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Most Well-Written Gym Leaders of the Anime?

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
It still has to do with individual pokemon and their reactions to Mega evolution. The Korrina arc could have been condensed to a 3-parter, but there was no problem with Mega Lucario going beserk. It made for some fantastic scenes.
Ahh, so it was about Mega Lucario being a massive sore loser for not landing hits even before actually losing.

What an egotistical maniac.
 

Kintaro

Banned
Thinking about all the Gym leaders it's pretty obvious when most of them only appear in about 2 eps, most are kinda bland besides the basic traits the writers keep from their game personalities. Only a few Gym leaders actually have character arcs in the show, the rest usually just get an introduction episode and then the battle.
 

Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
Korrina and her jackal are best buds, yet they suffered hurdles to master Mega Evolution; a mechanic that the anime likes to emphasize as a close bond thing. Apparently theirs was just not strong enough, despite the fact she's supposed to be a professional trainer (really, I feel like we should have known for how long she's been a Gym Leader to be a mess about her family's tradition).

The Nurse Joy and her Audino pretty much disliked each other, yet their rocky friendship was no problems for them to use Mega Evolution their very first time.

Personality issues are well and good, but having a tight bond utterly screwed through evolution versus a screwed bond being magically fixed through evolution (at least while still in ME mode) is just weird.
Not really. It's not that weird when you think about it.

Lucario's mega evolution is different from Audino's. Its said to become heartless when mega evolved due to its aura's expansion and it becomes a killing machine governed only by its combative instincts.
A stronger bond was necessary to control those instincts, similar to how Infernape and Ash had to grow a deeper bond so they could control its ability.

Audino, on the other hand, is a healer pokemon. He is not going to go berserk and become a killing machine because that is not in his nature.

Also, even though Audino and Nurse Joy bickered a lot, they clearly had a bond. An unusual bond, but a bond nonetheless. After all, just because two characters bicker a lot doesn't mean they don't care for each other, just look at Misty and Ash for example.

In the end, we have to take into consideration that mega evolving once for a short time under extreme circumstances doesn't mean said Pokémon or trainer mastered Mega Evolution.
 
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AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Not really. It's not that weird when you think about it.

Lucario's mega evolution is different from Audino's. Its said to become heartless when mega evolved due to its aura's expansion and it becomes a killing machine governed only by its combative instincts.
A stronger bond was necessary to control those instincts, similar to how Infernape and Ash had to grow a deeper bond so they could control its ability.
Of course, that's the logical conclusion.

If that bit of info was brought up in the show at all to point it out. (A tad ironic the only info on dexed Pokemon that isn't shown is from Mega Evolutions.)

Which they don't use. Instead, the issue they use instead was how both of them did their own thing by separate even before mega evolving, and apparently that was the main root of the problem instead of natural instincts upon evolving. I guess that behavior was brought up by how Korrina raised her jackal to be a winner with no losses for a long (and improbable-sounding) 100-win streak. So the thought of even failing as a stronger form rubbed it the wrooooooooooong way when not completely listening to her.

I'm pretty sure it was a nurture issue than a natural issue, which was completely absent.
 
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Dragalge

"Orange" Magical Girl
Honestly I just found the Sinnoh gym leaders more enjoyable. Volkner, Maylene, Byron and Roark, etc. Only Crasher Wake felt like a dud out of the eight Sinnoh gym leaders but I still kinda liked his personality. The non-Clemont Kalos gym leaders showing up to fight Lysandre was cool and all but in the end, I still only cared about Viola out of the seven lol (I do care for Clemont more than Viola but even then I still actually don’t like him that much).
 

Kintaro

Banned
Personality-wise the XY Gym leaders weren't too special, it's their battles everyone loves. Then again you can say the same thing about the Gym leaders in the anime in any saga, outside a few standouts, the writers just keep the bare minimum of their traits from the game personalities and use that.

A lot of the Johto and Hoenn Gym leaders have the same issue because most were only in about 2 episodes and there's not much time for development when the second episode is always the battle. Hell, Falkner and Bugsy only got ONE episode in Johto...so did Chuck. Can you believe there was a time Gym leaders only got a single episode?
 

