I really wish several people would stop hating on Misty's Togepi (some spoilers)

Honestly, from my experiences on Serebii.net forums, Bulbagarden, heck, even here, I noticed several people having a lot of hate for Togepi, more specifically Misty's Togepi.

The reasons usually varied, though it usually ranged between "Togepi ruined Misty's character" and "Togepi was useless and just sat in her arms and didn't do anything, especially in Johto." It was bad enough that TVTropes even refers to it as a Scrappy.

Honestly, I just have to say this, and sorry for having to be blunt, but:

Are all of you guys insane?!

First of all, Togepi was not responsible for ruining Misty's character at all. It wasn't responsible for giving her a motherly personality. Heck, she already was established to have a motherly personality well before Misty even got Togepi. For example, the first and second episodes of the Original Series had Misty expressing concern for Pikachu in a motherly way, and in A Chansey Operation, Misty even comforted an injured Cubone in a similar manner to a mother. Keep in mind that these episodes were well before Togepi even hatched and imprinted onto her. The only thing Togepi did that related to Misty's motherly nature at all was expand upon it. Besides which, ironically, at least among western kids, Misty's mother-figure status was in fact what made her popular. Nor was it even responsible for eliminating Misty's temper. Heck, even in Johto, Misty's temper was still very much prevalent (I'd know, I saw several episodes of Johto. Not the entirety of Johto, though, but still enough to form an opinion on it, some from KidsWB, but most of it from that marathon). If you think that it somehow killed her fiery nature, you must have either mixed her up with Jessie or Naru Narusegawa (who were definitely a lot more fiery tempered and abusive than Misty ever was, even pre-Togepi Misty).

Even IF, for some reason, Togepi actually did supply Misty with a motherly nature she never had before Togepi hatched, how is that even remotely a bad thing, anyways? Terra Branford from Final Fantasy VI wasn't negatively impacted in terms of character when she became a mother to those Mobliz children. Quite the opposite in fact, that actually allowed her to actually grow as a character and cast aside her self-doubts plaguing her throughout the game. Heck, it's even what made her a very popular character in both Japan and even the West (probably one of the few popular characters from that game in Japan, since that game wasn't exactly that popular to everyone, and even Kefka, a very popular villain outside Japan, was basically their version of Jar-Jar Binks in Japan). Samus Aran also became a mother to the Baby Metroid as well, under slightly similar circumstances to Misty becoming a mother of Togepi in fact, with Super Metroid, one of the best Metroid games out there, even focusing on Samus Aran trying to save the Baby Metroid for most of the game, and that never even badly impacted Samus's character, at least among the West (Like Final Fantasy VI, Super Metroid did poorly in its country of origin, though then again, Metroid as a whole was more of a Western game than a Japanese game and thus was more popular in the former than in the latter). Now, that being said, Other M did ruin Samus's character, but that had little to do with the Baby Metroid and more to do with Yoshi Sakamoto being a huge jerk to the Metroid fanbase and making jerkhead decisions that actually negatively impacted the Metroid franchise, including making Samus extremely weak-willed and submissive despite even official materials conflicting with that notion, including the 2002 Manga which first introduced her PTSD from Ridley's massacre of K-2L. Heck, even Ariel with the controversial Little Mermaid II movie wasn't ruined by becoming a mother to Melody, and in fact her fears and motives if you think about it are actually a lot more justified than Triton's motives in the first film. In fact, Melody, while not quite as popular as her mom, actually turned out to be one of the more popular characters in that movie in spite of its infamy. Had Misty's character actually been ruined, you need to look at Samus in Metroid Other M and compare her to most other Metroid games and source areas and see for yourself what Misty would need to become to even come close to having her character ruined.

