AuraChannelerChris
Easygoing Luxray.
He's under "made Ash frown." That's why I put that there for people like Nanu.
-
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
What do you think each Series did best?
- Thread starter SerGoldenhandtheJust
- Start date
Zweilous
Go-ing for Gold
OS: The humor. It's fun, weird and bold without being obnoxious. The dub really helped here because it added some solid, sarcastic jokes.
AG: Probably had the most entertaining o Contest stories. May and her rivals bounced off each other so well, and the whole Contest set-up became one of my favorite storylines.
DP: Battle strategies.
BW: Group dynamics. Most groups felt horribly unbalanced, but Ash/Cilan/Iris all had great dynamics with each other and as a group. Itis and Cilan were sidekicks, but they both got a good amount of focus and had a lot of work put into fleshing them out.
XY: Fingernails, I miss them. But aside from that, they had the most developed villain storyline this anime has ever seen. It's weird how they took one of the worst villain stories in the franchise, and just course-corrected them into something really good.
SM: Best supporting cast. We had a lot of recurring faces, with their own storirs and connections to the main cast. Alola feels tight-knit and familial because of it.
JN: Continuity, especially regarding past characters. I don't think this should even be a feature of JN, this is how the anime SHOULD handle its past characters from now on. On top of that, all these returning characters, and even Ash, are treated with such respect.
EDIT: My kids say that Journeys has the best Pokemon cries. They're obsessed with UNO LA LA LA.
AG: Probably had the most entertaining o Contest stories. May and her rivals bounced off each other so well, and the whole Contest set-up became one of my favorite storylines.
DP: Battle strategies.
BW: Group dynamics. Most groups felt horribly unbalanced, but Ash/Cilan/Iris all had great dynamics with each other and as a group. Itis and Cilan were sidekicks, but they both got a good amount of focus and had a lot of work put into fleshing them out.
XY: Fingernails, I miss them. But aside from that, they had the most developed villain storyline this anime has ever seen. It's weird how they took one of the worst villain stories in the franchise, and just course-corrected them into something really good.
SM: Best supporting cast. We had a lot of recurring faces, with their own storirs and connections to the main cast. Alola feels tight-knit and familial because of it.
JN: Continuity, especially regarding past characters. I don't think this should even be a feature of JN, this is how the anime SHOULD handle its past characters from now on. On top of that, all these returning characters, and even Ash, are treated with such respect.
EDIT: My kids say that Journeys has the best Pokemon cries. They're obsessed with UNO LA LA LA.
Jeal
Well-Known Member
Serena's arc had potential, but the writers didn't seem to like her for some reason. It's amazing how badly she was treated considering the fact that she's the female player. Early AG gave May a decent focus and Dawn was the star of early DP, but early XY gave no relevant focus to Serena.
But worst of all was that they gave a special episode to random characters instead of an episode of her in Hoenn like they did with the past girls and Clemont and Bonnie.
RafaSceptile
Well-Known Member
OS: Originality and realism in comparison to the real world
AG: Use of reserves and exploration of 2 regions in the same series
DP: Ash's rivals and the best development for a female character during the series
BW: Team Rocket being serious
XY: Battle coreography and 3D camera
SM: Supporting characters and the Alola League
JN: Continuity
AG: Use of reserves and exploration of 2 regions in the same series
DP: Ash's rivals and the best development for a female character during the series
BW: Team Rocket being serious
XY: Battle coreography and 3D camera
SM: Supporting characters and the Alola League
JN: Continuity
satopi
Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
You thought that the Team Flare storyline was better than Team Plasma? I guess if we put into consideration the Mega Evolution Special Acts, I could kinda see but I don’t know, Team Plasma and Hunter J can get it.
Zweilous
Go-ing for Gold
Colress alone was great, but the rest of Team Plasma barely did anything. The story from the games was glossed over and the story had much lower stakes and tension. I really wish we got the unaired BW episodes, because those few seconds we saw in the trailers looked amazing.
BlueDragonfangirl
Well-Known Member
Eh It took till Journey’s for Iris to get her cameo.
Yzma
Active Member
OS: I think Season 1 has the best comedy. There is only one Kanto episode I don't enjoy.
AG: Contests (in the Battle frontier season) and the use of reserves.
DP: I don't really think DP is best at anything. I don't think its the worst at anything either, its just not my favorite in any way.
BW: Giovanni. I also think Cilain is probably my favorite male Ash travel companion.
XYZ: Serena is my favorite of Ash's female travel companions. Alain was Ash's best league roadblock, and I think Flare had the best villain arc in the anime.
SM: while I think OS has overall the best humor, Bewear is the single funniest character in the show. I love that pink panda.
JN: I guess continuity, could be my favorite in more ways depending on the future episodes.
AG: Contests (in the Battle frontier season) and the use of reserves.
DP: I don't really think DP is best at anything. I don't think its the worst at anything either, its just not my favorite in any way.
BW: Giovanni. I also think Cilain is probably my favorite male Ash travel companion.
XYZ: Serena is my favorite of Ash's female travel companions. Alain was Ash's best league roadblock, and I think Flare had the best villain arc in the anime.
SM: while I think OS has overall the best humor, Bewear is the single funniest character in the show. I love that pink panda.
JN: I guess continuity, could be my favorite in more ways depending on the future episodes.
Mythical-Moonlight
I just ran, I ran all Night and Day ~
OS - Comedy
AG - Batter Frontier
DP - Contests
BW - Uh.....
XY - Animation
SM - Pokemon Interactions
JN - Returning Characters
AG - Batter Frontier
DP - Contests
BW - Uh.....
XY - Animation
SM - Pokemon Interactions
JN - Returning Characters
OS: Comedy, especially the dub that peaked around Orange Islands and early Johto and never really recovered. Team Rocket felt their most relevent here due to their backstories and interactions with the twerps, while later series can't shake them feeling like third wheels. The more cynical take on a Pokemon universe.
AG: There's not a lot really stand out in this series for me since later series refined on it, though I suppose it did at least start all that stuff. Also kinda like the slightly more savvy Ash in this series that was on to some of the formula tricks and completely DONE with Team Rocket.
DP: As mentioned took a lot of AG's ideas and refined them. Dawn probably had the best competition arc after Ash. Team Rocket WINNING stuff at last and being good at non-villainous agendas.
BW: While it came at the cost of their personalities, Team Rocket being a threat at last was rather cathartic. Nice to see them regularly putting up eventful fights instead of the exact same beating over and over. Helps they weren't in every episode anymore too. Even when they went back to comedic they maintained a layer of challenge to them and weren't as repetitive. Also Giovanni and the organization itself FINALLY got to be an arc villain. Iris' Dragonite SUBVERTING the plot armour formula by having fluke wins called out. The companions getting equal screentime.
XY: Badass Wobbuffet in the early episodes. Jessie's performer arc getting a nice send off. Meowth being competent in the showcases was a nice change. Cinematic animation. The sort of superheroish vibes of some episodes.
