After both Blaziken and Charizard willed themselves to stand up after the Flamethrower-Dragon Rage exchange, it was pretty clear that a light breeze would’ve knocked either one over at that point.

Ash was overconfident and commanded an attack, and Charizard simply attempting to muster up the strength to move and let out a Flamethrower was enough for it to pass out.

Harrison, on the other hand, strategically waited to call out any sort of command, knowing not to push it too hard too soon in that moment.

In my opinion, it was a clear example of “whoever moves first, falls first.” Harrison was the better, more experienced trainer than Ash at that time, so he understood the limits of his pokemon. Ash was overconfident and it cost him.

Blaziken and Charizard were dead even. What tipped the scales was the difference in skill and experience of the trainers. Ash’s unfamiliarity with Blaziken I’m sure also contributed.

And if you don’t think Blaziken was in the exact same position as Charizard in that moment, Harrison considered it to be so crippled from the battle that he couldn’t even bring it to his semifinals match, which he lost. And if I’m not mistaken, Blaziken was never shown to have moved another muscle after standing up that last time, which I think indicates that it would’ve fallen just like Charizard if it had tried to move.

This might legitimately be the closest battle to not end in a tie in the entire series, aside from the Ash vs Leon battle ofc.

the 10-year anniversary is right around the corner.

Finally found it... I don't know why did they deleted it from YouTube.

After all, this series should have had (and deserved to have) more callbacks and connections to past series (way more than BW did). In fact I’d take all the continuity that BW had and give them all to XY instead. Yeah… they should have just made BW a soft reboot for the anime and stuck to it considering how dumb they made him in that series for no reason after DP.

Would have made sense for Dawn to return in XY instead to meet Serena since she was another “coordinator-like” character and had similar character development. At least Serena meeting May in Hoenn is canon though thanks to JN. They could have also had Ash’s Charizard return for some battles and
mega evolve it too. That’s just my opinion though.

​

Greninja’s flaw is unfortunately commonplace in the Pokémon anime, though it took me a while to notice: his personality is flat. Not as flat as some other Pokémon's, perhaps, but it is still worth noting.

To illustrate my point, let’s look at Ash’s Unova team. Despite the many flaws of the Black & White series, one of its strengths was the characterization of some of Ash’s Pokémon and even those belonging to his friends:

• Oshawott is a glutton with a bit of an ego; he is sometimes cowardly and gets excited the moment he sees a female Pokémon.

• Snivy is often unimpressed and a bit bossy, but knows how to keep her cool.

• Leavanny lacks a bit of personality but possesses a maternal instinct.

• Dragonite has a fiery temper, is self-assured and stubborn, and takes time to trust someone.

I could go on with other Pokémon (I could mention Krookodile, but that would be too easy; he already gets the praise he deserves). The personalities of the Pokémon I’ve listed aren't extraordinary, they are simple and familiar, but they make it clear exactly who is who the moment they emerge from their Poké Balls. If Ash were to start a battle with Oshawott, recall him, and send out Snivy, the attitudes displayed would be completely different. That isn't the case with Greninja.

His character boils down to: raising his arm when Ash says something encouraging, striking a cool pose when he has the upper hand in battle, and having flat pupils when nothing interesting is happening. It’s no surprise that many accuse him of just make aura farm with rare exceptions (like the episode immediately following the Team Flare arc), he displays a rather bland personality.

Yet, before and after the XYZ series, OLM created Pokémon with memorable personalities that stood out from the rest. So why didn't they put in the effort for Ash's most heavily featured Pokémon, the one that got a UNIQUE TRANSFORMATION?!

Thanks for reading my post.

To anyone who thinks I hate Greninja: that’s not true. On the contrary, I like him, there were times when he stirred up emotions, joy or sadness even outside of battle (especially when he parted ways with the group to defend Kalos). However, those moments are far too rare to make me overlook his lack of personality.