And as far as not doing anything, yeah, it did sit on Misty's arms for a while, but what exactly do you expect it to do? Togepi had only three confirmed moves by Johto: Metronome, Charm, and Safeguard. Even then, only Metronome actually qualifies as an attack that deals damage to the opponent (the others being status attacks and thus utterly useless in a fight. Maybe they would work well in regards to double battles where it at least gives its partner an opening to attack, but otherwise not exactly something that actually would take down an opponent), and let's face it, due to the wild card nature of the attack, it's not really reliable as it's just as likely it would use an attack that would prove to be detrimental to it as it will use an attack that actually can do damage. It's game moveset in Gen II (which is the generation where most of the complaints are geared towards with Johto and all) isn't exactly that good either. Besides Metronome, the only attack it actually can use in a battle is Double Edge, and that requires a very high level for it (level 37, more specifically). Not to mention, were Togepi even to enter a fight, most likely its sluggish waddling, small size, and overall indecent abilities, Metronome aside, would result it being instantly rushed to the ER. The only real battle it had was against Pikachu, and even then it only really won because Pikachu was reluctant to fight it (for good reason as most likely Pikachu would OHKO it and nearly kill it if it fought seriously). Had it fought a Pokémon who didn't know Togepi as well as Pikachu did, it would not have been so lucky. Heck, it wasn't even until FireRed and LeafGreen that it even got decent moves (specifically, Ancientpower). Not to mention, it flat out wasn't even meant for battling anyways. How it evolves into Togetic even strongly supports it, as it evolves not by battle levels, but by happiness levels, which is where battle has the least impact on happiness levels. And that's not even getting into its movesets, which even if we go by the Anime, its attacks are extremely limited. Ironically, Misty's constant coddling of it actually makes it much closer to actually realizing its potential than if she just used it in Pokémon Battles, since that actually would gear it to evolving into Togetic, which actually IS capable of battling.

People often cite Larvitar and Phanpy as examples of Pokémon who did well despite being baby Pokémon, but let me remind you that unlike Togepi, those Pokémon actually ARE very much capable of battling after being hatched and in fact are meant to be used in battles, meaning it's not a valid comparison. And that reminds me, suppose the Anime did give Misty's Togepi a lot more action, actually had it battling to quite an extent that it was overpowered, even gave it moves it really shouldn't have at all, chances are Togepi would be hated even more than it was in Johto, much less right now. After all, May's Squirtle was actually hated by most of the fanbase due to in large part to it being extremely overpowered especially for its young age (Dogasu even blithely compared it to a member of the Son Family from Dragon Ball Z due to some of its abilities becoming somewhat super), and that was a Pokémon that actually was capable of fighting and in fact was meant to fight. Imagine the outcry if Togepi, a Pokémon that wasn't even meant to be used in battle in the first place, was treated like May's Squirtle, there would be no end to the rage. And that's not even getting into Dawn's Piplup, another hated character in the series, who also is meant for fighting.

Now, I don't particularly care for Togepi myself (Not that I don't like it, I do like it, and I actually find Misty's relationship between it and herself to be much better than May and Manaphy's relationship, as at least Misty actually does act like what a mother is supposed to do and actually tries to help or defend it to the best of her abilities, even try to find it if it goes missing at risk to herself. With May and Manaphy, May basically cowardly abandoned Manaphy to Phantom late into the movie when he needed her most, even though she actually had the ability to retrieve Manaphy from him, namely her Squirtle and possibly Beautifly as well, and without too much risk to either of them, thus leaving Ash to do the busywork to actually retrieving him when she actually should have done so herself especially when it was supposed to be her movie [note that I did not say I disliked Manaphy himself. I actually thought he was fine in himself, and while I do dislike May and thought she was a poor choice for Manaphy's imprinted mom, I would have forgiven it if she actually did try to behave like a mom and defend Manaphy with every ounce of her life and when she actually has the ability to do so.]. I'm more aloof to Togepi itself overall even though I do like it rather than dislike it.), but I also don't like it when people blame it for things it was neither responsible for or otherwise expect it to do things that it naturally cannot do. Now, had it actually been a battle-capable Pokémon and it still did all the things you hate it for like simply sit in Misty's arms, or had it actually did sap Misty's personality to such an extent that she came across like Samus Aran did in Metroid Other M (weak, submissive, brain-damaged, too frightened easily, that kind of stuff), I'd agree with you as to how that would be very much a bad thing and definitely a good reason to hate on it, but a lot of the reasons for hating on Togepi make absolutely no sense whatsoever, and in fact, it's probably because of that hating on Togepi, especially the bit about it "not doing anything" as if the only way a Pokémon proves its worth is by battling even if that's not even the Pokémon's forte, that we've got even worse instances of Pokémon actually being overpowered to such an extent that they are actually being hated on specifically because they are overpowered, like May's Squirtle and even May's Eevee to some extent, not to mention Dawn's Piplup, meaning the Togepi haters are directly at fault for needlessly making something worse.

