ZarudeSandstorm
Well-Known Member
I think they're both equally good.
To elaborate on this, BW came off DP, where Ash just refined his training style by fire and defeated two Legendaries...only to forget how to throw a pokeball.At the end of the day every series has its flaws but these two series were very jarring when they first premiered.
Yea they went with a different direction for Ash, a shift which is why many ppl still dislike SM to this day. Atleast they still had him remain competent even if he was the subject of slapstick humor in other thingsTo elaborate on this, BW came off DP, where Ash just refined his training style by fire and defeated two Legendaries...only to forget how to throw a pokeball.
SM, meanwhile, came from XY. XY was arguably the biggest "coming of age" story for all the main characters...and then SM put Ash in school with a father figure, which is jarring at best. Even if you love it, you gotta admit it's just weirdly placed to take Ash from the "adult" of the group to making him more of a child than he's ever been (not in actions so much as what they wanted him to be, hence the father figure and school).
SM grew on me in 2020Yea they went with a different direction for Ash, a shift which is why many ppl still dislike SM to this day. Atleast they still had him remain competent even if he was the subject of slapstick humor in other things
You see all the controversial series no matter whether they are good or bad are controversial if they are a massive tone change from a previous series, which SM and BW were, unlike other series, where XY and BW had great continuity thanks to BW finale, and PJ which feels like a spiritual successor to SM
Because people like coherent stories and since the end of the continuity era (OS-DP) the writing has been all over the place. And people also like consequences, which don't exist anymore. Ash helped save the world in XY (and was broadcasted) and nothing happened. Ash has won a league and nothing happened.
Meanwhile, he gets TOP 8 in Johto and freaking Max had seen the battles and knew him. Won the Battle Frontier and that storyline carried over the following series with his rival. The story flowed. Consequences existed.
Continuity is much more than referencing past events every once in a while. What kills consistency are things like Tracey suddenly disappearing from the map, ignoring most of Ash's old Pokémon for over a decade, Ash not using the counter shield tactic he developed during DP. Heck, Goh literally fought Flygon using a tactic Ash developed in XY and he didn't even know what was going on.SM was consistent with continuity and Ash's experience, meanwhile BW was consistent only with continuity and XY only with Ash's experience
Continuity is much more than referencing past events every once in a while. What kills consistency are things like Tracey suddenly disappearing from the map, ignoring most of Ash's old Pokémon for over a decade, Ash not using the counter shield tactic he developed during DP. Heck, Goh literally fought Flygon using a tactic Ash developed in XY and he didn't even know what was going on.
And don't even get me started with Team Rocket being perfectly fine to keep their Pokémon from OS to DP to suddenly having to give them away. Or how the gacha machine is something that not only kills the TRio's characters but is also completely stupid in-universe, since that's not the kind of weapon Giovanni would ever create. Completely out of character stuff.
Well, if you want to count the openings, Charizard battled Reshiram and Ash caught Grubbin. And about that reference, as I said, references aren't everything. It's staying in character.Tracey appeared during BW's last opening and Brock used counter shield during SM.