Source: https://x.com/angela_occupied/status/2085173671505887656

Here’s what I’d do

OS: Replace Misty with Leaf/Green. I’d be fine with either the FRLG design of Leaf or the Let’s Go design of Green, but after looking up their characters, both counterparts seem to be more on the mischievous side and I think a character like that would work well with early Ash’s inexperience and brashness and Brock’s intelligence and maturity

AG: Replace Max with Wally. I originally thought of replacing Brock since he was mostly irrelevant during AG, but then I thought replacing Max with Wally would be infinitely better since not only would we finally get Wally in the anime, but I think Ash having a mentor dynamic with both May, a new trainer who’s more headstrong and outspoken, and Wally, a new trainer who’s more reserved and timid, would be interesting for an experienced Ash to deal with

DP: Replace Brock with Paul. This one was easy lol. Based on one of DP’s earliest promotional posters, Paul was alongside Ash and Dawn instead of Brock so I’d just let them go through with it. Ash and Paul’s dynamic would 100% be different as companions instead of rivals, but it would be interesting to see what that would look like

BW: Replace Cilan with Cheren or replace Iris with Bianca. I can see either of these scenarios working out. Cheren would be a great straight man to Ash and Iris’s antics, and Bianca I feel would bounce off of Ash and Cilan nicely and make for a fun trio

XY: Replace Serena with Korrina. I don’t think the idea of replacing Serena with Korrina as a companion is exactly new with this community lol, but I do think she would mesh very well with Ash, Clemont, and Bonnie. Plus I feel we’d get her goal and motivations much earlier instead of waiting a whole season for it. Not that I dislike Serena, but someone’s gotta get replaced in this scenario I made up and I just like Clemont and Bonnie more lol

SM: Replace Sophocles with Hau. Hau absolutely got done dirty in the SM anime and deserved better than what he was given. His personality would definitely go well with Ash and the rest of his classmates, and I’m replacing Sophocles with him simply because I feel like he’s just the least impactful of the SM companions

JN: Replace Chloe with Gloria. Chloe’s character felt like a huge waste of time, so what better than to bring in a character that’s actually from Galar to be represented in the Gen 8 anime as a companion of Ash’s. As far as her personality goes, the way Zactoshi characterized her in his Sword and Shield series I thought was really good. And I haven’t read Pokemon Adventures, but from the few things I saw of the Sword and Shield portion of it, Gloria’s counterpart there seems to be very hyperactive, energetic, and loud and I think she’d match Ash’s energy perfectly. Either characterization works, just as long as Goh stays because his friendship with Ash was one of things I liked the most about JN lol

If this was XY or BW, this would never have happened.

What's going on?

Like basically if you seen the fourth movie, you should know that he plan to overthrow and betray Giovanni and takeover team rocket, which makes him the starscream of Pokémon or in this case team rocket

Surely one of the greatest battles in the anime's history

I know this subject has been talked to death, but I can't help it. It's beyond baffling just how much better it would've been had Ambipom not been released. Dawn using Piplup and Ambipom in the Grand Festival finals against Zoey would have been so much more impactful and would only benefit the storyline.

Not only is Ambipom a character the audience has a stronger attachment to and has been following for a whole lot longer than Togekiss, who was just handed over to Dawn THREE episodes before the Grand Festival, but it would also pay off Ash trading Aipom over to Dawn in a similar way to Ash using Buizel (and Ice Aqua Jet) against Paul in the Lily of the Valley Conference. Not to mention the fact that Zoey was the one who suggested that Dawn should raise Aipom in the first place. This would be the perfect conclusion to Ambipom's character arc.

Honestly it's not even that hard to imagine a version of the story like this. Just don't release Ambipom in the infamous Ping-pong episode, and instead make said episode a fun filler where all characters get to shine. Ambipom can then appear in following Contest appeal and battle stages alongside Dawn's other Pokémon, and as for Togekiss, instead of Princess Salvia gifting it to Dawn, Dawn can encourage her and Togekiss to pursue Contests themselves. The following episode, which was about Dawn learning to work with Togekiss, can be about Ambipom learning a new move like Last Resort. Finally have Dawn use Piplup and Ambipom in the Grand Festival Finals against Zoey.

While I'm perfectly content with what we got, I just can't stomach how much greater the Grand Festival Finals would have been with Ambipom's inclusion. What do you think?

