Problems with the Pokémon anime

I don't hate Pokémon but this is several reasons why the Pokémon anime sucks.

Honestly when it comes to anime digimon is better than Pokémon.

But here are the reasons why the anime has problems and sucks.

1. Ash never ages: seriously ever since the anime came out. Ash has still been stuck in a 10 year old body. He also doesn't have any character development. Always acting like an idiot in each episode.

2. Repetition: every episode is the same. Its like washing dishes over and over again. Every episode is like team rocket comes in, capture or discover a new Pokémon, and helping someone. It's mever ending.

3. The villains suck: team rocket is a laughing stock. They are the most childish villains. They just take Pokémon that's it. Nothing scary about them. The only evil thing they do is steal Pokémon from others.

4. Lack of cliffhangers: there are no cliffhangers in Pokémon. If there are. They usually are about whether or not ash will get a badge.

5. Lack of variety: whenever it's a different region. The main cast is ash, Brock, and a girl. That's about it for the main cast. They really need to show some variety in the cast.

6. Ash never wins a league:: as part of the plot and to keep the show going. They make ash lose in the final rounds. They never let him win even once.

7. Too childish: it's so kiddish that it they won't even show people getting hurt or whatever. Obviously this show is for 8 year olds.

8. No Sh*t just got real moments: there were no episodes of the Pokémon anime that were very serious. No one dies in that anime.

9. Awful voice dubbing: I like English dub but the voice actors for ash and main cast are really awful. Ashes voice sounds super cringe.

10. It will never end: thats what i hate is that this show will never end. Honestly Pokémon is just going to be like the simpsons in that people are tired and wanting it to end.

Unless someone fixes some of these problems. I will never watch it.

Pokedigifan1178 said:

5. Lack of variety: whenever it's a different region. The main cast is ash, Brock, and a girl. That's about it for the main cast. They really need to show some variety in the cast.

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Brock left after DP. XY outright had 2 females on the main cast and SM has 6 main characters, three of each gender (including Ash). The only times that the main cast actually was Ash, Brock, and a girl were the OS and DP.

RileyXY1 said:

Brock left after DP. XY outright had 2 females on the main cast and SM has 6 main characters, three of each gender (including Ash). The only times that the main cast actually was Ash, Brock, and a girl were the OS and DP.

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Still the cast is just two girls and ash

Pokedigifan1178 said:

Still the cast is just two girls and ash

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The AG cast has 3 males and 1 female (Ash, Brock, and Max, with May as the sole female), the XY cast has 2 males and 2 females (Ash & Clemont and Serena & Bonnie respectively). As I mentioned earlier, SM has 3 of each gender (Ash, Kiawe, and Soph for males and Lana, Mallow, and Lillie for females).

RileyXY1 said:

The AG cast has 3 males and 1 female (Ash, Brock, and Max, with May as the sole female), the XY cast has 2 males and 2 females (Ash & Clemont and Serena & Bonnie respectively). As I mentioned earlier, SM has 3 of each gender (Ash, Kiawe, and Soph for males and Lana, Mallow, and Lillie for females).

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Still not much variety and a very small main cast

Pokedigifan1178 said:

Still not much variety and a very small main cast

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What, you want the series to be like Digimon and have 7 or 8 protags? Pokemon can barely handle 6 main characters.

Pokedigifan1178 said:

Every episode is like team rocket comes in, capture or discover a new Pokémon, and helping someone. It's mever ending.

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I stopped reading after this comment since you don't seem to know what you're talking about in terms of TR's screen-time in recent years. Ever since BW we have had many episodes where TR don't even show up at all and several of the episodes where they do appear have focused on them doing their own thing such as developing long-term schemes with Dr. Zager in Unova or working part-time jobs in Alola until shenanigans take over. In fact the current SM series has been the saga where they've had the least appearances and fewest interactions with Ash's group, so it's not always the same thing from them.

This isn't the first time Team Rocket has worked part time jobs either. They did it during the Sinnoh arc quite frequently as well!! Their character development overall was like the only thing I actually liked about the BW saga.

Overall though I will say I think Nintendo would great benefit from having a more mature style Pokemon anime. Not necessarily saying get rid of Ash and co, since I understand the appeal to younger viewers. But with things like Pokemon Generations and Origin touching on much more serious themes than the mainstream anime has in the past, they've both been received fairly well. So I think having the Ash based anime be more silly based and having another series that's more serious, like the MEga Evolution specials, could be of great benefit overall to the franchise. Since I do think the anime sorta lacks an appeal to older fans after a while.

Taste of Tea said:

I stopped reading after this comment since you don't seem to know what you're talking about in terms of TR's screen-time in recent years. Ever since BW we have had many episodes where TR don't even show up at all and several of the episodes where they do appear have focused on them doing their own thing such as developing long-term schemes with Dr. Zager in Unova or working part-time jobs in Alola until shenanigans take over. In fact the current SM series has been the saga where they've had the least appearances and fewest interactions with Ash's group, so it's not always the same thing from them.

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I'm just saying the show is repititive.