SM: Fun interactions and dynamics. Downplay of formula and plot armour climaxes in favour of cases Ash had AGENCY and driven a story by his own personality. Unconventional Pokemon getting loveable personalities and plenty screentime. Building a consistent backdrop and supporting cast. Ash WINNING the league and multiple other development moments in said league. Team Rocket actually having ongoing storylines. The male companions NOT getting sidelined.
JN: Further downplay of formula. Tons of character returns and call backs to previous series giving some sort of gratification for fans watching long term and connecting to old faces.
AG: There's not a lot really stand out in this series for me since later series refined on it, though I suppose it did at least start all that stuff. Also kinda like the slightly more savvy Ash in this series that was on to some of the formula tricks and completely DONE with Team Rocket.
DP: As mentioned took a lot of AG's ideas and refined them. Dawn probably had the best competition arc after Ash. Team Rocket WINNING stuff at last and being good at non-villainous agendas.
BW: While it came at the cost of their personalities, Team Rocket being a threat at last was rather cathartic. Nice to see them regularly putting up eventful fights instead of the exact same beating over and over. Helps they weren't in every episode anymore too. Even when they went back to comedic they maintained a layer of challenge to them and weren't as repetitive. Also Giovanni and the organization itself FINALLY got to be an arc villain. Iris' Dragonite SUBVERTING the plot armour formula by having fluke wins called out. The companions getting equal screentime.
XY: Badass Wobbuffet in the early episodes. Jessie's performer arc getting a nice send off. Meowth being competent in the showcases was a nice change. Cinematic animation. The sort of superheroish vibes of some episodes.
SM: Fun interactions and dynamics. Downplay of formula and plot armour climaxes in favour of cases Ash had AGENCY and driven a story by his own personality. Unconventional Pokemon getting loveable personalities and plenty screentime. Building a consistent backdrop and supporting cast. Ash WINNING the league and multiple other development moments in said league. Team Rocket actually having ongoing storylines. The male companions NOT getting sidelined.
JN: Further downplay of formula. Tons of character returns and call backs to previous series giving some sort of gratification for fans watching long term and connecting to old faces.
AZ-the-I-don't-even-know
Rip bozo
I wonder which one that might be.
Yzma
Active Member
A Chansey operation. I just can't get myself to like that episode.
Jeal
Well-Known Member
I was talking about special solo episodes. Iris got one too, that aired together with XY021.
DayQuil95
Well-Known Member
OS
Iconicity - Easily the most iconic of the series with how many people grew up with it, I think even the younger public like me remembers getting at home after school and watching it, laughing and having fun with the battles and best moments, even with how silly some of them sound like in retrospective, it simply felt amazing, and moments like these will forever stay in the memories of every watcher, even the ones who have a deep hatred for the series as it is now.
Pokémon Characterization - Now, I'm not saying it's exactly the best at this when compared to the others series, but it did bring to the table in comparison to the rest of the franchise, and did it amazingly well. Up to that point, even with the Pokéspe manga, there wasn't a Pokémon as unique as Ash's Charizard, that needed so much development until the Pokémon was satisfied with the trainer, and that is the reason for 99% of Charizard's popularity.
Charizard - Charizard is quite possibly the most iconic Pokémon in the anime alongside Pikachu and Greninja, but rather than being iconic for being the mascot of the franchise, or for being a badass with a unique form never seen in hundreds of years, he's iconic for his development, how unique his backstory was for the time, and how he shaped the franchise in such a way that no other Pokémon, and even human character save for Ash, had ever done up to that point, growing from a timid Charmander, into an almighty proud Charizard that grew up to obey Ash and evolving in more ways than literally into one of his strongest and best members up to this day, even as a Charmander you could see just how much proving himself to others meant to him, and that aspects of Damian still lived in him, which turned into his arrogance as a Charizard, and later a sense of healthy pride that meant more like proper sportsmanship than being an arrogant character.
Comedy - OS was hilarious, and this is why I'm against a reboot of it, they would almost definitely remove most of what made it so iconic with its unique sense of humor for the time, and jokes that wouldn't pass with the current audience of children.
Misty and Brock - Quite possibly the weirdest yet best character adaptations that the anime writers could have done from the games, they straight-up turned generic gym leaders without much stuff to add on into some of the most remarkable and iconic characters in not only Pokémon but the anime industry in general. Even some of my family who can't difference a Pikachu from a Charizard would recognize the name Misty and Brock from when I used to be a kid and get so hyped by watching the anime, they're lovely characters that simply grew on from that point and peaked with their returns in SM, feeling fully complete.
AG
Innovation - It served as a pretty damn good way for Ash to go from the newbie that needed to be tutored by most experienced trainers and that was easily one-shot by the likes of Lorelei even with his Charizard, to a trainer tutoring a younger trainer in May, and even giving nice fights to the likes of Agatha, and her equals in the likes of Brandon.
Battle Frontier - Simply amazing. They managed to fix 90% of my problems with AG's base series in one go, this feels like that bug patcher or DLC that a game needs to feel more complete, and with Battle Frontier, it felt more than complete, it skyrocketed into one of my favorite series with how amazing it was. The battles felt great, the characters still had the stuff to learn and developed, and Pikachu learning Volt Tackle, arguably his most badass attack to this day, and then using it to beat so many opponents that it wouldn't otherwise thanks to lack of firepower, alongside Charizard's return, man this was just such a good time.
Pikachu - AG was the beginning of turning Pikachu into a proper powerhouse, having learned Iron Tail to counter opponents that he wouldn't do otherwise without the need of stuff like hitting ground-types with electric moves, and developing his strongest move to that point in Volt Tackle, which is still my favorite animated move in the anime with how badass it was every time it was used, Pikachu pulling Volt Tackle on an enemy felt like Goku pulling the Kaioken, and this was something that the character seriously needed, as up to that point he was peak generic in battling style and was growing up very bland. He didn't do much stuff in the league, sure, but that's alright since he did some of the best stuff he did to this very day in the Battle Frontier, and in terms of sheer development, this series simply peaked for Pikachu.
Reserves Usage - No doubt about this, the Battle Frontier was straight-up the best execution of reserves to this day in the series, even though some of them were done kinda dirty in retrospect, others still managed to leave an excellent impression, like Charizard, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Tauros drawing with Anabel's Metagross.
Setup - It also had the best setup for the following series. I mean, Ash and the entirety of the audience were thinking that he would kick Gary back to Oak's Laboratory with a Squirtle after beating Brandon, but then there he comes, showing that he not only developed as a researcher, but also as a trainer and character in general, coming back as a badass that has far surpassed being only a rival to Ash, beating him, and then being the main cause for Ash going to Sinnoh.
DP
Ash's Character - Out of all series, DP handled Ash's character the best by far, not only was he was believably mature for a 10yo with so much experience, but showed an improved version of his OS and AG character, being relatively more chill, but still having that troublemaker spirit that he showed up to that point, just in a way that was more enjoyable. He was also a billion times better as a trainer, being always up for a battle, and even when losing to the likes of Kenny, still showing that he didn't mind an L like that, since he was using the battle as a way to improve and test a new battling style, and not to prove himself to be some unbeatable trainer that can mess up anyone instantly. And he was even willing to learn from trainers that had a million times less experience than him, such as Dawn inspiring a lot of his strategies from watching her contests and training, as opposed to how often he would ignore May in AG.
