r/pokemonanime

From the amount of ship warring and fanart, you would think it was Contestshipping (May x Drew) 2.0.

During DPPT, I was a big Appealshipper (Zoey x Dawn). I was confused about Ikarishippping. Their main interaction happened over halfway through the arc, didn't it? I at least understood Penguinshipping/Kenny x Dawn (childhood friends, Kenny's canon crush) and Pearlshipping/Ash x Dawn (mentor/mentee relationship, strong bond). Ikarishipping though? Eh...

Ikarishipping feels like a ship people like the idea of. They go together in theory, not in reality.

I'm a big Soulsilvershipping/Lyra x Silver and Redemptionshipping/Kris x Silver fan. I see the similarities. The dynamic is similar. The difference is that Dawn and Paul aren't rivals, though. Ash is first to Paul, not Dawn. So, the ships are written differently despite base similarities.

Edit:

Added brackets for simplicity's sake.

Pikachu: Pallet Town's Yellow Flash

Lucario: The Aura Nova

Gengar: The Ghostly Black Devil

Dragonite: The Meteor Incarnate

Sirfetch'd: The Indomitable Onion Knight

Dracovish: The Ancient Overlord

Honestly, JN128 really gave us some extremely interesting and cool nicknames. My favorites are definitely the ones for Pikachu, Dracovish, and Lucario—especially Pikachu's, with the reference to Pallet Town.

I've seen people argue that the scene in DP where Ash imagines himself as Flint was foreshadowing for Infernape vs Cynthia's Garchomp in Journeys. But let's actually look at what that scene was and what it wasn't.

A breakdown of this scene:

· This isn't Ash's Infernape in this scene. His and Flint's Infernape fight way too differently. Plus, it's only Ash who morphed into this image. If the animators wanted to, they could have also added Blaze Infernape too which they didn't.

· Ash is visualizing only himself within Flint. They're linked from being similar Infernape trainers not because his Infernape was destined to fight Cynthia.

· This scene doesn't foreshadow their Masters 8 battle. Neither did Cynthia's dialogue in DP188.

· The scene is about Ash seeing himself in Flint and understanding what it takes to reach that level. It's about Ash's growth as a trainer, not a prophecy for Infernape.

· If it was meant to be foreshadowing, why wasn't there a single callback to it in Journeys? It was just one visual shot that fans ran with.

Now, some might try to bring up a connection between Infernape and Cynthia which doesn't really exist if you think about it:

· Cynthia was just a narrator for Ash and Paul's rivalry. Her specific fondness for Infernape is mainly derived from her noticing how important it was to the rivalry. The bond between Ash's Infernape and Cynthia is not what people think it is.

The conclusion:

The scene was never about Infernape vs Cynthia. It was about Ash's mindset and his drive to improve. Using it as "proof" that Infernape was destined to fight Garchomp is just wishful thinking. If the writers wanted that battle, they would have set it up properly from BW to SM, or hyped up this battle throughout Jn. They didn't, Because it wasn't the plan.

What do you think? Was it foreshadowing, or are people reading too much into it?

For starters he easily beat Trip which is something that took Ash nearly the entire Unova Season to do.

Season 15, Episode 8: The Lonely Deino

A nice moment for both. Iris tells Ash to go do what he wants and is trying to be considerate. Ash not only decides to stay for her sake, says that if Iris's friend than it's their friend as well.

I like small moments like these, as they show that the characters are friends. They may bicker or roast, but they care.

What I really find beautiful about this encounter is that it doesn't end with anything flashy or extravagant. Both of them are too tired for that. Lucario had just used a GMAX Aura Sphere to deal with Dynamax Togekiss, while Garchomp had eaten a Meteor Assault to the face and was likely too worn out for a Draco Meteor. Their last and best method of attack is just close quarters combat and a battle of endurance on equal grounds. It's not like Infernape vs Electivire, Greninja vs Sceptile/Charizard, or Ash's Pikachu vs Leon's Charizard. Unlike those fights, they can't end it with their signature or strongest move. That's what makes this different from the rest.

