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Positive traits & Improvements in Goh's character and goal

Ryker101

Well-Known Member
Yeah I think the ‘catching all pokemon’ part specifically screws him over. It’s not something he can achieve unless they eiher do it offscreen or bombard us with even more catching spree episodes. It also puts a quantity > quality emphasis on his pokemon, which I’m sure we’ve all noticed. Ironically he’s at his best when he’s just focusing on one pokemon a time.

I’m fine with him wanting to understand most pokemon and how that’ll help him understand Mew to an extent (since it’s technically every pokemon) but you don’t need to catch each one to do that. Just studying them in their habitat, bonding with a select few or even just having their pokedex data should be sufficient imo.

I’m also getting tired that each time a legendary shows up it’s gonna stir a debate as to whether Goh will catch it or not, since he’s crossed that line with Suicune now.
 
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Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
He has ironically socialized with people that, by all accounts, should have frightened him by now by how crazy they are.

And yet he feels weak in the knees knowing Ash has made friends before him.

His social problems aren't really consistent. He's got no issues whatsoever in several fillers and sometimes even canon episodes (you'd think he'd get scared in dealing with people threatening him, but apparently, that's not part of suffering from social anxiety), but then he gets cold feet in some canon episodes. Unfortunately, I don't think his social issues will last because he seems to have fixed those by now, but when the narrative absolutely needs him to recall the past, it will do so for rule of drama before he's back to being just another person. He's basically an older anime!Sophocles with a slightly longer social anxiety.

It's kind of ironic that Lillie was, in a way, the opposite of him regarding touching Pokemon. The writers always stuck to their rule to have her yelp if she ever accidentally touched a Pokemon until she got better (then got worse from a very, very random accident before getting better pretty quickly), but I just don't see this issue with Goh probably because there's no humor value about his social awkwardness. (Sometimes, I wonder if he somehow made an exception with Ash being his first friend not because of social awkwardness but...uh...more intimate reasons at first sight, because that's the only way I can make most sense of their relationship and why Goh feels so insecure about previous close friends of his.)

I don't think Goh suffers from social anxiety. That would imply he has trouble interacting with people, and in general, he doesn't. Rather, he is socially awkward. He has trouble navigating certain social situations. He doesn't always pick up on social cues, and he sometimes has trouble empathizing and connecting with other characters. (One of the reasons Raboot became aloof after evolving was because Goh wasn't supportive of Scorbunny's efforts to learn Ember.) He is afraid of rejection, which is why he prefers having Pokémon as companions over humans.

Remember, prior to meeting Ash, Goh's only friend was Chloe, and they don't actually seem to be very close. In fact, their friendship seems based more on the longevity of their relationship than on their having much in common. For the most part, Goh is a loner. He gets along so well with Ash mostly because Ash himself is a social butterfly who gets along so easily with people. I think his awkwardness when meeting Ash's friends is due to his wanting to make a good impression because, well, they are Ash's friends.
 
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Dynamic_Fusion

HIKARI HYPE
The only improvement I see is Project Mew. It makes his goal more detail-oriented and less vague. His Character is still all-over the place. I wonder if he has Multiple Personality Disorder or is Bipolar, because that is how contradictory he acts in certain situations.
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
I don't think Goh suffers from social anxiety. That would imply he has trouble interacting with people, and in general, he doesn't. Rather, he is socially awkward. He has trouble navigating certain social situations. He doesn't always pick up on social cues, and he sometimes has trouble empathizing and connecting with other characters. (One of the reasons Raboot became aloof after evolving was because Goh wasn't supportive of Scorbunny's efforts to learn Ember.) He is afraid of rejection, which is why he prefers having Pokémon as companions over humans.

Remember, prior to meeting Ash, Goh's only friend was Chloe, and they don't actually seem to be very close. In fact, their friendship seems based more on the longevity of their relationship than on their having much in common. For the most part, Goh is a loner. He gets along so well with Ash mostly because Ash himself is a social butterfly who gets along so easily with people. I think his awkwardness when meeting Ash's friends is due to his wanting to make a good impression because, well, they are Ash's friends.
On the other hand, it's kind of unbelievable that it took Goh that long to find someone like Ash when no one else really seemed like a hurdle to hang out with. Everyone in that world shares the same love for Pokemon (except Chloe, which is rather weird how Goh even hung out with her enough for her to resemble being a friend), but Goh simply didn't see that like something to make friends over...and yet this kid who managed to ride on a Lugia with him was worthy?
 

