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Pokemon anime storylines and beyond!
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skynerel
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During the N arc of the anime we got to see more about the story of N, Team Plasma, Anthea and Concordia. I see these two as big sisters to N, with how protective and caring they are of him. In the anime they ran away from Team Plasma and found refuge in a beautiful house in the forest, where they take care of mistreated pokemon. The place looks really nice to live in.
Now I want to dive into a little more depth about their behavior and belief system, which reminds me a lot of people who grow up in cults, isolated from the real world (which is what happened to them). Ghetsis found them and fed them a bunch of lies about his intentions and half truths about how people mistreat pokemon. I said "half truths" because it is true that some people in the pokemon world abandon and abuse pokemon. However, the anime has also shown time and time again that a lot of people are nice, want to help pokemon and get along with them. The problem is, Ghetsis only paints one side of the story for them and forced them to live in isolation, only allowing them to interact with pokemon that have been hurt by humans. He knew that they could discover the truth if they had contact with the outside world, just like some extreme religious figure heads try to maintain their "sheep" as separated as possible from situations that might cause their subjects to question their beliefs. After all, how can you demonize Ash and his friends when they truly show that they care about their pokemon and are willing to risk their wellbeing to defend them? Their pokemon feel the same way about them too.
N has traveled around since leaving Team Plasma and has seen more of the world than the other two, so he is a bit more open minded. However, Anthea and Concordia are a lot more closed off and distrustful of newcomers because they haven't really been exposed to a world that challenges their beliefs. They act righteous about it too, much like people who feel they have a moral superiority because of what they believe. Even though they know Ghetsis used them and lied to them (to an extent), they still hold the belief that pokemon should be separated from humans in order to truly live in peace (one of the topics of "liberation" from BW1). The thing is, even after running away, they just kept interacting with wounded and abused pokemon, further reinforcing what they already believed. Their interactions with Ash and co. started to crack their worldview. They could see how much they care for their pokemon and how much their pokemon liked them back, they saw how the distrustful pokemon of the refugee opened up to Ash & his friends and started playing, then at the end they defend those same pokemon from Team Plasma, giving them a window to escape. It's hard for them to continue thinking all humans are bad after seeing all that. As well as seeing that N has also evolved in his beliefs and he is someone, and possibly the only person they trust besides each other.
When Team Plasma is finally defeated, they all have grown much more. N invites them to travel and create "an ideal world". To which they agree. They evolved from zealots to more open minded individuals who don't see the world in black & white anymore and understand that there's nuance in the world around them.
I love these characters and the depth they brought to the pokemon world, in the end their intentions were always good, they want to help pokemon and make the world around them a better place to live in.
Now I want to dive into a little more depth about their behavior and belief system, which reminds me a lot of people who grow up in cults, isolated from the real world (which is what happened to them). Ghetsis found them and fed them a bunch of lies about his intentions and half truths about how people mistreat pokemon. I said "half truths" because it is true that some people in the pokemon world abandon and abuse pokemon. However, the anime has also shown time and time again that a lot of people are nice, want to help pokemon and get along with them. The problem is, Ghetsis only paints one side of the story for them and forced them to live in isolation, only allowing them to interact with pokemon that have been hurt by humans. He knew that they could discover the truth if they had contact with the outside world, just like some extreme religious figure heads try to maintain their "sheep" as separated as possible from situations that might cause their subjects to question their beliefs. After all, how can you demonize Ash and his friends when they truly show that they care about their pokemon and are willing to risk their wellbeing to defend them? Their pokemon feel the same way about them too.
N has traveled around since leaving Team Plasma and has seen more of the world than the other two, so he is a bit more open minded. However, Anthea and Concordia are a lot more closed off and distrustful of newcomers because they haven't really been exposed to a world that challenges their beliefs. They act righteous about it too, much like people who feel they have a moral superiority because of what they believe. Even though they know Ghetsis used them and lied to them (to an extent), they still hold the belief that pokemon should be separated from humans in order to truly live in peace (one of the topics of "liberation" from BW1). The thing is, even after running away, they just kept interacting with wounded and abused pokemon, further reinforcing what they already believed. Their interactions with Ash and co. started to crack their worldview. They could see how much they care for their pokemon and how much their pokemon liked them back, they saw how the distrustful pokemon of the refugee opened up to Ash & his friends and started playing, then at the end they defend those same pokemon from Team Plasma, giving them a window to escape. It's hard for them to continue thinking all humans are bad after seeing all that. As well as seeing that N has also evolved in his beliefs and he is someone, and possibly the only person they trust besides each other.
When Team Plasma is finally defeated, they all have grown much more. N invites them to travel and create "an ideal world". To which they agree. They evolved from zealots to more open minded individuals who don't see the world in black & white anymore and understand that there's nuance in the world around them.
I love these characters and the depth they brought to the pokemon world, in the end their intentions were always good, they want to help pokemon and make the world around them a better place to live in.
skynerel
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Giovanni's Masquerade Party in Castelia City!
I always wanted to talk more about this. For the first time in the anime, a major antagonistic organization like Team Rocket was going to threaten the elites directly in order to gain control of another region. This was crazy for the pokemon anime (in a good way) because all that we had seen previously was villainous organizations trying to take control of legendary pokemon to alter the ecosystem (Aqua & Magma) or create a whole new universe (Galactic), but Team Rocket's motivation here feels much more grounded and real.
