Misty Returning

[weedle_mchairybug]

So is next year the 20th anniversary film? Would they promote it since its not going to be in theaters?

It is. And honestly, ESPECIALLY after the stupidity of the Kalos League by having Ash lose (it was pointless to have Ash lose in this case since Alola doesn't even HAVE a Pokémon League. It would have been better to give him a win this time around specifically BECAUSE of the shake up with Sun and Moon's gameplay so people won't have to worry about Ash having to win a League match during that time), they'd better bring Misty back to make up for it since we can't expect them to make it up via a league thanks in large part to Generation VII's gameplay shakeup. I must admit, though, I just remembered something: Mayumi Iizuka actually had a tweet recently dealing with a Misty-related merchandise, and they generally do that when hinting at something.

 

[stormivy]

I hope she returns. She is my fave girl in the Pokemon anime. :D

 

[Dnthmn55]

It is. And honestly, ESPECIALLY after the stupidity of the Kalos League by having Ash lose (it was pointless to have Ash lose in this case since Alola doesn't even HAVE a Pokémon League. It would have been better to give him a win this time around specifically BECAUSE of the shake up with Sun and Moon's gameplay so people won't have to worry about Ash having to win a League match during that time), they'd better bring Misty back to make up for it since we can't expect them to make it up via a league thanks in large part to Generation VII's gameplay shakeup. I must admit, though, I just remembered something: Mayumi Iizuka actually had a tweet recently dealing with a Misty-related merchandise, and they generally do that when hinting at something.

I don't know if she will return on a regular basis. I mean its possible but probably for an arc or something. They shouldn't of changed the characters. It just made no sense

 

[gantai]

Fine.

In any case, regarding the topic, it's clear they're hinting at something regarding Misty with the recent stuff regarding Misty. First, they've released the G.E.M. Misty figurine (it's highly unusual for an old anime protagonist to even GET a figurine when they haven't been on the show currently, let alone a protagonist who by this point has been off the show for more than a decade.), not to mention the timing of it is also odd since it's not even the 20th anniversary of the Anime yet (that's next year). And then there's the choice of region they chose. I find it very hard to believe that, out of all the real life places they could choose, they had to choose the one that had more water than land, especially when, other than Hoenn, most of the regions of the core series were more land-based than water-based. And considering the games have clearly followed the anime at times (for example, Misty's current characterization has taken clear cues from her anime incarnation, and is pretty much the only game character to get that, as not even Brock really got that, certainly not the same extent she did), I also suspect that they created that region specifically to give Misty an excuse to go there (the fact that this game will be released right around the time of the 20th anniversary of the anime also doesn't help its case either). Even that Team Rocket broadcast where Ash and Misty's voice actors interacting with each other in-character seemed very suspicious, not to mention their promising that they'll "see each other soon." And this was either right near the end of Best Wishes, or right when XY was starting. Personally, I'm willing to bet they're hinting at Misty's return.

Dude, I want Misty to return as much as you do, but there's no way the game developers chose a water based region just so they could bring Misty back to the anime.
The game development isn't even related to the anime. The anime staff are the ones that have to fit Ash's journey to whatever the games establish, not the opposite. And they had plenty of opportunities to bring Misty back, Ash bonding so deeply with a water pokemon being one of them in my opinion.
That TR broadcast with Rica Matsumoto and Mayumi Iizuka was really nice and I'd agree with you that it could be a hint of Misty coming back if it hadn't been so long ago. I think that broadcast only happened because Misty appeared in flashbacks in BW and the VAs themselves were hopeful that she would come back soon, but in reality they have no say in what happens in the anime.

