Why is the Pokemon anime getting unpopular?

[Carmen Lopez]

We all heard people debate on whether the anime is getting better or worse but that't not my question. WHY is the anime declining? And I mean the English dub. Is it because it has been "americanized" or watered down too much, is it the lack of creativity on the writers' part, is it May(just kidding) or is it something else entirely?

For me, the series started declining somewhere in the Johto saga. They completely changed Misty's personality completely. Less than a shadow of her former self. And all those fillers. The episodes got a little redundant (lack of creativity).

The rant starts now............

And then of course the whiners who flipped out over the smallest things. For example, the banning of some episodes. The Tower of Terror was banned because it could be referenced to 9-11. Jynx was recolored purple because someone thought she was a racist sterotype of a black woman. That was actually the furthest thing from my mind. (I'm a black woman myself). Some little things bothered me from the beginning like changing the name of Onigiris to sandwiches and donuts(?!)

I'm still holding out hope though. The episodes seem to be getting better. Maybe the anime is popular in Japan. Maybe I'm just a spoilsport who needs to grow up and accept change. I'll accept that if it's true.

 

[daxx0r]

Personally, I enjoyed good ol' season one in Kanto the most, and I do agree with you, the series has more or less "jumped the shark". I don't think it happened in Johto though. For me the show lost it's touch in Hoenn.

First it was losing Misty - In the old trio, she was my least favorite character (still liked her though), but it just didn't feel the same once she had left. Ash and Co. needed Misty's hot temper and tough attitude - It made the group feel more alive than they do now (by now I mean the end of Gen 3 - I follow the English version too). I mean, nowadays the only conflicts they have are with Team Rocket.

Which brings me to my second point - the new Rocket motto SUCKS. I just don't like it - srry just had to vent that.

Then there's the May & Max issue... It looks like you like May but I really, really don't. It might partly be because she stole Misty's spot - but I dislike the both of them for more reasons than that. First of all, May was such a wuss in the beginning of Hoenn, and I still think she's kinda wussy. Then there's the fact that she was taking up way too much of Ash's space. The show went from being about Ash to being about Ash and May. Plus, I'm not a huge contest fan... I don't have anything really against Max, but he's sorta meaningless... He just took over Brock's duty as a map reader. Also, he's kind of a know-it-all.

This is becoming quite a rant, eh... Well, I've been wanting to get all of this off my chest...

Ok, back to business... The drawing style - don't like it anymore... Ever since they switched to digital art I've disliked it. The colors are simply too bright. There's pink and turquoise and cream all over the place... It's an overflow of cute... Plus, Ash doesn't really look like Ash anymore for some reason. I can't put my finger on it, but something is wrong. Also, I think they are getting lazy. While watching "Gathering the gang of four", Charizard looked utterly hideous in some shots. I could have done a better job myself.

Finally, there's the voice acting. They've gotten pretty good actually, but there's still a few of them which I can't stand since the switch. James was one of my favorite characters, much because of Eric Stuarts aweosme acting - but the new guy just overdoes it SO much. It sounds like he's trying too hard and just not getting it right. Then there's Ash.. That's where the real trouble starts. He's the main character and the new VA's still not quite there. It just isn't Ash - and it's not just the voice...

It's the script writers too... Ash sounds more and more like a surfer every day. I can't even remember how many times per episode he says "oh, yeah" "awesome" "Woah" and so on... The dialouge just doesn't have that sting it used to...


I will finish this by saying that I think they get the picture... I don't really know how the situation is for the anime today, but it seems like they're doing some radical changes to improve the situation...
First it seems as if May and Max are gone (thank you very much), but even more importantly - Gary seems to be back, and I REALLY missed having him mess with Ash! The good ol' days are back! (then again, I shouldn't count my chickens before they hatch... who know's what will happen in Sinnoh)

So finally, in the words of Forrest Gump - "And that's all I have to say about that."

 

[Sem]

I liked the anime up until Hoenn. That's where it started getting repetitive.

