They're All Such Kids (2024)

That’s not what Contests are at all. Contests do not judge on looks, they judge on condition and skill. The moves are more showy than a regular battle, but that still relays into a coordinator’s skill with move combinations. And condition ≠ looks. Also, Contests are not exclusive to just“cute” or“pretty” Pokémon species.

What.

Okay, first of all, the anime has always been aimed at children. It still is.

Strength and speed are still prized; that part of a Pokémon’s condition, genius. And size was never prized. If you’ll recall, the main character’s star Pokémon is a Pikachu, which is not a big Pokémon at all.

We also see coordinators using Pokémon that aren’t conventionally cute or small. So that whole point is moot.

Alright, this one made me laugh. Milotic is not a sea slug. It appears to be based on either a sea serpent or a Melusine.

Obedience is a game mechanic. In the anime, there’s typically a reason unrelated to badges that a Pokémon becomes disobedient.

Lmfao,“warrior race”. Pokémon are consisted of entirely different species–so they’re definitely not all the same race. Going off of taxonomic rank, they wouldn’t all even be in the same kingdom, let alone in the same lower ranks such as phylum. Apparently you failed biology.

Becoming a coordinator still requires months of struggle. It’s not all about looks. There a lot of strategy and skill involved as well.

Contests are not filler. Anything that advances a character’s goal or involves character development is not filler. That word does not mean what you think it means. I’ll agree that DP was needlessly dragged out, but not for the reason you think it was.

“why must I tolerate this nonsense”

Because the female characters are important, too, you sexist douche. And yes, whether or not the female companion competes in them is important, as they are just as important as Ash is. Ash is not the only character that matters.

“I don’t care about the temporary friends”

Yeah, because you’re a misogynist.

Sinnoh had Super Contests, which are flashier than regular Contests, genius. If you’d played the games, you’d know that.

Also, Harley regularly used Pokémon that weren’t traditionally cute and aesthetically pleasing, undermining your whole argument.

Dawn having four to five rivals is bad? Ok, sure Jan.

First of all, Zoey–because that’s how her name is spelled–is amazing, and one of the best characters in DP. May wasn’t even back for that long. And it’s okay for Misty to get a cameo, but not May? So you just hate more feminine women–and May isn’t even that girly. Sexist much?

And that’s worse than the League how? Also, wasn’t the P@ul vs. Ash two or three episodes long? Two to three weeks just for one battle. Don’t hear you saying anything about that, though.

Continued in the next part.

Well, the closest we had to Pokemon Contests was that Princess Festival thing in Princess vs. Princess (that, and maybe the breeder convention in Johto)…

Won’t comment on filler episode lengths and all that (let’s face it, delving into a character’s backstory also qualifies as non-filler as well, and besides, Pokemon Battles are guilty of that bit as well.).

But I WILL comment on how the execution of contests in the anime is downright flawed. Sure, technically, they focus on condition and skill, but under optics, it comes across as essentially being the fashion model industry, which is actually pretty notorious for having girls burning out before age 25, having a very unrealistic standard of beauty that results in anorexia and drug problems, among other things. Pretty dang damaging to girls (put that way, the fashion industry IS pretty dang misogynistic due to the clear harm it puts girls through). It also doesn’t help that the addition of Contests as a main goal came across as downright FORCED. Maybe if the games actually TREATED contests as a major goal in their own right, and NOT as a skippable and extremely minor side-quest that’s only good for maybe finishing your Secret Base furniture collection or evolving a Feebas into a Milotic to get its Pokedex entry, I’d at least roll with the idea of it being a major goal in equal standing to Pokemon Gyms. But as it is, artificially making it as important in the anime when there was literally nothing suggesting it was like that in the games just came across as pointless. It’s like having Ash change his goal to, say, Pokeringer competitions, or even Secret Base building. It also doesn’t help that, in a way, contests actually REDUCE a girl character’s ties to the group due to marketing. Case in point: May ended up replaced with Dawn in DP to essentially do the same goal, yet they wouldn’t dare replace Ash with another character for two decades now, not even when he’s won big. And don’t get me started on when they don’t HAVE contests in the next region, where they’re dropped out altogether (people can cite Kanto in Battle Frontier as a counterargument, but it needs to be stated that that was solely because they tried to market both FRLG AND Emerald at the same time, in an ill-effective manner if you ask me since they barely even referenced the first season at all DESPITE it being set in Ash’s home region).

And just as an FYI, there are actually female viewers who were downright disgusted with the concept of Pokemon Contests as depicted in the anime. I actually know one from Pokecommunity. Her name’s BettyNewbie. She made it pretty clear she found the contest angle pretty dang irritating especially regarding how girls are forced into that rather than, say, challenging Gyms or something like that (and she was also quick to point out that in most mediums, most guys who participate long term are depicted as effeminate, and was ticked about that bit as well), that as well as being vastly overrated regarding actual importance compared to the games. So I really wouldn’t call those who hate what Pokemon Contests stand for “misogynistic” when there are actual women who hate the concept. And I’d argue that Dawn and May being put into contests ultimately killed any potential interactions they might have had with Ash, especially under a mentor-student concept. Think about it, if they challenged gyms, Ash could have actually given them some pointers on how to fight Gym Leaders, expanding on Ash’s growth from rookie to mentor, and even allow some development on their end by having them actually learn some stuff from Ash, yet also develop their own style. And when it comes down to the Pokemon Leagues, they’ll even fight Ash, as a final exam of sorts. Would have been very perfect for a mentor-student role that they were supposed to have. But no, thanks to them being coordinators, they barely have any real mentor-student interactions from Ash, being essentially there for the ride as it is (probably the most mentor-student bits they do get is learning how to throw Pokeballs and catch/battle wild Pokemon).

But I WILL comment on how the execution of contests in the anime is downright flawed. Sure, technically, they focus on condition and skill, but under optics, it comes across as essentially being the fashion model industry

What. No, it doesn’t? It’s just an alternative to gym battles, especially since there’s literally a battle round. It doesn’t really resemble the fashion model industry at all. And no, the introduction of Contests as a goal was not “forced”. By your logic, so is being a Pokémon Breeder, as breeding is an optional thing in the games as well. But funny, I don’t hear you saying a word about Brock’s former goal. Interesting. The anime took the concept of Contests and fleshed them out into a legitimate goal and competitive alternative to gym battles.