Kintaro

Banned
I don't agree that Korrina was developed well. Sure she struggled with controlling Mega Lucario, but she seemed to have a lot of help from Ash and friends plus Gurkinn and Mabel.

Isn't that the point of development, a character is allowed to learn from others and rely on them to overcome their struggles. Everyone on the main cast does it.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
I don't agree that Korrina was developed well. Sure she struggled with controlling Mega Lucario, but she seemed to have a lot of help from Ash and friends plus Gurkinn and Mabel.
Nah.

More like she had her own cheerleading squad who got almost nothing out of helping her; a contrast to Maylene's focus episodes where everyone (but Brock) got something out of it. It really doesn't help Korrina's final answer was...through beating Team Rocket; something Maylene didn't have to rely as the final answer (well, they did intervene, but she was still a bit of a wreck).
 

Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
Of course, that's the logical conclusion.

If that bit of info was brought up in the show at all to point it out. (A tad ironic the only info on dexed Pokemon that isn't shown is from Mega Evolutions.)

Which they don't use. Instead, the issue they use instead was how both of them did their own thing by separate even before mega evolving, and apparently that was the main root of the problem instead of natural instincts upon evolving. I guess that behavior was brought up by how Korrina raised her jackal to be a winner with no losses for a long (and improbable-sounding) 100-win streak. So the thought of even failing as a stronger form rubbed it the wrooooooooooong way when not completely listening to her.

I'm pretty sure it was a nurture issue than a natural issue, which was completely absent.
But they did though. Gurkkin explained that Lucario couldn't control its increased aura powers after Mega Evolving, which was why it went berserk.

It's not something that necessarily happens to all mega evolutions and it wouldn't make sense for Audino to go through the same thing, since he doesn't even have aura powers to begin with. Each species is different and so is their mega evolution.
 
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AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
But they did though. Gurkkin explained that Lucario couldn't control its increased aura powers after Mega Evolving, which was why it went berserk.

It's not something that necessarily happens to all mega evolutions and it wouldn't make sense for Audino to go through the same thing, since he doesn't even have aura powers to begin with. Each species is different and so is their mega evolution.
Is it a wonder the aura thingy never came back in any beneficial form after that was mentioned, though. Whatever happened to those aura waves that felt solid. That point was actually forgotten.

Hell, it didn't seem to have any issues handling aura in its base form when they were working on the issue, yet it didn't use it when they got lost in a cave. It didn't even think about using it, which only looked stupid when Korrina absolutely relied on the stone than her jackal's nature as a living sensor.

Really, the issue was all over the place. I can argue the increase in aura powers was just a placebo, since I don't remember seeing it glowing maliciously besides just going feral at random times when aura wasn't even involved. It was more common to see it use a double Bone Rush than actually using Aura Sphere. Aura was never truly a key point that neither of them exploited (unlike how Maylene did exploit that).
 

Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
Is it a wonder the aura thingy never came back in any beneficial form after that was mentioned, though. Whatever happened to those aura waves that felt solid. That point was actually forgotten.

Hell, it didn't seem to have any issues handling aura in its base form when they were working on the issue, yet it didn't use it when they got lost in a cave. It didn't even think about using it, which only looked stupid when Korrina absolutely relied on the stone than her jackal's nature as a living sensor.

Really, the issue was all over the place. I can argue the increase in aura powers was just a placebo, since I don't remember seeing it glowing maliciously besides just going feral at random times when aura wasn't even involved. It was more common to see it use a double Bone Rush than actually using Aura Sphere. Aura was never truly a key point that neither of them exploited (unlike how Maylene did exploit that).
Why would Lucario have a problem using its aura in its base form if the increase only happens when it's mega evolved?

Lucario is a species that can read other beings' aura and use his own aura to attack. The mega evolution increased that ability to a point that it became overwhelming to Lucario and the only way to calm him down was by strengthening his bond with his trainer.

By stregthening their bond, Korrina would be able to calm him down and, once calmed, Lucario would be able to control his powers on his own.