":O Look! A new pokeyman!"
"Ohnoes! Team Rocket stolez it"
"Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!"
"PIKACHU!"
"We're blasting off again!"

-End Show-

Even though I hated Hoenn, it did have its moments like all the seasons did, only Hoenn had less. The only episodes I liked seeing were Contest episodes, Gym Battle Episodes, Team Aqua/Magma episodes, and the Hoenn League episodes. The inclusion of May was ok and I quickly got over it, it was Max who I utterly loath an despise with all my being. He HAS to be the most utterly useless character in all of the Pokemon anime! The only thing he was ever used for was telling the gang where to go with his Poke'Nav. BUT, even though my hate for him could drown the whole earth 13 times, I reeeeaaally liked that Ralts episode.

Contest battles I really liked too. Simply because it was a nice change and its a nice concept, I only wish the Contests in the games were more like the ones in the anime. May's alright, I don't love her but she's definitely not hate worthy. She has a lot more personality than Ash or Brock.

I did end up watching most of the Hoenn episodes just so I could keep up with the anime. Battle Frontier was an excellent season in my opinion. The new voice actors bothered me a lot just like it did everyone one else. But I got over that rather quickly as well. I think the voices are good and really only have a few problems with Ash's. As Dax described he does sound like a surfer at times. XD

Team Rocket got the best voice actors though. Unless I'm paying attention, I can't tell the difference. Jessie and James sound almost exactly the same as they used to, especially Jessie. Meowth's the only one who noticably sounds different, but I'm able to deal with it. And I actually like the new motto more than the last one, but perhaps its only cuz I heard the old one a mamillion times.

"Team Rocket will be there to make everything worse!" ^^

My favorite parts of the episode are the Team Rocket scenes; they're definitely the only characters with the most... character. Where as Ash and friends tend to sound like robots.

The anime is getting better and is still quite popular in Japan. The episodes are becoming more different and don't all look and sound the same. The characters seem more alive. Sinnoh will bring great things methinks. I've recently started watching the Japanese episodes and I love em =D I hope dubbing them wont do too much harm, but meh.

As for banned episodes, it is quite irritating. Simply because its impossible to see them anymore. Though I WAS able to catch the giant Tentacruel episode on Boomerang a few months ago. ^^ As well as the Tower of Terror. I probably would've been able to see some of the others but I stopped watching. >> The only thing that saddens me is that we will most likely NEVER EVER see Porygon2 or Porygon-Z in any episodes. That has to be one of my favorite Pokemon evolution lines. People are FAR too sensitive. You offend someone they have every right to sue you. Peh. The world is Politically Correcting itself to its own doom, mark my words.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

I'm sorry if I was misunderstood...I reallllllllllllllllllllllly don't like May. She was too um... girly for me. When she was first introduced, she made the most annoying sounds. Her new voice was better albeit old for her. I said good riddance to her. I hope Hikari/Dawn has more style (I haven't looked into the new episodes yet.) The orginal Misty who abused Psyduck still has a place in my heart.

 

[Linkachu]

I must admit it, I heavily supported the Hoenn saga in the beginning but by the end of it I'd come to the same conclusion as most other people... Overall, it was pretty damn boring, and I have barely any interest to re-watch it. Give it a year or two though and that'll probably change... I didn't care much for Johto Journeys, but now I wouldn't mind going back through it again for nostalgia's sake.

Hoenn had its moments. It was the first to give Ash a non-starter filled team, which seemed much more reasonable imo. Like Sem, I mostly enjoyed all the contest and gym episodes, or anything that had cool battles or character development (ie. a new capture, an evolution, an episode based around one of the main character's Pokemon, the Max and Ralts episode, etc.). The episode where Arbok and Weezing left was also gold, as most TR-based episodes are. I agree with Sem about TR. Out of all the main cast characters, they're the ones with the most personality, so any episodes that revolve around them are ftw.

