Why the lack of "Pokémon Release" episodes?

[PTOldMan]

Since the start of the animated series we would get from time to time an episode focused on the release of a certain Pokémon that belonged to a main character. Some of those episodes are considered the best of the whole anime because they usually give depth to both the character that releases the Pokémon and to the Pokémon itself.

However, if I recall correctly, ever since Ash went to Unova we haven't had a single episode in which a Pokémon a released, which is good because we don't have to say goodbye to anyone, but is also very bad because we don't have the opportunity to watch episodes which would probably be very good.

So why do you think the writers decided to stop with emotional episodes of releases? Should we expect them to return now that Ash and TR are traveling through Kalos?

 

[NightWarrior694]

I think dont think they will bring these kind of episodes back (its a shame because i loved them tooo), considering that the writers only have a few pokemon left to choose for his team at the moment (look it up in the Pokémon Evolution/Capture/Release Thread), so it is unlikely that Ash will release any of his future pokemon. His party right now though, the only candidate i see Hawlucha, because he hasnt owned him for a very long time and his bond isnt that close yet so maybe in he will be released.

 

[Pokemaster97]

I'm a little glad that the writers don't do episodes like that often. Keeping them few and far between make the episodes more emotionally impacting when they do occur. If it happened often, I think it would become a bit of a cliche after a while.

 

[Hidden Mew]

I think that they don't do this too much anymore because of how they seemed not interested in getting rid of Pokemon forever anymore. Even when Gliscor left in DP, it was just for temporary training, came back for the battle against Paul and had it stay in Professor Oak's lab. If they need to make room in Ash's team for another member, they might let it go for temporary training, but I don't think that they'll go for having Pokemon released in the wild again like with Butterfree and Lapras. I don't think that we'll see it with his XY team anytime soon given how he doesn't even have a full team yet.

 

[Muur]

Who wants crying 7 year olds

and I prefer the Pokemon to not be released forever.

 

[Beth Pavell]

Adult fans tend to bitch about them for years afterwards, as well

 

[Solayoh]

I don't see why the writers ever did release Pokemon. They got rid of Butterfree and what replaced it? Nothing.
I think they should just stay at Oak's lab that way there's always a chance they can be called upon again in the future.

 

[garrison-san]

I don't see why the writers ever did release Pokemon. They got rid of Butterfree and what replaced it? Nothing.

Technically, Primeape replaced it. Primeape itself may have been a very short-term capture, but getting rid of Butterfree is what freed up the slot nonetheless.

 

[Solayoh]

I don't see why the writers ever did release Pokemon. They got rid of Butterfree and what replaced it? Nothing.

Technically, Primeape replaced it. Primeape itself may have been a very short-term capture, but getting rid of Butterfree is what freed up the slot nonetheless.

I didn't understand Primeape's release either. Why catch a Pokemon only to release it 2 episodes later?

In the UK new Pokemon episodes are shown throughout the week monday-friday instead of once weekly as in US/Japan and this led to much confusion.
Basically I missed a few eps for whatever reason, I think I was on holiday and when I got back to school suddenly kids were talking about Ash's Primeape and when we were playing game at playtime (recess) people would ask to be Ashs Primeape etc I thought they were making it up as I never saw him use it. Little did I know that as well as missing him catch it I also missed him release it.

I just don't see what the point of having him in for such a short time was??? Basically he came in Monday and was out by Friday.

 

[garrison-san]

I'm not sure what Primeape's deal was, but I suspect that Butterfree got jettisoned because by then he'd already fulfilled his major narrative purpose - that is, to showcase the first instances of evolution in the anime. The writers never displayed much interest in him as a character - he and Pidgeotto were left out of the Island of Giant Pokemon episode, for one - and once the Kanto starters had come along it was clear that they were going to take up most of the screen time (being mascot pokemon and all), so Butterfree didn't exactly have a lot else going for him. Personally, I think that releasing Butterfree and giving his arc a proper conclusion was preferable to retaining him regardless and allowing him to stagnate.

 

[Johtohfiller]

Adult fans tend to bitch about them for years afterwards, as well

In Ambipom's case it's justified.

Seriously, that one was awful.

 

[PockyAddict]

I think in BW they prob were'nt intrested in getting rid of pokemon anymore, and truth be told I kinda glad they don't do this anymore. And I don't expect xy to have it since the Pokemon slots between the three trainers are so small (none as of today have six pokemon, even ash).

