How do you expect the writers to go about writing the 8th gen?

[MidnightMelody]

I thought janejane6178 was just referring to the actual names of the mainline games and nothing else (so like the way Sun/Moon, X/Y, Black/White, and so on are stylised on the boxart and title screen)

Ohhh the titles themselves got it

 

[Bortgreen]

After both extremes(XYZ and SM) i would like something balanced but still nice
Something with the personality of SM, but with epic battles and moments like XY or DP

 

[DatsRight]

After both extremes(XYZ and SM) i would like something balanced but still nice
Something with the personality of SM, but with epic battles and moments like XY or DP

Given both XY and DP were formula redirects after BW and AG respectively, I could see the next series doing the same.

It seems like we have a two region pattern of experimenting in the first and then refining and moderating in the second. Often you see the same opinions issued towards ones of each pattern (eg. Kanto, AG, BW, and SM are liked for taking innovations but criticised for being rather uneven and lacking direction, while Johto, DP, and XY are enjoyed for a more consistent and fully realised storyline but also criticised for being too restrictive and running the old formula into the ground).

Battles and action scenes are seen as the first series' weak point but are praised for trying more diverse alternatives (eg. SM and Kanto's more character driven fillers, BW's competent Team Rocket feuds), while the second series keep priorities on the main events, meaning some of the best official battles and arcs but wedged in between very generic and interchangeable crap like tons of Team Rocket curb stomps and COTDs.

 

[Redstar45]

After both extremes(XYZ and SM) i would like something balanced but still nice
Something with the personality of SM, but with epic battles and moments like XY or DP

Um just ag continuity style with dp or xy action stuff and little bit of os soft moment with satosh and his friend.

 

[Bortgreen]

Given both XY and DP were formula redirects after BW and AG respectively, I could see the next series doing the same.

It seems like we have a two region pattern of experimenting in the first and then refining and moderating in the second. Often you see the same opinions issued towards ones of each pattern (eg. Kanto, AG, BW, and SM are liked for taking innovations but criticised for being rather uneven and lacking direction, while Johto, DP, and XY are enjoyed for a more consistent and fully realised storyline but also criticised for being too restrictive and running the old formula into the ground).

Battles and action scenes are seen as the first series' weak point but are praised for trying more diverse alternatives (eg. SM and Kanto's more character driven fillers, BW's competent Team Rocket feuds), while the second series keep priorities on the main events, meaning some of the best official battles and arcs but wedged in between very generic and interchangeable crap like tons of Team Rocket curb stomps and COTDs.

I have a similar viewpoint, I could see they doing something like that too
Also almost every odd generation(except maybe for AG) has more comedy, while the pair ones(and AG) are more serious

 

[MidnightMelody]

I have a similar viewpoint, I could see they doing something like that too
Also almost every odd generation(except maybe for AG) has more comedy, while the pair ones(and AG) are more serious

To be fair AG was odd in game gen but anime gen even

 

[Zoruagible]

Honestly just give us two companions again.
At least then if somebody gets ignored it won't be unusual as the third wheel usually does get ignored in the latter half of a saga. Not the entire cast!

 

[DatsRight]

Honestly just give us two companions again.
At least then if somebody gets ignored it won't be unusual as the third wheel usually does get ignored in the latter half of a saga. Not the entire cast!

I want at least a balance this time, just too many episodes have Ash providing all the colour to the story while the others just stand there. Even if it's meant to be light hearted, what's a comedy when only one character out of six will take part in the antics?

At the same time I don't want it to go back to XY where it's instead Ash who is barely a character at all. Can't we just have a whole group of likeable flawed characters rather than certain ones having to carry the whole thing? There's always at least one character they almost intentionally write as a complete bore.

 

[Redstar45]

Um do you know that Satoshi won't be writing the same in each generation right ?

 

[DatsRight]

Um do you know that Satoshi won't be writing the same in each generation right ?

Sadly true. I'd like to think at least SOME trial and error is involved however. SM Ash did feel like an answer to the 'Ash is dull' complaints (while trying to maintain his competence this time), if maybe to a fault. Now Ash has great humour AND agency, they almost can't be bothered with anyone else.

Even just SM Ash but the comedic pathos and screentime shared more evenly between everyone would be fine for me. I just want them to try avoiding the 'token prop characters' in a series for once. SM has moments it feels like it's genuinely TRYING to do this, but other times it's straight up "The Ash Show" without even the formalities the previous series had.

 

[Shadao]

What did you expect? A new main character to explore? So long as Ash has been the main character since the first episode, he will always be the focus regardless of any change up. You want it not to be "The Ash Show" in a series about Ash and Pikachu? Make a character like Dawn.

