Pokemon Problems: Time for a Change?
The Universe and it's Mystery
The Pokemon world has expanded greatly since it's initial appearance and for the most part it's a bit confusing, at least in the anime. Let's assume for the sake of argument that the anime world is the center of the Pokemon Universe. As new material comes out over the years we see it getting bigger bu at times it doesn't make sense. Each new region is and it's new Pokemon are never brought out in a way that feels natural and is more of a plug to get you the viewer interested. An example of this would definitely be the episode "Mystery of the Lighthouse" where we find out that there are 150 Pokemon but that is thrown out the window when Togepi shows up and when we find out about the Johto region which is on the same continent as the Kanto region but has Pokemon exclusive only to it until later on. New types of Pokemon being discovered also brought up more confusion and the game itself didn't help. This has been improved upon slightly over the years but "Pokemon Adventures" explained this better, The universe there says that they've been receiving reports of more Pokemon in other regions and it creates the idea that these Pokemon are known but aren't recorded in any database in large amounts, and that types like Steel are official types when a certain number of them fit the same criteria. To be fair, the anime never seems to really have the feel that each season should be easy to access for new viewers so some things are left out and I don't think the anime is the basis, rather it at times wants to enhance the games.
The anime also has an issue with there not being any inference of time. Officially I can say that through a combination of Ash acquiring his 8th badge in Kanto and a short from a movie, I know that one year has passed and that is it. There is no changing of the seasons, and no real mention of any real time passing short of "It's been a while" or "a while back". A big complaint is Ash still being ten but The Simpsons actually shows Christmas and New Years and Bart is still ten and I find that to be worse. One thing that was done very quietly was the removal of meat eating in the anime. This was done presumably to avoid answering the question of "where does the meat come from?" in a world where Pokemon have replaced other animals and they are supposed to be our friends, can you eat them? This is best shown how one moment Ash has a favorite food, cheeseburgers, and now the anime doesn't even talk about meat as a food and anything similar to meat is removed in favor of fruits, vegetables, and sweets. This is also an element with the Pokemon themselves who don't seem to be able to admit, at least in the anime, that they may eat other Pokemon and humans.
Battle and Rivalries
Pokemon has always rested comfortably on the idea that battles and the characters involved in them would be a strong suit. As the animation improved so did the battles as well as the strategies implied. Regardless of what the fan base likes to think, Ash is a very gifted trainer in his own right, it's very easy to forget that most of the time Ash loses to a very skilled trainer in the league with only two notable exceptions. The battles and the characters involved are usually interesting provided the context within them, even the Unova League, an arc which I view as a step back for the series got this aspect right. The battles have gotten flashier, more fast paced and never really lack in quality, I can't honestly think of a battle that felt like a copy of any other. I mentioned this before in my last discussion about Pokemon, the video game doesn't accurately portray an actual battle because of it's reliance on type and the obvious restrictions. The manga's themselves are sort of a middle ground but because they put more emphasis on the special abilities of those Pokemon like Agatha's Arbok and how she change the markings on it's stomach which will give it certain boosts. The anime doesn't go that far but again it does treat each battle like it's own unique thing. The anime has always been willing to experiment with certain ideas, like Bugsy way back in the Johto arc where she had her Scyther use Sword's Dance; an attack that only raised attack, be used to defend from fire type attacks. More recently we saw Ash battle Olympia, a trainer who used Future Sight; an attack that will come in the future, and Ash countered it by having Ash have Pikachu get the timing for the attack down.These little things make battles seem less like a slug fest and more like a chess game, and the series tries to balance it out like Bleach, where characters have special abilities that compliment their combat skills.
Ash and His Role
Ash has always been the focal point of the series in terms of movies and the main anime. Since his first episode he has served as the entry point for new fans and he's often considered to be the weakest point of the whole thing. His character has been held back by the story at times rebooting him with each new region though this is not one hundred percent true. We have to remember that Ash is a bit contradictory since while he seems to have been watching Pokemon battles all his life, he seemed totally unaware of things, which was done so the viewers could learn about them. Some things, like Ash checking his pokedex for Pokemon he's already seen are rather justified when you consider that the world of Pokemon is constantly changing and it would make sense to check on Pokemon you haven't seen, but then some Pokemon like Pidgey and Rattata, Pokemon he should see mostly in his life, shouldn't require the check but he does. The only real issue with Ash would of course be in how he has changed in some ways for better and worse. Let's start with how he was definitely more prone to verbal comebacks against people like Misty, he was more prone to insulting her and also made jokes on others at times. Newer fans may forget that Ash did have a bit of a temper at times and often got so excited about things that he would forget very basic things; he was once so excited about catching a new Pokemon that he forgot he would need to weaken it first. Ash's biggest regression as a character would come form the fact that his reactions to things are kind of weird and underdone. This was seen best in Unova arc where Ash was totally out of character against gym leaders like Elesa and Clay, gym leaders who either intimidated him or he let say he doesn't know what hard work is.This is stupid because, as a long time viewer I can tell you that Elesa brought nothing special to the battle that Ash hadn't dealt with before and the idea that Ash doesn't work hard at this point is stupid and insulting.
