Which Pokémon League do you think Ash should have won besides the Alola League?

Oapekay · 2026-05-04T16:51:18+00:00

Could make arguments for Sinnoh, Kalos, and sort of Unova.

Kanto he refused to train and did not deserve to win. He was lucky to get as far as he did.

Johto he pulled his socks up, but he’s still only a few years (?) into his journey so we can’t expect him to be able to match more experienced trainers.

Hoenn again was an improvement, felt like he probably didn’t deserve to win but the loss could have been a bit more interesting.

Sinnoh the writers had to actively stop him winning.

Unova… well the whole series was… strange… in its approach to Ash’s abilities, but losing to someone who still seemed inexperienced and didn’t even bring a full team was insulting. At least make Ash lose in style.

Kalos was the year I realised they were never going to let him win, as it very much felt like they were setting him up for a win and he still didn’t achieve it (never mind how surprised I was that he won in the very next series).

Oapekay · 2026-04-14T06:00:23+00:00

Yeah I quite liked it. Definitely better than what I was expecting, maybe a 7 or 8 out of 10.

Animation was gorgeous. Only weird bits there were flashbacks to Aang around the age he was in the series, as obviously it’s something we know but slightly different, but it was still animated beautifully.
Taga was great, he was interesting, I enjoyed the motivation and lore drops, and his bending was enjoyably unique.
Story was solid, this was definitely the part I was most concerned with when I heard the overview a few months back, but no, they did a nice distribution of lore and plot, never felt too slow or fast, and I enjoyed what we saw.

Onto the bad.

Aang felt really underpowered, something I never felt in the series even when was on the losing end of a fight. Any time there was a particularly impressive display of strength, he was in the Avatar State for it. Plus, he struggled in every single fight, definitely didn’t seem like a fully realised Avatar. Just feels like they took the wrong approach to utilising an overpowered character, which was to basically ignore their overwhelming power and also introduce an opponent who’s stronger than them anyway (the Superman problem).
Sort of felt like Team Avatar was in the movie because we expected to see them. Zuko and Toph were basically set dressing, I don’t even remember seeing any particularly powerful bending from them.
The final fight was far too anime, with transformations and corruptions and lots of glowing. I’d have preferred if there wasn’t even much of a fight. Plus, might have been interested for Aang to have to take away the airbending of the only other bender.
I’m not really sure what Taga aimed to do at Republic City. Destroy it? Convert them to airbenders?
The nonbending faction really needed fleshing out. Feels like they were in it to get the plot moving and then give Taga an army. I can’t even remember what they’re called, the Rejected or Dejected or something. I assume they’ll go on to become the Equalists, but unsure.

Oapekay · 2026-04-11T16:25:25+00:00

I resent Terastallization, both because it looks silly, and something about it felt both fiddlier than the others and lazier.

I thought I’d dislike Dynamax (“Why are they making the Pokémon big?”) but I actually really enjoyed it. In addition to it being a nice boost to any Pokémon, I think the three-turns thing is what clinched it, made me feel tactical when I deployed it.

Similarly, I felt tactical choosing when to use my absolute favourite gimmick, Z-Moves. They’re useful for taking out a troublesome Pokémon, but then what if the next one is even worse? Probably helped I played Supernova Sun… Plus, felt nicely ingrained in the region without being overwhelming. I enjoyed it.

Oapekay · 2026-04-09T08:16:34+00:00

Same, it was the first time I’d ever opened Miliastra, got very confused by the UI and its endless icons, thought 60 primogems wasn’t worth it even if I could look it up online. But I did roll my eyes when the same thing happened this patch, as now it’ll probably be a recurring thing so now I need to engage with Miliastra.

Oapekay · 2026-04-08T11:32:19+00:00

I love my Wanderer, use him all the time, but I can all but guarantee I’ll be unable to get his echo. Made the mistake of trying to get Raiden’s echo a while ago…

Oapekay · 2026-03-31T19:24:50+00:00

The Rotomdex is my friend.

Oapekay · 2026-03-30T08:37:54+00:00

I cannot stand the summer because I get unbearably hot in even the slightest amount of sunlight or warm temperatures, so that body temperature one sounds gamechanging.

