Damn, that reminds me. When the Pokemon uses Double Team the opponent's Pokemon either destroys all of the illusions or it somehow detects which one is the real one.
In game it's the most infuriating thing, because usually you're strong enough that the pokemon you're fighting poses no actual threat, but you can't take it down because you keep missing.
It doesn't exactly apply because moves like double team are banned in competitive pokemon, but having an entire pokemon dedicated to removing the opponent's stat changes is more common than you think.
I used to think this too but you'd be surprised. Smogon, the competitive pokemon game community has an evasiveness clause which bans the moves double team and minimize. If the same pokemon uses any of these moves a couple times, it becomes near impossible for you to hit them
I can only imagine the Pokemon thinking: "thanks trainer, I really didn't consider dodging before you say it"
TT454 · 20 points · Posted at 15:02:27 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
It's fucking horrible writing. The idea is that you train the Pokémon for the battle so it can look after itself, then give it the appropriate commands when the battle happens and then let it do what it wants the rest of the time. Telling the Pokémon repeatedly to do such basic things as dodge, jump, keep going, hang in there, finish it off, etc. is patronising. IT KNOWS WHAT IT'S FUCKING DOING.
Think of it like coaching in sports. Yeah your players should know the game plan, offensive plays, and defensive assignments, and shouldn't need to be told repeatedly to hustle and play with energy etc. But that's pretty much all you ever hear the coaches saying when they play clips from timeouts.
Season finale of the last season: Pikachu literally tearing a vortex in time and space with a volt tackle to land the winning hit on a legendary Pokémon
First episode of the new season: Pikachu gets beaten up by the new region’s equivalent of a wurmple in 2 hits
TT454 · 9 points · Posted at 14:59:41 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
"You did great. Take a good rest."
Then they grip the Poké Ball tightly, look up suddenly and make a determined "I know exactly what to do next" facial expression (often while going "Hmm!" or "Ha!"), then put it away and replace it with their next Pokémon without spending any time thinking about their next strategy. It's moronic. I mean, look, I get it, there's no real way to translate a real in-game battle to a cartoon episode, it wouldn't work and would bore the kids who just want to see Pokémon kicking each other's asses, but it really makes the whole series look so painfully farcical.
Ash's Pikachu is scary. It'll lose to every starter Pokemon the second it reaches a new region but then a week later you find out that it K.O'ed a bunch of legendaries just because.
TT454 · 7 points · Posted at 15:16:27 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
They only do this to make the new young audience sympathise with Pikachu and to give a very flimsy excuse for another entire series of Ash "training" him. Ash "training" Pikachu. That's like buying the latest iPad and saying "Man, this thing's underpowered, I need to update this thing!" Pikachu is fucking indestructible and should at this point be done with Ash's pathetic childish adventure to nowhere, but nah, he's still happy to be trained up like a rookie with the other puny Pokémon Ash captures in that region.
God, I hate the anime. I don't even watch it or even give a shit about it, but even so, it's fun to hate and ridicule because it's so embarrassingly bad, and yet so successful. Even the modern Simpsons is less stale than it, and that's say something.
As someone who got into the franchise around the time it launched, I only got so far as the Johto League before I had enough. Even as a kid I thought the writers were sloppy and ruining the show. Later as a teen I found the internet and was surprised many Pokemon fans still watched it. While I continue to have little interest in giving it another go, I have watched a little here and there because seeing the Pokemon battle in real time is fun.
The Sinnoh and Kalos anime are pretty decent and have some amazing battles. Unova anime is horrible imo. Sun and Moon is ok if you are ok with a LOT less battling. It is a bit more childish than usual.
S/m seemed okay, but I liked a bit of the sinnoh stuff.
As for unova, it's really weird seeing the champion with the group. And the replacement for brock just felt like brock lite, whereas at least Tracey had his own thing.
There's no background for the character, really. He just shows up with a Darkrai, beats everyone, and then Ash battles him, loses four Pokemon to Darkrai and the guy sends out a Latios. Then he wins the league and is never mentioned again.
This is what really ticked me off about the Sinnoh series the first time I finished it. Tobias felt like an asspull on the writers' part to prolong the anime.