Ash has in his own way become more of a Shonen trope but instead of going for a more well rounded character like Naruto or Yusuke, he's gone the route of Goku, where the more simplistic the character, the more expansive the world is allowed to be. While this works with people like Luffy, we see Luffy hit his emotional highs and lows. Goku and Naruto are never known for their depth as characters, over time the two of them responded less and less to things. This is of course designed so viewers can find it easier to imprint themselves on him, he is supposed to be a bit generic n some ways. The problem was that wasn't always Ash as we've stated before. Even if he doesn't age up, it doesn't mean he should be dumb downed to a level that seems unrecognizable. X and Y seems ot understand this from a battle point as he himself has come off as someone who knows what he's doing as opposed to last season. There should honestly be a more calm confidence to him in some battles, which he did show in his battle against Roxanne in the Hoenne region.
Story
Pokemon as a story relies on a very set formula and tone. Ash arrives in a new region, setting out to become the champion of that regions' league, he meets a girl and a boy who he travels with and at least one of them will have a connection to a gym leader. He will acquire at least one of that region's starter Pokemon, and he will lose at least one gym battle. While all of this is happening we will see Team Rocket try to acquire Pokemon and fail by the end of the episode and at some point Ash will meet at least one or two people he will battle at the league. These are the points that pretty much every arc of the anime hits, to the point where you can set your watch by it. This formula is designed to of course keep the show easy to access for new viewers, the anime is again, a pathway into the franchise for the games, this is shown best when you see how some characters, like Ash are based off of game characters. The games also have a similar repetitive formula as as well. This repetition may make it easy to get into and watch for first time and casual viewers but long time viewers do find it frustrating at times. A good example is Ash getting most fire Pokemon that have or were about to be in abusive situations or injured (Charmander, Cyndaquil, Torkoal, Chimchar, Tepig), and Team Rocket's constant failings at stealing Pokemon. The series itself also downplays the element of danger that this world brings, the anime has mostly made it seem totally safe but the comics and the game Pokedex show us a much different world. Currently a big change is going on courtesy of Mega Evolution in the form of Ash-Greninja and maybe it's just me, but this idea of Ash possibly winning a league because he has a special Poke Power seems a bit false, Ash has always been someone who wins more with his Pokemon on their own merit and while Ash-Greninja is a manifestation of that, something about it seem insincere.
When people argue that Digimon is better than Pokemon, this reliance on a set universe and formula is one of them. Digimon has never been afraid to change up their seasons with not only a new cast and Digimon, but even the Digital World itself is always different and not just in looks but style. The Pokemon regions may look different on the surface but there isn't much else to separate them from one another save Pokemon. Digimon's desire to reinvent itself has worked four out of it's six seasons honestly and while Pokemon has had in it's own way six seasons and I'd say five of them were successful, each season of Digimon totally feels unique from one another. Digimon is willing to take chances with it's anime, primarily because it isn't exactly there to promote anything where Pokemon favors a long plan, using the anime to make you interested in it's other properties. Though it does try at times though to a varying affect. In the Black and White era, they tried to give us a more serous and focused Team Rocket with a darker look and an end goal at the end. The problem with this was that only the aesthetics changed, not the story. Team Rocket still fails regardless of how professional they look. There have been other changes too like the removal of long standing character Brock from the series and Black and White also changed the animation a bit to look a bit more toonish. The series honestly needs to be willing to push the envelope more and bring us a more realistic sense of danger that is even lacking form some of the movies lately, the recent one with Hoopa didn't do anything really despite introducing pretty much every legendary for like five minutes.
Final Thoughts
Pokemon is by no means a bad series. It does what it sets out to do and regardless of whether it has still remained one of the longest running anime of all time. However, that doesn't mean it's problem shouldn't at least attempt to be addressed, like going for a more well rounded writing team or more viable threats, after all if the bad guy can so easily be defeated then what good are they? The battles have improved visually and the gym leaders never feel exactly alike which says something considering we've had 50+ gym leaders. Ash is consistent if not a bit one note and I think a lot could be helped if Ash was allowed to sort of stretch his character muscles a bit. The side characters vary but I'd say they are usually good choices but the rivals have been a bit flat lately. I've mentioned the comics a lot so of course the question of "why don't I just read those instead?" is of course a valid claim. Well I myself still enjoy the anime and honestly, the battles in the comic/manga are just more visually intense whereas the anime shows battles as a much more creative visual experience. That and I do like how Ash himself is the focal point because I honestly do like him. I honestly just wish that the anime would take some risks like it did in Pokemon Origins, except instead of giving us a simple change of story, push the boundaries a bit more with the writing. The series has traded boundary pushing for longevity and while I can't shame that on a business level, I'd see it as a bit of waste on an artistic one. Honestly all I really want is better writing and more emotional weight like the series used to have, this a problem series tend to have the longer they run on. If you like Pokemon as it is now, I'm willing to bet you'd like it more if you watched or remembered some of the moments of the earlier seasons.
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