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
On the other hand, it's kind of unbelievable that it took Goh that long to find someone like Ash when no one else really seemed like a hurdle to hang out with. Everyone in that world shares the same love for Pokemon (except Chloe, which is rather weird how Goh even hung out with her enough for her to resemble being a friend), but Goh simply didn't see that like something to make friends over...and yet this kid who managed to ride on a Lugia with him was worthy?
It's not unbelievable at all. Due to the misunderstanding with Tokio (who he thought had broken his promise and abandoned him), Goh is afraid of rejection. He said himself that he prefers his Pokémon as companions over humans, because his Pokémon won't abandon him. It's possible Goh lost interest in making friends, instead preferring to immerse himself in his Mew research.

He was already friends with Chloe prior to becoming obsessed with Mew (they attended Professor Oak's Pokémon Camp together). How they managed not to drift apart is another matter. Then again, perhaps they have drafted apart, but not enough to completely drop their friendship. I'm sure all of us have friends with whom we are no longer as close as we used to be but still consider friends.

Ash fascinated Goh. It's quite possible that that was the first time Goh had met someone like Ash. Sure, most people in the Pokémon world share the same love for Pokémon, but not everyone has the special connection with Pokémon that Ash has. Goh probably doesn't go out of his way to meet people; he met Ash by chance. Perhaps if he had extended himself more socially, he would have met someone like Ash sooner, but he didn't.
 

SerGoldenhandtheJust

Deluded Dreamer
What are we acting like riding on a Lugia isnt special now? Lmao. Goh's character isnt contradictory and follows a set path the writers have laid out for his character, but sure keep writing your essays on how he isnt by bringing up the most trivial of things
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
He was already friends with Chloe prior to becoming obsessed with Mew (they attended Professor Oak's Pokémon Camp together). How they managed not to drift apart is another matter. Then again, perhaps they have drafted apart, but not enough to completely drop their friendship. I'm sure all of us have friends with whom we are no longer as close as we used to be but still consider friends.
I think it's probably since Chloe's dad is a researcher, he still kept contact with her through visits to the Cerize family? He is familiar with Parker already so it's probably a case of their families getting along or Goh visiting her to learn stuff with the professor?
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Wait so you think Goh is in love with Ash?
That's, uh, one way to interpret it. It would make a looot of sense with all we've seen so far. It would justify how he tends to give Ash a free pass despite Ash really being not that different from other people. In fact, Goh would surely stay the hell away from Ash since he's pretty stubborn and an idiot outside battles, and it's not like Goh wants to be with a polar opposite.

(Of course this anime will never have relationships like that, but to me, it kind of looks like it would explain a lot.)
 

AuraChannelerChris

Easygoing Luxray.
Also could you imagine the outrage even in the west with “what about da children”.
We have several examples of gay relationships between kids and adults even on freaking CN. This also extends to Disney and Netflix that it's almost commonplace to see these in modern cartoons.

Steven Universe was perhaps the biggest example that worked wonders.

Closest the anime got to a gay relationship was the male Purrloin from BW, even though that was treated more as a joke than a serious thing.

ANYHOW, like I said before, this anime surely is not going to say Goh is gay (hmm, rolls off the tongue pretty well). That is something they won't go that far...

...

(Unless...?)
 

Satomine Night

The Power of Z!
Yeah I don’t think that’s ever happening like you said. I’m not sure about Japanese politics but according to rumblings they’re more conservative than people in North America (or the west in general) but someone can correct me if that’s wrong. Also could you imagine the outrage even in the west with “what about da children”. So I don’t think the writers will ever intentionally hint at that to avoid censorship and outrage in other countries.
In general, yes, the Japanese are more conservative than most Western cultures. What's more relevant, however, is that they are more reserved about romance than we are. Remember how Serena kissing Ash was censored? That's pretty much to be expected in a children's anime. The chances of a romance between Ash and Goh are even less likely than Ash's Pikachu actually evolving. In other words, it's never going to happen.
 
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