You can even see this in his relationship with Paul, while OS and AG Ash would probably get in a fistfight with Paul, DP Ash got into a battle of beliefs with him, having his training method being truly challenged for the first time in his life, and when taking loss after loss, he had a believable breakdown that I could picture anyone having, even the most mature of people, when having the philosophy that you grew up with and raised for so long being questioned over and over again, and then almost being proven wrong by the number of defeats you take, but still he managed to come on top.
League Stakes - This might be more subjective in comparison to the others, but I always felt like Ash had bigger stakes when taking a loss in the league when compared to the other series, because not only would that mean that his philosophy would be basically proven wrong to him if he didn't even manage to get to Paul, but also with how clutched the battles were in the atmosphere, even if they mostly ended in similar results to those of other leagues. Alongside the very thought of picturing Ash losing to Nando or Conway, and how crushing that sounds for both the viewer and him in comparison to losing to Katie, Sawyer, Guzma, or Gladion.
Strategies - I said this once, and I will say it again, DP had the best strategies in the series, because they didn't just take stuff from thin air as OS did and then adapted it into a crazy strategy that sounded more like something from a DND campaign led by a 9yo, but rather stuff that exists in the actual games, and then adapting it into the anime in a perfect manner that showcases just how entertaining the battling can be even if they stick to stuff from the games, like abilities being used as a flip-flop to the battles, mostly against Gym Leaders and Paul, terrain moves being used with a lot of frequency, and showing that relying solely on them for your strategy won't work, as evidenced by Paul vs Barry, and my favorite part, giving the secondary effect to the moves, such as Volt Tackle and Flare Blitz recoils, or the recharge that even Cynthia's Garchomp suffered when facing Paul, but that Sawyer's Sceptile, later on, seems to be immune to.
And there's the fact that they didn't solely take strategies from games and adapt them in that magnificent manner to the anime, but that they also took stuff from the anime itself, such as the "Dodge it!" thing, and turned it into something that actually needed a strategy to work properly when facing trainers in the bigger leagues, even if they were the literal first Gym Leader, as evidenced by Ash's crushing loss against Roark in the first battle, and then developing the likes of Counter Shield and Roll/Spin Dodges to counter different rivals, techniques that were so simple, but still so damn impressive in usage, that was a major thing for the anime from that point on, being used even by Paul in the league.
League Rivals and League - DP had the best league rivals by far, simply because they weren't COTDs thrown in it for the sake of giving Ash a battle, except for Tobias and the girl who had her mon pulverized by Snorlax, but were characters that were there from the very beginning of the series, with their own individual personalities and goals, alongside having a setup with Ash and his friends from the very beginning, showing nice chemistry to them. Like, it was just so fun to see how wild the differences between the battling styles of Nando, Conway, and Paul were, and how they progressively got more skilled as the league progressed, with even Conway, a character you wouldn't take seriously, almost managing to give Ash an L, or Nando, who you wouldn't take seriously from first look due to his focus on contests as well, proving that you can do both things, and still be an excellent trainer, this helped to show that the league wasn't power focused, but that every trainer in there was legitimately skilled as hell, and that not even Paul could lose to the likes of Conway if not careful with his strategies and thinking ahead.
Rivalries - DP had the best rivalries in the series, I don't think I need to go much deep into this, as Paul and Zoey were characters that served of massive improvement and development for Ash and Dawn, in not only the areas that they were constantly trying to improve on, that being battling and contests, but also in their own characters.
Infernape - Probably the best developed Pokémon Ash ever had, which similarly to Ash himself with his OS self, picked up on something that the writers originally did with Charizard, and upped it to 11 with characterization and story. It was just so heartwarming to see Ash hugging Chimchar and telling them that things would be alright from that point on, as everyone else cheered him, even after losing a battle. The writers really snapped when writing him, and you could see this through his progress as the series went on, going from someone with confidence issues, but that with love and proper respect from others, grew into one of Ash's most amazing battlers ever, and my personal favorite Pokémon in the anime, just like how a victim of abuse can surpass it with enough proper love and respect from people important to them. In some ways, Blaze felt more to me like Infernape's emotions and wounded spirit being released into battling power rather than a mindless power-up made with the purpose of giving him easier wins since they wouldn't need that at all for writing him, as Charizard didn't need it either, it felt like something unique and that made the character even more interesting to see whenever he was on-screen.
BW
Tourneys - The little tournaments from BW were so damn good, and I really wish they were used for series from that point on, because then not only did you have the opportunity to show how skilled Ash's rivals that he would be facing later on were, but thanks to Ash's reset, also show everyone in the same ballpark of skill and power, which is always a nice way to give even characters that appear in 8 episodes through the series at best, an unique personality and battling style that ends up being memorable in the long run. I was fully expecting the PWC from Journeys to be like this when I first heard of it, but on a bigger scale of course, sadly it ended up not being what I expected at all.
Iris - I fully agree with Sham when he says that Rosa or Hilda in BW wouldn't feel as good as Iris, with how unique she was compared to all the companions that came before, and even after her, being the first companion to be a true equal to Ash in battle, and would have looked even more impressive if he wasn't reset thanks to her having a setup that would make her almost equal to Ash and Paul with the 100 wins streak. She was a skilled trainer, a charismatic character, and an excellent and unique way to show more racial characters in both the anime and game, I really like Iris, and she's easily in my Top 5 favorite Pokégirls in the anime.
Moves Animations - This might sound really unpopular, but I loved BW's animations for the moves in the anime, Iron Tail for once was an actual Iron Tail instead of a generic glowy tail, which showed a high degree of effort when adapting the animes into the improved art style, and moves like Aerial Ace felt more realistic with what they're supposed to represent from their descriptions in the game, with Krokoodile actually flying and then striking his opponent with his arms like a bird, rather than once again using the generic glow thing and just striking like a martial artist.
Leavanny - Best bug boi.
XYZ
Art Style - This is a really popular opinion, and for good reason, XYZ simply had such an improved art style compared to the previous series, it's like they continued improving Ash and the other characters to showcase them as a more mature and better fit with the personalities they had. Not only did the characters look spectacular, but this helped the battles and Pokémon themselves significantly, with how smooth and swift they looked, with the likes of Charizard having a more hulking presence in comparison to earlier series, and Pikachu a more agile one, it just felt like the Pokémon could legitimately melee their way out of a situation with how it synergized with the battling animation so well.
OST - This should be factual at this point because the soundtracks in XYZ were absolutely godly, holy damn I wasn't expecting something on that level when I first came into watching it. When that guitar starts playing in Iku Z you know that stuff is about to get real, and seeing it while the battles with excellent choreography happened just felt surreal like I was watching a whole 140 episode special spin-off in terms of overall quality, seeing Ash-Greninja cut through Mega Sceptile's Frenzy Plants as Iku Z's guitar intensifies and the characters appear worried with Ash still gives me goosebumps.
