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[[folder:General]]
* Certain designs tend to get singled out as being "Uncreative" ("Uncreative" here being a code word for "I hate the design, this isn't a real Pokémon to me".) Of the Pokémon that get the most flack, ones based on fish (like Basculin or Lumineon) are regarded as "weak" (an impression left by Magikarp and codified by Goldeen), Pokémon based on people (like Mr. Mime or Jynx) being "[[UncannyValley too creepy]]" and ones based on [[AnimateInanimateObject inanimate objects]] (Like Vanillish or Klefki) for being "lazy". At the same time though, not all Pokémon with these designs receive nearly enough hate: Sharpedo, Lanturn, Alakazam, Machamp, Aegislash and Chandelure are all well regarded despite being based on fish, people or inanimate objects.
[[/folder]]
* Certain designs tend to get singled out as being "Uncreative" ("Uncreative" here being a code word for "I hate the design, this isn't a real Pokémon to me".) Of the Pokémon that get the most flack, ones based on fish (like Basculin or Lumineon) are regarded as "weak" (an impression left by Magikarp and codified by Goldeen), Pokémon based on people (like Mr. Mime or Jynx) being "[[UncannyValley too creepy]]" and ones based on [[AnimateInanimateObject inanimate objects]] (Like Vanillish or Klefki) for being "lazy". At the same time though, not all Pokémon with these designs receive nearly enough hate: Sharpedo, Lanturn, Alakazam, Machamp, Aegislash and Chandelure are all well regarded despite being based on fish, people or inanimate objects.
[[/folder]]
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* Barry is either {{Adorkable}} and a worthy rival or incredibly annoying and not nearly as badass as [[VideoGame/PokemonRedAndBlue Blue]] and [[VideoGame/PokemonGoldAndSilver Silver]].
* The Generation IV evolutions of older generation Pokemon. Either they're hideous design departures from their pre-evolutions (not helped by many being [[ReplacementScrappy evolutions]] of [[FirstInstallmentWins first generation mons]]) or creative evolutions of [[NostalgiaFilter otherwise forgettable mons]]. The former opinion was widely held when they were first revealed, but over time, the evolutions grew on many fans.
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* The Generation IV evolutions of older generation Pokemon. Either they're hideous design departures from their pre-evolutions (not helped by many being [[ReplacementScrappy evolutions]] of [[FirstInstallmentWins first generation mons]]) or creative evolutions of [[NostalgiaFilter otherwise forgettable mons]]. The former opinion was widely held when they were first revealed, but over time, the evolutions grew on many fans. In regards to their availability and effectiveness in combat, it doesn't help that some of them [[ScrappyMechanic evolve via trading while holding a specifc item]], are [[PowerUpLetdown outclassed by their pre-evolutions]] after the introduction of Eviolite in Gen V, or both. Possibly as a result, only [[BreakoutCharacter Eevee]] has continued to receive new evolutions, though some Pokémon do have regional variants with new evolutions as of [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation VIII]].
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* Certain designs tend to get singled out as being "Uncreative" ("Uncreative" here being a code word for "I hate the design, this isn't a real Pokémon to me".) Of the Pokémon that get the most flack, ones based on fish (like Basculin or Lumineon) are regarded as "weak" (an impression left by Magikarp and codified by Goldeen), Pokémon based on people (like Mr. Mime or Jynx) being "[[UncannyValley too creepy]]" and ones based on [[AnimateInanimateObject inanimate objects]] (Like Vanillish or Klefki) for being "lazy". At the same time though, not all Pokémon with these designs receive nearly enough hate: Sharpedo, Lanturn, Alakazam, Machamp, Aegislash and Chandelure are all well regarded despite being based on fish, people or inanimate objects.
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* The evolutions of previous Gen Pokémon (especially [[NostalgiaFilter Gen 1 Pokémon]] like Rhydon) got heavy flak when first introduced, often called unnecessary and abominations of the older Mons; it's not helping that some of them [[ScrappyMechanic evolve via trading while holding a specifc item]] and are [[PowerUpLetdown outclassed by their pre-evolutions]] after the introduction of Eviolite in Gen V. [[VindicatedByHistory Over time]], more people joined the side that recognized them as redemptions to Mons considered mediocre to forgettable beforehand, although some of their visual designs are still controversial. Possibly as a result, only Eevee has continued to receive new evolutions, though some Pokémon do have regional variants with new evolutions as of [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation VIII]].
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!Anime
[[folder:Main Cast]]
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
----
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. [[spoiler:This was most evident after Ash won the Alola League, with people either wanting Ash to stay as the protagonist or feeling that Ash's story was over and that it was time for someone else to be the main character.]]
** In terms of characterization, Ash's sanitation into the NiceGuy from Johto onward. There are those that like Ash being nicer as it made him a more likable character and felt it was a natural progression for him. Those who don't like it feel that Ash was more interesting back when he was still jerky and that his sanitation into the NiceGuy made him more of a VanillaProtagonist.
** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person, with the sole exception of him still being ObliviousToLove.
** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
* Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and started becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all.[[note]]The divide is more [[AmericansHateTingle cultural]] in this case, as the majority of detractors are Japanese, or fans of Dogasu's Backpack (whom emphasizes the Japanese versions), and those in favor of the more serious Team Rocket are Western audiences.[[/note]] Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
[[folder:Main Cast]]
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
----
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. [[spoiler:This was most evident after Ash won the Alola League, with people either wanting Ash to stay as the protagonist or feeling that Ash's story was over and that it was time for someone else to be the main character.]]
** In terms of characterization, Ash's sanitation into the NiceGuy from Johto onward. There are those that like Ash being nicer as it made him a more likable character and felt it was a natural progression for him. Those who don't like it feel that Ash was more interesting back when he was still jerky and that his sanitation into the NiceGuy made him more of a VanillaProtagonist.
** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person, with the sole exception of him still being ObliviousToLove.
** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
* Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and started becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all.[[note]]The divide is more [[AmericansHateTingle cultural]] in this case, as the majority of detractors are Japanese, or fans of Dogasu's Backpack (whom emphasizes the Japanese versions), and those in favor of the more serious Team Rocket are Western audiences.[[/note]] Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
to:
[[folder:Main Cast]]
Ash, Pikachu
* Pikachu, the SeriesMascot, is a world-renowned icon and
* Charizard became this due to its excessive WolverinePublicity. While it has always been the breakout fan-favorite of the three Kanto starter evolutions, once it began topping popularity polls, it started getting disproportionate amounts of favoritism over Venusaur and Blastoise, let alone other starters in general. This culminated in its appearance in ''VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield'', where it was the ''only'' non-Galar starter to be obtainable in the game and to get a Gigantamax form (prior to the DLC expansions) and received heaping amounts of CharacterShilling as Champion Leon's ace Pokémon. While many people continued to think that Charizard is the coolest thing ever, other fans got increasingly sick of the egregious attention it was getting within the franchise and started to label
* Venusaur, in an opposite vein to
----
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history
** In terms of characterization, Ash's sanitation into the NiceGuy from Johto onward. There are those that like Ash being nicer as it made him a more likable character
** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place
** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for
* Pikachu splits the
* Magmar, and
* Dragonite is fairly divisive for a pseudo-legendary. Some people love it for being a mighty BadassAdorable and great in competitive play, while
* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are
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[[folder:Ash's Companions]]
* Brock was a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees was either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
* Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
* May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
* Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
* Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a spotlight hogger for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
* Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
* Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]], which was addressed in later episodes that tried to develop her character further, but then again, [[spoiler:being the first female companion of Ash to actually ''kiss'' him, as well as being the first person to do it on the lips]], may have upset the shippers.
* Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress (in fairness, because of a repressed memory coming out) and gaining it back with no work of her own (when she fully understands the memory and after she is rescued from Faba) and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsPet as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. By ''Ultra Legends'' their reputation calmed mildly due to an improvement in limelight episodes and breakthroughs as trainers, though some still regard them as dead weight and less interesting protagonists.
* Gou. While he's liked by some for being a {{Foil}} to Ash, with a goal that addresses the English slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him to be a rather uninteresting character, especially compared to Ash, with nothing going for him other than his goal. His poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initially liked him or were neutral began to turn on him as he acted apathetic to Scorbunny's situation and hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
* Koharu has detractors since for not being very involved in the series, her first focus episode happening 11 episodes into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about not liking Pokémon (albeit with the exception of her Yamper, though even then she still needed some time to grow closer to it) and her very cold attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
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*
* Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
* May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty
* Dawn is either loved for being
* Cilan. Either he
* Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
* Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]], which was addressed in later episodes that tried to develop her character further, but then again, [[spoiler:being the first female companion of Ash to actually ''kiss'' him, as well as being the first person to do it on the lips]], may have upset the shippers.
* Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress (in fairness, because of a repressed memory coming out) and gaining it back with no work of her own (when she fully understands the memory and after she is rescued from Faba) and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsPet as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would
* Gou. While he's liked by some for being a {{Foil}} to Ash, with a goal that addresses the English slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him to be a rather uninteresting character, especially compared to Ash, with nothing going for him other than his goal. His poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initially liked him or were neutral began to turn on him as he acted apathetic to Scorbunny's situation and hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
* Koharu has detractors since for not being very involved in the series, her first focus episode happening 11 episodes into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about not liking Pokémon (albeit with the exception of her Yamper, though even then she still needed some time to grow closer to it) and her very cold attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
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[[folder:Ash's Rivals]]
* Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
* Ritchie. Detractors usually refer to him as "Ash, but better" and hate him for being the one Ash wound up losing to in the Indigo League. Supporters counter that his similarities to Ash made him a good {{Foil}} to the then-jerkier Ash and a likable character in his own right. Its also pointed out that most of the hate surrounding him is [[NeverLiveItDown unwarranted]] since he was the person who was ''least'' responsible for Ash loosing.
* Paul. There are many who would call him one of the best-written rivals Ash has ever had, with many liking him for his jerkier personality akin to the rivals of earlier games, valid criticisms and/or representation of [[StopHavingFunGuys overly competitive players]], and for giving Ash one of the best fights in the series. However, there are others who don't like him for his perceived favoritism by the writers, weak motivation for pursuing strength, and for [[KarmaHoudini not being punished]] for his more heinous actions, especially concerning his treatment of Chimchar before he released it.
* Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
* Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
* Alain. At his debut, he was near-universally loved, especially by the PeripheryDemographic, with very few detractors. Fans loved him for being different from Ash, the specials he starred in having more mature writing, being well-developed as a character, slowly becoming a good {{Foil}} to Ash (especially by the end of the 4th Mega Evolution Special)[[note]]WordOfGod is that Alain is an {{Expy}} of Anakin Skywalker, falling into villainy for those he loved[[/note]], having a [[WolverinePublicity Charizard]], and using Mega Evolution, which none of the main cast would use through the entirety of the series. What few detractors he had didn't like him for winning almost all his fights, suddenly choosing to take part in the Kalos League, and for being able to collect all the badges within 7 episodes of Ash mentioning the Kalos League to him. [[spoiler:Then he defeated Ash at the Kalos League, and opinions on his character inevitably divided ''hard'', mostly concerning whether or not his win was justified and the role his character played on a meta scale in yanking the chain of both Ash and the longtime fans.[[note]]WordOfGod also mentioned that Alain being Ash's final opponent was planned from the very start.[[/note]]]]
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much to make a meaningful rivalry with Ash.
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
* Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
* Ritchie. Detractors usually refer to him as "Ash, but better" and hate him for being the one Ash wound up losing to in the Indigo League. Supporters counter that his similarities to Ash made him a good {{Foil}} to the then-jerkier Ash and a likable character in his own right. Its also pointed out that most of the hate surrounding him is [[NeverLiveItDown unwarranted]] since he was the person who was ''least'' responsible for Ash loosing.
* Paul. There are many who would call him one of the best-written rivals Ash has ever had, with many liking him for his jerkier personality akin to the rivals of earlier games, valid criticisms and/or representation of [[StopHavingFunGuys overly competitive players]], and for giving Ash one of the best fights in the series. However, there are others who don't like him for his perceived favoritism by the writers, weak motivation for pursuing strength, and for [[KarmaHoudini not being punished]] for his more heinous actions, especially concerning his treatment of Chimchar before he released it.
* Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
* Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
* Alain. At his debut, he was near-universally loved, especially by the PeripheryDemographic, with very few detractors. Fans loved him for being different from Ash, the specials he starred in having more mature writing, being well-developed as a character, slowly becoming a good {{Foil}} to Ash (especially by the end of the 4th Mega Evolution Special)[[note]]WordOfGod is that Alain is an {{Expy}} of Anakin Skywalker, falling into villainy for those he loved[[/note]], having a [[WolverinePublicity Charizard]], and using Mega Evolution, which none of the main cast would use through the entirety of the series. What few detractors he had didn't like him for winning almost all his fights, suddenly choosing to take part in the Kalos League, and for being able to collect all the badges within 7 episodes of Ash mentioning the Kalos League to him. [[spoiler:Then he defeated Ash at the Kalos League, and opinions on his character inevitably divided ''hard'', mostly concerning whether or not his win was justified and the role his character played on a meta scale in yanking the chain of both Ash and the longtime fans.[[note]]WordOfGod also mentioned that Alain being Ash's final opponent was planned from the very start.[[/note]]]]
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much to make a meaningful rivalry with Ash.
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
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*
* The Generation IV evolutions of older generation Pokemon. Either they're hideous design departures from their pre-evolutions (not helped by many being [[ReplacementScrappy evolutions]] of [[FirstInstallmentWins first generation mons]]) or creative evolutions of [[NostalgiaFilter otherwise forgettable mons]]. The former opinion was widely held when they were first revealed, but over time, the evolutions grew on many fans.
** Out of these evolutions, Rhyperior deserves special mention. While it's a very powerful Pokémon whose ability promotes much more
* Ritchie. Detractors usually refer
** In general, it seemed that the evolutions of the Gen 1 Pokémon (ex. Lickilicky and Tangrowth) sparked the most controversy, while the evolutions of Gen 2 Pokémon (ex. Weavile and Honchkrow) and Gen 3 Pokémon (ex. Gallade and Roserade) were more warmly received.
* Certain designs tend to get singled out as being "Uncreative" ("Uncreative" here being a code word for "I hate
* Garchomp. You either love it for being an Uber Badass dragon, or hate
* Paul. There are many who would call him
* Lucario is either given too much attention or just out-and-out awesome.
