The Bonds of Evolution! (831)

[Lorde]

That's not what I'm talking about, he used NO strategy what's so ever. All he did was call out attacks willy nilly.

Isn't that what he usually does outside of Gym battles? Just call out attacks without planning ahead?

 

[1rkhachatryan]

Isn't that what he usually does outside of Gym battles? Just call out attacks without planning ahead?

Why do you always delete my name??

He usually adjusts his strategy if it isn't working, he did none of that here.

 

[Squirtle_007]

the first and most notable time people gave a crap about Ash re-scanning Pokemon he's already seen before was with Koffing because he had seen Koffing enough times to know all about it even though he didn't scan it for himself, he did it for Iris and Cilan. Only reason there was an outrage was because people took the scene out of context.

Except that Baron Ash never scanned James's Koffing while he had it, nor Jessie's Ekans

 

[PokemonNation2000]

Except that Baron Ash never scanned James's Koffing while he had it, nor Jessie's Ekans

To add to this, how many times did Ash see that Koffing and then Weezing of James as well?

 

[Sephora]

Tell you what. Name one flaw she has in this episode that handicaps her in some way, and I'll stop calling her a Mary Sue. And don't say it's that she's hiding from her fans. Seriously, they tried saying that about Daring Do.

Lol you missed my point. I admit that Diantha didn't have any flaws in this episode and *gasp* I didn't mind. For all I care, you can keep calling her a Mary Sue; it's not going to change how I feel.
She is a Champion, and contrary to many people on here apparently, I am not annoyed by the fact that she is portrayed as a goddess when it comes to battles. Badass Champions ftw.

 

[zhixun]

Except that Baron Ash never scanned James's Koffing while he had it, nor Jessie's Ekans

I think each series should be treated independently although Satoshi is still in every saga. His knowledge is somewhat reset to zero I guess. Moreover the newer audience can know the details of a Pokémon if they did not watch the older series.

 

[thunder2910]

Overall it was a good episode, I just think Sirknight was a OP, but hey thats what you should expect from a champion

 

[PokemonNation2000]

That's not what I'm talking about, he used NO strategy what's so ever. All he did was call out attacks willy nilly.

That doesn't sound like DP Ash to me, or AG Ash, in terms of battling: sounds more like Kanto and BW Ash in that regard.

 

[Arrow-Jolteon]

Geez, what is up with the whole Mary Sue discussion going on here? I'm kinda baffled that people get angry at the fact that the anime portrays Champions (a.k.a the strongest trainers in a respective region) as OP: of course they're gonna hype up Diantha. And yes, she's embarrassingly easy to beat in the games, but people should be aware by now that anime and games have different rules. I get that she had a really bland personality in this, but honestly, that didn't bother me because that's pretty much exactly what I was expecting, not because I'm satisfied with this kind of portrayal, but because I generally have very low expectations of this show.

Anyway, onto the episode, it was pretty predictable: Champion demolishes everyone, Mega Evolution is showcased. Nothing particularly outstanding.

 

[Rohanator]

Diantha's the champion, so naturally she's op as hell and she's a famous actress in the games so why not include that. As for not being interesting..well, it's pokemon so yeah. Lets be real here. Also, what strategy is Ash supposed to use against such an opponent especially when the battle was set to last for like a minute due to other events. Did we see him use strategy against E-4 Flint in DP, his peak? Nope. Besides, Pikachu took that Shadow Ball better than the Absol despite Diantha going in for the kill, and Ash said it's about to get serious right before TR arrived. Of course he'd still lose horribly but did anyone really expect anything else? Judging from this and Alder it seems like they just don't want Ash to have proper finished battles with champions for some reason.

 

[p96822]

At least her episode wasn't hijack by Ash or anyone else

 

[Benny™]

I didn't know Paul was the Champion of Sinnoh. I thought that was Cynthia.

No I said Paul was powerful but not untouchable.

 

[Mr. Reloaded]

I wish Mega Gardevior was as broken in the games as it's portrayed here lol.
Rapid Shadow Ball spam OP man like

Spoiler: Random luz.

Mega Kangashan (thank god they want to nerf that broken mess.)

 

[zhixun]

At least her episode wasn't hijack by Ash or anyone else

Who do you mean by her? I think this episode was focused on Satoshi so it is not a hijack.

 

[SBaby]

Ash has experience but I hardly doubt that Diantha became champion by doing nothing. At this point (especially considering the fact it's early in the saga) he shouldn't be close to beating a champion, somebody on a whole other level to him. And most of the battle consisted of Gardevoir dodging before getting a powerful hit in. Not exactly a 1 sided slaughter.

