Other people think he's getting a Wimpod after today's episode? Great. It suits him, unlike that derpy spider
I agree that Dewpider isn't the most interesting Pokemon in the world and doesn't suit Ash as well, but I think Araquanid would be fine, given that one Pokedex entry that says it's a caring Pokemon that tries to protect weaker Pokemon. That definitely sounds like something right up Ash's alley.
Just because Ash befriends a Pokemon does not mean he has to catch it. Examples include Hippopotas in DP and Phantump in XY.
I think the issue here isn't just that Ash befriended a Pokemon. It's that Wimpod returned and thanked him afterward. With the exception of Rowlet, Ash's captures have been built up over time and have involved him bonding with the Pokemon he's going to capture. Wimpod would continue that trend. Plus, as far as I can tell, Golisopod is easily one of the most popular Pokemon this generation, so it's natural a lot of people want Ash to have one, so it gets an ample amount of screentime.
No it doesn't. Both Barry and Ash had Staraptor, hell even Reggie had one, the only reason it WOULD matter is Guzma was Ash's rival.
If Ash can have Pokemon that a gym leader has (Turtwig), Ash could easily have one that a recurring character can have.
1. Just because there are some examples of this being the case, but Guzma isn't a rival (at the moment) so it doesn't matter. Ash having Charizard didn't stop Trevor or Alain from having one, yes Ash didn't use HIS Charizard, but they didn't HAVE to give them to Alain/Trevor as well as Kiawe and his Charizard (though I guess that's excusable for being a ride Pokemon) Ash and Paul both had Torterra, even if Paul didn't use his the point is Paul having Torterra never stopped Ash from having, the point is Paul having a Gliscor didn't prevent Ash from evolving his Gligar.
Unless you think Guzma will have a MAJOR role within the anime, I'm not seeing any legitimate reason to prevent Ash from having one, ESPECIALLY when he's had Pokemon that match Gym leaders. Clay had a Palpitoad, Winona had a Swellow, Ash may very well have a Lycanroc while battling Olivia.
Why is it that gym leaders are irrelevant, but it matters so much in regards to Guzma?
If anything Guzma is more like Alexa, and it didn't stop Ash from getting Noivern.
Given that I'm not sure why Guzma is such an important character, I kind of disagree, with the whole pattern.
Especially when we're dealing with a generation with relatively few Pokemon to begin with, that literally the writers may either have to choose between Dewpider and Wimpod if Ash is going to get a water type Z-move, and I almost feel like Dewpider is MORE likely to go to Lana in the end, since that was her ace in the games, sure its Popplio now, but that's because they weren't giving Popplio to Ash. And I have a hard time imagining the characters ONLY having one Pokemon while Ash has up to six.
Hell Kiawe at least technically has two.
The anime does change things, to fit whatever narrative they want. The principal is "THEY CAN" even if ultimately 'THEY DON'T" I'm just saying if they feel so uncomfortable about giving Ash and Guzma the same Pokemon for whatever reason they can give either one different Pokemon, while with Guzma it could be his favorite Pokemon, just not a Pokemon he uses.
Maybe even a story of Guzma's Golisopod having died before we're introduced to him. Who knows I would love to see a story of Guzma being a "good" character long enough to help Ash with his own Golisopod, kind of like Ash's Grotle and Paul's Torterra, but its a temporary truce to help Ash with his own Golisopod only to turn on them at the end or something similar like that to be chased off with either a bug or water z move (maybe normal)
First off, I have to apologize. I was at work when I replied to your comment and was unable to express my thoughts fully, because I don't have a lot of time to reply on my breaks.
To say that Ash should be the only character in the entire series to own a Charizard or a Staraptor or Turtwig or Palpitoad or whatever is asinine. That would be limiting his options for captures way too much. However, my point still stands. Usually, if Ash shares a Pokemon with another character, the other character's Pokemon gets completely overshadowed by Ash's. It doesn't matter that Paul probably still had Torterra or Gliscor even after Ash got his. Point is, they were never seen again once Ash got his, because there was no need for them anymore. Ash had them already. Yes, Gardenia had Turtwig, and what happened? It ultimately lost to Ash's Turtwig. Same with Winona's Swellow. And stuff like Clay's Palpitoad and Krokorok or Barry's Staraptor are just cannon fodder. Naturally, Ash's Pokemon would overshadow them. I was referring more to ace Pokemon like Winona's Swellow, both Casey and Jackson's Meganium, Bianca's Emboar, etc., as well as proven powerhouses that his rivals own like Paul's Torterra or Tyson's Sceptile (again, I apologize for not making this clear in my last post).
Perhaps you're right, and I'm overestimating Guzma's importance in the anime. After all, it's still early, and Team Skull has only appeared in three episodes. But I at least expect him to be a little more important than, say, a Gym Leader. He's the leader of an evil organization. He's not going to appear for one or two episodes, only to disappear for the rest of the series afterward like Gym Leaders do. So yeah, I do place a little more emphasis on him than Gym Leaders.
I'd be fine with both Ash and Guzma both owning Golisopod IF the writers can create an interesting story between the two, sort of like Paul's Torterra helping out Ash's Grotle, and if it turns into a Turtwig vs. Turtwig or Swellow vs. Swellow type situation. In both those cases, Ash's Pokemon had a different battling style and different moves from the other trainer's Pokemon. That, IMO, led to more interesting battles (well, Swellow vs. Swellow was, at least). I admit that's one of my concerns about Ash sharing a Pokemon with another character: that they'd have similar battle styles and moves, and it would be a little redundant and boring to have two of the same Pokemon species that basically fight the same way. I'd rather see Ash with Araquanid in that case.