Sure, we can assume some of them might have had connections in high places. After all, they had access to high level equipment and technology, which also requires funds, but if a relation existed between them and a group of people with great influence, it is not shown at all. This was the first time the writers decided to go in that direction. Sadly the episodes were never released and the involvement of these "elites" wasn't reworked for a future episode.
I think that, even if the episodes had aired, the involvement of the elites would've been confined to these episodes. Nonetheless, it would've been interesting to see. Not to mention that, it's genius from Giovanni (a mafia like boss trying to climb to dictator) to get involved with The Elite to gain control in different branches of society. Just imagine if Team Rocket were to infiltrate and influence government, politicians, media and social circles of people who have access to massive wealth and power.
Giovanni could take over certain sections of the pokemon world with brute force, but having allies on his side would give him legitimacy in the public eye and the upper hand against Team Plasma (whom we don't know how much power and influence they hold in Unova) and if the games are anything to go by, they are a rogue cult, that didn't manage to convince the people of Unova of liberating pokemon. Not to say that cults can't have access and connections to high levels of power in society, but as it stands it doesn't seem like Plasma had THAT MUCH POWER. They had their own following, enough to wreak havoc, but ultimately would rely in the power of legendary pokemon to achieve their goals or in the case of these episodes, the meteonite.
I'm sure some folks would've complied with Giovanni out of fear, but there's also the possibility that some of the elites were interested in a piece of the pie. Depending on how much connections or wealth they hold, some of them might've even become respected members of Team Rocket. I wouldn't expect the writers of pokemon to ever go that far, but it is fun to speculate about it.
P.D. The sheer insanity of having two major villainous organizations acknowledge each other and be in the same space at the same time makes me wanna scream! Please revisit this idea anipoke writers.
I always wanted to talk more about this. For the first time in the anime, a major antagonistic organization like Team Rocket was going to threaten the elites directly in order to gain control of another region. This was crazy for the pokemon anime (in a good way) because all that we had seen previously was villainous organizations trying to take control of legendary pokemon to alter the ecosystem (Aqua & Magma) or create a whole new universe (Galactic), but Team Rocket's motivation here feels much more grounded and real.
Sure, we can assume some of them might have had connections in high places. After all, they had access to high level equipment and technology, which also requires funds, but if a relation existed between them and a group of people with great influence, it is not shown at all. This was the first time the writers decided to go in that direction. Sadly the episodes were never released and the involvement of these "elites" wasn't reworked for a future episode.
I think that, even if the episodes had aired, the involvement of the elites would've been confined to these episodes. Nonetheless, it would've been interesting to see. Not to mention that, it's genius from Giovanni (a mafia like boss trying to climb to dictator) to get involved with The Elite to gain control in different branches of society. Just imagine if Team Rocket were to infiltrate and influence government, politicians, media and social circles of people who have access to massive wealth and power.
Giovanni could take over certain sections of the pokemon world with brute force, but having allies on his side would give him legitimacy in the public eye and the upper hand against Team Plasma (whom we don't know how much power and influence they hold in Unova) and if the games are anything to go by, they are a rogue cult, that didn't manage to convince the people of Unova of liberating pokemon. Not to say that cults can't have access and connections to high levels of power in society, but as it stands it doesn't seem like Plasma had THAT MUCH POWER. They had their own following, enough to wreak havoc, but ultimately would rely in the power of legendary pokemon to achieve their goals or in the case of these episodes, the meteonite.
I'm sure some folks would've complied with Giovanni out of fear, but there's also the possibility that some of the elites were interested in a piece of the pie. Depending on how much connections or wealth they hold, some of them might've even become respected members of Team Rocket. I wouldn't expect the writers of pokemon to ever go that far, but it is fun to speculate about it.
P.D. The sheer insanity of having two major villainous organizations acknowledge each other and be in the same space at the same time makes me wanna scream! Please revisit this idea anipoke writers.
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skynerel
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Team Plasma Knights vs. Team Plasma Pirates!
Something that I really wanted to see in the anime was the rift within the Team Plasma organization. In the BW2 games there are grunts who still believe in the liberation of pokemon, their belief was genuine and they keep using the knight uniforms. While the new faction (Team Neo Plasma) doesn't care about that at all and just want to take over Unova, they update their uniforms to look more like pirates and reflect who they really are.
Had this conflict been shown in the anime, it would've added another layer of depth to Team Plasma and its members. I could imagine the faction that still retains their old values fighting and defending N, just like Anthea and Concordia did in some of their appearances. Furthermore, they could've been guardians of the refuge. In the final battle against Ghetsis, they could've been there to help as well.
In the games, we actually see the grunts confronting each other. What if someone they used to be friends with decided to follow Ghetsis instead of N? What if we actually got see their internal conflict and regret about what they did when they didn't know all of Ghetsis lies? That would've been interesting to witness. If Team Plasma had been introduced in the anime when they were supposed to, I wonder if we would've gotten a glimpse of this split. I always felt that, even with the infamous cancellation of their debut episodes, there could've been ways to rework the story in a way that both sides of Team Plasma could've been depicted. Of course, the story wouldn't be 1:1 from the games, most media adaptations never are and I don't expect them to be, but I'm certain we could've seen some of that conflict had things been handled differently.