Most of the battle consisted of her basically showing the audience that she was untouchable. All the dodging is just 'Woo, look at me and my untouchable Pokemon'. There was no effort to the battle (on her end), and the whole thing had no meaning (it was obvious that she wasn't even trying). Really, she might as well not have even bothered. That's what I'm getting at. And that's one of the things that makes a Mary Sue a Mary Sue. And that's why battles like this just aren't very interesting to watch. And they never will be interesting, as long as this keeps happening.

Geez, what is up with the whole Mary Sue discussion going on here? I'm kinda baffled that people get angry at the fact that the anime portrays Champions (a.k.a the strongest trainers in a respective region) as OP: of course they're gonna hype up Diantha. And yes, she's embarrassingly easy to beat in the games, but people should be aware by now that anime and games have different rules. I get that she had a really bland personality in this, but honestly, that didn't bother me because that's pretty much exactly what I was expecting, not because I'm satisfied with this kind of portrayal, but because I generally have very low expectations of this show.

Anyway, onto the episode, it was pretty predictable: Champion demolishes everyone, Mega Evolution is showcased. Nothing particularly outstanding.

Nobody's angry. We're just saying that she's a Mary Sue. She's basically an untouchable opponent.

As it is, you pretty much outlined exactly why Champion characters are boring. They make the episode predictable, they're untouchable, and they usually don't have much personality, other than being a 'good guy who spouts out words of wisdom on occasion'.

Diantha's the champion, so naturally she's op as hell and she's a famous actress in the games so why not include that. As for not being interesting..well, it's pokemon so yeah. Lets be real here. Also, what strategy is Ash supposed to use against such an opponent especially when the battle was set to last for like a minute due to other events. Did we see him use strategy against E-4 Flint in DP, his peak? Nope. Besides, Pikachu took that Shadow Ball better than the Absol despite Diantha going in for the kill, and Ash said it's about to get serious right before TR arrived. Of course he'd still lose horribly but did anyone really expect anything else? Judging from this and Alder it seems like they just don't want Ash to have proper finished battles with champions for some reason.

I'm only quoting you because you outlined the other problem I had with the episode. Team Rocket should not have been in it! PERIOD! The battle between Ash and Diantha should have been enough. But that's also because I think it should have been less one-sided than it was. I don't mean he should have won, but he should have shown that he clearly has at least SOME degree of experience, being that he's been doing this for SIX YEARS and has probably seen more Legendary Pokémon than all of the Champions he's run into combined.

But instead, it was a one-sided battle against the untouchable foe. Not very interesting when you know the opponent can't be beaten.

 

[J Ken]

Eh at this point I'm indifferent towards Champions and Elite 4s battling against the cast. It's so painfully obvious that the cast can never lay a hand on them so I don't even bother to care for their appearances.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

Eh at this point I'm indifferent towards Champions and Elite 4s battling against the cast. It's so painfully obvious that the cast can never lay a hand on them so I don't even bother to care for their appearances.

At least the Elite Four exists.

...Don't ask me about the Unova Elite Four, though. Three of them are MIA.

 

[Lorde]

Eh at this point I'm indifferent towards Champions and Elite 4s battling against the cast. It's so painfully obvious that the cast can never lay a hand on them so I don't even bother to care for their appearances.

I agree. I mean I was only interested in seeing what kind of personality Diantha would have; I had no interest in her battle with Ash though given how predictable it was destined to be.

 

[Arrow-Jolteon]

Nobody's angry. We're just saying that she's a Mary Sue. She's basically an untouchable opponent.

As it is, you pretty much outlined exactly why Champion characters are boring. They make the episode predictable, they're untouchable, and they usually don't have much personality, other than being a 'good guy who spouts out words of wisdom on occasion'.

Well, out of curiosity, how would you handle Champions and Elite Four if you were a writer? Personally, I'd probably make them similar to Game!Alder: extremely experienced and wise trainers who, while very powerful, they had to learn some of life's lessons the hard way, and they try to teach these lessons to younger trainers before they make the same mistakes.

 

[Janovy]

Well, out of curiosity, how would you handle Champions and Elite Four if you were a writer? Personally, I'd probably make them similar to Game!Alder: extremely experienced and wise trainers who, while very powerful, they had to learn some of life's lessons the hard way, and they try to teach these lessons to younger trainers before they make the same mistakes.

The thing is, anime Alder was MUCH more interesting. He seemed careless and irresponsible, he dozed off during battles and yet showcased his Champion side when the situation called for it. He threw a freaking Gigalith into air with his bare hands.

He was depicted as strong as Champion should be but also with many interesting characteristics.

With Diantha all we got was that she was close with Gardevoir and very strong as well as famous. Alder was more three-dimensional of a character imo.