The Rainbow & The Pokémon Master (1236)

[AuraChannelerChris]

We just saw it like 10 episodes ago and multiple other times during JN, who cares?

Rule of symbolism.

Also, a proper Book Ends finale. Should have not appeared with Lugia 11 episodes ago.

 

[GohMaster!]

it felt like that Kalos was supposed to be the finale for Ash and the idea was changed at some point.

I strongly disagree

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I'm damn sure Pidgeot rejoining Ash is coz of all the memes lmao that were so widespread throughout the internet even among casuals. I remember so many comments about "Ash will you now fulfill your promise to Pidgeot" after the internet exploded when Ash won the Alola league or when Ash became World Champion.
A promise that was only made in the dub but coz that's what so many around the world knew, it became this meme. Coz Pidgeot's release was pretty much set in stone like Butterfree and Lapras lol, it definitely only returned coz of that meme of Ash promising to someday come back and get it

And still the main draw of the series has still been on the battling and other such goals. Even SM and JN which tried to do something different still had to rely on the big tournaments at the end to get people to watch. Even if you say that they put a lot of episodes for random pokemon befriending, you can’t say the battles weren’t the thing they pushed as important.

Like if befriending all the mons is really ash’s goal what’s the point of all the moments he’s super competitive in the past? Take the whole ideological conflict with paul, which is to see whose way in training was correct. What point is there to this conflict if ash’s goal doesn’t really have anything to do with getting stronger? Even if he’s not the absolute strongest, it doesn’t prevent him from just befriending pokemon as he want even if paul beat him and showed that his way is better go get strong mons. It just means ash’s way is better to actually befriend them, and that should be enough for him.

All the moments where ash is super serious about winning and tries his hardest to train with his pokemon to achieve their hoal just loses their bite when this last 11 ep seems to imply all ash really wants is to randomly go around and befriend pokemon, and all that previous effort really didn’t have a point.

No like now could someone misunderstand the point of the franchise this bad? Or the more probable case of being purposely obtuse coz you don't like the outcome
None of what happened in any way shape or form contradicts Ash's competitive spirit in the past, his ideological clashes with Paul (I can't believe you used this point, one where Ash reigned supreme with his style's major difference being the bond he formed with his Pokemon), all his league arcs, none of that is retconned in any shape way or form. If anything this adds to the whole winning the league, becoming champion, winning the PWC, all is one step further to becoming a Pokemon master. Literally EVERY series for like the MAJORITY of episodes Ash has been hyperfocused on his love and focus for Pokemon and bonding with them. How so many times he's pursued battling with his mons as a means of getting closer to him. His strength as a Pokemon trainer reflects just how strong his bonds are, that's ALWAYS been the theme. And that's why when he finally earns his due and becomes the champion, he STILL feels like a challenger because reaching the top of Pokemon battling wasn't really his main goal, it was so much more, that he defined. It's in line with every iteration and characterisation of Ash we have had forward, not your headcanon of what you wanted Pokemon Master to mean.

Ash's best Pokemon, Pidgeot.

I love how we all forgot how shitty Pidgeot was in OS lmao in our joy, count me in!!!

At this point i just consider competitive battling and becoming a pokémon master two entirely different goals, because with the answer they gave us, they really have barely anything to do with each other.

Yes they do! Man, how do you miss the entire point of the franchise this badly
Each and every time getting stronger has always been equated to getting closer and bonding with your mons. Becoming a champion and wanting to befriend Pokemon go hand in hand coz to do the former you NEED to do the latter.

Not in the least. I did, however, expect that the tangible goals he has been chasing for 25 years would form a part of his overall goal, which no longer seems to be the case.

Dragonsoldier summed it up perfectly. That Ash uses battling to bond with and befriend Pokémon is all well and fine, but battling was never just a vehicle to do that to him. So for his goal to be completely divorced from the battling aspect of his journey is… an unusual decision, at best.

"No longer seems to be the case'.
"Completely divorced from the battling aspect"
What?
Did you guys think Ash only battled for the sport of it and that the major theme of all his battling aspirations weren't getting closer with his mons? Coz if you actually think that, congratulations, you fundamentally misunderstood the basic premise of a show meant for 10 year olds.

I think the discussion about a master being befriending all pokemon and how this contrasts with Ash being competitive is a significant discussion that involves the anime as a whole
Even the core concept of the franchise itself is taking care of your creatures while battling them around

You would think people would get that and not be purposely obtuse? Coz I can't imagine people don't actually get this, it's the entire point of the franchise?

Wait, wait, wait. Death?!?

Yeah? Haruto died remember? The mom and dad were coping with it

Does anyone else remember how people would say stuff like "this is just another step to becoming a Pokemon Master" every time Ash did something? Like, people would say that beating Leon was a step to becoming a Pokemon Master, but could never tell you how. Surprise surprise, now battling has absolutely nothing to do with this goal lmao. Anyways, it was obvious that "Pokemon Master" was never a real thing, and was only a way to pretend as if Ash had a reason for his never-ending journey.

