Most Developed Character?

[Palamon]

Of all the characters in the Pokemon anime, who do you think is the character that you think went through the most development? Considering the Pokemon anime has many characters... thousands, there aren't that many that seem to go through much development. So, I'll ask which Pokemon anime characters do you think got the most development overall?

 

[FireSnow]

I'd say Paul from the Sinnoh Saga got a pretty decent amount of development for his character. It seemed that each time we saw him, he had learned something new about Pokemon or had come up with a new tactic to beat Ash, such as countering his counter-shield. We also got some exploration into his past and what drove him in his Pokemon journey (humiliating defeat to Brendan playing large role). Lastly, towards the end, we saw a lot of maturing from him leading up to the League and finally during his battle with Ash where he finally learned to respect Ash for doing things his own way after his defeat.

 

[Iceshadow3317]

I would say May had a lot of development. But Dawn I think has had way more. Though I haven't watched Sinnoh from start to finish in a while.

Serena is starting to get her development treatment. It is possible for her to surpass all other characters even though her dev time started really late, but at the same time, she was being torn between different professions. It really would be a shame if Ash goes to another region and Serena doesn't go with him. I would hate if the group doesn't stick together for at least 1 more region. Like wish what they did with May and Misty. Even Dawn stuck around for a while even after the longest saga on record.

 

[Horn]

I say Gary. He came from spoiled brat surrounded by cheerleaders, through some introvert who started to respect Ash, to someone who want to follow his grandfather's steps. That's a big character development for show like Pokémon.
He is, however, closely followed by Serena for me. She already got quite a big character development, starting as a girl, who only went to Pokémon journey to meet her childhood crush, but eventually found her goal and now is going for it. I only hope writers will continue with her development and will not stall her as they tend with main characters who got their goals.

 

[Famon]

There is no point of talking about Ash because he doesn't keep his development .
I guess , May has to be the most developed character considering that she was a worst rookie then Ash and didn't even liked Pokemon.

 

[CuteDawn]

I think Dawn has the greatest character development in the series.

 

[Horn]

Dawn? Are you kidding? What character development Dawn actually had? She came to the show as already quite skilled girl with certain goal and the only things she had to come over were her initial loses and later her Pokémon not listening to her, both of which were taken care quite quickly. That is greatest character development in the series? I don't really think so. Because even some episodic characters, like Maylene or Korrina had bigger character development in their time in the show than Dawn did. Or did I miss something with Dawn's development?

 

[Famon]

Dawn? Are you kidding? What character development Dawn actually had? She came to the show as already quite skilled girl with certain goal and the only things she had to come over were her initial loses and later her Pokémon not listening to her, both of which were taken care quite quickly. That is greatest character development in the series? I don't really think so. Because even some episodic characters, like Maylene or Korrina had bigger character development in their time in the show than Dawn did. Or did I miss something with Dawn's development?

Oh really , Being prepared is a crime and everyone should be as bad rookey as Ash for development.
Dawn's mother is top coordinator and Dawn wishes to be like her so she was preparing herself . Its not like Ash who went on a journey without learning a thing.
May & Dawn had different set of Problem.
Dawn was more overconfident So she suffer 3 defeat in a row that affected her badly. She gone though a lot before finally overcoming it in Wallace Cup.
However , Her development didn't stop there ! She also keep receiving development in many cases with Ash.
She's far more developed then Serena who still act like a New Girl despite being Ash's Childhood friend.

 

[Horn]

If you say her development did not stop after Wallace Cup, then tell me, what development she actually got? New Pokémon? Pokémon who did not listen her? Oh, come on, many characters got that. And working on her friendship with Ash? If that is sign of character development, then Brock should be the most developed character after all the time he spend with Ash {XD}

And no, being prepared is not crime. But it really would not leave much space for character development and Dawn is, like it or not, great example of that. However, Clemont actually show us that even skilled trainer may still get a lot of character development. To be honest, I just think back in DP, writers simply did not know how to do character development, so they did BW, whose characters did not really need any character development, to let them think how to make characters with some real character development, which they finally got in XY. In XY, all the main characters, except Team Rocket trio, unfortunately, got some character development, with still leaving place for future character development. You say Serena still acts like novice, but that is actually good thing, since we are, most likely, somewhere in the middle of her stay in the show and there still is way to go with her character. And that is exactly what this show needs, after all those stalled characters in past.

 

[Sun]

Dawn, I have to highlight her numerous failure that eventually affected her decision on whether remaining as a Coordinator or quitting. I also love the little detail when she held Piplup too tight at the backstage of Wallace Cup and it was so uncomfortable that it made penguin screeched for a bit. That was suppose to be a reunion episode, but they smartly used that episode to develop Dawn. I would have to nitpick that May could have had acted as a mentor and an inspiration figure for Dawn during the Wallace Cup arc.

The disobedience of Mamoswine and Pachirisu are just icing on the cake, they aren't even that important. Although Dawn giving up Pachirisu is a bit special, Misty had that thought with Psyduck (because of frustration), whilst Dawn was the one who really executed the idea. It was something that had been briefly done with James' Magikarp and not again. It's worth mentioning as it showed Dawn's lack of confidence and inability as a trainer, at least the latter part we her own thought.

Dawn's coordinating skills and confidence had improved gradually. I believe she was quite confident when she reappeared in Best Wishes. Isn't she inspiring? (:

Oh and Chimchar is also one of the most developed Pokemon, along Turtwig, Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Treecko, Piplup, Pikachu (during the Kanto arc) and some Pokemon that I've perhaps missed. Serena's Eevee has potential, but it's too early to speak about it. Hopefully she's gonna dazzle us with her ribbons and sweetness in the future. (: