Pokémon Sword and Shield - How will they impact the anime?

[U.N. Owen]

Sometimes the filler is being used when people doesn't like the episode, hence wants to cut the "bad episodes" from the show. To me I barely used it since I watched the show mainly for entertainment.

Yeah, I remember a guy on this very forum who tried to argue a series becomes filler if Ash doesn't win a league. I think the guy posted to same rant on Bulba and was shot down.

I doubt it. I think COTD would be less common. Filler episodes are 9 times out of 10 pointless.

I honestly wonder what value there could be in Ash's journey if he traveled alone.

There's a reason power trios, dynamic duos, and five man bands are templates that are used throughout the history of storytelling. Characters grow stagnant and boring alone when there is no supporting cast. Even looking at a group of real kids, kids act very differently depending on the people that surround them at that moment.

There's a reason why superhero teams and sidekicks became prominent in the early days of superhero comics.

 

[Gen82]

Whatever happens, I hope they find a nice balance between SuMo and XY. I really don't want to go back to 'Ash & friends meet a COTD with a POTD who has an issue that needs solving, but they can't solve it, until Team Rocket swoops in, tries to steal it, but Ash saves it, lo and behold, the issue is solved!'

SuMo essentially getting rid of that entirely is the best thing about it. But it's not perfect either.

I hope they write Team Rocket more like the early BW anime. They didn't brothers Ash every episode but they did work towards larger plans with big pay offs.

 

[BulleDeChagrin]

I hope they write Team Rocket more like the early BW anime. They didn't brothers Ash every episode but they did work towards larger plans with big pay offs.

I like what they did in Sun & Moon. Way fewer appearances than in XY, but more focus episodes and their own little storylines. They still had a few annoying appearances, but in general, I think they were great.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

I hope they write Team Rocket more like the early BW anime. They didn't brothers Ash every episode but they did work towards larger plans with big pay offs.

They were also really boring personality wise though. They didn't have any of their old flair until after their big plan failed.

 

[DatsRight]

How they are in Ultra Legends isn't bad, they appear slightly more frequently than the rest of SM, but they are still moderated to flow into the plot properly and they tend to put in more meaningful character moments and interactions over just generic bad guy face offs. They also still tend to avoid butting into the twerps' actual development episodes.

I do think there is lost potential in terms of Team Rocket's threat level in SM, especially since they bothered to get the region's gimmick and some more powerful Pokemon, they could have become an increasing threat but that never really happened (given non-battlers like Mallow were doomed to fail in the league, they likely wanted SOMEONE lower down the bench to make them look good, but we did have Team Skull after all), I'd like them to have more cases Team Rocket fight and the twerps have to actually struggle a bit, over just always curbstomps or outside saves like Bewear. If Team Rocket ARE going to bug the twerps recurrently they may as well force some agency out of them.

I think this is what people liked about BW, TR felt more relevant because they were an unnegated challenge more often. Ash and the others had to actually FIGHT them rather than just beat them up easily. DA and early XY felt like it was trying to get the best of both worlds but I think after a while it lost passion for having the two sides fight all the time, with XYZ Team Rocket arguably being them at their most lethargic, having neither threatening battles OR funny interactions with the twerps, basically being a plot tumour to excuse the twerps being bland and unable to hold a third act on their own. SM seems like it has slowly been doing repair, even if I still wouldn't say TR feel relevant as foils to the twerps in any way. Even Mimikyu largely feels like a nuisance to Pikachu than a true rival.

There's some debate on what's filler in pokemon. Some say if their not teaching their pokemon new moves, fighting the evil team, getting more pokemon, or getting gym badges it's filler.

I don't really agree with this of course. But it is what it is.

I think filler gets a bad reputation in the anime since it's often what most harbours formula and repetition, when the characters not only aren't growing but are seldom even showing new sides to their character. Some prefer Kanto and SM's fillers for example because they are more character driven and while they may not have long term effect on the plot they may still have an entertaining scenario that shows a neat depiction of part of the cast or universe. Other series tend to get a bad rep because they are the exact same thing over and over that BulleDeChagrin described with little variation in setup or agency. It's not even a case of HOW the episode sets it up a lot of the time. There's only so much the protagonists get out of observing a COTD's problem and then beating up Team Rocket with two attacks the exact same way each episode.

 

[Doppelgänger]

Team Rocket will never be fully serious again because the voice actors like comic relief TR, and it seems the majority of the Japanese audience did, too. Best Wishes TR was a breath of fresh air for longtime fans who got tired of the generic filler formula where TR attempts to steal Pikachu and get destroyed, but BW TR was ultimtely no different. They always lost and ultimately were huge posers who were not a legitimate threat. Since the entire appeal of BW TR was they were out of character, a lot of younger fans understandably didn't like them, for the same reasons as in earlier seasons.

