Media Essays: Pokémon 30th Anniversary Special Post (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1.

Favourite Pokémon Battle: Ash vs. Paul (Sinnoh League)

Sorry to be so obvious. XD

But seriously, what else was I going to pick for my favourite Pokémon battle of all time? OK, some other battles out there like Ash vs. Leon, Ash vs. Paul (Lake Acuity) and Ash vs. Sawyer were worthy contenders, but this one was the only one I feel that was ever going to take the top spot. Ash vs. Paul at the Sinnoh League is pretty much everybody's favourite battle in the anime. Even Sarah Natochenny, the current Ash voice actor, named this as her favourite! And it's easy to see why. This was the battle that concluded Ash and Paul's rivalry in the most epic way possible. A full six-on-six throw down with creative strategies and unpredictable moments that kept both sides on their toes throughout, Infernape finally proving to Paul it wasn't pathetic after all and the battle really did feel like it could go either way. The absolute stars of this battle for me include Ash's Infernape and Gliscor and Paul's Drapion and Electivire. Those four were pulling most of the weight in this battle and gave us many stand out moments. Yes it's easy to nit-pick the living crap out of this battle and undermine Ash's victory by pointing out that Paul lost because the writers handicapped him by giving him a team of random Pokémon he's never used before instead of using his best mons, but the fact Paul still came close to winning despite not using his best team really shows how ridiculously strong and capable he is as a trainer. If anything, it only made Ash's win more impressive because he was against mostly Pokémon he's never seen Paul use before and has no idea what to expect from them.

This battle is an absolute classic and no other battle in the anime comes close to topping it. OK, a few might come close to topping it, but none will ever come close to topping this as my favourite Pokémon battle of all time...

Favourite Anime Protagonist: Liko

Bet nobody saw that coming. =P

I won't be too long here because I've already done several posts in the past gushing about this character and why I love her so much. I'll just summarize instead:

Liko to me is a far stronger protagonist than Ash ever was due to her development from shy and meek girl to more pro-active and capable trainer being far more interesting, her skills as a trainer make her pretty impressive to watch in action (provided the writers aren't making her lose for the millionth time), her empathetic and kind nature make her a great role model and someone to aspire to be, her sweet and adorkable nature make her insanely endearing and overall watching her story unfold and her character grow is the primary reason I've been watching Horizons for as long as I have. All that plus an adorable performance from Alejandra Reynoso in the English dub make for one of the best Pokémon girls in the franchise. Now if only the writers stopped kissing Roy's ass so much and let the poor girl have her time to shine more often. At least Season 6 has been (surprisingly) doing her justice lately...

As is, I love Liko and if she ends up departing from the anime once Horizons concludes, I'm really going to have a hard time saying goodbye to her. If any character was worthy of succeeding Ash as main character of the anime, it was Liko...

Favourite Ash Companion: Dawn

My second favourite Pokémon girl in the franchise, Dawn is easily my favourite companion that Ash has ever had throughout his long, long history in the anime. She's also Ash's BEST companion ever. Sorry Misty and Serena fans, but I'm only speaking the truth here. Dawn is best Ash companion.

This girl is precious beyond gold and silver due to her kind personality, bubbly enthusiasm, her tendency to spout "No need to worry!" even when faced with a dire situation, her creative tactics when it comes to Pokémon contests (need I bring up her famous ice chandelier?) while also being a capable battler in her own right and the friendship she has with Ash is honestly one of the most wholesome bonds we have in the series. Seriously, I feel Ash's friendship with Dawn was the most genuine friendship he had with any of his companions. The two inspired each other in both their battles and contests respectively and they're always lifting each other up when they're down. People will always remember Misty for being the first female Ash companion and ship the two until the Miltanks come home, but I really do feel that Ash and Dawn were far closer than Ash and Misty ever were.