Leavanny:

Defeated Roxie's busted Koffing at a type disadvantage.

Defeated Burghs Dwebble+Whirlipede

Went band for band with Stephans Sawk and could have won.

For defense, its dodging battle style in that same battle as well as its versatility with String Shot make it even more formidable. The Swarm ability powers it up even further.

Snivy:

Basically, defeated Camerons Riolu, who had effortlessly beaten Biancas Emboar and Ash's Unfezant. It only lost due to the evolution.

Absurdly tanky. Took hits from the aformentioned Riolu/Lucario.

Clay's Excadrill needed Horn Drill (an OHKO move) to take it out.

Took a large amount of Fire moves from Shamus's Emboar/Heatmor

Took a flying move from Tornadus and dodged Focus Blast from Thundurus using a really sick Vine Whip manuver

Their feats against the two blue fighting type aces of Stephan and Cameron and there dodging/tanking abilities are the primary reason I believe they are underrated. They are just as good if not better than Pignite.

*LONG POST*

Here's how I see it going:

BW Pikachu vs Aggron: Same as OG fight, except thanks to Electro Ball does more damage from a long range and speed gap. Volt Tackle isn't good against Aggrons Battle style, meaning Unova Pikachu does better here. He is still recalled though.

Pignite vs Aggron: Pignite outspeeds with Flame Charges, tanking a couple hits in the process. 3-4 quad effective Brick Breaks later and Aggron is out. Pignite is switched.

Unfezant vs Gastrodon: Same as Staraptor vs Gastrodon. Unfezant having ranged attacks means its either never in the position to get pinned by Body Slam, or it can use Gust on the ground to get out. Either way, she's hit by Ice Beam and recalled.

Leavanny vs Gastrodon: Leavanny dodges an Ice Beam before wrapping Gastrodon's neck up with String Shot and throwing it into the air. Gastrodon comes down with Body Slam, but this exposes its underbelly. Leavanny fires a 4x effective Energy Ball to finish it off. Ash is in the lead! However, Paul is about to get serious. Enter Drapion!

Leavanny vs Drapion: As in the OG battle, Pauls plan was to use his first two as scouts before sending in the real menace. Drapion sets up Toxic Spikes and fires off a Pin Missle, which Leavanny expertly dodges. Drap keeps up the pressure with Cross Poison which connects doing big damage. Leavanny fires String Shot but Drapion breaks through with its Pincers. Ash switches to close quarters combat with X-Scissor. Big mistake! Drapion grabs it, and chomps down with Poison Fang. Poisoned and hit by so many super effective moves, Leavanny is in the red. This activates his Swarm ability, making its next String Shot strong enough to hold Drapion down. He fires off Energy Ball, Razor Leaf and X-Scissor. Eventually though, the poison and its exhaustion get to it. Drapion is able to break free and finish it off with Cross Poison.

Pignite vs Drapion: Pignite is poisoned by the spikes upon entering the battlefield. Ash has Pignite burn away the Toxic Spikes with Fire Pledge. He is still poisoned, so he returns the favor by igniting the string and leaves from Leavanny's earlier Razor Leaf's and String Shot with Flamethrower. The move does more damage than usual (thanks to Energy Ball lowering Drapions Sp Def.) and burnsthe Ogre Scorp Pokemon. Poisoned, Pignite is captured by Drapions Tail. However, much like Buizel, he breaks out using sheer strength to pry himself out and launch Flame Charge. Drapion uses Poison Fang at the same time and both parties are hurt. The posion takes its toll, along with some earlier damage from Aggron, and Pignite faints. Paul recalls Drapion due to significant damage and having a status condition.

Unfezant vs Ninjask: Unfezant is a fantastic flyer, but Ninjask is faster. Being unable to lock onto its target, the Proud Pokemon is pummeled by repeated strikes of fury cutter from the Ninja. Eventually, Ash gets the idea of having Unfezant fly upward with Quick Attack. Ninjask chases, and Unfezant uses its own large size as an advantage by spinning with an Air Cutter. The sudden flurry of slashes means that even Ninjask can't react to all of them being hit by one. Thats all Unfezant needs. She follows up with Gust to slam Ninjask into the ground before following up with its signature Aerial Ace. The chain of supereffective moves means that the frail Ninjask is unable to continue giving Ash the win.