I'm just glad he's gone.

https://imgur.com/b7bNg0W

So Ash didn't set out on a journey to meet more Pokemon and bond with them, he only set out coz he wanted to participate in the sport and win at it. Wow

Farfetch'd→Sirfetch'd

You misspoke on this buddy! Ash got it. Maybe you need to differentiate the forms properly like you did for Unown can't wait till you add Galar and Paldean mons

I was surprised they pulled the pikachu bathtub thing
Guess Ash can survive anything

LMAO that was definitely a meta thing they did in reference to that meme, I love it

...Wait, if a Pokemon Master means befriending all Pokemon, were all the battle episodes filler, while the filler episodes were canon episodes?

I can't wait for this dumb narrative to be parroted around in future Serebii discussions to farm reactions and troll

I mean, what is inaccurate about the comparison I made?

Nothing, it perfectly makes sense what you were trying to say. These people are just too miserable and insecure about the media they like for some reason (even if it's widely credited) that they get a stick in their butt everytime someone mentions it while talking about how much they love this show, which those people hate but are too dumb to actually stop being in a forum about it. Jobless basically

So can I conclude that becoming a pokemon water master for Misty is to befriend all water pokemon? And for Iris to become a dragon master is to befriend every dragon type pokemon?

Yep, perfectly fits in line with Iris wanting to connect with dragon mons in general and her power

 

[bmw9413]

What a weak ending. I'm not surprised though. The writing for Journeys was all over the place and inconsistent. They were just trying to rush through it so they can focus on Pokemon Horizons.

 

[Pteranodonte]

Rule of symbolism.

Also, a proper Book Ends finale. Should have not appeared with Lugia 11 episodes ago.

We got the bird that truly mettered, so I am fine.
I would have liked to see Ho-Oh flying over the horizon as the ending shot of the series, but since we just saw it I am not particularly sad.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

I strongly disagree

Yeah I just really feel at this point it's just people who wished it ended then because they simp for the artstyle or whatever than actually thinking XY provided any closure for Ash's character to serve as a finale
It's not even like DP where it COULD have served as the finale had they changed certain things like making Ash vs Paul the finale and letting us see Ash beat Cynthia and run off to bond with other Pokemon in unseen regions
Even if Ash won against Alain and beat Diantha, it would feel so hollow with how self contained XY was, compared to DP

 

[GohMaster!]

Yeah I just really feel at this point it's just people who wished it ended then because they simp for the artstyle or whatever than actually thinking XY provided any closure for Ash's character to serve as a finale
It's not even like DP where it COULD have served as the finale had they changed certain things like making Ash vs Paul the finale and letting us see Ash beat Cynthia and run off to bond with other Pokemon in unseen regions
Even if Ash won against Alain and beat Diantha, it would feel so hollow with how self contained XY was, compared to DP

Yeah, I'm not one that is on the side of "DP should have been the end" necessarily, but it at least would actually make sense. TBH even SM would have made a little more sense than XY because at least there, it really felt all about Ash getting a home away from home.

 

[AuraChannelerChris]

but since we just saw it I am not particularly sad.

But that's the thing: we just saw it. We shouldn't have.

 

[SerGoldenhandtheJust]

Yeah, I'm not one that is on the side of "DP should have been the end" necessarily, but it at least would actually make sense. TBH even SM would have made a little more sense than XY because at least there, it really felt all about Ash getting a home away from home.

SM would have been better than XY ig coz it did have Misty and Brock and Ash becoming a champion but nah, it doesn't really work as a finale either. Unlike DP you'd have to change many things to make it work better for a finale, and that's coming from a SM fan

DP as it is also isn't worthy of being the finale either. Like I said, either just make Ash vs Paul the finale, show champions league briefly and Ash beating Cynthia, and then the same ending and it'll work better as the finale we eventually got. That isn't true for any other series before JN though, and honestly I wouldn't wanna discard all the BW-JN memories even if there were a lot of inconsistences and not as tight and perfect a narrative that OS-DP were

 

[Yce288]

I strongly disagree

I didnt say it just because of Amourshipping, but because of what Ash said to Everett(the Furfrou trainer), Ash fully evolved all of his Pokemon aside Pikachu and he was more mature.

 

[Spyro39]

it felt like that Kalos was supposed to be the finale for Ash and the idea was changed at some point.

XY's lack of continuity is a big reason as to why I think that series would not have been the finale even if Ash had won the Kalos League.

 

[Yce288]

XY's lack of continuity is a big reason as to why I think that series would not have been the finale even if Ash had won the Kalos League.

Ash did talk about Dawn's Piplup and he thought of using a reserve Pokemon before Goodra came back for the league.

 

[GohMaster!]

Ash did talk about Dawn's Piplup and he thought of using a reserve Pokemon before Goodra came back for the league.

That's still barely anything lol. If you took the piplup line out, XY could essentially be AU.

 

[Spyro39]

Ash did talk about Dawn's Piplup and he thought of using a reserve Pokemon before Goodra came back for the league.

