• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

Best Wishes: The Good & The Bad

Status
Not open for further replies.

Waterpokes

Well-Known Member
The Unova Gym Battles are nowhere near as horrible as the Kanto ones. They are simply medicore, something you would expect from watching Ash VS COTD. Hopefully they'll pick up, in both entertainment and awesomeness, something they are really lacking so far.
 

Haunter ゴースト

Well-Known Member
awesomeness

Somebodies watched Kung Fu Panda? haha.

On topic:

For somebody who liked the Indigo League battles, I've actually enjoyed most of the Unova Gym battles.

I enjoyed Oshawott vs Pansage for sure, it was entertaining seeing a different style of winning.

Nacrene Gym was just meh, average to me.

Burgh's Gym battle was great, an evolution and Pikachu using some cool strategies to get the upper hand.

The best Gym by far and im willing to say one of my favourites in any region, Ash vs Elesa was great.
I know a lot of people hated it, but seriously I thought it was brilliant!

The only thing I don't get is how everyone is comparing these gym battlesto Kanto, and any regional gyms for that matter, every Gym has different aspects everytime imo.
 

Janovy

Banned
The Unova Gym Battles are nowhere near as horrible as the Kanto ones. They are simply medicore, something you would expect from watching Ash VS COTD. Hopefully they'll pick up, in both entertainment and awesomeness, something they are really lacking so far.
Each person has its own definition of 'awesome' and 'entertaining'.

I, for example, greatly enjoyed the fourth gym battle against Elesa since Ash was entertaining (and I haven't enjoyed Ash much until BW started), Pikachu was entertaining and we got to see Ash thinking outside the box again - everything was amusing. The second gym battle was great due to Lenora's strategy and the fact both of Ash's Pokémon trained and learned new moves prior to the battle.

The third one would have been great if it weren't for Burgh's Protect spam and Sewaddle's sudden survival power. Oh, and if Tranquill was used.

I really think that gym battles will improve as BW goes on.
 

AgentPierce

Mad science FTW!
Y'know, it seems to me that the people who rant on and on about how much Trip/Shooti sucks as a character and as a rival are the same people who adore Paul and put him on a pedestal. Their feelings toward Paul perpetually affect their judgement on Trip; they think he's boring just because he's not Paul, or because he's "a rehash of Paul", which is absurd; his design may look a little like Paul (except much more expressive) but he's clearly more like Cheren than Paul in terms of character. NOTHING that could EVER be done with Trip will ever make these people change their minds. To them, Trip will always be bad, no matter what.

People like me, who think that Paul was overrated and can't see what the big deal with him was, seem to like Trip just fine.

Anyway, as for my opinion....

THE GOOD in "Best Wishes": Nearly everything, EXCEPT....

THE BAD in "Best Wishes": Bianca being mishandled, Ash still having some character defects, and an absence of Team Plasma.
 
Last edited:

streetlightdsb

Uni hiatus
I'm just gonna go out and say the thing that nobody else wants to say:

The battles have been crap. Boring, uninspired. Sinnoh had me at the edge of my seat sometimes, here, I'm lucky to be mildly surprised.



Aside from that, we have the biggest spotlight stealer ever in Oshawott, horrid rotation, lackluster character development and Team Rocket being completely ruined.

The only good points so far are the whimsical episodes that make you feel like a kid again, rivals, and the group interactions.

I'm afraid I have to agree with this post, sans the point about Oshawott, who I still like, and am hoping ends up as the regional powerhouse. Not one of the gym battles have been really good, the best being the first imo. The battles we get outside the gyms have been better than that, but still not reaching Sinnoh's dizzying heights. Also TR haven't been ruined, but they are damn inconsistent, going back and forth between stupid and competent imo.

The main problem I have with the saga is it continuously has episodes with awesome premises (better than other sagas) but they're always rather disappointing in one way or another, whether it's by not using a neglected Pokemon in a battle, having promising looking characters being boring, or just the episode not being what it looks like, such as Ash and Cilan vs Ingo and Emmet. I was expecting a good portion of the episode to be an awesome battle, and instead I get 5 minutes of disappointment.

Anyway, enough negativity. The rivals are good. It is indeed awesome that everyone gets a rival, especially such interesting ones. Nice to see after only having Paul and Ursula as the only intriguing rivals last saga. There isn't one rival that doesn't interest me in some way.

As I mentioned above, the premises of some of the episodes are really cool. It's nice to see a bit more originality in the ideas for main story episodes, and even fillers.

The current trio has the best chemistry since the original series, and as such we're getting some brilliant interactions between the characters, and a lot of laughs as an offset of that.

