#basically any scene where misty got physical with ash

[perenlop]

maybe this is just me but to me grumpy dickhead characters that are intended to be endearing only really land if they have one character that actually grounds them whether that be through them being very nice to balance it out with cute banter or them also being snarky so they can have fun banter. if a grumpy character is just an asshole to characters we dont know as well, are literally children or people who otherwise cant fight back, then like. they dont vibe with me

[miraculouscontent]

Pokemon anon again! I'd like to hear anything you have strong opinions on (either your personal ships, ones you dislike, etc). I just really like reading your thoughts, so whatever you feel like sharing is fine.

Welcome back, Pokénon!

And sure, I can do that!

Alright, so in terms of ships I dislike (I’m going to go with the English names just so I’m not constantly using both names)...

I guess I should get the obvious ones out of the way, because I’m not really a fan of either “Ash ship” extreme:

Poke//Shipping (Ash X Misty) and Amour//Shipping (Ash X Serena)

I don’t like either of them.

For Poke//Shipping, I have never liked aggressive tsundere characters and Misty is basically a textbook example of that. It’s not that I have a problem with strong/tomboy-ish (though honestly I don’t consider Misty a tomboy anyway) female characters, which I know it sounds like that when I have a distaste for characters like Alix too, but when they’re brash and angry and just so generically “TOMBOY GIRL POWER,” it grates on my nerves.

The idea of having an aggressive character - y’know - be aggressive to their love interest and then cue the sad music when the love interest argues with them or makes any sort of hurtful implication just... no.

Like, I want you to imagine the most sarcastic Clarity possible and then picture me as a little girl watching the scene where Misty is officially leaving the group, because that was literally just me like, “oh noooo, she’s goooone.”

It’s the same reason I don’t do Rocket//Shipping (James X Jessie). One character is too aggressive and the other character doesn’t even come close to balancing it out.

There’s also the fact that nothing comes out of Poke//Shipping. Misty is canonically crushing on Ash (*flashbacks to the friggin’ second movie where they shove it in your face*) but it’s just... there, not to mention that scene where Misty is talking casually to Ash like, “you and I will be married too someday,” which came completely out of left field and - whether for a joke or not - made little kid me very uncomfortable.

Like I said, it’s just there and doesn’t go anywhere, and Ash is already so oblivious that of course he wouldn’t get that Misty is in love with him. It’s basically a long-running gag of Misty pulling a surprised Pikachu face whenever Ash doesn’t understand that she likes him/wants to stay with him/literally wants anything specific from him.

As for Amour//Shipping, I did admittedly like it at first, but just--ugh, oh boy.

First, it’s shipping fanservice, kinda like Pokemon 2000 throwing a bone to the shippers except now it’s the whole two seasons. My followers know how I feel about fanservice just for fanservice and that’s basically all that Amour//Shipping is. That’s why Serena was already made to have met Ash when they were children; so the writers could get a “headstart” on all the blushy fanservice they could squeeze in on Serena’s end.

I fell off the ship sometime around Wulfric, particularly with the scene where Serena comforts Ash. Just that whole, “this isn’t like you,” and then trying to compare her contest losses to Ash’s battles as if Ash hasn’t been at this for seasons upon seasons and battles aren’t a completely different category because they involve actually watching one’s Pokemon get physically hurt (Pokemon battles are a sport, yes, but it doesn’t change anything; Ash also has a special Greninja so of course he’s going to be upset that having all this experience still isn’t enough to just sweep). Like, to relate to someone, yes, it helps to have something you can use as a mental comparison, but that comparison is (usually) supposed to stay mental.

Anyway, after Ash shouts at her because she doesn’t know how he feels at all (because she doesn’t) and he just wanted to be left alone (because he did), Serena throws snowballs at his face and that apparently helps make Ash feel better because Serena can do no wrong here and that just so happened to be exactly what he needed.

(I mean, that whole gym battle and what follows is already pretty trash but that solidified it for me. Basically everything XY&Z added were things I just didn’t care about.)

Oh, and Serena is also implied to steal a kiss from Ash at the very end of the season and you guys know how I feel about that. It’s mostly the fact that she’s so non-apologetic about it, just smiling and blushy and all happy whereas here’s me like, “Wait, I’m pretty sure we just missed a crucial step here??? Since when were you sure that Ash had a thing for you???”

