Say something positive about your least favorite series

[RLC]

I don't know about hate lol. I don't hate it but even the gen 3 fans seem to think about otherwise if Max is included in the discussion

max? what do you mean? did people hate him back in the day? is it the badge thing when ash faced his father cause I will admit that was a tilting moment

 

[shoz999]

max? what do you mean? did people hate him back in the day? is it the badge thing when ash faced his father cause I will admit that was a tilting moment

A lot of people found him annoying and while I thought he was bearable, I kind of see where they are getting at. He's essentially mini side-kick Brock with an attitude saying "Your amazing Ash" and "That's not how you use moves Ash" etc, at least that's what I think the anime crew was going for.

 

[RLC]

"That's not how you use moves Ash" etc, at least that's what I think the anime crew was going for.

oh I see, I found bearable like you though

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

Max was annoying for a while, but I've warmed up to him near the end of the Hoenn saga of AG.

 

[Kintaro]

Max just wasn't handled well after early Hoenn, besides that one Ralts episode. Bonnie was a little kid companion character done right.

As for me:

Johto: All the Team Rocket fillers were gold. It's amazing that as dull as most of Johto was, all the Team Rocket/Wobbufett eps are the funniest eps of the series. Of course the league at the end was great too.

BW: I actually loved the Don battle tournaments, some of the secondary rivals, and the beginning was ok. But sadly BW falls apart as it goes on. I don't think BW is completely terrible, it has it's share of good episodes, but when you think of the saga as a whole it's just so lackluster and disappointing.

 

[U.N. Owen]

BW: Iron Tail being a cgi move that actually turns it into a steel-colored body part was a vast improvement over glowing tail.
XY: Hate the story as much as I do, I can't fault the use of the camera.

 

[DatsRight]

Max just wasn't handled well after early Hoenn, besides that one Ralts episode. Bonnie was a little kid companion character done right.

As for me:

Johto: All the Team Rocket fillers were gold. It's amazing that as dull as most of Johto was, all the Team Rocket/Wobbufett eps are the funniest eps of the series. Of course the league at the end was great too.

BW: I actually loved the Don battle tournaments, some of the secondary rivals, and the beginning was ok. But sadly BW falls apart as it goes on. I don't think BW is completely terrible, it has it's share of good episodes, but when you think of the saga as a whole it's just so lackluster and disappointing.

I'll give credit to both Johto and BW for handling TR in a way that didn't feel tacked on, which was rare for most post-Kanto parts of the show.

Johto was still revelling in having them as pseudo villain protagonists, still calling back to their backstories and complexities and keeping their jaded chemistry with the twerps. Also liked Wobbuffet having more involvement in the schemes in this era, even SM despite having him out of his ball full time doesn't actually let him do much individually (if I remember correctly Likitung also appeared a bit more commonly here before getting replaced as well).

Also Johto was probably the high point for the English dub, the scripts and acting were at their funniest here.

BW was also the famous 'competent Team Rocket' arc, with Giovanni and the whole organisation being an active threat in Unova and the Trio being an actual menace. I feel this would have been much more appreciated if there was a proper transition, if they had kept more of their personalities and we saw them DEVELOP their resources and competence, but all the same it was cathartic to see Team Rocket force proper two way fights out of the twerps instead of effortless beatings, to actually make Ash and co ACKNOWLEDGE THEM AS A THREAT. Even the times they reverted back to being comedic seemed to bring back more of that old rivalry, with more OS level chemistry or creativity like the Meowth turns good arc or some of their DA schemes. This was about the one series TR actually got something of creditible 'final stand' with the main group instead of one final slither of a curbstomp.

Basically to make up for the poor handling of the main arcs, these seemed two rare series where 'Ash vs Team Rocket' seemed an inherent drive to the show and even one of the best factors about it in a way that didn't feel like an insult.

 

[Twilight-Kun]

I sure do love how Sun & Moon has completely given up trying to tell any kind of story and will have things happen for no reason, then try to make it poignant by throwing a dead/missing parent into an episode far too late for it to be emotionally meaningful

On the bright side, it has something for everyone

 

[Xuxuba]

Can't decide between SM and BW, so i will do both.

