What are your final thoughts on Tripokalons?

[Soniman]

but the tripokalons really do rely too much on outer beauty and sex appeal (I mean, let's face it; even if Nene were the most amazing performer ever, she'd have no chance of winning because she doesn't have the look of what "beauty" is widely considered to be).

You can make an argument for that out of universe in terms of what the writers intended, but in-universe not once is that even implied. Only Performer skills and beauty in conext of their performances are mentioned, actual physical appearance of the participants are irrelevant in the actual show (I only see people on these forums dumping on Nene for her looks but in the show she's just as respected as anyone else in the field), and forget sex appeal, this is a show for kids.

 

[Pikachu979]

Me thinks it was maybe created as an experiment with a more compressed non-battle tournament to see if it could hold. It wasn't the best in execution, but if we see other attempts at more diverse Pokemon events and tournaments in the next regions, I support it. It's nice to show Pokemon have meaning besides battling.

Maybe they will try it again with the next female companion and expand on it and put more focus on it like they did for Dawn.

 

[DatsRight]

As mentioned before having a better handled version of the Tripokalons would be okay alongside another arc for the male companion. If Clemont had been given his mini arc like racing or something, then the Tripokalons would have been an ideal alternative for Serena rather than a lengthy contest arc, but we only got one character arc anyway.

 

[PokemonKnight]

Like I said earlier, Serena's reaction to Fennekin's trip and her reactions to Sylveon's became one of the show's best moment of subtlety.

 

[Musashi~]

I didn't enjoy them as much as the contests but at least these Tripokalons were better than Serena just standing in the background and doing absolutely nothing.The animation and music were good.I didn't like how the writers never bothered to show Jessie's other wins.But yes,I am fine with them.

 

[Salooshun]

In one simple word: MEH.

 

[Lunanight]

To me, Showcases is for the female trainers who weren't good enough for Contests or challenging gyms. Just take a look at the Master Class performances then compare how much better the Grand Festivals tended to be. Even the appeals of regular contests were generally far better than the regular appeals of Showcases. The Showcases felt so repetitive when it came to their appeals whereas Contest appeals were infinitely more appealing since it wasn't just the same appeals repeated at every Showcase.

Winning the Grand Festival is done based on pure skill and power of the coordinator whereas winning the Master Class is left up to the audience, many who would be biased in favour of whoever the reigning Kalos Queen happens to be. Therefore it is an objective fact that Coordinators are more skilled trainers than trainers who compete in Showcases. Obvious a trainer who challenges Gym Leaders and the League is more skilled than both. Someone like Wallace is capable of being a Top Coordinator or a Pokemon Champion, and was considered both of these things at one point or another. On a lesser note, Nando was capable of competing in both Leagues and the Grand Festival and did pretty well.

Surely nobody is dumb enough to think that the likes of Aria are even remotely as skilled as a Frontier Brain/Battle Chatelaine, Elite Four memeber or Champion of any region? Or that Aria could ever do better than a Top Coordinator? Or that someone like Serena or her rivals could ever hope to do well in Contests and the League? Since I'm confident that Coordinators like Drew and Zoey would do well against Gym Leaders if they actually wanted to challenge Gym Leaders, and would probably do just as well as Ash's rivals do in Leagues. May probably could have done the League given how she seemed more focused on power than Dawn who was more into appeals, then again I haven't seen AG/BF in a while. I have a hard time believing that Serena or her rivals would be able to beat any of Ash's significant rivals in a battle, whether it be the current ones (Tierno and Sawyer) or the past ones (Gary, Paul, Barry, Trip, and the rest).

 

[Platinum fan.]

To me, Showcases is for the female trainers who weren't good enough for Contests or challenging gyms. Just take a look at the Master Class performances then compare how much better the Grand Festivals tended to be. Even the appeals of regular contests were generally far better than the regular appeals of Showcases. The Showcases felt so repetitive when it came to their appeals whereas Contest appeals were infinitely more appealing since it wasn't just the same appeals repeated at every Showcase.

Winning the Grand Festival is done based on pure skill and power of the coordinator whereas winning the Master Class is left up to the audience, many who would be biased in favour of whoever the reigning Kalos Queen happens to be. Therefore it is an objective fact that Coordinators are more skilled trainers than trainers who compete in Showcases. Obvious a trainer who challenges Gym Leaders and the League is more skilled than both. Someone like Wallace is capable of being a Top Coordinator or a Pokemon Champion, and was considered both of these things at one point or another. On a lesser note, Nando was capable of competing in both Leagues and the Grand Festival and did pretty well.