TT454 · 7 points · Posted at 13:56:34 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
And all of this, plus more, is why the Pokémon anime is just indefensible crap.
Not even my very fond memories of watching the Kanto/Orange Islands era anime in my youth can mask the fact that the anime is a plotless fucking mess and an insult even to the youngest members of its target audience.
The main character is a hyperactive dipshit, every other main character is paper-thin, every single battle is a circus act, there's hardly any tension or sense of excitement beyond the passable battle effects, the repetition in the writing is mind-numbing, the dialogue is unbelievably ridiculous, plot points are often completely random, the villains are worthless clowns, there's not a hint of logic to anything that happens, everyone acts like a complete, incompetent idiot at any given time (and the adult characters act like children), the humour is non-existent (and the rare attempts at innuendos for the parents stick out like a sore thumb), many episodes have the exact same stories and morals... I could go on forever. It's just so, so amazingly, hilariously bad, one of the most brainless television shows in history.
Let's put it this way... if Frank Grimes walked into the Pokémon anime universe, he would have gone insane much, much faster.
Saved comment
_vishie_ · 133 points · Posted at 01:08:10 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Double team is so much more impressive in the anime than it is in game
🎙️ Pardusco · 69 points · Posted at 01:10:29 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Damn, that reminds me. When the Pokemon uses Double Team the opponent's Pokemon either destroys all of the illusions or it somehow detects which one is the real one.
plazmablu · 42 points · Posted at 02:51:49 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
In game it's the most infuriating thing, because usually you're strong enough that the pokemon you're fighting poses no actual threat, but you can't take it down because you keep missing.
destinofiquenoite · 34 points · Posted at 03:57:23 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
TobiasCB · 7 points · Posted at 09:37:08 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Luckily there's moves like extrasensory, swift and night shade.
inportantusername · 3 points · Posted at 19:59:29 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
And magical leaf!
[deleted] · 3 points · Posted at 17:17:45 on May 5, 2019 · (Permalink)
Yes because all of these moves are very powerful
TobiasCB · 3 points · Posted at 17:31:08 on May 5, 2019 · (Permalink)
Whirlwind and roar both work as well. Those are pretty common moves in competitive play.
[deleted] · 1 points · Posted at 17:56:00 on May 5, 2019 · (Permalink)
I really wouldn’t say they’re common.
TobiasCB · 4 points · Posted at 18:06:10 on May 5, 2019 · (Permalink)
https://www.smogon.com/dp/articles/pokemon_dictionary states phazing as a commonly used role.
It doesn't exactly apply because moves like double team are banned in competitive pokemon, but having an entire pokemon dedicated to removing the opponent's stat changes is more common than you think.
Spriggs5 · 2 points · Posted at 11:22:40 on May 5, 2019 · (Permalink)
I usually kept a Swift style attack on one of my Pokes when exploring. Togekiss with Aura sphere and extrasensory was my go-to for a while.
A_Change_of_Seasons · 14 points · Posted at 03:39:57 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Ash over here breaking the evasion clause
Arrav_VII · 9 points · Posted at 08:23:51 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
I used to think this too but you'd be surprised. Smogon, the competitive pokemon game community has an evasiveness clause which bans the moves double team and minimize. If the same pokemon uses any of these moves a couple times, it becomes near impossible for you to hit them
🎙️ Pardusco · 95 points · Posted at 01:24:29 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
Here are some of the things I forgot:
"DODGE!"
Someone who knows a lot about Pokemon explains types and abilities while watching the battle (Usually Brock).
Pokemon are able to stay in the air for extended periods of time.
Ash compliments his opponent.
The whole battlefield gets blown up, but the trainers are unaffected.
destinofiquenoite · 46 points · Posted at 02:10:03 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
I can only imagine the Pokemon thinking: "thanks trainer, I really didn't consider dodging before you say it"
TT454 · 20 points · Posted at 15:02:27 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
It's fucking horrible writing. The idea is that you train the Pokémon for the battle so it can look after itself, then give it the appropriate commands when the battle happens and then let it do what it wants the rest of the time. Telling the Pokémon repeatedly to do such basic things as dodge, jump, keep going, hang in there, finish it off, etc. is patronising. IT KNOWS WHAT IT'S FUCKING DOING.
recursion8 · 11 points · Posted at 18:25:03 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Think of it like coaching in sports. Yeah your players should know the game plan, offensive plays, and defensive assignments, and shouldn't need to be told repeatedly to hustle and play with energy etc. But that's pretty much all you ever hear the coaches saying when they play clips from timeouts.