There are all things we wish people would stop hating on :P

I personally don't have an issue with Togepi, and I fail to see how it could be a liability for Misty. Togepi wasn't intended to be a powerful Pokémon or anything like that. It just set the standard for the female companions to have one Pokémon that they are really close to (Iris with Axew, Dawn with Piplup, etc.). If anything, despite the fact that Misty didn't use Togepi for battling, the skills that Misty earned while raising and caring for Togepi improved her abilities as a Trainer because battling is only half the side of being a Trainer. Besides, the Mirage Kingdom arc during AG was an excellent conclusion to Misty and her Togepi, and I think those episodes had a great effect on the entire OS relationship of Misty and her Togepi.

Wobbu said:

There are all things we wish people would stop hating on :P

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Yeah, though at least in some instances, there are instances where instances of hating on a character at least made sense from a rational standpoint (for instance, the hate against Brock actually did make sense as he doesn't do his breeder goal at all, and he also ended up irresponsibly leaving Pewter Gym to people who nearly ruined it twice after stopping them each time, which is made even worse when the first time around, when Misty was forced by her sisters to run Cerulean Gym for three months or else Cerulean Gym would be instantly shut down by the PIA, while Brock's gym, despite being in even worse shape than Cerulean Gym thanks to Lola, and thus definitely qualifiable for a shutdown by the PIA even if the GL was present, Brock doesn't even attempt to do the responsible thing and regain control at all after the situation was settled, and let's not get into the second time around which was even worse.). This one made absolutely no sense whatsoever, and in fact, it made the fanbase more like Damian (you know, the guy who formerly owned Ash's Charizard, back when it was a Charmander, and basically abandoned it or at the very least manipulated it so that someone would raise Charmander for him and not worry about raising it himself.). And I also find it ironic that Pokemopolis (the group that started the whole Misty's Togepi hate) mentioned it as a leech that saps on a character's character, because what they described was in effect a Metroid, and Samus actually did get a baby that saps on a character's life.

I personally don't have an issue with Togepi, and I fail to see how it could be a liability for Misty. Togepi wasn't intended to be a powerful Pokémon or anything like that. It just set the standard for the female companions to have one Pokémon that they are really close to (Iris with Axew, Dawn with Piplup, etc.). If anything, despite the fact that Misty didn't use Togepi for battling, the skills that Misty earned while raising and caring for Togepi improved her abilities as a Trainer because battling is only half the side of being a Trainer. Besides, the Mirage Kingdom arc during AG was an excellent conclusion to Misty and her Togepi, and I think those episodes had a great effect on the entire OS relationship of Misty and her Togepi.

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Yeah, and while it can evolve into a powerful Pokémon, it can't evolve via battling, while Piplup and Axew can at least evolve via battling (and since you brought up Dawn's Piplup, ironically, Piplup ended up hated for the exact opposite reasons Togepi was hated).

And yeah, it actually improved her skills as a trainer to some extent.

And the Mirage Kingdom arc also was a good conclusion to her Togepi (can't say it's a good conclusion for Misty, though, or even a conclusion, as she's forced to return to the gym, a role that in her second reappearance it is strongly implied she doesn't even like, such as deliberately trying to delay her return to such an extent that Daisy had to threaten her just to get her to return. A real conclusion for her would be for her to actually continue her dream and travel to get stronger, and become the world's greatest Water Pokémon Master, similar to Ash and the others.), not to mention it had a great effect on their relationship. Certainly their relationship's payoff was far better than the payoff of May and Manaphy's relationship, where May basically abandoned him to Phantom late into the movie out of sheer cowardice. At least Misty, when Togepi (or rather, Togetic, as it was evolved by that point) ran into trouble with Colonel Hansen, actually did try to defend Togetic with all of her effort, even using Gyarados against him. What did May do when Phantom made off with Manaphy? Nothing, not even send out Squirtle against him (and let me remind you that Squirtle as a species actually does have enough speed to catch up to a Water Jet). She basically stood there and then entered a sub when Ash came into the picture. She actually had the ability to save Manaphy, but she didn't. What made it worse is that it was supposed to be her movie, yet Ash did most of the dirty work. Pretty much the only time she actually did do something to save Manaphy's life was saving its egg from falling to the ground.

