The great Reserve debate

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I would like to see the return of Noivern. He deserves a redeem

And Torterra

 

[Leonhart]

Probably, which is why I don't think we'll see Pokemon like Corphish, Torkoal, or any of the Unova batch outside of maybe Krookodile return. The writers so far have been leaning on popularity and I don't think it will change for the reserves.

I don't think Heigani is unpopular. I seem to recall it being generally well-liked during AG, at least from what I saw in the archived episode threads. The unpopular Gen III Pokemon that Satoshi had were Cotoise and Onigohri.

 

[PsychoLogical]

I don't think Heigani is unpopular. I seem to recall it being generally well-liked during AG, at least from what I saw in the archived episode threads. The unpopular Gen III Pokemon that Satoshi had were Cotoise and Onigohri.

I mean, it was AG's comic relief so it's bound to be way more liked than usual. And you got to admit tho, it's still a reserve that's likely not going to be used in the PWC and more likely as background filler like its small cameo in the SM series.

 

[ShadowForce720]

I mean, it was AG's comic relief so it's bound to be way more liked than usual. And you got to admit tho, it's still a reserve that's likely not going to be used in the PWC and more likely as background filler like its small cameo in the SM series.

In all honesty when it come to Ash using reserves it’s probably likely going to be a mix. Are we going to see some of Ash’s more popular reserves sure, but will also probably see some of the less popular ones as well.

 

[LucasMV]

I'll never quite understand why Lizardon was brought back in BW when it hardly did anything meaningful, and I still think that if it hadn't returned, Chaoboo might've evolved since the fully-evolved Fire Starter spot on Satoshi's BW team would've been vacant.

Probably fanservice. They wanted to fix the mess they had made with the attempt of soft reboot at the start of BW. Well, got me interested again for sure, but it's a waste that Charizard didn't even get to do much.

Who tf wants to constantly see Greninja and Charizard (who are the most likely to return) again .

Me, and probably a majority of the fanbase too. I mean, they're both the most popular of Ash's pokemon and pokemon species in general for a reason. Of course I wouldn't want them to come back too early, so his current team doesn't get overshadowed. But I definitely want them and some other reserves that were regional aces or strong to come back to fight at the PWC.

If Ash defeats Leon and the entire PWC without having used a single reserve, it would make JN feel disconnected from the series as a whole. If he does it by also using some of his most iconic reserves, it'd feel a lot more rewarding and fulfilling.

Of course that in an ideal world, Ash would use most if not all his reserves, but I doubt this series will get to those levels of fanfiction. Unfortunately.

I don't like the scenarios that viewers think up involving Satoshi evolving most of his reserves, either. I think we'll be lucky if any of them evolve if they return, but I certainly don't think that this series is meant to be a redemption arc for the reserves that didn't evolve before or that were weak in general in their respective sagas.

I agree. I expect to see the most iconic reserves coming back to fight at the PWC, and maybe a cameo for the rest of his reserves in general.

The 2021 Calendar has Greninja and Charizard above Ash's Gengar, so I wouldn't be surprised if those are Ash's. Also the Alola team will probably return. And I bet the regional aces like Sceptile, Snorlax, Infernape, Krookodile have good chances too. Maybe Bulbasaur too will actually fight this time, instead of him just showing his pretty face again. Also Gible, that's the one I could see returning and evolving.

 

[Flypikachu]

And Torterra

Honestly this. I would definitely like Torterra to be redeemed after being bodied constantly back during the Sinnoh saga.

 

[PsychoLogical]

Honestly this. I would definitely like Torterra to be redeemed after being bodied constantly back during the Sinnoh saga.

And it needs a moveset change. Make it stationary like it’s supposed to like with Goodra (even tho it was just as bad if not worse than Torterra)

 

[TheWanderingMist]

Honestly this. I would definitely like Torterra to be redeemed after being bodied constantly back during the Sinnoh saga.