And are you just ignoring that Dawn was willing to participate in traditional competitive battling as well as the competitive Contest scene?

May left because her character arc ended. It doesn’t “reduce” a girl’s importance in the show. Skill development ≠ character development.

And I already went over the Kanto having Contests thing, but when Ash first traveled through Kanto, he was not traveling with a coordinator, and had no reason to stop at a Contest Hall.

“female viewers disgusted with Contests”

…That doesn’t mean it’s not misogyny. Women can be misogynistic, too. Hating that a female character has a traditionally feminine interest is still misogyny. It’s not woke to hate feminine women. Nor were girls “forced” into Contests. It was May and Dawn’s own choice to pursue that. Contests aren’t gendered, and the only “effeminate” male coordinator I can think of is Nando, and MAYBE Harley. So yes, it is still misogyny and hating women who exhibit traditionally feminine interests. And are we just ignoring the existence of Zoey being non-gender conforming?

And while we’re on the topic of female viewers, I am a woman.

Also, having two characters pursuing gym battles would be super redundant.

Yeah, actually, it was forced. Maybe if the games actually depicted contests as an actual full-fledged alternate goal to gyms, with the players actually CHOOSING to pursue coordinator goals as their full-fledged goals, and not as a skippable sidequest at best, I wouldn’t have minded. But as it is, it’s forced, precisely BECAUSE we can’t follow that route in the games. The point of the anime is to advertise the games, as much as I really dislike that point. When they make them a full fledged goal when they weren’t even that in the games, it’s just false advertising. They were better off having Dawn and May actually participate in gyms and developing their own style that was different from Ash’s. At least there, the advertisem*nt angle actually would work.

And for the record, when Ash did Kanto first, contests weren’t even an idea yet (the closest we had to actual contests during Kanto was that Princess vs. Princess thing).

As far as May’s character arc, how exactly did it end? Last I checked, she still hadn’t won an actual grand festival yet, hadn’t gotten to top coordinator or completed her actual goal yet, and Sinnoh had Contests as well. If anything, her character arc was half-finished at best (though she still got a better deal than Misty did, at least May still chose to pursue her dream either way, while Misty literally couldn’t be allowed to pursue her dream at all and instead had to be stuck inside a gym and, until Sun and Moon, left with the implication that she’s going to act as a JJM-style punching bag.). Besides, technically, you could argue that Ash’s character arc ended after he won the Alola League, or heck, even Battle Frontier where he actually managed to beat a group of people who arguably RIVALED the Elite 4 in terms of prowess. Last I checked, that didn’t stop him from still acting as the main character for the new series, or for DP for that matter, despite having nothing else to offer that ISN’T a forced level reset. If he can continue on despite no longer being obligated to challenge gyms and win leagues, I’m pretty sure May and Dawn can do the same as well.

As far as Brock’s breeder goal, I only didn’t mention that goal because it was never brought up until now (plus, technically, Brock’s breeding goal preceded the games inclusion, so it’s not quite the same as contests which DID officially start in the games, and were later included in the Anime.), and believe me when I say this, I ALSO have quite a few complaints regarding the breeder goal Brock had myself, like the fact that it was left an utter waste, where Brock wasn’t allowed to even BREED Pokemon, despite that literally being the entire POINT of the goal, not to mention of the egg pokemon he played a role in raising as eggs, only ONE of them was actually owned by him after the fact. Heck, Johto had a perfect opportunity to actually EXPAND on that goal for Brock and even have him actually MATE two of his Pokemon together, like in the games, yet that ended up completely wasted, only having a breeder convention and MAYBE his identifying that Stantler was casting an illusory stampede at one point. That’s it. Oh, and it also barely played any REAL role in development and was barely even present. Now, maybe if Brock had his doctor goal at the start instead of the breeder goal, that actually WOULD have worked very well with the group dynamic and been actually USEFUL, like the healer class in various RPGs.

And isn’t the point of misogyny to outright hate women? Last I checked, women possessing misogyny is a contradiction of terms unless they’re flat out dykes such as Simone de Beauvoir (who BTW actually implied strongly that girls are sick with feminine maternal instincts and that they actually should remove their own breasts, which is actually far more misogynistic than merely suggesting Contests aren’t good for them.). Not to mention I’m pretty sure misogyny doesn’t entail actually hating feminine traits (other than maybe maternal instincts) more than just hating actual females. Take General Blue from Dragon Ball, for example: That guy was EXTREMELY effeminate, actually using phraseology that’s reserved for women, and being so narcissistic about his appearance that he actually makes Narcissus himself come across as humble by comparison, yet as indicated by interactions to, say, Bulma when she tried to flirt with him, or even Arale by her mere presence, he’s very much misogynistic, literally can’t stand Bulma or Arale’s presence precisely BECAUSE they’re women. If anything, a true misogynist would outright encourage them to go for Contests specifically to have them burn out, overdose on drugs, and do irreparable harm onto themselves precisely BECAUSE they want girls dead for being girls. Besides, it’s not like May and Dawn have to be guys or not have ANY feminine traits to participate in Gyms which you seemed to imply. Take Dead or Alive, for example: Most of the girls in that series act like actual girls, act very feminine, and not acting butch or like guys dressed in drag at all. Yet they still participate in a fighting tournament and even happen to actually LIKE fighting in a tournament, fighting, something that’s generally reserved for males for most of history. There’s a way to handle both elements. And yes, actually, it IS deemed woke to hate feminine women. Or have you completely ignored the fact that the gaming industry in the West, heck, Japan even, are outright uglifying the women and having them act more like men in drag under some misguided notion that that’s somehow empowering women and virtue signalling to the woke crowd (case in point, Ellie from TLOU post-DLC, or how about Jill Valentine in the recent Resident Evil 3 remake, heck, even what Shimbori did to the DOA girls in 6, not to mention what happenec to the girls in MK11). Heck, Dead or Alive actually gets a lot of crap by our SJW media for having girls actually acting and looking feminine, despite the fact that most if not all of them are actual FIGHTERS, and they have the audacity of claiming that franchise is misogynistic simply because they looked hot and acted like traditional females, or at least act feminine rather than like butch females.

