Pokémon anime

The preview shows the battle is a 2 on 2. We see Dragonite vs. Dragonite, and Ash's Dracovish fighting Dragonite. The fact that they're hiding whatever Iris' second pokemon is, as well as no Axew shown on any of the advertisements or previews, really leads me to believe Haxorus is her final pokemon and she'll beat Ash with it.

I assume Ash will lose to Iris here, and then re-challenge her 6-8 eps later for a rematch like he did with Bea. If Ash beats Iris he'll move to Hyper Class, so she's his next milestone.

I kinda feel that haxorous is her first pokemon in the fight and will lose to ash's dragonite and then her dragonite will beat ash's dragonite before losing to dracovish. because based off the battle damage look it looks like ash's dragonite is hurt and iris's is fine and dracovish is shown attacking iris's while iris's dragonite looks hurt leading me to believe ash's dragonite will win the first round, will fall to iris's dragonite in the 2nd and dracovish will finish off iris's dragonite with an ice fang.

Ash's official record vs Iris at this point matches his official record against Misty at this point, save for the "No Contest" at the Cascade Gym for the latter: 1 win on each side with the girl winning the opener.^note Whirl Cup and the Mega vs Z exhibition for the latter, the Nimbasa Club Battle Finals and the Junior Cup Semis for the former.

I do have a slight problem with Iris suddenly being a Competitive Battler, since the last we saw her, she was trying to be a Dragon Master. Granted, the two goals are not mutually exclusive and we have had 2 regions since we last saw her, so she should have improved. I hope that we learn that the Nimbasa Club Battle is not the only feather in her cap/tiara.

Still, the writers are getting closer, but I still believe that only 2 people can fit as Ash's Myth Arc Rival. Then again, with how the trailer summary portrays Gary's reappearance, I doubt that he's getting back into Competitive, leaving Misty as the only logical Rival for a spot Kanto's Elite 4 should Ash pursue that goal.^note Koga would get there before those two.

Well, Gym Leaders are participating in the World Tournament and they often always prioritize on a specific Type.

Obviously Iris, being a Dragon-Type specialist and now apparent Unova Champion, would be interested in participating in the tournament.

It's the "apparent Unova Champion" part that I have a problem with. I mean, for the (unjustified) hate that Virgil got, and even considering that he went through Cameron and not Ash, I'd still say that the path to his title was harder than Ash's. I'll allow the Club Tourneys and the Dragon Quest to collectively count as a full Season, but that would mean that Iris would have gotten her 'chip on her effective second try, compared to Ash's seventh. ^note EDIT: Once again, Drake's Title and the fact that Ash didn't have any other trainers to face in Pummelo tells me that the Orange "League" is a proto-Battle Frontier.

Your point about Gym Leaders competing is valid, though. We could have a mild version of a Bede situation wherein Iris is interning under Drayden entroute to membership in Unova's Elite, which was actually the case in B1W1. This would be similar to Misty becoming the Cascade Gym Leader, her in-game station, after she left Ash.

(Also, Misty beating Ash establishing her as Gary's successor will be Ash's last battle this saga.)

Edited by DonaldthePotholer on Apr 24th 2021 at 7:09:34 AM

When did we last see Gary? I think it was Sinnoh, trying and failing to fight Hunter J. Poor guy's just up and vanished.

Placing bets on whether or not Asahi (the blue-haired one) will have Rapid Strike Urshifu since Tsurugi (the redheaded one) has Single Strike Urshifu.

You know, looking at how this series is bringing back not only old pokemon, but old characters to a far greater extent than any series before it, I kinda think the anime writers made a mistake with bringing back Brock and Misty during Alola.

They should have saved them for this series.

Also, it's a shame they can't bring back May (I believe her voice actress retired years ago).

Hell, this seems like it would have been the perfect time for the big all Ash's friends show up thing that I'm sure a lot of people have wanted, though it's likely getting every actor and actress together for such a thing is impossible (considering the thing I mentioned with May....which I'm not sure about I admit).

It's be quite the move if they could pull it off though.

x4

Ash has competed in seven Leagues and the Battle Frontier in less than a year (Even if this contradicts the math and Ash should logically be older than 10 by now.). Iris becoming champion in the time he spent in Alola and after is perfectly valid and in no way undermines him.

Think the issue being raised has less to do with timeframe and more along the lines of effort or build-up.

Iris becoming Champion offscreen does feel like it would undermine what Ash has been through, especially when considered how the anime usually presented both Champions or even the Elite Four. The only time that comes to mind of Ash being even close required one of his Pokemon busting out a Super Mode. Kukui is a question mark here, both Incineroar and Koko are both powerful in their own right I not sure how much he actually measures to the regional Champions.

I doubt she's champion. I think they just wanted to use the BW 2 design for the anime since it never was used.

I recall there was a special where she was also using it wasn't there?

