Least Favorite Episode of the Anime?

[Captain Jigglypuff]

I just noticed that there wasn’t a topic for discussing your least favorite episodes of the anime. We all have at least one episode that we can’t stand whether it’s the one where Ash loses to Cameron or the filler episode where everyone talks about movies. Please keep things civil and refrain from getting into heated arguments. Not everyone will have the same opinion as you about any episodes mentioned here.

My least favorite Pokémon episode has to be The Kangaskhan Kid. Everything seemed to have gone wrong in terms of writing and the plot. The idea of a kid being raised by wild Pokémon is very interesting and holds a lot of possibilities and potential but this episode failed at every level. First off the dad was a total nutcase so nutty that even a Greedent wouldn’t touch him. He drops his toddler out of a helicopter after dangling him from the aircraft a la Micheal Jackson, he flashed his naked chest at his son which was made even more bizarre since you can see nipples on his chest but none of the other males have visible nipples when shirtless and that includes perpetually shirtless men in the anime like a Chuck and Bruno, and the dad has a really annoying voice. And why did the parents wait five years to try and look for their own kid? And how does Tommy fully understand human speech if he was raised by Pokémon? With The Jungle Book, Mogli was stated to only make noises like wild animals as a form of communication and he had to teach himself to imitate what the people of the village were saying when he rejoined them and he was having difficulty understanding the ways humans behave and speak. In the Disney movie, Mogli can understand the girl by the river but that’s only because it is a movie and Disney does this a lot in their animated films and it doesn’t need an explanation because it’s how the studio has always done things. In Tarzan, the titular protagonist has to take lessons from Jane to speak like a person and not animal grunts. Tommy just happens to know the difference between males and females just by looking at Misty and knew how to form a comprehensible sentence in human speech. And the ending leaves so many questions with what will the people that know the parents say when they discover two wealthy people that they know have suddenly disappeared and their house hasn’t been lived in for a long time? What about their jobs? If they decide to rejoin society again, will they be completely broke as the bank repossess their entire property and fortune and become homeless as a result?

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Most of my least favorite episodes come after DP. The gym battle between Ash and Elesa episode killed my interest in Ash completely and the Serena crossdressing as Ash episode was ruined by Team Rocket and Ash miraculously getting over his illness and hijacking yet another episode from Serena.

 

[Mr.Munchlax]

It'd have to be A Double Dilemma from AG hands down. The citizens of North Petalburg were die-hard Norman fans in the worst possible way. Between constantly belittling Ash, forcing him to nonstop battles, forcing May to keep doing contest performances, calling Ash the jerk who was harassing them, forcing Ash & May to battle, booing Ash every time he called a move, & declaring May the winner for ridiculous reasons, they just became completely unlikable and I groaned all throughout the episode whenever they did anything. Plus, when Ash finally proved himself after beating Team Rocket, the townspeople STILL called him a novice and only said that Pikachu had the potential to beat Norman.

I know Ash had a big ego in AG & all, but even he didn't deserve that kind of harassment, & May didn't deserve that kind of toxic positivity for that matter. They didn't even really care about her. They just fawned over her & Max just because they're Norman's kids, so their love & praise wasn't even genuine. Even if they were big Norman fans, all of those people were the biggest collective group of jerks I've ever seen in the series and made their city completely irredeemable. They were basically the personification of all the toxic aspects found in fandoms, sports fans, & k-pop fans. By the end of the episode I felt the same as Sokka in Avatar Day when he said this was "by far the worst town we've ever been to."

Pokemon Scent-sations was my least favorite episode before this since everyone besides Team Rocket was a jerk, but this is by far the absolute WORST POSSIBLE EPISODE in the entire anime for me. Even with all of the stinkers we've gotten like Ash's match with Elesa, the Unova League battle with Camneron, and all of the endless filler we had in future sagas, nothing can top this dumpster fire of an episode. Not even Team Rocket cosplaying as Norman's family can redeem this episode for me (even though all those people deserved to be conned).

If you're rewatching or seeing AG for the first time, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF ARCEUS skip this episode by all means! T_T

 

[Aryash Bajaj]

Mission Total Recall and entire Aether arc if I'm being honest.