As far as having two characters pursuing gym battles being super redundant, not if they made sure to actually possess differentiated strategies from Ash. That actually would be REALLY neat to watch, seeing how they learn from Ash, and yet develop their own way of strategizing and fighting their opponents at the same time. Besides, it wasn’t redundant when we saw Ash and Paul battle Gym Leaders (and make no mistake, there was PLENTY of instances where we saw Ash and Paul fight Gym Leaders one after another). And you’re forgetting Drew, who while not outright effeminate like Harley (I’m hesitant to call him up and out gay since he DID flirt with Jessie at one point based on some GIFs), nevertheless is depicted as being somewhat metrosexual. Probably the only consistent male coordinator I can think of who does come across as standard masculinity is salaryman, and I’m not even sure that’s an actual character since he looks different many times (not to mention“salaryman” is more his title rather than his actual name). And besides, I think replacing one girl with another just to have her do the same goal comes across as more redundant than, say, actually HAVING her fight in a gym battle, learn from Ash in a student-mentor relationship, further developing Ash’s character AS WELL AS the female character, and even developing her own style distinctly from Ash. They can’t even replace Ash with another character to do Gyms. Why the heck is it okay to change from May to Dawn and have the latter repeat May’s goal?

No it wasn’t. The anime does exist to market the games, but it does that by showcasing the Pokémon themselves. Heaven forbid an adaptation does something different than in the games and actually fleshes out concepts. The horror.

I know Contests didn’t exist yet. Pokémon is one of my Special Interests, I don’t need you to allisticsplain it to me. I was offering an in-universe reason.

Do you know what character arcs and character development actually are? Because it’s not the same as skill development. May went from someone who didn’t like to Pokémon to someone who learned to care deeply for them and form deep bonds with them. Which leads to her becoming a better coordinator, allowing her to bring out her Pokémon’s skill. Misty’s character had long run its course, which was why she left. She didn’t develop at all during Johto.

There are a lot of other professions that don’t exist in the games, as well. That doesn’t make them bad. It’s called an adaptation for a reason. And while I haven’t actually read the manga, I’m pretty sure Contests are treated as an alternative to gym battles there, too.

Ash is the main character. May and Dawn were main characters of their respective sagas, and furthermore, are game characters. They also are there to promote the games. Ash always goes through a reset because this is a kid’s show, and each saga is aimed at a new generation of kids. You are not the target audience.

And yes, women can be misogynistic. It’s called internalized misogyny. The whole idea of hating feminine women is misogyny, as it proposes there is a“right” way to be a woman. Misogyny is a lot more complicated and insidious than just“women bad”. And don’t refer to women as“females” or “actual females”, that’s gross and transphobic. So yes, hating women for feminine interests is still misogyny. And no, it’s NOT woke to hate women for being feminine. If someone does that, then they are not a feminist, they are a misogynist.

I never anywhere implied that May and Dawn would need zero feminine interests to participate in gyms? I have no idea what you’re on about there.

And for the record, Drew is not that effeminate.

It’s still super redundant. First of all, it would impact that pacing. Second, Ash doesn’t need to be their teacher/mentor. That would seriously screw with the power dynamics between the companions, and not in a good way.

And are you seriously trying to lecture me, a woman, on what does and doesn’t constitute as misogyny?

Misty actually DID develop throughout the Original series. Let me remind you that originally, she was a lady who had massive insecurities about herself thanks to her sisters and wished to actually prove herself by doing training, and that part of her… feistiness was an outlet of her insecure elements, and she eventually mellowed out even before she got Togepi, with Togepi and her friends certainly helping her out, gaining more confidence. And yes, she DID develop in Johto (heck, if anything, the last time she appeared as a main character actually had her actually ADVANCING on her goal). Oh, and we also learned quite a bit about WHY she has her views, like she liked Water Pokemon due to reading some book on the subject (which, BTW, was ALSO revealed in Johto). And maybe if Misty was actually ALLOWED to resume her Water Pokemon Master goal when she left, or at the very least explicitly and willingly changed her goal to be a Gym Leader, and not be constantly forced into being a punching bag by rookie Pokemon at the very least (and going by how AG and BW handled Gym Leaders, that’s exactly what comes to mind, punching bags), there wouldn’t have been too much of an issue with her leaving.

And I DO know what a character arc is, and actually accomplishing a goal (which becoming Top Coordinator is her explicit goal, last I checked) is a key part of a character arc (in other words, it’s not just skill development). Let me give you a case in point: Adrian Monk from the Monk series: His character arc entailed not just coping with his OCD, but more importantly trying to find out why his wife died, and even more importantly, who had been responsible for her death. By the end of the series, when his character arc ended, he actually DID find the person responsible for her death, and even managed to have an adopted daughter of sorts as well as getting rid of most of, if not ALL of his OCD (which was mostly excabarated thanks to Trudy Monk’s death). Something similar also exists with Harold, his rival. That guy had similar OCD issues, and largely had massive anger towards Monk due to getting book shelves in another order from him. When his character arc ended, they buried the hatchet. And let’s not forget Patrick Jane in the Mentalist, where his entire arc entailed tracking down Red John and avenging his family, who had been murdered by that psycho, and eventually managed to do so by the penultimate season. When May still hasn’t actually accomplished her goal of becoming Top Coordinator yet, that means her character arc is FAR from finished. Period. Same goes for Dawn, for that matter (heck, Iris and even Serena for that matter). Ironically, probably the only main character who DID actually complete their character arc was Tracey due to his at least actually getting an opportunity to work for Professor Oak (maybe also Lillie). And if I must be honest, what May had was downright cheap development, especially when last I checked, she had absolutely NO business being a Pokemon trainer due to hating Pokemon (and if you ask me having a completely poor reason for being that anyways since she wanted to travel. Ah, last I checked, Seymour the Scientist didn’t even have Pokemon and yet he STILL traveled, so why the heck would she need to be a trainer), and that was DESPITE coming from a gym leader family AND actually having a far more stable family life than Misty, Brock, heck, even Jessie and James did. Even DAWN at least liked Pokemon when starting her journey. That’s not even close to good character development, especially when it contradicts the entire point behind being a Pokemon trainer, and they never even bothered to explain WHY she hated Pokemon in the first place. If I must be honest, Lillie from the Sun and Moon anime did May’s development MUCH better. At least Lillie’s fear of Pokemon WAS explained to be due to PTSD as a result of Aether Foundation’s actions towards her, and Lillie does not actually become a trainer, either a gym battler or coordinator, until AFTER getting over her fear of Pokemon.

