Pocket Monsters XY Character Review Thread

[Platinum fan.]

Alan beats Ash and people are pissed that someone who didnt care about the League beat Ash

Ash beats Alan and I will hear "ash glorification/Alan held back/he had a weak/underdeveloped team besides Charizard and thats why Alan won/etc"

And either way Alan's character is sullyed (he wins the league and yay he gets nothing out of it because he doesnt even care about winning, he loses and who cares, he battled Ash and that's all he cared about).

I dont see any outcomes from this Alan vs Ash matchup ending well for anyone and that's why he shouldnt have been at the damn League.

I suppose I don't care that much. Like you said I gave up on XY months ago. It's still disappointing Alain started off as a really unique standalone character with his own goal and his own fights, not needing Gyms and Leagues to look strong. And then he fell right into the XY glory Ash season and his sole purpose now is to give Ash a good fight, win or lose. I predicted this to happen just like I did the treatment of Clemont after his Gym.

 

[Trainer Yusuf]

snip

Outside of Alain's secondary protagonist role, I fail to see any serious repercussions to any of these, considering we will never see him after Kalos.

Fandom's response seems completely irrelevant to me when one considers that.

What will remain, however, is the battle itself and the set up prior to that. And whatever wasted opportunity will likely be ignored, just like it did in Paul vs. Ash and Gary vs. Ash, simply if battle and overall arc ends up satisfying enough.

 

[Infernape55]

BUT MANON WAS HIS FIRST PRIORITY, he was power hungry in Act 1-2 but after the fall out in Act IV he dropped ALL of that for Manon's sake because he felt responsible for Chespin, it showed him as a good grey character who could be interesting and unpredictable. So I hope you can understand why im really frustrated seeing all of that thrown away to make him into generic tough league rival who battles Ash

I don't think Alain is going to be reduced to that. I mean all over this forum since Alain was introduced I've seen people speculating/wishing that he'd be a league opponent, and now all of the sudden it's seen as character derailment. The Rumble Badge is described as his 8th, so he's likely been doing this for a while, probably prior to the Specials or in between them. We just never needed to see that because why rehash Gym Battles when that's Ash's quest (and they never like showing us the anime-only Gyms). Alain's specials were focused around Mega Evolution and Ash was focused on the League, now those two things are intersecting.

Plus, I strongly agree with the theory that Lysandre is using the Kalos League to collect Mega Evolution energy, since that and Zygarde appear to be the major aspects of his plan. What better way to collect that energy than rigging the stadium to absorb energy while a bunch of strong trainers, some who use ME, are gathered in one place, with Alain there to draw out their strength. If anything, Alain being at the League makes a lot of sense as the culmination of the Mega Evolution Energy scheme. Lysandre has Team Flare for covert missions and science stuff, he wanted to exploit Alain's ambitions for something different.

 

[Navin]

People complained about last-minute league rivals, Tobias, Cameron, and Leprechaun. But they're shitting on a character fleshed out as a secondary protagonist/anti-hero, who will certainly give Ash a tough battle.

Never change PAD.

 

[Soniman]

I suppose I don't care that much. Like you said I gave up on XY months ago. It's still disappointing Alain started off as a really unique standalone character with his own goal and his own fights, not needing Gyms and Leagues to look strong. And then he fell right into the XY glory Ash season and his sole purpose now is to give Ash a good fight, win or lose. I predicted this to happen just like I did the treatment of Clemont after his Gym.

Fair enough, I just needed to vent my frustrations about this so im glad someone understands lol

People complained about last-minute league rivals, Tobias, Cameron, and Leprechaun. But they're shitting a character fleshed out as a secondary protagonist/anti-hero, who will certainly give Ash a tough battle.

Never change PAD.

Being an established developed character doesnt excuse shoddy writing if the reasons and motivations dont make any sense.

Im sure the battle will be a spectacle, but just all the crap we have to rearrange just to arrive at said battle is frustrating

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

People complained about last-minute league rivals, Tobias, Cameron, and Leprechaun. But they're shitting on a character fleshed out as a secondary protagonist/anti-hero, who will certainly give Ash a tough battle.

Never change PAD.

I second this

 

[yuoke]

People complained about last-minute league rivals, Tobias, Cameron, and Leprechaun. But they're shitting on a character fleshed out as a secondary protagonist/anti-hero, who will certainly give Ash a tough battle.