Overall, it's ok, but it's not as good as it could have been I feel. It's still better than OS and AG though.
 

CyberCubed

Yeah, ok!
The current trio has the best chemistry since the original series, and as such we're getting some brilliant interactions between the characters, and a lot of laughs as an offset of that.

I hope you only mean the Kanto portion of the original trio, because in Johto the original trio barely had any chemistry at all.

The other good thing is Iris and Cilan don't seem like they'll suffer from neglect the way Misty and Brock did.

Overall, it's ok, but it's not as good as it could have been I feel. It's still better than OS and AG though.

The funny thing is by this point, AG handled the groups Pokemon and the battles much better. I expect BW to improve however when the Team Plasma storyline kicks back in, if it ever does.
 

RickHoenn

Banned
I hope you only mean the Kanto portion of the original trio, because in Johto the original trio barely had any chemistry at all.

The other good thing is Iris and Cilan don't seem like they'll suffer from neglect the way Misty and Brock did.



The funny thing is by this point, AG handled the groups Pokemon and the battles much better. I expect BW to improve however when the Team Plasma storyline kicks back in, if it ever does.

In Johto the trio still good chemistry, it's just Misty got a little more calm but you have to mature someday?

I agree things were handled better in AG by this point altough Ash only had 4 pokemon and none of them evolved, but I still feel there was more development.
 

CyberCubed

Yeah, ok!
I think the problem is even arcs like he Don battle tournament don't feel like they leave any importance. Did Iris ever talk about her win after that ep?
 

streetlightdsb

Uni hiatus
I hope you only mean the Kanto portion of the original trio, because in Johto the original trio barely had any chemistry at all.

The other good thing is Iris and Cilan don't seem like they'll suffer from neglect the way Misty and Brock did.



The funny thing is by this point, AG handled the groups Pokemon and the battles much better. I expect BW to improve however when the Team Plasma storyline kicks back in, if it ever does.

I don't see how the same 3 people can suddenly lose the chemistry they had, but yes, if it helps you sleep at night, when I think 'original trio chemistry' I have Kanto in my mind.

AG did handle the Pokemon better yes, I mentioned that that's one of the things this saga isn't doing well. The battles though (i.e the main reason I watch the show) weren't as good as some of the ones we've had in BW. It's the gym battles that are sucking here.

I'm expecting some passive aggressive retort about how much AG rules and how you think I'm a closet Misty fanboy, but I'm not going to let you bait me on one of my rare visits here Cyber ;)
 

Janovy

Banned
I think the problem is even arcs like he Don battle tournament don't feel like they leave any importance. Did Iris ever talk about her win after that ep?
Which is good because:

1. People hate Iris for winning it.
2. People were originally expecting Iris to brag about it.

We still have Axew's Outrage and rivalry developments as some canon stuff.
 

CyberCubed

Yeah, ok!
I don't see how the same 3 people can suddenly lose the chemistry they had, but yes, if it helps you sleep at night, when I think 'original trio chemistry' I have Kanto in my mind.

AG did handle the Pokemon better yes, I mentioned that that's one of the things this saga isn't doing well. The battles though (i.e the main reason I watch the show) weren't as good as some of the ones we've had in BW. It's the gym battles that are sucking here.

I'm expecting some passive aggressive retort about how much AG rules and how you think I'm a closet Misty fanboy, but I'm not going to let you bait me on one of my rare visits here Cyber ;)

Because the writing for the trio wasn't as good in Johto as it was in Kanto? I will agree the BW trio has great chemistry though. Watching Dawn and Brock interact back in DP was painful, lol.

As for BW, obviously the best thing was the promise of a TR VS. team Plasma war, but now that that's disappeared I can't help but feel that BW has stumbled.
 

TheSirPeras

The end of an era
i think the gyms are all being interesting except for the second one, which was okay. Not terrible but not good, just okay. For the first gym, it was only the first gym so it kinda had to be calm (but i did enjoy the osha vs pansage)
 

pokemon fan 132

Well-Known Member
Basing on what i saw so far im liking Best Wishes.It may not be my favorite series but they are definitely one of better ones providing me some laughs and entertaining moments.

Chemistry between Ash,Cilan and Iris is pretty good with clashes between Iris and Ash,dissidence between Iris and Cilan about science and mutual respect and admiration prevailing between Cilan and Ash allowing for some great interacting.Even though i still prefer original trio dynamic both in Kanto and Johto having that colorful chemistry of tension,support and humor containing certain charm which i cant get from current group i feel BW trio feels like a big step forward from DP dynamic we received.