ANd even if team rocket doesn't appear in some episodes. The episode is pretty much the same like every episode

1. Ash never ages: seriously ever since the anime came out. Ash has still been stuck in a 10 year old body.

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Irrelevant. Ash aging wouldn't change much anyway since his attitude would still have to remain the same to conform with the show's young demographic.

3. The villains suck: team rocket is a laughing stock. They are the most childish villains. They just take Pokémon that's it. Nothing scary about them. The only evil thing they do is steal Pokémon from others.

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Why are you only citing Team Rocket as the villains in this show? Why don't you mention the hardcore Pokemon villains like Hunter J who attempted to kill Ash by trapping him in a wildfire, or Lysandre who literally crucified Ash in the Prism Tower takeover episode? Oh wait you don't watch the show, so you don't know what has happened yet you still criticize it. Lol.

4. Lack of cliffhangers: there are no cliffhangers in Pokémon. If there are. They usually are about whether or not ash will get a badge.

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Not true. Every major two-parter in this show involves cliffhangers, and not just Gym Badge episodes either. For example, every Team Rocket two-parter from Johto till now, the Team Magma vs Aqua finale, numerous Contest episodes and several Team Galactic, Team Plasma and Team Flare episodes included cliffhangers.

7. Too childish: it's so kiddish that it they won't even show people getting hurt or whatever. Obviously this show is for 8 year olds.

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You're right that the show is for 8 year olds. Duh, that's always been the show's key demographic. But we've seen pain inflicted on characters many times such as the times when Ash has been seriously electrocuted, had Psychic or a different attack used on him, or simply been hurt by a Pokemon in general. He was also shown to be in intense physical pain several times when he synced up with Greninja.

10. It will never end: thats what i hate is that this show will never end. Honestly Pokémon is just going to be like the simpsons in that people are tired and wanting it to end.

Unless someone fixes some of these problems. I will never watch it.

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It'll have to end eventually, unless you actually think that human civilization will last for another million years or more lol. But so what if it follows the trend of The Simpsons and continues for another decade or longer? You admitted that you 'will never watch it', so you've no right to be upset by a show that you don't follow.

Alloute said:

Irrelevant. Ash aging wouldn't change much anyway since his attitude would still have to remain the same to conform with the show's young demographic.



Why are you only citing Team Rocket as the villains in this show? Why don't you mention the hardcore Pokemon villains like Hunter J who attempted to kill Ash by trapping him in a wildfire, or Lysandre who literally crucified Ash in the Prism Tower takeover episode? Oh wait you don't watch the show, so you don't know what has happened yet you still criticize it. Lol.



Not true. Every major two-parter in this show involves cliffhangers, and not just Gym Badge episodes either. For example, every Team Rocket two-parter from Johto till now, the Team Magma vs Aqua finale, numerous Contest episodes and several Team Galactic, Team Plasma and Team Flare episodes included cliffhangers.



You're right that the show is for 8 year olds. Duh, that's always been the show's key demographic. But we've seen pain inflicted on characters many times such as the times when Ash has been seriously electrocuted, had Psychic or a different attack used on him, or simply been hurt by a Pokemon in general. He was also shown to be in intense physical pain several times when he synced up with Greninja.



It'll have to end eventually, unless you actually think that human civilization will last for another million years or more lol. But so what if it follows the trend of The Simpsons and continues for another decade or longer? You admitted that you 'will never watch it', so you've no right to be upset by a show that you don't follow.

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But super evil villains in Pokémon are usually the exception rather than the rule.

They just aren't as scary as digimon villains

Alloute said:

Irrelevant. Ash aging wouldn't change much anyway since his attitude would still have to remain the same to conform with the show's young demographic.

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Didn't Dragon Ball conform to a similar demographic? Last I checked, that still let Goku age (physically, anyway). And besides, Ash's goal to become a Pokémon Master, which is kind of similar to Rocky's goal in the Rocky Balboa films, kind of requires aging.

Why are you only citing Team Rocket as the villains in this show? Why don't you mention the hardcore Pokemon villains like Hunter J who attempted to kill Ash by trapping him in a wildfire, or Lysandre who literally crucified Ash in the Prism Tower takeover episode? Oh wait you don't watch the show, so you don't know what has happened yet you still criticize it. Lol.

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To be fair, those examples you listed are one-offs rather than the main villains. Quite frankly, I do agree with him to a point. If they're going to bother having recurring villains on the show like Team Rocket, they should at least make them an actual threat to the heroes like actively trying to kill them and coming close to succeeding every time. Sure, maybe a recurring villain like Ridley from Metroid might not work to well with this show, but they could at least make them more like, say, Bowser or Ganon, the latter of whom IS played pretty seriously.

Not true. Every major two-parter in this show involves cliffhangers, and not just Gym Badge episodes either. For example, every Team Rocket two-parter from Johto till now, the Team Magma vs Aqua finale, numerous Contest episodes and several Team Galactic, Team Plasma and Team Flare episodes included cliffhangers.

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Heck, practically EVERY episode is a cliffhanger (why else would most if not all episodes end with a "to be continued" tag at the end?).

