I don't think Serena was a last minute addition to X&Y's cast given that she had the most development out of the Kalos companions from the start. If anyone was a last minute addition, I'd say it might've been Bonnie who never developed and was around for cute moments only.
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Why did the writers gave Serena so little focus compared to May and Dawn?
- Thread starter Jeal
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I don't think Serena was a last minute addition to X&Y's cast given that she had the most development out of the Kalos companions from the start. If anyone was a last minute addition, I'd say it might've been Bonnie who never developed and was around for cute moments only.
Pikachu979
Sinnoh Champion
I wouldn't say she was a last minute addition but her goal feels like a last minute addition.
AshxSatoshi
Ice Aurelia
I don't think she had anymore development than Bonnie and Clemont honestly. Take away her goal (which was poorly handled anyway) and what was her development? Manning up and kissing Ash? I would not say she was a last minute addition but it's clear from the beginning they had no idea what they were doing with her. Even at the end of the series she just moved on to something else (contest) probably because the writers realize how horrible showcases were
satopi
Life doesn’t end, …it changes.
Bonnie has been shown to be mature and understanding of adult themes in some episodes like in the Flabebe episode where that old lady died, mentioning her older brother was into Ekans bondage, saying goodbye to that Tyrunt, and of course, Puni chan. Sure she didn't develop but she stuck to her beliefs and was shown to be more than just an energetic little girl who likes cute things. She was capable of holding her own and shined in moments where she was separated from the group. Her involvement in the Team Flare arc however felt last minute but I liked how it was executed. She stole some of the focus and didn't need/want anyone saving her.
SinnohEevee
Well-Known Member
I always felt that Showcases were a rip-off of Contents.
Rettan-Smogon
Banned
I actually can't even really tell the difference between those two.
AshxSatoshi
Ice Aurelia
Showcases doesn't involve battling and you might need to complete certain task to make it to the appeal round. Also instead of judges people vote in the audience and tv viewers can vote.
Not to mention there can be multiple Top Coordinators but there can only be one Kalos Queen at a time.
And Contest=5 Ribbons for the Grand Festival
Shaowcases= 3 Princess keys to get into Master Class
They really tried to make Showcases their own magical thing but in reality they were a flop version of contest which Serena ended up doing anyway
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By the end of XYZ Serena had tried several activities and even came close to winning Master Class, not to mention that she improved alot as a trainer and also learned to focus on her Pokemon and not just on her crush on Ash. Compared to Clemont and Bonnie who didn't change much from the beginning of Kalos until the end, Serena's development was miles ahead of theirs.
Wednesdayz
Meowth fanatic
Idk why Serena's achievements are always discredited around here. Like, we can complain about how pageant-esque Showcases were, but I laugh whenever I see people say that Serena's goal was bad or pointless when she literally came in second place in Master Class and would have won if the plot hadn't shilled Aria.
Nerdy McNerdface
Hmph
We're not saying it's not an impressive feat. I'd just say that it wasn't earned imo. I mean, where was the development in her rising through the ranks? She could've started off with her first performance landing in second-to-last or something, and then slowly ascending through the series, but instead there was no real struggle except when her performance was physically sabotaged. It just didn't feel that easy to connect to her in those moments, at least for me.
Pokegirl Fan~
Liko>>>>>Ash
Yeah at least she was doing something; it was just that the writing for them was pretty bad imo, but I'd take her doing them over standing around in the background and fawning over Ash. I do wish she had a battling goal like being a sky battler or something though.
And yeah I feel like Clemont was handled worse than Serena since he pretty much stopped getting focus right after his gym battle with Ash.
LilligantLewis
Bonnie stan
I just rewatched XY91: A Performance Pop Quiz! just now this morning as it just reaired on Disney XD. This episode epitomizes the things wrong with the writing of showcases:
-Serena's performance was the only one shown in full, and for two of the characters, not a single bit of their performances was shown, not even still images.
-During almost all of Shauna's performance, we're instead looking at a still image of Serena's face.
-During almost all of Jessie's performance, we're searching for Eevee (total waste of time and should not have been a part of this episode imo - served 0 purpose either in this ep or future development)
-The other two girls' performances weren't shown at all
To me, over time I began to dread these freestyle rounds because they were so poorly handled. I liked the theme rounds better because they were unique, different each time, and this one was actually the most interesting of them all to me.
I just wish they had shown more. If they were so obsessed with showing only Serena's performance properly, the time-killer didn't have to be Eevee. It could have been showing MORE of the theme performance:
During Ash's battles, they're always obsessed with unrealistically both sides coming down to one Pokémon. Why not make all 3 girls come down to one question each? There could have been more questions asked, more drama with right and wrong answers, and this would have been easy to write too, since it's just questions, and they could have probably also taught young viewers more stuff about Pokémon that they don't know. Serena's round definitely should have lasted at least 7 questions, with all three girls getting 2 right each before Serena got the 3rd. It would have added more drama too.
They should have also explained what Shauna and her competitors' Pokémon were doing in the theme round. Was the goal to fill up the basket? Was the goal to get one of each berry? Was the goal just to get the right answer? I feel like Ivysaur could have just put a Pecha Berry and nothing else in the basket lol
So the last two paragraphs are my examples of how they could have killed time (in a more interesting way than Eevee) if they REALLY wanted to only show Serena's performance and nobody else's.
I know I just rambled on and on about one episode in a non-episode thread.
I just watched this episode and was reminded of this thread because I think all the stuff I just said is a great example of how the goal itself wasn't the problem but how Serena's goal was written
-Serena's performance was the only one shown in full, and for two of the characters, not a single bit of their performances was shown, not even still images.
-During almost all of Shauna's performance, we're instead looking at a still image of Serena's face.
