Who misses the traveling aspect of the series?

[Zoruagible]

I miss it because every city, even the unimportant filler cities in games(Apart from you know, Black City/White Forest....) actually got episodes and pretty much everything about the region is covered.
There's so much cool stuff they could have focused on in Akala for instance, but no... they wanted to rush right back to boring Melemele and that stupid shitty school.

There's plenty of school anime out there, if you like that **** so much I suggest you go watch that.
It sucks how my two favorite regions have the worst anime seasons.

 

[paipr_christian]

I miss it. But more so i think I miss it seeming like Ash cared about battling. If they want to do a season where Ash travels but also stays in one place longer Id be ok with that.

That said I do quite enjoy the Sun Moon saga of the anime for the most part. I think the no traveling bit would be far better if they had opted to follow a different character than Ash, just cause it seems out of character for him to be so passive in a region as he is now.

 

[LilligantLewis]

With a non-traveing-storyline the writers can take more time to develop the new characters and also the history of the new location and also us viewers can learn a bit more of them. I would for example be never such a huge fan of Olivia, if they only did one or maybe two episodes with her. I got more time to learn about her. What her personality is, what her quirks are, what her role is in the story etc.

To me this is a bit contradictory because for you to say you like the non-traveling doesn't make sense because the only reason we got an Olivia arc was because they were traveling with her.. the non-traveling part is on Melemele and if it was strictly non-traveling there wouldn't even have been an Olivia arc, so really, it was an exception to the rule (one of the few times they're traveling) that let you meet Olivia.

 

[Kage-Pikachu]

I could deal with the school aspect but I really wish the main goal was to compete in the Island Trials instead of graduating.

 

[LilligantLewis]

I could deal with the school aspect but I really wish the main goal was to compete in the Island Trials instead of graduating.

Has it been said in-show that the goal is to graduate? I remember that being a rumor before the show even started, way back in 2016, but I honestly don't remember a time in show that Ash has mentioned his goal is to graduate.. and furthermore he is doing the Kahunas and trying to complete the Island Challenge, so even though he isn't as emphatic on what his goal is (in previous gens constantly talking about badges and the League) I would definitely say he cares more about the Island Challenge than about graduating.

 

[Akkipeddi]

Has it been said in-show that the goal is to graduate? I remember that being a rumor before the show even started, way back in 2016, but I honestly don't remember a time in show that Ash has mentioned his goal is to graduate.. and furthermore he is doing the Kahunas and trying to complete the Island Challenge, so even though he isn't as emphatic on what his goal is (in previous gens constantly talking about badges and the League) I would definitely say he cares more about the Island Challenge than about graduating.

It wasn't a rumor. Infact, when the SM anime was first shown in Corocoro in 2016, the main emphasis was on graduating from the school, and the slapstick nature of the series. Also, the fact that the series in almost it's entirety so far has Ash staying in one place in Melemele and attending school shows that graduating is definitely his goal.

Whether it's his primary goal we don't know since the anime has done a shoddy job explaining that part, but if he really was more serious about the Island Challenge, he would've probably quit the school, and left off on a journey to the 4 Islands. The fact that he needed to ask Gladion where he got the Rockium Z for him to attempt the Akala trial, and now almost 30 episodes later to Ula'ula makes the Island Challenge feel secondary in favour of the school.

 

[pacman000]

So Ash isn't traveling around the newest region, searching for Pokemon & defeating Gym leaders? Reading that breaks my heart. It's like the Lone Ranger stopping in Dodge & becoming marshal for an extended length of time; it might be a good series, but it's no longer the Lone Ranger; it's Gunsmoke.

I can't really miss the traveling aspect; I haven't seen a new episode of the TV show in nearly two decades, but this still hurts somehow...

I'm just a guy who takes change hard.

 

[DatsRight]

People talk like Ash has retired from battling. He's still aiming to win the Island Challenge and further his goal, just he's got a different approach to it this time. This is the first region that doesn't have a standard gym league (yet) and the purpose of the school is for him to learn new input and directions for his goals. He still wants to be a Pokemon Master, just he's looking at other qualifications this time.

The whole Sun and Moon series seems to be about trying a different approach, breaking some moulds and seeing how they work out, much like the games they are based on really. It's hit and miss but I wouldn't count Ash's goal as dissolved into nothing now.

 

[Kage-Pikachu]

I wouldn't mind the school aspect as much if it was a spin off with other characters. Kind of like a School Life with Pokemon show or something instead of focusing on it in the main series.

