WaterShuriken
"I..I..Iron Tail, Pikachu."
Ash's Bulbasaur was treated well and is the most reoccurring Kanto Pokémon Ash has besides Pikachu since it only missed an appearance in XY. I do wish the writers would have acknowledged his Poison typing. Razor Leaf, Vine Whip, Leech Seed, and Solarbeam is not a diverse enough moveset.
Ash's Bayleef was decent but like the rest of the Johtomons, they took a backseat to the Kanto starters. Kinda wish they had made Casey a serious rival so that way Bayleef could have had a personal rival and/or friend.
Ash's Sceptile was the ace of his team but it did come a bit late into the BF. I figured Tyson having a Sceptile and Ash having Grovyle would have had some kind of reaction from them. Honestly, I would have taken a Grovyle losing to his evolved form loss than whatever the hell they did with Pikachu vs Meowth in Boots.
Ash's Torterra was just a sad thing to watch. Turtwig was great, Grotle was good, but poor Torterra. The only thing that kinda saves Torterra is that it kept losing to really OP Pokémon like Palmer's Rhyperior, Bertha's Hippowdon, and Paul's Drapion. They should have gotten rid of Suicide Mountain for a better move. If they wanted Torterra to be surprisingly fast, they should have had someone teach it Rock Polish instead.
Ash's Snivy was the true decline of the Grass Starter mistreatment however. After all the times that Trip brought up the fact that Snivy hadn't evolved and that it had likely abandoned her previous trainer, both plot points were dropped harder than Cameron was as a baby. Honestly speaking, Snivy should have gone to Cilan. Ash's main Grass-type should have been Leavanny. At least having Cilan catch the rebellious Snivy would have added to his credence as a Grass-type Gym Leader and maybe she could have played his "straight man" role for all his "It's ___ Time!" moments. She would have definitely evolved under Cilan since he already had Pansage as his partner.
Clemont's Chespin was outshined by Maron's Chespin and that Chespin was put into a coma and Clemont's still couldn't surpass it. When Brock's Marshtomp is treated better than another starter on a companion, that's a problem. Quilladin and Chesnaught both received some of the WORST XY fillers I can remember. I can't even say it would have been better if Ash caught it. I think at this point, they should have just given Serena Chespin as well. It would have been a great Showcase partner with it's frenemy Pancham.
Ash's Rowlet was great! It kinda reminded me a bit of Bulbasaur, buuuutt that match against Hau's Decidueye was one of the worst battles in SM, imo. Instead of Ash having Rowlet and Incineroar by the end of SM, he should have had Dartrix and Torracat imo. Those would have been a better balance with Lycanroc and Melmetal. Perhaps during the battle with Decidueye, Rowlet uses Seed Bomb but then Hau orders Decidueye to hold on to it instead of smacking it away to prevent Rowlet from using the move. That would cause Rowlet to become angry enough to evolve to beat Decidueye and get it's Everstone back.
Goh's Grookey is a joke. I don't even know how to salvage this one. Hopefully it evolves in the future after it learns a 2nd move.
Ash's Bayleef was decent but like the rest of the Johtomons, they took a backseat to the Kanto starters. Kinda wish they had made Casey a serious rival so that way Bayleef could have had a personal rival and/or friend.
Ash's Sceptile was the ace of his team but it did come a bit late into the BF. I figured Tyson having a Sceptile and Ash having Grovyle would have had some kind of reaction from them. Honestly, I would have taken a Grovyle losing to his evolved form loss than whatever the hell they did with Pikachu vs Meowth in Boots.
Ash's Torterra was just a sad thing to watch. Turtwig was great, Grotle was good, but poor Torterra. The only thing that kinda saves Torterra is that it kept losing to really OP Pokémon like Palmer's Rhyperior, Bertha's Hippowdon, and Paul's Drapion. They should have gotten rid of Suicide Mountain for a better move. If they wanted Torterra to be surprisingly fast, they should have had someone teach it Rock Polish instead.
Ash's Snivy was the true decline of the Grass Starter mistreatment however. After all the times that Trip brought up the fact that Snivy hadn't evolved and that it had likely abandoned her previous trainer, both plot points were dropped harder than Cameron was as a baby. Honestly speaking, Snivy should have gone to Cilan. Ash's main Grass-type should have been Leavanny. At least having Cilan catch the rebellious Snivy would have added to his credence as a Grass-type Gym Leader and maybe she could have played his "straight man" role for all his "It's ___ Time!" moments. She would have definitely evolved under Cilan since he already had Pansage as his partner.
Clemont's Chespin was outshined by Maron's Chespin and that Chespin was put into a coma and Clemont's still couldn't surpass it. When Brock's Marshtomp is treated better than another starter on a companion, that's a problem. Quilladin and Chesnaught both received some of the WORST XY fillers I can remember. I can't even say it would have been better if Ash caught it. I think at this point, they should have just given Serena Chespin as well. It would have been a great Showcase partner with it's frenemy Pancham.
Ash's Rowlet was great! It kinda reminded me a bit of Bulbasaur, buuuutt that match against Hau's Decidueye was one of the worst battles in SM, imo. Instead of Ash having Rowlet and Incineroar by the end of SM, he should have had Dartrix and Torracat imo. Those would have been a better balance with Lycanroc and Melmetal. Perhaps during the battle with Decidueye, Rowlet uses Seed Bomb but then Hau orders Decidueye to hold on to it instead of smacking it away to prevent Rowlet from using the move. That would cause Rowlet to become angry enough to evolve to beat Decidueye and get it's Everstone back.
Goh's Grookey is a joke. I don't even know how to salvage this one. Hopefully it evolves in the future after it learns a 2nd move.