SeductivePillowcase · 27 points · Posted at 12:30:28 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Season finale of the last season: Pikachu literally tearing a vortex in time and space with a volt tackle to land the winning hit on a legendary Pokémon
First episode of the new season: Pikachu gets beaten up by the new region’s equivalent of a wurmple in 2 hits
ContraryConman · 15 points · Posted at 12:59:46 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
"PiKaChU DoDgE It!!1!?1!!!"
🎙️ Pardusco · 17 points · Posted at 13:16:36 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Bro, in one episode in XY (against the rock gym leader I think) Ash told his Pikachu to climb his opponent's Draco meteors.
ContraryConman · 3 points · Posted at 17:40:49 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
[screams]
TT454 · 9 points · Posted at 14:59:41 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
"You did great. Take a good rest."
Then they grip the Poké Ball tightly, look up suddenly and make a determined "I know exactly what to do next" facial expression (often while going "Hmm!" or "Ha!"), then put it away and replace it with their next Pokémon without spending any time thinking about their next strategy. It's moronic. I mean, look, I get it, there's no real way to translate a real in-game battle to a cartoon episode, it wouldn't work and would bore the kids who just want to see Pokémon kicking each other's asses, but it really makes the whole series look so painfully farcical.
Dr_Wombo_Combo · 47 points · Posted at 02:59:58 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Dodge it, then hit em with a (your move of your choice)
Orbitrons · 9 points · Posted at 22:24:10 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
"Pikachu, dodge it and then use Iron Tail to finish this"
DiamondSpiral · 37 points · Posted at 04:39:33 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
“pIkAcHu AiM fOr ThE hOrN”
FoulBachelorFrogIRL · 32 points · Posted at 03:12:21 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
The plot armor in that show is so over the top
DaBomball · 21 points · Posted at 11:30:12 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
“Grass types resist electricity because their bodies are grounded. Pikachu, knock him into the air.”
TIL grass pokemon are then only ones whose feet touch the ground.
WeissAndBeans · 20 points · Posted at 14:06:19 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Ash's Pikachu is scary. It'll lose to every starter Pokemon the second it reaches a new region but then a week later you find out that it K.O'ed a bunch of legendaries just because.
TT454 · 7 points · Posted at 15:16:27 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
They only do this to make the new young audience sympathise with Pikachu and to give a very flimsy excuse for another entire series of Ash "training" him. Ash "training" Pikachu. That's like buying the latest iPad and saying "Man, this thing's underpowered, I need to update this thing!" Pikachu is fucking indestructible and should at this point be done with Ash's pathetic childish adventure to nowhere, but nah, he's still happy to be trained up like a rookie with the other puny Pokémon Ash captures in that region.
God, I hate the anime. I don't even watch it or even give a shit about it, but even so, it's fun to hate and ridicule because it's so embarrassingly bad, and yet so successful. Even the modern Simpsons is less stale than it, and that's say something.
AtomicKittensAttack · 34 points · Posted at 02:08:11 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Oh god this is why I hate that anime. It’s like they just throw all the rules out the window and do whatever they feel like.
Im_Futur_AMA · 25 points · Posted at 03:05:19 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
As someone who got into the franchise around the time it launched, I only got so far as the Johto League before I had enough. Even as a kid I thought the writers were sloppy and ruining the show. Later as a teen I found the internet and was surprised many Pokemon fans still watched it. While I continue to have little interest in giving it another go, I have watched a little here and there because seeing the Pokemon battle in real time is fun.
kunst_boy · 5 points · Posted at 22:08:32 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Check yugioh for the wordt offender hahaha
MissionTable · 11 points · Posted at 14:36:48 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Just dodge lmao
achubbygoodra · 8 points · Posted at 09:24:37 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Wait, when did Ash face off against a Latios? I haven't watched the show in ages.