I didn't hate Max or May, but I didn't love them all that much either. When they left in the final BF episode I gave a cheer They both had their moments, but together they didn't really add much to the show (and even together they couldn't give back to the show what Misty did). It wasn't really May herself that made me love the contests, it was the contests themselves that I liked - the ideas behind them, and the unique style. I probably liked May's Pokemon more than I liked her, lol. But eh... May was May. I cheered for her victories, and didn't mind her stealing the spotlight a bit from Ash. I rather enjoyed that part, really.

I think I'm getting off topic here, though... I guess, as a whole, the Hoenn saga wasn't all that great, so it did make the Anime seem a bit "blah". That all changed once the Battle Frontier saga started, though. I've mostly only seen those episodes in Japanese, but pretty much all of 'em seemed to pwn. The same has clearly been carried on to the Sinnoh saga because I haven't disliked a single episode of it yet. If DP keeps up the way its been going, it'll be the best region-based Pokemon series yet. Although... unless Ash ends up catching lots of different Pokemon throughout Sinnoh, Kanto will still be better in that way.

The Anime goes in waves IMO. Its been through good times and bad, and the only reason I can give for why some of the magic is gone is the sheer amount of episodes. There's only so much they can do with the characters' development before they start recycling ideas.

 

[tpl2000]

quite frankly, if they make any of the voices any further away from the originals, i'm just going to start watching it in japanese, subs or not. i'd bet it's more interesting...and ash is sounding like a surfer from 20 years ago, at that...and he puts shame to that entire dialect...off topic. ok, on topic... everything. new hat, new voice, everyone but brock and ash has just flat-out left the show....that's what i think. it's just not the same...team rocket needed a new motto, and i can live with their voices. some of the episodes from bf are ok, some of them are just bad... i don't know...at this rate it's seems like they're getting rid of ash all together and putting in some other random character instead...it's really sad....oh, and another answer: peer pressure! if someone in your school finds out you watch pokemon, you're screwed. if you're in any particular clique, and you watch pokemon, you're screwed. if you read pokemon manga, you're screwed. you do pokemon anything (but the video game, some people are ok with the video games) you're screwed, and your reputation is shot. flat-out.

 

[QuagsireQing]

I don't know what all the Max hate is about: he was my favourite Advanced Gen character! While watching Home Is Where the Start Is I realized just how much I'll miss him. He's going back home while Ash, Brock and May are all going out again! Poor guy!

I REALLY wish May and Max had kept with Ash and Brock into Sinnoh. Introducing a new girl AGAIN feels repetitive and we were FINALLY starting to make some headway with May!

I still watch, of course, but I don't get as excited as I used to over "epic-sodes" (gym battles, conferences, etc) and feel that something BIG and new is in order.

 

[Linkachu]

I don't know what all the Max hate is about: he was my favourite Advanced Gen character!

If that's true, what does it say about your opinions on the rest of the cast? o.O

 

[QuagsireQing]

May was starting to get good before they dropped her, everyone loves Brock (okay, maybe I liked Brock more than Max), and Ash has started to lose the spotlight too much for my tastes. It's no longer the "Power of One," but the "Power of Two."

And I realized exactly what it is about the anime these days that has started to seem not as good as the old days: the relationships are casual. Characters come and go too easily, with little emotion or emphasis, and with hardly any reference to them after they're gone. I wanna see some heartbreak! I wanna see some crying with gratitude! I wanna see characters MISSING one another.

 

[Doctor Oak]

Max was a pointless addition to the cast. He didn't do anything, anything he did do was whiney and annoying and he had one single good episode - the Ralts ep - easily ruined in return with that goddamn awful Surskit episode.

Worst. Character. Ever.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

Agreed!

I't starting to believe that it's just lack of creativity because there is so much good stuff you can do with the anime just look at some fanfics.

 

[ryot!]

maybe because it's so basically happy, that there is no suprise/point in tuning in...

 

[kosheh]

Did I bump this?

 

[Nieru]

I couldn't stomach watching it after the end of Johto. and I LOVE crappy cartoons(what? they're funny!). Enough said.

 

[Linkachu]

Which reminds me, I don't watch the show that much so I didn't know what happened: Did Ash ever actually repay Misty for that bike? Maybe that's why she never came back except for like, one episode.