I really do hope Misty will return, but I'm not getting my hopes too high. People were hopeful that Ash would win the league this time for sure due to the hints and misleading signs the production staff had been throwing and look at what happened.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Dude, I want Misty to return as much as you do, but there's no way the game developers chose a water based region just so they could bring Misty back to the anime.
The game development isn't even related to the anime. The anime staff are the ones that have to fit Ash's journey to whatever the games establish, not the opposite. And they had plenty of opportunities to bring Misty back, Ash bonding so deeply with a water pokemon being one of them in my opinion.
That TR broadcast with Rica Matsumoto and Mayumi Iizuka was really nice and I'd agree with you that it could be a hint of Misty coming back if it hadn't been so long ago. I think that broadcast only happened because Misty appeared in flashbacks in BW and the VAs themselves were hopeful that she would come back soon, but in reality they have no say in what happens in the anime.

I really do hope Misty will return, but I'm not getting my hopes too high. People were hopeful that Ash would win the league this time for sure due to the hints and misleading signs the production staff had been throwing and look at what happened.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. While it is true the games aren't made in direct relation to the anime, they most certainly influence the anime considering they apparently have some role in the advertisement of the games (not to mention that, since Movie 6, the Movies were definitely used as a means to distribute certain rare Pokémon). Besides, I've seen FRLG reference Misty's anime characterization with their version of Misty at least twice: One involved a rumor that Misty worshipped Lorelei of the Elite 4, which referenced Anime Misty and her being a massive fangirl of Lorelei (or Prima as she was known in the 4Kids dub). The other involved a personal message to the player where she vows to go on and travel once she's become strong enough, an obvious reference to her anime characterization traveling with Ash), and that's not even taking into account the slight reference to her Togepi or how Cerulean Gym was completely redesigned to resemble its anime counterpart in HGSS. Brock, by comparison, didn't even get many allusions to his anime characterization in the same games (the closest reference to his anime characterization being his trading Bonsly for a Rhyhorn that knows Thunder Fang).

Not to mention, as you pointed out, the anime generally seems to feel bound to follow the games to a certain extent (enough of one that in AG and DP, they had Ash go the route of the games regarding Gym Leaders at that time even when he could have easily chosen another Gym Leader during that time or just fought them and break the path of the games, like in Kanto where he fought Sabrina first while we players fought Erika first). I wasn't trying to suggest that the games adhere to the anime. If anything, I was saying the games would exploit the anime's tendency to follow the anime to ensure Misty would return, the complete opposite.

Lastly, I really wouldn't call that radio broadcast a long time ago, as it was still fairly recent. You want long ago? Try Gotta Catch Ya Later.

Besides, why release those GEM series figurines of her anime self when the anime's anniversary isn't even supposed to occur until next year?

 

[gantai]

That thing with Mayumi and Rica is from 2012. Why would they hint it only back then?
Do you think that the big guys had already decided back then that after Kalos Ash would go to Alola and Misty would join him again? And on top of that, they decided to tell the VAs? And why wouldn't they do it again now?
What really makes me skeptical is the fact that we had no mention of any of Ash's past companions throughout the entirety of XY (if you disregard that Piplup comment, of course). If they wanted to drop hints about Misty coming back, why wouldn't they use the actual anime for that?

About the figures, maybe they really were considering bringing Misty back depending on the sales, but I wouldn't bet money on it. Sometimes the way they do things doesn't make much sense.
Did they release figures of characters from the first game too? (I'm legit curious, I have no idea).

I hope I'm wrong though and Misty's coming back, but I really don't want to get my hopes up only to get disappointed later.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

That thing with Mayumi and Rica is from 2012. Why would they hint it only back then?
Do you think that the big guys had already decided back then that after Kalos Ash would go to Alola and Misty would join him again? And on top of that, they decided to tell the VAs? And why wouldn't they do it again now?
What really makes me skeptical is the fact that we had no mention of any of Ash's past companions throughout the entirety of XY (if you disregard that Piplup comment, of course). If they wanted to drop hints about Misty coming back, why wouldn't they use the actual anime for that?

About the figures, maybe they really were considering bringing Misty back depending on the sales, but I wouldn't bet money on it. Sometimes the way they do things doesn't make much sense.
Did they release figures of characters from the first game too? (I'm legit curious, I have no idea).