Battles - XYZ easily had the best battles in the anime up to this point, even with the inferior strategies in comparison to DP, they still looked and felt absolutely magnificent in execution, almost like we were watching some kind of Pokémon Special like Origins or Evolutions rather than the main series. The Pokémon had fluid movements that used the 3D background in a way that allowed it to feel smooth as if every movement in there was made with a lot of thinking, and there weren't any wasted moves in the long run for what they were building up. The lack of spamming the same move also felt like a breath of fresh air, since here Ash would adopt a more diversified battling style by doing a crazy mix of moves and almost never repeating Thunderbolt a million times without reason.
Ash's Skill - Ash's skill simply hit the visual peak as of XYZ, even if we are lead to believe he's more skilled in SM or Journeys, because even though his strategies for the battles and that he would use throughout the series weren't as well-thought as those of DP, the sheer traits of what form Ash's unique battling style were simply much better than his through DP, XYZ Ash didn't play around, his improvising through battles was beyond champion-level, literally adapting strategies from thin air without even needing to have a clear reference or inspiration at moments, and getting out of situations that would have previous Ash versions taken a huge L, such as when he adapted the Draco Meteor Climb with Iron Tail, or when he hit Pikachu with his own Electro Ball to snap him out of Sleep Powder and literally break the ice.
XYZ Ash feels like the absolute peak of what a skilled trainer that relies on improvising and creativity would feel like in the anime, alongside Pokéspe Red and other protagonists, which is pretty crazy when you consider he's basically on their level, given most other Ash versions either don't get close or would lose to the top dogs from it.
Alain and Sawyer - Even though I dislike the league loss, I still think that bringing Alain from the Mega Evolution Specials was a damn great decision for the anime since he was already a character with his own personality, development, and build-up tumbling across Ash, with his motivations already explored, and leaving the anime to further develop them into a better character, which was the first and only time the anime ever did this with a rival, to the point even Paul had questionable reasons towards his personality and training methods.
As for Sawyer, it was the first time the rival was the one catching up to the more experienced Ash, rather than the opposite, and it felt really relatable for Ash with how desperate you can feel sometimes with a hungry person who looks after you trying their best to catch up, and then the disappointment in yourself that you feel once they do catch up to you and even surpass, but that allows you to grow a better person and control your ego, finally doing what you do for legitimate love, and not for being a hero or superior figures that others should look up to, this is precisely what Ash learned with Sawyer, and it felt amazing to watch that young trainer battling on equal footing to Ash by the league match, proving just how efficient his battling style was.
Greninja - The Pokémon that to this day feels the most connected to Ash, thanks to it being an actual spiritual connection that they had from the very beginning and that grew up as they went on, rather than solely emotional. To me, Greninja felt like the perfect symbolism of how Ash advanced as a character through the eras up to XYZ, Greninja felt relatable in the way that he desperately wanted to prove his worth to everyone around him as a Froakie and feeling horrible when failing, but always picking up himself from the dust and going back stronger at the next opponent, like OS Ash. Frogadier was more calm and analytical, not being overdone by his failures as much as Froakie, but still wasn't quite there when it comes to being a proper refined being, still having quite a lot to learn before he could tap into his full potential, and even though he was undefeated, you still could see that didn't feel as complete as a battler as Greninja did, similarly do AG/DP Ash and XYZ Ash. And finally, Greninja, that like XYZ Ash, had that calm persona to him, capable of analyzing his opponents, and not being tricked by mind tricks mid-battle that would be used by opponents like Paul, becomes an improved version of himself in comparison to the past when it comes to battling, and even as a character, even though I prefer DP Ash over XYZ Ash, XYZ Ash feels more like a natural progression of what a character like Ash would undergo through the years, while my like for DP Ash has more to do with how he felt like the culmination of everything he went through OS and AG in personality, which XYZ would also feel when it comes to developing DP Ash, having long surpassed the mind tricks that would be used by his opponents before, but being kinda lost by the regression shown in BW to both his character and battling skill, had that regression not been there, I would probably have XYZ Ash as my favorite, and while it's a silly reasoning to blame one series' flaw upon another, the anime still works under connecting all of them, and as disconnected from the others as XYZ was, it still applies.
There's a nice parallel that I see with Infernape and Greninja, and it's shown in Journeys in their battles against Moltres and Lucario, with Infernape being the type to charge head-on into a battle, be damaged like hell, and then still manage to get a W by the end of it, reflecting onto Ash's OS-DP personality almost perfectly, with how careless he was when it came to thinking ahead of the superficial, and having to improvise on the heat of the moment to truly win, while Greninja feels more like XYZ Ash with how he will do his best to avoid damage and then analyze the opponent enough to counter them with a barrage of moves that will eventually finish them off, not in one-go, but slowly and progressively. This is further reflected in Blaze and Battle Bond, with the one you need to get too low stamina to have activated, while the other you need concentration and a calm mind to have on its peak performance, actually being a downgrade if you are in an unstable state.
SM
Animation - While SM had a visual downgrade in terms of art style when compared to the previous series, it easily had the best animation in the anime to date, everything just felt so fluid in it, and if XYZ felt like Origins, this at its peak felt like damn Twilight Wings, with the battle against Kukui being the major proof of this, and the Z-Move clash against Thunderbolt easily being the best-animated scene in the anime, being matched only by the JN opening against Leon, which I still question will have that animation quality when it comes to the actual thing. The best part about the SM animation quality though was just how much expression and quality it gave to the characters, which admittedly originated from the art style primarily, but is further improved by the animation quality is so superb.
Pokémon Personalities - This is what I was referring to when I said that OS wasn't the best series at portraying their personalities, even if it was at originating them on such a major scale. Every single Pokémon in this, even the ones with barely any screentime, felt unique and very charismatic, which is something that I think XYZ sins on by not having their personalities be as focused as SM, such as Talonflame feeling more like Staraptor 2.0 than its own individual character by the ending of XYZ, while SM had even pre-established mons like Pikachu and Bulbasaur showcase even bigger traits of their personalities with simple activities that would feel simple to watch otherwise, but that it had done in such a masterful way that felt truly unique to see.
Guzma - Anime Guzma is easily in my top 5 characters in not only the anime, but also the franchise, like seriously, this dude hit me on such a personal level with his backstory and how he evolved to develop around his flaws, the people he gathered with his charisma and will to be the very best, this whole character felt like what could have happened to Ash after losing so many times in important battles of his life, and if not for his friends, which served as a way to show just how unique both Ash and Guzma are, Ash having that unbeatable resilience of his in becoming the very best, acknowledging his flaws, and having learned to learn with others, while Guzma initially avoids the flaws that he has to build up on, and prefers to live in an illusion of being the strongest, when he knows he's not, almost to the point you could see these characteristics of Guzma in early Ash. And oooh boy, was this dude skilled when it came to battling, he wasn't Elite Four-tier or anything like that in sheer power, but his skill? Give this dude a Mid Elite Four mon and he will be beating out Champion Level mons, he's that impressive, if you look deep into even his battle with Ash, you can see that he had a developed plan into beating Torracat with Golisopod, switching out into Scizor when facing Pikachu, and then having the advantage on Ash even if Scizor were to faint, but guess what lead him to his defeat? A flaw he refused to acknowledge, on both him and his Pokémon.