I imagine most people don't care about grunts and perhaps are completely fine with them not receiving major focus, but I just love when there's also attention and care to characters that aren't the protagonists. It makes the story more interesting, grand and unique.
Something that I really wanted to see in the anime was the rift within the Team Plasma organization. In the BW2 games there are grunts who still believe in the liberation of pokemon, their belief was genuine and they keep using the knight uniforms. While the new faction (Team Neo Plasma) doesn't care about that at all and just want to take over Unova, they update their uniforms to look more like pirates and reflect who they really are.
Had this conflict been shown in the anime, it would've added another layer of depth to Team Plasma and its members. I could imagine the faction that still retains their old values fighting and defending N, just like Anthea and Concordia did in some of their appearances. Furthermore, they could've been guardians of the refuge. In the final battle against Ghetsis, they could've been there to help as well.
In the games, we actually see the grunts confronting each other. What if someone they used to be friends with decided to follow Ghetsis instead of N? What if we actually got see their internal conflict and regret about what they did when they didn't know all of Ghetsis lies? That would've been interesting to witness. If Team Plasma had been introduced in the anime when they were supposed to, I wonder if we would've gotten a glimpse of this split. I always felt that, even with the infamous cancellation of their debut episodes, there could've been ways to rework the story in a way that both sides of Team Plasma could've been depicted. Of course, the story wouldn't be 1:1 from the games, most media adaptations never are and I don't expect them to be, but I'm certain we could've seen some of that conflict had things been handled differently.
I imagine most people don't care about grunts and perhaps are completely fine with them not receiving major focus, but I just love when there's also attention and care to characters that aren't the protagonists. It makes the story more interesting, grand and unique.
skynerel
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Pokemon from outer space! (part 1)
In the episode "A UFO for Elgyem" professor Icarus has dedicated much of his time to studying the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects. One night he encountered an Elgyem and started taking care of him. Ash, Iris and Cilan saw a UFO nearby and decided to visit him the next day to gather some answers.
As stated in the pokedex entry, Ash confuses Elgyem for an alien. However, there's another pokedex entry that says "Rumors of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert 50 years ago" giving the idea that this species of pokemon are not from Earth. Ash and Co. are also traveling through "Area 28" which is a reference to "Area 51".
In the episode Elgyem shows the professor different images from outer space using telekinesis. He believes these are images from Elgyem's home and decides to further his research into UFO's in hopes of creating a flying saucer good enough to withstand space travel.
Elgyem is also able to communicate by using the colored pattern on its hands, which scientists haven't been able to decode (according to the pokedex). However, professor Icarus takes on the task to investigate that as well. At the end of the episode Elgyem shows the professor, Ash and his friends a couple of images via telekinesis in which he is seen living happy with the professor, they get to the conclusion that Elgyem wants to stay living with him instead of going back "home" cough outer space...
This was a fun episode for those who are big fans of UFO related incidents. I can only hope one day the pokemon anime stumbles upon something like this again.
In the episode "A UFO for Elgyem" professor Icarus has dedicated much of his time to studying the phenomenon of Unidentified Flying Objects. One night he encountered an Elgyem and started taking care of him. Ash, Iris and Cilan saw a UFO nearby and decided to visit him the next day to gather some answers.
As stated in the pokedex entry, Ash confuses Elgyem for an alien. However, there's another pokedex entry that says "Rumors of its origin are linked to a UFO crash site in the desert 50 years ago" giving the idea that this species of pokemon are not from Earth. Ash and Co. are also traveling through "Area 28" which is a reference to "Area 51".
In the episode Elgyem shows the professor different images from outer space using telekinesis. He believes these are images from Elgyem's home and decides to further his research into UFO's in hopes of creating a flying saucer good enough to withstand space travel.
Elgyem is also able to communicate by using the colored pattern on its hands, which scientists haven't been able to decode (according to the pokedex). However, professor Icarus takes on the task to investigate that as well. At the end of the episode Elgyem shows the professor, Ash and his friends a couple of images via telekinesis in which he is seen living happy with the professor, they get to the conclusion that Elgyem wants to stay living with him instead of going back "home" cough outer space...
This was a fun episode for those who are big fans of UFO related incidents. I can only hope one day the pokemon anime stumbles upon something like this again.
skynerel
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Pokemon from outer space (part 2)
In Capacia Island UFO a group of beheeyem have their ship damaged and they are forced to make an emergency landing in the oceanfront of a nearby town in Unova. They are looking for the power source of their ship, which they lost before the crash. In order to do so they manipulate the entire town with their psychic powers and send them to search for it.
One of the pokedex entries for beheeyem's pre-evolution (Elgyem) states that these pokemon are sometimes confused for aliens, but the anime and other pokedex entries makes the case that they might indeed be from outer space.
A couple of interesting things happen here. First, the beheeyem have a flying saucer, an advanced technological machine that can fly much faster than regular aircraft. Where did they get it? Did they build it? If so, where did they find the materials to do so? It is a mystery to mankind, but if the pokemon world were to treat this seriously, it would be a great scientific breakthrough to be sure.
The second interesting thing is that, there is a language barrier. According to Meowth they can't understand what Jessie, James and Ash are telling them, which is why they use Meowth as an interpreter to communicate. If they were from Earth, surely they would know the language of humans just like every other pokemon, no? I don't think they are from this planet and it would be very interesting if the writers explored more extraterrestrial related topics in the pokemon universe.