 

[DiamondDialgaGirl]

I dont know why pokemon is getting unpopular. Maybe in this day and age, people are more used to graphic violence, and somehow little critters zappin each other to exhaustion doesnt quite satisfy the older group. Younger children, who are usually thought of less by thier elders know no such graphic horrors and are perfectly content with the game we here love called pokemon. Me? I like it because its a challenge. I've loved it since I was 4, and its not getting unpopular in my corrupt anime mind.

 

[The Fluffy Weavile]

I personally liked the Hoenn saga more than Johto. Johto...it just seemed kinda....weird. Totodile never evolves, yet Chika did....WTF? At least in Hoenn, Ash's starter evolves....I'm looking forward to the Sinnoh anime.

And I like Max. Even though he was whiney. *puts up flame shield*

 

[Carmen Lopez]

I must say that I was disappointed that Totodile didn't evolve. It was the starter I was most looking forward to evolving because it is my favorite Johto starter. Johto was cool until they changed Misty's personality. Is it just me or does anyone else miss Misty abusing Psyduck (and other people for that matter)? We need another strong female character other than Jesse. (Wishful thinking I know)

And Fluffy Weavile though I completely disagree with you about Max I won't flame you. I have no right because, gasp! I kinda liked Tracey in the Orange Islands.

 

[Linkachu]

I kinda liked Tracey in the Orange Islands.

Get in line ;D

Tracey had his moments, and that awesome Scyther. I wasn't really broken up to see him go, but I enjoy rewatching the Orange Island episodes and seeing him in action again. His Japanese name ended up sticking for me, too, so every generation I always have at least ONE male player character named Kenji ^^

 

[The Fluffy Weavile]

And Fluffy Weavile though I completely disagree with you about Max I won't flame you. I have no right because, gasp! I kinda liked Tracey in the Orange Islands.

Muhahaha, thank you. Anyway, I loved Tracey too....a pun within a name...gotta love it....and Scyther too. It seems I have an affinity for loving the characters everyone loves to hate, not just in this show, but in others too.....

 

[Figs]

Well, I don't have a long statement like everyone else here seems to, but it IS a statement none the less, I would have to say, for me, I think I mainly out grew it (Infact, out of the seventeen hours I'm awake, Only about one of those hours are spent WATCHING the TV) but back to the point, I Simply out grew it, it is watered down quite a bit (Compared to other Anime's) And the plot just keeps repeating itself (Boy goes around the world, ALWAYS looking for new Pokemon AND Getting rid of (Most) of his old ones (Primeape and charizard for example, isn't the point of Pokemon to raise them yourself?), fighting against eight diffrent gym leaders, fighting the SAME three enemies every episode(Seriously, you would think they would have tried something that would have worked by now, or better yet...why didn't they catch they're OWN Pikachu in the first place? that would have made things a lot less complicated.) anyways, to my point(s) Firstly: The story repeats upon itself, it was okay at first, but now theres nothing new, except location and faces, Secondly, like I Said, I don't watch TV too much....This post was longer than i thought it would be...

 

[MoonStruckDragonLass]

Okay, Me, being the lazy **** I am, i've only read the first reply and then decided to comment myself, so please bear with me if i'm way off or miss something already pointed out.

I never really watched the anime, but i did catch most of the first season, and i've still seen about half of the episodes, sheerly from "oh, look! pokemon, I like that game and nothing better is on!"

I'd have to say, up until *right* after the whole Orange Island spin off part (which was great, i always wanted that in  the games, I beat all the gyms, the indigo platue, now what? ORANGE ISLANDS!), it was interesting. then, yes. every episode was like, "team rocket steals pokemon. they get it back. cute moral. the end."

I HATE HATE HATE HATE HATE shows with only one villian that shows up in every episode. what, no one else cares? we can't have fun without villians and strife? These guys are stalkers? Do they not have day jobs or anywhere better to be? you couldn't come up with more than one villian??? it's going to get boring, no matter what you do.

