Controversial Opinions - READ GUIDELINES IN FIRST POST *Possible Spoilers for SM*

[Nerdy McNerdface]

I still don't really get why they wanted to keep calling off all of Serena's battles or even just tough ones against Team Rocket. Her non-battle specialty never really came into play, since they never let her lose or get into situations she was in over her head. It felt like they still wanted to make her look strong but were intentionally refusing to put substance to it, like some sort of 'What can we get away with?' dare the writers were having. Not that apparently.

It's telling that even through winning all the time, she got less good displays than Clemont and Team Rocket's Pokemon, even in some cases they lost.

I can see what you mean entirely. They could've at least given her a goal based around something that was more interesting like PR Videos (at least they're more interesting than performances), Rhydon racing (I'm tired of the "rebellious teen defies parent's goals for them" trope), being a simple trainer or even going back to the classics with contests to promote ORAS.

 

[DatsRight]

I would have been fine with the showcases if they had developed the gimmick better and given more substance to Serena progressing (even just a small change in routine and a legitimate loss through being outperformed would have made all the difference and made her feel dynamic). But if they still want her to have token good battles, write them well. Even besides making her feel plot armoured, it was rather boring seeing her never be challenged or develop a signature style to earn her victories. 10,00000+ TR curb stomps plus the same dance over and over. That's what everybody wants, right?

 

[Janovy]

Showcases should have just been Contests instead.

OR/AS remakes were happening anyway, so what better way to do some promotion?

 

[DatsRight]

Given contests' key difference is having battles which Serena wasn't allowed to rise in for whatever reason, it likely would have been just as boring and plot-armour obsessive as the showcases anyway, especially if it had the same rivals.

Execution makes all the difference (see the complaints compared between May and Dawn's arcs).

As a controversial opinion, I think showcases would have been fine if they had been so half baked and Serena's progression had been given more substance. It felt like a concept very quickly rushed in last minute.

 

[Janovy]

Given contests' improvement are having battles which Serena wasn't allowed to rise in for whatever reason, it likely would have been just as boring and plot-armour obsessive as the showcases anyway.

That is exactly why I suggested Contests.

I feel like Showcase being a non-battling goal is part of reason why writers never allowed Serena to become a full-fledged battler. Contests would have forced the writers to push Serena towards battling and actually work on training her Pokemon in order to succeed and accomplish her goal.

 

[SinnohEevee]

It seems Serena was made just to have a crush on Ash at the beginning.

 

[DatsRight]

Serena was just this weird 'not quite either' position, they didn't make her battle specific, but they still shoehorned her to look superficially badass whenever they could (eg. curb stomping TR and other mooks as often as possible). They'd never let her lose in anything, even though they still left clear signs she was rather inexperienced. She felt almost deliberately plot armoured, like we were meant to feel bad for her rivals who worked harder but just didn't have the sun shining on them like her, and yet, we were still meant to root for her.

Again I feel like by XY the writers were getting fatigue doing the same classic formula and started cutting some corners or venting antipathy through the scripts (eg. TR lamp shading their repetitive and obsolete role by the end of XYZ, Ash's increased flanderisation of generic and gratuitous heroic/upbeat quotes).

 

[Frozocrone]

It seems Serena was made just to have a crush on Ash at the beginning.

Thankfully she went beyond that.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Showcases should have just been Contests instead.

OR/AS remakes were happening anyway, so what better way to do some promotion?

Yeah I agree but I would have preferred something else that involved lots of battling instead tbh

Thankfully she went beyond that.

Agreed. Those first 40 episodes didn't help things though :/. She would be even worse than Misty if she only existed for shipping purposes imo

 

[Mrs. Oreo]

Thankfully she went beyond that.

Yea I was glad that she went through the Kalos Queen challenge even tho Aria still kept her crown. It at least gave Serena a hobby to try and she did really well.

 

[Wednesdayz]

Here we go again with Scott trying to drive the topic back to Amour to get fans to criticize Serena some more. The only thing that confuses me about her now was her design change; it served no purpose at all.

 

[Spyro39]

Here we go again with Scott trying to drive the topic back to Amour to get fans to criticize Serena some more. The only thing that confuses me about her now was her design change; it served no purpose at all.

The only thing I can think for the design change for Serena was that it represented the player customization feature introduced in XY. Some of the new clothes Serena wears are even available for her game counterpart.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

The only thing I can think for the design change for Serena was that it represented the player customization feature introduced in XY. Some of the new clothes Serena wears are even available for her game counterpart.

That was probably the reason. I did like how it was handled.

 

[Frozocrone]

In Japan cutting hair is also signifying of change.

generic but her performances didn't change comment

well...I mean...she grew more confident as a person

 

[Akkipeddi]

And back we are to the usual XY and Serena bashing on this thread. Anyway, I have a controversial opinion about everyone's favourite series (DP). While I too loved the series (second favourite), I honestly felt four years was too long, and could have been wrapped up in 3 - 3.5 years. The huge one year gap between the 7th and 8th gym could should have been completed in 20 - 25 episodes instead of the super long 52 episodes. If that had happened, the extra half to one year could have showcased the sinnoh battle frontier probably.

 

[Frozocrone]

No-one praises the pacing in DP tbh

 

[DatsRight]

Serena's design change was kind of meh for me. I preferred the old design and actually found it a bit hard to connect the new one with the same character for some reason or other. It felt more like the attire change (plus the new cliche 'determinator' attitude) was to make Serena's character development seem far more significant than it really was, especially since that was the point they started over pushing her a bit, having her suddenly trouncing the showcases and Team Rocket despite no real transition.

The games do the same thing to Lillie, which I'm kind of awaiting sadly because I know the anime will likely adapt that despite my preference for the old attire again.

And back we are to the usual XY and Serena bashing on this thread. Anyway, I have a controversial opinion about everyone's favourite series (DP). While I too loved the series (second favourite), I honestly felt four years was too long, and could have been wrapped up in 3 - 3.5 years. The huge one year gap between the 7th and 8th gym could should have been completed in 20 - 25 episodes instead of the super long 52 episodes. If that had happened, the extra half to one year could have showcased the sinnoh battle frontier probably.

Hey I didn't start it this time.

Yeah, I'm fine with the three season format we have right now. It feels just about enough. Whenever there is a time compression issue, it feels more down to writers overestimating their quota and shoving in too much filler than them genuinely not having the time.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

And back we are to the usual XY and Serena bashing on this thread. Anyway, I have a controversial opinion about everyone's favourite series (DP). While I too loved the series (second favourite), I honestly felt four years was too long, and could have been wrapped up in 3 - 3.5 years. The huge one year gap between the 7th and 8th gym could should have been completed in 20 - 25 episodes instead of the super long 52 episodes. If that had happened, the extra half to one year could have showcased the sinnoh battle frontier probably.

Yeah I would have liked to see a Sinnoh Battle Frontier arc in the last year of DP as well.

 

[Satomine Night]

The games do the same thing to Lillie, which I'm kind of awaiting sadly because I know the anime will likely adapt that despite my preference for the old attire again.

Lillie's wardrobe change is a major part of her character development in the games--it signifies her break from taking her mother's orders and standing up for herself--so I wouldn't be surprised if the anime takes a similar route.

 

[DatsRight]

Lillie's wardrobe change is a major part of her character development in the games--it signifies her break from taking her mother's orders and standing up for herself--so I wouldn't be surprised if the anime takes a similar route.

I know, but did the new attire have to look so....bleh compared to the old one?