So yeah, I’m not a fan of either ship. I have vague opinions about basically all other ships (The ship between Ash and Iris aka ”You’re such a kid” girl can rot), but Poke//Shipping and Amour//Shipping are the ones I have the strongest negative feelings for.

Brock being shipped with basically anyone is a no no for me. The guy flirts with anything that moves and I have never found it funny or charming. The closest thing young me ever came to a ship with him was Luck//Shipping (Brock X Pike Queen Lucy) but that’s basically it, and it honestly could’ve just been me thinking the idea that Ash and Brock both getting together with Battle Frontier people (I was for Ability//Shipping - Ash X Sailor Maiden Anabel - at the time) was a neat idea and both episodes that featured the respective ships had BLUSH FUEL.

I recall being into Advance//Shipping (Ash X May) when I was young (I was a multishipper back then, you see) but I avoided thinking about it too much because I wasn’t a huge fan of Max (aka “Iris before Iris existed”) and Norman’s game counterpart infuriates me even to this day so I just didn’t want to imagine Ash having to deal with those sorts of things. Plus, looking back on it, he and May were little too similar (then again, maybe that’s why I liked it?).

I expected to enjoy Aurelia//Shipping (Ash X Lillie) when I was getting into the Sun&Moon seasons but it didn’t really do anything for me. I guess maybe I was so burnt out after Amour//Shipping that I wasn’t in a shippy mood anymore? Though, it could also be that their relationship isn’t as “balanced” as I would’ve liked.

Anyway though, as for the ships I actually really like instead of just being indifferent towards or outright disliking, the big one really is just Pearl//Shipping. I suppose it makes sense given that I’m not a multishipper, don’t like Brock enough to ship him with anyone, and most other travel companions are ones I either hadn’t gotten attached to or that I’d paired with Ash long enough that, once I got older, I couldn’t really picture them with other people because my memory of their moments wasn’t strong enough.

Yeah though, PEARL//SHIPPING, I ADORE IT. Like, I’ll try to explain it as best as I can without rambling, but basically:

Dawn doesn’t make excuses when she wants to go with Ash. No “my bike," no meandering, just really casual.

THEY SING THE JAPANESE OPENING TOGETHER AND IT’S RAD. “High Touch” is like, my favorite opening theme???? And they do a duet for it??? I just???? Yes???????

It’s the little things. High-fives are like, their thing. They traded Pokemon with each other which is like, really rare for the series and it made total sense. They both have a Pokemon they keep out of their Pokeball who doesn’t want to evolve (Piplup was the Eevee partner from Let’s Go before it was cool) and no, Misty’s Togepi doesn’t count because it was Gold and Silver’s posterchild. Ash and Dawn also both gave up a speedy physical Pokemon (Primeape and Ambipom respectively) so they could participate in some sort of Pokemon sport that doesn’t exist in the games while I scream in the background because I really like said Pokemon.

DAWN IS ASH’S CHEERLEADER. SHE LITERALLY CHEERS FOR HIM DURING GYM MATCHES. THAT’S PRECIOUS.

They help and get ideas off of each other, which I think is really cool. Them trading Pokemon just furthers that sort of dynamic.

Them just supporting each other in general. There’s a moment where Dawn takes a pretty harsh loss and Ash can be seen sulking like he really gets how she’s feeling.

It also helps that Diamond and Pearl were one of the better seasons of the anime. Paul is a solid rival, I really like the creative battle techniques like spinning and countershield, and just Chimchar in general honestly. I remember the baking episode “Cooking Up a Sweet Story!” vividly and all the feels it gave me.

Yeah though. It’s not any sort of OTP pairing or anything, but out of all of the anime Pokemon ships, Pearl//Shipping is probably my favorite. I’d probably ship them a lot more if they were a little older (like, on par with the protagonists of the Black & White games, who are closer to 14/15; it’s just easier to get a gauge on personality that way).

[adamwatchesmovies]

Pokémon: The First Movie (1998)

I don’t believe in giving passes for nostalgic reasons; it just encourages studios to invest in time machines rather than making good movies. I remember seeing Pokémon: The First Movie in theatre to get the promotional cards they were handing out at the box office. I didn't see it then but this movie is awful.