After what the beheeyem were capable of doing in this episode, it's a miracle no major villainous organization or government agency has tried to pin them down and capture them, whether is for world domination or scientific research.
P.D. I loved their flying saucer!
In Capacia Island UFO a group of beheeyem have their ship damaged and they are forced to make an emergency landing in the oceanfront of a nearby town in Unova. They are looking for the power source of their ship, which they lost before the crash. In order to do so they manipulate the entire town with their psychic powers and send them to search for it.
One of the pokedex entries for beheeyem's pre-evolution (Elgyem) states that these pokemon are sometimes confused for aliens, but the anime and other pokedex entries makes the case that they might indeed be from outer space.
A couple of interesting things happen here. First, the beheeyem have a flying saucer, an advanced technological machine that can fly much faster than regular aircraft. Where did they get it? Did they build it? If so, where did they find the materials to do so? It is a mystery to mankind, but if the pokemon world were to treat this seriously, it would be a great scientific breakthrough to be sure.
The second interesting thing is that, there is a language barrier. According to Meowth they can't understand what Jessie, James and Ash are telling them, which is why they use Meowth as an interpreter to communicate. If they were from Earth, surely they would know the language of humans just like every other pokemon, no? I don't think they are from this planet and it would be very interesting if the writers explored more extraterrestrial related topics in the pokemon universe.
After what the beheeyem were capable of doing in this episode, it's a miracle no major villainous organization or government agency has tried to pin them down and capture them, whether is for world domination or scientific research.
P.D. I loved their flying saucer!
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The Elgyem episode is one of my favorite BW episodes, it has aged like wine.
About the TP vs TR stuff, Giovanni controlling the elites was certainly plausible, but that seems more like a background detail.
About the TP vs TR stuff, Giovanni controlling the elites was certainly plausible, but that seems more like a background detail.
skynerel
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It is one of my favorite pokemon episodes in Unova. I'm big of fan of space, UFO and extraterrestrial related stuff!
That's what I thought. Even if the episodes aired I don't think the writers were going to delve into it, but I like to speculate about things and think deeply about certain topics. I do love that they threw that little detail in there though.
skynerel
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I wonder why the writers didn't include Pierce in any future missions in Unova. After the unaired Team Plasma vs Team Rocket episodes he is never seen again. The interesting thing is, Dr. Zager appeared for a couple of Team Rocket arcs throughout Unova. I think he could've been included as well. He had a very cool design!
skynerel
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Arven in the pokemon anime
The anime has always loosely adapted the story of the pokemon games and sometimes they outright ignore a number of characters in favor of their OC or whatever they are trying to do. Arven has been one of the victims of this phenomenon and so far he has only made a small cameo appearance in Horizons and a small speaking role in Paldean Winds.
Now, I understand that the anime doesn't have to follow the story of the games 1:1, but I just think that sometimes they miss on good opportunities to tell a good story when they ignore certain characters and storylines. Arven is an arguably good written character with a very unique backstory. He has a story that we haven't seen before. He is not a jerk rival or someone who's entire personality is "I want to battle you". He is a troubled young man who wants his sick dog to get better. He is already lonely because his parents are pretty much absent from his life and he had to take care of himself from a young age, Mabostiff is all he has left (and his other pokemon, but I don't think they are as close to Arven as his Mabostiff).
Perhaps Arven could've been a member of the Brave Asagi, but instead of using herba mystica, they could've invented another plant or natural medicine for the anime, something that Arven could find at different locations around the world, since they are traveling around in a ship anyway. Molly could help take care of Mabostiff too. This version would also require Koraidon/Miraidon in the storyline, they could be one of the ship pokemon that the RVT found along the way. When they eventually visit Area Zero, they can tackle the last bit of Arven's story with his parent, which can follow the same course of the games since it wouldn't conflict much with what the RVT needed to do there. Lastly, the RVT would be like the family he never had.
How would he join them? Well, they can make him a member from the start or add him when Liko & co. visit the Naranja academy, either way the reasoning for joining would be the same, he is looking for something to heal his pokemon and heard that the RVT travel around the world solving mysteries. Obviously, depending on when he joins, the sequence of events and certain things would have to be rewritten around that.
How could this add anything to the RVT storyline? I think his role would've added some more depth to the RVT's and what they do. He could've bonded with Roy over their missing parents. When Liko and Roy needed to get stronger he could've been the one to suggest going to the Naranja or Blueberry academy. They need 18 strong pokemon that can terastalize? Arven could've been one of the participants (after healing Mabosstiff) and he could've even suggested catching strong Titan pokemon that can terastalize (since that's the path the player takes with him on the games).
The anime has always loosely adapted the story of the pokemon games and sometimes they outright ignore a number of characters in favor of their OC or whatever they are trying to do. Arven has been one of the victims of this phenomenon and so far he has only made a small cameo appearance in Horizons and a small speaking role in Paldean Winds.
Now, I understand that the anime doesn't have to follow the story of the games 1:1, but I just think that sometimes they miss on good opportunities to tell a good story when they ignore certain characters and storylines. Arven is an arguably good written character with a very unique backstory. He has a story that we haven't seen before. He is not a jerk rival or someone who's entire personality is "I want to battle you". He is a troubled young man who wants his sick dog to get better. He is already lonely because his parents are pretty much absent from his life and he had to take care of himself from a young age, Mabostiff is all he has left (and his other pokemon, but I don't think they are as close to Arven as his Mabostiff).
