On another note I can't believe Hoenn is almost 9 years old, IT'S SO OLD!!! but people underrate AG.
It suffers from being in the "middle".
I guess that it's not as bad as Johto, while not being the greatest season either, so yeah it's the middle child. But to give some more of a response:
Cons
- This stands to be the only season that Ash didn't have a regular rival to compete against, thus making the Hoenn League a bit underwhelming.
- Granted, Brock came back for AG and DP, Gotta Catch Ya Later was the end of an era and thus we get a fairly touching departure by Misty. Memories Are Made of Bliss prepares the seperation of the then current trio with them having one last quality time together.
Home is Where the Start Is rushes the goodbye between Ash, Brock, May and Max barely containing emotion to it. The early part has May and Max departing, with no acknowledgement or sadness later in the episode. The Scheme Team had a better departure, and that was a temporary one.
Pros
- Whereas Misty truly was nothing more than the token girl and eye candy of Johto, May's screentime over all was more substancial and arguably helped to cut back on the filler that the series would otherwise get.
Furthermore, she has a pretty good character bit where she starts out training, simply to travel, and developing an interest in contests..
- This time around, the number of filler was lessened, but what we did get was more inventive that the filler usually given in Johto.
- It's nice to actually have another cast member rather than just doing another trio right away. And even if the writers don't care for having 2 males and 2 females, I have to wonder why we don't get another cast of 4.