It's quite easy to understand, so i don't know why you would want them to spend so much time explaining something that is pretty much just a simple excuse as to why Lucario went mad, just like Blaze was to Infernape, instead of focusing on things that really matter, like developing Korrina and Lucario's bond.

I mean, they already explained the cause of his craziness and it is quite evident when his aura becomes too much, as his eyes glow red, his vision goes blurry and he can only see the opponent.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Why would Lucario have a problem using its aura in its base form if the increase only happens when it's mega evolved?

Lucario is a species that can read other beings' aura and use his own aura to attack. The mega evolution increased that ability to a point that it became overwhelming to Lucario and the only way to calm him down was by strengthening his bond with his trainer.

By stregthening their bond, Korrina would be able to calm him down and, once calmed, Lucario would be able to control his powers on his own.

It's quite easy to understand, so i don't know why you would want them to spend so much time explaining something that is pretty much just a simple excuse as to why Lucario went mad, just like Blaze was to Infernape, instead of focusing on things that really matter, like developing Korrina and Lucario's bond.

I mean, they already explained the cause of his craziness and it is quite evident when his aura becomes too much, as his eyes glow red, his vision goes blurry and he can only see the opponent.
I believe the main issue of all this was how a strong bond meant squat to Mega Evolution when someone as disjointed as Nurse Joy and her Audino managed to pull that off so easily, despite their bond being a huuuuuuuuuge mess. Power control was not the issue. Evolving at all was the issue. This is the anime that likes shoving friendships down our throats, after all.
 
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Doppelgänger

Superancient Member
Volkner's the only one that stands out, even if his development was pretty quick compared to other Gym Leaders. There was set up, backstory/exposition and then resolution; a complete, if short story arc. The resolution was logical. There was even the twist of the bartender being the Pokemon poacher, which got me excited when I watched that episode since it dawned on me before it was revealed.

Kanto, Johto, and Hoenn (Norma aside) are pretty forgettable. There's almost no depth to Kalos and Unova's. That leaves Sinnoh which, while it didn't do anything particularly special, made the Gym Leaders more important for Ash/Paul, while also making the Elite Four/Champion more down to earth.

Now, the Kahunas are a different story, but I don't know if they count as Gym Leaders.
 

Kintaro

Banned
Kanto's Gym leaders were the most memorable not because of nostalgia but because they were so unique compared to what came after.
 

Doppelgänger

Superancient Member
The only Kanto Gym leaders who made an impact were Surge and Sabrina. I can't even remember what Erika, Blaine, or Koga had for personality, if any.

Blaine, Brock, Sabrina and Surge also had memorable battles. Koga, Erika and Misty are very forgettable.

"Electric Shock Showdown" is the best Gym episode ever, so Kanto has that.
 

Xuxuba

Well-Known Member
I believe the main issue of all this was how a strong bond meant squat to Mega Evolution when someone as disjointed as Nurse Joy and her Audino managed to pull that off so easily, despite their bond being a huuuuuuuuuge mess. Power control was not the issue. Evolving at all was the issue. This is the anime that likes shoving friendships down our throats, after all.
I already explained that tho.
First, they did share a strong bond, regardless of the bickering. That was the entire point of the episode and Professor Sycamore explicitly said himself that they shared a strong bond, despite fighting a lot.
Second, Audino only did it for a couple of seconds and it was a very extreme situation. It is not that hard to believe that even a Pokémon and a Trainer with an imperfect bond would still be able to mega evolve for a couple of seconds if the situation required. Besides, no bond is perfect anyway, the requirement for mega evolving is a strong bond, not a perfect bond.

I think the problem is that you think two characters can't share a strong bond if they fight a lot, which is not true at all. We fight because we care. Fighting is a way to express our feelings and views to the other people, and storing that anger is not a good thing because it will eventually become too much for the person to handle and come out all at once. Not to mention you start resenting the person for all the times you were angry but didn't say so. Of course there are limits to that, such as when a relationship becomes toxic, but fighting alone is not the issue, not being able to overcome a fight you had with your friend and grow from it is.

If anything, Joy and Audino's bond was one of the more realistic ones we have seen in the anime.
 
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