And I hate Ash's new voice. It makes me want to stab things. seriously. And I kinda miss Misty.

EDIT!: About Max. . . I loved him. I thought he was absolutely hilarious. Ash was all like "We have to save pokemonz! ohnoez! :O! " and you were waiting for Max to say "Yeah, come on, lets go! *disoriented dazed grin of oblivion*" but he was like, "You guys are complete idiots and you suck."

I got me EVERY. TIME. I ALWAYS waited for him to be like "yeah! lets go!" and about 90% of the time? he was like "*cynicism*"

And he picked on May. Maybe I just picked up a loathing of May from Stel, but. . . May = >|P

I dug Tracey. ^^ It was like. . . "Brock's. . .gone? ew who's this guy." But then, he earned my liking. he was just so balanced and grounded, and everything he said made sense, you just. . .couldn't not like him. his personality trumped the fact he was a loser with loser pokemon who hung out with losers and did loser things. he was still a great guy, despite all that.

(Linkachu. . . No hard feelings about the fact I've got a character named Kenji as well? I swear I named him without having the slightest idea Tracey's Japanese name was Kenji or that you had character(s) by that name. He came to me in a dream (no lie, Irugi's name came with him, and it was originally Iruji, but that was way to close to several things) and I had his character worked out and named and was stoked about finding a place to use him when I found out you had a character by the name. . . I considered changing it, but couldn't bring myself to do it. ^^;;;;;;;;; )

 

[Gameshark]

Hmmm, I think it sorta suffers like the Power Rangers did.... Started off with a bang, but then it went on, and on, and on..... They've milked the anime too much me thinks.

I personally only watched the first season, where Ash started off in his home town(?).... But I got bored of watching the show instead of playing it.

 

[Linkachu]

I personally only watched the first season, where Ash started off in his home town(?).... But I got bored of watching the show instead of playing it.

That's why many people watched the show AND played the games

But I very much agree. The show has just gone on TOO LONG. It's true that, from our point of view, there are lots of fresh and new ideas that could be done, but I'm sure the writers really have no idea just how to handle the project anymore. You also have to wonder if they even care that much? Even when its at its poorest the Anime still manages to pull off what it's meant to. 22-minute long ad indeed...

 

[Ford]

I remeber watching the first series as a kid and stopped watching about half a season through the second season as it seemed there wasn't much different to the first just new places and new faces.

I started watching again around Advanced batle/Battle Frontier Times. Sure the VA was weird but i got over it after wathicng a few episodes. Even if may does sound like a little whinny wuss now.

On the topic of May..I liked her. I think she was a much more intresting character than Ash. We actually see Mays skills growing where as Ash....Not so much.

But from the writers perspective i can see how its getting difficult. I mean lets analyse most seasons.
Collect badges---GO to the tournament--Do well but never quite win--Start again in a different reigion!
Now battle fronteir changed the concept enough for us to believe it was different when really it was just a different number of badges with different names.

I dont think any characters to blame in general i think its just the concept thats growing weary. I predict after the DP saga in the anime ash will have to do the whole battle fronteir again in sinnoh. They need to mix it up a bit. Have Ash become a gym leader or something intresting.

 

[Gameshark]

Well the formula for an episode is usually:

Ash(Whoever) gets somewhere or is going somewhere.
Ash battles a person
Ash loses to person
Ash learns of a pokemon/object/something to defeat said person
Team Rocket shows up
Team Rocket ends up accidentally helping Ash somehow
Ash gains the thing to help him defeat the person while learning some life lesson or some other subtle thing.
Ash faces person and wins.
People go on for about 3 episodes after this about how loving you pokemon is the strongest thing in battle and pretty much something no one in their right mind would ever say..... ever.

 

[neko3343]

You've got a goood point there...

Well, the series is kinda well boring. Because in every season, someone sets a goal, then they reach the goal, and that's more or less it. And then there's some episodes where certain info is just way off. Like The man Ash met back in season 1 (Brock's dad) said that brocks mom died... then, in Pokemon Chronicles, she's just, back... from the dead, apparently... Every season is, like the same when you break it down...