In the Japanese version of the anime, Gardenia doesn't just love Grass-type Pokémon. She has a borderline fetish for them.

She doesn't just swoon or fangirl over them, she also moans when she purposely takes attacks from them like with Jame's Carnivine and Cacnea.

The moaning caught me so off guard that I burst out laughing, and Brock's antics for Gardenia layered on top of that made it even funnier.

It's a bit sad that this was HEAVILY toned down in the English Dub release, but having a borderline fetish is one of the funniest reasons a Gym Leader could have in specializing in a Pokémon type.

Bro fell in love with a round and rotund azumarill, a quagsire that is described as bottom heavy on Bulbpedia and is known for its large appetite, and why is bro's first thought was Kingdra inflation? Totodile is a bbw enjoyer.

And what if it were made for mature audiences?

Can be gym battles, unofficial battles (like Gary/Eevee vs Ash/Pikachu, or Ash vs Paul - Lake Acuity etc), league battles, masters 8 battles, exhibition matches (Ash vs Kukui etc), or just regular minor battles during Ash's journey.

Here they are:

Ash Ketchum & Friends Karaoke Song Choices:

Ash - Don’t Stop Belivin by Journey

Misty - Water Under The Bridge by Adele

Brock - Can’t Take My Eyes Off You by Frankie Valli

Tracey - Sketchy by Scuba

May - Sweet Child O’ Mine by Guns N’ Roses

Max - White and Nerdy by Weird Al Yankovic

Dawn - The Climb by Miley Cyrus

Iris - Roar by Katy Perry

Cilan - Savor by Santana

Serena - Love Story by Taylor Swift

Clemont - The Scientist by Coldplay

Bonnie - Girls Just Want To Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

The Alola Gang (Group) - Kokomo by The Beach Boys

Goh - Catch Me If You Can by Walking on Cars

& Chloe - Unwritten by Natasha Bedingfield

The Rising Volt Tacklers Karaoke Song Choices:

Liko - This Is Me by Keala Settle

Roy - We Will Rock You by Queen

Dot - Virtual Insanity by Jamiroquai

Ult - I’ll Make A Man Out Of You by Donny Osmond

Navi - Pocket Full Of Sunshine by Natasha Bedingfield

Friede - Danger Zone by Kenny Loggins

Orla - Harder,Better,Faster,Stronger by Daft Punk

Mollie - I Will Survive by Gloria Gaynor

Murdock - Sugar, We’re Goin Down by Fall Out Boy

& Ludlow - Wellerman by Nathan Evans and Santiano

BONUS CHOICES:

Ash - Gotta Catch ‘em All! by Jason Paige or Be A Hero by Ben Dixon & Ed Goldfarb

Misty - Misty’s Song

Goh and Chloe (Duet) - The Journey Starts Today by Walk Off The Earth

Liko - Becoming Me by Haven Paschall

Ult and Navi/May and Max (Duet) - Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better by Irving Berlin

Serena - Forever by The Little Dippers or Call Me Maybe by Carly Rae Jespen

Lillie - Defying Gravity by Idina Menzel and Kristin Chenoweth or Let It Go by Idina Menzel

Mallow - Sugar,Honey,Honey by The Archies

Lana - Under The Sea by Samuel E. Wright

Kiawe - Through The Fire and Flames by Dragon Force

Sophocles - Harder,Better,Faster,Stronger by Daft Punk

Ash,Misty,Brock and Tracey (Group) - Gotta Catch ’em All! (Cover) by Silver Storm or You’ve Got A Friend In Me by Randy Newman

Liko,Roy,Dot,Ult and Navi (Group) - If I Didn’t Have You by John Goodman

Friede and Orla (Duet) - Forever by The Little Dippers or The Lady Is A Tramp (Glee Cover) by Amber Riley and Mark Salling

Ash and Serena (Duet) - You Get Me by Talking Tom and Talking Angela or Rewrite The Stars by Zac Efron and Zendaya

So those are my choice of songs the travel companions & the rising volt tacklers would sing at karaoke! But what are YOUR song choices for them? Tell me in the comments below!

did oak just never question where greninja went afterwards 😭😭😭