As far as Contests and adaptations, maybe back during the Original Series, you could make the case that the anime was simply an adaptation (especially when Ash went for Sabrina first, then Erika, when originally, you couldn’t fight Sabrina until AFTER fighting Erika thanks largely to lockdowns to Saffron City). But starting with AG, the anime has by and large tried to force Ash to go the path of the games, even when it wasn’t truly necessary, not to mention how the movies since Jirachi Wishmaker literally only EXIST to market the newest Mythical Pokemon, oftentimes distributing them through movie theaters. That’s less of an adaptation and more of a flat out advertisem*nt. And maybe I should remind you that 1. Digimon, also geared towards kids, often changed its main characters around, even the ones closest to Ash’s level (granted, I’m not fond of Digimon in the first place, but it’s still an example), and 2., Ash himself was also based on the main protagonist of his generation (Red, more specifically), which serves as even MORE reason for him to be up and out replaced. Heck, even being a kids cartoon doesn’t cut it. Dragon Ball ALSO was a kids’ cartoon, last I checked, they STILL made sure to develop Goku and actually come across as having him ACTUALLY grow in knowledge and experience, in addition to him LITERALLY growing up, and not do forced level resets just to bring in new kids (which, BTW, Japanese ratings are outright tanking for Pokemon since Johto or AG, meaning that their methods are driving AWAY potential customers, NOT bringing them in, which only shows just how much of a stupid idea THAT turned out to be.). And again, Digimon is a kids cartoon as well, didn’t stop them from replacing characters.

And I go by the dictionary definition of misogyny, if I must be honest, and the dictionary definition of misogyny entails“hatred of women.” Those exact words. It never says anything about feminine traits, just women. And it never says anything beyond that, like“hatred of women taking up men’s activities” or“hatred of women taking up female activities.” And the only instance of women actually having misogyny (as in, not simply hating feminine characteristics, but even hating biologically female elements like breasts, enough to actually advocate removing them because they“lacked individual economy”) that I can think of are outright dykes who were it up to them would probably undergo gender reassignment surgery to become guys. So far, the only ones who actually match up with that are people like Simone de Beauvoir and maybe Kate Millet (who ironically enough are considered pioneers for modern feminism right now, and I mean that in a bad way). And for the record, there’s a right way and a wrong way to act in EVERYTHING, regardless of gender, race, or anything like that. Heck, God established several laws, codes, and rules of behavior for us humans via the Ten Commandments, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers, does that make God a misanthrope? Absolutely not! And quite frankly, using your definition, it would be misogynistic of me to stop a girl from outright cutting herself simply because she actually wants to mutilate herself, even when I realize if she does that she might die, and if you ask me, that’s just nuts. If anything, letting a woman die from cutting herself and encouraging her to do so knowing full well she’ll die as a result is what’s truly misogynistic.

The super redundant bit as well as the bit about May and Dawn going for Contests over Gyms due to their being more traditionally feminine certainly implied that bit, at least. And quite frankly, Conservapedia is all FOR traditional femininity(heck, traditional gender roles for that matter), and last I checked, they had an article DENOUNCING the Fashion Industry, for example, called Fashion Industry Values, and listed a whole lot of reasons on why it was damaging, including I should add all the medical issues and deaths females had to go through in the industry (not to mention some really nasty behavior there). So no, Contests =/= traditionally feminine. And I know some people, even some who actually LIKE Drew, called him metrosexual on Serebiiforums. As far as your point about pacing and power dynamics, 1. Ash is no longer a rookie, so he really needs to do something to, you know, actually show the ropes for any newcomer trainers under his wing. As much as I really have distaste for how Solid Snake was depicted in Metal Gear Solid 2 and how he treated Raiden several times, coming across as no better than the Patriots, not to mention acting like a nihilist in the ending, at least Snake actually MADE an effort to show the ropes to Raiden several times (even if it was largely while he was Iroquois Pliskin). Other than maybe telling them how to use a Poke Ball, he hasn’t done much to actually MENTOR them. And 2. If the Paul/Trip dynamics didn’t negatively impact pacing of the show, I’m pretty sure May and Dawn fighting gyms alongside Ash won’t negatively impact the pacing either.

And for the record, the Pokemon anime didn’t even flesh out Secret Bases, the OTHER new element of RSE (I think they got ONE episode at most). I fail to see how Contests really needed to be fleshed out like that, especially when if we were to go by marketing, they outright failed regarding contests since none of the players can actually CHOOSE to be coordinators over gym battlers (to say little about how they dropped them altogether by Generation 5 anyway).

I know Misty developed in the Original Series. She just didn’t develop in Johto. She was just…there.

Accomplishing a goal doesn’t have much to do with character arcs. As in, who they are as people, and how they grow as people. Claiming that May had sub-par development is bullsh*t. Lillie has the strongest development in the show, followed by May and then Iris. Yes, I did just say Iris and May had stronger character development paths than Misty. It’s true. And quit bringing up irrelevant shows I’ve never watched. And May’s departure was also her advancing on her goal, too. She left Ash to develop her own style of coordinating. Dawn’s character had issues, but not because she didn’t win the Grand Festival. You are still confusing character development with skill development.

May didn’t hatePokémon, she disliked them. And why she disliked them was expanded upon–part of the reason was because she came from a gym leader family. Do you not understand how that could make a child resentful? If you don’t, please never talk to a child, especially not one with home life issues.

It’s still an adaptation. The only place that isn’t an adaptation is the games themselves, as they are the source material.

And“dictionary definition” lmfao. It’s still misogyny. The dictionary just gives a simplified definition of words. Misogyny itself is far more complex and takes much more subtle forms than“women bad” or killing women for being women. You sound like a misogynist, not going to lie. And no, there isn’t a right or wrong way to be a women, or anyone of a certain race. And did you seriously just try to use the Ten Commandments as a reason? The Bible does not count as a factual source. A) It’s a Holy Book, so if it counts, so does every other Holy Book, and b) it was written by men with biases, so those biases leak through.