 

[tpl2000]

You've got a goood point there...

Well, the series is kinda well boring. Because in every season, someone sets a goal, then they reach the goal, and that's more or less it. And then there's some episodes where certain info is just way off. Like The man Ash met back in season 1 (Brock's dad) said that brocks mom died... then, in Pokemon Chronicles, she's just, back... from the dead, apparently... Every season is, like the same when you break it down...

a lot of shows are like that. a lot of storyline shows, anyways. not like camp lazlo.

it's basically the entire concept of a show anymore. no story, really, just...conflict, resolution, happy sing-a-long.

 

[Goemon2057]

I have to tell you,after seeing the new episodes,and then seeing 1st season,lemme tell you my opinion

the 1st season was just LEAGUES better than the other seasons.The episdoes were more interesting,and the villains wern't COMPLETLY useless.You had less repetetive comedy and less extreme views of characters (Brock was a lot less of a flirt than he is now).

You had the 3 part sabrina fight,EXCELLENT fight,ash actually had to go through a lot and it was also sweet.

you had brocks fight,when brock didnt look like a total loser

Charmander,brock stands up,and its not all happy happy,and they actually say that charmander CAN DIE (its become a crime now that the word die be said)

and course theres much more video game referances,with evolution stones,potions,and the pokedex's advice being advice give throughout the game.And i love the raichu vs pikachu fight to death,stressing how evolving raichu early makes him lose quick attack and agility (and course raichu's physical superiority)

also level noting,and actual MOVES.Not attacks but actual effects like leer.And to top it off NO DODGING (unless of course there was a reason,like pikachu outrunning raichu)

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Besides this,theres another reason,the storyline simply became weak later on

-He keeps giving up his pokemon,wheres the attachment!?

-he never evolves his pokemon.Why cant the series ever change?Personally i'd love to see a raichu eventually

-His pokemon are WEAK.Seriously i was laughing both from the cuteness and disgust of the parchirisu episode.This parchisisu had discharge,so it had to be 29 at least (on paper).Pikachu not only cant keep up with him,but he's running on TWO LEGS OUTSPEEDING PIKACHU.And then of course after 10 seasons pikachu cant beat a pokemon gary just got.Yes its new,did it have to be better?Maybe if he didnt keep throwing away pokemon he'd have a team that could actually fight x.x

-theres no real villain.Team rocket is pathetic,Giovanni doesnt do anything,there never feels like theres som1 out trying to do anything world threatening in the series.Things are just more happy happy than they were first season

thats my feeling anyway.Personally i sorta liked the Parchirisu episode but probably cause it was cute as well...i love how he steals from team rocket twice XD

 

[00wolf]

the series has always been the same except for Kanto
there are few episodes that are different from the rest
this doesn't mean i don't like it
and another thing was that the cast's voices changed which made alot of people upset

 

[Linkachu]

and another thing was that the cast's voices changed which made alot of people upset

No offense to some people, but any changes in this fandom make people upset. That's humanity for you, though.

As far as I'm concerned, the voice changes don't affect me. I notice them, but I still watch the show anyways. They're really not all that bad, just different.

-he never evolves his pokemon.Why cant the series ever change?Personally i'd love to see a raichu eventually

Wah? The only Pokemon of Ash's that didn't evolve in the Hoenn saga were Pikachu - which never will until maybe the final episode - and Corphish. Even Phanpy returned in Battle Frontier to evolve! One thing you can not bash future episodes for is lack of evolution. Ash hardly had any of his team evolve in Kanto - and the ones that DID evolve ended up leaving (Pidgeot, Charizard, Butterfree...). Nowadays, it's only a select few who don't, and he usually keeps them around until the end of the saga, too.

 

[PokemonMasterOles]

I personly think that it grew in plot but team rocket in every episode blasting off is getting a little old but I admit there the comedy of the show..

but I mainly dislike it because of the voices the american voice actors aren't very good I must say...