* Arceus. Many don't take too kindly to the notion that it's supposed to be {{God}}, as it makes other deified legendaries look obsolete. Its stats, ability, and movepool are certainly worthy of praise as god-like, though ironically, Arceus itself is on the receiving end of obsoleteness in later generations [[PowerCreep with
* The number of [[OlympusMons Legendaries]] introduced in these games garners enthusiasm from half the fan base for
* The Bronzor line. On the one hand, they have very high defenses and their Steel/Psychic typing made them weak to either Fire or Ground (depending on ability) [[note]]Heatproof or Levitate respectively[[/note]] until Gen VI. On the other hand, they're just another AnimateInanimateObject Pokémon, and some fans don't cotton to those. There's also the fact that Steel losing resistances to Dark and Ghost in Gen VI and the constant (yet unnecessary) nerfs towards Psychic completely shattered its viability.
* The evolutions of previous Gen Pokémon (especially [[NostalgiaFilter Gen 1 Pokémon]] like Rhydon) got heavy flak when first introduced, often called unnecessary and abominations of the older Mons; it's not helping that some of them [[ScrappyMechanic evolve via trading while holding a specifc item]] and are [[PowerUpLetdown outclassed by their pre-evolutions]] after the introduction of Eviolite in Gen V. [[VindicatedByHistory Over time]], more people joined the side that recognized them as redemptions to Mons considered mediocre to forgettable beforehand, although some of their visual designs are still controversial. Possibly as a result, only Eevee has continued to receive new evolutions, though some Pokémon do have regional variants with new evolutions as of [[VideoGame/PokemonSwordAndShield Generation VIII]].
* Cynthia is either a badass Champion with a near perfect-team who also has an endearing personality
* Team Galactic. Some view them as an entertaining team with a CrazyAwesome goal led by the
* Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
* Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some.
* Alain. At his debut, he was near-universally loved, especially by the PeripheryDemographic,
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
Changed line(s) 49,52 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Villains]]
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people love her AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain. The fact that Faba took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we'd already seen manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that the first female main antagonist of the games was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
to:
!!Humans
*
* Alder. His fans appreciate his depth and backstory as well as half his team (particularly his ace Volcarona) displaying the power of Bugs, while his detractors deride him for [[spoiler:losing to N and being a lackluster PostFinalBoss after the much bigger challenge defeating Ghetsis.]]
* Hugh. When artwork of him was first shown, almost everyone fell in love with how badass he looked, with many expecting him to be another {{Jerkass}} rival in the same vein as Blue and Silver. But once his role in the story was unveiled, fan opinion of him became largely mixed--Some praised him for being the first rival in the series to have a fleshed out backstory and whose motivation wasn't to just be stronger than the protagonist, while others disliked the fact that all he cared about was Team Plasma and wasn't really much of a rival, fighting alongside you more times than against you.
* Marlon. Some like his unique design and found his SurferDude personality and role in the game amusing, while others hate his design and think he looks ridiculous, and found his personality and laid-back attitude regarding Team Plasma to be incredibly irritating.
* Whether Iris being the new champion was a good move or not. [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} Her anime counterpart]], [[NeverLiveItDown who is very polarizing herself]], affects most of the fan reactions even to those who are okay with her in-game personality. Some prefer the previous set of protagonists to be the champion instead, since Iris already replaces them in the anime.
!!Pokemon
* Oshawott's family. Some people love
* Serperior, prior to ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'', was popular for its design but infamous for being one of the weakest starters in the entire series, even for in-game purposes. At the time of release of ''Black'' and ''White'', this caused the Snivy line's popularity to drop drastically after a brief period of insane [[MemeticMutation memetic]] popularity.
* Emboar remains one of the most
* Aside from the starters, you have Vanillite and Trubbish, who have been the start of
* Both forms of Kyurem got mixed reception. On the one hand, they have the highest base stat totals after [[{{God}} Arceus]], not counting Mega Evolutions and Primal Reversions. On the other hand, many think their asymmetrical, complicated designs don't do justice to the highly popular Reshiram and Zekrom required to create them.
* Several Mega-Evolutions have gained a divisive reception, the most divisive ones being those for single-stage Pokémon and those with relatively low stat totals, such as Sableye, Mawile, Audino, and Banette. A number of fans believe they should have been standard evolutions with adjusted stats, with some citing [[TierInducedScrappy Mega Banette and Mega Audino's poor competitive standings]] and the cross-generation evolutions introduced in Gen IV as proof they would have fit in as such. Others maintain that
Changed line(s) 55,64 (click to see context) from:
[[folder:Pokemon]]
* Dawn's Piplup. Either seen as one of the most annoying mons in the series, or adorable and full of personality.
* Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard that gave Iris undeserved victories?
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance with Necrozma. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not doing much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further. However, Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately, Ash had to release it again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
* Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. [[spoiler:It leaving Mallow at the very end of the series did it no favors, despite its unique eyes, compared to other Shaymin, being a hint that it reincarnated from Mallow's deceased mother, whom had the same eyes.]]
to:
!!XY
*
* Both versions of Mega Mewtwo are this; while they are praised for their high, record-breaking base stats (X and Y have the highest Attack and Special Attack of all Pokémon, respectively), there is some debate on how good their designs look compared to each other as well as base Mewtwo. For a while, Mega Mewtwo Y got some extra hate for its association with [[ReplacementScrappy the unpopular "new" Mewtwo character]] from [[Anime/PokemonGenesectAndTheLegendAwakened the 16th movie]], which was eventually fixed by giving the same form to the far more popular Mewtwo in ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'' (primarily based on [[Anime/PokemonTheFirstMovie the first movie]]).
* Mega Venusaur and Mega Heracross are well-liked for their competitive potential, but are disliked by some for their ugly designs, similar to Heatran and Conkeldurr.
* Both of Charizard's Mega Evolutions are this. While it's generally agreed that it deserved a Mega Evolution, the handling of the Mega Evolutions themselves are often debated.
** Mega Charizard X. It seems to be the most popular Mega Evolution of all for [[PanderingToTheBase granting the longtime fan request of turning Charizard into a Dragon-type Pokémon]], but also gets a hefty heaping of ItsPopularNowItSucks (especially from [[OutOfFocus Charizard Y]] fans and Charizard haters) and gets some flak over its black and overly "edgy" design, plus the fact Charizard's Shiny counterpart is already black, which makes it seem less unique. It also came under [[{{Pun}} fire]] near the end of the ''XYZ'' [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} anime]] season for [[spoiler: being the Pokémon that Ash loses to]].
** Mega Charizard Y is also this, often resulting in FandomRivalry with Mega Charizard X. Some fans prefer it over X for its more recognizable color scheme and playing like a supercharged version of base Charizard, with extremely high Sp. Atk and Fire attacks further boosted by Drought. Others believe that X's Fire/Dragon typing makes Y redundant and that it had no real reason to exist other than to [[TrollingCreator dupe the fandom]] for a few weeks, as Charizard's Fire/Flying typing was vocally maligned by many fans who wanted it to somehow gain access to the Dragon type, and Y's reveal caused backlash due to its lack of Dragon typing.
