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

[RileyXY1]

I agree, I think it was a silly thing to say in an interview. But who knows? They could have changed their minds at this point.

Based on how DP, BW, and XY went though... it's not looking good

Yeah. It's looking like Ash will not be winning a league any time soon.

 

[ShadowForce720]

Yeah. It's looking like Ash will not be winning a league any time soon.

And yet the fact that in Sinnoh he got into the top 4 with reserves and even though went back down to top 8 in Unova, in the region after Unova which was Kalos he wound up in top 2 without reserves which would so that would suggest otherwise.

Because at this point even if he were to draw the only way he could really progress in the league now is winning. You might have had a point if he just had only ever been in the top 8 or if top 4 was the highest he ever got however the fact that he got in to top 2 means that contrary to popular belief he is actually progress. Where now if he doesn't win a league and just keeps getting top 2 or less then he won't really be progressing as he will be frozen.


I mean if you look at it if doesn't matter if Ash progress or not why haven't the just kept him stuck at top 8 or 4, why is that he got into top 2 in Kalos which show actual progressing. That's one of the big flaws with the whole argument that Ash won't ever win a league.

 

[Ignition]

So this has literally no correlation to anything said at this point but you remember those VS screens that used to pop up with every battle in XY and the Grand Trials in SM? I want those to return

 

[Master Pikachu 11]

See here's the problem. In your minds, it's quite logically obvious. In fact it's quite logically obvious for everyone here. But how pretty much every Pokemon fan sees the anime isn't the same way how whoever is in charge of how the anime ends see it. My guess it's simply the safest option, don't fix what ain't broke. To us it's a broken plot that needs fixing but to them, this is the safest bet, there's nothing really to lose if they continue doing this.

Yes they could continue to do the same thing and continue to be predictable, but at the same time they have been changing things up. I mean who would have thought that we see Ash catch a mythical Pokémon. Mostly everybody here thought it would happen when the anime was ending and they were going to wrap up Ash’s story for good and yet here we are. So yes they could have him lose again which they probably will or they can have him win but lose to the elite 4, I mean it would be understandable to have him lose then because it would still show that he is not ready to beat elite 4 members yet and would still consider being safe. They can only have him lose the league for so long before the fans in Japan get tired of it.

 

[shoz999]

Yes they could continue to do the same thing and continue to be predictable, but at the same time they have been changing things up. I mean who would have thought that we see Ash catch a mythical Pokémon. Mostly everybody here thought it would happen when the anime was ending and they were going to wrap up Ash’s story for good and yet here we are. So yes they could have him lose again which they probably will or they can have him win but lose to the elite 4, I mean it would be understandable to have him lose then because it would still show that he is not ready to beat elite 4 members yet and would still consider being safe. They can only have him lose the league for so long before the fans in Japan get tired of it.

Yes, they've been changing things up, it's quite noticeable since DP but the problem is, and probably more accurate to say is that they've been adding changes to the same formula over and over again, stacking them on top of each other with the core formula still being the same. It's like fighting games or shooters, you could add a level editor, maybe customization, a bunch of changes on the exterior to make certain games stand out more from others but at the core, it's still pretty much the same.

 

[DatsRight]

Yes, they've been changing things up, it's quite noticeable since DP but the problem is, and probably more accurate to say is that they've been adding changes to the same formula over and over again, stacking them on top of each other with the core formula still being the same. It's like fighting games or shooters, you could add a level editor, maybe customization, a bunch of changes on the exterior to make certain games stand out more from others but at the core, it's still pretty much the same.

I think this is kind of the problem, SM is a key case of them trying to make plenty of formula changes and to some degree it's definitely helped add some freshness, but at the end of it all, they still need to go back to the old premise, and that's where things just become as lethargic and predictable as ever. Giving Ash and Team Rocket more new challenges and obstacles to get back into their comfort zone is definitely a good idea for example, but the problem is that comfort zone is them doing the old shtick everyone's sick of, Ash losing at the league and Team Rocket trying to catch Pikachu, things the writers still aren't trying to spruce up. It's giving more agency and freshness to the build up to something they just can't be bothered giving any agency or freshness to anymore.

The new ideas just quite fully fledged enough to hold their ground at times either. The non-battle agendas have potential for a big game changer, but most of them are barely even developed or spotlighted. If anything that further skews things because while we now have Ash and Team Rocket working their ass off just to build up to failure, the non-battlers are often limited in situations they have to try for anything at all.

