Who will Ash get?

I hope for the love of god he gets froakie. Screw the others.

Well I don't particularly want him to get Fennekin. It just doesn't seem to fit him very well. Also I hope he only gets one starter and the others are distributed among the group he travels with, like in AG. Between Chespin and Froakie I'm not sure, though. It kind of depends on their personalities. I don't want him to have an Oshawott clone. :|

As long as he gets chespin, I'm happy with that. :D

Like Anna, I don't see Fennekin as a good fit for Ash. It just doesn't seem like a Pokémon he would have with him. I'm actually hoping that, like some, X/Y goes the route of AG and divides the starters amongst the group.

I can picture Ash getting a Chespin though. It seems like the best fit for him amongst the three new starters.

I absolutely love Fennekin, but i'm pretty sure it just wouldn't fit. Chespin seems much, much more likely.

Aerilyn said:

Like Anna, I don't see Fennekin as a good fit for Ash. It just doesn't seem like a Pokémon he would have with him. I'm actually hoping that, like some, X/Y goes the route of AG and divides the starters amongst the group.

I can picture Ash getting a Chespin though. It seems like the best fit for him amongst the three new starters.

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I would have said the same thing about Snivy in Black and White. We know Ash got her. I don't think there isn't anything that isn't suitible for Ash. The writers will give it a personality that fits fairly well with Ash and the rest of his Pokemon. Since I see Fennekin going the way of Snivy I can see Ash getting it since he had Snivy. Maybe he'll never evolve it though if he gets Froakie it has a better chance of never evolving since he never seems to evolve what ever water starter he owns.

But I see Ash getting all three.

I could easily see Ash getting all three starters at some point (or, at least, all 3 starters will be owned by him and his traveling partners). However, based on his track record of having all of the previous Grass starters, I expect that he'll end up taking Chespin.

This is the way i see it. with rumors of cilian and iris returning I do see them holding one starter each. ash will have chespin. Iris will have Fenniken and Cilan will have Froakie.

I'd think Froakie or Chespin. Their designs seem to fit his character better. They look more like a boy's Pokemon than Fennekin.

I'm rooting for Froakie, though.

Ey yo don't even start bringing gender distinctions in. It's not mattered before, has it? He's had female Unfezant, Leavanny the frickin seamstress Pokémon, Bayleef with a crush, Butterfree was a boy but yeah it's a butterfly, and Snivy they made pretty explicitly feminine. It's really not the appearance that matters, it's the personality that the Pokémon have.

I mean I still don't think Fennekin is likely to suit him, but it could work depending on the personality of that particular one.

also rageahollic what rumours where who is saying this about their potential return i need to know for reasons ;;

I think you misunderstood, Anna.

I meant that some Pokemon seem to fit boy trainers and girl trainers better. Between Jigglypuff and Hitmonchan, I'm sure girls would prefer Jigglypuff>Hitmonchan and boys, Hitmonchan>Jigglypuff because Jiggly is considered more "girly" and Hitmonchan "boyish." Sure, there are exceptions, but generally you won't see boys playing Pokemon screaming because they found a "cute adorable Rondoudou" in the wild.

Of course, it's not a strict rule or anything. I just know that I, for one, think Jigglypuff is super mega cute, but my significant other appreciates it as a design and would never consider catching it or including it in his team except to complete the PokeDEX. Jigglypuff could use Attract or Cute Charm on him and I'm sure it'd just bounce off ineffectively lol

It just seems to me that the designs of Chespin and Froakie cater more to boys, and Fennekin is a mix of both. For Ash, though, I can see him with Froakie or Chespin because I can already kinda guess their anime personality based on the sprites.

imo

Chespin = playful, curious, happy-go-lucky
Froakie = patient, quiet, determined
Fennekin = prissy, quick-tempered, egotistical

But that's just the "feeling" I get from the sprites. Anime characters could be entirely different, but going on my "feeling" I'd say Froakie would be suited for Ash, then Chespin, and then Fennekin.

Honestly? I'm betting my money that Ash will get Chespin. Why? Because he always gets the grass starter in every region. Always.

Unless the writers decide to throw us for a loop and break that trend.

I meant that some Pokemon seem to fit boy trainers and girl trainers better.

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Yeah and that's playing to gender stereotypes, innit? That needs to quit. 3/4 of my brothers have always favoured the 'feminine' Ninetales and Milotic over the 'masculine' Arcanine and Gyarados. 2/4 of them picked Chikorita as their Johto starter. Every single one of them adores Jigglypuff either because of the game, anime, or SSB:M. That includes my ultra-bro 18yo jock football player brother.

It just seems to me that the designs of Chespin and Froakie cater more to boys, and Fennekin is a mix of both.

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And I actually know a hell of a lot of guys who want Fennekin to start with. Two of my brothers for sure. One of them is fond of Chespin. My sister and I are both more partial to Froakie. It depends on the person rather than the gender, doesn't it?

And you know, we haven't even got details on evolutions yet. Perhaps taking a look at them when they're revealed will give up more of an idea of what the writers want to do concerning Ash.

