Even after all this years, he can't win

Rip Jobra.

Speaking of Lucario, it was bad enough that that roller blade chick with her dog she could barely control practically stole the spotlight for, what, six or seven episodes prior to him battling with her? Wasn't even the same gen it debuted in, just that they wanted something to show off how mega evolution was supposed to work (as if the Mega Evolution Specials weren't doing that already), and we got stuck with multiple episodes about her dysfunctional raid raging aura dog. Granted, I haven't played XY, but unless it makes it a big deal about Mega Evolution using that Lucario there, it just comes off as pandering, especially how long the girl is a major character in the group.

But seriously, the best they seem to manage to do with Ash is had him get to top four in Sinnoh, which was a record for him, after that really good fight with Paul, both on Pokemon and philosophy regarding Pokemon as well. And then it was as if the writers panicked at the idea of making Ash too competent, so they shat out Tobias and his Darkrai and Latios.

I told my friends. I fucking told them. Goodra was simply to be a crutch to help Ash tank Clemont's electric types since so much of his team is weak to electricity and what happened? Ash let it go at the swamp after winning the badge.

Assuming you've been watching it undubbed, I have a question: What did the Japanese dub call that massive crystal in he Mega Evolution specials that Kyogre and Groudon were trying to get? Because the dub just called it the Giant Rock.

At least Gooda's battle had a few good moments. Greninja was a fucking pussy this ep.

Seriously, what the fuck has been up with Ash's team this time around? I mean, three of his Pokemon are outright weak electricity, two of them weak to ice (one of them doubly so), three of them are weak to rock (one doubly so), and due to have so many shared typings doesn't exactly get good coverage move coverage (fucking nothing of his knows any ground type moves to try to deal with his team's heavy electric weakness). Just seems really unbalanced.

And I still don't understand why they ditched Volt Tackle for Electro Ball with Pikachu. The former might cause recoil yet makes up for it with sheer power, but the latter, at least how it operates in the games, is heavily circumstantial in strength.

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Wait. People still watch the show? How terrible has it become since 15 years ago?

Jesus Christ, how embarrassing user.

Wow that was awful.

What a let down.

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Is pokemon anime actually set in a purgatory of some kind where Ash is destined to forever repeat the first season and always face a humiliating defeat at the end before starting all over again?

But, yeah. They obviously ain't letting Ash win until the anime gets canceled.

Yeah, no, this shit isn't going away any time soon.

There some good fights and entertaining episodes every so often. I still watch it with some friends as a tradition, but it's mostly to poke fun at shit together. A while back during Serena's final Eukanuba dogshow thing, we all cracked up at this two or three second clip of a Rhyhorn and Fletchling watching the even from a fucking laptop Serena's mom had left out on the lawn, as if either Rhyhorn or the bird are going to be able to use it, let alone take it inside and charge it when they're done.

The dub also has Meowth Oy Veying occasionally, which is always funny.

Kind of. He actually had seen a mix of steady improvement or at least stability across Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, and Sinnoh where he'd capped at top four, then he fucking regressed in Unova.

Seriously, the writers should have just let him win and keep him on as mentor to the Sun and Moon protag the way Brock was to Ash if they're that worried about having Ash and Pikachu leave the show if he wins.

Well, I suppose that's a new record for him and I assume the fight wasn't Tobias-tier horrendous.

That was such an asspull by whoever is in charge of anime that it wasn't even funny, just awful.

He went against mega Charizard X and got fucked by a blast burn. It wasn't a horrible wrecking, but a momentarily flinch.

At least Ash Pikachu got to shine. Fucking yellow mouse solo'd Tyranitar and Metagross and made Charizard fall to its knees.

Why does it feel like every company these days is intentionally trying to piss off their fanbase?

He cannot win. Two reasons.
First, if he wins, then his quest to be the very best is done with.
Secondly, if the wins and becomes somewhat good, the 30 year old losers watching the show might actually kill themselves as they realize they can't pretend to be like Ash.

They are. Order out of chaos. They nurture the coming chaos and explosion of anger.

At this point i only care about new seasons pokegirl rule 34.