Characters - SM has my favorite characters in the anime easily, they were all just so charismatic, and seeing Ash giving them the inspiration they needed to run after their dream, and even helping the timidest ones of them like Lillie and Sophocles felt particularly heartwarming for something that our main dude has been doing for 20 years, because this time you could see the glow of desperately wanting to go in their own adventures and grow up into a more formed person like Ash himself, this time he wasn't the one being taught, but rather the one thinking, and that's why SM was so necessary for the anime, it felt like that one time where everyone looks up to you, but not in the way of seeing you as some kind of hero like XYZ, since turning into a hero is as hard as it's easy to be forgotten by the people who looked up to you as being one, but rather seen as some kind of legitimately kind-hearted person and best friend who was there to help them whenever they needed, this is reflected into the Your Adventure opening, which has the lyrics perfectly describing this very feeling and thing happening, with the singer presumably representing Ash's friends looking up to him and seeing him as an inspiration to keep looking forwards.
Kukui - Like Guzma, I prefer Anime Kukui over his game version a million times more, because he felt like the closest thing Ash ever had to an actual father through the anime, teaching him lessons, being an inspiration for him to look forwards to, and surpassing, and being a goal that he has to reach, just like a father, overshadowing Ash even in a region where he's looked up to by a lot of people, just like a father would do with their child without even realizing, but still have the heart to try giving Ash the spotlight even in the Battle Royals, and not being a goal that was impossibly far for Ash to reach by that point, like Leon or Cynthia, but rather someone that truly felt like what an adult Ash would be like, not being represented by his already massive strength, but rather by his heart and charisma.
Incineroar - From a small Litten to a powerful Incineroar, this mon is the very reason why I started loving Incineroar and seeing it as a high-tier starter, not only does it go through development from being a rogue cat that is seemingly just a troublemaker, but has a deeper layer of character behind him, that is stealing for the well-being of his father figure, but he also becomes a glorious fighter of massive proportions that evolve in my favorite evolution moment in the anime, having beaten his major rival, and finally accepting that he's ready to go to the next step, being satisfied with his current self, and wishing to improve himself to the next levels. From the incredibly dark Stoutland backstory that showed Ash as yet another hero for his fire starters, I loved this Pokémon, and it's a shame that he didn't have as much screentime as Charizard, Infernape, or Greninja, but he still did amazing stuff whenever he did.
Journeys
Opening - Journeys V4 is my favorite opening to this day in the anime, to me, it perfectly captures everything that the Pokémon anime feels really about, with the adventure feeling of it, the childish nature that can still have incredibly mature moments of development for both the characters and viewers and the feeling of always being surprised by what they have on the table for Ash's next adventure, be it for the best or for worst. While the series itself didn't quite picture what I have described in the opening as well as the previous series, it still has that feeling underneath the layer of rushed moments that surround it so much.
Serena - No, I didn't forget about her in XYZ, it's just that her return in Journeys improved the character in so many ways, and made me like her much more than being a potential love interest for Ash. Here she was first like a grown-up character that knew very well what she was doing, and that wished to improve more and more, like Ash. It's really rare to see Journeys do something this great with a returning character other than Iris, but it blew up most other returns in the anime off of the water with this one, simply spectacular.
I have some other stuff in mind for Journeys, but I will wait for it to end before I continue and end up saying something that might disappoint me, let's hope for the best.
Iconicity - Easily the most iconic of the series with how many people grew up with it, I think even the younger public like me remembers getting at home after school and watching it, laughing and having fun with the battles and best moments, even with how silly some of them sound like in retrospective, it simply felt amazing, and moments like these will forever stay in the memories of every watcher, even the ones who have a deep hatred for the series as it is now.
Pokémon Characterization - Now, I'm not saying it's exactly the best at this when compared to the others series, but it did bring to the table in comparison to the rest of the franchise, and did it amazingly well. Up to that point, even with the Pokéspe manga, there wasn't a Pokémon as unique as Ash's Charizard, that needed so much development until the Pokémon was satisfied with the trainer, and that is the reason for 99% of Charizard's popularity.
Charizard - Charizard is quite possibly the most iconic Pokémon in the anime alongside Pikachu and Greninja, but rather than being iconic for being the mascot of the franchise, or for being a badass with a unique form never seen in hundreds of years, he's iconic for his development, how unique his backstory was for the time, and how he shaped the franchise in such a way that no other Pokémon, and even human character save for Ash, had ever done up to that point, growing from a timid Charmander, into an almighty proud Charizard that grew up to obey Ash and evolving in more ways than literally into one of his strongest and best members up to this day, even as a Charmander you could see just how much proving himself to others meant to him, and that aspects of Damian still lived in him, which turned into his arrogance as a Charizard, and later a sense of healthy pride that meant more like proper sportsmanship than being an arrogant character.
Comedy - OS was hilarious, and this is why I'm against a reboot of it, they would almost definitely remove most of what made it so iconic with its unique sense of humor for the time, and jokes that wouldn't pass with the current audience of children.
Misty and Brock - Quite possibly the weirdest yet best character adaptations that the anime writers could have done from the games, they straight-up turned generic gym leaders without much stuff to add on into some of the most remarkable and iconic characters in not only Pokémon but the anime industry in general. Even some of my family who can't difference a Pikachu from a Charizard would recognize the name Misty and Brock from when I used to be a kid and get so hyped by watching the anime, they're lovely characters that simply grew on from that point and peaked with their returns in SM, feeling fully complete.
AG
Innovation - It served as a pretty damn good way for Ash to go from the newbie that needed to be tutored by most experienced trainers and that was easily one-shot by the likes of Lorelei even with his Charizard, to a trainer tutoring a younger trainer in May, and even giving nice fights to the likes of Agatha, and her equals in the likes of Brandon.
Battle Frontier - Simply amazing. They managed to fix 90% of my problems with AG's base series in one go, this feels like that bug patcher or DLC that a game needs to feel more complete, and with Battle Frontier, it felt more than complete, it skyrocketed into one of my favorite series with how amazing it was. The battles felt great, the characters still had the stuff to learn and developed, and Pikachu learning Volt Tackle, arguably his most badass attack to this day, and then using it to beat so many opponents that it wouldn't otherwise thanks to lack of firepower, alongside Charizard's return, man this was just such a good time.
Pikachu - AG was the beginning of turning Pikachu into a proper powerhouse, having learned Iron Tail to counter opponents that he wouldn't do otherwise without the need of stuff like hitting ground-types with electric moves, and developing his strongest move to that point in Volt Tackle, which is still my favorite animated move in the anime with how badass it was every time it was used, Pikachu pulling Volt Tackle on an enemy felt like Goku pulling the Kaioken, and this was something that the character seriously needed, as up to that point he was peak generic in battling style and was growing up very bland. He didn't do much stuff in the league, sure, but that's alright since he did some of the best stuff he did to this very day in the Battle Frontier, and in terms of sheer development, this series simply peaked for Pikachu.
