gym Battles = 8 episodes
Introduction to GLs = 8 episodes
Pokemon League = 8 episodes
Pokemon Captures = 5 episodes
Pokemon Evolutions = 5 episodes
Rivals' Introductions = 2 episodes
Episodes for Sidekicks = 10 episodes
Other Game Stuff = 4 episodes
 
Its more of a case of will something happen in the filler that will matters later on? Yes then its fine. No then why should I care? To me that's what some of the ep in SM feel like to me.
 
martianmister said:
I say, it could be done in minimum 50 episodes.

Gym Battles = 8 episodes
Introduction to GLs = 8 episodes
Pokemon League = 8 episodes
Pokemon Captures = 5 episodes
Pokemon Evolutions = 5 episodes
Rivals' Introductions = 2 episodes
Episodes for Sidekicks = 10 episodes
Other Game Stuff = 4 episodes
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I’d probably add in maybe 6 episodes for rival battles and build up, and 6 for important Pokemon development/battles.
 
Hmmmmm, I think some is needed. Taking away fillers leaves only gym battles, captures etc and I guess Mr Ketchup then does a lot of of screen levelling up, cuz otherwise he wont gain enough EXP to get very far and so much off screen stuff would annoy me.
 
I don't think no filler episodes could be avoided. I mean, even if there was an adaptation of the manga, there would be filler because the manga has filler to. The point of it is to prolong the series, so it makes money
 
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