That's hardly a reference when Ash didn't even mention Piplup directly lol. And while Ash does mention reserves, none of them make an appearance.

I'm talking about past companion returns, his old Pokemon, heck Ash never even tells his XY companions about his journey in past regions.

 

[U.N. Owen]

So Ash took a bath with a Pikachu. Well, that’s something for a death certificate

 

[ShuckFam]

My prediction of a dark ending was accurate, it's just that the clues were subtle. The dark clouds and the rainbow represent gloom and bad omens, respectively. Ash will walk down a foggy road, chasing a goal that will always evade him, for eternity. Like the never ending staircase in Mario 64. Team Rocket and Giovanni still operate as a criminal enterprise, and if anything, they're expanding. The cafeteria looks bigger than before...

I can't help but think that the writers were thinking about marketing until the very end of this series. Ash's goal is unfulfilled, and the cynic in me says this was done so that his journey can be resumed at a later date...

 

[Trey pokes]

25+ years, I was around for 24 of them. This episode will go down as the 1 thing that literally killed me even more than Ash winning in the league.

 

[British Soul]

Actually an essay time?!
First of all, THIS IS NOT A DRILL, Tracey Sketchit SPEAKING for the first time since 2006? Le gasp. And yes, I am making a big deal of this, for like no reason of course, but I have said... at some point in the past (if memory serves me right) that I'd have liked to see Tracey appear in a speaking capacity at some point in JN, and lo and behold it be in the final episode, and this brings me to my bold prediction that when the episode gets dubbed Tracey will be voiced by his original VA from the 4Kids era (Ted Lewis) considering said VA also plays Giovanni, so it'd be really weird for him NOT to reprise his role of Tracey in this episode. Staying on the Tracey tangent, it did not occur to me in the initial viewing that the Venomoth next to Tracey had evolved from the Venonat who was last seen 1007 episodes ago. Somehow I had forgotten that Tracey had a Venonat, and thus never registered with me, in any case this is the first and only appearance of Tracey's entire roster in the TPCi era, so there's that I suppose.
The next thing I want to touch on is Team Rocket. At first I thought that they got demoted to canteen duty by Matori, but they later return to the agents that we all know and love, and I'll be really disappointed if the bg music used for their motto is changed, though I did not appreciate them shushing the viewers, just kidding (Nyarth~). They certainly did catch Ash in a bad position when they caught Pikachu as he had no other pokemon on him at the time, and as TR said, how careless, shame they probably didn't have enough in the budget to make the net everything else-proof after the return of the prodigal bird, Pidgeot. When Jessie asked "What's that thing?" I was like "What, you've never seen a Pidgeot before?! (smile)", before Meowth pointed out that the twerp's Pidgeotto had evolved, but that could've been any random Pidgeot though, why would he assume it was the same Pidgeotto from the Indigo saga? Anywho, it was at that point I remembered that they never saw Pidgeotto evolve in EP081 considered by that point in said episode, they were chased out of the forest by Spearow in a distraction manoeuvre, the last they saw it was when Arbok fired a Poison Sting during the party, LAST CENTURY.
Speaking of Pidgeot:

This is what Ash ACTUALLY told Pidgeot 24 years ago, almost like he's the equivalent of Nelson Muntz's dad who said he was only going to the store to buy cigarettes. Maybe it was Noctowl who went to the store to buy cigarettes as it was Ash's only regional bird to not appear in this episode.
It was nice to see Pidgeot return after all this time and retake the mantle of the oldest caught pokemon in Ash's possession, though I should've done a better job of avoiding socials so that this would be more of a shock to me, but that sounds like a skill issue on my part. In all seriousness, Ash promised Pidgeot that he'd return, and he kept his word after 24 years.
The main takeaway from the episode is that Ash reaffirming his goal of becoming a Pokemon Master and acknowledging that as per his definition, ie befriending all the different kinds of pokemon in the world, he hasn't reached his goal of being a Pokemon Master just yet. Props to Gary for giving Ash food for thought, asking how much closer he is after winning the PWC, but despite that, Ash still sees himself as a challenger, which is perfectly valid, champions doin't stop after becoming champions, they're always hungry for more.
The only thing that disappointed me though was the lack of Ho-Oh to go alongside the rainbow, but as an ending to Ash's story, him going off to have more adventures, I think it was pretty decent and I liked that they used Type:Wild for the ED theme.

 

[Ragnarok4]

Well, I also wanted to thank all of you for being here, even the ones I argued with, after all it was many years of talking about anime

A new era is coming, some things will change but we watch the end of Ash at least... So regardless of our differences we were all here because we care about this anime, we are still part of the same team even if it sounds sooooo corny

 

[British Soul]

My prediction of a dark ending was accurate, it's just that the clues were subtle. The dark clouds and the rainbow represent gloom and bad omens, respectively. Ash will walk down a foggy road, chasing a goal that will always evade him, for eternity. Like the never ending staircase in Mario 64.

Ash just needs to Backwards Long Jump to reach his goal, simple.