I never eard about someone hating togepi :o I love this little cute thing!!

Mawa said:

I never eard about someone hating togepi :o I love this little cute thing!!

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You must not have frequented Bulbagarden or Serebiiforums, as I can assure you that there was definitely a lot of hate for Togepi for one of the two reasons listed above. Scott85/Cybercubed was probably the worst of it.

I can't say I've seen direct hatred for togepi specifically in regards to Misty's character being "ruined". Me personally, I don't really care about it at all. I saw it in the same light as I do pikachu, piplup, oshawott, axew, and now dedenne: nothing more than a cute marketing tool that we see in every episode so they can sell plushies.

weedle_mchairybug said:

You must not have frequented Bulbagarden or Serebiiforums, as I can assure you that there was definitely a lot of hate for Togepi for one of the two reasons listed above. Scott85/Cybercubed was probably the worst of it.

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Well, not the forum but the web site, yes I am almost always on Serebii :)
I loved Togepi and got sad when...

I really don't understand why you're here on PC complaining about a joke that was said on sppf and bmgf years ago. I'm sure you've cottoned on to it just being a joke after all these years, and if you really cared that much, you would argue about it where it was actually being said (I suppose you can't on bmgf as you're banned there). It's threads like these that have made me sure you're just a troll.

WHO COULD POSSIBLY HATE TOGEPI.

Jorah said:

I really don't understand why you're here on PC complaining about a joke that was said on sppf and bmgf years ago. I'm sure you've cottoned on to it just being a joke after all these years, and if you really cared that much, you would argue about it where it was actually being said (I suppose you can't on bmgf as you're banned there). It's threads like these that have made me sure you're just a troll.

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I do care about this, but I wasn't exactly sure back then how to actually address it. And no, I'm not a troll. I do genuinely believe the things I mention. And honestly, when TVTropes does list Togepi as a scrappy, yes, it is still on-going, and no, it definitely was not a joke. And I doubt Scott85/Cybercubed, PDL, and the like were joking back then at all.

I don't believe Togepi has had much of a negative effect on Misty in any way. Although it did put some motherly characteristics onto her, Misty was still Misty, and kept behaving as such. Only difference I've noticed is that, when Togepi hatched, she was more caring of her Pokémon in general, and managed to find ways to keep them in-check most of the time. This is what any other trainer would do if they'd decided to put a bit more care; there's nothing wrong with it, I feel. We all would do similar things if we had pets in real life that we truly love and whatnot.

Peitharchia said:

I don't believe Togepi has had much of a negative effect on Misty in any way. Although it did put some motherly characteristics onto her, Misty was still Misty, and kept behaving as such. Only difference I've noticed is that, when Togepi hatched, she was more caring of her Pokémon in general, and managed to find ways to keep them in-check most of the time. This is what any other trainer would do if they'd decided to put a bit more care; there's nothing wrong with it, I feel. We all would do similar things if we had pets in real life that we truly love and whatnot.

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Yeah, and even then, I wouldn't even say "put" as that implies she didn't have motherly characteristics beforehand when she clearly did (aside from her expressing clear concern for Pikachu in her first two appearances, she also was shown comforting Cubone in A Chansey Operation, and that was before Togepi hatched).

And I wouldn't necessarily say that she didn't care for her Pokémon. She did, after all, help out Starmie when helping save the Butterfree after James knocked it into a wall. That being said, she did definitely care more for her Pokémon, even if slightly more.

Glad we can agree that Togepi didn't really deserve the rap it's getting from certain fans.

How could anyone hate the first Pokemon in the anime that not only was the first Pokemon that was confirmed as new and undiscovered, but paved the way for more new Pokemon at the time, like Snubbull, Marill, and Donphan. Ho-oh was so ambiguous as the legendary birds were (and the rest of the 150 pokemon), some have mistaken it for Articuno.

And besides that, Togepi managed to cool down Misty's jets long enough to keep off Ash's back throughout the rest of the OS series (compared to the insane red-haired demon from episodes 2-4). Sadly, the same can't be said about her attention that suddenly shifted towards Brock (and became a bad influence to Max).