Never change PAD.

The difference is that none of those last minute rivals decided to go to the league at the last minute. Those guys were all training for a long time and went through the region getting badges like ash, while Alain literally last second decides to all of the sudden join the kalos league that he didn't know or care about until of course ash told him. Now he gets all the badges in a rush because megaz and will beat ash.

 

[Dragalge]

Alain joining at the last second is very weird. I thought he was helping Manon out.

As for Ash vs Alain, I'm somewhat expecting almost no strategy and just flashy attacks being traded back and forth because in my opinion, that's how most battles involving Megas have gone.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Alain joining at the last second is very weird. I thought he was helping Manon out.

As for Ash vs Alain, I'm somewhat expecting almost no strategy and just flashy attacks being traded back and forth because in my opinion, that's how most battles involving Megas have gone.

It'd be disappointing if it happens that way. There needs to be some kind of strategy involved imo

 

[yuoke]

It'd be disappointing if it happens that way. There needs to be some kind of strategy involved imo

That's the problem though, there is no strategy with megas. It's just "megaz are ultra powerful super strong pokez and can beat anything with big laserbeams and stuff".

 

[Navin]

Being an established developed character doesnt excuse shoddy writing if the reasons and motivations dont make any sense.

Im sure the battle will be a spectacle, but just all the crap we have to rearrange just to arrive at said battle is frustrating

Holy **** Soni. He was literally given a task to battle Mega Evolution trainers and gather energy. Korrina and Wulfric and god knows how many other gym leaders own Megas. He found out that many trainers who will likely use Megas will be at the league. Obviously, the overall implication is that he wants to help Manon. But the direct reward is that he knows he'll ultimately get a full battle against Ash in the tournament.

The difference is that none of those last minute rivals decided to go to the league at the last minute. Those guys were all training for a long time and went through the region getting badges like ash, while Alain literally last second decides to all of the sudden join the kalos league that he didn't know or care about until of course ash told him. Now he gets all the badges in a rush because megaz and will beat ash.

Ash went in and competed in random Pokémon Contests, even though that wasn't his primary motivation and what he wasn't training for. Alain, at least, is a Pokémon trainer, whose primary skill set is meant for leagues. We don't know if he battled in gyms for training while raising his Charizard and other Pokémon.

And if Leprechaun can obtain four badges in XY-pacing 18 episodes, then I'm sure Alain can go out and get the rest in a short amount of time. <-- This is the bad writing if anything, the pacing they did.

 

[Soniman]

Holy **** Soni. He was literally given a task to battle Mega Evolution trainers and gather energy. Korrina and Wulfric and god knows how many other gym leaders own Megas.

The ones you said, Korrina and Wulfric. They are the only gym leaders that have confirmed Megas. There are no hints or explanations that anyone else have mega Pokemon and you're only making assumptions, nothing was confirmed.

He found out that many trainers who will likely use Megas will be at the league.

Again, those are assumptions. He doesnt know that, he was never informed of that, he only is going to the League because he wants to battle Ash and no other confirmed reason yet

Obviously, the overall implication is that he wants to help Manon. But the direct reward is that he knows he'll ultimately get a full battle against Ash in the tournament.

ASSUMPTIONS. Manon literally told Alan "were fine, go do whatever you want" in that video call so why would Alan worry about it now? He certainly wasnt thinking about it at the end of today's episode when he got that gym badge and his first thought was about facing Ash.

 

[Blaze Master X]

I'm sure there's a timeskip between XYZ029 and XYZ030.

 

[lemoncatpower]

The ones you said, Korrina and Wulfric. They are the only gym leaders that have confirmed Megas. There are no hints or explanations that anyone else have mega Pokemon and you're only making assumptions, nothing was confirmed.


Again, those are assumptions. He doesnt know that, he was never informed of that, he only is going to the League because he wants to battle Ash and no other confirmed reason yet


ASSUMPTIONS. Manon literally told Alan "were fine, go do whatever you want" in that video call so why would Alan worry about it now? He certainly wasnt thinking about it at the end of today's episode when he got that gym badge and his first thought was about facing Ash.

they'll probably have some sort of flashback between Lysandre and Alain explaining why he set out to the league towards the end for when Alain realizes everything about Team Flare.
I can see it now.

