• Hi all. We have had reports of member's signatures being edited to include malicious content. You can rest assured this wasn't done by staff and we can find no indication that the forums themselves have been compromised.

    However, remember to keep your passwords secure. If you use similar logins on multiple sites, people and even bots may be able to access your account.

    We always recommend using unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication if possible. Make sure you are secure.
  • Be sure to join the discussion on our discord at: Discord.gg/serebii
  • If you're still waiting for the e-mail, be sure to check your junk/spam e-mail folders

The Goh Club

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
After reading the sticky threads and the rules, I think it's fair opening this one.

While it's true the section seems to not have as much activity as it used to I thought it'd be a fun idea making a club dedicated to Goh. After all he is the hot new topic in the name!

So basically this club is all Goh. Discuss his character, his pokémon, his interactions with other friends whether main cast, supporting characters or even one-offs...

What you can't discuss is users. It's about Goh after all. If other people don't like him, that's fine, what really matters is that we like him. Also, it doesn't matter what's been said about Goh somewhere else. Let's be like our anime heroes and be good guys.

All forum rules apply, including the ones specific to anime section such as don't bash characters. There's some folks who do like both Ash and Goh after all (such as myself).

To join the board is quite simple: if you are a Goh fan, you are part of the gang already. Feel free to jump on the discussions like you've always been part of the family. No need of request of approval or an introduction post. You can just say a "hi, I'm NewGuy1989" as a polite introduction but make sure your post isn't all about that. Just share your own thoughts on the current topic. You can also talk about an older topic provided the post is more than just "fully agreed" and you actually add a bit of your own thoughts.

Topics on this club will be discussed in a bi-weekly basis. As in, I'll post a new topic every 14-15 days just so we won't exhaust the themes. This rule s flexible, as in, if something relevant happens like some bombastic revelation (stupid example: GOH IS ACTUALLY ASH'S HALF BROTHER!) then yeah, we'll allow a new topic coexisting or even replacing the currently running one.

I may propose some topics every 14-15 days but fellow members are free to subject their own ideas provided they wait until the 15 day deadline. Assuming the unlikely sceneario where two users submit a topic at the same time, we'll get both of them running but those cases will be treated as exceptions. As in "don't arrange with a friend for your topics to be discussed together" (paranoid much? With the internet, you never know)

For a bit of fun I can propose a new topic before the limit, depending on the context or just to spice things up. It'll be rare though and they'll be mostly one-offs. Sometimes we can even make joke topics running among the main one. For those, I ask the help of our gang to decide which are more suited and even offer some ideas.

If a topic gets less than 8-10 replies, it'll be eligible to be brought back again only after 6 months had passed.

Our club currently doesn't have a banner so we'll be accepting any donation of a skilled image editor or even fanartists. All credit will be given to the creator in both this trade and or the signature of members who wants to use the banner in their signatures (so please guys, always credit the creators as they are donating their time and talent for us for free)

I think that covers about all the basics. More rules can be added later as and when necessary.

Let's kick things off with the first topic and a rather surprising one:

Do you think Goh will stay even after the franchise jumps to Generation 9?

I'd say that one is quite tricky... The current setting of the series, including the lack of specific, generation suffix in the name makes it completly possible Goh is meant to stay with us for a while. At the same time, his starter being a Gen 8 pokémon might complicate things a bit. I personally hope he stays with us for a long while, but I'm at peace with the idea he might not.

And what about you? Any thoughts?
 

Ace-Barn

#Tokio&Nickit
Being admittedly new to the Tv side of the series I can't comment on how much Goh diverges from standard companions. I can say that from the comments I have seen, they are not only giving Goh far more spotlight than past companions (though this is likely bolstered by being the only one besides Ash), and they are also running very differently with how they handle Ash.

You bring up a good point that the open title and multiple regions make this feel like a soft reboot.

Given pokemon GO's popularity, and the fact that they created a new character from the ground up to advertise it, I could see the show adopting a dual protagonist approach with each protagonist representing one of their primary game lines.

I have also prepared myself on the off chance that Goh doesn't stick around.