I too wish Alola TR posed more of a threat, but it's still the best interpretation of TR so far. They're still comic relief, but not quite as utterly helpless/hopeless as before, and they don't appear every episode. With characters like Team Skull, Faba and Viren, Alola TR are practically heroes, as their mischief is infrequent and unsuccessful. I think everyone, from the fans to the actors, are mostly happy.

 

[Ultra Beast Lover]

I'mma be honest I thought the big reveal in BW was going to be that Team Rocket was replaced by robots or clones and the real Team Rocket was fired. Serious Team Rocket did lead to the Meowth and Meloetta arcs, two of my favorite arcs in all of BW, and I don't mind them being a bit more of a threat and not being there in every episode as long as they keep their comedic natures.

Also, I'm hoping for more Pikachu episodes. Pikachu has been there for the entire series yet he feels under developed at times. So many of Ash's Pokemon get an arc but I don't remember the last time Pikachu got one, they hinted at something with Zekrom but aside from a few mentions it was largely ignored which is why I'm glad Tapu Koko didn't just go, "I zap you thus leaving you with unanswered questions for your entire life."

 

[Leonhart]

No, we need more episodes on the companions, which would also include their rivals in place of most of these fillers, but that won't happen.

The traveling companions definitely do need more episodes to themselves more frequently. It's a shame how the writers still can't balance them out with a few exceptions like Hikari, but then again she was always more like a second co-star than just an ordinary companion character from my perspective. I hope that the new female companion is at least more like Hikari in terms of her screen-time.

 

[Deleted member 384931]

I feel since XY they dont have enough pokemon to showcase for the region and have to rely on older pokemon. How many "Who is that pokemon" are new onces?

 

[Leonhart]

I feel since XY they dont have enough pokemon to showcase for the region and have to rely on older pokemon. How many "Who is that pokemon" are new onces?

I recall some people using that as an excuse to justify why Satoshi's companions caught so few Pokemon during XY, but that generation still introduced at least seventy new Pokemon, many of which were only showcased a couple of times. So I always felt that that was a bad excuse since the companions could've easily captured more of the Gen VI Pokemon that didn't already belong to major characters. I hope that Galar introduces at least a hundred new Pokemon however, and that the female traveling companion will have a full team by the end of the Galar saga.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

I like what they did in Sun & Moon. Way fewer appearances than in XY, but more focus episodes and their own little storylines. They still had a few annoying appearances, but in general, I think they were great.

Agreed to add more they were shown strong in SM without neglecting there comical nature unlike in BW where they were shown serious out of blue.

 

[DatsRight]

Team Rocket will never be fully serious again because the voice actors like comic relief TR, and it seems the majority of the Japanese audience did, too. Best Wishes TR was a breath of fresh air for longtime fans who got tired of the generic filler formula where TR attempts to steal Pikachu and get destroyed, but BW TR was ultimtely no different. They always lost and ultimately were huge posers who were not a legitimate threat. Since the entire appeal of BW TR was they were out of character, a lot of younger fans understandably didn't like them, for the same reasons as in earlier seasons.

I too wish Alola TR posed more of a threat, but it's still the best interpretation of TR so far. They're still comic relief, but not quite as utterly helpless/hopeless as before, and they don't appear every episode. With characters like Team Skull, Faba and Viren, Alola TR are practically heroes, as their mischief is infrequent and unsuccessful. I think everyone, from the fans to the actors, are mostly happy.

I don't think the fact they are comical and silly is the problem, SM Ash proves you can have a comical character that is still imposing and competent, the bigger problem is that most of the time, TR play a very one note role regardless of how well their individual characters are. While Ash is a character that forms depthful chemistries and synergy with many cast members in SM, TR are mainly there to be jobbers, enemies that mostly pose no real threat and the protagonists defeat to look good. The fact that TR are seldom allowed to even put up a halfway fight (or when they do it is negated in some way so the twerps STILL win with zero effort) leads to defeating them barely feeling like an accomplishment. Alongside the fact that the twerps don't even get many interactions out of them in terms of comedy until very recently it makes them feel very basic and unimportant as foils for the protagonists.