 

[shoz999]

I think this is kind of the problem, SM is a key case of them trying to make plenty of formula changes and to some degree it's definitely helped add some freshness, but at the end of it all, they still need to go back to the old premise, and that's where things just become as lethargic and predictable as ever. Giving Ash and Team Rocket more new challenges and obstacles to get back into their comfort zone is definitely a good idea for example, but the problem is that comfort zone is them doing the old shtick everyone's sick of, Ash losing at the league and Team Rocket trying to catch Pikachu, things the writers still aren't trying to spruce up. It's giving more agency and freshness to the build up to something they just can't be bothered giving any agency or freshness to anymore.

The new ideas just quite fully fledged enough to hold their ground at times either. The non-battle agendas have potential for a big game changer, but most of them are barely even developed or spotlighted. If anything that further skews things because while we now have Ash and Team Rocket working their ass off just to build up to failure, the non-battlers are often limited in situations they have to try for anything at all.

Honestly it's because of this I don't really think the whole "Ash losing against the Elite Four" will really change anything. I don't know about you guys but I just see it as wishful thinking, some people not realizing that Ash could just go up against Four Tobias's instead of a battle of smarts.

 

[DatsRight]

Honestly it's because of this I don't really think the whole "Ash losing against the Elite Four" will really change anything. I don't know about you guys but I just see it as wishful thinking, some people not realizing that Ash could just go up against Four Tobias's instead of a battle of smarts.

That's a thing really. You can tell when writers are just done with one aspect because it stops being character driven and just runs on plot armour or predictable steps. Again the changes up to the BUILD UP arc they have a lot of freshness about, but the event itself is becoming very lethargic.

Team Rocket for example actually level grinding this series could have worked if we'd got some good face offs from it, but the writers clearly just can't be bothered writing effortful fights between the two sides anymore, even the dialogue is usually the same stock quotes, meaning Team Rocket fail to inflict even remotely new interactions from the twerps in their efforts. The new arc change ups are completely futile to making any of the old steps play out differently from before.

Ash's battle arc isn't QUITE as half assed, there's still a bit of character driven stuff there, but it's still clearly following the same steps as before, with the writers not really knowing how to give that specific part a fresh twist, just how he gets about to that stage. Ash is ironically at his best in the fillers or other companions' focus this series, since those are often the more spontaneous elements of the show now.

 

[shoz999]

That's a thing really. You can tell when writers are just done with one aspect because it stops being character driven and just runs on plot armour or predictable steps. Again the changes up to the BUILD UP arc they have a lot of freshness about, but the event itself is becoming very lethargic.

Team Rocket for example actually level grinding this series could have worked if we'd got some good face offs from it, but the writers clearly just can't be bothered writing effortful fights between the two sides anymore, even the dialogue is usually the same stock quotes, meaning Team Rocket fail to inflict even remotely new interactions from the twerps in their efforts. The new arc change ups are completely futile to making any of the old steps play out differently from before.

Ash's battle arc isn't QUITE as half assed, there's still a bit of character driven stuff there, but it's still clearly following the same steps as before, with the writers not really knowing how to give that specific part a fresh twist, just how he gets about to that stage. Ash is ironically at his best in the fillers or other companions' focus this series, since those are often the more spontaneous elements of the show now.

I'm thinking less of a plot armour and more of a poor excuse to make Ash lose constantly. See I'm seeing this based on my readings of Pokemon Adventures and my viewings of the Pokemon Anime. In Pokemon Adventures, the strengths and weaknesses of the nigh-powerful trainers are pretty clear that you can compare them and argue that "no, this extremely power trainer is the strongest for this reason", "no, that extremely powerful trainer is the strongest for this reason" based on a multitude of factors that isn't just bulldozing your way to victory. And this is the problem with anime. You can't really compare the anime to the Adventures manga in this category because the Pokemon anime has never really experienced clear levels of power in different areas for extremely powerful trainers and it's from this that the Pokemon Company can BS any way they want it. This is what I mean by "four Tobias's" because essentially we just know the Elite Four and Pokemon Champion are extremely strong, this trainer is extremely strong, this trainer is extremely strong and this trainer is extremely strong but we don't see the why. Trainers like Cynthia or Diantha of the anime are difficult to compare because we don't know anything else other than the fact their Pokemon are really strong, really fast and really durable and that's it. There's no real strategy outside of that and it's from this the Pokemon Company can make all sorts of BS they want unless they just end up doing the same thing for Ash where his Pokemon is really strong, really fast and really durable without paying much attention to strategy which is actually why some people think Ash vs. Paul is better than Ash vs. Alain because Ash's rivalry with Paul had a lot of strategy to it.

