AKA Pokemon Fan
27th January 2003, 11:46 AM
Originally posted by Barbara LeMaster
Ash seems to rely more on the judgment of others like Brock or Misty rather than on his own experiences or intuition.
I believe this has been happening less and less often, starting in the Kanto League tournament Ash actually made it a point to battle without Misty and Brock's guidance. He does this quite a bit more in Johto, and AFAIK doesn't recieve much advice at all while battling in the Johto Tournament.
Ash is good at strategy but I wish he'd stop pulling out the Pokédex every time a Pokémon crosses his path.
This has understandably been misunderstood by many fans. "What's that?" and other such phrases don't mean Ash doesn't know what the Pokemon is. In many cases he'll hear the Pokemon's name or even say it himself before checking the dex. As seen during the episode with Proffessor Westwood the fifth, the pokedex is constantly being updated with new information, and as the Pokedex entry says something different almost every time Ash analyzes a Pokemon he has analyzed in the past, it is quite likely he is just looking to see if there is anything important about it that he didn't know.
Did it ever occur to you, Jonathan, that my previous post was what I wanted to see and not canon from the animé? Or did you just not get it? *sighs*
I'm afraid I don't get it, since at the end of your point about Misty you expressed the desire to see her become the strong Water Pokemon trainer she is inside. I merely said that in the future your hope is at least partially realized.
And Misty has been pretty confident (to the point of over-confidence) from day one. She openly challenged Ash for the Cascade Badge and has always identified herself as a Gym Leader.
Misty's confidence is sometimes a facade she wears to keep from showing how unconfident she may be. She had many fears about overcoming the challenges at the gym, to the point of having a dream sequence where she told a dream Ash and Brock that she couldn't do it by herself, that she needed their power.
She needs to develop a spine with an attached brain and stop being so ditzy, IMHO. She is obviously loving and brave, that much we all know.
We obviously have different tastes. What's wrong with characters having a funny quirk or two? Most all anime characters do (except the emotionless, emotion-challenged, or really evil characters). Be it Jet's love of Bonsai trees and Spike's various humorous antics in Cowboy Bebop, or Mistato's sometimes very ditzy behavior in Evangelion, it makes the characters more interesting. Most would find quite a few characters rather boring were it not for their quirks.
I don't love eccentric professors. Deal with it. I would have far more respect for the writers had they simply made him an intelligent person instead of making him the sort-of comic relief.
But one of my main points was that he is a serious, intelligent person just as much, if not more often, than he is an example of comedy relief.
Oh, give me a break. I've seen pretty much all of it. I will mention again, for your benefit, that my previous post which you insultingly ripped apart , was only an opinion. It's my notion of how the series should play or, rather, what I would like to see.
I made some effort to not be insulting, I'm sorry you still took it that way. My only agenda in replying was to point out the many ways I see the anime already doing, or have done, just what you expressed as wanting to see.
That doesn't make him a genius under any definition. Jessie has more of an aggressive, assertive personality than he does.
Not many are geniuses, I was merely giving some points as to why he is rather intelligent at least in some ways. And of course he's not as assurtive as Jessie, very few are, and I never recall saying I thought he was or should be. I simply pointed out that bravery in times of need is an aspect of his character that sometimes shows itself.
I love backstory. That is what I find disappointing about the animé: we often don't get all the information about the characters. That is also why I love fanfiction. ^^
Ahh... fanfiction... how I love thee (at least when they keep characters in character). Agreed the show needs more backstory but we are getting bits and pieces all the time. We just recently found out why Jessie and James wear white Team Rocket outfits (to think some fans thought they did because they were higher ranking than the black-suited Rockets), and the specials seem to be giving quite a bit of background as well. No idea where Misty's parents are yet but we do find out why she has been afraid of/hated Gyarados for the whole series.
What I find annoying (more so than being unrealistic) is Ash always having starter Pokémon. I wish he'd have kept Charizard and Pidgeot on his team. I seriously doubt that Pikachu would ever evolve, but I would like to see Cyndaquil and possibly Totodile evolve.
By "starter" do you mean first stage evolutions or the Starter Pokemon you get in the game? Anyway, I would like them to evolve as well, but at least for a change Ash isn't getting all three RS starters in Advance Generation.
In Japan, yes. But not in the US or other western countries. Witness the quick death of the 4th movie at the box office. I strongly suspect that Ru/Sa will be the 'last hurrah' of the franchise. The aging fanbase (except you, of course ;) ) is dwindling and new fans aren't forthcoming.