I hope I'm wrong though and Misty's coming back, but I really don't want to get my hopes up only to get disappointed later.

Again, 2012 is not a long time ago. 2002, however, IS a long time ago. Besides, technically, if we argued time, there would have been no way Charizard would have returned as an Oaked Pokémon, or even having Jessiebelle and/or Brock's mom Lola return/appear at all, yet guess what, they did appear (and this is despite Jessiebelle being a little over a decade of an absence), and don't get me started on how the Princess vs. Princess Master of Ceremonies reappeared in the Kalos League's debut episode despite it being two decades after the airing of that episode. And unlike the Team Rocket Radio thing and Misty's potential return, those DIDN'T have any hints whatsoever that they'd return (and in Charizard's case, even if we were to expect him to return for Best Wishes, we would have naturally assumed that he would return back to his Charla back at Charcific Valley, NOT permanently return to Ash's roster).

Anyways, we did at least get a remix of the first Pokémon theme beyond that. Though their not doing much else beyond that and Piplup is a valid point.

As far as your other question, yes, in fact, they did release figures of characters from the first game. For starters, Bandai released figurines of the Kanto Gym Leaders based directly on their RGBY sprites, and Otakumode released a figurine of Red with his Pikachu, as well as ORAS-era Sapphire with her Mudkip.

 

[precita]

I hope I'm wrong though and Misty's coming back, but I really don't want to get my hopes up only to get disappointed later.

Most likely don't get your hopes up. Misty likely won't appear in the Sun/Moon anime at all, just like she didn't appear in XY, BW, DP or most of AG before that. Its now been 14 years, over 750+ episodes, and 4 anime sagas/gens since she was last a major character, and her last real appearances in an episode stopped at the end of Hoenn back in 2005/2006, which is a decade ago in itself.

All the toys are Ash/Misty/Brock in their Kanto clothes with their old pokemon like Charmander/Psyduck/Geodude, etc. They're clearly aimed at collectors who grew up with the first season, nothing to do with any upcoming arc.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Most likely don't get your hopes up. Misty likely won't appear in the Sun/Moon anime at all, just like she didn't appear in XY, BW, DP or most of AG before that. Its now been 14 years, over 750+ episodes, and 4 anime sagas/gens since she was last a major character, and her last real appearances in an episode stopped at the end of Hoenn back in 2005/2006, which is a decade ago in itself.

All the toys are Ash/Misty/Brock in their Kanto clothes with their old pokemon like Charmander/Psyduck/Geodude, etc. They're clearly aimed at collectors who grew up with the first season, nothing to do with any upcoming arc.

1. If they were simply aimed for that, they would have waited until next year, because that's when the 20th Anniversary of the Anime is due to occur. Had it been me running things and I wanted to just have it promote it for collectors, I'd make sure to wait until 2017 before I even start releasing any of them, at best only releasing Jessie James and Meowth in 2016 since it's ambiguous enough. Besides, collector's editions or not, it's still very much unusual for them to even release those figures at all especially when they tend to focus on the current characters and not the older characters. They didn't even do it for the Anime's 10th anniversary or even the 10th anniversary for the games, and that was despite the Anime's 10th Anniversary being a milestone in itself.

2. In case you've forgotten, plenty of characters from past sagas who have even LESS of a reason to return at all, let alone on a permanent basis, under a similar frame of time, managed to do so. For example, Jessiebelle returned in DP despite it being at least a decade if not even MORE than that since her last appearance (Bulbapedia even noted that, at least until the reappearance of the Princess vs. Princess announcer for the Kalos League, she had the longest time between her first and next appearance), and that was despite her being a COTD, a character who was meant to appear only once. Heck, Charizard managed to not only reappear in Unova, but even return to Ash's team on a semi-permanent basis, even being upgraded to an Oaked Pokémon. If we were to use your rationale that Misty due to her last appearance being a decade before, will never return, it would have been impossible for Charizard to return in Unova at all, let alone rejoin Ash on at the very least a semi-permanent basis under his direct ownership, and it also would have been impossible for Jessiebelle to reappear as well. In other words, if they could get reappearances despite it being a very long time for it to occur, Misty most certainly can as well.