 

[Umbilical Noose]

The Ash hate is strong with this thread. Hopefully people haven't forgotten this is Pokemon Anime, Ash's show. Everything here revolves around Ash. Alain was created for this purpose nothing more nothing less. Anything in between was to show just how strong and motivated he is.

True, but Alan always had me interested because of his story with Manon. But now that they've just put that on the shelf and turned him into another Ash rival, Alan's appeal just went sour for me. Now watch, in the league if Ash beats Alan, every single person who doubted Alan's strength and played it off as Malva holding back will switch sides and say Ash beat a Elite Four level trainer. As if Alan is now worthy of being called that now because he's associated with Ash now. Alan's damaged goods.

Does it really matter? Did you see what Ash did to Diantha? Actually I have a feeling you didn't.

Alan beats Ash and people are pissed that someone who didnt care about the League beat Ash

Ash beats Alan and I will hear "ash glorification (because as far as we know that's what this is so far)/Alan held back/he had a weak/underdeveloped team besides Charizard and thats why Alan won/etc"

And either way Alan's character is sullyed (he wins the league and yay he gets nothing out of it because he doesnt even care about winning, he loses and who cares, he battled Ash and that's all he cared about).

I dont see any outcomes from this Alan vs Ash matchup ending well for anyone and that's why he shouldnt have been at the damn League.

His main goal was to beat strong trainers with Mega Evolutions. Ash doesn't have one but he stronger than most so it's obvious he wants to battle Ash when he is at his best.

The difference is that none of those last minute rivals decided to go to the league at the last minute. Those guys were all training for a long time and went through the region getting badges like ash, while Alain literally last second decides to all of the sudden join the kalos league that he didn't know or care about until of course ash told him. Now he gets all the badges in a rush because megaz and will beat ash.

I don't think that guy is beating Ash but let's wait and watch.

Alain joining at the last second is very weird. I thought he was helping Manon out.

As for Ash vs Alain, I'm somewhat expecting almost no strategy and just flashy attacks being traded back and forth because in my opinion, that's how most battles involving Megas have gone.

Ever seen a E4/Champion battle? They just stand there ordering attacks, no strategies involved. Now Ash is close to that level so obviously he won't be relying on strategies.

 

[phanpycross]

It's even funnier because Alain has already sought out e4s without needing to go through a league, so that cant even be used as an excuse. it's only Ash being special.


Still prefer it to Sawyer tho.

 

[TheUnamedPokemonMaster]

The Ash hate is strong with this thread. Hopefully people haven't forgotten this is Pokemon Anime, Ash's show. Everything here revolves around Ash. Alain was created for this purpose nothing more nothing less. Anything in between was to show just how strong and motivated he is.

Oh yeah?!? Then what about Jon,Tyson,tobias, cameron,harrison. Those were all(almost xD there are more) that stopped Ash from winning any kind of silverware. Wanna know why? Because its not about Ash. Its about the pokemon and the adventure. If it was easy for them they would swap Ash for a new protagonist every gen like they do with the games. So pls never say this is an Ash Ketchum centered anime. Never.

 

[phanpycross]

Oh yeah?!? Then what about Jon,Tyson,tobias, cameron,harrison. Those were all(almost xD there are more) that stopped Ash from winning any kind of silverware. Wanna know why? Because its not about Ash. Its about the pokemon and the adventure. If it was easy for them they would swap Ash for a new protagonist every gen like they do with the games. So pls never say this is an Ash Ketchum centered anime. Never.

This is an Ash ketchum centered anime.

 

[Snail Taxi VII]

This is an Ash Ketchum centered anime.

 

[Navin]

The ones you said, Korrina and Wulfric. They are the only gym leaders that have confirmed Megas. There are no hints or explanations that anyone else have mega Pokemon and you're only making assumptions, nothing was confirmed. Again, those are assumptions. He doesnt know that, he was never informed of that, he only is going to the League because he wants to battle Ash and no other confirmed reason yet
ASSUMPTIONS. Manon literally told Alan "were fine, go do whatever you want" in that video call so why would Alan worry about it now? He certainly wasnt thinking about it at the end of today's episode when he got that gym badge and his first thought was about facing Ash.

Of course we have to make assumptions. Otherwise plenty of things in the anime can't be explained.

Why Alain decided to go on the badge quest and compete at the league is explainable. The problematic aspect is him doing it so late, but that's also relevant to the writing over the Leprechaun.

But I have no issue with him being the final opponent for Ash, win or lose.