Will Serena actually be in the sun and moon anime?

[AUSGamer]

People are making some cool theories but what do you guys think?

 

[Absolitetion]

It has been a common theme for girls to come back for a brief moment, though the exclusion of Iris in X&Y makes me somewhat skeptic about it.

Personally, I'd love to see Serena return, whether it may be for a few episodes or she actually will stay for Ash (though I feel the latter ain't gonna happen.)

 

[Frozocrone]

50% chance of it happening.

 

[Palamon]

I don't think so. Maybe she'll get a special ova of her journeys in Hoenn, though, kinda like that OVA where Iris met Claire.

 

[CidHazard]

There was confirmation recently that The SuMo anime isn't a sequel to the XY&Z series so it's highly unlikely we'll see her again. I'd love to see her again tho XD


Source:
http://satoshipediaeng.altervista.o...haracters-are-completely-new-ash-and-pikachu/

 

[Hikamaru]

With the trend of previous-gen girl cameos being broken in XY, I don't know if I can see it happening at all.

At least Cid's post proved Sun & Moon was indeed a reboot attempt which I am still annoyed at. XY's ratings proved to be a factor after all.

 

[Frozocrone]

There was confirmation recently that The SuMo anime isn't a sequel to the XY&Z series so it's highly unlikely we'll see her again. I'd love to see her again tho XD


Source:
http://satoshipediaeng.altervista.o...haracters-are-completely-new-ash-and-pikachu/

This is a mistranslation.

It's part of a series of four tweets. It basically talks about how the feel of the characters comes off is not how XYZ was portraying them, not that the canon is being changed (also note that this came from a sound director which, while still part of the creative team, is very different to a writer saying this).

The canon being intact should have been obvious from episode 1, with Ash recognising Charizard/Tauros, mentioning the fact he's caught Tauros, dropping his Pokeballs off at Oak's lab and Delia/Mimey making their appearances.

 

[BanFairy]

No , because S&M is not a continuation of XY&Z in the head of the writers and it's not mistranslated.
Based on her crazy popularity I could see a little cameo in gen 8, we'll see , but for Sun&Moon : not happening.
Someone makes an interesting video about why SM is not a sequel to XY&Z : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0KfZWd9erbw

 

[kanoguti]

The translation is fine, but it's taken out of context, and distorting information. Obviously the Sun and Moon anime is a sequel to XY&Z, nothing will change that. The tweet was mainly focusing on how, character-wise, Ash would be very different from before.
As for Serena making an appearance, hopefully not. The anime hardly focused on Lana or Mallow, despite them being main characters, so I see no reason to waste time on an old character who isn't even relevant anymore.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Doubt it. There's no contests in Alola for her to participate in, whether it be Kalos queen stuff or the standard stuff (I really don't want a repeat of how Dawn got a cameo in Unova despite it being completely irrelevant to her goal or her overall character). Besides, they never gave Iris a cameo in XY, so we can't say they'll do it for Serena. It's not good for her to be forced out of her goal and just go there, especially when there's nothing for her to do regarding her goal, and it would only give certain people who aren't fond of Serena ammo claiming she'll throw everything away for Ash. Heck, I'm not even happy that Ash is in Alola as a schoolkid, especially when he should be pursuing his goal of Pokémon Master and actually completing it. I don't want that for Serena, even if I dislike her.

And personally, the one who really deserves an appearance after all this time is Misty, especially considering how she of all the former main characters, got the short end of the stick as she was forced by her sisters to put her goal onto the backburner and become a punching bag. At least Serena and Brock, the only other ones who are most desired for a return, actually changed their goals entirely of their own free will and weren't forced to. As long as Misty actually pursues her goal again, I'll be glad, whether she travels with Ash or not.

 

[BanFairy]

It's funny because you said "Serena has nothing to do in Alola because it doesn't help for her goal" but it's the same for Misty , she is a gym leader so there's no way she'll leave her gym to go to see Ash and I don't understand why she would deserve a return more than Iris or Serena since she already returned twice.