The film is separated into three segments. The first is the 20-minute Pikachu’s Vacation, in which the electric mouse and his Pokémon buddies meet a group of 'mon bullies and the kiddies watching learn a lesson. The second is a prequel to the main feature and details the origin of the enigmatic Mewtwo (voiced by Philip Bartlett). In Mewtwo Strikes Back Ash (Veronica Taylor), Misty (Rachael Lillis) and Brock (Eric Stuart) are among a group of elite trainers invited by the island of the “World’s Greatest Pokémon Master”. Once there, they discover their host is actually a vengeful and immensely powerful psychic Pokémon named Mewtwo.

I really just want to get to the main feature (as anyone would) as quickly as possible but first, we've got to address the first two segments. Pikachu’s Vacation is... alright. It’s very peculiar in terms of visuals because every few minutes we get a trippy scene transition. The story, for what it is, has amusing moments as the weird creatures form a rivalry over some petty things. Psyduck acts like a moron, we get to see two “new” Pokémon in the form of Snubbull and Marill. The music's decent but there's nothing of substance.

The Story of Mewtwo’s Origin is more interesting. It gets you pumped but calling this segment (as it is in the English version of the film) a separate feature is ludicrous. It only lasts 10 minutes.

... and finally, we get to the main course. It isn't unfair to ask a few things from a tv show movie. We're leaving the comfort of our home so we better get:

Character development.

Plots and ideas that will impact the series.

Something worthy of a big screen.

Conclusions to story arcs and answers to the questions we've been asking.

Something new.

How does Pokémon the First Movie rank?

Poorly. As it is in the show, the characters are flat and gimmicky. Brock likes attractive women. Misty is aggressive. Ash… wants to be a Pokémon master and believes in friendship. Pikachu is a Pokémon.  Team Rocket members Jessie (Rachael Lillis), James (Eric Stuart) and Meowth (Maddie Blaustein) are incompetent would-be criminals. We learn nothing new about anyone. Neither the humans nor the Pokémon evolve (physically or emotionally).

Also poor. Ash and Team Rocket does not come to any kind of understanding. Brock doesn’t find a girlfriend. Nobody catches a new Pokémon. No pocket monster learns any new attacks.

I’d say the scale is about the same as any gym battle or two-parter. The stakes appear to be higher, but when you see where it all ends up, there’s no reason this story couldn’t have played comfortably on Saturday morning. The animation is a bit more ambitious but that’s not really anything worth writing home about.

Finally, here is where the movie gets a few points. Mewtwo is a character that has appeared in the show briefly before. Now we get to know what its deal is.

There are a few Pokémon that are "new" or new to the audience.

Pokémon the First Movie is as big a disappointment as that first Magikarp you capture. It’s like realizing that once you evolve your Jigglypuff with that Moonstone, it doesn’t learn any new attacks. You have no idea what I’m talking about? Tough luck. This film is made for fans of the series, and ONLY fans of the series. Do not expect The First Movie to be a jumping on point.

The writing is atrocious. Future plot devices are introduced as subtly as an atomic bomb and serve to make the deus ex machina ending only slightly less lazy. The lines given to the voice actors feature obvious errors (including three Pokemon called by the wrong names) and feature some gems such as “Mew AND Mewtwo.” “So Mewtwo was cloned from Mew!”

Now we get to the film's biggest flaw: the message. When Pokémon began, parents complained about its violent content and it's not completely unfounded. At its core, it's about capturing monsters so you can use them to defeat your opponents' monsters in combat. There's a way to handle this idea well. You don't want to teach kids that might makes right all the time but some conflicts DO require a show of force and many sports are about physical contact and competition. In the film, Mewtwo uses a cloning facility to create Pokémon of its own. Will these creatures birthed strictly to fight measure up against those raised by human trainers who have learned to strategize, developed close-knit bonds with their teams, won badges thanks to perseverance and discipline, and ultimately care if their monsters win or lose? Naaaaah.... instead, let's paint a black-and-white picture about why fighting is wrong!

As a now grown-up looking back, you won’t be able to sit through Pokémon: The First Movie without feeling embarrassed. Even through the thick lens of nostalgia, you’ll grow weary of it quick - if you're not bored. It makes basic storytelling mistakes and tells an uninspired, self-contradictory message. If you choose to view or revisit it nonetheless, stick all the way through the credits to see a bonus scene. (On VHS, September 2, 2015)

[warlordess]

Misty for the character thing!