Kid Sonic said:

How could anyone hate the first Pokemon in the anime that not only was the first Pokemon that was confirmed as new and undiscovered, but paved the way for more new Pokemon at the time, like Snubbull, Marill, and Donphan. Ho-oh was so ambiguous as the legendary birds were (and the rest of the 150 pokemon), some have mistaken it for Articuno.

And besides that, Togepi managed to cool down Misty's jets long enough to keep off Ash's back throughout the rest of the OS series (compared to the insane red-haired demon from episodes 2-4). Sadly, the same can't be said about her attention that suddenly shifted towards Brock (and became a bad influence to Max).

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Glad we can at least agree that Togepi didn't ruin Misty's character at all (and let's be honest, she already had a motherly nature, as that Cubone can attest to in A Chansey Operation).

That being said, though, I really don't think Brock's constant womanizing is going to set a good example on Max, either, so I really don't get your animosity towards Misty's pulling Brock by the ear gag. I never really liked Brock's womanizing gag since the start of the series, and honestly, I really do think someone SHOULD reign in on him before he gets someone pregnant out of wedlock. I didn't like it when Family Guy did that with Quagmire or Two and a Half Men did that with Charlier Harper or, well, most of the male cast, but at least those were grown up shows and not meant to be viewed by kids, while Pokémon is, making the whole Brock gag extremely inappropriate anyways.

And honestly, some of the stuff Misty told Ash off for actually were stuff Ash deserved. For example, in Episode 3, he basically nearly got his Caterpie nearly killed by Pidgeotto due to his stupidity. And let's face it, when he's bragging about achievements that aren't exactly stuff worth bragging about, since until the Thunder Badge, he didn't actually beat his opponents to get the badge, it does come across as extremely narcissistic and arrogant. And there were plenty of times she stuck up for Ash, and even maintained a very friendly demeanor to him as well, and this was all before she even got Togepi. And need I really remind you that she actually saved Ash and co multiple times, even when it would have been in her best interests not to save them a few times, or heck, helping Ash advance to the next level even when she didn't need to help him at all? And besides, Serena behaved in a similar manner in her opening episode (the pictures are even uploaded by Famon, so don't even attempt to deny it), being a huge grouch, yet I don't see you hating on her despite your one-strike rule that led you to hate Misty.

Though, like I said above, I'm glad you at least agree Togepi didn't ruin Misty's character at all.

PS, I asked you twice before yet you never answered. Do you consider Maron from DBZ (Krillin's old flame, to be more specific, since there are technically two "Mar[r]ons", the other being his daughter) to be a nice girl? She certainly doesn't have a temper, which you hated Misty for.

Jorah said:

I really don't understand why you're here on PC complaining about a joke that was said on sppf and bmgf years ago. I'm sure you've cottoned on to it just being a joke after all these years, and if you really cared that much, you would argue about it where it was actually being said (I suppose you can't on bmgf as you're banned there). It's threads like these that have made me sure you're just a troll.

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Even more baffling is making a big deal out of a Pokemon that hasn't been part of the cast since 2002, which was over 12 years ago. This rant makes it seem like Togepi was around for the majority of the show or something.

To the OP: are you honestly expecting us to read all that wall of text? :P

I don't think Togepi ruined Misty at all. I'm basing this from my faint memory of the first seasons, though. :P Togepi needed care, and if for example Brock was the one who kept it, he would be fatherly in the same way Misty was motherly towards Togepi (which would be in-character for Brock as well, considering he WAS basically the father figure of the group).

precita said:

Even more baffling is making a big deal out of a Pokemon that hasn't been part of the cast since 2002, which was over 12 years ago. This rant makes it seem like Togepi was around for the majority of the show or something.

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When it is listed on TVTropes as a Scrappy (meaning an extremely unpopular character), and when Misty's Togepi is being bashed since at least 2009, maybe 2010 or 2011 (which was the last time I was on either BMGf or SPPf), well after Misty and Togepi are gone from the show, yes, this is indeed a big deal.

To the OP: are you honestly expecting us to read all that wall of text?

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Wall of text? I made sure to split it up into paragraphs for ease of reading.