I mean Kiawe's battles with antagonists like Marowak and Viren offered way more legit character and trainer development than anything he did against Team Rocket, even Viren's role in the Battle Royal episode offered a more amusing scenario for Ash to bounce off (ie. as in ASH was doing something funny rather than just the bad guy doing humour and Ash just reacting with generic stock hero quips before winning in the most bare bones way possible). Hell for all people think Viren is generic, he gets funny and distinct rises out of the protagonists, even just hearing his name leaves Kiawe in a rage. Meanwhile TR are pretty much just another bad guy. Even the fact they are so unmemorable and annoying isn't even part of the gag anymore like it at least was in the Kanto days (though we got a brief checkup in the second Kanto two parter poetically).

This is really something TR should provide, dilemmas or reactions that are either imposing or amusing enough that the twerps are actually doing something investing that makes their character shine, but most of the time the twerps completely stonewall TR. What's the point having a villain of any quality if the heroes refuse to bounce off of them?

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

I hope they write Team Rocket more like the early BW anime.

Didn't their Japanese VAs complain about how they were handled like that, so much the writers conceded and reverted them to clowns.

 

[RileyXY1]

Didn't their Japanese VAs complain about how they were handled like that, so much the writers conceded and reverted them to clowns.

They did, and I think that TR are going to stay comic relief characters for the foreseeable future.

 

[DatsRight]

Again that they have comedic and pathos heavy personalities isn't the problem, many characters in the anime have such. If anything TR flourish better when they are allowed to be comedic.

SM has tried a different approach expanding TR, giving them long term agendas and individual stories outside the twerps, and even developing other members of the organisation such as Matori to give them other foils. The main issue however is that, similar to Ash, all of it tends to still boil down to their main role and goal, and that's fighting the twerps. No matter how much they stall or hide TR, they still have to go after Pikachu and fight the twerps recurrently throughout the show, and that is the part of the show many argue has been dug into the ground. Even adding specific rivalries like Mimikyu against Pikachu and Meowth against Torracat has not really freshened it up much because the twerps still usually play them off like any other TR face-off they've had in the past series. They need to do something to add new life to this core role, to make the 'twerps vs Team Rocket' rivalry seem like it has relevance and entertainment value again, especially since SM has loads of other jobber villains that can easily take TR's role.

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Again that they have comedic and pathos heavy personalities isn't the problem, many characters in the anime have such. If anything TR flourish better when they are allowed to be comedic.

SM has tried a different approach expanding TR, giving them long term agendas and individual stories outside the twerps, and even developing other members of the organisation such as Matori to give them other foils. The main issue however is that, similar to Ash, all of it tends to still boil down to their main role and goal, and that's fighting the twerps. No matter how much they stall or hide TR, they still have to go after Pikachu and fight the twerps recurrently throughout the show, and that is the part of the show many argue has been dug into the ground. Even adding specific rivalries like Mimikyu against Pikachu and Meowth against Torracat has not really freshened it up much because the twerps still usually play them off like any other TR face-off they've had in the past series. They need to do something to add new life to this core role, to make the 'twerps vs Team Rocket' rivalry seem like it has relevance and entertainment value again, especially since SM has loads of other jobber villains that can easily take TR's role.

They could easily do this by not having the twerps treat them as a serious threat, like they used to do way back when and just got annoyed at their presence.

 

[Redstar45]

They could easily do this by not having the twerps treat them as a serious threat, like they used to do way back when and just got annoyed at their presence.

Like how they did in ag or dppt era?

 

[DatsRight]

Yeah, it's odd how the more and more TR overstayed their welcome the LESS ironically it was played. Kanto worked because they were more a parody of repetitive stock bad guy dynamics and how damn jaded and meta aware the heroes were about dealing with them, while now they tend to play it straight. It's even more glaring in SM, which is even more comical and zany than Kanto was, and yet the twerps just aren't in on the joke anymore.

 

[R0shan]

I feel since XY they dont have enough pokemon to showcase for the region and have to rely on older pokemon. How many "Who is that pokemon" are new onces?

Too bad that 9/10 that older Pokemon focus involves a Charizard and not species that deserve and need it more.

 

[Doppelgänger]

It would have been nice for more TR subarcs like them hunting the Tapus. If they went to all that effort to research the legendaries of Unova to capture them, they should at least show interest in the legends who live right next door to Bewear. That at least gives them some illusion of threat to balance out the comedy routine.

One thing Unova did early on to justify TR focusing on Pikachu was establishing why Pikachu was special:

In Kalos and Alola, nobody really seems to reflect on Ash using an unevolved Pikachu. The closest we came was Sophocles suggesting Ash evolve Pikachu into an Alolan Raichu. So it's weird that TR is once again chasing after an unspectacular Pikachu for no apparent reason. Team Skull and TR are also denied capturing wild Pokemon, like the Sensu Oricorio on Poni island. They are denied even the basic right of a Pokemon Trainer.