** In general, there are [[{{Pun}} heated]] arguments in the fandom about whether Charizard deserved two Mega Evolutions in the first place, and whether its PopularityPower was enough to justify its priority over Venusaur and Blastoise. Some fans believe that the best solution would have been to have a singular "Mega Charizard" with X's Fire/Dragon typing and Y's more immediately impressive stats and Ability.
* Mega Gyarados, in a similar vein to Mega Charizard Y. Some fans maligned it for its more bulky, less streamlined design, as well as its lack of Dragon typing (as Gyarados was second only to Charizard in terms of fan requests to make it into a Water/Dragon type). Others like its darker and more colorful design, and find its Water/Dark typing [[EvilIsCool appealing]] and very fitting for Gyarados' nature -- particularly as it finally gives a Gen I Pokémon access to the Dark type (aside from the later Alolan forms and earlier true cross-generational evolutions such as Umbreon).
* All three of the starter's final evolved forms draw a lot of mixed reactions among fandoms.
** With Chesnaught, some like its bulky knight design, while other think it's too generic next to the others and too much of a departure from its pre-evolutions[[note]]despite it being {{Justified|Trope}} [[ShownTheirWork because of the way chestnuts mature]][[/note]].
** With Delphox, some fans like its design along its typing since the previous three fire starter were Fire/Fighting. On the other hand, some fans dislike its design along with its typing since it gives Delphox five typing weaknesses and its rather shallow movepool compare to Greninja and Chesnaught. Because of this, Delphox is always used as an example on how far Psychic-types have fallen since their [[GameBreaker reign of terror]] in Gen I.
** With Greninja, it comes down to its ''tongue scarf'' of all things. Either
* ''X'' and ''Y'' turned Lucario into this, as these were the games where its WolverinePublicity was cranked up from previous appearances. Lucario's previous appearance in ''VideoGame/PokemonBlack2AndWhite2'' was very well-liked for turning a previously extremely rare, yet extremely popular Pokémon with LateCharacterSyndrome into one of the
* Ash's Infernape. Great character
* Shauna and Trevor. Like many of the other plot-relevant characters, they have received a lot of criticism for their rather bland and lackluster characterizations, especially compared to those of past rivals. However, they also have their fair share of fans who enjoy them in spite of all their shortcomings. Points used in their favor include their cute designs, their quirky and likable (to half the fans anyway) personalities, mild CharacterDevelopment,
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature
* The Fairy Type has drawn some consternation for being {{Retcon}}ned onto pre-existing Pokémon
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass,
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship
* Dedenne's reception is unusually polarizing. On one hand, fans hate Dedenne for
!!ORAS
* Mega Sableye. While its ability and stat boosts make it
* Mega Salamence. On one hand, people love how its wings have combined into a dual-function glider/blade and are happy the dragon can come back after the
* Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and
* Mega Slowbro. Some think it has an unbelievably stupid design, while others
* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one
* Mega Gallade. Its Mega Evolution does have a sizable fanbase who are relieved that it gets one after getting overshadowed by Mega Gardevoir, but some fans thought that its Inner Focus ability is not as impressive as Mega Gardevoir's Pixilate and are not that pleased that it is not part-[[InfinityPlusOneElement Fairy]].
* Zinnia. Some fans love her for her cool design, great battle theme, badass dragons, tragic backstory, and enjoyable personality. Others
* Wally, originally an EnsembleDarkhorse, has become one due to
Added DiffLines:
[[folder:Gen VII]]
!!SM:
* Popplio was the most polarizing starter -- its big personality and quirky circus clown design caught a lot of flak online. This only made Popplio's fans more vocal, catching the attention of ''[[http://kotaku.com/pour-one-out-for-popplio-the-new-pokemon-starter-that-1776125803 Kotaku]]'', [[http://www.technobuffalo.com/2016/05/12/pokemon-sun-and-moon-popplio-hate-defense/ here]] and ''[[https://www.destructoid.com/damn-y-all-hate-popplio-361175.phtml Destructoid]]'', among others.
* The starters' middle evolutions unsurprisingly became this upon their reveal, with Brionne once again getting the worst of it. There are people saying that its design and backstory were adorable and won them over; others think Brionne's design looked no better than its pre-evolution. Some even claim that Brionne's design is even worse, and even some people who had previously defended Popplio from its haters promptly turned against it just because of what it evolved into. One common complaint against Brionne is that its design is "too feminine"; the best explanation is that while [[OlderThanTheyThink there have been other feminine-looking starters in the past]] such as Braixen and Meganium, Brionne's design extensively uses feminine TertiarySexualCharacteristics despite its gender ratio favoring males, similar to Sylveon. Then you have Dartrix, whose design is divisive and its BrainlessBeauty nature being either hilarious or unlikable. Torracat is by far the most liked of the three for following RuleOfCool, but early signs of its controversial evolution were a point against it.
* To absolutely nobody's surprise, the starters' final evolutions are also divisive.
** This time, Litten's final evolution Incineroar is the most controversial of the trio. While a cat evolving into a tiger has been an extremely popular fan idea for a Fire-type starter line, most of the debate surrounding Incineroar comes from the fact that it has the look and feel of the Fire/Fighting starters from Generations III through V, and most fans have been dreading getting another Fire/Fighting starter ever since. However, Incineroar breaks the mold by being a Fire/[[CombatPragmatist Dark]] type[[note]]only shared with the Houndour line[[/note]] and being very clearly themed on ''both'' black cat superstitions and {{heel}} wrestlers; some fans appreciate these elements and find that they make Incineroar cool and unique with lots of personality (and even see Incineroar as a deliberate homage and EvilCounterpart to the Fire/Fighting archetype), while others see them as half-hearted excuses for having yet another Fire/Fighting-esque starter without the actual typing, and a deliberate slap in the face to those dreading yet ''another'' bipedal fire starter. Other people don't mind that Incineroar is bipedal, but don't like its strange, top-heavy body proportions (while it has a buff chest and upper arms, its lower torso, lower arms and legs are oddly thin in comparison, the arms to the point that its ''fingers'' are thicker than its wrists, and its body in general has a lack of muscle toning that makes its arms have tubelike shapes) that have been likened to making Incineroar look like a balloon and throw it into the UncannyValley for those kinds of detractors. Two years after its reveal, however, it was revealed as the surprise new Pokémon fighter for ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' as a unique pro-wrestling styled character, winning over many of its previous detractors in the process and drawing more attention to its cool and lovable personality rather than its more contentious aspects.
** Primarina has its fans for its beautiful design, amazing defensive typing and surprisingly diverse movepool, while its haters have many of the same complaints about it as its pre-evolutions, although most people agree that it's more aesthetically pleasing than Brionne. Its Hidden Ability, Liquid Voice, is generally considered to be lackluster as most of the sound-based moves that it can learn are inferior to Surf and Sparkling Aria outside of Hyper Voice not hitting allies, and is further hampered by the fact that it is the only type-altering ability that does not power up its affected moves.