 

[CrashBash]

To be honest, I never saw the need for Pokemon release episodes. I can sort of understand why, but they weren't entirely needed.

 

[garrison-san]

I suspect that release episodes have disappeared recently because of the changes Best Wishes made to how Ash's team was handled. Previously, a pokemon departure was usually an indication that another capture was on the way and the trainer in question needed a free slot. Ash was not one to oak any of his active party unless there was a special reason for it, and certain pokemon, such as Krabby, Muk and Tauros, were doomed to be oak pokes for life. Best Wishes shook things somewhat by having Ash capture a lot of pokemon (compared to other regions) and having his team in constant rotation, something which we didn't really see a lot of in other gens (where Ash sticks with the same pokemon on-hand and only switches his team up during the leagues). Hence, there wasn't really any need for release episodes there, because freeing up slots ceased to be an issue. It was a change of pace which I think unfortunately worked out rather poorly in practice, but that for another discussion thread. More successful in my opinion was the approach Advanced introduced of having Ash start fresh (apart from Pikachu) every generation, which sidestepped the problem Johto had of having to figure out how to get rid of the on-hand pokemon he had left over from Kanto.

As for the other characters, neither Iris or Cilan ever came close to having a full team during their time as traveling companions, so a release was never warranted for them (though Iris may as well have given up her Emolga, given how little use she had for it in the long-run). Brock and Team Rocket tended to give up pokemon they'd carried over from previous regions which no longer had any particular relevance to the current generation (eg: Vulpix, Dustox and Cacnea), which of course was a moot point by Best Wishes, as Brock was gone and TR had already left all of their previous pokemon at the Rocket HQ.

So far, XY seems to have reverted back to the earlier way of doing things, with Ash's captures being more sparing and, with two slots still to fill, no rotating or releasing looking likely in the near future, so it remains to be seen how that will go down.

 

[BlackButterfree]

I don't see why the writers ever did release Pokemon. They got rid of Butterfree and what replaced it? Nothing.

Technically, Primeape replaced it. Primeape itself may have been a very short-term capture, but getting rid of Butterfree is what freed up the slot nonetheless.

I didn't understand Primeape's release either. Why catch a Pokemon only to release it 2 episodes later?

In the UK new Pokemon episodes are shown throughout the week monday-friday instead of once weekly as in US/Japan and this led to much confusion.
Basically I missed a few eps for whatever reason, I think I was on holiday and when I got back to school suddenly kids were talking about Ash's Primeape and when we were playing game at playtime (recess) people would ask to be Ashs Primeape etc I thought they were making it up as I never saw him use it. Little did I know that as well as missing him catch it I also missed him release it.

I just don't see what the point of having him in for such a short time was??? Basically he came in Monday and was out by Friday.

Primeape wasn't released. Ash left him to train with that martial arts dude, but he's still officially Ash's Pokémon, as is Squirtle who decided to stay with the Squirtle Squad quite some time ago.

The only Pokémon Ash has truly released are:
Butterfree
Lapras
Pidgeot
Haunter (left with Sabrina, but its no longer his)
Larvitar (never officially captured to begin with, but still technically his)
Beedrill (given to Casey in Johto)
Aipom (traded to Dawn for Buizel)
Raticate (traded for Butterfree, traded back immediately afterwards)

I think that's it. So while EXTREMELY unlikely, Primeape could come back someday (don't know why they showed him in flashbacks in Unova, and not in person in Battle Frontier Kanto)

And I miss Butterfree and Pidgeot so much. They only two of Ash's original team to be completely ignored.

 

[garrison-san]

Primeape wasn't released. Ash left him to train with that martial arts dude, but he's still officially Ash's Pokémon, as is Squirtle who decided to stay with the Squirtle Squad quite some time ago.

For all intents and purposes, Ash did give Primeape away. The "why don't you let me train it for a while" line was a dub-only thing - in the Japanese original, Anthony simply asked if Primeape could be left with him, with no indication that he intended to give it back.

Heck, even in the dub, Ash makes it sound as if he has no intention of seeing Primeape again. "I'll always be grateful and proud that I knew a real P-1 champion" puts their relationship strictly in the past tense.

 

[R!ck]

Yeah, Primeape looks like it was released.

Larvitar and Haunter never were Ash's mons imo, idk he never caught them. The Beedrill and Raticate status bugs me a little bit but I guess they count as his.

