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Why can Go catch legendary Pokemon but Ash can't?

SBaby

Dungeon Master
This doesn't hold up because the show has already given Ash one-of-a-kind transformations (Ash-Greninja/Bond Phenomenon), Ultra Beasts (Poipole), a box legendary to raise (Nebby that evolved into Solgaleo), and a mythical (Meltan/Melmetal). And the show has continued on...


So...basically a rehash of Movie 8?
First thing. Yes, but nothing he has gotten has had long term consequences. Also, Mythical Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon are considered to be two different groups (though I'd still call Mew a Legendary as well). So it's not like Ash went and caught Moltres or Ho-Oh. Also, Ash didn't keep Solgaleo. That was a temporary arrangement done for the arc. Also one-of-a-kind transformations do not mean Legendary Pokémon. It's just an anime thing for funsies, like with the human characters getting civilian powers on occasion. Goh getting Legendaries can't be justified with this.

Second, kind of, except there are consequences that can't be undone. Cities suffer heavy damage, and Goh has to live with his mistake.
 

masdog

What is the airspeed of an unladen Swellow?
Mythical Pokémon and Legendary Pokémon are considered to be two different groups
The distinction is only due to how players can obtain them in the games. Legendary Pokemon are obtained through normal gameplay, and Mythical Pokemon are distributed via events. Although there are some exceptions to how Mythical are obtained in newer games, with Deoxys being available in the Delta Episode in ORAS, Keldeo in Crown Tundra, Celebi in the 3DS virtual console edition of Crystal, and now Mew and Jirachi in BDSP.

There is nothing inherently different about Legendaries and Mythicals in-universe, either in terms of uniqueness, power level, or other. It is mainly a distinction between how they are obtained in the games.

but nothing he has gotten has had long term consequences
There are very few things in the anime that have had long term consequences since Ash is still canonically 10 and the show seems to forget about major events as soon as he moves to a new region. You seem to be ignoring that he caught a Meltan and evolved it into Melmetal that was never released. It helped him win the Manalo conference, and it showed up when Ash and Goh returned to Alola.

Also, Ash didn't keep Solgaleo. That was a temporary arrangement done for the arc.
True, he didn’t keep Solgaleo. But it shows that he has had had legendaries before, even temporarily.

Second, kind of, except there are consequences that can't be undone. Cities suffer heavy damage, and Goh has to live with his mistake.
So…you want Goh to have Alain’s story from the Team Flare Arc of XY?
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
The distinction is only due to how players can obtain them in the games. Legendary Pokemon are obtained through normal gameplay, and Mythical Pokemon are distributed via events. Although there are some exceptions to how Mythical are obtained in newer games, with Deoxys being available in the Delta Episode in ORAS, Keldeo in Crown Tundra, Celebi in the 3DS virtual console edition of Crystal, and now Mew and Jirachi in BDSP.

There is nothing inherently different about Legendaries and Mythicals in-universe, either in terms of uniqueness, power level, or other. It is mainly a distinction between how they are obtained in the games.
I'd say Legendaries are put on a slightly 'greater scope' tier in the anime compared to Mythicals. Mythicals tend to be humanised more, they can be rather powerful, but they're rarely as broken as Legendaries, where it's often considered a feat to make them flinch, let alone BEAT one in a fair fight. Sure there's some uniqueness decay going on, especially with older ones like the bird trio, but they're still kinda treated more as a force of nature not to be tampered with.

You see a lot of Legendaries in the anime and only a rare few have developed personalities, they have this mysterious vibe to them otherwise, like they represent something far greater than what the main universe represents, while a lot of the Mythicals are quirky down-to-earth Pokemon similar to the ones regularly caught.

I feel this might be a reason they haven't gone much into Suicune much, because it still has that mysterious aura about it that they rarely break, while Shaymin and Meltan were quirky fallible Pokemon since their introduction, so more easy to put in as a main character.
 

pardusco

"The oppression of Poké Balls."
I understand why people don't like that Goh caught Suicune, but it honestly doesn't seem too outlandish to me lorewise. Now if he a caught a legendary that was integral to the lore of the Pokemon world, like Dialga, Palkia, or Giratina, then I would really have an issue.

Suicune and the other two legendary beasts, as well as the legendary birds and the Regis are basically on the scale of normal Pokemon. Sure they are considered legendary, but that is mostly because of their rarity. Pokemon like the Sinnoh box-art legendaries or the Weather Trio are like "higher beings." Noland having an Articuno, Brandon owning the Regis, and Tobias having a Darkrai and Latios is impressive, but not world-ending.

I'll give Eternatus a pass, since being caught was necessary to end the Darkest Day.
 