EternallyAnna said:

Yeah and that's playing to gender stereotypes, innit? That needs to quit. 3/4 of my brothers have always favoured the 'feminine' Ninetales and Milotic over the 'masculine' Arcanine and Gyarados. 2/4 of them picked Chikorita as their Johto starter. Every single one of them adores Jigglypuff either because of the game, anime, or SSB:M. That includes my ultra-bro 18yo jock football player brother.

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I don't think Ninetails is feminine whatsoever, though I prefer Arcanine personally. I understand what you mean when you say that it's "gender stereotyping," but you can't deny that some Pokemon were made to cater to boys and others were made for girls, yet (like I said) it's not a strict rule and has its exceptions. Some boys might like Jigglypuff, and that's OK; some girls might fancy Hitmonchan, and that's OK, too; however, their designs' targeted "audience" is a bit obvious.

The same is true in other animes. Sure, a lot of boys might like Sailor Moon or CardCaptors, but its audience is obvious; same with Whistle! or Initial D, where some girls might find these series interesting. And that's fine. No one's telling them not to like them. But the fact remains that Sailor Moon and CardCaptors is designed for girls while Whistle! and Initial D targets boys. If there's a bit of a cross-over between the audience's gender, it doesn't take away or deter the show's targeted group.

A lot of things in life are based on groups and audiences. You learn that in speeches and it's very important in marketing, journalism, etc. You always need to ask yourself who the audience is. In this case, when you think of a Pokemon a girl may like, some key symbols appear i.e. pink, fluffy, bows, flowers, etc. and marketers use that to their advantage, just like how a novelist uses key language for the age audience their targeting. If older or younger audiences are fascinated by a novel meant for tweens, then that's fine, but ultimately they have a goal and their language and word usage / choices in the novel serves their marketing purpose.

And I actually know a hell of a lot of guys who want Fennekin to start with. Two of my brothers for sure. One of them is fond of Chespin. My sister and I are both more partial to Froakie. It depends on the person rather than the gender, doesn't it?

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Again, no one's saying girls can't like Froakie or Chespin. I like Froakie. Between the three, I'd say it's Fennekin->Froakie->Chespin (best->worst). It is my opinion, however, that some designs are universal, some are targeting boys and others are targeting girls. It helps with marketing and designating "symbol" Pokemon for events, etc. catered to different, gender-related audiences.

And there's nothing wrong with that, as long as advertisements don't start explicitly telling boys and girls which Pokemon they can like and which they can't based on the player's gender.

imo typically starters are gender-universal. It's those minor in-game Pokemon that may become gender mascots.

And you know, we haven't even got details on evolutions yet. Perhaps taking a look at them when they're revealed will give up more of an idea of what the writers want to do concerning Ash.

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That's true. Maybe we'll get a megatoad like in Naruto lol

But is Chespin supposed to be a mole?

Personally, I can see Ash more with Froakie than the other two. But he'll probably end up getting all three like he generally does. It'd be nice if they didn't recycle that, but I could see it happening.

tsk tsk @ all this gender discrimination...if you wanna do that, there's a whole challenge for it.

Um really tho because while Pokemon might have more powerful/masculine or lighter/feminine designs, the thing is that they are designed with an animal, object, or concept in mind rather than the gender of the target audience. Despite marketing crap, I don't believe that it comes first in Pokémon design and not in anime personification of the 'mon either. Like really, before Snivy appeared in the anime I could not think of it as feminine. And yet, how they used her in the anime causes me and many others to think of it as feminine. Reverse it with Minccino. So you know, the assumed gender alignment can be knocked away pretty easily. And if it's so easy, then it probably wasn't very prominent in the first place.

Also I'm a little baffled as to how you don't see Ninetails- the sleek elegant kitsune- as feminine whatsoever, yet you believe that Fennekin- the cute little fire fox- is?

Chespin's names imply a hedgehog-chestnut combo, so that'll be interesting to see how it evolves because I can not even think of anything haha. Based on Ash's track record though, he'll probably end up with one. I'm hoping we don't get a Seismitoad-expy with Froakie- if that's the case then I don't believe Ash will end up with him, as he's had Palpitoad this series. Fennekin's appears to be based on a Fennec fox, and so may end up having either a ground or dark secondary type. If that's the case, I might be able to see Ash with an evolved stage of Fennekin, perhaps even catching it at that stage? Who knows.

I'd love a Ghost/Fire, Ground/Fire or Dark/Fire for third stage. Ghost/Fire is my favourite, though.

And true about Seismitoad. That would be horrible. I'm really interested in seeing how they play out Chespin and Froakie because making an evolved, "beefed up" frog and hedgehog seems difficult to me... at least, if they want to retain aesthetic appeal.

I'd like to see dual-types for all starters' thirds, actually. Maybe:

Ground/Grass for Chespin's 3rd
Ghost/Fire for Fennekin's 3rd
Dark/Water for Froakie's 3rd

Doubt it, though.

\o/ Go Froakie!

Whaaaaat Froakie's cool, man. Don't hate, you haven't had time to appreciate.

But you know... actually... I really would like to see the starters dispersed throughout the group. If Cilan comes back (please please please) I think he might actually do well with Fennekin. And then the next female- because it's likely that Iris will not be returning- could take wither Chespin or Froakie. I still haven't decided who I want Ash to have aaah ;___; But if they do split them up, and Cilan is coming back, then I don't see him with anything other than Fennekin at this point. Eh, maybe if I think about it more.