I do not have anything against Ash, but from my limited and infrequent contact with the source material I felt that I had seen enough of his story (Pikachu not evolving is one of those things that shouldn't annoy you but does, it always felt wrong to me to leave pokemon un-evolved). Goh was the breath of fresh air that brought me back to this series which I love.

I do worry about Raboot if Goh makes it to another region. Even popular well connected pokemon like Greninja have been released, however Greninja was not Ash's partner and the series was moving on to a new region focus. If they keep the open world aspect then I could see Cinderace sticking around (even if Raboot has had less focus than Pikachu did in OS).

I think that many of the criticisms towards Goh are from long term fans who understandably have come to expect the anime universe to behave in a specific way (even I sometimes feel like Goh's captures are treated inconsistently), or those who identify deeply with Ash's character and have pokemon that they love and would like to see him with (especially if they have been teased before). I really do sympathize with these people and their frustration is understandable, if sometimes misguided.

As a 'new viewer' I can only imagine that children seeing this for the first time (the primary audience) will have no problems.

The greatest issue with Goh's goal and how its handled is not that he is doing something wrong, but that he isn't doing the 'right' things. Even outside of battles, if his pokemon got some focus like Magicarp then there would likely be fewer complaints. While I enjoy seeing him catch pokemon (I tried to complete the Unknown dex in fire-red), it is fairly low stakes. Thankfully the anime is moving towards him being more involved.

Sorry, that was a bit rambly, but as an outsider looking in, I feel like Goh could stick around for a little while. Unless this series is set up as a brief break before returning to the old structure.
 
Last edited:

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
Just clarifying, I never said the show felt a soft reboot just a new approach to the already tried formula.

Raboot/Cinderace is the biggest question mark on whether Goh is meant to be a long-running presence or not. Granted, we may get him around for at least one generation if SwSh is anything to go buy (aside the kanto starters, the alolan ones were the only old starters to return) but other than that... I really think it'd be hard to keep an older gen starter around, specially evolved since the show tends to make each new entry feels "fresh".

At the same time, the lack of suffix that ties the show to a specific generation opens interesting possibilities. Older starter or pokémon used by Ash and Goh could be phased out in favor of the new stuff, but we'd still get to see it from time to time.

Plus, if Pokémon Go remains as relevant and, specially, as much of a money making machine as it currently is, it becomes a non-issue. I mean, by the time Generation 8 finishes its run, Niantic will be VERY close to introducing their pokémon in their game.

Next year will be decisive in the sense that if we get Kalos mons then Game Freak's generation 8 will end around the time Niantic will have had some time dumping alola pokémon.

With Kalos and Alola having fewer new pokémon and regional variants/megas mostly having been done by the end of this year, it's possible Goh having a Raboot/Cinderace will be a non-issue.

I really feel releases are a discarted possibility. They probably know some fans didn't take well Greninja's release which might explain why the dismissing of the Alola team played out the way it did. It exists specially because an actual starter release is a first but I dunno... They kind of done a fake farewell episode for Raboot so I highly doubt they'd try it.

Also, with Goh being meant to be Ash's equal, Raboot's farewell episode felt very much like Pikachu's even if it wasn't as emotional (IMHO). That might imply he's meant to stick with Goh for as long as they exist as characters haha

For next show, my ideal setup is keeping both Ash and Goh and just add a new girl to represent the next set of games. Feels the most ideal scenario. She can be a co-protagonist like Dawn was back on her days.
 

Ace-Barn

#Tokio&Nickit
Some things that I didn't consider in my last reply.

The producers made a conscious decision to base Goh in Kanto and therefore drew him closer to Ash. Both Goh and Koharu's starter pokemon are from Galar, so they could have just as easily had Ash join Professor Oak on a trip to the new Sakuragi lab in Galar.

Now there are a few possible reasons for this,

  • The show is multi-generational so it makes sense to start at the beginning
  • Goh's goal requiring him to be exposed to Mew at a young age (though this didn't need to happen in Kanto)
  • Other thing that I will edit in later
Basically Goh is set up with his home base close to Ash's, and while that doesn't mean that he necessarily has a better chance of sticking around/ reappearing than other characters (Tracey), it might be what they were going for. It at least lets him feel less bound to his home region.

On Cinderace.