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Honestly, much as I hate "They're using the Thunder as armor" tier asspull from Ash improvising shit out of thin air, I wouldn't have minded something like that being used against Tobias. Ash still gets points for actually taking out Darkrai though (something no other trainer in the Sinnoh League managed) and even KO'ed Latios with his Pokemon's final attack. Too bad Tobias still had four more mons.

What really irks me though, is that Tobias had pretty much no build up or backstory, the way various rivals Ash has both won and lost against had. he just shows up with not one, but two legendaries, maybe even more, and apparently this guy hasn't already made national news for catching them. oh, and also the fact that he blows Ash's entire argument to Paul that weak Pokemon are worth raising because if trained right they can surpass the naturally powerful, when this guy just curb stomps everyone in his way with legendaries.

Good for the Pika then. Surprises me though that it would do that good on Metagross though. or is electric neutral to steel?

They've got much, much worse as the years went on in regards to showing actual battles, and important battles taking multiple episodes. Before, if a battle went on for a good two, maybe even three episodes, you could see how the trainers were trying to feel out their opponent's strategy and have to adjust. Now it seems rare if a single Pokemon lasts five minutes on the screen during a fight, gym matches are over in a single episode, if not a fraction of an episode, and (I might be wrong here) but I think with the Unova League Ash's final match was maybe an episode and a third long.

Pikachu doesn't want to evolve, that's long since been established. Though maybe in S&M they'll finally let it to promote surfing alolan Raichu. I don't know.

Also, checked bulbapedia earlier. Apparently the Black and White anime confirmed Ash is still 10 I don't know how you can take part in, what, six now? regional competitions, and travel across six different regions in the same year.

True, but he wouldn't need to be out of the show. Have a somewhat older, more mature version in the new region on an errand for Professor Oak or whoever, and decide to take the new rookie trainer(s) under his wing. Let him win, retain a certain amount of competence that someone of his experience should, and let the new trainers make the dumb mistakes they keep having him make.

Steel attacks are half effective against electric. Pikachu was too fast to get hit and just spammed JEW TEN BORUTO until Metagross couldn't continue.

Is that seriously a point they tried to make? And not a single writer saw the glaring flaw in it?

It might be a point about EVs. Or maybe it's just power of friendship bullshit, this is a kids' show.

My point is the argument is completely retarded because it's not like the naturally strong ones couldn't also be properly trained. Did nobody think this through?

I know Metagross isn't the fasted pseudo-legendary, but I'm pretty sure it can learn Agility (though whether it's trainer would have taught it that, I'm not sure), and Ash's Pikachu doesn't have anything to raise it's speed beyond Quick Attack provided a boost solely for that move. I suppose that's probably a bit humiliating, really; a psuedo-legendary tier Pokemon getting wrecked by a mid stage monster.

I wasn't trying to have that come off as "Caterpie can realistically beat Arceus" or anything. The point was that Paul only cared for Pokemon that he saw strength in and could brute force into becoming stronger, while Ash is ability to take a Pokemon that might have some issues, work to iron them out, and help coax them out to their full potential. When Paul's Chimchar wasn't living up to his expectations of it, he abandoned it. Ash adopted it (Paul saying something along the lines of it being fitting since both Ash and Chimchar were worthless) and while it had some issues (namely initially not wanting to activate Blaze, and then going out of control when in Blaze), Ash worked with it to get them under control, and by the time the League came, the final Pokemon for Ash and Paul were Infernape and Electrivire, essentially pitting Ash against his rival and Infernape against the one who had abandoned him for being worthless, and Infernape, having since learned to control it's Blaze ability, managed to pull off the win for Ash.

Or something like that, it's been a while.

So forced power of friendship bullshit and paul being a shit trainer. God forbid the anime ever have someone actually competent.

One victory wont make him the very best not with his history of non stop losses, in fact he's the very worst trainer in the universe he hasn't improved once.