Unfezant vs Froslass: Paul quickly sends in his own female pokemon and sets up Hail, damaging Unfezant. Ash has her use Gust to blow away a section of the Hail, breaking Froslass's cover long enough for Unfezant to lock on with Aerial Ace. The attack connects but Paul quickly calls for Ice Beam at a close range. Froslass grabs Unfezants beak and chills it into unconsciousness evening up the match with both having 3 left.

Pikachu vs Froslass: Same as the OG except that he breaks out of the ice with Thunderbolt to win since he doesn't know Volt Tackle. Ash recalls him.

Palpitoad vs Drapion: Palpitoad comes in next. He counters Pin Missle with Hydro Pump before using Supersonic to confuse Drapion. Due to already taking damage from/being burned by Leavanny and Pignite, as well as hurting itself in confusion, Palp is able to beat it with a descisive Mud Shot

Palpitoad vs Electivire: Pauls Ace counters Mud Shot with the stones from Underground Thunder. He uses Brick Break striking it in the head, but Ash has Palpitoad respond with Sludge Wave which comes up from Palpitoads head. He is knocked out by Electivire but Sludge Wave damages him.

Pikachu vs Electivire: Same as the original. Electivire is given a great fight, especially troubled by Pikachus speed, but defeats Pikachu when Motor Drive is activated by Electro Ball.

Krookodile vs Electivire: 3/4 of Electivires moves are innefective. However, Brick Break is super effective. Krook counters the physical move with Dragon Claw but can't land Dig as it's blocked by Protect. Eventually, Drapion captures Krookodile (by knocking away its sunglasses) and uses a flurry of Brick Breaks, one of which being a critical hit. Paul mocks Ash for having such an exploitable weakness.

Ash agrees with Paul, suprising him. He tells Krookodile that his glasses are great, but they aren't the source of his power. The source is their bond. Krookodile slowly gets up grabbing the sunglasses. He tosses them back to Ash, signaling to him that he'll take them back after the fight is won. The Intimidation Pokemon surges with power as his ability, Anger Point activates. The earlier crit from Brick Break turns against Paul, as Krookodile has a maxxed out attack stat. Dragon Claw easily overpowers Brick Break. He launches Dig, but instead of striking comes out from behind him. He flies into Electivire with Aerial Ace knocking it on its back. Then, still on top of Pauls ace, uses a max attack Dig tunneling through the stadium ground with Electivire as its shovel. As they emerge, the dust clears and the Thunderbolt Pokemon gives a grin. After a staredown, Electivire takes the fall. Krookodile is the victor!

BW Ash wins an extremly close, 6-5 victory over Sinnoh League Paul

Imagine the story taking place many years in the future. Ash is now an adult, a legendary Pokémon Trainer, and an established Champion. Since the ninth generation is set in a school environment, the Academy could invite him to give an inspirational speech to the students.

During his visit, Ash meets Liko and immediately recognizes her incredible potential. Instead of making only a brief cameo, he decides to mentor her and help her grow as a Pokémon Trainer. Throughout the series, he would serve as a true mentor, sharing his experience, encouraging Liko to find her own path, and showing that she doesn't need to become another Ash in order to become a great trainer.

In this version, she could be a Trainer with incredible potential and talent. Ash could recognize his younger self in her and decide to train her, drawing on his two decades of experience. Maybe she would be the one to ask. Ash would test her, and after seeing her talent and determination, he would decide to accept her request.

We could have flashbacks during the moments when he gives Liko advice. Not just fanservice, but scenes that actually serve the story, recalling his battle against Tobias, the Kalos League final, and the Battle Frontier.

At the end of the story, Ash realizes that his student is finally ready to continue her journey on her own. He says a heartfelt goodbye to both Liko and the audience, officially passing his legacy on to the next generation before setting off on a new adventure.

