Pokémon TCG: Sword and Shield—Brilliant Stars

Pokemon's Popularity

SailorClef said:
and type differences? they only matter SOMETIMES... -_-;
Especially when your target is a Ground type and Pikachu is using Thundershock/Thunderbolt/Thunder. :lol: (There're a LOT more than that, but that one's the most glaring of them all).
 
Personally, depsite what you're all saying about ditching Ash, I think he should stay - He is, after all, the character that we've all been watching for so long. To just discard him, and bring out a new character is just silly. If we wanted to do that, we could just go and watch Digimon or something.

What I think should happen is that he starts acting more mature, and less kiddy-like, and start acting like a proper trainer.

I agree with the bit about not catching Legendaries. In the GameBoy game, it's good, but for the TV show, I don't think so. As people have said before, they represent nature, and if Ash (or any trainer) were to catch one, then I'd be very disappointed.
(The only exception would be for Sammy to have caught a Celebi - in the movie, if you're not sure. After all, there is more than one Celebi, as there are with some of the other Legendaries. In the 4th movie, they mention that it is "a Suicune", not "the Suicune", therefore there must be more than one Suicune in the pokemon world, unlike Mewtwo, and the 5 Legendary Flying types.)

Regarding Pikachu using Thunder on Ground types, I remember an episode where Pikachu used Thunderbolt on a Cubone in a trainer battle, and the trainer boasted that Electrical attacks don't affect Ground type pokemon. Ash considers this for a moment and then tells pikachu to "give it all you've got", and so Pikachu does an attack that is probably Tackle/Struggle. The other trainer says that it's not an official move, and so Ash shouldn't have let Pikachu do it, but concedes defeat anyway. This is an example of where types were considered.

Isn't the Safari Zone episode the one where a gun was pointed at someone's head? The reason for the censorship wasn't the gun itself, but the fact that it was used against another person.

In short, let's not discard Ash. All we have to do is have his personality change, and it will be okay.
Yeah, the new clothes are a good idea too - it would reflect a change in personality.
 
SailorClef said:
yes, ash is a great trainer... TACKLE is a sure way to beat any pokemon.. yeah.. it's like.. the most powerful attack there is..

and type differences? they only matter SOMETIMES... -_-;

That's because....

Anime =/= Game

Stop judging Anime battles based on just the mechanics in the Game Boy games. They simply don't work in exactly the same way, and you have to accept that. The game mechanics provide an abstraction of what would happen in a battle. You can't make very specific orders, put elements of the arena to use, etc, in the games, can you? The game doesn't take into account the relative weight of the Pokémon, or if that tackle's got more momentum than it might have usually for whatever reason, does it?

For example, in regards to the oft quoted ground type attacked by electricity, consider just *why* these guys are usually going to be immune to the attacks. In the game, we just accept that they will always be immune, but that's just an abstraction for the purposes of the game. In the Anime, the reasoning for it seems to be that they can ground themselves better, and thus the electricity passes through their body into the ground. When they can't ground themselves properly for whatever reason (Floating Geodude, Wet Onix, Rhydon's "lightning rod" solid metal horn, etc, etc), *then* the attacks have worked. But not otherwise.
 
True, the Game Boy game cannot include some of the things in the Anime.
Remember when Ash met the trainer who had a Sandshrew and although Sandshrew generally are usually terrified of water, this trainer had helped his Sandshrew become so accustomed to water, that it was able to sit outside in the rain?
And when Ash and Pikachu were battling Lt.Surge's Raichu, and Ash used 'Agility' of all things to avoid the attacks? (in the game, you would be using DoubleTeam or something instead, as Agility boosts your speed) Then when Lt.Surge's Raichu used Thunder, Pikachu stood on it's tail and earthed itself to survive the attack?

It's TV - just have fun and be entertained, don't worry so much about the details.
 
Yes, but why can`t the same attacks have the same affects like on T.V. I have done the same attacks, in the same order won even more easier!!!!!
 
Get rid of Ash? That would be like getting rid of Brock, or Misty...wait, nevermind. ;)

In all seriousness what I would really like to see is a spinoff. I mean, the show is in its seventh season in Japan and sixth season here. I mean, there are so many possiblities here. An Emergency/Adam-12 type of show that could finally take seriously the roles of Nurse Joy and Officer Jenny, or maybe we could do something with Lance and the G-Men in their struggle against Team Rocket.
 
Some of the effect changes of moves in the anime make sense, i.e. the already-given example of using Agility to dodge attacks. What irks me sometimes, though, is how often weak moves are overpowered. Water Gun and Tackle are the biggest examples of this. James's Victreebel (which, admittably, is badly trained, but let's not get into that) is a Grass-type, yet often gets OHKO'd by a single Water Gun from just one of Misty's Pokemon, or Ash's Totodile. That would have to be a MAJOR level difference, folks! And a run-of-the-mill Tackle has often appeared to take a Pokemon that was obviously in good health down to a mere shadow of full health. Again, even without applying type alignments, that would require a significant level difference and a critical hit in most cases. Also, have you noticed how much more powerful a Pokemon always is the first time it shows up as compared to later showings?
 