Perhaps Arven could've been a member of the Brave Asagi, but instead of using herba mystica, they could've invented another plant or natural medicine for the anime, something that Arven could find at different locations around the world, since they are traveling around in a ship anyway. Molly could help take care of Mabostiff too. This version would also require Koraidon/Miraidon in the storyline, they could be one of the ship pokemon that the RVT found along the way. When they eventually visit Area Zero, they can tackle the last bit of Arven's story with his parent, which can follow the same course of the games since it wouldn't conflict much with what the RVT needed to do there. Lastly, the RVT would be like the family he never had.
How would he join them? Well, they can make him a member from the start or add him when Liko & co. visit the Naranja academy, either way the reasoning for joining would be the same, he is looking for something to heal his pokemon and heard that the RVT travel around the world solving mysteries. Obviously, depending on when he joins, the sequence of events and certain things would have to be rewritten around that.
How could this add anything to the RVT storyline? I think his role would've added some more depth to the RVT's and what they do. He could've bonded with Roy over their missing parents. When Liko and Roy needed to get stronger he could've been the one to suggest going to the Naranja or Blueberry academy. They need 18 strong pokemon that can terastalize? Arven could've been one of the participants (after healing Mabosstiff) and he could've even suggested catching strong Titan pokemon that can terastalize (since that's the path the player takes with him on the games).
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skynerel
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Twilight Wings Oleana
I absolutely adore twilight wings! It focuses on the human perspective within the pokemon world and that made it increasingly refreshing. We see characters living their daily lives, focusing on their goals and aspirations. The pokemon are still there, but it feels more like they are a part of the human world, rather than humans just existing in the pokemon world.
The episode that focuses on Oleana is my favorite. Without it, we wouldn't get the same insight into who she is. In pokemon Journeys she is not much more than a plot device. We don't get much insight into who she is other than she is loyal to Rose just because... Meanwhile in Twilight Wings she is humanized and feels like a real person with thoughts and feelings. Rose noticed her hardwork, talent and dedication, which leads him to promote her. As he said, Oleana was "A diamond in the rough". There is a sense of respect and even admiration between the characters, her body language transmits a lot and it is not there to be a gag like in the main anime. Details matter a lot more. When she starts explaining to one of the characters that Dynamax and Gigantamax are not the same thing, Rose expression is like "There she goes again" "That's my vice president" but in a warm way. We see how she can take care of the company while he is gone. He also tells her "I don't know what I would do without you" meaning that she is very good at her job and he possibly has a great deal of appreciation for her. She replies to him that she is just doing her job, but you can sense that there is something more below the surface. If someone watched Journeys without context they'd just think that she is a generic lackey. So I'm glad twilight wings exist because it really helped give more nuance to some of the characters from the galar region.
I absolutely adore twilight wings! It focuses on the human perspective within the pokemon world and that made it increasingly refreshing. We see characters living their daily lives, focusing on their goals and aspirations. The pokemon are still there, but it feels more like they are a part of the human world, rather than humans just existing in the pokemon world.
The episode that focuses on Oleana is my favorite. Without it, we wouldn't get the same insight into who she is. In pokemon Journeys she is not much more than a plot device. We don't get much insight into who she is other than she is loyal to Rose just because... Meanwhile in Twilight Wings she is humanized and feels like a real person with thoughts and feelings. Rose noticed her hardwork, talent and dedication, which leads him to promote her. As he said, Oleana was "A diamond in the rough". There is a sense of respect and even admiration between the characters, her body language transmits a lot and it is not there to be a gag like in the main anime. Details matter a lot more. When she starts explaining to one of the characters that Dynamax and Gigantamax are not the same thing, Rose expression is like "There she goes again" "That's my vice president" but in a warm way. We see how she can take care of the company while he is gone. He also tells her "I don't know what I would do without you" meaning that she is very good at her job and he possibly has a great deal of appreciation for her. She replies to him that she is just doing her job, but you can sense that there is something more below the surface. If someone watched Journeys without context they'd just think that she is a generic lackey. So I'm glad twilight wings exist because it really helped give more nuance to some of the characters from the galar region.
skynerel
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Caitlin of the Elite Four
In one of the junior cups in the anime, Caitlin has an exhibition match with Cynthia. Cynthia and Caitlin appear to know each other. We know this because Cynthia says "We meet again, Caitlin. It's easy to see you and your pokemon have overcome the challenges you've had to face together." We know from the games that Caitlin owns the battle castle in the battle frontier, so it makes sense that Cynthia knows who she is, but what about these "challenges" she mentioned? Well, looking into more info from the games, she left Sinnoh and traveled to Unova in order to develop her skills further. It is also revealed that she has some sort of psychic powers and that she used to lose her temper easily when defeated in battle.
The manga does explore her character a bit more, where it is revealed that her desire to fight causes her latent psychic powers to awaken and go out of control. By the time she is in Unova she has learned to control her powers, as she tried to use them (and her Gothitelle) to locate the gym leaders, who were kidnapped by Team Plasma.
Going back to her battle against the Champion, Cynthia expressed that she is impressed with Caitlin's calmness (a clear reference to how she had trouble controlling herself). Caitlin replies by saying that the old Caitlin is gone, but internally she is struggling and says "If only it were true, my heart is pounding yet again from her powerful attacks" meaning that while she has improved from her past self, she still has work to do.