I will compliment SM for it's attempt to innovate with it's change of setting, even if it didn't turn out well due to the poor execution.

I would also praise this generation's movies, but since they have no connection to the actual tv series, i guess i'll refrain from it.

Now, for BW, i have to compliment Iris' backstory and TR newfound competence.

 

[Leonhart]

Despite not liking some of the SM saga, I do find some of the exaggerated moments to be really amusing when they're handled well and used in moderation. The Ultra Guardian stuff for instance manages to reference a lot of superhero tropes without it coming off as a bad parody.

 

[Barry Hernandez]

This is about Sun and Moon, since that is my least favourite series.
Brock returned for a few episodes, and Ash’s Litten evolved.

 

[BTS_fan]

Now, for BW, i have to compliment Iris' backstory and TR newfound competence.

Yeah it's just too bad that the TRio couldn't act competently for the entirety of the saga. I thought that they should've stayed serious just for consistency's sake.

 

[DatsRight]

Yeah it's just too bad that the TRio couldn't act competently for the entirety of the saga. I thought that they should've stayed serious just for consistency's sake.

I do like when they went back to 'classic TR' however, that they at least did an effortful job of it, like they were at least funny and semi-challenging adversaries for the twerps again over plot device jobber villains that don't benefit the story whatsoever. It was kind of cathartic to see them in funny mode again, but as much because they kept a LITTLE of their former menace and chemistry to make it like the OS rivalry again, no longer at AG/DP level pathetic third wheels anymore.

It's a real shame XY didn't keep up the same effort for very long at all, and SM is only just showing signs of undoing that downgrade. It felt like BW was the last series that really appreciated the 'Ash vs Team Rocket' rivalry besides as a plot device. After that the two were practically incompatible entities.

 

[RedR]

AG - Four characters to follow + great continuity to past episodes
BW - Tournaments spread across the series instead of focus on one major event (ie Pokemon League)

 

[Leonhart]

BW - Tournaments spread across the series instead of focus on one major event (ie Pokemon League)

That was a good thing in my opinion, too. In fact, the Don George tournaments from BW were more enjoyable to me than the Isshu League itself, which I thought was pretty disappointing for the most part given the lackluster 1-on-1 match between Satoshi and Shooti, and then the awful battle between Satoshi and Kotetsu.

 

[Jangobadass]

BW:
+ The best animation the Show had yet to see
+ Fun, lively rivals
+ Cilan was one of the better and most useful male companions
+ Ash-tachii gaining several honorary members
+ Operation Tempest
+ No Legendary/Mythical left behind!
+Interesting, deep, and even likable COTDs & minor characters
+The TRio in DA (HATED the arc, but this is where they started to turn things around)

 

[BTS_fan]

BW:
+ The best animation the Show had yet to see
+ Cilan was one of the most useful male companions
+ Ash-tachii gaining several honorary members
+ Operation Tempest
+ No Legendary/Mythical left behind!

I love that BW's animation is finally getting praised since it was pretty fluid compared to some of the older animation from past sagas. I disagree about Cilan though. No matter what anyone says, I don't see the good that he supposedly did.

 

[DatsRight]

For all people complain about Iris' arc with Dragonite, it must surely get points for actually calling out the show's plot armour! What other points does it actually have the spine to claim one of the protagonists didn't earn a victory?

 

[Leonhart]

For all people complain about Iris' arc with Dragonite, it must surely get points for actually calling out the show's plot armour! What other points does it actually have the spine to claim one of the protagonists didn't earn a victory?

All I remember about Kairyu's capture were the complaints that it was given to Iris for doing nothing, which I never agreed with since it wasn't a gift Pokemon and she had to get on Kairyu's good side just to get him to obey her.

 

[DatsRight]

She won battles despite it not obeying her and the other fighters called her out on that bullcrap. Like whenever did you see them treating Misty's victories with Psyduck as unearned?

A protagonists' victories being undermined was a pretty big step for the show's writing, since they often relied on handing them wins.