** As for Decidueye, some people like it for its unique and badass archer-owl design with a fantastic Grass/Ghost typing, while others accuse it of having an awkward design and having a typing that seemingly came out of the left field. While it has a nice range of status moves and has a fantastic niche as a False Swiper thanks to those moves and being part-Ghost, it has a horrendously shallow offensive movepool compared to Incineroar and Primarina, a ridiculously high special attack despite learning very few special moves (none of which were available through leveling-up prior to ''Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon''), and some people would have preferred it to have stayed part-Flying like its pre-evolutions. While it was the most popular out of the three starters (its case became more arguable after Incineroar made it into ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' over it), fans are undecided on whether it's a very cool Pokémon worthy of being the gen's BreakoutCharacter or whether it's a ToughActToFollow compared to Greninja with its much greater competitive worth and amazing Hidden Ability.
** Finally, an issue that some fans have with ''all three'' starters is their seemingly lackluster stat distributions, especially with regards to Speed (all three of them are very slow, yet too fast to use Trick Room). Incineroar's is probably the most controversial -- [[MightyGlacier while it has nice defensive stats]], Incineroar is the only starter to lose points in a stat upon evolving, dropping from Torracat's 90 speed to 60, ten points lower than Litten's, while its relatively useless 80 special attack stays unchanged. Some people saw this as [[ToughActToFollow a disappointment]] after the very fast and competitively viable Greninja, with a few people even making unfavorable comparisons to the infamous Unova starters. Others point out that Chesnaught and Delphox weren't that great themselves, and that the Alola starters still have type combinations, designs, personalities and lore that make them unique and likable. Incineroar, specifically, got [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome the opposite reaction]] in Doubles once its Hidden Ability was released, becoming one of the most BoringButPractical and groan-inducing Pokémon in the format and being used on practically every Doubles team.
* Bewear is considered either charming with a sad backstory, or stuck with a generic design that looks like a fanmade Pokémon. Even its ''name'' is divisive, with some feeling that it fits the character (who is TheDreaded to the Alola folk) while others are not able to get past the PunnyName and feel that its one of the worst English names in the series' history. Its pre-evolution has also gotten mixed reactions, with people either loving it and finding it adorable or hating it for having a bland Fakémon-esque design. Some of its silly yet badass portrayals in the anime and the NarmCharm animations of its Z moves have helped its reception, however.
* [[HistoryRepeats As with most inanimate object-based Pokémon]], Sandygast and Palossand. Some like their designs and find the concept of a possessed sandcastle awesome, while others feel they look creepy or uninspired and compare them unfavorably to ''VideoGame/YokaiWatch'' characters. Because of the latter, many fans of the sandcastle mons have taken to [[OlderThanTheyThink pointing out Gen I's laundry list of inanimate object Pokémon]] to defend them, just as what happened to other inanimate object-based Pokémon in generations past...except this time, this incited people to counter by saying that [[FranchiseOriginalSin just because it was there from the beginning]] doesn't mean it's acceptable now.
* As for Alolan Raichu, there are three groups: Those who love its cute design and are happy Raichu's finally getting some love, those who like the design but think it could be better, or those who hate Alolan Raichu's pastel-colored design. And that's not getting into whether Raichu should have gotten a Mega Evolution instead (assuming no Pokémon will get both). [[ItMakesAsMuchSenseInContext Its sparse lore]] for how it came to be doesn't help matters.
* The Ultra Beasts have been a point of massive dispute, mainly over the speculation fueled by the lack of knowledge of what they actually are and what role they play in the games' story (and their potential changes to Pokémon's formula). Some only dislike the ''term'' "Ultra Beast," which they argue sounds uncreative and like something straight from a lower-quality children's monster/fighting game.
** Their creepy designs are another point of contention; many people feel [[NonStandardCharacterDesign they don't look like Pokémon]], while their supporters argue that their designs [[IntendedAudienceReaction were meant to be jarring]] because [[AnimalisticAbomination they're not actually Pokémon]]. [[spoiler:TheReveal that they can be caught and used in battle and that they're just extradimensional Pokémon is a source of further dispute; many fans like that they stand out from other Pokémon and are surprisingly good in competitive battling, while others feel they should have been exclusive to special boss battles and shouldn't count as normal Pokémon.]]
** UB-02 Absorption/[[spoiler:Buzzwole]] in particular has garnered mixed reactions. People either love it for being a menacing, towering bug abomination or hate it for its somewhat silly ridiculously muscular design that makes it look like someone's [[Manga/JoJosBizarreAdventure Stand]]. [[TakeAThirdOption And, of course,]] some people [[NarmCharm love it]] ''[[NarmCharm because]]'' [[NarmCharm of said ridiculous, Stand-esque design]].
** UB-05 Glutton/[[spoiler:Guzzlord]] has also been a point of contention. Some people love it for its menacing, eldritch design while others find its design to be a generic, {{narm}}y one reminiscent of a 90's MonsterOfTheWeek. Similar to UB-02 Absorption above, [[TakeAThirdOption a third group of people]] [[NarmCharm love it because of its silly design.]] However, unlike the above-mentioned Absorption, UB-05 is hated by a fourth camp for [[TierInducedScrappy being rather poor in competitive]] in contrast to its beastly design, especially compared to the other Ultra Beasts.
* Ash-Greninja. Some love it, seeing it as a cool nod to the anime and like the fact that fan favorite Greninja has access to a Mega Evolution-like form change. Others (particularly detractors of the anime and Ash Ketchum) hate that [[Anime/{{Pokemon}} the anime]] is being acknowledged or are sick of Greninja, whom they perceive as a SpotlightStealingSquad.
* Alolan Persian. Some people like its fat face as it makes it look more like a persian-breed cat. Others are bothered by the bobble-head look or wanted it to stay closer to Kanto's Persian. Access to the ability Fur Coat gives Alolan Persian the last laugh in competitive play, however, making it more popular in that aspect, but it's still a divisive Pokémon overall due to said design.
* The Rotom Pokedex. Some like it for being a {{cute|Machines}} and [[DeadpanSnarker snarky]] RobotBuddy, others consider it a SmallAnnoyingCreature and feel it comes off as a KidAppealCharacter. There's also factors relating to its function that garner controversy, as its map and Pokédex are both commonly seen as inferior to those in ''Omega Ruby'' and ''Alpha Sapphire'', and its presence and position on the touch screen facilitating the removal of Gen VI's menu buttons.
* Hau being yet another FriendlyRival had many fans irritated. Some like his sunny demeanor, his blasé attitude to losing, and think his relationship with his grandfather makes him developed. Others find his personality overdone and generic, and his attitude to losing patronizing and obnoxious.
* Even Lillie gets a lot of this treatment. Her fans find her to be one of the best characters in the game, and possibly even rivaling N as one of the most developed characters in the series. Her detractors, on the other hand, find her to be a bland, overrated character that overshadows the protagonists (this is also connected to game's controversial increased focus on story, as the majority of the story is about her and her family and a group of her detractors accusing her of being a Purity Sue because of this). Her newfound confidence [[spoiler:after her SignificantWardrobeShift]] is especially controversial; many fans find it to be well-done and endearing, while her detractors either find it overly {{Narm}}-y and annoying Personality-wise, people either think she's an adorable, interesting and tragic character, or find her too bland and generic, being made of traits that make her appealing to the audience, rather than making her an interesting and rounded character.