Now you said it yourself Brock and Serena are the most requested characters for a return by the fans so one of the two will be the priority IF the writers want an old character back BUT I don't see any old characters coming back with the new art style that's why I think it could happen in gen 8 because there's no way they'll keep this art style in gen 8 seeing how the fans have mixed feelings about it (don't kill me SM fanboys it's just my opinion and a pure theory). Anyway, for me there's no point to talk about Serena now , let's at least wait until 2018 to talk about an old character returning because it's always around 1 year and half after the begining of a saga that a cameo happened before XY broke the rule :

AG started in late 2002 : Misty's cameo -> September 2003 (1 year)
DP started in late 2006 : May's cameo -> April 2008 (1 year and half)
BW started in late 2010 : Dawn's cameo -> June 2012 (almost 2 years)

So yeah , no point to talk about Serena now except starting stupid arguments because there's always one guy who'll hate on her and one guy who'll love her , almost impossible to be neutral with this character in the west.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

It's funny because you said "Serena has nothing to do in Alola because it doesn't help for her goal" but it's the same for Misty , she is a gym leader so there's no way she'll leave her gym to go to see Ash and I don't understand why she would deserve a return more than Iris or Serena since she already returned twice.

Now you said it yourself Brock and Serena are the most requested characters for a return by the fans so one of the two will be the priority IF the writers want an old character back BUT I don't see any old characters coming back with the new art style that's why I think it could happen in gen 8 because there's no way they'll keep this art style in gen 8 seeing how the fans have mixed feelings about it (don't kill me SM fanboys it's just my opinion and a pure theory). Anyway, for me there's no point to talk about Serena now , let's at least wait until 2018 to talk about an old character returning because it's always around 1 year and half after the begining of a saga that a cameo happened before XY broke the rule :

AG started in late 2002 : Misty's cameo -> September 2003 (1 year)
DP started in late 2006 : May's cameo -> April 2008 (1 year and half)
BW started in late 2010 : Dawn's cameo -> June 2012 (almost 2 years)

So yeah , no point to talk about Serena now except starting stupid arguments because there's always one guy who'll hate on her and one guy who'll love her , almost impossible to be neutral with this character in the west.

First of all, Gym Leader was NOT Misty's goal, becoming a Water Pokémon Master was her goal, the goal she spent most of Johto trying to achieve, and even alluded to as early as Tentacool and Tentacruel. So there's that to consider, especially when the mere location of Alola would in fact justify her presence quite a bit. Second of all, she did not become a Gym Leader of her own free will, her sisters forced her to become a gym leader by taking that three month cruise, not to mention their own incompetence, which was even reflected in the last episode she was in with Ash (not counting Mastermind) where Daisy pretty much forced Misty to return to the Gym by essentially threatening to start handing out badges again. This is completely different from Brock or Serena, both of whom actually DID change their goals of their own free will, and were not forced to choose another goal by someone else, not to mention go with an activity that they downright hate (again, unlike Misty, where, in AG, she tried to find ANY excuse to stay away from the Gym until Daisy brought out that threat to hand out badges again).

Also, think critically: Alola is a region filled to the brim with water, and with water, you've logically going to have a massive amount of water Pokémon (and in fact, a lot of undiscovered species as a matter of fact). In point of fact, Misty wouldn't even NEED Ash to go to Alola and if anything, he'd be more of a bonus. Bringing her to Alola would actually allow her far more of a chance to pursue her goal than being cooped up in the Gym as a punching bag all day ever will. And it certainly would give her a heck of a lot more to do than it would give Serena anything to do at all.