 

[Kintaro]

I don't really think we'll get a Dawn-like role for a female lead again, if only because we're 3 gens later and they seem content not to do it anymore. Likewise there's no other goal from the games that would give the female companion as much a role as Contests did so the writers are limited in that regard too. It's hard to tell what they'll do since the group dynamics and show itself changes so much each series now.

My guess is if we do go back to a trio the companions will effectively be Misty/Brock or Iris/Cilan 3.0, since that's generally how most of the trios work in the show besides DP where the writers could just ignore Brock. But after BW I'm not so sure they'll try that again either.

 

[DatsRight]

It feels like the anime's slowly lost grasp of writing female characters since Dawn. I mean SM's taken to just dumping them in a B plot or ignoring them altogether for episodes focusing on the male cast. Their screentime has also gradually became more formulaic, and they're doing an increasingly poor job making them fallible characters in whatever they do, with their limelight becoming more and more monotonously cozy and cutesy. Lillie feels like a case they're halfway trying for (likely because as the signature Gen 7 character they know they're obligated to), but even then her limelight is dwindling badly and they've dumbed down her games character arc to absurd lengths.

Iris seemed like the last female that sort of suffered the same level trials Ash did, as in getting her flaws and abrasive qualities flashed in front of her harshly, dealing constantly with bad blood between her team or even just simple fallibility like regularly being in battles she lost or just took a few hits back (hell they had an arc she got chastised for WINNING the wrong way). Even then though many will argue her actual development was pretty unfocused. After that it feels like they've gone for more the 'cutesy bystander' format for the girls with most of major hardships and 'loser' qualities reserved for the boys, making the former far less interesting and sympathetic as characters.

Either way, unless there's a major change in writing direction, I don't expect another tough-guy complicated female with a battler goal to appear as a main companion again (though we get guests like Hapu and Korrina).

 

[AznKei]

What did you expect? A new main character to explore? So long as Ash has been the main character since the first episode, he will always be the focus regardless of any change up. You want it not to be "The Ash Show" in a series about Ash and Pikachu? Make a character like Dawn.

They should rename the anime: "Pokemon: Ash's adventure in ( insert region name)", then people would know the show is mainly about Ash, just like Naruto & Boruto, that would be less misleading for the fans of the companions/classmates who want them to shine imo.

 

[Redstar45]

Why not make it two series....one is about Satoshi and his pikachu and other is new protagonist and his own Pokemon ? Both can set in same universe and i would kill for a bit darker Pokemon story with Satoshi as older protagonist and rest of os-xyz cast make their own return

 

[DatsRight]

I seriously think they should try making Ash more of a deuteragonist, a mix of the current series and current movie, where he's still a colourful key character, but the new characters are still getting primary focus.

 

[Redstar45]

I seriously think they should try making Ash more of a deuteragonist, a mix of the current series and current movie, where he's still a colourful key character, but the new characters are still getting primary focus.

Bad idea as he would be just overshadow new protagonist badly and i think that is best for the new guy starting their own story with Satoshi just get nod like how green and most npc did mention Red and his role from event of Pokemon gen 1 games in gen 2 and gen 7 respectively

 

[DatsRight]

So long as they give the new character proper screentime and a characterisation that is allowed to equal him in agency and charm it can surely be done. Hell the new characters have more potential to be compelling because they can be given more dynamic development and even more intricate backstories than Ash. SM to me succeeds when they actually bother with the supporting cast, it's major error is having jarringly large factors it doesn't try at all, with absurdly stagnant or sometimes bland teams and too many episodes Ash is the only one contributing anything to the plot.

The AF arc was a downgrade from the games for example, but it shown this setup well enough, with Lillie being the more central focus but Ash still having a major supporting role.

 

[AznKei]

I seriously think they should try making Ash more of a deuteragonist, a mix of the current series and current movie, where he's still a colourful key character, but the new characters are still getting primary focus.

I think most the Power Of Us cast plots got concluded already after the movie and I don't see them stretching out like in the anime format without having them staying in the background most of the time.

 

[DatsRight]

I think most the Power Of Us cast plots got concluded already after the movie and I don't see them stretching out like in the anime format without having them staying in the background most of the time.

It's not just arc development though, it's agency and charisma. The ongoing problem throughout the anime is that we have several characters that do ALL the goal arcs/comedy/battling/pathos while the others stand around being dead weight (hell for a long while such a role could practically be termed "The Brock"). Ash for example is doing fine right now despite not being that dynamic a character because he's colourful and versatile enough to keep himself busy, the others despite having MORE potential for fleshing out spend way more time just standing there in the background.

I mean, when your co-star does all the exciting work, takes all the slapstick abuse, and has all the charming interactions while you....maybe get in the odd exposition or snarky line or two, of course you're going to be seen as a far more useless and boring addition, arc potential or not. It's like trying to compare Buster Keaton against some prima donna who doesn't do their own stunts and half asses all their lines in one take.