!!USUM
* Lusamine's [[AdaptationalHeroism portrayal in USUM]] has split the fandom down the middle. There are many who think Lusamine in the original ''Sun and Moon'' was one of [[LoveToHate the best, most twisted and dark]] villains in the franchise, and are outraged that not only is she changed into a [[WellIntentionedExtremist well-intentioned]] and [[AntiVillain sympathetic]] character who gets a clear-cut [[HeelFaceTurn redemption]], but that she goes from the first female BigBad to TheHeavy as Necrozma takes her former spot and ''then'' a DistressedDamsel in the postgame Rainbow Rocket episode. On the flip side, there are fans who feel that Lusamine [[UnintentionallyUnsympathetic was never supposed to come across as vile as she did]] in the original games, given all the [[InformedAttribute informed statements]] about how she was kinder in the past, how she was under the influence of Nihilego's neurotoxins and had an offscreen change of heart after her defeat, and that her [[TheSociopath sociopathic insanity]] and [[AbusiveParents abusive nature]] were too over the top, and are glad that these games actually humanize her and makes her someone you respect enough to ''want'' to rescue.
* The Rotom Dex continues to be a divisive character. For some people, the reintroduction of O-Powers in the form of Roto Powers, the new ways to interact with it and the chance for it to let you use two Z-Moves in one battle have redeemed it, while others can't stand how much its AnnoyingVideogameHelper side has been ramped up to the point where at times, most of your returns to the main overworld are accompanied by it blocking out the map with unwanted (which Rotom even lampshades) pieces of advice that many don't find helpful.
* Lycanroc's Dusk Form is somewhat divisive. Initially, some people complained it was simply Midday Lycanroc with an orange coat, green eyes and Midnight Form's mane attached. Others began to like it after finding out that it would have Tough Claws. After it was revealed to be an [[TemporaryOnlineContent event-exclusive]] evolution (which reminds of the [[VideoGame/PokemonBlackAndWhite Zorua line fiasco]]) it got disliked once more - though this aspect died down after it was revealed that it would be able to breed offspring that evolves into Dusk Form. Tensions flared up again when it was discovered following the game's release that Dusk Form has Midday Form's statspread and movepool with the sole differences of two points taken from speed and placed into attack, having access to Counter and two more tutor moves. Some people believe these factors make it much better than Midday, others are worried about its viability since a little change in speed can mean a lot of difference in competitive potential, and some were disappointed that its stats weren't either a combination of or average between Midday and Midnight's statspreads, while others still insist that the ability to use Z-Happy Hour makes up for this.
* Ultra Necrozma has many fans that love it for its golden angelic design, being a bigger GameBreaker than Arceus, and being [[BestBossEver one of the best boss fights in the core series]]. Others however, aren't fond of [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks having]] ''[[ItsTheSameNowItSucks another]]'' [[ItsTheSameNowItSucks Dragon-type third Legendary]], or of Ultra Necrozma rendering Dawn Wings Necrozma almost totally obsolete.
[[/folder]]
!Anime
[[folder:Main Cast]]
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
----
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. [[spoiler:This was most evident after Ash won the Alola League, with people either wanting Ash to stay as the protagonist or feeling that Ash's story was over and that it was time for someone else to be the main character.]]
** In terms of characterization, Ash's sanitation into the NiceGuy from Johto onward. There are those that like Ash being nicer as it made him a more likable character and felt it was a natural progression for him. Those who don't like it feel that Ash was more interesting back when he was still jerky and that his sanitation into the NiceGuy made him more of a VanillaProtagonist.
** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person, with the sole exception of him still being ObliviousToLove.
** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
* Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and started becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all.[[note]]The divide is more [[AmericansHateTingle cultural]] in this case, as the majority of detractors are Japanese, or fans of Dogasu's Backpack (whom emphasizes the Japanese versions), and those in favor of the more serious Team Rocket are Western audiences.[[/note]] Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ash's Companions]]
* Brock was a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees was either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
* Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
* May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
* Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
* Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a spotlight hogger for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
* Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
* Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]], which was addressed in later episodes that tried to develop her character further, but then again, [[spoiler:being the first female companion of Ash to actually ''kiss'' him, as well as being the first person to do it on the lips]], may have upset the shippers.
* Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress (in fairness, because of a repressed memory coming out) and gaining it back with no work of her own (when she fully understands the memory and after she is rescued from Faba) and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsPet as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. By ''Ultra Legends'' their reputation calmed mildly due to an improvement in limelight episodes and breakthroughs as trainers, though some still regard them as dead weight and less interesting protagonists.
* Gou. While he's liked by some for being a {{Foil}} to Ash, with a goal that addresses the English slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him to be a rather uninteresting character, especially compared to Ash, with nothing going for him other than his goal. His poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initially liked him or were neutral began to turn on him as he acted apathetic to Scorbunny's situation and hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
* Koharu has detractors since for not being very involved in the series, her first focus episode happening 11 episodes into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about not liking Pokémon (albeit with the exception of her Yamper, though even then she still needed some time to grow closer to it) and her very cold attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ash's Rivals]]
* Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
* Ritchie. Detractors usually refer to him as "Ash, but better" and hate him for being the one Ash wound up losing to in the Indigo League. Supporters counter that his similarities to Ash made him a good {{Foil}} to the then-jerkier Ash and a likable character in his own right. Its also pointed out that most of the hate surrounding him is [[NeverLiveItDown unwarranted]] since he was the person who was ''least'' responsible for Ash loosing.
* Paul. There are many who would call him one of the best-written rivals Ash has ever had, with many liking him for his jerkier personality akin to the rivals of earlier games, valid criticisms and/or representation of [[StopHavingFunGuys overly competitive players]], and for giving Ash one of the best fights in the series. However, there are others who don't like him for his perceived favoritism by the writers, weak motivation for pursuing strength, and for [[KarmaHoudini not being punished]] for his more heinous actions, especially concerning his treatment of Chimchar before he released it.
* Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
* Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
* Alain. At his debut, he was near-universally loved, especially by the PeripheryDemographic, with very few detractors. Fans loved him for being different from Ash, the specials he starred in having more mature writing, being well-developed as a character, slowly becoming a good {{Foil}} to Ash (especially by the end of the 4th Mega Evolution Special)[[note]]WordOfGod is that Alain is an {{Expy}} of Anakin Skywalker, falling into villainy for those he loved[[/note]], having a [[WolverinePublicity Charizard]], and using Mega Evolution, which none of the main cast would use through the entirety of the series. What few detractors he had didn't like him for winning almost all his fights, suddenly choosing to take part in the Kalos League, and for being able to collect all the badges within 7 episodes of Ash mentioning the Kalos League to him. [[spoiler:Then he defeated Ash at the Kalos League, and opinions on his character inevitably divided ''hard'', mostly concerning whether or not his win was justified and the role his character played on a meta scale in yanking the chain of both Ash and the longtime fans.[[note]]WordOfGod also mentioned that Alain being Ash's final opponent was planned from the very start.[[/note]]]]
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much to make a meaningful rivalry with Ash.
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Villains]]
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people love her AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain. The fact that Faba took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we'd already seen manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that the first female main antagonist of the games was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Pokemon]]
* Dawn's Piplup. Either seen as one of the most annoying mons in the series, or adorable and full of personality.
* Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard that gave Iris undeserved victories?
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance with Necrozma. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not doing much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further. However, Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately, Ash had to release it again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
* Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. [[spoiler:It leaving Mallow at the very end of the series did it no favors, despite its unique eyes, compared to other Shaymin, being a hint that it reincarnated from Mallow's deceased mother, whom had the same eyes.]]