In my opinion, this would have been a much more organic, respectful, and satisfying passing of the torch. It also would have been amazing to finally see Ash as an accomplished adult who achieved the dream he spent so many years chasing

Rate the Team 1-10, lmk any changes you’d make, and how would you write Ash’s Kalos Journey with this Team?

Notes: There are 2 Timelines in this Post. The first being if Ash traveled through Galar like he did the previous Regions, earning their Gym Badges and catching Galar Pokémon. The second is if Ash had gone for the PWC like he did in Journeys, but rather than catching a whole new team, Ash uses all his old Pokémon. The 6 on the Party are the ones I’d have him use against Leon, but everyone would see at least one use, hence the updated Movesets. Rate the teams 1-10, how would you write Ash’s Journeys with these Teams, what changes would you make, and which Timeline is your favorite? Also, Pikachu wouldn’t use Z-Moves in the Galar Timeline, it just saved time only using the one Slide.

is my favorite character in all of Pokémon. She is very determined, I love her dress, and she is very pretty.

The Goat of XYZ , This is what should have happened to Spinel

credits

Suppose Brendan was introduced in Advance Generation as another rival? How do you think he would've fit into the narrative?

This is part 3 of my master 8 rewrite in this part I’ll discuss the third round of the tournament.

Round 3:
3 Cynthia vs 8 Alain
Despite Alain’s strong start Cynthia is in a world of her own and is easily able to bring down the newcomer.

1 Leon vs 4 Diantha
One of the biggest criticisms of Leon was the fact he didn’t have many feats of power prior to his battle with ash. So this gives him a chance to battle against a strong trainer and prove he’s stronger by winning this match as well.

5 Steven vs 7 Iris
This match is pretty straightforward Steven would defeat Iris however as the match ends Iris can tell she’s getting stronger.

2 Lance vs 6 Ash
Lance is one of the strongest in the tournament so he isn’t a slouch. Ash meanwhile is desperate to get a win after his loss to Cynthia. Ash’s strategy seems full proof but things go left as Lance turns the tide and comes out the winner. However as the battle ends Lance can tell ash hasn’t reached the peak of his strength and if he keeps growing he will get much stronger.

Round 3 Recap
Leon 3-0
Cynthia 3-0
Alain 2-1
Diantha 1-2
Lance 1-2
Ash 1-2
Steven 1-2
Iris 0-3

What are your guys thoughts and what would you guys do differently ?

It has some of the same details as Lebanne's maid outfit, including what seems to be a head dress, though not exactly the same given how they'd probably wouldn't want to show Liko showing off her body like that. I'm thinking its possible that Liko will be fighting in the Society of Battle Conosieurs from the ZA games, perhaps from getting herself into a simmilar arrangement on how Jacinthe got Lebanne to become her maid.

I could see anime Jacinthe having a contest like approach at battles that relies on elaborate combos much like Mewscarada and growing interested on Liko as a result, while critiquing how she holds herself back. Due to her having something Liko needs (or perhaps from defending Navi's honor after someone in SBC bullies her) they end up having a tag match with Ditto against Jacinthe (whose ace, Clefable, has a fire move like the one above) or perhaps Lebanne instead depending on what level they want her to be; maybe a tag match of Liko and Navi vs Jacynthe and Lebane, though in that case I don't see them realistically winning unless Ditto makes for broken support by mimicking all of Mewscarada's moves. At the end I could see Liko impressing her enough (not necessarily by winning but perhaps by pushing her into mega evolving and setting the space for a rematch later) to begift her mega stone.

Either way, Liko gets embarassed from being forced to wear maid outfit and traumatized at the thought of wearing Lebane's.

(this is primarily ment for fun and not as a jab to the people who like SM and Journeys)

I remember when BW was running it seemed to be the main BW ship besides Ash x Iris yet I can only find 6 or so fics of them on AO3. Granted the non-companion ships tend to have their popularity wane with time, but I can barely even find any fanart old or new. Searching Ash x Bianca seems to generally yield more results for the girl from Movie 5 (despite it being obvious Latias was the one who kissed him)

Am I searching in the wrong places, has a large amount of content for these two been taken down, or are my memories of the ship’s popularity wrong?