Double Dillema. The people in that town are some brainwashed NPC's.

 

[DatsRight]

A lot of early episodes had this sort of mean spirited vibe, and as I mentioned in a previous thread, the way the COTD/TR formula was automated didn't always do a good job making it look vindicated.

Chikorita's Big Upset, Lights Camera Quacktion and both Pangoro episodes in XY have the issue of a jerkass Pokemon that is suddenly NOT a jerkass because TR butted in, no implications of humility or learning from their mistakes, just TR butting in and obviously the twerps have to save the Pokemon from getting stolen no matter how much of a creep they were to them before (even more so in cases they even bullied TR FIRST).

I think I'm among the few that DOESN'T like For The Love Of Meowth for this reason too, since the jerkass POTD gets off scot free despite WILLINGLY going along with Meowth's plan and then becoming an abusive housewife to him with the protagonists blaming Meowth for using the Purrugly and even letting her blast them off in the end. Not to mention that episode kinda ruins TR's bond after several DP episodes that at least tested but strengthened it. Sure Meowth got his wacky power moment, but the rest of the plot sucked.

Cases like Pokemon Scent-cation and Where Art Thou Pokemon which also have jerkass COTD I can sort of buy, since while they are kinda mean spirited too, they at least come with the implication they learned from their wrongdoings as a result of TR's antics. Similarly A Double Dilemma had jerk COTD who didn't even learn from their mistakes, but that did at least seem kind of the whole point, like a cynical 'some people just won't change no matter what you do, and you just have to be the better man' moral, which at least shown Ash had grown a bit (plus a bit of a funny take that, like THAT sort of Pokemon fan is just too much for even Ash to redeem ). Even if yeah, them still getting their comeuppance in some unnegated way would have been more satisfying.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

Beauty and the Beach is also really bad considering how butchered it ended up all because James decided to use an inflatable breast plate to enter a bikini contest. You can tell so easily where the edits and cut scenes are because of the extremely awkward and sudden jumps to a new scene throughout the entire thing. US editors for kid cartoons are so strange sometimes when it comes to shows with episodes like this. What I don’t get is why the cartoon Braceface did something similar to fake inflatable breasts that a fourteen year old was using and it was allowed to air unedited but James isn’t allowed to do the same even though he got into drag all the time up until the beginning of the Johto region.

 

[cricketlaxwolvesbandy]

Elesa gym battle episode, Lucario and Cinderace go around Unova episode, The School of Hard Knocks, Ash vs Hau, This Magik Moment, Pikachu’s Exciting Adventure

 

[RafaSceptile]

OS: Friend and Foe Alike, one of the very few instances where a no-filler episode deserves the spot
AG: A Double Dilemma, what is wrong with Petalburg citizens?
DP: To Thine Own Pokémon Be True, what was the point of Ambipom if he was going to be released like that?
BW: Dazzling the Nimbasa Gym, self-explanatory right?
XY: A Pokévision of Things to Come, that line with Serena saying that "girls should always strive to be clean and cute" is one of the worst thing I've ever heard in the Pokémon anime
SM: Sparking Confusion, usually SM fillers were good, this was far from it
JN: Pikachu Translation Check....Up to your Neck, the first part was OK but very boring, and the second part is very bad

 

[Mr.Munchlax]

Beauty and the Beach is also really bad considering how butchered it ended up all because James decided to use an inflatable breast plate to enter a bikini contest. You can tell so easily where the edits and cut scenes are because of the extremely awkward and sudden jumps to a new scene throughout the entire think. US editors for kid cartoons are so strange sometimes when it comes to shows with episodes like this. What I don’t get is why the cartoon Braceface did something similar to fake inflatable breasts that a fourteen year old was using and it was allowed to air unedited but James isn’t allowed to do the same even though he got into drag all the time up until the beginning of the Johto region.

Oh it’s not just James, the way they objectified Misty in that episode was bad too. The dub tried to cover that stuff up by having the restaurant owner say she reminded him of his granddaughter, or Misty saying “This is embarrassing and degrading but we need the money” during the swimsuit competition, but it didn’t work (in fact, that actually made the former look worse out of context).