Dawn's not only really endearing, but she can be very funny at times too with some of her comedic misfortunes, the banter she has with Ash or her rivals and especially Emily Bauer's performance as her. Speaking of, Emily Bauer's performance as Dawn remains some of my favourite voice-acting I've heard in the anime. She plays a large part in why Dawn was such an endearing character. She wouldn't be the same without Emily's voice talents. I also like how Dawn was among the Ash companions who got the most challenged throughout the series what with dealing with a pretty bad losing streak and having her confidence shaken but she would always come back to do better next time and give everyone a show to remember. It's what made her victory at the Wallace Cup so damn satisfying to see. Her team of Pokémon are also a fun bunch too with her Piplup, Pachirisu and Mammoswine having the biggest personalities that make them memorable.

What else can I say? Dawn is just the best and no companion of Ash's before or since has ever topped her. Easily my favourite Ash companion of all time...

Favourite Champion: Cynthia

Sorry to be so obvious again, but...it's freaking Cynthia. Do I need to justify myself naming her as my favourite Pokémon Champion? Oh yeah, I do because this post is about me naming my favourite things from the Pokémon franchise. XD

Cynthia is every Pokémon fan's favourite Champion and is unanimously considered to be the best Champion in the franchise, and I agree with them. She's one of the very few Champions that poses any real threat to us players even as experienced adults due to her varied team with maxed out EVs, tricky status moves, bulky defences and of course, her terrifyingly powerful Garchomp that can mow through your team like a runaway lawnmower if you're not careful. Many people (wrongly) dump on the Diamond and Pearl remakes, but the one thing they'll agree that the remakes did better than the originals was making Cynthia challenging, because BDSP Cynthia is even more of a menace than she was in the originals! All this is just one reason why Cynthia's my favourite Champion. Unlike most Champions in the games, she's actually challenging and requires me to strategize in order to beat her and her team of Pokémon are all solid mons in their own right.

But it's not just that as to why I love Cynthia so much. Her design that is the perfect combination of sexy and badass makes her incredibly memorable and she just looks awesome anytime she's onscreen with that black coat and her long blonde hair. Her character is also a treat too, especially in the anime. I just love how when in battle, she's a total badass and can kick your ass without breaking a sweat, yet outside of battle she's surprisingly adorkable and can be somewhat of a goofball, especially when it comes to ice cream. XD Seeing this side of her just made her even more endearing, as well as the fact by nature she's a very friendly and kind person. Her interest in studying Sinnoh's past is also relatable given we all have our own specific interests too.

So yeah, Cynthia's my favourite Champion. Obvious choice, but I do have valid reasons for it as I've listed. She's awesome, she's challenging and she's surprisingly adorkable outside of battle. She's a woman who can kick my ass any day...

Favourite Gym Leader: Bea

I've named her as among my favourite Gym Leaders and my favourite Pokémon girls, so you shouldn't be surprised she's here.

Galar has the coolest and most memorable batch of Gym Leaders in my opinion with every single one of them having something that makes them stand out or stick in my mind long after the Sword and Shield games have some to pass. Bea is no exception to this. Like Cynthia, she just looks like a total badass and gives the impression that she could wrestle you to the ground with her bare hands, no need to use any of her Pokémon to do it. Yet she manages to look pretty cute at the same time thanks to that large bow in her hair, her surprisingly cute looking smile and her secret adoration for sweets. It also helps how Bea is nicer than she may appear. Gotta love Badass Adorable characters, am I right? ^^

She's a Fighting-type Gym leader, and she's more than earned that spot due to her tough nature, her training regiment that's as brutal to herself as it is to her Pokémon and how she commands a powerful roster of Fighting-types to challenge trainers with. Her ace being a Gigantamaxing Machamp is also really awesome too.

This girl is the reason why I tend to play Sword more than Shield, because it means I get to face her while Shield players get Allister instead. Bea is a badass and more than worthy of calling herself a Gym Leader. I look forward to the next time I can battle her...

Favourite Elite Four Member: Lacey

I also named her as one of my favourite Elite Four members, so don't be surprised she's here too.