Regarding old characters, Tracey is probably going to be absent/ignored again in the upcoming Oak's lab ep, so it feels like Tracey is definitely one of those characters the writers let be forgotten. Orange Islands is 22 years old now and since he's not from the games obviously most kids will have no idea who he is.

Besides that, I doubt Max will ever be shown again without May, unless Ash visits Petalburg and battles Norman for some reason, but I can't see them bothering. May's only chance of appearing against is her being recast with a new VA but they will probably just leave her be.

Serena is the other big issue, and it does feel like bringing her back will undermine her XY exit, so I can see her not appearing this series either.

I think we'll see everyone else though, I can see Cilan getting his own ep down the line. Bonnie/Clemont will definitely get an ep at some point, the Alola cast and Lillie will probably appear again, and Misty/Brock is probably inevitable at some point even if they overused them in SM. And of course Dawn has DP remake promotion going for her.

The question for the reappearances is "How?". Merely having a reappearance for reappearances' sake only works for the Classmates at this point, and the Captains have already had theirs. Brock & Misty shot that wad back in the last saga. And in Brock's case, with Olivia being the supposed Curtain Call to his Casanova Wannabe/Cake Eater gag, he gets the problem that Precita presumes that Serena has. Misty has an out, but that's dependent on whether Gary resumes his old role or not.

The Dr. Mohn quest is still outstanding, of course, so Lille & Gladion should reappear to have that resolved, even if it's relegated to a "Special" without Ash; I'm surprised that that hasn't been resolved yet.

Although Iris is shown as taking up competitive, I don't see Cilan doing so, nor do I see him partaking in sidequests in this generation, with 1 long-shot exception. I think that's it's more likely that he'll be referenced as the person who made/designed Iris' dress. And I think that that'll be the extent of his involvement. Conversely, I could see Tracey in a non-speaking role as one of the elder Oak's assistants in the Oak Preserve episode, much like Max was sitting in Petalburg during the (previous) Wallace Cup.

Similarly, I don't see any point in bringing Clemont & Bonnie back unless Ash and Goh get a mission in Lumiose City. Granted, the fact that they have a permanent base gives them a slightly better shot at reappearances than May, Cilan, or Serena who, at last check for each, are all traveling.

As for Dawn, the upcoming Pokemon Legends game seems to point more towards Cynthia becoming a Recurring Character for the latter half of this saga. IIRC, she's still seen as the Supertrainer of the Franchise to this day.^note Maybe that's why they're getting Rainbow Road Iris out of the way now...

That said, I could see a reprise of the Wallace Cup for Dawn's reappearance. It wouldn't work without competition, so this may be where Lisia finally makes her Anime appearance. Cilan's an extremely long shot too; I would have had Dawn's reappearance in "Best Wishes" as her cooperating with (or competing against) Cilan in the Nimbasa musicals, so he could work here.

But the character that I would most want to see compete against Dawn here is Serena. While her Romance Arc with Ash has gotten as far as it can go during the series, she still has her own personal development to, well, develop. Plus, there's the fact that she went to Hoenn explicitly to compete in Contests which, in this continuity, have battles, Serena's chief deficiency. Winning a ribbon on-camera would demonstrate that she has made some strides there.

Granted, we're talking about Sinnoh remakes, but the Wallace Cup is open to all regions. Also, Dawn already competed in Sinnoh, so it's likely that she's also in another region right now. Then again, Kanto has a Contest Circuit as well, where Dawn had not announced the intent to go to yet; it's likely that Dawn is in-region now and just as likely that the team goes to a Contest in-region to meet with Dawn as in Sinnoh.

I attribute it to the fact that Tracey was simply designed to be the most non-offensive character tailor-made for American markets of the late 90s. Just a bland character who's only distinguishing trait is drawing and being a big fan of Professor Oak.

Look at Goh, an brand new original character not based on anyone in the game. He's far more memorable, has a lot of quirks, and is placed on par with Ash in terms of protagonist role. And he even got his clothes featured in Pokémon Go. Even when the anime continues for the next 22 years, assuming Goh leaves, it is very likely that the writers would bring him back for a special episode.

Speaking of Ash's companions, I was thinking that if Journeys was just a Galar-focused region instead of focusing on all regions, I thought that Marnie would have made a great companion to Ash. I mean like Dawn she has a Pika-clone (Morpeko), she also wants to become a champion, and she would have served as a Contrasting Replacement Character to all of Ash's female companions. That is unless Adaptational Jerkass took into effect like it did with Iris for some reason.

Of course, with Journeys' focus on all regions, most likely she would just appear in a few episodes as a character of the week.

Given Hau only showed up at the tail-end of the SM anime, I imagine the game rivals won't get much focus. And with the way Ash is set-up this series, Ash having rookies as rivals doesn't really fit for this saga either.

I think whenever Piers shows up we'll see Team Yell and Marnie in those eps, but she probably won't appear much otherwise. Same for Hop, since he's Leon's brother we'll see him eventually but Go already took over his role from the games with the wolves and Eternatus battle. Bede I can see being ignored altogether.