 

[DatsRight]

Character agency has always been a problem with the anime, especially in terms of training a Pokemon and making it feel like that level was earned fully. SM is perhaps the one series that is most trying to make Ash's team level proportionate to how much he legit trains them, and even that is skewed by still having other protagonists who get more without trying at all (eg. Mallow got a fully evolved Pokemon before anyone that is treated like a pseudo powerhouse, despite doing near literally NOTHING with it beforehand). Agency and skill is a mere formality in the anime's format. We've so many long tenures of boosts set about solely by villains like Team Rocket provoking 'the power of really really wanting something' from one of the Pokemon, that anger and determination can make even the weakest Pokemon suddenly invincible, and then maybe a five second clip of contextless training here and there just to say they had a token moment of trying to earn it.

The problem is that the anime has been using the old formula and it's short cuts for so long that people just don't bat an eyelid to this stuff anymore. I think someone like Mallow could effortlessly curbstomp Ash out of the league and people would be annoyed but not surprised in the slightest. We already got blatantly cheap plot devices like Trollbias and Cameron's faulty team getting a miracle evolution, a league driven totally by a contrived farce is actually more likely than a twist that encourages a new character driven role for Ash.

 

[Zoruagible]

Character agency has always been a problem with the anime, especially in terms of training a Pokemon and making it feel like that level was earned fully. SM is perhaps the one series that is most trying to make Ash's team level proportionate to how much he legit trains them, and even that is skewed by still having other protagonists who get more without trying at all (eg. Mallow got a fully evolved Pokemon before anyone that is treated like a pseudo powerhouse, despite doing near literally NOTHING with it beforehand). Agency and skill is a mere formality in the anime's format. We've so many long tenures of boosts set about solely by villains like Team Rocket provoking 'the power of really really wanting something' from one of the Pokemon, that anger and determination can make even the weakest Pokemon suddenly invincible, and then maybe a five second clip of contextless training here and there just to say they had a token moment of trying to earn it.

The problem is that the anime has been using the old formula and it's short cuts for so long that people just don't bat an eyelid to this stuff anymore. I think someone like Mallow could effortlessly curbstomp Ash out of the league and people would be annoyed but not surprised in the slightest. We already got blatantly cheap plot devices like Trollbias and Cameron's faulty team getting a miracle evolution, a league driven totally by a contrived farce is actually more likely than a twist that encourages a new character driven role for Ash.

Ugh yeah... I really hope Shield/Sword makes evolution for the companions feel earned again. Bouncesweet was acceptable as it allowed for her to have more interaction and Charjabug should have happened a long time ago as level/skill has nothing to do with that. Shiron also doesn't require anything special so that'll get a pass come the final episode
Meanwhile you have Pokemon that deserve evolutions like Rowlet and Torracat, one who ain't getting it and the other being stupidly dragged out. While Pokemon that don't, like Steenee and Popplio evolve.

At least Crustle, Luxray, and Braixen felt earned in BW/XY. Cause you know, they actually got used for stuff and had battle experience...
I do hope they continue to let the companion Pokemon evolve though(And TRio's as well as that's also been lacking lately). In BW and XY, Cilan and Clemont both got one while Serena got two, Jessie got one, and James/Iris got nothing(Poor James hasn't had an evolution since OS! ). Despite having pretty much the same size teams as the classmates.... >.>
And actually touching upon the third wheels after the first half is a nice sign, considering Cilan and Clemont both got tossed aside and did jack **** after the first half of the series. Though I still retain my hope that they just go with Ash and a girl this time, there's really no need for a third character and two characters would be quite the treat after an over saturated series like this! Allows for the Pokegirl to get more than three Pokemon too, considering there's no doubt we're getting <100 Pokemon again :/

I'd love to see Ash reach the League with a full party of six on hand again, and for the pokegirl to have at least five Pokemon. Six seems a bit too hopeful imo

And the whole League thing.... I don't think anyone's actually hoping he wins. The hatred for XY is completely justified as they misled loads of fans, now everyone's just looking forward to Galar it seems and I am too. Gen 7 feels like it's lasted a very long time compared to 5 and 6, even though it's been the same amount of time. Looking forward to the new characters and Pokemon that Ash and the TRio will meet!