Actually, the "more powerful in their first ep as opposed to later" is a syndrome that happens in almost every show that has fighting. It's basically to get you accustomed to the character and get you liking him/her right away (it's funny how it works this way in RPGs when a boss joins your party though).

And it's not that I'm terribly opposed to Ash not wanting his Pokémon to evolve (although that does get at me), it's just that he would let a Basic that has a Stage 2 form compete in a gym (or League) match. Let's face it, the power trainers who don't have huge emotional bonds with their Pokémon would come at him with Draggies, T-tars, Stage 2 starters, and all sorts of Stage 2s and BBPs. Ash would retort with some cute little Basic that would inexplicably win (yes, I know Johto doesn't follow this at all, but I'm exaggerating to make a point).

My guess is that it's some "inspirational" thing to the little kids that the big, powerful people don't always win, or that you don't need to be overly strong to win, or some similar message. Or that having spirit is better than having strength, I've seen that message splayed across shows before. Now, I'm not saying that the animé should be filled with Stage 2 Pokémon using high-power attacks like Hyper Beam or Blast Burn or whatnot, I'm just saying that we need to see more in the ways of actually powerful Pokémon being used.
 
Yes, but keep and mind that half the time Ash instructs his pokemon to, "dodge it!" This "dodge and strike" strategy is realistically the only way for small, unevolved, Pokemon to defeat big evolved monsters. Evolution may make attack speed go up, but smaller pokemon clearly have an advantage when it comes to maneuverability. Of course, this strategy isn't exploitable in the video game or TCG, but it exists in the animated series.
 
Okay.. um.. i saw the safari zone episode and the warden is NOT DRUNK.. that's stupid...

there is a scene, however, where team rocket (i think it was james) is holding a gun to the warden's head.. and the warden also shoots at team rocket (it's really not that spectacular, as some people would like to make you think =/)

and an example of when an electric attack worked on a ground type is in the opening credits of mewtwo strikes back... (a golem!.. okay, some people may say it dosent count cause it's in the opening credits, but it DOES happen more than that time... that's just the one that came to mind..)

oh, and another thing, in the safari zone episode, they don't even show ash catching all those tauros! They only show him catching like one or two.. maybe three but i KNOW they don't show him catching the entire herd!
 
This issue has been discussed many times before, and it comes down to one simple premise -- Either one likes Pokemon or dislikes it. There seems to be no middle ground when it comes to a person's views on this very "controversial" brand.

Will the anime act as a catalyst to boost the brand's popularity?

The best way to answer that, is first to lose the mindset that Pokemon is still in its "fad" stage. It isn't, and good riddence.

Pokemon, is now working on becoming a lasting brand, and as such, its marketing focus has been 'refocused' to reflect long-term stability. This "niche marketing" principle is now being adopted with this premise in mind.

Pokemon's market has been established, and marketing towards that key demographic is now being implemented. This is NOT to say, that Pokemon ONLY appeals to a certain demographic, in fact, Pokemon is a very "broad based" product that appeals to people from very young to much older adults.

As an adult myself, I must say, I enjoy watching the series, probably more now, during the "Master Quest" arc, then I have since the "Kanto Arc".

The writing has been fantastic, especially during the last dozen or so episodes, where this series is really showing that it can "break out" of the formularic rut that has plagued it for so long.

The main character, Ash, has also shown some major improvements as a character/trainer in these later episodes as well.

Like I have stated before, the character of Ash is not meant to be a hero, never has been. He is meant to emulate a human being, and while there are times, when "cartoon physics" play too great a role, honestly I think the writers have done a good job with developing this character over the 5 year period. Is it the best anime? No. Is it the worst? No.

I can say though, as far as a network is concerned, when it comes to ratings, which either "makes or breaks" a series, Pokemon has shown to be a very solid contender in a very competitive genre, consistently ranking in the TOP 3 programs on children's television, which as anyone in the TV industry will most likely tell you, tends to be VERY fluid.

So, as far as the brand goes, I think it is still very popular. Not as much as back in the "fad" days, but still a viable contender nonetheless. I think it will stay that way for quite some time.

Take Care,

Skywolf1
 
Well, he did just have his Charizard use Seismic Toss for 100 damage (since 'Zard has to be level 100), and Snorlax didn't fight in such a low-level style.
 
*Sighs* Didn't either of you two read what was posted above? Don't apply game standards to the Anime. It just doesn't work.
 
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