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Movies]]
* The Iron Masked Marauder. People either admire him for his voice, design, and for posing a genuine threat, or view him as a boring villain with a generic motive and [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter loads of wasted potential]].
* Alva is seen as a FlatCharacter who, like many ''Pokémon'' movie villains before him, has no backstory, personality, or motive beyond greed. Then there are those who would look past this because of his "forced Mega Evolution" gimmick.
* Zorua is either a cute and interesting character, or almost completely insufferable, depending on who you ask.
* Some hate Kodai for doing things that many consider far too bleak and horrible for the series, while others [[LoveToHate love him for that exact reason]].
* Sorrel and Verity, as well as Cross. Some see them as fine characters, others see them as [[ReplacementScrappy Replacement Scrappies]] to Misty, Brock, and Gary--or [[ForWantOfANail creating an alternate timeline]] where [[FandomSpecificPlot Serena never moved to Kalos]]. Cross's design feels like a bad [=OC=] from [=DeviantArt=] to some.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:''Adventures'']]
* Red. Fans either love him for being the original hero, or hate him because they find him to be {{The Generic Guy}} among a main cast full of characters with more interesting personalities.
* Yellow is seen as either a perfectly fine character or hated due to her unique powers and RedStringOfFate with Red.
* Blake is a rather controversial character (at least in the west) with fans either disliking or appreciating his [[TheStoic cold and arrogant]] [[TheAce Mr. Perfect]] personality, to say nothing of those who dislike him [[ReplacementScrappy for replacing Black.]]
* Shauna is a rare case of a non-Dexholder example. Some find her pessimism, a complete 180 degree flip from her game canon counterpart, to be off-putting. Others find it refreshing and point out that it makes sense given what happened to X.
[[/folder]]
* Red. Fans either love him for being the original hero, or hate him because they find him to be {{The Generic Guy}} among a main cast full of characters with more interesting personalities.
* Yellow is seen as either a perfectly fine character or hated due to her unique powers and RedStringOfFate with Red.
* Blake is a rather controversial character (at least in the west) with fans either disliking or appreciating his [[TheStoic cold and arrogant]] [[TheAce Mr. Perfect]] personality, to say nothing of those who dislike him [[ReplacementScrappy for replacing Black.]]
* Shauna is a rare case of a non-Dexholder example. Some find her pessimism, a complete 180 degree flip from her game canon counterpart, to be off-putting. Others find it refreshing and point out that it makes sense given what happened to X.
[[/folder]]
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[[folder:''GO'']]
* Ever since the [[https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CoKSMI2XgAABNam.jpg Team Leaders' official artwork has been released]], Spark has been pretty hotly debated. Many fans say, especially compared to Blanche and Candela, that he looks like a dweeb and the least threatening of the three. However, some people are drawn to him exactly for that reason, he's the only one who actually looks like he's enjoying himself while the other two look awfully [[SeriousBusiness serious and severe]].
* The various "Eevee-lutions" (Vaporeon in particular) are either loved because they're easy to get or hated because they're extremely powerful in comparison to other Pokémon which are much harder to obtain. Eevee itself counts too since some people love it for being a BreakoutCharacter after multiple generations, or hate it because its spawn rate is too common for a supposedly rare Pokémon.
* Heracross being exclusive to South America. Many players have mixed views regarding ''a popular Pokémon based on {{Japanese beetle|Brothers}}s but being exclusive to South America''. Some people think South America is a good place to catch beetles, while others wished it could spawn globally like its counterparts Pinsir and Scyther/Scizor. Few people even pointed out that this region-exclusivity rule should be kept for [[SuperMode Mega Heracross]], not normal Heracross (given its Mega form being based on Hercules beetles which are native to South America).
[[/folder]]
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* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. [[spoiler:It leaving Mallow at the very end of the series did it no favors.]]
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* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. [[spoiler:It leaving Mallow at the very end of the series did it no favors.favors, despite its unique eyes, compared to other Shaymin, being a hint that it reincarnated from Mallow's deceased mother, whom had the same eyes.]]
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* Koharu has detractors since for not being very involved in the series, her first focus episode happening 11 episodes into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about not liking Pokémon and her very cold attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
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* Koharu has detractors since for not being very involved in the series, her first focus episode happening 11 episodes into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about not liking Pokémon (albeit with the exception of her Yamper, though even then she still needed some time to grow closer to it) and her very cold attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
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* Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsPet as well.
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* Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress (in fairness, because of a repressed memory coming out) and gaining it back with no work of her own (when she fully understands the memory and after she is rescued from Faba) and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsPet as well.
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* Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
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* Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].Ash]], which was addressed in later episodes that tried to develop her character further, but then again, [[spoiler:being the first female companion of Ash to actually ''kiss'' him, as well as being the first person to do it on the lips]], may have upset the shippers.
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* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and started becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
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* Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and started becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. [[note]]The divide is more [[AmericansHateTingle cultural]] in this case, as the majority of detractors are Japanese, or fans of Dogasu's Backpack (whom emphasizes the Japanese versions), and those in favor of the more serious Team Rocket are Western audiences.[[/note]] Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
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** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person.
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** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person.person, with the sole exception of him still being ObliviousToLove.
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!Anime
!!Main cast
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
!!Main cast
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
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!!Main cast
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are
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* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced.[[spoiler:This was most evident after Ash won the Alola League, with people either wanting Ash to stay as the protagonist or feeling that Ash's story was over and that it was time for someone else to be the main character.]]
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[[foldercontrol]]
!Games
!Anime
[[folder:Main Cast]]
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
----
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. [[spoiler:This was most evident after Ash won the Alola League, with people either wanting Ash to stay as the protagonist or feeling that Ash's story was over and that it was time for someone else to be the main character.
** In terms of characterization, Ash's sanitation into the NiceGuy from Johto onward. There are those that like Ash being nicer as it made him a more likable character and felt it was a natural progression for him. Those who don't like it feel that Ash was more interesting back when he was still jerky and that his sanitation into the NiceGuy made him more of a VanillaProtagonist.
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!!Ash's companions
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[[folder:Ash's Companions]]
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* Gou despite not being in the anime long has become this. While he's liked by some for being an foil to Ash with a goal that addresses the english slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him so far to be a rather uninteresting character especially compared to Ash with nothing going for him other than his goal and his poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initally liked him or was neutral began to turn on him as he acted apethic to Scorbunny's situation and so far hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
* Likewise Koharu has detractors since she hasn't been shown being involved in the series so far -- as her first focus episode was eleven episodes in -- with fans disliking her being passive about her not liking Pokémon and her very cold attitude while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
!!Ash's rivals
* Likewise Koharu has detractors since she hasn't been shown being involved in the series so far -- as her first focus episode was eleven episodes in -- with fans disliking her being passive about her not liking Pokémon and her very cold attitude while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
!!Ash's rivals
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* Gou despite not being in the anime long has become this. Gou. While he's liked by some for being an foil a {{Foil}} to Ash Ash, with a goal that addresses the english English slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him so far to be a rather uninteresting character character, especially compared to Ash Ash, with nothing going for him other than his goal and his goal. His poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initally initially liked him or was were neutral began to turn on him as he acted apethic apathetic to Scorbunny's situation and so far hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
*Likewise Koharu has detractors since she hasn't been shown for not being very involved in the series so far -- as series, her first focus episode was eleven happening 11 episodes in -- with fans disliking into the series. Some dislike her for being passive about her not liking Pokémon and her very cold attitude attitude, while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
!!Ash's rivals[[/folder]]
[[folder:Ash's Rivals]]
*
[[folder:Ash's Rivals]]
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* Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
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* Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from There are many who would call him one of the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] best-written rivals Ash has ever had, with many liking him for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking jerkier personality akin to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate the rivals of earlier games, valid criticisms and/or representation of [[StopHavingFunGuys overly competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because players]], and for giving Ash one of the few things that best fights in the series. However, there are accurate to said players others who don't like him for his perceived favoritism by the writers, weak motivation for pursuing strength, and for [[KarmaHoudini not being punished]] for his criticisms more heinous actions, especially concerning his treatment of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.Chimchar before he released it.