3. Why would that Team Rocket Radio special with Ash and Misty's voice actors playing their respective roles even mention seeing each other again if they didn't intend for Misty to return at all?

 

[CidHazard]

I for one would like to see Misty/Kasumi come back... Kanto/Johto(Japan) is very close to Alola(Hawaii) XD

At most I hope to see at least a cameo or for her to come back in at least one episode.

 

[gantai]

@weedle: Actually, Mayumi said that she hopes Misty will meet Ash again, not that she's going to.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

@weedle: Actually, Mayumi said that she hopes Misty will meet Ash again, not that she's going to.

Still, their even mentioning that indicates they plan on having them meet in the future. Not much point in having them say that if they don't intend to have her return at all.

 

[precita]

@weedle: Actually, Mayumi said that she hopes Misty will meet Ash again, not that she's going to.

Mayumi's been saying this since back in 2007 when DP was in its first year, and that was an entire decade ago. A voice actress has no control over what the writers do with the anime.

There were people who thought Misty was going to appear in the DP saga and she never did. Same for BW. Same for XY. Same for Sun/Moon. Same for any future saga. She'll most likely not ever appear again beyond stuff like flashbacks or minor references.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Mayumi's been saying this since back in 2007 when DP was in its first year, and that was an entire decade ago. A voice actress has no control over what the writers do with the anime.

There were people who thought Misty was going to appear in the DP saga and she never did. Same for BW. Same for XY. Same for Sun/Moon. Same for any future saga. She'll most likely not ever appear again beyond stuff like flashbacks or minor references.

Yeah, but in 2007, she didn't appear as Misty in Team Rocket Radio where Ash and Misty vowed they'd see each other again, while that actually DID have it there a few years back. And don't get me started on the fact that she tweeted that Star Scandal thing as Misty.

 

[Skyshooter]

In all honesty even though I would like to see Misty comeback, I see little chance. A lot of the people in charge of the anime don't really care about continuity. I also believe Misty isn't all that popular in japan the primary audience. I'm already resigned we will get a new female companion in sm or as one of the directors call it "new eye candy".

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

In all honesty even though I would like to see Misty comeback, I see little chance. A lot of the people in charge of the anime don't really care about continuity. I also believe Misty isn't all that popular in japan the primary audience. I'm already resigned we will get a new female companion in sm or as one of the directors call it "new eye candy".

I wouldn't be so sure about that, since there was plenty of Japanese fan artwork for Misty (or Kasumi, as they call her) online, not to mention, Pokeshipping alone managed to beat out Amourshipping in sheer sales, at a Japanese Doushinji market. Not to mention, she's definitely a lot more popular among the primary audience than Serena was going by the extremely bad ratings Pokémon XY got in Japan even BEFORE the infamous Kalos League results came in.

 

[Adamw92]

I'd love it if Misty returns to the anime. I think they've missed some great opportunities for her to return. I've been rewatching the show lately and I think they really should have had her return in Season 9 with it being set in the Kanto region, they could have easily held a Pokemon contest for May to compete in at Cerulean city.

 

[jjc927]

I would love it if Misty and Brock returned for just one episode even. With the 20th anniversary and people who watched the show as children getting back into Pokemon it would be really great to see them just once in the new season.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Honestly, after not only the Kalos league results, but also the recent news of what The Emperor's New School ripoff Pokémon Sun and Moon Anime's going to entail, Misty definitely needs to come back, pronto, to salvage what's little of the show's dignity is left.

 

[Kenchiin]

I love Misty but I know she's not coming back and I'm just being delirious.