Reserves Usage - No doubt about this, the Battle Frontier was straight-up the best execution of reserves to this day in the series, even though some of them were done kinda dirty in retrospect, others still managed to leave an excellent impression, like Charizard, Snorlax, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, and Tauros drawing with Anabel's Metagross.
Setup - It also had the best setup for the following series. I mean, Ash and the entirety of the audience were thinking that he would kick Gary back to Oak's Laboratory with a Squirtle after beating Brandon, but then there he comes, showing that he not only developed as a researcher, but also as a trainer and character in general, coming back as a badass that has far surpassed being only a rival to Ash, beating him, and then being the main cause for Ash going to Sinnoh.
DP
Ash's Character - Out of all series, DP handled Ash's character the best by far, not only was he was believably mature for a 10yo with so much experience, but showed an improved version of his OS and AG character, being relatively more chill, but still having that troublemaker spirit that he showed up to that point, just in a way that was more enjoyable. He was also a billion times better as a trainer, being always up for a battle, and even when losing to the likes of Kenny, still showing that he didn't mind an L like that, since he was using the battle as a way to improve and test a new battling style, and not to prove himself to be some unbeatable trainer that can mess up anyone instantly. And he was even willing to learn from trainers that had a million times less experience than him, such as Dawn inspiring a lot of his strategies from watching her contests and training, as opposed to how often he would ignore May in AG.
You can even see this in his relationship with Paul, while OS and AG Ash would probably get in a fistfight with Paul, DP Ash got into a battle of beliefs with him, having his training method being truly challenged for the first time in his life, and when taking loss after loss, he had a believable breakdown that I could picture anyone having, even the most mature of people, when having the philosophy that you grew up with and raised for so long being questioned over and over again, and then almost being proven wrong by the number of defeats you take, but still he managed to come on top.
League Stakes - This might be more subjective in comparison to the others, but I always felt like Ash had bigger stakes when taking a loss in the league when compared to the other series, because not only would that mean that his philosophy would be basically proven wrong to him if he didn't even manage to get to Paul, but also with how clutched the battles were in the atmosphere, even if they mostly ended in similar results to those of other leagues. Alongside the very thought of picturing Ash losing to Nando or Conway, and how crushing that sounds for both the viewer and him in comparison to losing to Katie, Sawyer, Guzma, or Gladion.
Strategies - I said this once, and I will say it again, DP had the best strategies in the series, because they didn't just take stuff from thin air as OS did and then adapted it into a crazy strategy that sounded more like something from a DND campaign led by a 9yo, but rather stuff that exists in the actual games, and then adapting it into the anime in a perfect manner that showcases just how entertaining the battling can be even if they stick to stuff from the games, like abilities being used as a flip-flop to the battles, mostly against Gym Leaders and Paul, terrain moves being used with a lot of frequency, and showing that relying solely on them for your strategy won't work, as evidenced by Paul vs Barry, and my favorite part, giving the secondary effect to the moves, such as Volt Tackle and Flare Blitz recoils, or the recharge that even Cynthia's Garchomp suffered when facing Paul, but that Sawyer's Sceptile, later on, seems to be immune to.
And there's the fact that they didn't solely take strategies from games and adapt them in that magnificent manner to the anime, but that they also took stuff from the anime itself, such as the "Dodge it!" thing, and turned it into something that actually needed a strategy to work properly when facing trainers in the bigger leagues, even if they were the literal first Gym Leader, as evidenced by Ash's crushing loss against Roark in the first battle, and then developing the likes of Counter Shield and Roll/Spin Dodges to counter different rivals, techniques that were so simple, but still so damn impressive in usage, that was a major thing for the anime from that point on, being used even by Paul in the league.
League Rivals and League - DP had the best league rivals by far, simply because they weren't COTDs thrown in it for the sake of giving Ash a battle, except for Tobias and the girl who had her mon pulverized by Snorlax, but were characters that were there from the very beginning of the series, with their own individual personalities and goals, alongside having a setup with Ash and his friends from the very beginning, showing nice chemistry to them. Like, it was just so fun to see how wild the differences between the battling styles of Nando, Conway, and Paul were, and how they progressively got more skilled as the league progressed, with even Conway, a character you wouldn't take seriously, almost managing to give Ash an L, or Nando, who you wouldn't take seriously from first look due to his focus on contests as well, proving that you can do both things, and still be an excellent trainer, this helped to show that the league wasn't power focused, but that every trainer in there was legitimately skilled as hell, and that not even Paul could lose to the likes of Conway if not careful with his strategies and thinking ahead.
Rivalries - DP had the best rivalries in the series, I don't think I need to go much deep into this, as Paul and Zoey were characters that served of massive improvement and development for Ash and Dawn, in not only the areas that they were constantly trying to improve on, that being battling and contests, but also in their own characters.
Infernape - Probably the best developed Pokémon Ash ever had, which similarly to Ash himself with his OS self, picked up on something that the writers originally did with Charizard, and upped it to 11 with characterization and story. It was just so heartwarming to see Ash hugging Chimchar and telling them that things would be alright from that point on, as everyone else cheered him, even after losing a battle. The writers really snapped when writing him, and you could see this through his progress as the series went on, going from someone with confidence issues, but that with love and proper respect from others, grew into one of Ash's most amazing battlers ever, and my personal favorite Pokémon in the anime, just like how a victim of abuse can surpass it with enough proper love and respect from people important to them. In some ways, Blaze felt more to me like Infernape's emotions and wounded spirit being released into battling power rather than a mindless power-up made with the purpose of giving him easier wins since they wouldn't need that at all for writing him, as Charizard didn't need it either, it felt like something unique and that made the character even more interesting to see whenever he was on-screen.
BW
Tourneys - The little tournaments from BW were so damn good, and I really wish they were used for series from that point on, because then not only did you have the opportunity to show how skilled Ash's rivals that he would be facing later on were, but thanks to Ash's reset, also show everyone in the same ballpark of skill and power, which is always a nice way to give even characters that appear in 8 episodes through the series at best, an unique personality and battling style that ends up being memorable in the long run. I was fully expecting the PWC from Journeys to be like this when I first heard of it, but on a bigger scale of course, sadly it ended up not being what I expected at all.
Iris - I fully agree with Sham when he says that Rosa or Hilda in BW wouldn't feel as good as Iris, with how unique she was compared to all the companions that came before, and even after her, being the first companion to be a true equal to Ash in battle, and would have looked even more impressive if he wasn't reset thanks to her having a setup that would make her almost equal to Ash and Paul with the 100 wins streak. She was a skilled trainer, a charismatic character, and an excellent and unique way to show more racial characters in both the anime and game, I really like Iris, and she's easily in my Top 5 favorite Pokégirls in the anime.