Cinderace is probably the most immature looking of all starters final forms. At least until next gen it is likely the easiest starter to still give a mix of adorable and cool moments like they do with Pikachu.

On the other hand, it still suffers from many of the limitations of final evolution's. Key here being its size and the small issues that come with it.

While people don't bat an eye at Pikachu sharing a bed or plane seat with Ash, I don't imagine that Cinderace will be getting the same treatment with Goh.

Though we have seen Raboot and Pikachu with their own plain seats, and we have seen Raboot get its own bed when not sleeping against Goh (though that was the farewell Raboot episode and possibly just to show the divide between them).

Given the opening we should have Cinderace long enough to judge how it will be treated by the show and if these issues are non-factors.
 

JennaJayfeather

Gangrenous Creature
Hi! I'm Jennajayfeather. I took a long hiatus from the anime after BW ended (so I skipped XY and most of SM) but I'm really enjoying Pokemon 2019 and most of that is because of Goh, I'm just really intrigued by his character.

Do you think Goh will stay even after the franchise jumps to Generation 9?

I feel doubtful just because of past trends...but with Pokemon Go's popularity (and it's not going anywhere for a long time) I think it is possible for him to stick around. But yeah I agree it's tricky. If he did stay, he could "start over" like Ash does by region?
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang
Ok, current topic didn't have that much of steam so let's try a different one, shall we?

What was your first impression of Goh? Whether it was when the anime was revealed or by the time we even find out he exists, what are your feelings about the character?

At first I was really surprised. I've always wanted the game protagonist but to be Ash's BFF since I saw a picture of the GS protagonist waaay back in the day. At first, I was surprised they were going with an anime original character rather than Victor but I still found his inclusion quite good. He getting Scorbunny was quite a surprise as I was expecting it to the line to go to Ash.

All in all, I kind of like Goh from the get go (pun intended). As the series premiered and he properly debutted, I like him even more.
 

Ace-Barn

#Tokio&Nickit
Came back to Pokemon after this series started, Goh definitely caught my interest.

Perfect blend of Ash and Gary. Passionate and caring but also rational and knowledgeable.

The fact he is trying to catch all Pokemon and actually making headway is great. The fact he has a well defined goal is even better.

Such a loveable character, you can't help but cheer for the guy.
 

UwULifeGaming

We're Blasting off again!
At first, I was kinda like, bruh. (mainly because he was gonna catch Mew first.) Then I grew to like him throughout the episodes.
 

Spider-Phoenix

#ChespinGang

esquilo09

Well-Known Member
What role do you think Zapdos will play?

Do you think Goh will catch any legendary/ mythical/ ultra beast/ pseudo legendaries?
Since you asked, Zapdos role will probably be a raid boss, it manages to put up quite of a fight, beating many of Go's Pokémon and all of Ash's mons until Go uses his Flygon, manages to defeat it, tries to catch it by throwing a Poké Ball but it breaks free and flees.
 

Ace-Barn

#Tokio&Nickit
Since you asked, Zapdos role will probably be a raid boss, it manages to put up quite of a fight, beating many of Go's Pokémon and all of Ash's mons until Go uses his Flygon, manages to defeat it, tries to catch it by throwing a Poké Ball but it breaks free and flees.

How do you think a failed catch would impact Goh as an individual and his future Pokemon capture attempts, particularly in regards to legendary Pokemon?

I could see a failed attempt being used to mirror Ash losing to Bea, but Ash bounces back with a future victory, how would Goh bounce back, does he succeed in capturing a legendary later?
 

esquilo09

Well-Known Member
How do you think a failed catch would impact Goh as an individual and his future Pokemon capture attempts, particularly in regards to legendary Pokemon?

I could see a failed attempt being used to mirror Ash losing to Bea, but Ash bounces back with a future victory, how would Goh bounce back, does he succeed in capturing a legendary later?
....
 

esquilo09

Well-Known Member
List of Pokémon Go will catch and probably be rotated:

Weavile
Mightyena
Mudsdale
Pangoro
K/A*-Raichu(he might catch a wild one in either the upcoming episode or in Alola)
Mawile

*In case he catches the femchu, he might evolve her.
 
Top