Fuck off furfag

People were getting hyped because Ash-Greninja was actually winning against a champion's Pokemon. Before this, he's never even touched an E4 or champion's Pokemon before. Ash-Greninja is easily the strongest Pokemon he's ever had.

and then the writers fuck everything up again

I wouldn't exactly say forced power of friendship (there were 137 episodes between him joining Ash and the end of the tournament, and it took 128 of those episodes just for it to start getting a feel for Blaze and not go fucking ballistic from it to the point he'd start attacking Ash). More that Ash was devoted to helping Chimchar (later Monferno and Infernape) to not be a fuck up and learn to control itself to be the best it could be. And to be to Paul's Electrivire, it really did a number on Infernape as well (hence Blaze even activating), and considering the final move was Flare Blitz (recoil move), I'm honestly a bit surprised it wasn't a double KO for a draw.

Paul ultimately concluded that maybe Ash had been onto something if the Pokemon he'd seen no further value in was able to best his main mon, and they parted on, while perhaps not friendly terms, more respectful ones. Some fans saw it as a "Smogonfag vs Karenfag" rivalry. And then Tobias fucks up the lesson curbstomping everyone using legendaries because Ash can't be allowed to win a league himself. And that time, I think he might have stood a decent chance.

He won the Orange Island league, didn't he?

And I'm sure Ash could be the champion of the Little League if he wanted to, too.

He also won Battle Frontier. Destroyed an Articuno. Could've been a brain.

Yeah, but that was basically what you'd call filler compared to a major regional league. But that does bring up a good point. Not only did he win that, but he beat all the Frontier Brains (a number of whom use legendaries) in the Battle Frontier arc after Hoenn as well and was even offered a spot himself amongst them. He turned them down to keep adventuring, or something.

Anyone want to go see if those were the same writers responsible for the horseshit that was Tobias, or if the BW writers were new? Not that they didn't have their own issues (Ash losing to that fucking dweeb who not only got his badges stolen, but didn't even know you needed a full team of six Pokemon to even be able to compete until he was already in the battle with Ash; Aura Dog being the winner is just the cherry on that shitpie, but it's still nowhere near as bullshit as Tobias).

The thing with Furbait the wonder dog is just taken from the games, mostly, they didn't dedicate nearly as much time to it, but the thing about pokemon is that they, for god knows whatever reason, HAVE to stretch the show out until it reaches the next generation of games.

Why would you ever want to watch oy vey the shekelcat in japanese.

And by that i mean, IIRC, they have a cutscene in some castle where she just gives you one of TWO of those fucking dogs she drags around, and the stuff to mega evolve it, and the you fight her again.

I'm just curious as to what they called the Giant Rock in the Japanese dub, since Bulbapedia doesn't mention it; thought maybe he had since mentioned Alain by both the dub and Japanese name (I assume).

And yeah, the padding for XY had it's issues, but XYZ is taking it to a whole new level. Ash got his 7th badge at the last episode of XY, and as of now he's spent the last 26 episodes dicking around on the way to Snowbelle City, being told his Greninja is essentially born with a gift and is the chosen one or some bullshit, and even lets Serena lose her dogshow shit rather than actively work at progressing the plot. Hell, he's still only got five Pokemon in his party as of now at the point the west's at, and he needs a full six to compete in the League (I assume he just recalls Goodra). That also raises another issue. I know he tends to stick with a single team, Pikachu is a given, and wanting to catch them all is fucking unfeasible at this point, but he's only caught five Pokemon this entire region (and Frokie he didn't even need to battle with first since jumping off the Eiffel Tower to save Pikachu or something earned him serious points with the blue frog).

Woah, woah, in the games she has TWO Lucario, and then just gives you one (and it's not even a Riolu, but fully evolved)? I assume the games handle it differently than the show does (otherwise they'd have to have some sort of Hyper Mode style mechanic if the Mega Evolved Pokemon couldn't control itself), but she had enough trouble with just one in the anime. I can't imagine her trying to manage two (though seeing two of them just repeatedly golf clubbing Pikachu with Bone Rush would be hilarious).

Guys, check out the TVTokyo preview for the next episode. It's being downvoted to oblivion, as in Infinite Warfare levels of dislikes. The Japanese audience hates the ending as much as everyone else.

What was the ending about?
Spoil me freely.

Ash loses because apparently Fire is strong against Water, acts all happy he lost, Alain gets the trophy, then Team Flare attacks Lumiose. That's it. That's the episode that was hyped for months that they made it look like he would win.

You guys think he will win the next league? :^)