If you click on the arrow next your name where I quoted you, it actually takes you directly back to where it was quoted from. But for your convenience, I'll just tell you it was SM140.
PJ?
Do you know who janejane is?
Well the bigger problem was that the backstory itself was trash. Even people like you, who didn't care, might have liked the episode if they actually made a good backstory that showed things like why he was living on his own as a Pichu in the first place, why he doesn't like Poké Balls, and how he got caught by Oak. This wasn't really a backstory episode, it was a "let's show a random story" episode like Chronicles, except that we're supposed to believe that's Ash's Pikachu. Like let's be real, in terms of the plot of the episode itself, it was no different in entertainment value that those old Pichu Bros episodes. Those used to be funny, and I remember those used to be for my sister, some of her favorite episodes to rewatch, but they held no major plot value other than being a random adventure of the day for the Pichu. Not a "backstory". And that's what this felt like as well. And on top of everything else, it certainly wasn't helped by the fact that they tried to shove in Goh and Chloe backstory as well. 20 minutes just wasn't enough. And before you tell me 20 minutes is how long every episode is, consider this: Even if every official episode length is 20 minutes, each of the last 4 generations has started with a special of one hour or longer, and the knowledge by the writers that more than one episode is going to air on the premiere date allows them to reveal all the introductory info as a slow burn across 2 or 3 episodes.
Let's consider all the examples since they started doing these expanded premiere specials:
DP: 3 episodes aired together on September 28, 2006 (btw this was the same exact day the games came out)
A lot happens in these 3 episodes. We're introduced to Dawn. Episode 1 feels more like a Dawn episode than an Ash episode, with Ash only appearing at the end. These episodes also feature the first time that Ash and Pikachu have been separated for multiple episodes, they feature Ash's first catch with Pikachu not present, and finally, the climactic tie between Pikachu and Elekid that sets up the entire 191-episode arc. This is all great stuff, and I'm really glad they separated it out into 3 episodes, but note this: if TV Tokyo hadn't given them an hour-and-a-half timeslot that first night, would they have tried to shove all this into only 1 or 2 episodes? See how that could be a problem?
BW: 2 episodes aired together on September 23, 2010, less than a week after the games came out
I'm not a huge fan of the beginning of BW, so I don't have as much to say about these episodes, but I do think that once again, if TV Tokyo hadn't given them a full hour, they might have tried to shove more into episode 1. Not just the introduction of Trip but also the introduction of Iris. And if they had done this, once again, it would have seemed rushed, but shoving too much into 20 minutes.
XY: 2 episodes aired together on October 17, 2013 (and in the US on October 19, 2013!)
Without TV Tokyo once again giving Pokémon an hour, I think they might have tried to shove too much into 20 minutes, including Ash meeting Clemont and Bonnie, the separate Serena storyline, the Froakie storyline, the jumping off the tower and introduction of Blaziken Mask. There was a lot there, and especially with the clear 2-part storyline (episode 1 ends on a cliffhanger) I do think they were only able to do all this because of the hour timeslot.
SM: 2 episodes aired together on November 17, 2016 (BEFORE the games even came out!)
I actually don't have a problem with SM001 even if it had been a standalone premiere, but I think you guys get the point by now of how I think multiple episodes are needed for a premiere.
So now that brings us to PJ, where what does TV Tokyo do after all these generations of extended timeslots? Only a 30 min timeslot, which sank this episode. If it had been a one-hour premiere, I think the Goh and Chloe backstory could have been a separate episode from the Pikachu backstory, which could have fleshed out BOTH of those much better. As it stands, it is a trash episode as you said, but I don't think it's only because some people didn't want to see Pikachu's backstory. I think it's because they didn't have enough time to flesh **** out in only a 20-min episode, and they rushed it by shoving in too much. I hope next generation, TV Tokyo goes back to giving an extended timeslot to Pokémon for the premiere. But, maybe it has to do with the whole Sunday instead of Thursday thing now, and maybe Pokémon's ****ed from ever getting that again.
Hm, I guess you really don't know who janejane is.
Yes, but remember, there's a mudkip meme. Memes outside the show can also cause starters to seem silly. Like the Smugleaf thing as well.
And not only that, but speaking of not using his team wisely, what the writers should have done was that Clemont should have been the 8th gym leader, **** the game order. Then, make it a full 6on6, and make his team Dedenne, Chespin, Bunnelby, Magneton, Heliolisk, and Luxray! As it stands, we still haven't had a gym leader use more than 3 Pokémon since Candice, not even the gym leader who came right after her, Volkner, who should have used Raichu.
This would have solved 2 problems: by having the 8th gym in Lumiose, they would have already been right there for the league. The stupid fast traveling that illogically happened at the end wouldn't have been needed. Also, Clemont's arc, which basically ended after the 5th gym, could have gone on for the whole series.
Speaking of Ash and Grass types in XY&Z, why the HELL didn't he catch that Phantump? He had an empty slot, he had no Grass type, which was a type that he had caught in every generation, AND Phantump's debut had been delayed so long for no reason. Usually when debuts are delayed, like Togekiss, it's because that Pokémon is going to get a lot of focus later, by getting caught. Considering that Phantump wasn't caught, I have no idea why it didn't just debut way earlier and appear throughout the generation as a background mon.
Well, SM did give the male companion the Pikaclone, something that had only previously been with chicks (Dawn, Iris, and Bonnie)
Yeah, they even remembered Buneary's in DP191