When the Blueberry Elite Four was first revealed back when Scarlet and Violet's DLC was coming out, I instantly took a liking to Lacey due to her adorable design, her long pink coat and how she was described as being sweet and nice. I do love me a nice girl as you know. When the DLC came out and I played it, my opinions towards Lacey only grew more positive as I got to see what she was like. While she's not only a nice girl, she's also the most level-headed of the Elite Four, mainly acting as the one that keeps the group together, she doesn't take crap from anyone, not even Drayton, and doesn't hesitate to speak her mind. Need I bring up her trademark "That's just NOT right!" catchphrase? Heck, my love for Lacey is why when it was announced the new Pokémon Horizons arc was taking place at Blueberry Academy, the first thing that made me smile was seeing that Lacey was going to make her anime debut. Too bad Horizons absolutely dropped the ball by rushing the visit to Blueberry Academy and not having Lacey battle Liko, but I appreciate the fact she appeared at all and was exactly as she was in the games. Also she got to effortlessly kick Ult's useless ass in battle, that's always a plus. XD

And that's not also getting into how capable she is as a trainer. She specializes in Fairy-types, one of the strongest types in the game, and her team is well-structured and put together. They have useful abilities like Granbull's Intimidate or Whimsicott's Prankster ability, some of them have moves that can abuse their abilities like Primarina's Liquid Voice and she has Pokémon that can cover both weaknesses to the Fairy-type, namely her ace Excadrill that has a type-advantage against both Steel and Poison-types or her Galarian Slowbro with Flamethrower to melt Steel types that would threaten her. Galarian Slowbro also helps in nullifying Toxic Spikes if players try to use that against her. So yeah, this girl's done her homework and I applaud her for it. Gotta love it when a character is both lovable AND a capable trainer all at once, eh?

Cute design, lovable personality, great skills as a trainer, it would be just NOT right if I didn't name Lacey as my favourite Elite Four member...

Favourite Villain Team: The Explorers

Pokémon is notorious for having many memorable villains with Team Rocket, Team Galactic and Team Plasma being among the most memorable villains in the franchise. But when it comes to MY favourite villain team in Pokémon, my favourite is none of the villain teams from the games. No, my favourite villain team from the franchise is actually an anime exclusive one: the Explorers from Pokémon Horizons. Now some might say "Hey, they don't count! They're not a villainous team like Team Rocket and the others!" And I say yes they DO count. The Explorers are an evil organization, just like Team Rocket, Team Aqua, Team Magma, Team Galactic, Team Plasma and Team Flare. Just because they don't have "team" in their name doesn't mean they shouldn't be counted.

Besides, the Explorers are the best evil organization that's ever come out of this franchise. Not only does every member of the Explorers have a memorable and visually striking appearance, but they have more dimensions than most villainous teams in Pokémon do. You'll see them scheme and plot against each other, you get in-fighting between the members and you also see how each one has their own code of honour (or lack thereof) and how their approach to battling is different from each other. I especially love the comedic hijinks of Coral and Sidian. Those two are such a lovable double act and I love watching the two interact with each other. While I wish members outside of Gibeon and Amethio had more depth to them and how these characters need more focus episodes to further explore (pun intended) them, I still like how the Explorers pose a genuine threat to the heroes anytime they show up and how each of them has their own powerful Pokémon to cause trouble with such as Amethio's Ceruledge, Sidian's Garganacl, Coral's Glaile and Spinel's Umbreon.

Oh and what makes the Explorers better than all the other villainous teams in Pokémon? They're the only villains in Pokémon history to successfully defeat our heroes. Multiple times in fact! After Season 4 ended, they framed the Rising Volt Tacklers for environmental terrorism, they've successfully manipulated the public into thinking they're the good guys, they're seen as a credit to society and they have the public eating out of their hands for the Strong Spheres. Throughout Season 5, our heroes were barely able to make a dent in their impressive armour and come Season 6, they managed to get back the Legendary Six Heroes from the Explorers and even then, they STILL emerged victorious because Spinel was able to make the Rising Volt Tacklers look even MORE like villains to the point where even gathering evidence that they're the bad guys won't work anymore. All of a sudden, this is hitting WAY too close to reality for my liking...but the point is that as of this post, the Explorers are still yet to suffer any real defeat and are still pretty much untouchable! Compare that to Jessie and James where all they did was fail all the time and never posed any real threat to Ash and friends. I'm glad we got these guys instead of those losers!