Ash is good character as always liking his mix of maturity and impulsiveness.I also like that he tried new concept starting to rotate pokemon which provides him with more variety to choose from when battling gym leaders or other trainers.

Iris is good character with me.
Her hyperactive and calm side with her wild attitude and bratty behavior works well within group providing humor and interesting character interaction.Her capability of taking things on her own while being little wild,being already somewhat experienced as trainer and back-story which still leaves us with lot of unanswered questions makes her a very compelling and complete character imo.Pokemon team from somewhat stubborn Emolga,insecure Axew and one hell of a hitter in form of Excadrill is also something which i like about her.

Cilan is so so.I like his personality seeming like well rounded character liking his arrogance and tendency to tease along with showing his caring side and admiration for Ash strategy and bonding he achieves with his pokemon.His career of being pokemon connoisseur is nice addition too wit there existing benchmarks through which his knowledge and skills can be measured.

Team Rocket becoming more competent and actually threatening is definitely one of best refreshing changes we had in years with Jessie and Jams new role being given by Giovanni making them actually competent for a change instead of being treated like punching bags all the time.Plot twist with Meowth joining twerps was also something unexpected and i have to applaud writers for creativity to pull of his joining as trick which served purpose to contribute to TR plan.

Gyms were good more or less so far and one of things i like about Best Wishes is inclusion of Don George tournaments which gives opportunity for other characters beside Ash to shine and receive some much needed spotlight.

That being said when it comes to rivalries Bianca seems promising liking her ditzy and eccentric personality having tendency to often rush in things without thinking and im grateful Ash finally received female rival.Although her lack of development and constant loses are starting to be disappointing and if this tempo continues she might end up as nothing more than joke rival which would be a real shame because she has potential to actually become competent and decent opponent to Ash.

Langley is good rival liking her clashes with Iris and arguing and im definitely interested in seeing how will that rivalry between them continue on.Same for Cilan and Cabernet which seems to be in inferior position(doesnt happen very often with things usually being other way around when it comes to rivals)playing role of trying to catch up with Cilan skill .

On negative side:im not too keen on BW series trying to act like some sort of Kanto rehash failing to deliver feeling of going back to basics which would make more sense if original trio was reunited imo.
Another flaw is lack of references to older regions and characters like Misty,May,Tracey etc. being as usual ignored and neglected .

Pacing is more or less pretty bad at this point with gaps between gyms being unstable following Kanto formula of group reaching next town in matter of few episodes which left Ash at this point with half of required material to qualify for league.Unless Unova slows down this will be one of fastest long regions in history causing consequence on many characters ending up neglected and underdeveloped.

Trip seems too one dimensional for my taste not having much of appeal being rather step down from Paul.His battling skills are rather sub par,he isnt fleshed out as character to justify his level of strength and his paranoid fear from anyone coming from kanto with no explanation or justification being present behind it isnt helping his case either making him xenophobe.

All in all im on one hand pleased with Best Wishes to certain extent but i also feel there is lot of potential being wasted so far in it.

I don't see how the same 3 people can suddenly lose the chemistry they had, but yes, if it helps you sleep at night, when I think 'original trio chemistry' I have Kanto in my mind.

Sometimes i wonder when was last time he watched Johto.This region had several things being treated poorly but chemistry between original trio was among Johto highlights.Ash,Misty and Brock in Johto still actually felt like genuine group of friends having good chemistry and several memorable moments.They felt like group which knew themselves having their principles,certain spark and great dynamic with their personalities mixing very well.Many people thought dynamic between them was one of best both in Kanto and Johto.

What this group needed in Johto was more screen time which hampered chance to see them shine and interact more,but they still had chemistry which can be noticed in several episodes with their personalities meshing well.
 
Last edited:

Waterpokes

Well-Known Member
I think the problem is even arcs like he Don battle tournament don't feel like they leave any importance. Did Iris ever talk about her win after that ep?

She can still talk about her win, since she's still here for about 80+ episodes.

I like the fact that Iris defeated Ash, however, I would have liked it much more if she defeated any other Pokemon other then Pikachu with her Excadrill. When I saw Iris using Excadrill and Ash using Pikachu, I knew Iris would defeat Ash, unless they went back to their roots, and have Pikachu defeat Excadrill, which would have been even worse.

Excadrill VS Pikachu felt very cheap. You know Excadrill would win no matter what, unless they make some bullcrap happen.
 

TheSirPeras

The end of an era
She can still talk about her win, since she's still here for about 80+ episodes.