 

[Pokegirl Fan~]

I still don't miss it because it was boring most of the time IMO

 

[LilligantLewis]

It wasn't a rumor. Infact, when the SM anime was first shown in Corocoro in 2016, the main emphasis was on graduating from the school, and the slapstick nature of the series. Also, the fact that the series in almost it's entirety so far has Ash staying in one place in Melemele and attending school shows that graduating is definitely his goal.

Whether it's his primary goal we don't know since the anime has done a shoddy job explaining that part, but if he really was more serious about the Island Challenge, he would've probably quit the school, and left off on a journey to the 4 Islands. The fact that he needed to ask Gladion where he got the Rockium Z for him to attempt the Akala trial, and now almost 30 episodes later to Ula'ula makes the Island Challenge feel secondary in favour of the school.

I agree that it feels that way to a degree given the large gaps, but maybe that's just because the writers haven't yet figured out how to stretch a quest that only requires 4 things to be completed, vs. the 8 Gyms of the past, and that stretching for time is causing all the filler? That may be more of a reason than the idea that graduating is the goal.

Remember, the last time a quest only needed 4 things to be completed, the Orange Islands only lasted 34 episodes. And the Orange Islands even had way more islands than just the 4 Gym islands. Stretching only 4 islands to multiple years like this is probably the reason for all the filler -- not because they are trying to make it seem like the goal is graduation.

 

[DatsRight]

People are also forgetting that there was still ENORMOUS gaps between gym badges at the time. Sure Ash was often making his way there, but he certainly wasn't in any rush a lot of the time, he was still exploring and easily diverted by whatever cool Pokemon or event he met along the way.

 

[Bguy7]

I very much miss it myself. I have several gripes with Sun and Moon, but the lack of traveling is one the biggest. When traveling, one episode can take place at the ocean, the next in some haunted woods, and the next in a cave without any excuses or justification. Stuck in one place, they have to come up with excuses for whatever they do. The worst side-effect of the Ash being stuck in one place is the effect it has had on his Island Trial. Think about the Akala Island arc, and how Ash did only one trial, and then his Grand Trial in the next episode, instead of spreading the three trials he should have done across two dozen or so episodes. They had to do this because Ash had to get everything done while on Akala, or else he would have to keep coming back. This completely destroys the pacing of the series. Now instead of having a gym battle (or rather, Trial) to look forward to every 10-15 episodes, we get nothing for 20-30 or more episodes at a time. It's just bad. Plus, there's the fact that Pokémon is a franchise with travel and adventure at it's core. It just doesn't seem right to be cooped up in one place.

I agree that it feels that way to a degree given the large gaps, but maybe that's just because the writers haven't yet figured out how to stretch a quest that only requires 4 things to be completed, vs. the 8 Gyms of the past, and that stretching for time is causing all the filler? That may be more of a reason than the idea that graduating is the goal.

Remember, the last time a quest only needed 4 things to be completed, the Orange Islands only lasted 34 episodes. And the Orange Islands even had way more islands than just the 4 Gym islands. Stretching only 4 islands to multiple years like this is probably the reason for all the filler -- not because they are trying to make it seem like the goal is graduation.

But the Island Trials don't requires only four things, they require the 7/8 trials, and then the four Grand Trials. So that's actually 12 things they require. The pacing could have been better than a series with eight gyms if they did things right.

 

[DatsRight]

I very much miss it myself. I have several gripes with Sun and Moon, but the lack of traveling is one the biggest. When traveling, one episode can take place at the ocean, the next in some haunted woods, and the next in a cave without any excuses or justification. Stuck in one place, they have to come up with excuses for whatever they do. The worst side-effect of the Ash being stuck in one place is the effect it has had on his Island Trial. Think about the Akala Island arc, and how Ash did only one trial, and then his Grand Trial in the next episode, instead of spreading the three trials he should have done across two dozen or so episodes. They had to do this because Ash had to get everything done while on Akala, or else he would have to keep coming back. This completely destroys the pacing of the series. Now instead of having a gym battle (or rather, Trial) to look forward to every 10-15 episodes, we get nothing for 20-30 or more episodes at a time. It's just bad. Plus, there's the fact that Pokémon is a franchise with travel and adventure at it's core. It just doesn't seem right to be cooped up in one place.