Your self-harm example is so dumb I don’t even want to acknowledge it, but never have I endorsed self-harm. All I said was that women having feminine interests is not bad or backwards.

And lovely little tidbit here…“…I can think of are outright dykes who were it up to them would probably undergo gender reassignment surgery to become guys.”

Okay, so you’re transphobic AND hom*ophobic. Good to know.

“Metrosexual” is a WAY out-dated term, and Drew is really not that effeminate. Being a bit more conscious about looks is not immediately effeminate.

The companions are supposed to be equal. Yes, it would be bad.

You missed the part where I said each new Pokémon anime series is aimed at a new generation of kids, didn’t you? That’s how this anime works.

P@ul and Trip were not traveling companions. Also, P@ul sucked, so jot that down.

Secret bases cannot be turned into a goal like Contests can. Contests have an item denoting achievements–Ribbons. Secret Bases don’t.

Actually, Misty DID develop during Johto. Or maybe you haven’t noticed that it was Johto that revealed that a key part of her Water Pokemon Master goal involved stuff like the Whirl Cup. In fact, someone actually gave a full explanation on HOW Misty had a large amount of development in Johto here. And while it DOES primarily deal with her Water Pokemon Master goal, it also goes a bit into actual character development on Misty’s part. There’s another post by the same guy that expands on this bit, and also makes clear that Misty DID indeed receive quite a bit of development in Johto. Also hereand hereand hereas well. Heck, if anything, Togepi among other things actually helped her GROW as a character despite the complaints against it, well, that and that Slugma episode, the one that revealed WHY she likes Water Pokemon that much. Delved into her past. Ergo, character development. Sure, maybe she didn’t quite receive as much character development in Johto as she deserved, but make no mistake, she DID receive quite a bit of development in Johto DESPITE that, certainly a lot more than you give her credit for.

Hate, dislike? Not much difference. The fact of the matter is, her distaste for Pokemon made her as applicable for a journey as a child-hater has being a kindergarten teacher. And as far as her coming from a Gym Leader family, Misty and Brock ALSO came from Gym Leader families, and if anything they had it far WORSE than May ever did (Brock had to deal with two deadbeat parents who outright ditched their kids, forcing him to act as the man of the house and run the gym in their absence, putting aside even his goal of being a breeder, let alone his desire to become a full-fledged trainer due to said responsibilities, and Misty’s parents according to development staff outright abandoned her and her sisters due to stress relating to the gym, and she didn’t even have a very good relationship with her sisters, where they largely picked on her and treated her like a runt compared to them), and last I checked, none of them even came CLOSE to hating Pokemon or even disliking them (I’d mention Jessie and James as well, since they arguably had it even WORSE than those two, AND are part of a criminal games that’s implied in at least the games if not the anime to outright slaughter Pokemon as a specific part of their goals, but they aren’t characters who came from Gym families, so I won’t). May if anything LACKED home life issues AFAIK, at least she still HAD parents who genuinely cared for her instead of being deadbeats who ditched their kids, or having siblings who pretty much treated her like complete crap due to being the youngest and deemed inferior to them. And for the record, I actually HAD home life issues myself. I had to suffer from constant earaches as a kid, and was not exactly a very stable person as a child, and in fact people even assumed I was deaf. Oh, and when I had an accident on the track in Middle School, they claimed I had total regression in everything and got sealed off into a remedial class until I was revealed to actually be an advanced reader. And during elementary school, I was constantly forced to do a spin the milk bottle type game and do the rules of that game while no one else bothered, which caused me enough angst that my parents reluctantly put me on drugs under the advice of a psychologist. So don’t you DARE claim I don’t know a thing about lacking a good home life. If anything, May had it EASY compared to me. As far as Iris, if you ask me, I actually thought Iris made a far more decent successor than May and Dawn did, so I’m not complaining about whether she received more development than Misty did (at least Iris showed no signs from what I could gather of behaving like the girls from Love Hina or, heck, even those Fiorello Fangirls from Princess v. Princess). If anything, I’m glad they DIDN’T repeat the same mistake they did with Misty and forced her into a gym, with my only real complaint being that they never bothered to give her a single reappearance despite making sure she was actually ALLOWED to pursue her goal. May, on the other hand, DIDN’T receive even slightly good development. Probably the only thing I’ll agree on is that her departure did in one sense advance May’s goal, which is still much more than what Misty got which was the outright termination of her goal before it could even see ANY progress beyond Whirl Cup, and not even by her own choice, either.

Well, yeah, obviously the games can’t be an adaptation, but it doesn’t change the fact that they became less an adaptation and more of an outright commercial by the time of AG.

And who said anything about women having feminine interests is somehow bad? Misty ALSO had feminine interests. Heck, the episode that solidified my loyalty to Misty, Princess vs. Princess, is chock full of feminine interests SHE had. But the Pokemon Contests did involve stuff that actually WAS unhealthy overall. Besides, most if not all of the DOA girls actually HAD feminine interests and were very feminine in overall nature as well, yet last I checked, they loved getting into fights as well.

And if you think I sound like a misogynist, quite frankly, it only shows you have some issues you need to sort out yourself. I for one actually support pro-life groups, and want the unborn to actually BE born, not slaughtered. There’s also the fact that I actually CARE about how girls have had harm inflicted onto them and actually WANT said harm removed. And the fashion model industry, which is very much the inspiration of Pokemon Contests regardless of what you claim, deals with a whole lot of problems for girls such as bulimia and anorexia, not to mention rampant hom*osexuality which even the CDC has specifically stated to have a lot of negative health issues with that lifestyle.

And just as an FYI, that description came from her sister, who has pretty choice words about her and the destructive legacy she left behind here:https://archives.frontpagemag.com/fpm/my-sister-kate-destructive-feminist-legacy-kate-mark-tapson/(well, at the very least, she DID mention it in the comments section back when they were still there) And quite frankly, if being“transphobic” or“hom*ophobic” means being aware of the definite health problems posed by either, then fine, call me that. Better to be that than Politically Correct and push outright falsehoods about it being a perfectly healthy lifestyle, anyways. And it’s not like the dictionary can’t say, for example,“hatred of feminine elements and women.” That also keeps it simple rather than complex.

As far as your statement about the bible and Ten Commandments, let me remind you that the Bible was written by God himself, as the bible itself explicitly stated, meaning everything in there, he implemented by DESIGN, not humans, but God himself. So if he says killing is wrong for any mortal to commit, it’s absolute that killing is wrong. Same goes for cheating on people, or anything like that. And either way, if claiming there’s a right way to act makes you misogynistic or racist or anything like that, well, that makes God all the above and acting very much like Zamasu, for example, being a vindictive monster who is an outright misanthrope supreme regarding his own creation, using your argument.

I’m not fond of Paul either for various reasons (such as him pretty much destroying the whole message of how Pokemon aren’t meant to be tools of war that the games and anime pushed, basically being yet another reinforcement of how the writers treated Ash’s single significant accomplishment in AG, winning the Battle Frontier (not to mention Pikachu essentially OHKOing a Regice all by itself, which recent capture by Brandon or not is STILL a Legendary and thus exceptionally difficult for ANYONE to defeat in battle), as a complete joke by pretty much trashing Pikachu twice, and not even via his actual Starter Pokemon, but by Pokemon that were for all intents and purposes complete rookies, destroying whatever development Ash had gotten in that series, and overall being such an abusive jerk.), but the fact remains that focusing on two or more trainers still didn’t drag down pacing at gyms, so if rivals can’t drag them down, neither can other main characters.

And for the record, none of the main characters, even in Kanto, were actually“equal.” Ash, for example, had to learn a LOT from both Misty AND Brock back when he was the rookie. They weren’t actually on equal footing. Sure, they became long-lasting friends, but it doesn’t change the fact that they helped him become the trainer he is today, and thus it wasn’t an“equal” relationship.

And actually, Secret Bases DO have rewards tied to them. What do you call those furniture bits? Heck, in DP, doing several bits in the tunneling areas would net you with rewards regarding Arceus plates and even fossils, not to mention various items. Either way, it still didn’t justify expanding Pokemon Contests, especially not when you can’t even choose them as a full fledged goal in the games, and thus destroyed the entire point of actually marketing them.

No, she really didn’t. And one moment in all of Johto being important to her character isn’t great, especially with how long the Johto stretch was. I’ll agree that Togepi helped her develop.

There is a difference between hate and dislike. Words have connotation and implied strength. Hate is a much stronger word than dislike. As for your kindergarten teacher argument, it is flawed. The reason people who hate kids shouldn’t become teachers is because a) they could possibly be abusive to the kids, and b) it would make them miserable. Neither applied to May. What happened with May was more like someone who doesn’t like kids finding themselves as a parent through whatever circ*mstances, and realize they don’t really dislike kids, after all.

Also, quick question: have you actually watched AG? Because I’m beginning to doubt you have.

Look, I’m sorry you didn’t have a good home life as a kid, but that doesn’t mean you’re right about May. Using Brock and Misty as examples doesn’t work because everyone reacts to stressors in their environments differently. In addition, May had a strained relationship with her father, and her parents themselves seemed to have a strained relationship if how easily Caroline believed Norman was cheating on her was any indication.

Claiming that May didn’t receive good development is an outright lie. A narrative direction you don’t like ≠ bad writing.

And you’ve said feminine interests were bad. Several times.

You want me to spell it out for you? You are a misogynist. And no, it’s not an issue with me. You should probably do some self-evaluation. However, you probably won’t, as I’m pretty sure I’m talking to a conservative guy. And uh…being Pro-Life does not mean you are not a misogynist? It’s more evidence that you are, frankly.

Long story short: It’s still misogyny.

Sorry, but Pokémon Contests are still not the fashion model industry. Pokémon Stylists exist.

And don’t act like you care about women. You don’t. You’re just using it as an excuse to hate LGBTQ people. This is what you said:““…I can think of are outright dykes who were it up to them would probably undergo gender reassignment surgery to become guys.”

First of all, you used a slur–the d slur, to be precise. Second of all, cis lesbians don’t undergo gender reassignment surgery. Trans lesbians might, but they don’t“become guys”. That is both transphobia and hom*ophobia. I am not going to pretend otherwise.

And for the record, the healthcare issues LGBTQ people face is because of hom*ophobia and transphobia, not because they’re gay or trans. And being LGBTQ is literally not a choice, just so you know.

Like, can you just admit you’re a bigot and go?

And do you really want to Bible discourse with me? The Bible was written–and translated–by men. God was not sitting up in Heaven with a typewriter. It is a book written by men, and contains biases of those men. It also frequently gets taken out of context.

And for the record, your religion is not any more valid than anyone else’s. This may come as a shock to you, but not everyone is Christian.

Also most people know killing is wrong. They don’t need a Holy Book to tell them that.

There is a right way to act, yes (within reason), but there is not a“right” way to be a woman, or a person of a certain race, etc. Claiming there is is bigotry.

The only power imbalance would be because of an age gap. Typically, Ash and the female companion teach each other, not one teaching one. Teaching each other is equal. A mentor-student dynamic creates an unnecessary power imbalance.

The Secret Base rewards were fleshed out more in later games. Diamond and Pearl had the Capture the Flag mechanic, but that was not a thing in RSE.

She certainly developed far more than Brock in that saga, anyways, heck, developed better than Ash did (besides Gyms, fighting in that Whirl Cup thing, and resolving his rivalry with Gary Oak, the only thing of note he did in that saga was raise Larvitar).

As far as your point about hate and dislike, true, but it deals with the same basic emotion, and use your head, the argument of why a kindergarten teacher shouldn’t be applied to a child-hater is EXACTLY the same reason for why a person who hates Pokemon should NOT be a Pokemon trainer. The entire POINT of Pokemon training is to, you know, TRAIN them. And if you hate Pokemon, or you at best treat them more like tools, you’re that more likely to abuse them.

I’ve watched enough of it in the Emergency Room to know what May’s like, AND I’ve watched Pokemon Ranger and the Temple of the Sea, and I’ve also read up on various summaries and episode reviews as well.

