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Recent posts #41
TV Series / Re: Was Misty poorly handled a...Last post by DrampardonMe - March 05, 2025, 14:00I haven't seriously watched the Pokemon anime since around "Advanced", in equal part due to it getting a little formulaic and me simply outgrowing it, so I don't have a point of reference for how good (or not) other female leads were after Misty. I mean, I recall May's thing being Contests and Dawn being set up as "The New Ash" before they brought him back after two episodes, but that's about it.
I'm inclined to say you have somewhat of a point. Didn't Misty start using Staryu over Starmie for whatever reason? That always kind of irked me even back when I was watching it new, and the only explanation I can come up with is she wanted to focus on making Staryu stronger, but that's just conjecture. As for the Psyduck thing, I'd agree insofar as the gag gets old after a while, but it's not as annoying as, say, Wobbuffet (though I guess that balances out since it at least gives Team Rocket an edge in battle, unlike Psyduck) How exactly would you have written her? Honestly curious. #42
TV Series / Was Misty poorly handled and d...Last post by precita - March 05, 2025, 01:35I've been rewatching the original seasons and notice how Misty gets sidelined most of the time. Any time she tries to battle or do something epic, Psyduck would come out interrupting her for the usual gag.
Outside of that most eps focus on Ash and the random filler characters they meet in every ep, so Misty and Brock are largely just treated as exposition characters commenting on whatever is happening. Most of her pokemon are underused too, and it feels like if you don't care about shipping half the appeal to her character is lost. You'd think 275 episodes would be enough to develop her but eh Misty wasn't a beginning trainer like most of the other female companions, when she's introduced she already co-owns a Gym with her sisters and had 3 pokemon (Staryu, Starmie and Goldeen). But you wouldn't know that from the way she was portrayed. Early rookie Kanto Ash nearly beats her as early as the 7th episode (he was on the verge of winning had TR not bust through the wall), and he only used Butterfree/Pidgeotto and didn't even have the Kanto starters yet. If he had Bulbasaur or Pikachu wanted to battle, he probably would have won easier. And then after that, Misty loses in the Giselle episode to a Graveler, and doesn't really battle much for rest of the season without Psyduck popping out of its ball to get a headache. In Orange Islands I think her only major trainer battle is the Golduck episode against Marina. Then after that there's not much in Johto till she gets Poliwhirl/Corsola. Anyone find it weird Misty was treated as inexperienced? Half her team couldn't even battle properly unless under special conditions (Togepi, Psyduck, Goldeen, Horsea), or were underused (Starmie), etc. I know the writers didn't want her to upstage Ash, but they gave her one of the worst battle track records imagineable till the tail-end of her run. I think the writers just didn't care. When you stop to think of it, there are only very few episodes that actually focus on Misty herself in each season she was in. For the rest of the eps she was basically sidelined with Brock. #43
Games General / Pokemon Presents this Thursday...Last post by DrampardonMe - February 24, 2025, 18:27Despite everything, I can't help but be curious. What are your hopes/expectations/etc.? As for me, I expect them to spend some time detailing the new Legends game, and I hope they announce Gen 10, which I expect will be for the Switch 2. I hope either of these games end up being better-than-okay, but that's not what I'm going in expecting. Then again, I liked Scarlet despite everything, so maybe I'm not one to talk... Anything else will probably not interest me a whole lot, but I'm willing to be proven wrong.
If I had to make a wild guess for fun, I'd say we'll get MEGA IMAKUNI?... which lasts all of three minutes before he remembers he isn't a Pokemon and therefore can't Mega Evolve. However, I am not seriously expecting this. [this is where I'd add a poll but no one's been voting on my own polls besides me, so place your bets the old-fashioned way] EDIT: I know it's only one day until it drops by now, but I forgot they called it "Pokemon Presents". Edited the title of this topic accordingly, whoops EDIT2: Honestly kind of underwhelmed by the Presents, now that I've seen it. I guess they're saving Gen 10 for the 30th anniversary, lol. I mean, if I had to give one positive about Z-A, the new combat system seems sort of interesting, but then I don't see the point in having you dodge attacks in, say, a Trainer Battle. Feels sort of slapped on at that point. The starters are Chikorita, Tepig, and Totodile, apparently. Took me a minute to realize it was two Johto starters, but I guess they already put Cyndaquil in the first one, so... eh. No complaints about who they picked besides, but I'd take Totodile between the three. I guess I'll just wait and see how I feel when more info drops, because right now, I can live without this game. EDIT3: Had some time to think about it and, after browsing the official site a little... I'm still on the fence, to be honest. Not in a rush to get it on launch day, but after getting two new games and having other priorities come up, let's just say my wallet's not in a hurry, either. Also, I should probably clarify: having your Pokemon dodge moves isn't the problem depending on how it's implemented, it's having your player character still have to dodge that seems pretty weird, unless that's not the case anymore. I don't want to get my hopes too high for this game, but considering I haven't been up to much video-game-wise except messing around in Scarlet, maybe Z-A is just what I need... I should still try to 100% Legends: Arceus at some point, but I don't even remember the last thing I did there... #44
Games General / Retcons, like 'em or lump 'emLast post by DrampardonMe - February 08, 2025, 19:02Everything from the trivial to the taxing, let's talk about 'em!