I remember back when the XY anime devoted a couple of episodes to gym leader Korrina, who was not a part of the main cast. I wish the anime writers had done the same with Caitlin. Where does her psychic powers originate from? How does she know Cynthia personally? Maybe Cynthia helped her control those powers. How did Caitlin overcome her temper and how did that affect her pokemon? A small arc focusing on her could've explained these things about her and make the anime more interesting.
In one of the junior cups in the anime, Caitlin has an exhibition match with Cynthia. Cynthia and Caitlin appear to know each other. We know this because Cynthia says "We meet again, Caitlin. It's easy to see you and your pokemon have overcome the challenges you've had to face together." We know from the games that Caitlin owns the battle castle in the battle frontier, so it makes sense that Cynthia knows who she is, but what about these "challenges" she mentioned? Well, looking into more info from the games, she left Sinnoh and traveled to Unova in order to develop her skills further. It is also revealed that she has some sort of psychic powers and that she used to lose her temper easily when defeated in battle.
The manga does explore her character a bit more, where it is revealed that her desire to fight causes her latent psychic powers to awaken and go out of control. By the time she is in Unova she has learned to control her powers, as she tried to use them (and her Gothitelle) to locate the gym leaders, who were kidnapped by Team Plasma.
Going back to her battle against the Champion, Cynthia expressed that she is impressed with Caitlin's calmness (a clear reference to how she had trouble controlling herself). Caitlin replies by saying that the old Caitlin is gone, but internally she is struggling and says "If only it were true, my heart is pounding yet again from her powerful attacks" meaning that while she has improved from her past self, she still has work to do.
I remember back when the XY anime devoted a couple of episodes to gym leader Korrina, who was not a part of the main cast. I wish the anime writers had done the same with Caitlin. Where does her psychic powers originate from? How does she know Cynthia personally? Maybe Cynthia helped her control those powers. How did Caitlin overcome her temper and how did that affect her pokemon? A small arc focusing on her could've explained these things about her and make the anime more interesting.
skynerel
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Amelia as a rival to Serena
Imagine if Amelia was a part of a historical family of performers, who have been doing so for generations and that's the reason she is under pressure to be the best. She is not snobby just because, but her family name and legacy are on the line. She is very hard on herself and it is a perfectionist, and she expects others to be the same. Somewhat like Layla from Kaleido Star. That often times makes her look down on others, who she feels are not taking the craft as seriously as her.
I think she should've been introduced way earlier, in Serena's first showcase. It would've been an interesting contrast between the newbie performer and someone who is also naturally talented and more experienced. Her dynamic with Serena would definitely be jerkish, after watching her lose the first showcase, she definitely wouldn't think Serena has what it takes to be a performer. In later encounters she would be surprised that Serena has won her first showcase, but she would attribute that to luck, rather than talent. Over time she comes to realize that Serena does have some talent, but won't admit so publicly. She also gets new pokemon along the way, Delcatty & Starmie. In this version of the story she definitely makes it to the final event, where she would be defeated by Serena before she has the opportunity to face Aria. In that final event, Serena tries to comfort her after the lose, but Amelia rebuffs her attempt and tells her that she doesn't understand what's at stake for her. Serena responds with her own example of feeling pressured to live up to her mothers expectations of being a Rhyhorn racer. Amelia would be less jerkish after this and would apathetically wish Serena good luck before leaving.
Imagine if Amelia was a part of a historical family of performers, who have been doing so for generations and that's the reason she is under pressure to be the best. She is not snobby just because, but her family name and legacy are on the line. She is very hard on herself and it is a perfectionist, and she expects others to be the same. Somewhat like Layla from Kaleido Star. That often times makes her look down on others, who she feels are not taking the craft as seriously as her.
I think she should've been introduced way earlier, in Serena's first showcase. It would've been an interesting contrast between the newbie performer and someone who is also naturally talented and more experienced. Her dynamic with Serena would definitely be jerkish, after watching her lose the first showcase, she definitely wouldn't think Serena has what it takes to be a performer. In later encounters she would be surprised that Serena has won her first showcase, but she would attribute that to luck, rather than talent. Over time she comes to realize that Serena does have some talent, but won't admit so publicly. She also gets new pokemon along the way, Delcatty & Starmie. In this version of the story she definitely makes it to the final event, where she would be defeated by Serena before she has the opportunity to face Aria. In that final event, Serena tries to comfort her after the lose, but Amelia rebuffs her attempt and tells her that she doesn't understand what's at stake for her. Serena responds with her own example of feeling pressured to live up to her mothers expectations of being a Rhyhorn racer. Amelia would be less jerkish after this and would apathetically wish Serena good luck before leaving.
skynerel
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Elite Four Glacia!
One of many forgotten elite four members in the anime. I wanted to make a brief analysis about her, based on her game dialogue. She lets the player know she traveled to the Hoenn region to hone her ice type skills, which begs the question. Why? There are other regions that are known for having big snowy areas, such as Sinnoh, Kalos, Galar and Paldea. Why would she go to a region who's only natural icy location is the shoal cave? Perhaps she has a personal connection to Hoenn or she thought that perfecting her skills in a non icy place would somehow make her better. Maybe training in hot weather (which can pose a threat to ice types), is a part of her strategy to make her pokemon stronger.