🎙️ Pardusco · 25 points · Posted at 10:54:28 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
In the Sinnoh League. There was this random trainer named Tobias who had a fucking Darkrai and Latios and basically sweeped the whole league.
achubbygoodra · 14 points · Posted at 11:16:29 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
So this motherfucker not only managed to catch them, but also in pokeballs? I think I need to watch the show more.
🎙️ Pardusco · 14 points · Posted at 11:19:13 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
The Sinnoh and Kalos anime are pretty decent and have some amazing battles. Unova anime is horrible imo. Sun and Moon is ok if you are ok with a LOT less battling. It is a bit more childish than usual.
achubbygoodra · 9 points · Posted at 11:22:30 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
S/m seemed okay, but I liked a bit of the sinnoh stuff. As for unova, it's really weird seeing the champion with the group. And the replacement for brock just felt like brock lite, whereas at least Tracey had his own thing.
Orbitrons · 4 points · Posted at 22:27:39 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Cilan (?) was annoying as fuck and everyone knew it, even the main group.
destinofiquenoite · 10 points · Posted at 17:30:55 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
There's no background for the character, really. He just shows up with a Darkrai, beats everyone, and then Ash battles him, loses four Pokemon to Darkrai and the guy sends out a Latios. Then he wins the league and is never mentioned again.
RainXBlade · 1 points · Posted at 02:24:18 on May 7, 2019 · (Permalink)
This is what really ticked me off about the Sinnoh series the first time I finished it. Tobias felt like an asspull on the writers' part to prolong the anime.
SweelFor · 5 points · Posted at 21:50:56 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
The anime might as well have its own rule set for fights honestly because it's nothing like in the games and that never made sense
JTD783 · 6 points · Posted at 05:44:34 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
I don’t know how anyone can watch the anime, it’s so fucking bad. The games and Pokémon Showdown are great but holy shit the show is painful to watch.
Pata4AllaG · 10 points · Posted at 06:13:58 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
The “bullshit strategy” trope is present in sooooooooo many anime. Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Seven Deadly Sins, My Hero Academia... pretty eye-rolly.
anaesthaesia · 19 points · Posted at 07:45:52 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
True but those are also not based around a game with very set rules and elemental properties (that I know of).
I think if pokemon was just another Shonen anime without the games nobody would bat an eye.
headasspotter · 3 points · Posted at 05:55:39 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
the og pokemon anime >>>>>>>>>>>>
TT454 · 7 points · Posted at 13:56:34 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)*
And all of this, plus more, is why the Pokémon anime is just indefensible crap.
Not even my very fond memories of watching the Kanto/Orange Islands era anime in my youth can mask the fact that the anime is a plotless fucking mess and an insult even to the youngest members of its target audience.
The main character is a hyperactive dipshit, every other main character is paper-thin, every single battle is a circus act, there's hardly any tension or sense of excitement beyond the passable battle effects, the repetition in the writing is mind-numbing, the dialogue is unbelievably ridiculous, plot points are often completely random, the villains are worthless clowns, there's not a hint of logic to anything that happens, everyone acts like a complete, incompetent idiot at any given time (and the adult characters act like children), the humour is non-existent (and the rare attempts at innuendos for the parents stick out like a sore thumb), many episodes have the exact same stories and morals... I could go on forever. It's just so, so amazingly, hilariously bad, one of the most brainless television shows in history.
Let's put it this way... if Frank Grimes walked into the Pokémon anime universe, he would have gone insane much, much faster.
SonicTheReasoner · 5 points · Posted at 21:44:30 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
i think you've only seen the first few seasons
Orbitrons · 4 points · Posted at 22:25:55 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
Maybe its just nostalgia for me but I found Sinnoh to be actually really enjoyable. That being said the battles still make no sense but whatever
Nodusman · 5 points · Posted at 11:37:34 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
The anime did explain the Mudsdale getting hit by Pikachu's Electroweb quite well so that it somehow did make sense. I liked that.
🎙️ Pardusco · 2 points · Posted at 12:08:19 on May 4, 2019 · (Permalink)
It still irritated me lol