Torterra only has 3 battles after evolving since it was so late in the series. The first was against Bertha's Hippowdon. Bertha is an E4 member. The second was Volkner's Electivire, and Torterra was hit by a 4x effective move in Ice Punch. The third was against the DP rival, and Torterra was under the effect of Toxic Spikes and at a type disadvantage.

 

[mehmeh1]

Torterra only has 3 battles after evolving since it was so late in the series. The first was against Bertha's Hippowdon. Bertha is an E4 member. The second was Volkner's Electivire, and Torterra was hit by a 4x effective move in Ice Punch. The third was against the DP rival, and Torterra was under the effect of Toxic Spikes and at a type disadvantage.

Plus he did do quite a bit of damage against Drapion

 

[Flypikachu]

Torterra only has 3 battles after evolving since it was so late in the series. The first was against Bertha's Hippowdon. Bertha is an E4 member. The second was Volkner's Electivire, and Torterra was hit by a 4x effective move in Ice Punch. The third was against the DP rival, and Torterra was under the effect of Toxic Spikes and at a type disadvantage.

Yeah that's true but even so, after it evolved from a Turtwig things went downhill for it. Those losses are exactly the reason why I am kind of hoping Torterra manages to return and at least win instead of getting bodied due to poor choices, etc. Would kind of work if they're trying to showcase as many Pokemon as possible.

 

[Leonhart]

Yeah that's true but even so, after it evolved from a Turtwig things went downhill for it. Those losses are exactly the reason why I am kind of hoping Torterra manages to return and at least win instead of getting bodied due to poor choices, etc. Would kind of work if they're trying to showcase as many Pokemon as possible.

Frankly, I think that that was one of the rare instances where the writers sort of shot themselves in the foot. They usually seem to know not to evolve certain Pokemon that are marketable, but I felt that they made a huge mistake in evolving Naetle, whose base form seemed much more popular than its evolved forms.

 

[Mythical-Moonlight]

I'll never quite understand why Lizardon was brought back in BW when it hardly did anything meaningful, and I still think that if it hadn't returned, Chaoboo might've evolved since the fully-evolved Fire Starter spot on Satoshi's BW team would've been vacant.

I think the writers realized that Emboar wasn't as marketable with fans as the writers anticipated so they brought back Charizard to fill the Fire Quota

Like I'm sure Ash's Rowlet was supposed to evolve, but then all the doting of Rowlet ruined its chances.

I also feel this way tbh. Rowlet didn't start showing an aversion to evolving until later in the show. After the Dream Poll came out showing it was the most popular Alola Pokémon in Japan

Even Iwane seemed a little salty about Rowlet not evolving

The 2021 Calendar has Greninja and Charizard above Ash's Gengar, so I wouldn't be surprised if those are Ash's.

Got a link to this Calendar?

 

[Ignition]

It’s tradition for there to be an episode that reintroduce the reserves before they actually battle. There's the episode Ash left Pallet to go through Kanto again in AG and the episode before the Sinnoh League where Cyndaquil evolved so if every reserve won’t be showcased in battle, at least let them be seen in an episode at Oak's. If this happens, he can stick to his current team for all I care.

 

[TheNewGuy]

Presuming Ash makes the master tournament and makes the final - big presumptions but possible - he will have three matches. I would expect they will do at minimum an 8-9 episode arc allowing Ash to have three good full battles, allowing him to use 18 Pokemon. This will mean he can dig into his reserves a bit.

At least, it should. The writers should reward the fans who have stuck by the show for a long time, plus it makes logical sense for Ash to do that. And if this is the end of Ash as a protagonist, which I don't think is unlikely, it's necessary for us to see his roster again.

 

[Leonhart]

Presuming Ash makes the master tournament and makes the final - big presumptions but possible - he will have three matches. I would expect they will do at minimum an 8-9 episode arc allowing Ash to have three good full battles, allowing him to use 18 Pokemon. This will mean he can dig into his reserves a bit.