There's also the conundrum of where she actually comes from. Like she said, she came to the Hoenn region for this very specific purpose, meaning that she probably is from somewhere else. I can picture her being from Sinnoh or Kalos given her overall aesthetic. Lastly, she seems frustrated that she hasn't faced a trainer who can truly challenge her in battle, which does make sense. How many trainers are actually skilled enough to challenge the elite four? Since she has probably spent a lot of time training in Hoenn, she would appreciate a bigger challenge. This lets us know that she is a dedicated person, has high standards and won't back up from a challenge.
One of many forgotten elite four members in the anime. I wanted to make a brief analysis about her, based on her game dialogue. She lets the player know she traveled to the Hoenn region to hone her ice type skills, which begs the question. Why? There are other regions that are known for having big snowy areas, such as Sinnoh, Kalos, Galar and Paldea. Why would she go to a region who's only natural icy location is the shoal cave? Perhaps she has a personal connection to Hoenn or she thought that perfecting her skills in a non icy place would somehow make her better. Maybe training in hot weather (which can pose a threat to ice types), is a part of her strategy to make her pokemon stronger.
There's also the conundrum of where she actually comes from. Like she said, she came to the Hoenn region for this very specific purpose, meaning that she probably is from somewhere else. I can picture her being from Sinnoh or Kalos given her overall aesthetic. Lastly, she seems frustrated that she hasn't faced a trainer who can truly challenge her in battle, which does make sense. How many trainers are actually skilled enough to challenge the elite four? Since she has probably spent a lot of time training in Hoenn, she would appreciate a bigger challenge. This lets us know that she is a dedicated person, has high standards and won't back up from a challenge.
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skynerel
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Steven Stone
No complaints here. He appeared for one episode in the Hoenn saga and I like how he looks in that hiking outfit hehe. Luckily the writers needed to promote ORAS during the XY anime and they decided that Steven was a good character to do so, so we got a lot more of him contributing to the overall plot. He later appears in the PWC where surprisingly, his underrated cradily was one of the highlights of the battle. Recently, he made a cameo appearance in Horizons. Who knows, maybe he'll appear again in future sagas. I'm always happy for more Steven content.
No complaints here. He appeared for one episode in the Hoenn saga and I like how he looks in that hiking outfit hehe. Luckily the writers needed to promote ORAS during the XY anime and they decided that Steven was a good character to do so, so we got a lot more of him contributing to the overall plot. He later appears in the PWC where surprisingly, his underrated cradily was one of the highlights of the battle. Recently, he made a cameo appearance in Horizons. Who knows, maybe he'll appear again in future sagas. I'm always happy for more Steven content.
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skynerel
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The RVT, Friede and pokemon Horizons!
I have enjoyed Friede as a character throughout the series and when he went missing, I felt it was a very touching and heartfelt moment in the show. His backstory episode with Pikachu is one of my favorites. It gave more insight into who he is as a person, he was bored with his profession and felt like he already knew everything, but then Liko's mom told him about Pikachu and their encounter completely changed his perspective, reinvigorating his life and pushing him to find new adventures.
That led to him create the Rising Volt Tacklers and travel around the world. I think it was a very neat concept that a group of people interested in uncovering mysteries around the world would hop in a flying ship and be on their way to new Horizons. Unfortunately, the show doesn't capitalize on this much. The RVT adults are likeable and have great designs, but the show sidelines them and mostly focuses on Liko, the six heroes and post time skip, it has become the Roy show to promote mega evolution. So they do uncover some mysteries regarding Laqua and the six heroes, but that's mostly tied to the lineage of one character and I think that they could've explored much more of the pokemon world if the show wasn't so focused on that. I just think the show would work better as a collection of stories. I don't think Liko and her lineage is a bad story per se, it's good on its own, but it heavily reduces the idea of a group of characters going around the world uncovering mysteries because they are instead focused in one particular story. In my opinion, the story of the show should've been about Friede, Orla, Molly and Murdoc uncovering mysteries around the world, with Liko being one of the many characters they would encounter in their adventures. After resolving her matters, the show could've continued on to new stories.
I have enjoyed Friede as a character throughout the series and when he went missing, I felt it was a very touching and heartfelt moment in the show. His backstory episode with Pikachu is one of my favorites. It gave more insight into who he is as a person, he was bored with his profession and felt like he already knew everything, but then Liko's mom told him about Pikachu and their encounter completely changed his perspective, reinvigorating his life and pushing him to find new adventures.
That led to him create the Rising Volt Tacklers and travel around the world. I think it was a very neat concept that a group of people interested in uncovering mysteries around the world would hop in a flying ship and be on their way to new Horizons. Unfortunately, the show doesn't capitalize on this much. The RVT adults are likeable and have great designs, but the show sidelines them and mostly focuses on Liko, the six heroes and post time skip, it has become the Roy show to promote mega evolution. So they do uncover some mysteries regarding Laqua and the six heroes, but that's mostly tied to the lineage of one character and I think that they could've explored much more of the pokemon world if the show wasn't so focused on that. I just think the show would work better as a collection of stories. I don't think Liko and her lineage is a bad story per se, it's good on its own, but it heavily reduces the idea of a group of characters going around the world uncovering mysteries because they are instead focused in one particular story. In my opinion, the story of the show should've been about Friede, Orla, Molly and Murdoc uncovering mysteries around the world, with Liko being one of the many characters they would encounter in their adventures. After resolving her matters, the show could've continued on to new stories.