I'd actually love it if Mallow beat Ash, but I'm one of five people that actually love Cameron so that's probably a bad idea lol I wanna see Kiawe do it as it wouldn't feel so ridiculous. Though Acerola sweeping Ash with Marshadow or ya boi Guzma putting him in place is my ultimate hope. I do have this strange feeling Hau may win lately though...

 

[ash&charizardfan]

I have a feeling guzma is going to be the dream crusher of this generation. Somehow ash would beat gladion but lose to guzma and final could be between guzma and masked royal.

 

[DatsRight]

I'd actually love it if Mallow beat Ash, but I'm one of five people that actually love Cameron so that's probably a bad idea lol I wanna see Kiawe do it as it wouldn't feel so ridiculous. Though Acerola sweeping Ash with Marshadow or ya boi Guzma putting him in place is my ultimate hope. I do have this strange feeling Hau may win lately though...

The only way I'd really enjoy Mallow doing it is if they actually played on how ridiculous it is, which I think is the problem people had with the other league wins, Ash is always cheated but you're usually just meant to think he just didn't work as hard enough. My general problem with Mallow is that she is a character that has never had to remotely TRY at anything but remains in the "winners" circle, she's always against weaker opponents, she's always plot armoured, she never bulks up her own agenda, she's always conveniently in the background when lots of heated action or brutal slapstick occurs. She's never forced to prove she has an investable or fallible character, and having her just completely upstage and humiliate a character that IS trying to earn his keep this series would only exacerbate that unless she got called out on it, especially since she's a MAIN CHARACTER, not just a prop made to cost Ash.

Kiawe I could accept because he HAS at least put in the token effort and agency this series, he's a rare male companion that maintains a good presence in the anime and is repeatedly going out of his element to bulk up his agenda, there was more catharsis seeing everything slowly click together for him. Sure it would still be a BIT of a stretch, but they did show him work his way up to being Ash's equal, there is substance and some effort to make the audience root for him.

 

[Lightning Bolt]

Ugh yeah... I really hope Shield/Sword makes evolution for the companions feel earned again. Bouncesweet was acceptable as it allowed for her to have more interaction and Charjabug should have happened a long time ago as level/skill has nothing to do with that. Shiron also doesn't require anything special so that'll get a pass come the final episode
Meanwhile you have Pokemon that deserve evolutions like Rowlet and Torracat, one who ain't getting it and the other being stupidly dragged out. While Pokemon that don't, like Steenee and Popplio evolve.

At least Crustle, Luxray, and Braixen felt earned in BW/XY. Cause you know, they actually got used for stuff and had battle experience...
I do hope they continue to let the companion Pokemon evolve though(And TRio's as well as that's also been lacking lately). In BW and XY, Cilan and Clemont both got one while Serena got two, Jessie got one, and James/Iris got nothing(Poor James hasn't had an evolution since OS! ). Despite having pretty much the same size teams as the classmates.... >.>
And actually touching upon the third wheels after the first half is a nice sign, considering Cilan and Clemont both got tossed aside and did jack **** after the first half of the series. Though I still retain my hope that they just go with Ash and a girl this time, there's really no need for a third character and two characters would be quite the treat after an over saturated series like this! Allows for the Pokegirl to get more than three Pokemon too, considering there's no doubt we're getting <100 Pokemon again :/

I'd love to see Ash reach the League with a full party of six on hand again, and for the pokegirl to have at least five Pokemon. Six seems a bit too hopeful imo

And the whole League thing.... I don't think anyone's actually hoping he wins. The hatred for XY is completely justified as they misled loads of fans, now everyone's just looking forward to Galar it seems and I am too. Gen 7 feels like it's lasted a very long time compared to 5 and 6, even though it's been the same amount of time. Looking forward to the new characters and Pokemon that Ash and the TRio will meet!

I'd actually love it if Mallow beat Ash, but I'm one of five people that actually love Cameron so that's probably a bad idea lol I wanna see Kiawe do it as it wouldn't feel so ridiculous. Though Acerola sweeping Ash with Marshadow or ya boi Guzma putting him in place is my ultimate hope. I do have this strange feeling Hau may win lately though...