What I like about them: Oooooh, basically everything. I love her temper, I love her tough love when it’s necessary, I love her passion for water/water-type Pokemon/pretty things/certain social justice situations, I love that she’s written to be pretty smart in times when others aren’t (she’s the one who gets the groups of TR and Ash/Brock to work together to get off the sinking St. Anne, she’s the one who sees through James’ sob story in Holy Matrimony, she’s the one who solves all of Blaine’s riddles), I love that she feels a little complicated, and that she takes time to soften around people, I love her subconsciously wanting to protect/encourage youngest siblings in any family dynamic (Mikey/Sakura/Max). There’s so much to love about Misty, I feel like.

What I dislike about them: I don’t really have anything tbh? I understand she’s got her flaws but... that makes her human? And who doesn’t like an extremely human character? I will say that I guess I’m upset that the early use of slapstick comedy caused any number of fans to believe that she’s abusive... but that’s more of an inappropriate and incorrect interpretation of her character by the fans, not a problem with her character.

Favourite moment: This is really hard to choose. I really like her taking the lead during Tentacool and Tentacruel because we see her put herself in a position of explicit danger (not to mention empathy) with a giant mutated Pokemon. This ten year old girl saves an entire city from mass destruction and changes the mind of a massive water/poison-type while her friends just sit back and wait for her. Honestly, any moment she gets to shine (since they’re relatively few compared to other supporting characters of the series) are great, even if I think it would have been nice if she existed later in the canon, during a time when the writing would have spent more time on her.

Least favourite moment: Any time we see her use Psyduck. I know, that sucks, nobody agrees with me. I really disliked the way the writing dealt with their relationship and with Psyduck’s personality/will-power/psychic power. I understand relying on him when the chips are down and there’s no other choice because, you know, what a wild card! But, beyond that, reducing what felt like her every victory to dues-ex-Psyduck overkill got annoying and undermined her potential skills.

A situation with this character that I want to see explored more: I would have loved to have seen more exploration of her relationship with her sisters/about her family. I know it’s touched on here and there and it’s bred a lot of headcanons (or else, what seems to be obvious personality quirks imo) but a part of me would like to have seen it on-screen.

An interesting AU for this character: Legend of Korra AU? XD I dunno, something where she has physical control of water. My first thought went to, oooh, AVATAR.

A crossover: When I was a kid I drew some art and wrote some isolated scenes about a Pokemon x Sailor Moon crossover. Misty watches a meteor shower and is accidentally infused with the spiritual light of a neglected/missing senshi warrior called Nova (which had formerly infused itself with one of the falling stars). Ash and co end up in Tokyo and Misty starts blacking out here and there as this warrior takes over in an effort to help the senshi team keep their enemies at bay. Eventually, the truth is discovered and, being stuck with the spirit inside her for the time being, Misty ends up training with the senshi to learn how to control it. This puts a lot of strain on her relationship with Ash, who is impatient to go and continue his own journey, is upset at having to share the limelight in some way, and also fears that he’s losing Misty to whatever this twist of fate is. I’d even loosly planned a sequel during which Misty, who ends up having been separated from the Nova spirit once everything’s cleared up in the first story, begs the spirit to take her over again after Ash and Brock are kidnapped by another one of the senshi inner team’s enemies.

OTP (or OT3+ etc…. just… favourite ship): ... Do I really have to say it?? DO I?? (It’s Pokeshipping. Of course, it’s Pokeshipping! Why would it be anything else?! Who in their right mind truly expected a different answer from me here?!?!?)

Other ships?: Imageshipping, Champselyseeshipping, WaterWarriorshipping. I think that’s it.

BROTP: I guess Gymshipping?? Also Orangeshipping and whatever Misty x Daisy and Misty x Delia are.

NOTP: Romantically, any of the brotps and any other ships not mentioned in either of the previous two answers.

An assortment of headcanons!: (I’ve said it a hundred times but I’m really bad at headcanons...)

#1: Frustrated with her sisters undermining her and despite the fact that she was definitely able to grow stronger as a gym trainer, the first thing Misty does when she hears that they’re coming home from their trip around the world is plan to give ‘em a good talking to for dropping their responsibilities on her.

#2: Misty is the type of person who can taste the things she hates no matter how subtly masked they are. Every once in awhile Daisy/Brock (depending on where she’s at) cooks something with carrots or bell peppers and she can pick the taste out among everything else no matter what.

#3: The so-called “Invincible Pokemon Brothers” from Viridian City have tried to get their revenge on Misty a minimum of twenty-five times. Obviously they have never succeeded.

(Like I said, I’m really bad at headcanons so imma stop there. Lol.)

Thanks for sending!!