skynerel
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Rant incoming - Horizons after the timeskip
After the timeskip and Friede's return, the professor has been completely sidelined in favor of propping Roy as the new leader of the RVT. So the founder of the group has now decided to resign and leave again, after being apart from everyone (including his Pikachu) for a year. Um, okay? Pikachu missed him dearly, but alas, they want to keep the mascot in every episode while Friede is away, so they force him to stay with Roy, even though Pikachu clearly loves and misses his trainer. I don't like how they have written Friede to not show any emotions other than being happy or serious, like he didn't miss anyone? Like I get that they want to show him being cool most of the time, but read the room? Liko was sad for a year and maybe even feeling guilt for what happened, the RVT broke up and Orla was working herself to death just so she could cope with the loss and all we get is a comedy when they reunite. The series has changed in some ways after the timeskip and it's not good. I think I may drop horizons altogether. There's too much Roy, they are sidelining important characters, introducing new and annoying ones that jog up time (Ult and Master Mayonnaise), for some reason Liko & Dot can't get mega evolution even though everyone else does and quite frankly the Explorers Plot has been going for too long at this point and it is not interesting enough to warrant so much time, wrapped it up and do something else.
After the timeskip and Friede's return, the professor has been completely sidelined in favor of propping Roy as the new leader of the RVT. So the founder of the group has now decided to resign and leave again, after being apart from everyone (including his Pikachu) for a year. Um, okay? Pikachu missed him dearly, but alas, they want to keep the mascot in every episode while Friede is away, so they force him to stay with Roy, even though Pikachu clearly loves and misses his trainer. I don't like how they have written Friede to not show any emotions other than being happy or serious, like he didn't miss anyone? Like I get that they want to show him being cool most of the time, but read the room? Liko was sad for a year and maybe even feeling guilt for what happened, the RVT broke up and Orla was working herself to death just so she could cope with the loss and all we get is a comedy when they reunite. The series has changed in some ways after the timeskip and it's not good. I think I may drop horizons altogether. There's too much Roy, they are sidelining important characters, introducing new and annoying ones that jog up time (Ult and Master Mayonnaise), for some reason Liko & Dot can't get mega evolution even though everyone else does and quite frankly the Explorers Plot has been going for too long at this point and it is not interesting enough to warrant so much time, wrapped it up and do something else.
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I agree that the writing on Friede's return could've been better and that nowadays he's too serious. But I digress that Roy & Lucario are taking away all the focus, their episodes do not reach 50% of the total episodes and there's still a focus on team collaboration, Liko & Dot have had their moments too and I don't feel Roy has taken focus away from them save for maybe the Blueberry Training. Also, him becoming the capitain was the most logical thing, pre-timeskip people liked to complaint that the trio relied too much on the adults and nowadays they barely participate in anything.
skynerel
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Perhaps I could've phrased that differently, but nonetheless he has been receiving a ton of focus and more battles than the girls. He also has access to mega evolution. Pre-time skip was definitely more equal in every front. They all got more battles and access to the same gimmicks. That's not to say that Liko & Dot don't have moments, but it hasn't been equal.
Sorry, but I disagree with this. His goal was to be an adventurer and fight/catch Rayquaza, which he has pretty much achieved, so making him leader of the RVT just seems like a contrived reason to write Friede out of the way. It doesn't make sense to me that Friede has become so absent to the group he created nor I see what leadership skills Roy possesses for him substitute anyone.
I'm not really interested in continuing this conversation (not trying to be rude or anything) because I truly dislike him and I rather talk about other stuff. From the moment he was introduced I could sniff the kind of character he was going to be and unfortunately my suspicions were correct. I tolerated the show because there were other stuff that made me feel interested.
skynerel
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Agate from pokemon horizons!
I was interested in her the moment she appeared on screen. Her design is peak and the combination of her demeanor and clothing style gave her a mysterious aura that fits perfectly with her character. Her clothing style appears to be inspired in some sort of native tribe/ancient civilization motif or at least that's what it looks like to me. They gave her a Medicham and a Xatu, which imo, adds more to that motif. I'm also intrigued to know where she comes from (region and hometown), which I suspect is a location exclusive to the anime.
I love that despite all the shenanigans, she has a noble goal at heart, which makes me think that she will eventually drop the explorers. It's only a matter of time before her conscience fully kicks in. Hamber did a great job at confronting her, she was trying hard to ignore his words because deep down she knows she crossed a line for her cause. I love when we get antagonists that are more nuanced in their motivations.
I was interested in her the moment she appeared on screen. Her design is peak and the combination of her demeanor and clothing style gave her a mysterious aura that fits perfectly with her character. Her clothing style appears to be inspired in some sort of native tribe/ancient civilization motif or at least that's what it looks like to me. They gave her a Medicham and a Xatu, which imo, adds more to that motif. I'm also intrigued to know where she comes from (region and hometown), which I suspect is a location exclusive to the anime.
I love that despite all the shenanigans, she has a noble goal at heart, which makes me think that she will eventually drop the explorers. It's only a matter of time before her conscience fully kicks in. Hamber did a great job at confronting her, she was trying hard to ignore his words because deep down she knows she crossed a line for her cause. I love when we get antagonists that are more nuanced in their motivations.