I don't think Togepi ruined Misty at all. I'm basing this from my faint memory of the first seasons, though. Togepi needed care, and if for example Brock was the one who kept it, he would be fatherly in the same way Misty was motherly towards Togepi (which would be in-character for Brock as well, considering he WAS basically the father figure of the group).

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Yeah, agreed, and at least if Brock got Togepi we'd actually get to see a breeder in action even IF he doesn't otherwise do anything relating to Pokémon Breeding in Johto. Besides, even before Togepi came into the picture, Misty already had a motherly streak to her anyways (Pikachu and Cubone can attest to that).

weedle_mchairybug said:

Glad we can at least agree that Togepi didn't ruin Misty's character at all (and let's be honest, she already had a motherly nature, as that Cubone can attest to in A Chansey Operation).

That being said, though, I really don't think Brock's constant womanizing is going to set a good example on Max, either, so I really don't get your animosity towards Misty's pulling Brock by the ear gag. I never really liked Brock's womanizing gag since the start of the series, and honestly, I really do think someone SHOULD reign in on him before he gets someone pregnant out of wedlock. I didn't like it when Family Guy did that with Quagmire or Two and a Half Men did that with Charlier Harper or, well, most of the male cast, but at least those were grown up shows and not meant to be viewed by kids, while Pokémon is, making the whole Brock gag extremely inappropriate anyways.

And honestly, some of the stuff Misty told Ash off for actually were stuff Ash deserved. For example, in Episode 3, he basically nearly got his Caterpie nearly killed by Pidgeotto due to his stupidity. And let's face it, when he's bragging about achievements that aren't exactly stuff worth bragging about, since until the Thunder Badge, he didn't actually beat his opponents to get the badge, it does come across as extremely narcissistic and arrogant. And there were plenty of times she stuck up for Ash, and even maintained a very friendly demeanor to him as well, and this was all before she even got Togepi. And need I really remind you that she actually saved Ash and co multiple times, even when it would have been in her best interests not to save them a few times, or heck, helping Ash advance to the next level even when she didn't need to help him at all? And besides, Serena behaved in a similar manner in her opening episode (the pictures are even uploaded by Famon, so don't even attempt to deny it), being a huge grouch, yet I don't see you hating on her despite your one-strike rule that led you to hate Misty.

Though, like I said above, I'm glad you at least agree Togepi didn't ruin Misty's character at all.

PS, I asked you twice before yet you never answered. Do you consider Maron from DBZ (Krillin's old flame, to be more specific, since there are technically two "Mar[r]ons", the other being his daughter) to be a nice girl? She certainly doesn't have a temper, which you hated Misty for.

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I do not give a crap about DBZ in this context (since every last female in that series is poorly written to the point where we got couples that have zero-business being together in the first place), so drop it.

Oh, and Misty's character was ruined since day one, so Togepi can't ruin what was already ruined.

Kid Sonic said:

I do not give a crap about DBZ in this context (since every last female in that series is poorly written to the point where we got couples that have zero-business being together in the first place), so drop it.

Oh, and Misty's character was ruined since day one, so Togepi can't ruin what was already ruined.

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Well, at least you answered my question.

And to be honest, you technically should be hating on Serena, especially when her debut episode had her behaving similarly, yet you aren't. And don't bother denying she behaved in a similar manner, as Famon actually use images to confirm it in the Serena thread, and considering you have a one-strike you're out attitude towards characters, that debut episode should by your logic given you undying hatred of her.

Still, glad we at least agree Togepi didn't ruin Misty's character (though I wouldn't say Misty's character was ruined since day one).

This will be long post, but to truly explain my reasoning and thoughts behind this; more thorough analysis of Misty personality and her connection to Togepi was required to be made.

Explanation:
In general i cannot take anyone seriously who storm with claims of:
"Misty becoming boring ever since she acquired Togepi", forming such negative picture out of character afterwards because of sheer dislike they had toward egg pokemon, that they completely overlooked fact how Misty wasn't in any decline remaining interesting and full of traits.

Its like those people who hate Togepi created such aversion that they couldn't continue to enjoy in Misty anymore , because sole thought of seeing her holding egg pokemon in arms formed twisted impression how she isnt interesting anymore even when she battles, interact with others or develops with attention during episodes being focused only on egg pokemon runing for them thrill of adventure and enjoyment Misty as character was capable of delivering.