Moves Animations - This might sound really unpopular, but I loved BW's animations for the moves in the anime, Iron Tail for once was an actual Iron Tail instead of a generic glowy tail, which showed a high degree of effort when adapting the animes into the improved art style, and moves like Aerial Ace felt more realistic with what they're supposed to represent from their descriptions in the game, with Krokoodile actually flying and then striking his opponent with his arms like a bird, rather than once again using the generic glow thing and just striking like a martial artist.
Leavanny - Best bug boi.
XYZ
Art Style - This is a really popular opinion, and for good reason, XYZ simply had such an improved art style compared to the previous series, it's like they continued improving Ash and the other characters to showcase them as a more mature and better fit with the personalities they had. Not only did the characters look spectacular, but this helped the battles and Pokémon themselves significantly, with how smooth and swift they looked, with the likes of Charizard having a more hulking presence in comparison to earlier series, and Pikachu a more agile one, it just felt like the Pokémon could legitimately melee their way out of a situation with how it synergized with the battling animation so well.
OST - This should be factual at this point because the soundtracks in XYZ were absolutely godly, holy damn I wasn't expecting something on that level when I first came into watching it. When that guitar starts playing in Iku Z you know that stuff is about to get real, and seeing it while the battles with excellent choreography happened just felt surreal like I was watching a whole 140 episode special spin-off in terms of overall quality, seeing Ash-Greninja cut through Mega Sceptile's Frenzy Plants as Iku Z's guitar intensifies and the characters appear worried with Ash still gives me goosebumps.
Battles - XYZ easily had the best battles in the anime up to this point, even with the inferior strategies in comparison to DP, they still looked and felt absolutely magnificent in execution, almost like we were watching some kind of Pokémon Special like Origins or Evolutions rather than the main series. The Pokémon had fluid movements that used the 3D background in a way that allowed it to feel smooth as if every movement in there was made with a lot of thinking, and there weren't any wasted moves in the long run for what they were building up. The lack of spamming the same move also felt like a breath of fresh air, since here Ash would adopt a more diversified battling style by doing a crazy mix of moves and almost never repeating Thunderbolt a million times without reason.
Ash's Skill - Ash's skill simply hit the visual peak as of XYZ, even if we are lead to believe he's more skilled in SM or Journeys, because even though his strategies for the battles and that he would use throughout the series weren't as well-thought as those of DP, the sheer traits of what form Ash's unique battling style were simply much better than his through DP, XYZ Ash didn't play around, his improvising through battles was beyond champion-level, literally adapting strategies from thin air without even needing to have a clear reference or inspiration at moments, and getting out of situations that would have previous Ash versions taken a huge L, such as when he adapted the Draco Meteor Climb with Iron Tail, or when he hit Pikachu with his own Electro Ball to snap him out of Sleep Powder and literally break the ice.
XYZ Ash feels like the absolute peak of what a skilled trainer that relies on improvising and creativity would feel like in the anime, alongside Pokéspe Red and other protagonists, which is pretty crazy when you consider he's basically on their level, given most other Ash versions either don't get close or would lose to the top dogs from it.
Alain and Sawyer - Even though I dislike the league loss, I still think that bringing Alain from the Mega Evolution Specials was a damn great decision for the anime since he was already a character with his own personality, development, and build-up tumbling across Ash, with his motivations already explored, and leaving the anime to further develop them into a better character, which was the first and only time the anime ever did this with a rival, to the point even Paul had questionable reasons towards his personality and training methods.
As for Sawyer, it was the first time the rival was the one catching up to the more experienced Ash, rather than the opposite, and it felt really relatable for Ash with how desperate you can feel sometimes with a hungry person who looks after you trying their best to catch up, and then the disappointment in yourself that you feel once they do catch up to you and even surpass, but that allows you to grow a better person and control your ego, finally doing what you do for legitimate love, and not for being a hero or superior figures that others should look up to, this is precisely what Ash learned with Sawyer, and it felt amazing to watch that young trainer battling on equal footing to Ash by the league match, proving just how efficient his battling style was.
Greninja - The Pokémon that to this day feels the most connected to Ash, thanks to it being an actual spiritual connection that they had from the very beginning and that grew up as they went on, rather than solely emotional. To me, Greninja felt like the perfect symbolism of how Ash advanced as a character through the eras up to XYZ, Greninja felt relatable in the way that he desperately wanted to prove his worth to everyone around him as a Froakie and feeling horrible when failing, but always picking up himself from the dust and going back stronger at the next opponent, like OS Ash. Frogadier was more calm and analytical, not being overdone by his failures as much as Froakie, but still wasn't quite there when it comes to being a proper refined being, still having quite a lot to learn before he could tap into his full potential, and even though he was undefeated, you still could see that didn't feel as complete as a battler as Greninja did, similarly do AG/DP Ash and XYZ Ash. And finally, Greninja, that like XYZ Ash, had that calm persona to him, capable of analyzing his opponents, and not being tricked by mind tricks mid-battle that would be used by opponents like Paul, becomes an improved version of himself in comparison to the past when it comes to battling, and even as a character, even though I prefer DP Ash over XYZ Ash, XYZ Ash feels more like a natural progression of what a character like Ash would undergo through the years, while my like for DP Ash has more to do with how he felt like the culmination of everything he went through OS and AG in personality, which XYZ would also feel when it comes to developing DP Ash, having long surpassed the mind tricks that would be used by his opponents before, but being kinda lost by the regression shown in BW to both his character and battling skill, had that regression not been there, I would probably have XYZ Ash as my favorite, and while it's a silly reasoning to blame one series' flaw upon another, the anime still works under connecting all of them, and as disconnected from the others as XYZ was, it still applies.
There's a nice parallel that I see with Infernape and Greninja, and it's shown in Journeys in their battles against Moltres and Lucario, with Infernape being the type to charge head-on into a battle, be damaged like hell, and then still manage to get a W by the end of it, reflecting onto Ash's OS-DP personality almost perfectly, with how careless he was when it came to thinking ahead of the superficial, and having to improvise on the heat of the moment to truly win, while Greninja feels more like XYZ Ash with how he will do his best to avoid damage and then analyze the opponent enough to counter them with a barrage of moves that will eventually finish them off, not in one-go, but slowly and progressively. This is further reflected in Blaze and Battle Bond, with the one you need to get too low stamina to have activated, while the other you need concentration and a calm mind to have on its peak performance, actually being a downgrade if you are in an unstable state.
SM
Animation - While SM had a visual downgrade in terms of art style when compared to the previous series, it easily had the best animation in the anime to date, everything just felt so fluid in it, and if XYZ felt like Origins, this at its peak felt like damn Twilight Wings, with the battle against Kukui being the major proof of this, and the Z-Move clash against Thunderbolt easily being the best-animated scene in the anime, being matched only by the JN opening against Leon, which I still question will have that animation quality when it comes to the actual thing. The best part about the SM animation quality though was just how much expression and quality it gave to the characters, which admittedly originated from the art style primarily, but is further improved by the animation quality is so superb.