Surely nobody is dumb enough to think that the likes of Aria are even remotely as skilled as a Frontier Brain/Battle Chatelaine, Elite Four memeber or Champion of any region? Or that Aria could ever do better than a Top Coordinator? Or that someone like Serena or her rivals could ever hope to do well in Contests and the League? Since I'm confident that Coordinators like Drew and Zoey would do well against Gym Leaders if they actually wanted to challenge Gym Leaders, and would probably do just as well as Ash's rivals do in Leagues. May probably could have done the League given how she seemed more focused on power than Dawn who was more into appeals, then again I haven't seen AG/BF in a while. I have a hard time believing that Serena or her rivals would be able to beat any of Ash's significant rivals in a battle, whether it be the current ones (Tierno and Sawyer) or the past ones (Gary, Paul, Barry, Trip, and the rest).

What does Serena not being able to beat any of Ash's rivals have to do with Showcases? I doubt May or Dawn could beat his rivals either. Ash's stuff is always elevated better then any female sidekick not just Serena. And what does Aria not being strong enough to fight Frontier Brains and Elite Four members have to do with her position as Kalos Queen? It's been established they don't battle so I don't see why that's a mark against them.

 

[Aromatic Mist]

snip

Comparing Showcases to Battling is like comparing Modelling to Football: you can't, and when you try to, it's awkward and stilted. Both require very different skill sets, and are completely different.

Yes, Serena would probably get demolished by any of Ash's rivals, but Ash's rivals would probably be demolished by Serena in a Tripokalon. Even May and Dawn, with contests being similar to Tripokalons purely in regard to appeal, would probably find themselves edged out by Serena, as neither has had as much experience as being actively involved with their Pokemon whilst performing. May and Dawn conduct their Pokemon, whilst Serena and other performers perform with their Pokemon.


I like the idea of Tripokalons as it shows Pokemon doing things except from battling, but at the same time, it could of been less rushed and better expanded upon. Maybe if Serena had the goal established earlier? But then again, that wouldn't of lended itself to Serena's arc as well as well as it has in the show.

 

[DatsRight]

Truthfully the nearest to a jack of all trades among the main cast is Jessie, which isn't saying much.

I admit I find a problem with Serena being that she's never really been granted proper challenges. Her battles have all been interrupted or very low tier so that she's almost never pressured (even against Team Rocket, she's either against Gourgeist with Braixen for easy type advantage or is left relying on her team mates or some interruption). The Tripolokolokolon wasn't really a good arc to rectify this, in fact it was a story excused punctuation of it since she had automatic audience approval until the final, which she failed miserably to defy.

 

[PokemonKnight]

To me, Showcases is for the female trainers who weren't good enough for Contests or challenging gyms. Just take a look at the Master Class performances then compare how much better the Grand Festivals tended to be. Even the appeals of regular contests were generally far better than the regular appeals of Showcases. The Showcases felt so repetitive when it came to their appeals whereas Contest appeals were infinitely more appealing since it wasn't just the same appeals repeated at every Showcase.

Winning the Grand Festival is done based on pure skill and power of the coordinator whereas winning the Master Class is left up to the audience, many who would be biased in favour of whoever the reigning Kalos Queen happens to be. Therefore it is an objective fact that Coordinators are more skilled trainers than trainers who compete in Showcases. Obvious a trainer who challenges Gym Leaders and the League is more skilled than both. Someone like Wallace is capable of being a Top Coordinator or a Pokemon Champion, and was considered both of these things at one point or another. On a lesser note, Nando was capable of competing in both Leagues and the Grand Festival and did pretty well.

Surely nobody is dumb enough to think that the likes of Aria are even remotely as skilled as a Frontier Brain/Battle Chatelaine, Elite Four memeber or Champion of any region? Or that Aria could ever do better than a Top Coordinator? Or that someone like Serena or her rivals could ever hope to do well in Contests and the League? Since I'm confident that Coordinators like Drew and Zoey would do well against Gym Leaders if they actually wanted to challenge Gym Leaders, and would probably do just as well as Ash's rivals do in Leagues. May probably could have done the League given how she seemed more focused on power than Dawn who was more into appeals, then again I haven't seen AG/BF in a while. I have a hard time believing that Serena or her rivals would be able to beat any of Ash's significant rivals in a battle, whether it be the current ones (Tierno and Sawyer) or the past ones (Gary, Paul, Barry, Trip, and the rest).

Most Contests battles had questionable point decisions and one of the judges was the local Nurse Joy, hardly a professional. Plus, Contests half the time seemed to be watered down battles. KOs should not have been allowed and a greater focus on countering and using your opponents' moves should have been emphasized. I do agree that Aria's winning performance was lackluster, but the Zoey-Dawn duel has puzzling point calls in favor of Zoey. Either way, the writers had their winner planned out.

 

[PokemonKnight]

I'm with you on that one! It was pretty well done, along with Serena's breakdown and change, in my opinion.


Best answer I can give; on Twitter, excellent!