This may not be true. Certainly Pokemon isn't as popular here as it was, but it remains a good selling game, and the anime is still the only exceeded by Yugioh in ratings on KidsWB, and last I heard the gap between them was narrowing. The main reason for Pokemon 4ever's failure was due to extremely poor advertising. Quite a few people on various message boards didn't even know it was out until it was gone and they're Pokemon fans!
I dont' see them planning any barbeques for the coming months, either. They are not going to become friends immediately, IMO. Gary verbally abused Ash during the first couple of seasons and I'm sure Ash still remembers those taunts. Gary and Ash respect each other as trainers, but I don't see any deep friendship just yet.
Perhaps its not an extremely deep friendship but I can't see why you would think they aren't friends and only respect each other. Ash isn't the type to hold grudges, heck he tried to comfort Gary after his loss way back in the Kanto League. They still taunt and dare each other but its not in the insulting manner it was like in the first season, more of the friendly competing attitude so many game players have in real life.
BenRG
Yes, Ash and Gary do seem to largely make up by the end of the show (I refuse to accept Advance Generation as anything other than an extensive marketing campaign. It is not part of the animé canon).
What makes you say this when Advance Generation has already added to and explained more of the past plot than most of the other seasons put together? Brock's mom, his siblings names, Misty's past fears, a second appearence by Ho-oh etc.
Simply disliking that certain characters aren't in the spotlight anymore is hardly reason to decide its not cannon, which from previous messages seems to be what you are doing, my apologies if you aren't. If anything the anime is getting better, puting old characters in new roles, putting more emphasis on other characters (i.e a Brock and already TWO Misty specials) and adding new characters very different from what we've had in the past (i.e there's never been a young kid in the group with that much knowledge, let alone a real sibling relationship, nor a trainer as much of a novice as Haruka).
However, the rivalry really continued in its' most bitter form until the Silver Convention. It was never explained and never really developed. They just suddenly dropped it. And Ash being a good sport does not make Gary any less of an arch-rival.
How did they just suddenly drop it? They explained how the rivalry all got started when they were very young, and never really ended it. Ash defeated Gary in a fair battle, so Gary naturally is going to cool down on being a rival for awhile until he improves to the point where he feels he's ready to enter the big battles again. Gary after all doesn't intend to never train again AFAIK. It was my impression his studies are simply a "break."
Ash seems to rely more on the judgment of others like Brock or Misty rather than on his own experiences or intuition.
I believe this has been happening less and less often, starting in the Kanto League tournament Ash actually made it a point to battle without Misty and Brock's guidance. He does this quite a bit more in Johto, and AFAIK doesn't recieve much advice at all while battling in the Johto Tournament.
Ash is good at strategy but I wish he'd stop pulling out the Pokédex every time a Pokémon crosses his path.
This has understandably been misunderstood by many fans. "What's that?" and other such phrases don't mean Ash doesn't know what the Pokemon is. In many cases he'll hear the Pokemon's name or even say it himself before checking the dex. As seen during the episode with Proffessor Westwood the fifth, the pokedex is constantly being updated with new information, and as the Pokedex entry says something different almost every time Ash analyzes a Pokemon he has analyzed in the past, it is quite likely he is just looking to see if there is anything important about it that he didn't know.
Did it ever occur to you, Jonathan, that my previous post was what I wanted to see and not canon from the animé? Or did you just not get it? *sighs*
I'm afraid I don't get it, since at the end of your point about Misty you expressed the desire to see her become the strong Water Pokemon trainer she is inside. I merely said that in the future your hope is at least partially realized.
And Misty has been pretty confident (to the point of over-confidence) from day one. She openly challenged Ash for the Cascade Badge and has always identified herself as a Gym Leader.
Misty's confidence is sometimes a facade she wears to keep from showing how unconfident she may be. She had many fears about overcoming the challenges at the gym, to the point of having a dream sequence where she told a dream Ash and Brock that she couldn't do it by herself, that she needed their power.
She needs to develop a spine with an attached brain and stop being so ditzy, IMHO. She is obviously loving and brave, that much we all know.
We obviously have different tastes. What's wrong with characters having a funny quirk or two? Most all anime characters do (except the emotionless, emotion-challenged, or really evil characters). Be it Jet's love of Bonsai trees and Spike's various humorous antics in Cowboy Bebop, or Mistato's sometimes very ditzy behavior in Evangelion, it makes the characters more interesting. Most would find quite a few characters rather boring were it not for their quirks.