You're right that the show is for 8 year olds. Duh, that's always been the show's key demographic. But we've seen pain inflicted on characters many times such as the times when Ash has been seriously electrocuted, had Psychic or a different attack used on him, or simply been hurt by a Pokemon in general. He was also shown to be in intense physical pain several times when he synced up with Greninja.

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Agreed there regarding Ash having pain inflicted. Though I don't think it being geared towards 8 year olds is a good enough reason for it being badly written (and I'm not even a fan of Digimon and if anything am more of a Pokémon fan). Dragon Ball also was geared towards eight year olds, and even THAT apparently had a bit more in there. And that's not getting into stuff like Super Metroid or heck some other games and shows as well.

It'll have to end eventually, unless you actually think that human civilization will last for another million years or more lol. But so what if it follows the trend of The Simpsons and continues for another decade or longer? You admitted that you 'will never watch it', so you've no right to be upset by a show that you don't follow.

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Personally, the less like the Simpsons Pokémon is, the better (one thing I really dislike about the show's current formula is that it doesn't allow Ash to actually succeed at his goal).

Pokemon doesn't have to be like Digimon. It can be it's own thing.

Pokedigifan1178 said:

6. Ash never wins a league:: as part of the plot and to keep the show going. They make ash lose in the final rounds. They never let him win even once.

7. Too childish: it's so kiddish that it they won't even show people getting hurt or whatever. Obviously this show is for 8 year olds.

9. Awful voice dubbing: I like English dub but the voice actors for ash and main cast are really awful. Ashes voice sounds super cringe.

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6.Well it was stated that if he won it, the anime will end, you want it to end?
7.How are these shots childish? http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep034_misc/kasumi_chest.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/main_page/orange_small.png http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun01.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun06.jpg besides, pokemon is a SHONEN anime which it's targered at 12-14 year old boys outside of japan
9.LOL you don't wanna hear how Ash sounds in session 10 and Zoey in sessions 10 and 11 in the polish dub :P

Entei Fan said:

6.Well it was stated that if he won it, the anime will end, you want it to end?
7.How are these shots childish? http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep034_misc/kasumi_chest.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/main_page/orange_small.png http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun01.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun06.jpg besides, pokemon is a SHONEN anime which it's targered at 12-14 year old boys outside of japan
9.LOL you don't wanna hear how Ash sounds in session 10 and Zoey in sessions 10 and 11 in the polish dub :P

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All I'm trying to say is the Pokémon anime would be better if it followed the digimon anime.

But it doesn't and it sucks.

Pokedigifan1178 said:

All I'm trying to say is the Pokémon anime would be better if it followed the digimon anime.

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Or DB series

Anyway the whole "5 minutes" of contents takes place nearly ALL of the episodes, are the people at pokemon TV fans of DBZ's Freeza?!

I must say we need an anime based on pokemon the origin and the pokemon adventures

Entei Fan said:

6.Well it was stated that if he won it, the anime will end, you want it to end?
7.How are these shots childish? http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep034_misc/kasumi_chest.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/main_page/orange_small.png http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun01.jpg http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/kanto/ep035_guns/gun06.jpg besides, pokemon is a SHONEN anime which it's targered at 12-14 year old boys outside of japan
9.LOL you don't wanna hear how Ash sounds in session 10 and Zoey in sessions 10 and 11 in the polish dub :P

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6. Eh, I really wouldn't place much stock on those claims, especially when the show didn't end when Ash won the Orange Island league (and yes, that was indeed an actual Pokémon league), nor for that matter when he beat the Battle Frontier Brains, who were specifically stated to be on part with the Kanto Elite 4 at a bare minimum. And besides, DP made clear that even if Ash won the league, he'd still need to face off against the Elite 4 and Champion of that region before he can truly become a Master anyway. And even if it were true that him winning a league would end the anime, at this point I'd welcome it, because I'm sick and tired of Ash being constantly forced to fail in his goal. Heck, at this point, he's barely even ABLE to pursue his goal thanks to the stupid writers forcing Ash into a school show.

7. True (and you forgot to mention Brock's running gag with women), but unfortunately, despite being of the same genre as DB, they don't bother having the characters age or do much gains.

9. Polish dub's that bad, huh?

weedle_mchairybug said:

9. Polish dub's that bad, huh?

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Well we GOT Ash's original VA in all sessions except session 10, Brock's original VA and Misty's original VA unlike you americans, but overall the pokemon names were in english and the opening theme has the term "Do you have them all?" instead of "catch them all", the "who's that pokemon?" became "catch them all" (weird huh?), but they fixed it in the BW sessions, also they porunce "Serena" the english way despite prouncing Ash name the polish way

Also Pokemon on CN? Nah we got it on Fox Kids/Jetix/Disney XD from the diamond and pearl session, also only the first session of AG for us

And people complain pokedex calling Jolteon a "stone pokemon"

It's definitely a silly show with not a whole lot of depth, I agree there. I don't really watch the show for that though. It' has a fun sense of humour and it's really just Pokémon. Nothing really needs to be too complicated with it.

Honestly I feel like Pokémon is going to be like thsi.

Either it ends in a good way or lives long enough to be like the simpsons.

Yes I made a parody of the quote. You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself as a villain