I had to mention it since many posters were complaining how Serena seemingly only lost because of mistakes and not an opponent outclassing her.

 

[DatsRight]

I admit an audience poll wasn't necessarily a bad idea. After all a performer needs to be popular to be successful. Showcases might actually have a gimmick in that sense since they aim more for professionalism and star appeal than just raw power displays.

I think the problem was that it was still skewed towards Serena. A lot of Kalos knew her personally, as all the montage shots in the Master Class exemplified. Most of the others by contrast were newcomers or barely exposed to the public. It's hardly as if most of her friends across the region are gonna make the pragmatic call 'Hmmm, nothing personal but you weren't really at your best this time, so I chose the better performer'.

It was still easier to be impressed by Jessie in that regard as she posed herself as a total stranger who could get no personal votes except for James and Meowth. Hell, all of her performances were more stable and versatile than Serena's (no one tripped once), and at the end of it she still only got a position or two behind her.

 

[Squirtle_007]

What does Serena not being able to beat any of Ash's rivals have to do with Showcases? I doubt May or Dawn could beat his rivals either. Ash's stuff is always elevated better then any female sidekick not just Serena. And what does Aria not being strong enough to fight Frontier Brains and Elite Four members have to do with her position as Kalos Queen? It's been established they don't battle so I don't see why that's a mark against them.

And still, Ash lost to both Drew and Kenny in REGULAR battles.

About Showcases ... glad their gone, they won't be missed

 

[Agility]

I doubt May or Dawn could beat his rivals either.

May defeated Drew in battles, and he was capable of beating Ash. I think May is the strongest battler out of all of the female companions, so implying she couldn't beat any of the XY, BW, and maybe even some of DP's rivals like Barry is a little farfetch'd.

Serena's always been a dull character to me because she literally has a goal that is an all-female version of a Contest's appeal round, and it took her an absurd amount of episodes to even reach that. Before that, she left her home to "go find Ash", only to promptly do nothing but tease the shippers for 60 episodes before settling on a goal where she's basically still doing nothing but being a pretty little princess with her pets. It's just disappointing to go from May and Dawn (who were into contests) whom had dedicated arcs to their goals, vastly superior rivals, and could kick *** in a Pokemon battle. In fact, I think May had the most fleshed out and best rival in the show save Paul and perhaps Gary. Drew's relationship with May was so characterized, it was always a pleasure for me to see him in an episode. I didn't include Iris here because she wasn't into contests, but lady could battle, too. Hell, even Misty was at least a competent battler. She runs a gym now, too.

And Serena.. sparkles in a little dress on stage and bakes cookies and stuff. Yep.

That's just my opinion on them.

 

[Soniman]

Before that, she left her home to "go find Ash", only to promptly do nothing but tease the shippers for 60 episodes before settling on a goal where she's basically still doing nothing but being a pretty little princess with her pets..

I really wouldnt put post goal Serena on the same level of non-activity as pre goal Serena, nor would I really call complicated dance maneuvers, precise timing in the movements and moves just "standing around looking pretty", but thats just me

 

[Agility]

Fair enough. I don't mean to poop all over someone else because they enjoy Serena and the tripokalons. I'm just more a fan of the girls battling. (it's also been like 10 years and i still got a fan boner for contestshipping plz help me)

 

[Soniman]

Fair enough. I don't mean to poop all over someone else because they enjoy Serena and the tripokalons. I'm just more a fan of the girls battling. (it's also been like 10 years and i still got a fan boner for contestshipping plz help me)

Believe me man I get it, and I hope going forward we go back to battle oriented pokegirls again.

I enjoy Serena as a one off experimental thing, but I don't really want to see it again either lol

 

[blob]

I admit an audience poll wasn't necessarily a bad idea. After all a performer needs to be popular to be successful. Showcases might actually have a gimmick in that sense since they aim more for professionalism and star appeal than just raw power displays.

I think the problem was that it was still skewed towards Serena. A lot of Kalos knew her personally, as all the montage shots in the Master Class exemplified. Most of the others by contrast were newcomers or barely exposed to the public. It's hardly as if most of her friends across the region are gonna make the pragmatic call 'Hmmm, nothing personal but you weren't really at your best this time, so I chose the better performer'.

It was still easier to be impressed by Jessie in that regard as she posed herself as a total stranger who could get no personal votes except for James and Meowth. Hell, all of her performances were more stable and versatile than Serena's (no one tripped once), and at the end of it she still only got a position or two behind her.

I guess Serena got the pity vote a lot of the time?

 

[DatsRight]

I think the Tripokalons may have worked better playing on the whole talent show format. Hell they could easily make it a light parody of the Got Talent series (there is an Asia's Got Talent). Replace the audience poll with quirky judges and have the performances less limited to dance and a wider range of skills and acts. That could be fun to see.