I don't love eccentric professors. Deal with it. I would have far more respect for the writers had they simply made him an intelligent person instead of making him the sort-of comic relief.
But one of my main points was that he is a serious, intelligent person just as much, if not more often, than he is an example of comedy relief.
Oh, give me a break. I've seen pretty much all of it. I will mention again, for your benefit, that my previous post which you insultingly ripped apart , was only an opinion. It's my notion of how the series should play or, rather, what I would like to see.
I made some effort to not be insulting, I'm sorry you still took it that way. My only agenda in replying was to point out the many ways I see the anime already doing, or have done, just what you expressed as wanting to see.
That doesn't make him a genius under any definition. Jessie has more of an aggressive, assertive personality than he does.
Not many are geniuses, I was merely giving some points as to why he is rather intelligent at least in some ways. And of course he's not as assurtive as Jessie, very few are, and I never recall saying I thought he was or should be. I simply pointed out that bravery in times of need is an aspect of his character that sometimes shows itself.
I love backstory. That is what I find disappointing about the animé: we often don't get all the information about the characters. That is also why I love fanfiction. ^^
Ahh... fanfiction... how I love thee (at least when they keep characters in character). Agreed the show needs more backstory but we are getting bits and pieces all the time. We just recently found out why Jessie and James wear white Team Rocket outfits (to think some fans thought they did because they were higher ranking than the black-suited Rockets), and the specials seem to be giving quite a bit of background as well. No idea where Misty's parents are yet but we do find out why she has been afraid of/hated Gyarados for the whole series.
What I find annoying (more so than being unrealistic) is Ash always having starter Pokémon. I wish he'd have kept Charizard and Pidgeot on his team. I seriously doubt that Pikachu would ever evolve, but I would like to see Cyndaquil and possibly Totodile evolve.
By "starter" do you mean first stage evolutions or the Starter Pokemon you get in the game? Anyway, I would like them to evolve as well, but at least for a change Ash isn't getting all three RS starters in Advance Generation.
In Japan, yes. But not in the US or other western countries. Witness the quick death of the 4th movie at the box office. I strongly suspect that Ru/Sa will be the 'last hurrah' of the franchise. The aging fanbase (except you, of course ;) ) is dwindling and new fans aren't forthcoming.
This may not be true. Certainly Pokemon isn't as popular here as it was, but it remains a good selling game, and the anime is still the only exceeded by Yugioh in ratings on KidsWB, and last I heard the gap between them was narrowing. The main reason for Pokemon 4ever's failure was due to extremely poor advertising. Quite a few people on various message boards didn't even know it was out until it was gone and they're Pokemon fans!
I dont' see them planning any barbeques for the coming months, either. They are not going to become friends immediately, IMO. Gary verbally abused Ash during the first couple of seasons and I'm sure Ash still remembers those taunts. Gary and Ash respect each other as trainers, but I don't see any deep friendship just yet.
Perhaps its not an extremely deep friendship but I can't see why you would think they aren't friends and only respect each other. Ash isn't the type to hold grudges, heck he tried to comfort Gary after his loss way back in the Kanto League. They still taunt and dare each other but its not in the insulting manner it was like in the first season, more of the friendly competing attitude so many game players have in real life.
BenRG
Yes, Ash and Gary do seem to largely make up by the end of the show (I refuse to accept Advance Generation as anything other than an extensive marketing campaign. It is not part of the animé canon).
What makes you say this when Advance Generation has already added to and explained more of the past plot than most of the other seasons put together? Brock's mom, his siblings names, Misty's past fears, a second appearence by Ho-oh etc.
Simply disliking that certain characters aren't in the spotlight anymore is hardly reason to decide its not cannon, which from previous messages seems to be what you are doing, my apologies if you aren't. If anything the anime is getting better, puting old characters in new roles, putting more emphasis on other characters (i.e a Brock and already TWO Misty specials) and adding new characters very different from what we've had in the past (i.e there's never been a young kid in the group with that much knowledge, let alone a real sibling relationship, nor a trainer as much of a novice as Haruka).
However, the rivalry really continued in its' most bitter form until the Silver Convention. It was never explained and never really developed. They just suddenly dropped it. And Ash being a good sport does not make Gary any less of an arch-rival.
How did they just suddenly drop it? They explained how the rivalry all got started when they were very young, and never really ended it. Ash defeated Gary in a fair battle, so Gary naturally is going to cool down on being a rival for awhile until he improves to the point where he feels he's ready to enter the big battles again. Gary after all doesn't intend to never train again AFAIK. It was my impression his studies are simply a "break."