Tbh Lana's Popplio was in more battles than Clemont's Luxray and Cilan's Crustle. Luxio evolved only 14 episodes after being caught and never participated in any official battle outside TR's curbstomps. Dwebble had some good battles early in BW but was dismissed by Pansage, who was always Cilan's main battler anyways. Popplio defeated Totem Wishiwashi and some Revengers in the Battle Royal episode, and fought Misty's Psyduck, despite the battle being stopped. In addition, Lana and Popplio were shown to train regularly in SM. Lana trained Popplio a lot in order to make bigger bubbles, pushed her to the limits to perfect Hydro Vortex and trained all night just to impress Ida and Primarina in SM106. Popplio should have evolved much earlier, honestly. Steenee's early evolution can be justified because she was forced to use her legs to save her friends from TR. Steenee evolves when she learns Stomp, and she was forced to learn by not being able to use her hair to attack because of that net where she was trapped.

 

[ash&charizardfan]

I am wondering will there be an element of rivalry between galar and kalos since both regions are based on countries which are having rivalry for around thousand years.

 

[shoz999]

I am wondering will there be an element of rivalry between galar and kalos since both regions are based on countries which are having rivalry for around thousand years.

Probably not. I feel like GameFreak is one of those companies to ignore that sort of thing and just say they are neighbors.

 

[Remix2]

I am wondering will there be an element of rivalry between galar and kalos since both regions are based on countries which are having rivalry for around thousand years.

I hope we do have that given the country they based off, especially if the armor evolution rumors turn out to be ture.

 

[MidnightMelody]

I want a new direction. One that doesn't divide the fanbase.

.Snarky Ash since Ash for far too long has been way too nice and it is a bit annoying.
.For for a gender neutral Shonen vibe. So by this I mean have the vibe of a shonen but not full force where the girls don't matter. I want equals and if that means the main cast is just Ash and girl so be it. It would be a new take and could work.
.No Team Rocket! I love them I really do but they need to go.
.Less Pikachu focus. I'll keep saying it Pikachu is not the goal. A Pokemon series could do fine with no Pikachu. I get he is the mascot (a pointless concept in Pokemon) but nobody watches the anime for Pikachu. They watch for the journey and battles. I don't know a single person who stans anime Pikachu that much.
.Bring back the old stuff like battles and travelling and even training.
.Leave the art,faces and comedy in Alola. I am fine with SoL as long as it is not the entire series. A mix of old formula with new would work.

If the anime even just does two of these things I will be happy.

I actually kinda want Ash to not learn about Galar right away. I want it to start with him in Pallet and maybe we get an episode of him just doing stuff around town only to maybe meet a Galar person who inspires him to go.

I hope we do have that given the country they based off, especially if the armor evolution rumors turn out to be ture.

A big tourney with old Kalos people vs the new Galar friends would be great.

 

[Henry's Journey]

I want a new direction. One that doesn't divide the fanbase.

.Snarky Ash since Ash for far too long has been way too nice and it is a bit annoying.
.For for a gender neutral Shonen vibe. So by this I mean have the vibe of a shonen but not full force where the girls don't matter. I want equals and if that means the main cast is just Ash and girl so be it. It would be a new take and could work.
.No Team Rocket! I love them I really do but they need to go.
.Less Pikachu focus. I'll keep saying it Pikachu is not the goal. A Pokemon series could do fine with no Pikachu. I get he is the mascot (a pointless concept in Pokemon) but nobody watches the anime for Pikachu. They watch for the journey and battles. I don't know a single person who stans anime Pikachu that much.
.Bring back the old stuff like battles and travelling and even training.
.Leave the art,faces and comedy in Alola. I am fine with SoL as long as it is not the entire series. A mix of old formula with new would work.

If the anime even just does two of these things I will be happy.

I actually kinda want Ash to not learn about Galar right away. I want it to start with him in Pallet and maybe we get an episode of him just doing stuff around town only to maybe meet a Galar person who inspires him to go.

I guess you'll have to settle with (probably) the last two points because don't count with less Pikachu focus and Team Rocket going out, maybe we'll get an XY/Z shonen vibe again, don't know about "snarky" Ash, I think he will retain his nice and joyful persona but less SM-goofy.

Ash's vacation/relaxing in Alola was fine but I'm also a bit tired, I want another journey, adventure! That's all I ask! (but please no reset of Ash, keep him competent).

 

[RileyXY1]

I hope that they give the main characters normal Pokemon instead of shoving special Pokemon onto them.