At least, it should. The writers should reward the fans who have stuck by the show for a long time, plus it makes logical sense for Ash to do that. And if this is the end of Ash as a protagonist, which I don't think is unlikely, it's necessary for us to see his roster again.

They would probably prioritize his current team and any possible reserves that he'll capture later in this series if that happens at all, but I do expect a few of the older reserves to appear. But since they'll probably be the ones that we've seen the most like Lizardon and others like him, I'm sure there will be criticism about the writers ignoring the reserves that "deserve" more attention.

 

[dman_dustin]

I also feel this way tbh. Rowlet didn't start showing an aversion to evolving until later in the show. After the Dream Poll came out showing it was the most popular Alola Pokémon in Japan

Even Iwane seemed a little salty about Rowlet not evolving

I always thought it was going to evolve because of the whole stealthy approach it used its battle against Gumshoos.

It was sure signs of it evolving into Decidueye since Rowlet's tactics were obviously a nod to its evolution though yes it does apply to Rowlet as well, it just came off as something that could be expanded upon evolving.

But of course everyone is like "Rowlet YAY! And then Decidueye Boo!" and then eventually we got the everstone curse episode.

 

[PsychoLogical]

They would probably prioritize his current team and any possible reserves that he'll capture later in this series if that happens at all, but I do expect a few of the older reserves to appear. But since they'll probably be the ones that we've seen the most like Lizardon and others like him, I'm sure there will be criticism about the writers ignoring the reserves that "deserve" more attention.

I think them likely bringing back the more popular reserves like Charizard like you said is to be expected tho. Since marketing is still obviously/likely going to be prioritized as well, it's only logical that they're likely bringing back reserves like Charizard, Greninja, Gible (cause of Garchomp which is the most popular and marketable pseudo legendary), and Sceptile since they're the more marketable and popular reserves while unfortunately leaving out the less popular ones like the Johto and Unova squads.

 

[ShadowForce720]

I think the writers realized that Emboar wasn't as marketable with fans as the writers anticipated so they brought back Charizard to fill the Fire Quota

I also feel this way tbh. Rowlet didn't start showing an aversion to evolving until later in the show. After the Dream Poll came out showing it was the most popular Alola Pokémon in Japan

Even Iwane seemed a little salty about Rowlet not evolving

Got a link to this Calendar?

Actually Rowlet never really showed any aversion to the idea of evolving, heck the only real reason why it pick up the Everstone in the first place was because it helps it use the move Seed Bomb and it likes the taste of it.


Also seems to have been influenced by Hau’s Dartrix/Decidueye a bit considering it did the whole flicking it’s feathers back like Dartrix does.

If I had to guess I think that although it was decided that Rowlet wouldn’t evolve during SM, they probably didn’t want to eliminate the possibility of it evolving at some point in a future series.

So basically by giving it the Everstone but never having it express an aversion to evolving it leaves the door open for them if they decide to evolve Rowlet at some point, as all they would have to do is separate Rowlet from the Everstone or get rid of the Everstone which would be easy to do.

 

[PsychoLogical]

Even Iwane seemed a little salty about Rowlet not evolving

Was there confirmation that he actually was at an extent?

 

[ShadowForce720]

I think them likely bringing back the more popular reserves like Charizard like you said is to be expected tho. Since marketing is still obviously/likely going to be prioritized as well, it's only logical that they're likely bringing back reserves like Charizard, Greninja, Gible (cause of Garchomp which is the most popular and marketable pseudo legendary), and Sceptile since they're the more marketable and popular reserves while unfortunately leaving out the less popular ones like the Johto and Unova squads.

Actually if were talking about marketing then from a marketing stand point when it comes to Ash’s reserves, if they do return it would make sense to bring at least some of the members from each regional team back.

Plus at the end of the day even some of Ash’s less popular reserves would generate hype if they come back especially if they get a good showing and/or evolve as they are still Ash’s Pokémon.