Here's the one on my mind at the moment: Kris and Lyra are treated as separate characters because Kris fans will RIOT if they aren't*. Meanwhile, everyone's just cool with Gold being retconed into "Ethan", and... Silver is still Silver. *To be fair, they ARE drastically different designs, but I thought that was the point, since there was no girl in the original Gold and Silver. To me, that just makes Gold's name being retconned all the stranger. I realize this is a relatively minor one, but dang if it doesn't bother me something fierce. I guess it all comes down to merchandising at the end of the day, since for ANY game (not just Pokemon), it's easier to have an "official" name for a character-- even a blank-slate self-insert-- than something more generic. (Apologies in advance to anyone actually named Ethan) Oh, and for something more lore-related: didn't X and Y play up Mega Evolutions as something which required the Trainer and Pokemon to have a strong bond for it to work, only for every game afterward to retcon it all as putting a strain on the Pokemon? I guess there's no reason it can't be both, but it feels like they backpedaled a bit and, well, demonized it a bit more. Unless they were emphasizing it in a "DBZ Powerup" sort of way? But then, that whole thing with the ancient war and such... I guess I'll reserve my full judgement for when Z-A comes out. Anyway, which retcons actually work/make sense, and which ones don't work as well, or are just plain silly? I'd like to hear your thoughts! #45
General Pokémon Discussion / Re: Snake PokemonLast post by DrampardonMe - January 20, 2025, 22:04...I didn't realize 2025 was the Year of the Snake when I made this, I swear, haha
Speaking of, Scarlet and Violet had something for the occasion recently, didn't they? I missed out-- a shiny Ekans or Arbok would have been cool to have, but like I said earlier, I have a shiny Seviper now. I guess I didn't wanna get greedy! Anyway, my original questions still stand. Without looking, it's hard for me to say whether we have "enough" snake Pokemon or not, but it can't be nearly as many as felines, canines, or primates. To clarify, I'm not counting "serpentine" Pokemon like Gyarados or Milotic. Side note: Anyone else think it's weird "Coil" is a Poison-type move? I'll concede it's strongly associated with snakes and such, but only three of them are Poison-type! If anything, it should be Normal-type... #46
Random Randomness / Re: Everyday AccomplishmentsLast post by DrampardonMe - January 12, 2025, 13:33A couple days ago, I drew a cake-themed parody of Exodia, the Forbidden One. It started off as a one-off joke connected to one of my characters (she really likes cake), but I
Side note: I wonder why Exodia isn't parodied more often in anime and manga. None I could find with a casual search, at any rate. Guess he's not really relevant out of Yu-Gi-Oh! or such? Or maybe it's budget-related? EDIT: Tried Limburger cheese for the first time last week. It's not terrible... once it's been in the fridge for a day and you've gotten over the initial smell. I'm sure some purists might argue I didn't eat REAL Limburger, but not a competitive cheese-eater, so I wouldn't know. Either way, I'm checking it off my bucket list. Now, to obtain haggis... EDIT2: Tried a mild redesign of one of my characters. Happy with the result at the moment, but dreading having to draw the new part a bunch of times when it comes to putting said character into a comic. ...Okay, "dreading" is strong wording. I'm just enjoying the current glow of having added something nifty to his design. #47
PKMN.NET / Re: Happy 20 yearsLast post by sans the skeleton - January 12, 2025, 00:59Quote from: DrampardonMe on January 10, 2025, 16:03 oh crap, i missed it!? (22 years?) dang! i'm still around. wouldn't call myself a forum founder or anything by any means. maybe a vaguely annoying menace turned lurker. coming up to 21 years since I've been on the internet then. #48
PKMN.NET / Re: Happy 20 yearsLast post by DrampardonMe - January 10, 2025, 16:03Hang on, TODAY is the birthdate of the site?! I guess that makes it 22 now, or is my math that bad?
I logged in for something completely unrelated, but in lieu of having anything prepared for the occasion... *kazoo sound* [confetti flies everywhere] *applause* [cake is passed all around] Am I missing anything? Oh yeah, Happy Birthday to PUK, lol On a more serious note, it makes me wonder what all the founding fathers of the site are up to these days... but at any rate, let's all have a good one! #49
Music / Re: Songs that get you pumped/...Last post by DrampardonMe - January 07, 2025, 02:56^I guess I haven't heard enough French music to really have an opinion on it in general. I have a nagging feeling I'm forgetting one or two retro songs that just so happened to be in French or of French origin, but I digress.
Now I have to add another video game and/or Japanese song to my own list, since it helped me more than I thought it would this evening: Katamari on the Swing. FUN FACT: playing We <3 Katamari on a demo disc was my first real experience with culture shock! ...but to be fair, the Katamari series IS pretty weird on its own. The opening sequence to the game is trippy enough visually, so the song (which is just as enjoyable without the visuals in its own right) just adds to the absurdity. Those first few seconds really sledge you over the head, and the song as a whole is basically a prelude of what to expect in the game itself. I'm... obviously nostalgic for it at the moment. #50
Music / Re: Songs that get you pumped/...Last post by Petzbreeder - December 29, 2024, 23:36A French song called Bobo always gets me excited whenever it plays on my Liked Songs playlist on my Echo Dot.
My dad hates French music, but I think Gosch is good. |