And if reacting to stressful environments differently was true, there wouldn’t have been a point to psychology or psychiatry at all. And quite frankly, that didn’t come across as strained. Unlike Misty’s sisters, who actually DID constantly belittle her, her dad didn’t really have that much of a problem with May. And as far as strained marriages, it’s still much better than what Brock’s parents had, where they were deadbeats (and if Pokemon the Animation is to be believed, Flint is actually Brock’s STEP Father, not his actual father, and his siblings are more like half-siblings because his mom constantly remarried after the dads fled the house from the intense nature of Gym Leader jobs before eventually ditching her kids in turn.).

And no, she definitely didn’t receive good development at all. It simply doesn’t match up at all with what went on at all, and only seemed to magically like Pokemon when she started doing contests. It’s like saying Solid Snake in Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty received character development just because he backstabbed Raiden as a subtle way of lowering Arsenal Gear’s guard, or Hans had character development in Frozen simply because he became a villain at the snap of a finger near the climax. And even if I actually LIKED May, I STILL would have said it was bad development, period. I actually like Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, for example, viewed him as one of the few characters in that movie to actually HAVE character and not be a two-bit stereotype unlike most of the other characters, yet even I acknowledge he got fairly bad development in hindsight, especially when, despite the fact that the entire point of the curse was to have him learn to care about others, the climax where Gaston raids his castle just had him waiting for the inevitable and pretty much willing to let his servants, who until Belle came about were the closest thing he had to actual friends, potentially get MURDERED by the mob (say what you will about Beast pre-”development”, at least he was willing to protect his turf and servants and most certainly would have protected Belle when it came down to it, at the cost of his life even). To say little about how during Beast’s arguments with Belle, it’s Beast who came across as being more in the right than Belle did despite the narrative indicating otherwise, contradicting how he was SUPPOSED to be a selfish brat who didn’t care about others before or even during the first half of the film (like the dinner argument. Beast at least swallowed his pride and, albeit with some prodding from the other servants, actually ATTEMPTED to politely ask Belle down to dinner, TWICE. Belle not only constantly refused to come down twice, not even TRY to swallow her pride, but she even pretty much insulted him after he left [and that’s not even taking into account the fact that Beast not only gave Belle a bedroom, AFTER initially considering leaving her to rot in a cell, after seeing her distressed about losing her dad, but even went as far as to allow her to explore the entire castle exempting the West Wing, something a standard prisoner definitely wouldn’t have been allowed. And while you could argue that Lumiere played a bit of a role in the bedroom bit due to his suggesting it to Beast earlier before being blown off, the last bit was ENTIRELY of Beast’s volition since Lumiere never actually told him to do that, all of which would have been points FOR Beast rather than AGAINST him, and certainly something Belle would realistically have considered.]. And don’t get me started on how Beast had more of a reason to be genuinely angry with Belle in their blame game, especially when she deliberately disobeyed him and the other servants and went up to the West Wing, and not even to discover more secrets to the castle, but out of SPITE, and then nearly destroyed his literal lifeline.). Darn shame I actually trusted Belle as a kid.

And use your head, do you REALLY think I’d actually LIKE Misty, OR Iris for that matter, or other characters such as Samus Aran, Kim Possible, Ariel from The Little Mermaid, Princess Peach, heck, Dead or Alive characters for that matter, or the like if I were TRULY a misogynist? Heck, even with my respect for Belle having decreased to being #2 Disney Princess behind Ariel to just barely above Merida (whom I utterly HATE), I still to some degree like her, and if anything hope to find SOMETHING that would allow me to like her again (her animated incarnation, I mean). Actually, if anything, if I were a true misogynist, I’d want all females to be extinct, not even CARE if that ultimately results in the extinction of the human race. And yes, actually, being pro-life is the antithesis of being a misogynist (in fact, believe it or not, the Suffragettes were actually AGAINST abortion, and they obviously weren’t misogynistic). If anything being for abortion is what’s TRULY misogynistic. Or maybe you haven’t noticed that in China, they tended to abort the female fetuses.

And no, the Bible was specifically stated to be made by God. At most, God wrote it like how Kings sometimes had Scribes transcribe exactly what they were saying in Medieval times, or how court transcribers write down exactly what people say in a court of law (ie, he had us write it down for him to make sure we got it down). As far as Christians not being the only religion, well, DUH! You think I don’t know that? Maybe you haven’t noticed, but we are also trying to CONVERT people to our religion as well. Why convert people if ours was the only religion in town.

And if most people knew killing was wrong outside of Christianity, then the Romans and the Greeks wouldn’t have committed various murders, which their mythologies are constantly rife of these bits, many times even being praised for the murders. And don’t get me started on what happens when countries renounce their Christian views, like France or Russia, or even Germany, where there’s a significant increase in murder rates, heck, mass murder rates as well (in fact, Vladimir Lenin actually stated it’s forbidden to NOT murder). And just as an FYI, God blew up an LGBT community, two in fact (Sodom and Gomorrah, or have you completely overlooked the fact that the townsmen were prepared to outright RAPE God’s messengers, who were men, and specifically stated to have no interest in Lot’s daughters when the latter offered them instead?), that should have been pretty big proof that the anti-hom*osexuality bits came from God himself, not human biases. And use your head, why would God even NEED to enumerate that law if most people knew it was wrong to do so? And do I really need to point out that the CDC, of all groups, pointed out clear medical links between various maladies and LGBT stuff? Besides, hom*osexuality IS a choice. There are even people known as ex-hom*osexuals, which naturally IMPLIES that it was even a choice. Heck, even my most hated element of Television right now, which is people outright altering characters previously established to be straight in previous seasons to be bi or gay or what have you, nevertheless implies that that ALSO is ultimately a choice. It’s not like my, say, having autism, which DEFINITELY has no real choice beyond MAYBE whether I control it or let it dominate me. Heck, if anything, I could also easily state it’s a mental disorder, especially when it actually WAS listed in the psychology books before the 1970s.