SBaby

Dungeon Master
The distinction is only due to how players can obtain them in the games. Legendary Pokemon are obtained through normal gameplay, and Mythical Pokemon are distributed via events. Although there are some exceptions to how Mythical are obtained in newer games, with Deoxys being available in the Delta Episode in ORAS, Keldeo in Crown Tundra, Celebi in the 3DS virtual console edition of Crystal, and now Mew and Jirachi in BDSP.
Tell that to BDSP, where they're pretty much permanently available as long as you have a save from two other games (which are easily obtainable, thanks to the internet). Far from being an event, they're always there, and they don't have an expiration date. The only one that has an expiration date is Manaphy.

Also Mew aside, Legendaries tend to be portrayed as basically extinction-level events in the anime. Which is why it's a downright ridiculous notion that some random little kid is just going to be able to walk up to them and throw pokeballs at them. Especially when the anime has a tendency to take all of the lore and legends surrounding Pokémon and use them as plot points.

True, he didn’t keep Solgaleo. But it shows that he has had had legendaries before, even temporarily.
By that logic, he technically had a Lugia too. But unless you're going to tell me that Goh's Suicune is temporarily his, the topic point still stands.

So…you want Goh to have Alain’s story from the Team Flare Arc of XY?
I was thinking more Luke Fon Fabre from Tales of the Abyss.
 
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SBaby

Dungeon Master
Eww, keep Goh away from having any similarities with Luke fon Fabre.
I'm not saying they'll do it. I mean, if I gave the people in charge of the show the slightest amount of credit when it comes to the anime, I'd say it's possible. But I don't (I haven't since Tobias; they made it explicitly clear then that they don't even care about their own in-universe lore). No, this is just an idea for a storyline.

I'm just saying that giving him a similar arc would be a way that his character could be salvaged. And yes, it has to be big, and it has to hurt. That's the point. There have to be some major consequences that the cast (and the writers, for that matter) can't just shrug off in the next episode. That's how you make characters better. You force them outside of their own comfort zone, force the writers to write around it and show the consequence of peoples' actions and the fact that things don't always fix themselves in the end.

And honestly in Goh's case, they pretty much already have the perfect setup for starting it, given what his goal is. Have him succeed in his goal and catch Mew, but have everything fall apart as a result, because it turns out that the people that brought him on this 'Project Mew' excursion are evil. This sets the entire cast into crisis mode, as things are falling apart everywhere, and Goh has to return Mew to where he got it from to stop it, forcing him to question whether his goals and ideals are really the right way to do things.
 
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Almighty Zard

He has returned.
Have him succeed in his goal and catch Mew, but have everything fall apart as a result, because it turns out that the people that brought him on this 'Project Mew' excursion are evil. This sets the entire cast into crisis mode, as things are falling apart everywhere, and Goh has to return Mew to where he got it from to stop it, forcing him to question whether his goals and ideals are really the right way to do things.

I'm kind of having a hard time picturing the project mew team as evil, especially when you consider they go after poachers themselves, sure it'd be a plot twist but dang that would be one heck of a turn at the same time.
 

Poke Master 7

Boulder Trainer
True, he didn’t keep Solgaleo. But it shows that he has had had legendaries before, even temporarily.

No it doesn’t. It was only in his care, not his ownership. The entire thing with Nebby was just mimicking the story of SM where Nebby is cared for until it eventually evolves into the box legendary so they can after Lusamine. Only difference is they switched the role from Lillie to Ash. And if we’re gonna count that, then we’d have to count things like Larvitar, Melloetta, and Squishy. Caring for =/= ownership.
 

DatsRight

Well-Known Member
No it doesn’t. It was only in his care, not his ownership. The entire thing with Nebby was just mimicking the story of SM where Nebby is cared for until it eventually evolves into the box legendary so they can after Lusamine. Only difference is they switched the role from Lillie to Ash. And if we’re gonna count that, then we’d have to count things like Larvitar, Melloetta, and Squishy. Caring for =/= ownership.
I guess the difference is kind of obscured by the actual interactions between trainer and Pokemon. A trainer could only unofficially care for a Pokemon, but still raise them, utilise them and bond with them as much as one of their own. You could say Goh has done far less as a trainer with his official Suicune than previous protagonists have with their unofficial captures.

I guess this is the area fans have to wonder how much an official ball capture really means.
 

Mr.Munchlax

Great Ball Rank Trainer
This.
What's so special about Legendaries?
Partly because they have special lore & mythos in the pokemon world, partly because they're extremely difficult to catch in the games, & partly because they seem like unkillable gods in PVP
 

Zhydra

Master of Chaos!
Still to call it second hand poaching is entirely inaccurate, which was my original point. Clearly Suicune understood that eventually otherwise it never would have agreed to work with Go and become his Pokemon
And Gou did try releasing Suicune AFTER the conflict was done.

Suicune had different plans and the two came to a middle ground and in consequence, a certain catching squad started taking Gou a little seriously.
 
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