There is no other way to explain nonsensical claims how Misty declined in Kanto ever since 50th episode and "Who gets to Keep Togepi!" episode aired, because every person who watched Original series from start to bottom can notice Misty remained highly entertaining there.

Same applies to Orange Islands where Misty remained rebell revealing side of being deep romantic, liking to flirt with gym leaders like Danny and Rudy and showing she can be highly compassionate such as taking care of sick Ash and Tracey.

Or chronicles and Hoenn where Misty was very active as character interacting in fun way with Tracey, older sisters, Sakura etc.

Same applies to Johto where contrary to people belief of accounting Togepi responsible for Misty lack of focus there, its largely and widely overčooked fact how;

Misty battled more than Brock did in Johto or she ever did in past two regions, she had whole arc and mini journey dedicated to her in form of Whirl Islands, she had more character development and episodes focusing on herself. We get to see her play role in various subplots helping Ash fight TR, other villains, try to resolve mysteries like who is Gligarman, mystery of arachnid thief, pleading hwrself to dr. Foster assistant making Brock grab Misty ear(this didnt hapopened very often, it was episode "Fossil Fools" or "Corsola Caper" for example). When Misty went too far in fangirly mode or with her passio toward water pokemon, being hilarious to see Brock for change grabbing her by ear telling her to chill down lol.

Along with Misty well interacting with many characters producing with her vivid character lot of humor, spirit, tension, clash, touching momrnts in main cast.
Misty out of Ash and Brock actually still came of as most passionate, sarcastic, fiery, emotional character.

Many people which call Misty "boring and terrible character" never even bothered to watch this saga to form their own opinion taking like sheep someone word as "evidence", or never watched whole Johto.

There is no denying how writers should had do more with Togepi in Johto. For instance whole evolution arc to Togetic could have happened there, because lets face it presence of team Aqua and Kyogre, Wallace or Juan, water affluent areas Hoenn exuded with had lot of places to create follow up from Whirl Cup.

Or having Misty deal with new water pokemon like Surskit providing substantial character growth, So material and justification to bring her there in advancing her passion for water types and mastering them existed.

There is no denying how there could have been made some episodes in Johto dealing with extremely rare status and big mystery this pokemon contained around itself, with Misty trying to figure out Togepi powers. Came to realization how all those inexplicable situations where they got saved and shouldnt have been was through intervention of barrier, teleport and metronom generated through this small pokemon.

BUT;
- at same time some people who hate Togepi fail to realize or do not want to notice how Togepi played important role in Misty character development serving as step toward maturity. It wasnt just presence of Ash and Brock as two new persons and very good friends in her life who left positive influence on Misty character.

But baby pokemon as well where we witnessed Misty learning how to cope with big responsibility delivered upon her investing lot of time, patience and care in raising up Togepi with love and tenderness. Resulting in such strong bond and attachment which came to expression most in Hoenn in flesh appearances. Where we saw thrugh her rage, despair and determination how important Togepi was in her life developing feelings like mother would toward its child.

With spectacular goodbye where Misty and Togetic burst into tears filled with sadness but pride as well when hugging each other showing how attached they became to each lther. Thus having Misty come to realization how its time to let Togetic go and frollow its own dreams despite being shattered and rather wanting it to stay.

Most people are unfortunately allergic to idea of character development in pokemon series. They expect characters to be linear and do same, repeated patterns of behavior they got used in seeing from someone ever since its debut.

Where depth of emotions,. Showing more sides of personality about character as series goes on meaning going deeper in his dreams and motivations, scratching further from surface and basic traits he was introduced with.

All done with purpose of delivering more substance to character enriching his personality making someone more deep and realistic adding to his appeal. Exploring and building on already existing traits with someone as way of taking characters forward is a big NO to them.

Because its viewed as "writers betraying how they introduced character at very start expecting to behave 100% like that from start to end".

Many overlook fact that Misty thanks to Togepi presence learned to be more tolerant, compassionate and open minded as person. We can see through moments of Misty confining herself to Ash and Brock how she had very sad, traumatic childhood. How she grew up without parents. How she was underestimated and degraded by everyone. How her older sisters treated her like dirt growing in their shadow neglected and classified as "ugly, useless and with no talent" outcast of family.