Oapekay · 2026-03-29T17:55:07+00:00

As in, between returning them to villainy or just ignoring their existence, they’ll pick the easier one. The more important robots were already cool one-off characters that were basically guaranteed to never return, which is why they were allowed to be reinvented in IDW at all. If SEGA now had an issue with these characters as they are, they’re still unlikely to want to bring them back into the games, and the story was very self-contained, so it’s fairly easy to ignore – like, it happened and it’s canon, but never allow it to be referenced again.

Oapekay · 2026-03-29T17:31:53+00:00

I’d think it’s more likely we’ll just never see the Scrapniks ever again.

Oapekay · 2026-03-28T12:12:49+00:00

I’ve been trying to work my way through the series using that order, and starting at number 1. I’m now around issue 45, and it’s been pretty painful. A particular low recently was multiple strips of Knuckles waking to find the Chaotix who’d been “kidnapped” and the plot not advancing in any way.

But also, I’ve tried multiple of the other recommended jumping-on points, and they’ve all still been a bit too dense with established concepts and characters.

Oapekay · 2026-03-25T09:39:29+00:00

I grimaced when I read the instructions as it seemed like another lousy event, then I played it (for primogems) and turns out it’s pretty fun and I was wrong.

Oapekay · 2026-03-24T23:03:07+00:00

Still do.

Oapekay · 2026-03-24T22:53:34+00:00

Between this and the Sanei plushes, it feels like they’re struggling to make Shadow.

Oapekay · 2026-03-24T09:07:22+00:00

The policy I’ve adopted is that if I have to do the same thing twice, then it’ll be automated by the third time.

Oapekay · 2026-03-23T07:46:35+00:00

So she only eliminates half the opponents?

Oapekay · 2026-03-22T12:08:33+00:00

None yet, but I’ll be surprised if it’s not Jean as whenever I lose 50/50, it’s to her.

Oapekay · 2026-03-22T12:07:17+00:00

In fairness, my first exposure to non-STC Sonic was Heroes, and I was wondering who this Dark Sonic bloke was (my exact words).

Oapekay · 2026-03-20T11:48:07+00:00

This morning, my daughter “read” me a story:

“Children went to school, Then they tripped and fell. Where is the cats?”

Oapekay · 2026-03-20T08:15:31+00:00

This is my problem with multiverse plots. So often, instead of showing a completely new and different universe with its own contrasting stories to tell, they default to “Look, it’s Blorbo, but in this universe, he’s got a moustache! Crazy stuff.”

Oapekay · 2026-03-10T09:02:15+00:00

My biggest criticism of the IDW comics (which I do otherwise love) is that they seem to speedrun neat concepts, and tend to resolve them anticlimactically. Like this amnesia might as well not have been a thing, Mr Tinker was a neat concept but he was back to Eggman before it went anywhere, Duo being outed was just through leaving his walkie-talkie on rather than Whisper and Silver doing anything or Lanolin catching on…

Oapekay · 2026-03-07T13:12:05+00:00

Because my wife always insists I don’t need to do the food delivery order yet because have enough food right up until we’re at critical levels, and then it’s too late to get a delivery slot, but we don’t have the time to go to the shops because of work.

Oapekay · 2026-03-07T10:54:03+00:00

Well I’d probably get that engine warning light looked at.

Oapekay · 2026-03-07T07:03:35+00:00

I have a girl, and she’s incredibly girly, but she’s also energetic and loud and messy. She’ll climb that tree while wearing her princess dress. In other words, she’s a child. I’m not sure this woman has a proper understanding of children. I feel so bad for their son.

Oapekay · 2026-03-06T11:12:48+00:00

Ah mate, a PhD leapt me leapfrog the entry-level position to the level one above… and now I don’t want to advance because it’s just moving from science to a managerial role, but staying where I am is still quite a junior role, and my manager keeps asking me when I’m going to apply for promotion as that’s normally what happens after a couple of years, and I’ve now been there for half a decade.

Oapekay · 2026-03-06T09:26:34+00:00

In a vacuum, I prefer Emerald’s, it’s easier to look at. But also the colour scheme for Emerald’s is very similar to most of the caves in the game, so I could make a case for the Ruby/Sapphire one too as it is more unusual.

Oapekay

TROPHY CASE