Olek

 

[00wolf]

I also must say why ash usually keeps the unevolved pokemon around is probably to make the show different form the game
alot of people in the game evolve their pokemon right away
while in the series it actually takes time to evolve them or he doesn't evolve them at all
plus isn't it kewl to see some little unevolved pokemon like pikachu, totodile, or cyndaquail bash on bigger pokemon like Rhydon or Onix

 

[tpl2000]

i have to admit, seeing pikachu destroy onix was a sight to behold =]
heck, any size 0 vs. size 43 pokemon battle is awesome. *watches a pachirisu destroy giratina* yep. awesome.

 

[Carmen Lopez]

plus isn't it kewl to see some little unevolved pokemon like pikachu, totodile, or cyndaquail bash on bigger pokemon like Rhydon or Onix

Not to me. I always cringed when stuff like that happened. But maybe I'm a little mean. And then again (and this is probably just me) I hate it when Psychic Pokemon beat ghost and dark types which has happened in the anime. I will never watch the episode with Girafarig again.

 

[Musashi]

I think the reason that Pokemon got unpopular was the replacement of Misty.
I stopped watching it. I also hated May for awhile.
Though I think with the coming of the 4th Generation, it will be better. Everyone will have gotten over their loss of Misty, seeing as they saw her in SOME episodes in the 3rd, and that May didnt "Steal her man" Or whatever shipping nonsense you want to get into.
*Is a SatoshiXShigeru shipper anyway*
No one was used to the change of "Omg they just knocked Misty!"
And replacing her with a seemingly ditzy character that had no backbone was not what the Misty fans were used to. It was a change that wasnt acceptable to them.
I like all the PokeGirls now, and I actually Miss May, even though I think she was the main reason for Pokemons unpopularity, everywhere around the globe.
I hope Dawn shows us alittle more of the fighting girl spirit like Misty did so all fans can rejoice all over the world! Lol.

 

[Goemon2057]

.

Wah? The only Pokemon of Ash's that didn't evolve in the Hoenn saga were Pikachu - which never will until maybe the final episode - and Corphish. Even Phanpy returned in Battle Frontier to evolve! One thing you can not bash future episodes for is lack of evolution. Ash hardly had any of his team evolve in Kanto - and the ones that DID evolve ended up leaving (Pidgeot, Charizard, Butterfree...). Nowadays, it's only a select few who don't, and he usually keeps them around until the end of the saga, too.

I didnt see the whole Hoenn season,because i started to get bored of the series by Johto.Should it really take 2 regions to start evolving pokemon?

and still why cant pikachu evolve?Yes he had to prove himself to raichu but cant he just let that die now?

and yeah,he always keeps it to the end of the saga,thats what i dont like.There is no attachment to me,i'd just prefer to see more than just pikachu every saga i guess.Aipom's lasted two but i think thats only because they added a DP form

 

[Linkachu]

It's simple. Pikachu is the mascot of Pokemon, in every area of the franchise. Raichu isn't. Therefore, as much as you may hate it, and as much as I love Raichu, Pikachu is never going to be replaced as long as Ash is around. Unless, again, it's a big moment in the final episode

 

[PokemonMasterOles]

Well excuse me if I'm wrong but linkachu you have a point i'm sorry if i'm wrong but wasn't pikachu the first Pokemon they made? And he does have the bigggest role in the series *pikachu backstage:BOO YAH*

 

[Linkachu]

Not sure if it was the first created, but it definitely has a big role in the series. It's basically Satoshi's/Ash's other half, and I figured most people would've gotten that by now... Pikachu wasn't going to be Ash's original starter, mind you. The creators debated over what to give him and finally decided not to give him one of the Kanto starters because they didn't want to seem like they were favoring one over the other. That's probably the same reason why Ash originally had all three of the starters each season until Hoenn, where they finally just gave one to each of the main charries.

The bottom line is that Pikachu is the face of the Anime series and of Pokemon in general in a lot of ways. You can love it or hate it, but you can't really deny that fact, and it's not going to change anytime soon. It's really just not worth moaning over anymore because it's one of the givens in the series =/