-During almost all of Jessie's performance, we're searching for Eevee (total waste of time and should not have been a part of this episode imo - served 0 purpose either in this ep or future development)
-The other two girls' performances weren't shown at all
To me, over time I began to dread these freestyle rounds because they were so poorly handled. I liked the theme rounds better because they were unique, different each time, and this one was actually the most interesting of them all to me.
I just wish they had shown more. If they were so obsessed with showing only Serena's performance properly, the time-killer didn't have to be Eevee. It could have been showing MORE of the theme performance:
During Ash's battles, they're always obsessed with unrealistically both sides coming down to one Pokémon. Why not make all 3 girls come down to one question each? There could have been more questions asked, more drama with right and wrong answers, and this would have been easy to write too, since it's just questions, and they could have probably also taught young viewers more stuff about Pokémon that they don't know. Serena's round definitely should have lasted at least 7 questions, with all three girls getting 2 right each before Serena got the 3rd. It would have added more drama too.
They should have also explained what Shauna and her competitors' Pokémon were doing in the theme round. Was the goal to fill up the basket? Was the goal to get one of each berry? Was the goal just to get the right answer? I feel like Ivysaur could have just put a Pecha Berry and nothing else in the basket lol
So the last two paragraphs are my examples of how they could have killed time (in a more interesting way than Eevee) if they REALLY wanted to only show Serena's performance and nobody else's.
I know I just rambled on and on about one episode in a non-episode thread.
I just watched this episode and was reminded of this thread because I think all the stuff I just said is a great example of how the goal itself wasn't the problem but how Serena's goal was written
Captain Jigglypuff
*On Vacation. Go Away!*
I think the writers forgot all about Serena and started to panic and just randomly came up with goals for her and hoped no one would notice that Serena virtually had no real reason to even travel with Ash.
To tell you the truth, even with Clemont's minimal activity and star focus, I thought he had more substance on his skills than Serena. We got insight on his talent, namely making technology (sure it was often deus ex machina gadgets but still) and he was just a lot more cerebral than Serena was. When he did something it felt like it owed to his strengths rather than Serena where it often felt like she achieved something because the story says so. Even against more simplistic stuff like Team Rocket/Flare/insert villain or antagonistic Pokemon, we saw more times Clemont got a challenge and won through intellect and resilience, sometimes not even through battling but outsmarting them or using his tech know how, which nulls out Serena's excuse.
Hell even in terms of weaknesses Clemont felt more developed because they didn't overprotect his lot with plot armour. When he was outclassed, he took a damn beating and lost, which made him way more fallible.
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Nerdy McNerdface
Hmph
I remember watching the TF arc for the first time. I didn't really feel any tension with Serena, but I almost cried with Clemont. Bear in mind that beyond the Mega OVA, at this point in time I had not watched any of XY or XYZ. For a character who was needlessly sidelined for the crush of the love interest, I physically cared for him more. And I still do, quite frankly.
LilligantLewis
Bonnie stan
XY&Z episodes 41, 44, and 46 were great Clemont episodes during and after Flare climax. Serena did nothing during Flare climax except be looked up to by Mairin for no reason
Clemont felt more of a character because, even as a side character, he could make himself stand out just by his standard personality, while Serena needed the story to shill her to seem important or remarkable in any way.
Clemont also felt more realised as a flawed character, while Serena was perhaps the first instance of a Pokegirl where it felt like the writers were going 'Ooh, well she's the cute girl, we can't have too many mean butt monkey things happen with her', which castrated how far they could take her in fallibility and adversity. Sure she blushes and gets embarrassed around Ash but that's about as far as they'll take it.
Clemont also felt more realised as a flawed character, while Serena was perhaps the first instance of a Pokegirl where it felt like the writers were going 'Ooh, well she's the cute girl, we can't have too many mean butt monkey things happen with her', which castrated how far they could take her in fallibility and adversity. Sure she blushes and gets embarrassed around Ash but that's about as far as they'll take it.
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SinnohEevee
Well-Known Member
Serena was more eye candy and shipping fodder.
AshxSatoshi
Ice Aurelia
Let me just use another character DONE correctly to explain why some didn't like the way Serena was handled
Dawn started off her journey confident thinking she'd win every contest she'd enter but was soon hit in the face with two losses in the first round. After going through a depression arc, she gained her confidence back winning against May in the Wallace cup, only to go through another ordeal in having to get her mamoswine to obey her. Not to mention we got episodes of Dawn practicing for her appeal arounds. She actually earned her spot in the final round against Zoey after all she's been through.
Now compare this to Serena just randomly entering Showcases and magically being good in all almost every one (not counting her loses because she literally lost by her pokemon tripping and falling never actually being outclassed by her "rivals"). We barely got any training episodes with her focusing on practicing for the appeal rounds of showcases (Yeah we got episodes like Eevee practicing her dancing and getting over her shyness) but even situations like that was handled pretty early. And finally her "rivals" barely beat her in their whole run on the show and , minus Shauna but that was really Serena's Pokemon tripping if anything. What reason do we have to believe Serena deserved to make it to the master class and challenge Aria? Besides the writers literally making Showcases so Serena could never lose in them?
AshxSatoshi
Ice Aurelia
I don't remember her trying any other activities outside of Showcases (besides racing) but then again I could of missed episodes of XY. Also just because Bonnie and Clemont kept some of their same personality traits at the end of the series doesn't mean development didn't occur. I enjoyed Clemont trying new things and getting over his fears of things (why I like Clemont and Ash friendship) traveling with Ash gave him confidence to tackle certain things he wouldn't do regularly. Also I loved his backstory episodes like when he met bunnleby . And maybe I am minority but I loved Bonnie's role in XYZ and she was way better than Max considering all he got was a jirachi movie and contributed nothing the overall plot
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