I like the fact that Iris defeated Ash, however, I would have liked it much more if she defeated any other Pokemon other then Pikachu with her Excadrill. When I saw Iris using Excadrill and Ash using Pikachu, I knew Iris would defeat Ash, unless they went back to their roots, and have Pikachu defeat Excadrill, which would have been even worse.

Excadrill VS Pikachu felt very cheap. You know Excadrill would win no matter what, unless they make some bullcrap happen.

yeah i agree with you. From the moment i remembered that excadrill is ground type and pikachu is an electriv type i thought to myself "poor pikachu...xD"
 

Medea

Excalibur
The Good:
*Dento-fruit (Cilan)
*Iris
*Langley/Georgia being one interesting rival (fashionable too)
*Mamoru Miyano...yeah, more Dento-fruit praise.
*In the dub, occasionally having voice actors from FUNimation (i.e. Vic Mignogna, Leah Clark, and Carrie Savage) come in to do a COTD.
*Alder. Even though he dresses like a hobo and has senior moments and other flaws, his episode was just beyond awesome.
*Meowth and Oshawott falling in love with a male Purrloin. Hey, say what you want about that filler, I found that amusing.

The Bad:
*Complete lack of Team Plasma.
*The fact that Tracey was so close to making an appearance and Team Rocket messes that up in the Subway two-part. I wanted to see him (don't care what any of you think about that).
*Trip. He is the worst rival ever. And I have theories that he's the unholy child of Paul and Barry.
*Snivy's a female. I wanted a male.
*No Cheren. Instead we got the unholy child of Paul and Barry as Ash's rival.
*Not enough Iris coverage. As much as I love Dento-fruit centered episodes, Iris needs a little more.
*Several of Ash's pokemon that he catches and we rarely see (i.e. Palpitoad and Roggenrola)
*Pikachu vs Excadrill in the Don George battle. Meh.

Neutral:
*Bianca. She's okay.

That's all I feel like saying.
 
She can still talk about her win, since she's still here for about 80+ episodes.

I like the fact that Iris defeated Ash, however, I would have liked it much more if she defeated any other Pokemon other then Pikachu with her Excadrill. When I saw Iris using Excadrill and Ash using Pikachu, I knew Iris would defeat Ash, unless they went back to their roots, and have Pikachu defeat Excadrill, which would have been even worse.

Excadrill VS Pikachu felt very cheap. You know Excadrill would win no matter what, unless they make some bullcrap happen.

But Excadrill is just as strong as Pikachu or any of Ash's reserves. Palpitoad and Snivy wouldn't really be able to put up a fight, since they haven't fully developed yet, while Excadrill has.


On topic- The good:
#1 Iris
#2 Palpitoad
#3 Emolga
#4 Langley
#5 Meowth travelling with the twerps for 5 episodes. I found them a lot more entertaining with Meowth.
#6 Iris beating Ash at the Don Battle thing.
#7 Axew
#8 The fat guy with the Zebstrika
#9 Cabernet almost beating Ash
#10 Trip

The Bad:
#1 Tepig
#2 Axew hardly battling even though he just learned Outrage. Come on Iris, START USING YOUR POKEMON! I want Axew to evolve already.
#3 Ash doesn't seem to remember that he has a Swadloon.
#4 Oshawott. Brain damaged pokemon are not funny. We've seen 3489568345843573485 others already.
#5 This show is supposed to be called "Pokemon," not "The Adventures of Oshawott and Tepig"
#6 Bianca started out a little better than Ash at pokemon, now she completely sucks. o_O
#7 Elesa. I hate her guts now. Even more than Misty, and I hate Misty a lot.
 

Haunter ゴースト

Well-Known Member
As for BW, obviously the best thing was the promise of a TR VS. team Plasma war, but now that that's disappeared I can't help but feel that BW has stumbled.

This pretty much sums up my hidden feeling for the series.

Im still hoping the writers can pick it back up and set everything in place, at the moment at 55+ episodes in, there is a slight bit of hope.
 

TheSirPeras

The end of an era
This pretty much sums up my hidden feeling for the series.

Im still hoping the writers can pick it back up and set everything in place, at the moment at 55+ episodes in, there is a slight bit of hope.

yes there is still hope. I'm hoping the BW series will have more 80 episodes or something so i really hope they will still put it. Probably in 2012.
 

Joltik-Kid

Careful? Where's the fun in that?
I think these gym have been better then Kanto and Johto, but seeing how good AG and DP were, I thought the writers could do better...other then that, BW has done some pretty interesting things like the Don Battle Tournament(I hope another one happens) and they have been sticking to the story for the most part
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top