Pokémon Personalities - This is what I was referring to when I said that OS wasn't the best series at portraying their personalities, even if it was at originating them on such a major scale. Every single Pokémon in this, even the ones with barely any screentime, felt unique and very charismatic, which is something that I think XYZ sins on by not having their personalities be as focused as SM, such as Talonflame feeling more like Staraptor 2.0 than its own individual character by the ending of XYZ, while SM had even pre-established mons like Pikachu and Bulbasaur showcase even bigger traits of their personalities with simple activities that would feel simple to watch otherwise, but that it had done in such a masterful way that felt truly unique to see.
Guzma - Anime Guzma is easily in my top 5 characters in not only the anime, but also the franchise, like seriously, this dude hit me on such a personal level with his backstory and how he evolved to develop around his flaws, the people he gathered with his charisma and will to be the very best, this whole character felt like what could have happened to Ash after losing so many times in important battles of his life, and if not for his friends, which served as a way to show just how unique both Ash and Guzma are, Ash having that unbeatable resilience of his in becoming the very best, acknowledging his flaws, and having learned to learn with others, while Guzma initially avoids the flaws that he has to build up on, and prefers to live in an illusion of being the strongest, when he knows he's not, almost to the point you could see these characteristics of Guzma in early Ash. And oooh boy, was this dude skilled when it came to battling, he wasn't Elite Four-tier or anything like that in sheer power, but his skill? Give this dude a Mid Elite Four mon and he will be beating out Champion Level mons, he's that impressive, if you look deep into even his battle with Ash, you can see that he had a developed plan into beating Torracat with Golisopod, switching out into Scizor when facing Pikachu, and then having the advantage on Ash even if Scizor were to faint, but guess what lead him to his defeat? A flaw he refused to acknowledge, on both him and his Pokémon.
Characters - SM has my favorite characters in the anime easily, they were all just so charismatic, and seeing Ash giving them the inspiration they needed to run after their dream, and even helping the timidest ones of them like Lillie and Sophocles felt particularly heartwarming for something that our main dude has been doing for 20 years, because this time you could see the glow of desperately wanting to go in their own adventures and grow up into a more formed person like Ash himself, this time he wasn't the one being taught, but rather the one thinking, and that's why SM was so necessary for the anime, it felt like that one time where everyone looks up to you, but not in the way of seeing you as some kind of hero like XYZ, since turning into a hero is as hard as it's easy to be forgotten by the people who looked up to you as being one, but rather seen as some kind of legitimately kind-hearted person and best friend who was there to help them whenever they needed, this is reflected into the Your Adventure opening, which has the lyrics perfectly describing this very feeling and thing happening, with the singer presumably representing Ash's friends looking up to him and seeing him as an inspiration to keep looking forwards.
Kukui - Like Guzma, I prefer Anime Kukui over his game version a million times more, because he felt like the closest thing Ash ever had to an actual father through the anime, teaching him lessons, being an inspiration for him to look forwards to, and surpassing, and being a goal that he has to reach, just like a father, overshadowing Ash even in a region where he's looked up to by a lot of people, just like a father would do with their child without even realizing, but still have the heart to try giving Ash the spotlight even in the Battle Royals, and not being a goal that was impossibly far for Ash to reach by that point, like Leon or Cynthia, but rather someone that truly felt like what an adult Ash would be like, not being represented by his already massive strength, but rather by his heart and charisma.
Incineroar - From a small Litten to a powerful Incineroar, this mon is the very reason why I started loving Incineroar and seeing it as a high-tier starter, not only does it go through development from being a rogue cat that is seemingly just a troublemaker, but has a deeper layer of character behind him, that is stealing for the well-being of his father figure, but he also becomes a glorious fighter of massive proportions that evolve in my favorite evolution moment in the anime, having beaten his major rival, and finally accepting that he's ready to go to the next step, being satisfied with his current self, and wishing to improve himself to the next levels. From the incredibly dark Stoutland backstory that showed Ash as yet another hero for his fire starters, I loved this Pokémon, and it's a shame that he didn't have as much screentime as Charizard, Infernape, or Greninja, but he still did amazing stuff whenever he did.
Journeys
Opening - Journeys V4 is my favorite opening to this day in the anime, to me, it perfectly captures everything that the Pokémon anime feels really about, with the adventure feeling of it, the childish nature that can still have incredibly mature moments of development for both the characters and viewers and the feeling of always being surprised by what they have on the table for Ash's next adventure, be it for the best or for worst. While the series itself didn't quite picture what I have described in the opening as well as the previous series, it still has that feeling underneath the layer of rushed moments that surround it so much.
Serena - No, I didn't forget about her in XYZ, it's just that her return in Journeys improved the character in so many ways, and made me like her much more than being a potential love interest for Ash. Here she was first like a grown-up character that knew very well what she was doing, and that wished to improve more and more, like Ash. It's really rare to see Journeys do something this great with a returning character other than Iris, but it blew up most other returns in the anime off of the water with this one, simply spectacular.
I have some other stuff in mind for Journeys, but I will wait for it to end before I continue and end up saying something that might disappoint me, let's hope for the best.
Last edited:
Bendicion
Water Master
A good episode, I enjoyed seeing the gang do something other than battling and actually help out, also seeing Misty in her nurse outfit was really nice
I think how you wrote things anyway was pretty on point, especially the SM cases which I pretty much all agree with.
Especially like your analysis of Guzma and how different aspects of Ash peaked from series to series. Also you have a fair point about DP's league, I feel like it and SM are the only ones that try something rather different in premise to ease the monotony of Ash losing over and over (and even then it's kinda moot for SM since he wins in that one).
I must also say for DP, while Team Rocket's formula was getting a bit stale in that one, I think that was the series that started to nail their extra depth, as in rather than just standard bungling villains, they were promising individuals that made the mistake of picking the one job they were no good at. I liked how many alternate trades they attempt in DP, and unlike AG, are actually successful in some of them, at least with some trial and error. They even start winning contests at last, allowing Jessie's performer arc to make a proper start. It's also weirdly the only series where Meowth was allowed to develop a talent as an actual Pokemon.
This element of course still appears in series after, but I feel like DP is the series that really put the best emphasis on it. Maybe it's why BW felt the need to drive them back to Giovanni in some extreme way.
Last edited:
DayQuil95
Well-Known Member
Thanks a lot, and yeah, I kinda forgot about Team Rocket when writing that, I might edit it, later on, to add Team Rocket as well to most series, alongside once Journeys is over.
Oh one more I might mention, while I think the Japanese edit has a nice selection of themes spread throughout the whole show, I think the OS has the best selection of English openings.
Seriously, the original English Pokemon theme sounds like a legitimate 80s rock anthem instead of some cheap kids show title.
Seriously, the original English Pokemon theme sounds like a legitimate 80s rock anthem instead of some cheap kids show title.
DayQuil95
Well-Known Member
They were beyond motivated when doing the first opening lmfao. And yeah, while Journeys V4 is my favorite individual opening, I'd say that my favorite pack of openings based on series has to belong to SM or OS.