The only positive thing about this episode is that it showed what happened between “Island of the Giant Pokémon” and “Tentacool & Tentacruel,” but aside from that it's bad in general

 

[janejane6178]

The first episode of SM, I will never forget the shocking of the new artstyle and the school's setting introduction

 

[Leonhart]

Pretty much every filler episode starting from mid-Jouto to the present would fall under the category of being my least favorite episodes. However, a few Kanto episodes from the earlier days are among my least favorites as well: in particular, EP017, EP021, and EP039.

 

[CMButch]

I have several the east favorite episodes from OS to JN. The most has Johto and the least has Kanto.

 

[Morax]

A Pokévision of Things to Come, that line with Serena saying that "girls should always strive to be clean and cute" is one of the worst thing I've ever heard in the Pokémon anime

It's a japanese cartoon made for japanese kids. Don't expect them to follow western conventions.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

The only positive thing about this episode is that it showed what happened between “Island of the Giant Pokémon” and “Tentacool & Tentacruel,” but aside from that it's bad in general

That is true. At least it explained how and why the gang were at the resort in the western anime continuity unlike how The Legend of Dratini was completely skipped and Ash magically had 30 Tauros at Oak’s lab right after The Kangaskhan Kid which really confused me as I couldn’t recall Ash even seeing a Tauros before then let alone catching one.

 

[JustAStatistic]

There was this one Litleo filler in XYZ that has the dubious honor of being the only Pokémon episode I've watched that put me to sleep.

Aside from that, Ash vs Elesa and Ash vs Hau are both pretty bad. There's also probably some stuff from the pre-DP era that I've bleached from my memory.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

It's a japanese cartoon made for japanese kids. Don't expect them to follow western conventions.

This argument makes zero sense. I don't think he cares from which old convention that line comes from its a dumb line for him and he hates it.

As for my least favourite episodes
Johto fillers were such a damn drag and so bad
May's AG contests, Ash Vs Morrison, Tyson
AG DP and XY fillers dragged as well
Master class showcase was the peak of my problems with that whole goal and arc so that
Unova league axew filler, ash Vs Cameron
Ash Vs elesa
The journeys marshtomp episode
The grookey episode
These are the episodes fresh on the mind
Also some Kanto fillers were actually bad like The Kangaskhan Kid and Ghost at maidens peak lmao

 

[RafaSceptile]

It's a japanese cartoon made for japanese kids. Don't expect them to follow western conventions.

Sure. Still one of the worst quotes in the Pokémon anime

 

[ChampioN One]

That kangaskhan kid episode is the worst episode ever made in the history of Pokémon anime.

 

[BlueLight]

One of my most hated OS episodes is Pokemon Scent-sation. We all know the reason, the Celadon Gym's gym members and their perfume addiction, which they took way too far. When Ash showed disgust for perfumes, due to their price, Erika, the Gym Leader and the owner of the perfume shop, just kicked him out. And what she did next, informed the gym members of the same, since the perfume was made from her flower-based gym. When Ash arrived at the gym, these members kicked him out, but not before stamping his face, which was totally unjust. Just because he criticized the perfume, he was refrained from entering the gym, so it was great to see Ash disguising himself to enter. The characters in this episode, excluding Ash, were really annoying, even Misty and Brock, the most hated being the gym members.

 

[BlueLight]

One of my most hated OS episodes is Pokemon Scent-sation. We all know the reason, the Celadon Gym's gym members and their perfume addiction, which they took way too far. When Ash showed disgust for perfumes, due to their price, Erika, the Gym Leader and the owner of the perfume shop, just kicked him out. And what she did next, informed the gym members of the same, since the perfume was made from her flower-based gym. When Ash arrived at the gym, these members kicked him out, but not before stamping his face, which was totally unjust. Just because he criticized the perfume, he was refrained from entering the gym, so it was great to see Ash disguising himself to enter. The characters in this episode, excluding Ash, were really annoying, even Misty and Brock, the most hated being the gym members.

And imagine, hadn't Ash disguised himself, he wouldn't have entered the Pokemon League on time.

Spoiler

But there are still many other gyms (not confirmed in the Gen I game) that Ash could have challenged.