 

[BlackButterfree]

Primeape wasn't released. Ash left him to train with that martial arts dude, but he's still officially Ash's Pokémon, as is Squirtle who decided to stay with the Squirtle Squad quite some time ago.

For all intents and purposes, Ash did give Primeape away. The "why don't you let me train it for a while" line was a dub-only thing - in the Japanese original, Anthony simply asked if Primeape could be left with him, with no indication that he intended to give it back.

Heck, even in the dub, Ash makes it sound as if he has no intention of seeing Primeape again. "I'll always be grateful and proud that I knew a real P-1 champion" puts their relationship strictly in the past tense.

True. But I think the fact that Primeape was shown during the BW series in Charizard's episode shows that the animators haven't forgotten about its existence, so it could come back some day. I don't think anyone thought Charizard would ever leave the Charicific Valley.

 

[Beth Pavell]

See, I think a well done release episode is a good thing for the anime. Bye Bye Butterfree is the best example of what I mean (Amusingly, being first) - an acknowledgement that there can be something more important than owning a pokémon forever. It's one of the few moments that you get a real sense that Ash is capable of thinking beyond his usual "Be a Master with all my buddies! Psyched!" attitude.

Charizard's Burning Ambitions is another one of my favourites in itself, but the impact of that has been lost, I think, through Charizard turning up again just to be awesome too many times.

 

[pokemon fan 132]

Last pokemon release episode in true sense of that word happened when Dawn left Ambipom to train ping pong and fulfill her dream of becoming champion in that discipline.

After that there were no episodes anymore written with intention of leaving pokemon in wild or with other person permanently. To the point of chances of said pokemon ever reuniting with its trainer again being almost nonexistant.

Sure there were times such as Ash leaving his Gliscord in training with McCann to perfect its flying abilities and learn new moves. Which proved to be crucial in cutting in half Paul strategy removing one of main treats(its Drapion).

But episodes which emulated true attachment developed between pokemon and its trainers. Authentic, heartfelt moments packed with sadsness, lot of emotion and touching background building toward departure between people and their poke partners. Having to cope with newly created situations accepting fact of letting their beloved ones follow their own happiness, or not wanting to stand in their way of becoming stronger,.

Well, such kind of moments became thing of a past unfortunately with whole Unova gebneration, rest of DP ever since Dustox, Cacnea and Ambipom were sent away and so far created episodes of XY saga passing without any indication or hint of pokemon goodbyes happening anymore.

I reckon such decision among pokemon staff came from fact of wanting to develop new trends, new features and changes in structure of pokemon series and their plot to somewhat alleviate issue of repetition, rehashed plots and predictability. Syndrom under which pokemon anime suffers for yerars lately. Than again Ash still loses every league, main cast is always replaced aside from Ash and companions always end up forgotten and unfinished disappearing in oblivion once they leave cast.

Its no secret how writers and pokemon director want to break past patterns which can be found in including two girls in main cast, giving every companion its own rival(could happen again with XY game rivals debut in Summer Camp episodes), having characters catch pokemon which were unthinkable to be ever owned(like case with Ash getting dark type), try out having female in cast which is reserved and unsure of what her goal should be etc.

So i imagine lack of pokemon releases may stem from curent formula and direction in which pokemon show is written.

However ill just say this. There is difference between overusing certain conecept to the point of feeling dragged out unnecessarily killing its initial appeal.

Or occasionally recreating special moments, touching scenarios and dialogues generated between trainer and pokemon. To remind viewers of impoetance in developing close relationship between humans and pokemon, remind them of basically most important backbone on which ideals and moral values were created in pokemon world in sense of finding peaceful solution to have both humans and pokemon coexist together.

But most importantly invole in viewer feelings, care and appreciation for human protagonists and pokemon they might like. With bittersweet moments like pokemon releases bringing much needed deeper introspection of feelings, inspiration and selfdoubts among human characters when facing with decision to depart away from their pokemon partners and learning how to live without them, with bonds not stopping existing even when they're separated,.

This was beautifully made in several cases such as with Ash and Buttrerfree, Misty and Togetic, May and Swablu or Jessie and Dustox for example. With some of best, most endearing and impacting episodes brimming with strong characterization, touching elements and beautiful set up coming exactly from such kind of episodes.

Something i feel viewers of new series are deprived of , feeling bad for them for not experiencing full appeal of what pokemon anime is capable of producing.