As far as why she deserves a return over Iris and Serena, it's simple: Iris and Serena at least are pursuing their goals, even willingly changed her goal in the latter case, so while we may not know exactly how they are doing, we at least know they're doing the goal they want. Misty literally was forced out of her goal for something she didn't want or even particularly like. Maybe I should put it another way so you might understand better. You're a May fan based on your avatar, right? Well, suppose at the ending of AG, she was just about to head off for Johto, pursue her dream of Top Coordinator, only she then gets a call from Norman and Caroline demanding she return and take over the gym because of some emergency (like, I don't know, Norman falling ill or getting severely injured), and despite her clearly wanting to go to Johto, she's forced to abandon her goal and become a Gym Leader. Would you be even remotely happy at how they squandered her goal and forced her to become something she didn't even want or like? It's the exact same deal with Misty.

You are right about one thing, though: It's extremely unlikely they'll keep this art style come Generation 8. They certainly aren't keeping it in the 20th Anniversary movie. That, and it will be impossible to reach middle ground with Serena among us Westerners.

 

[Videreludus]

It's possible that she will appear but I doubt it. Iris didn't appear in XY so I think Serena will not aswell in SM.

But I could be wrong since she is very popular in Japan.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

It's possible that she will appear but I doubt it. Iris didn't appear in XY so I think Serena will not aswell in SM.

But I could be wrong since she is very popular in Japan.

Maybe she is. Personally, I think having her return even temporarily for Alola is as bad of an idea as it was when they had Dawn return for Best Wishes, mostly because she literally has no business regarding her own goal of Pok?mon Coordinator right now in terms of being there due to Alola not having contests at all (heck, I'm not particularly happy that Ash's goal is being squandered at Alola in what is essentially an Emperor's New School ripoff, all because the idiot writers decided to maintain the status quo at the most inappropriate time in Kalos, so don't think I'm singling out Serena or Dawn for this aspect.). I may not like May at all, but at least she had an appropriate reason for returning for Sinnoh due to the Wallace Cup, so I could tolerate her returning. Even Misty's return in Hoenn related directly to her Togepi at least.

Shame Iris didn't get a return for XY, since, while obviously not to the extent of Misty since at least Iris actually IS pursuing her goal right now, it would have been nice to see how far she came with her goal.

 

[Videreludus]

Maybe she is. Personally, I think having her return even temporarily for Alola is as bad of an idea as it was when they had Dawn return for Best Wishes, mostly because she literally has no business regarding her own goal of Pok?mon Coordinator right now in terms of being there due to Alola not having contests at all (heck, I'm not particularly happy that Ash's goal is being squandered at Alola in what is essentially an Emperor's New School ripoff, all because the idiot writers decided to maintain the status quo at the most inappropriate time in Kalos, so don't think I'm singling out Serena or Dawn for this aspect.). I may not like May at all, but at least she had an appropriate reason for returning for Sinnoh due to the Wallace Cup, so I could tolerate her returning. Even Misty's return in Hoenn related directly to her Togepi at least.

Shame Iris didn't get a return for XY, since, while obviously not to the extent of Misty since at least Iris actually IS pursuing her goal right now, it would have been nice to see how far she came with her goal.

Iris didn't return because she isn't popular in Japan. I also wanted to see how she improved and if her Gible evolved (since Ash's probably will never).

Misty had her time, she appeared in Pok?mon Chronicles and Advenced series (twice), even though I wouldn't mind to see her return.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

Iris didn't return because she isn't popular in Japan. I also wanted to see how she improved and if her Gible evolved (since Ash's probably will never).

Misty had her time, she appeared in Pok?mon Chronicles and Advenced series (twice), even though I wouldn't mind to see her return.

To be honest, I wouldn't even say Misty had her time, since unlike the other former cast members save for maybe Max (who arguably had it even WORSE than her since, thanks to the bit about keeping Ash 10 even when it makes absolutely no sense, he can't even hope to become a trainer, let alone face Ash in battle as promised when he left), she wasn't even allowed to either continue her goal or even choose of her own free will a new goal. She instead was forced by her sisters to change her goal to something she didn't even like at all. May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, Gary, Brock, Tracey, Cecil, and Clemont at least had the ability to continue pursuing their goals, maybe even actually succeed in their goals by the time they left in the case of Tracey (who's goal entailed meeting Professor Oak), or barring that, at least changing their goals of their own free will (such being the case for Brock, Gary, and Serena). Misty never got that, she never got ANY closure for her goal, nor any opportunity to advance in it, and to make matters worse, she didn't even have any choice in the matter. Now, if Misty had left to pursue her goal way back in Johto, or certainly at the end of her last major appearance in AG, pursued another water type thing, gone her own direction without being forced into the Gym, THEN I could say she had her time.