You’re certainly right about me being a Conservative, but I’m still no misogynist. Words have meaning, after all. And for me to be a misogynist, I need to actually HATE women, which quite frankly, I don’t. And for the record, leftists (which based on your comments, I’m going to assume you are a leftist) also tend to be very misogynistic. Take Jean Paul Sartre, for example. Or Karl Marx. Or even Mao Zedong. Heck, I even am aware of several left-wing artists on Deviantart, including Rastifan, who freely pushes SJW elements, and in fact one of his artworks, dealing with two people engaging in lesbianism during an apocalypse, even outright called them dykes in the title. And do I really need to remind you of Bill Clinton and his womanizing (which even included instances of rape based on what some of his victims stated) and even the fact that he outright victim-blamed during his time as governor and presidency, and his various followers did the same, including NOW, not to mention intimidating several people into silence (like his leaving Kathleen Willey’s pet cat’s skull on her doorstep after abducting it specifically to imply she’ll be next if she doesn’t keep quiet). Not to mention Simone de Beauvoir, whose idea of an empowered woman is someone who was groomed to have her virginity outright robbed by Sartre, and even claimed that girls should never have maternal instincts due to being parasitic or that they chop their own breasts off. In fact, Beauvoir in particular alongside Sartre actually adhered to YOUR views (in fact, she and Sartre are practically the reason your views even exist as a “mainstream” view). I suggest you look into your dang political mirror before denouncing me as misogynist just because I hold to conservative views.

As far as Pokemon Stylists, if it’s the goal I think it is, the one Serena had in Pokemon XY’s anime, considering she switched over to Pokemon Contests at that lady’s suggestion when trying to figure out what to do next, it’s pretty obvious the two goals are similar enough to allow for an easy transition. So no, if anything, Pokemon Stylists actually REINFORCE my point about Contests.

And yes, actually, there IS a right way to be someone, even in the Bible. Leviticus and Deuteronomy, not to mention Numbers, all had specific rules on how to act regarding your gender. I.E., you don’t sleep with a man as if with a woman if you’re male, you don’t wear women’s clothing if you’re male, you don’t sleep with relatives, etc., etc. So unless you want to call God misogynistic or anything like that (and considering what he did to Sodom and Gomorrah…), I suggest you throw that whole bit out. And last I checked, the definition of bigotry is refusing to change your mind or even considering changing your mind even when there’s explicit evidence to the contrary, so if anything, you’re the one who’s being the bigot.

And let me remind you that Misty and Brock mentored Ash for the most part regarding his journey. I definitely don’t recall Ash giving pointers to Misty on how to use a Poke Ball or battle, or for that matter him doing the same for Brock.

Oh my God. You really don’t know when to stop talking, do you?

Okay, I guess we’re back to equating skill development with character development. And the Johto stretch just wasn’t good.

Nah, the kindergarten teacher argument is still dumb. Pokémon trainers are more like parentsto their Pokémon. They raise Pokémon. And May was still not an abuser.

Okay, so you didn’t watch AG. Let me pull out my meme.

Also, reacting differently to stressors in your environment is true. Everyone does not have the same DNA code. I’m pretty sure psychologists are aware of this, genius.

Suffering is not a competition. This is not the Suffering Olympics. And for the record, May and Norman’s relationship did appear to have quite a bit of emotional distance and strain in it. If you actually watched AG, you’d probably know that.

Liking a certain type of female character does not mean you are not a misogynist. A lot of sexist dude bros like certain female characters. Doesn’t mean they’re not misogynists.

And May did receive good development. A narrative direction you don’t like ≠ bad writing.

Nope, the Bible was still written by men. God was not sitting up in Heaven with a typewriter and poof it down to Earth. And yeah, let’s glorify how Christians committed genocide in order to convert people.

Also, Sodom and Gomorrah is NOT about hom*osexuality. It’s about hospitality. If you weren’t an awful person, you’d know that. And while we’re on this topic, hom*osexuality is not a sin. Comparing references to hom*osexuality in the Bible and what we think of being LGBT in modern times is like comparing apples and oranges. First of all, you are blatantly ignoring historical context. The hom*osexuality referenced in the Bible is outlawed because of its connection to pagan rituals. There is nothing to even suggest that two people of the same gender who happen to be in love is bad. Being trans is also fine. Trans men are men, and trans women are women.

Also, there’s plenty of misogyny in the Bible. And the Bible condones slavery, too. Do you think that’s alright, too?

hom*osexuality is not a choice. This has been proven before, you’re just a bigot. Also, people often later discover they’re not the gender or sexuality they thought they were, so jot that down. That’s not“choosing”, that’s self-discovery. And please, characters are hardly ever confirmed as straight. You just think they are because it’s the norm.

And“ex-hom*osexuals”??? Either a) they found out they weren’t gay, or b) were victim to conversion therapy. For the record, conversion therapy is abhorrent and should be outlawed.

As for that CDC bullsh*t, hom*ophobic studies don’t count. And it’s literally well-documented that the healthcare issues LGBTQ people face is because of hom*ophobia and transphobia. You can even google this.

Also, you can’t use the d slur if you are not a lesbian yourself. If you do, you’re a lesbophobe.

And for the record, I’m not left-wing, and I certainly don’t support communism. You realize there are other choices between communism and capitalism, right? And I don’t support misogynists, even if they aren’t conservative.

And Pro-Life does NOT mean you’re not a misogynist. You literally don’t think women can do what they want with their own bodies. And you apparently think a women should have to carry her rapist’s baby, so yeah, you’re a misogynist.

And“let autism define you”...I’m autistic. And upapologetically so. So, apparently you just have some internalized ableism.

That’s not what a Pokémon Stylist is. Serena was a Pokémon Performer. Pokémon Stylists got their own episode in DP. See, this is why you shouldn’t try to complain about shows you don’t watch.

Lmfao, did you really just play the whole“you’re the real bigot” card??? I’m not a bigot for having no tolerance for intolerance. There is NO REASON I should tolerate intolerance. YOU are still the bigot. A bigot is someone who holds prejudice against other groups, such as LGBTQ people, women, people of color, people with disabilities, etc. YOU fit that bill, especially considering your hatred of LGBTQ people.

And people can learn things from another person in ways that don’t involve giving pointers, genius.

I really hope you wake up someday and become a better person, but I doubt you will.

Have fun being an awful and hate-filled person.