It'd be so nice to see Axew you, regardless of which evolution it's at.

If Iris competes and makes it to the top 6, she'll most likely have Haxorous, Dragonite, Emolga, Exadrill, and Garchomp, and one more we don't know about that could be another Dragon type. I'd be down to learn about it if she's with one of the Top 8.

For now, I think Leon, Ash, Lance, Raihan, Bea, and Iris are locks with Korrina and Rinto as a maybe.

I still can't believe I haven't found a fanfiction where Ash fights Virgil with his canon Unova team. It's so weird. I did a quick search and someone brought back Pidgeot lol. I'd do it like this. Cameron's match with Ash was super criticized for being a match of super effectiveness but to have Ash get even knockouts would be dope.

• Umbreon vs Krookodile
• Espeon vs Leavanny
• Flareon vs Pignite
• Jolteon vs Oshawott
• Leafeon vs Paliptoad
• Eevee vs Pikachu

I honestly believe Serena can show up. She's supposed to be in Hoenn right?

Honestly, I can see Bede, Marnie, and Hop showing up in the anime. Pretty easy too and it could only take 1-3/4 episodes for each of them:

• Bede would probably be freaking upset the only person who took him in was arrested and seeks to battle Ash for revenge. When Ash beats him, he goes to meet Rose in prison only to be told he deserves his fate, and confused, Koharu/Ash/Go go back to Glimwood Tangle where they spot him wanting a rematch and threatening Koharu, but Opal can tell he's lost a sense of purpose and offers him the chance to be his protege. She lends Bede her Pokemon to use, and he has a much more optimistic battle with Ash, prompting him to accept it for now.
• Give Hop an episode where the crew visits Leon's home, and Hop wants to be as iconic as his brother is, but doesn't know where to start. They take him to the Institute, he sees all the Pokemon Goh has captured, and decides he wants to research all of Galar's Pokemon so that one day he can pick the right team challenge his brother in the future.
• Marnie would be a bit tougher to crack since you could do a ton of stuff with her. She could battle all the Gym Trainers but still try to enter the World Cornation to prove to Piers that she can be the next Spikemuth Gym Leader, and have Team Yell be her cheering partners. Ash and Goh believe that because Team Yell is...Team Yell, they're trying to harass other Pokemon, a fight ensues, Marnie breaks it up, and....this can verge into differently possibilities.
  • seeing that Ash is at the Super/Hyper class, she decides she wants to fight him and have it broadcast so all of Spikemuth, including Piers could see it. She loses but does well enough earns enough respect that Piers allows her to do it and drops out.
  • Marnie challenges Ash and reveals that she feels Piers doesn't respect her, so Piers overhearing it, challenges her, Ash (and/or Go) to a 1 v 2 (3) double battle. Both sides have 4 Pokemon in total (Ash and Marnie only have two each to choice) Piers sends out his Galar team in the games, Ash uses Gengar and Lucario, Marnie Toxicroak and Morepeko. Marnie starts to break down when the battle seems impossible but Ash sacrifices a loss or has one of his Pokemon to keep her in the game, and together, the two beat Piers, Marnie decides to focus on improving as a Gym leader, and thanks Ash and Goh for their help.
  • Marnie and Piers request Ash and Goh's help to put on a concert to get people invested in visitng Spikemuth or something, like only 29 people live there, what the heck. Goh has to have a dancing themed Pokemon right?

Look who evolved.

Fixed

Edited by Shadao on May 7th 2021 at 12:47:42 PM

Link is borked...

Anyways, I knew Axew would evolve into Haxorus by now.

Edited by VengefulBale on May 7th 2021 at 10:30:56 AM

Pretty good episode today, they managed to wrap up some dangling plot threads left over from the BW series and gave Iris proper closure, assuming this is the last time we see her in the anime.

Ironically, Drayden has an Axew himself that he's raising now. And yup, Iris even became the Unova champion herself.

Funny how it took nine years for the show to finally catch up with BW 2's plot threads.

Edited by BlackYakuzu94 on May 7th 2021 at 6:00:49 AM

Please tell me that she merely won the Vertress Conference while Ash was in Alola or Kalos as opposed to actually dethroning Alder. Because if it's the latter, then I can guarantee you that when Gary makes his reappearance soon, that he will be either Viridian City's permanent Gym Leader, or a member of Kanto's Elite Four, if not the region's Champion himself.

I mean, it'll only be 22 years to catch up to those plot points from the games. And we'd still have the Silph Co. takeover outstanding...

Its outright stated that she's succeeded Alder as the Champion.

Also, given that Gary is in his Gen 4 outfit, good chance that he's Viridian City's permanent Gym Leader.

Didn't Gary give up training to become a Professor? I sincerely doubt he's going to be any type of Gym Leader.

Edited by Chariot on May 7th 2021 at 10:44:00 AM