So far as Iris's popularity, or lack thereof, being the reason she didn't get a return, as much as I want to say that's the case, I doubt it. And that's mostly because even Tracey and Max got at least one cameo when they left (and in fact, Tracey ironically is the only former cast member who we can guarantee to get another appearance due to being Professor Oak's aide), and they were very unpopular as characters, arguably giving Iris a run for her money. Not to mention May was apparently fairly popular, yet neither she nor her brother even got Hosos (not to mention Serena didn't get a Hoso either, something even Iris got, and the latter, as you pointed out, was unpopular).

 

[Rad Dudesman]

We already have Lillie and four other new characters who need development.

Serena already had her time to shine, it's Lillie's turn now.

Serena coming back would take attention away from Gen 7's main Pokegirl.

Also Serena is not a very popular character outside of Amourshipping, and the "kiss" pretty much ensured that she will never return. She said that she would return as a "more mature woman", and if she did return, they'd just act like the kiss never happened.

 

[Videreludus]

To be honest, I wouldn't even say Misty had her time, since unlike the other former cast members save for maybe Max (who arguably had it even WORSE than her since, thanks to the bit about keeping Ash 10 even when it makes absolutely no sense, he can't even hope to become a trainer, let alone face Ash in battle as promised when he left), she wasn't even allowed to either continue her goal or even choose of her own free will a new goal. She instead was forced by her sisters to change her goal to something she didn't even like at all. May, Dawn, Iris, Serena, Gary, Brock, Tracey, Cecil, and Clemont at least had the ability to continue pursuing their goals, maybe even actually succeed in their goals by the time they left in the case of Tracey (who's goal entailed meeting Professor Oak), or barring that, at least changing their goals of their own free will (such being the case for Brock, Gary, and Serena). Misty never got that, she never got ANY closure for her goal, nor any opportunity to advance in it, and to make matters worse, she didn't even have any choice in the matter. Now, if Misty had left to pursue her goal way back in Johto, or certainly at the end of her last major appearance in AG, pursued another water type thing, gone her own direction without being forced into the Gym, THEN I could say she had her time.

So far as Iris's popularity, or lack thereof, being the reason she didn't get a return, as much as I want to say that's the case, I doubt it. And that's mostly because even Tracey and Max got at least one cameo when they left (and in fact, Tracey ironically is the only former cast member who we can guarantee to get another appearance due to being Professor Oak's aide), and they were very unpopular as characters, arguably giving Iris a run for her money. Not to mention May was apparently fairly popular, yet neither she nor her brother even got Hosos (not to mention Serena didn't get a Hoso either, something even Iris got, and the latter, as you pointed out, was unpopular).

The thing is Serena has the priority to appear since she was the last to leave Ash and had less episodes than Misty. Since I doubt that Serena will come back I doubt even more that Misty will.

 

[weedle_mchairybug]

The thing is Serena has the priority to appear since she was the last to leave Ash and had less episodes than Misty. Since I doubt that Serena will come back I doubt even more that Misty will.

She and Misty, not to mention Brock, have far more of a chance to appear than Iris, Dawn, May, Max, Clemont, Dent, Bonnie, and Tracey do, if that poll regarding who they want to return is of any indication.

 

[Rad Dudesman]

She and Misty, not to mention Brock, have far more of a chance to appear than Iris, Dawn, May, Max, Clemont, Dent, Bonnie, and Tracey do, if that poll regarding who they want to return is of any indication.

The poll is just that, a poll, it means nothing.

As for Iris not returning, I think that has more to do with her game counterpart becoming Champion than anything.