Whether its case with Princess festival where she was always left on side getting left overs and being isolated spending time alone in dark room. In almost being eaten as baby by Gyarados with sisters not taking care of her leaving scars on her psyche(such trauma can shake person real hard). In knowing how its like to be demeaned, ridiculed and insulted when being able to symphatize with other characters like Mikey and his Eevee brothers or Sakura with kimono sisters.

With Misty being scared, lonely young girl which deep down jusz wanted to be recognized for her own abilities, receive care and moral support she never had chance to experience both from sisters or her parents who abandoned family which was confirmed by mr. Shudo blogs.

Developing rough, rude and vioent behavior to cover up her flaws not wanting to depend on anything or anyone.

But presence of Togepi helped in melting that cold exterior of Misty. It helped in discovering myriad of various personality traits Misty posessed beside temper. Like sarcasm and flirty nature, girly manneurisms and liking for dresses, fashion and flowers.

Passion for romance and love heping other couples who had problems. Deep and outstanding love for water pokemon, desire to learn everything she can about them, competitive fire and enthusiasm in becoming strongest and most famous water expert known in world. . Insecure and timid side when scary places, love or bugs are in question. Hotheaded and strongwilled nature not letting others to make fun of her and being selfrighteous in fighting for weak and helpless.

To me thats basically same character which evolved and went through character development over journey liking how she became more selfreliant, compassionate about pokemon as calming down Gyarados showed, more openminded as person growing closer to Brock and especially Ash not getting on her nerves as much actually developing liking for him.

Becoming more independent and selfreliant not needing Ash and Brock help on her side(especially in chronicles and Hoenn), getting over complex of feeling inferior to sisters, became more open and tolerant as person learning to appreciate her pokemon like Psyduck and friends alot with Ash and Brock meaning world to her, more selfcritic and aware of her own flaws. Or overecoming Gyarados fear becoming better trainer.

While being enriched with some new traits becoming tougher, more badass when riding Gyarados or having May/Max admire her resourcefulness, headstrong and sassy nature brimming with pride, energy and fickle fiery nasure in positive way of not letting others to mess up with her showing that Misty really did developed.


Final thoughts:
At end of the day i believe Togepi allowed Misty in mellowing out just enough. Both not too much. But also not too little making it seem like her friends in life(Ash and Brock changed her world and perspective on things starting to value friendship much more opening her own doubts and desires to them), Togepi, journey and various tough situations she faced didn't teached her anything nor allowed to become stronger person.

After maturing Misty was still evidently in late Johto, Hoenn full of life, various pranks and rebellious attitude. That can be noticed in playful sassy demeanor of joking about Ash battle skills or Brock obsession over girls when paying visit, in exploding at Psyduck, colonel Hanson, hotheaded prick Egan or pushy Macy who laid eye on Ash. In acting slightly arrogant and smartass abour Daisy modelling career or scolding her for vain behavior and being irritated when trying to talk her in wearing mermaid poutfit.

In taking charge in getting Max out of forest and heal Pikachu, in throwing Psyduck in side to save him from Team Rocket gint crab like mecha in Dorian Coastline gym ending sucked in Whirlpool herself. In trying to save Brock from Ninetales hypnosis and Lakoko illusion not wanting to abandon her friend in need. But she also radiated with more optimism, tolerance and confidence rising above sisters shadow, becoming stronger trainer, more indeoendent as person, got over Gyarados fear or realized whats best for her pokemon putting infront her own desires their happiness like she did with Togetic.

Something i liked about her adding new interesting traits to Misty personality(like being more playful, sassy in different more lighthearted way or abit arrogant when you push her buttons being provoked by others with gym responsibilities and vain sisters clearly grimnding her gears at times ), while keeping those older appealing ones as well. Growth was maybe rough and shaky, but still endearing to follow imo.

tldr. In short Togepi did NOT ruin Misty. It only allowed in cooperation with Ash, Brock who left even bigger impact, that Misty personality blossom in gaining bigger depth, diapason of emotions and substance to her thoughts, quirks, flaws and interests. Resulting in complete, endearing and relatable for many character.

Development and progression of characters is needed to prevent stagnation and give sense of progression in someone not remaining static, but learning, growing, changing and coming to better understanding of itself, peope who surround you and forming resolution in what direction to move on with your life and dreams.