But yeah, the Explorers are my favourite Pokémon villain team for being credible threats, having memorable members of the organization, a neat selection of Pokémon for our heroes to fight AND being the most successful villains in the franchise. Seriously, can you name me any time outside of Pokémon Horizons where the villains have actually managed to win and put themselves in such a good spot? Maybe the Adventures manga has done so, I wouldn't know as I haven't read it. Still, I love the Explorers and I hope we can get credible villains like these guys in future Pokémon media...

Favourite Mega Evolution: Mega Raichu X

Raichu's my favourite Pokémon, what else were you expecting me to say here? =P

Many Pokémon out there have really awesome Mega Evolutions and I love a lot of them. But of course, my favourite Mega Evolution has to go to Mega Raichu X. The fact my favourite Pokémon can Mega Evolve should be enough of a justification for why it's my favourite Mega Evolution. You better believe when this thing got revealed, I went crazy with excitement! Raichu being able to Mega Evolve felt like an impossible dream, yet now it's reality!

I've seen a lot of people criticize Mega Raichu X and Mega Raichu Y for just looking like Mega Evolved Pikachu, but I don't agree in the case of Mega Raichu X. That one DOES look like a Mega Evolved Raichu, and it's why I prefer it over Mega Raichu Y. It actually looks like a Mega Evolved Raichu and just looks way cooler to me. I love the twin tails and the larger ears, as well as the thicker forearms to emphasize how Mega Raichu X is the physical attacker and is more for brute strength. I love how in the games it flies after you due to floating off the ground via magnetism (which to me suggests outside of Legends Z-A, it'll have the Levitate ability) and how it has a secret power in where its attack increases after you use Volt Tackle. That's pretty awesome.

My favourite Pokémon can now Mega Evolve. What else needs saying here to justify me naming it as my favourite Mega Evolution? I only hope this won't be just a Legends Z-A thing and we'll be able to Mega Evolve Raichu again in future games...

My Top 6 Favourite Pokémon: Raichu, Ceruledge, Hydreigon, Aggron, Gyarados and Swampert

This is pretty much my "dream team". If I was making up a team of Pokémon using my most favourite, these six would make the cut. It goes as follows: Raichu is my overall favourite Pokémon, Ceruledge is my second favourite and is also my favourite Fire and Ghost type, Swampert is my favourite fully evolved starter Pokémon, Hydreigon is my favourite Dragon-type, Gyarados is my favourite Water-type and Aggron is my third favourite Pokémon overall and my favourite Rock and Steel type. All this is why these six overall make for my dream team. I have to say, it's a strong line-up, wouldn't you agree? All of them are heavy hitters and many of them are dual-types so I can cover a lot of different types with them. A lot of them can cover their weaknesses too such as Raichu learning Surf or Grass Knot to cover Ground-types, Hydreigon can learn Flash Cannon to cover Fairy-types, Gyarados can learn Earthquake to cover Electric-types, Swampert can learn Ice Punch or Poison Jab to cover Grass-types and Ceruledge can use Fighting moves to cover its Rock and Fighting weaknesses. Also, four of these Pokémon can Mega Evolve (Raichu, Gyarados, Swampert and Aggron), thus giving me even more powerful mons to use. Gyarados and Aggron even change typings when they Mega Evolve, thus allowing me to overcome some of their weaknesses. So yeah, a team like this I think would make me a Champion easily. Would any of you trainers dare face me with these powerful mons on my side...?

And that's it for this two-part post. Nothing more to say other than Happy Anniversary Pokémon. Thank you for all the memories, both in my childhood and adulthood. Thank you for bringing me and several other fans all around the world so much joy and fun. And thank you for being so influential to me as a writer and author. Here's to the next 30 years of Pokémon...

I'm not done with Pokémon just yet, for next week I'll be counting down my Top 10 Favourite Mega Evolutions from Legends Z-A. See you then media fans!

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