I think that's part of the problem. A lot of episodes in previous series relied on the twerps just walking into some interesting scenario, a different backdrop or character of the day that only gets an episode's worth of development. While it's fun at times, doing it non-stop distracted from the twerps themselves. Previous threads have already talked about the lack of character agency in the anime, and while SM still isn't perfect in that regard, the standstill format does mean they try to make things more driven by Ash and the other protagonists, not stuff happening around them.

A compromise would probably be the best choice, having Ash travelling throughout a region but setting up camp in one area for an arc's length, potentially having many guest companions and character arcs and more time for Ash to slow down and immerse without dragging the plot down too much. Sort of the equivalent of Ash sticking in Melemele for most of one season, then Akala for another, then Ula Ula, then Poni Island and the league finishing things off.

 

[Bguy7]

I think that's part of the problem. A lot of episodes in previous series relied on the twerps just walking into some interesting scenario, a different backdrop or character of the day that only gets an episode's worth of development. While it's fun at times, doing it non-stop distracted from the twerps themselves. Previous threads have already talked about the lack of character agency in the anime, and while SM still isn't perfect in that regard, the standstill format does mean they try to make things more driven by Ash and the other protagonists, not stuff happening around them.

I don't know. I certainly never had that problem, but I guess I can kind of understand. Still, I personally don't feel the trade-off was worth it.

 

[Vulpicks]

It's a neat change of pace, but honestly, the traveling is a core part of the games, so neglecting that does hurt the series from a game adaption standpoint.

But I mean, staying in one place far from home for an extended amount of time is still sort of traveling I guess.

 

[LilligantLewis]

People are also forgetting that there was still ENORMOUS gaps between gym badges at the time. Sure Ash was often making his way there, but he certainly wasn't in any rush a lot of the time, he was still exploring and easily diverted by whatever cool Pokemon or event he met along the way.

exactly!

26 episodes between Fuchsia and Cinnabar
27 episodes between Ecruteak and Cianwood
52 episodes between Snowpoint and Sunyshore
27 episodes between Castelia and Nimbasa
27 episodes between Anistar and Snowbelle

so far SM: 26 episodes between Hala and Olivia

so to be honest, this is nbd compared to the past: only Hoenn was paced well with approximately even pacing for the 8 badges across the first 111 episodes of AG

But the Island Trials don't requires only four things, they require the 7/8 trials, and then the four Grand Trials. So that's actually 12 things they require. The pacing could have been better than a series with eight gyms if they did things right.

Well, I'm talking about how the show does it, not the games, so it is only 4, and even counting the trials Ash does do, like the Totem Gumshoos or the Totem Lurantis, those can't be counted as separate things the way gym battles were in the past: they've both happened in back-to-back episodes with the Grand Trials, so it's not like you can "pace" them with a large gym gap between the trial and the Grand Trial. In terms of pacing they should be counted as one thing together because there will be no episode between the trial and the Grand Trial.

 

[Bguy7]

Well, I'm talking about how the show does it, not the games, so it is only 4, and even counting the trials Ash does do, like the Totem Gumshoos or the Totem Lurantis, those can't be counted as separate things the way gym battles were in the past: they've both happened in back-to-back episodes with the Grand Trials, so it's not like you can "pace" them with a large gym gap between the trial and the Grand Trial. In terms of pacing they should be counted as one thing together because there will be no episode between the trial and the Grand Trial.

But that's where the lack of traveling rears its face again. If Ash were actually traveling, not only would there be a break between trials and grand Trials, but Ash would probably do all the trials, instead of skipping most of it. The only reason Ash skips trials, and does them in a row is because it would be awkward to have him go back and forth between Melee Melee and the other islands as he does each trial. So I stand by my claim that the series could be paced if he were traveling.

 

[DatsRight]

Something like an expansion of what SM is dabbling with right now would be interesting. Having Ash interchange between home bases and arc companions as he travels around the region. However maybe rather than going back and forth to one particular home base, he progresses through different ones more long term.

Something like if in SM Ash had stayed the first season in Melemele at the school, then Akala with Olivia in the second season, then Ula Ula in the library with Acerola in the third season, maybe with Lillie as his full time companion but doing her own thing at times like in the games.

 

[Bguy7]

Something like an expansion of what SM is dabbling with right now would be interesting. Having Ash interchange between home bases and arc companions as he travels around the region. However maybe rather than going back and forth to one particular home base, he progresses through different ones more long term.

Something like if in SM Ash had stayed the first season in Melemele at the school, then Akala with Olivia in the second season, then Ula Ula in the library with Acerola in the third season, maybe with Lillie as his full time companion but doing her own thing at times like in the games.

I do think that would have went down much better.