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* Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[YankTheDogsChain beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
!!Villains
!!Villains
to:
* Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, Alain. At his involvement debut, he was near-universally loved, especially by the PeripheryDemographic, with very few detractors. Fans loved him for being different from Ash, the league is either seen specials he starred in having more mature writing, being well-developed as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[YankTheDogsChain beat character, slowly becoming a good {{Foil}} to Ash (especially by the end of the 4th Mega Evolution Special)[[note]]WordOfGod is that Alain is an {{Expy}} of Anakin Skywalker, falling into villainy for those he loved[[/note]], having a [[WolverinePublicity Charizard]], and using Mega Evolution, which none of the main cast would use through the entirety of the series. What few detractors he had didn't like him for winning almost all his fights, suddenly choosing to take part in the league]], Kalos League, and for being able to collect all the base badges within 7 episodes of Ash mentioning the Kalos League to him. [[spoiler:Then he defeated Ash at the Kalos League, and opinions on his character inevitably divided even more, all of it ''hard'', mostly concerning if whether or not his win was justified and the role his character played on a meta scale in yanking the chain of both Ash should of won thanks to and the buildup.]]
!!Villainslongtime fans.[[note]]WordOfGod also mentioned that Alain being Ash's final opponent was planned from the very start.[[/note]]]]
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much to make a meaningful rivalry with Ash.
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Villains]]
!!Villains
* Hau. Many loved him for his NiceGuy personality while others thought his character was being shafted too much to make a meaningful rivalry with Ash.
* Gladion. Supporters love him for managing to stay badass and consistently prominent throughout ''Sun and Moon'' while detractors think his rivalry with Ash wasn't anywhere near as prominent as his other rivals.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Villains]]
Changed line(s) 31 (click to see context) from:
!!Pokemon
to:
[[folder:Pokemon]]
* Dawn's Piplup. Either seen as one of the most annoying mons in the series, or adorable and full of personality.
Changed line(s) 34,35 (click to see context) from:
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further. However, Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately, Ash had to release it again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further. However, Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately, Ash had to release it again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
to:
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story Charizard that gave Iris undeserved victory?
victories?
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance[[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. Necrozma. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done doing much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further. However, Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately, Ash had to release it again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance
Changed line(s) 37 (click to see context) from:
* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
to:
* The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. [[spoiler:It leaving Mallow at the very end of the series did it no favors.]]
[[/folder]]
!Manga
!Other
[[/folder]]
!Manga
!Other
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* Likewise Koharu has detractors since she hasn't been shown being involved in the series so far -- as her first focus episode was eleven episodes in -- with fans disliking her being passive about her not liking Pokémon and her very cold attitude while others like how her story arc is about not rushing into a goal in life.
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* Gou despite not being in the anime long has become this. While he's liked by some for being an foil to Ash with a goal that addresses the english slogan of "Gotta Catch em all!", he has detractors for other reasons. A lot of people find him so far to be a rather uninteresting character especially compared to Ash with nothing going for him other than his goal and his poor handling of his relationship with Scorbunny did him no favors. Even those who initally liked him or was neutral began to turn on him as he acted apethic to Scorbunny's situation and so far hasn't done much to mend their relationship.
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* Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. Their portrayal from ''XY'' onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
to:
Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
* Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced.
** In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga was at its best, some also feel that it made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a
** ''Sun and Moon'' tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remained very divisive as his character appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
!!Ash's companions
* Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
* May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
* Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
* May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
* Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
Changed line(s) 8,14 (click to see context) from:
* Ash's female companions:
** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
** May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
** Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
** Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
** Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
** May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
** Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
** Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
** Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
to:
* Ash's female companions:
** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
** May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
**Iris received a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She was also criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
** * Serena is probably the most divisive female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip people who shipped Ash with anyone else]], as well as accusations that she and Ash were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} to Ash's backstory to include her was also controversial, as was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
** * Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Girl]] of the group. The fanbase was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite CreatorsPet as well.
** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper makes her an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
** May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsided]] once Misty appeared with her and they become friends.
** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
**
Changed line(s) 16,30 (click to see context) from:
* Ash's rivals:
** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[YankTheDogsChain beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we'd already seen manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
* Pokemon:
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. And eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further.]] However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
** For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[YankTheDogsChain beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we'd already seen manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
* Pokemon:
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. And eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further.]] However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
** For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
to:
!!Ash's rivals
*Ash's rivals:
**Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
** Ritchie either serves * Ritchie. Detractors usually refer to him as "Ash, but better" and hate him for being the one Ash wound up losing to in the Indigo League. Supporters counter that his similarities to Ash made him a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or the then-jerkier Ash and a likable character in his own right. Its also pointed out that most of the hate surrounding him is a blatant shallow sue.
**[[NeverLiveItDown unwarranted]] since he was the person who was ''least'' responsible for Ash loosing.
* Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
** * Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
** * Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
** * Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[YankTheDogsChain beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
!!Villains
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people[[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] Faba took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we'd already seen manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] games was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
!!Pokemon
*Pokemon:
**Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** * Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** * Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** * Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. And eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash Eventually [[spoiler:Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' homeland before it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled debates further.]] further. However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Unfortunately, Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more again after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
** For very similar reasons, * Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
** Also similarly, the * The Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
*
**
**
* Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
!!Villains
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people
!!Pokemon
*
**
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** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. And eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled the further.]] However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
to:
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. And eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign which only fueled the debates further.]] However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
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I was well overdue for revisting this. Of course I obviously had a lot to rework.
Changed line(s) 28 (click to see context) from:
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. %%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
to:
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. %%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has eventually [[spoiler: [[PutOnABus Ash left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja Greninja. Only this time it happened ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these campaign which only fueled the further.]] However, to the great joy of most fans, [[spoiler:TheBusCameBack Poipole returned just in time for Ash's exhibition match with Kukui as an evolved and powerful [[TookALevelInBadass Naganadel]] and managed to make an impressive showing in the 6 vs. 6 battle. Unfortunately Ash had to release it back to Ultra Space once more after the league, but by this point the fandom had largely warmed up to it no longer being TheLoad and remaining debates have only heated further.]]fell more along the lines of what typically occurs when [[BrokenBase Ash releases any Pokemon.]]]]
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** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. The mere fact that it never gets into battles makes it worse despite being a Mythical especially in [[spoiler the triple Guzzlord threat episode]] was arguably bad as people see it more as TheLoad.
to:
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. The mere fact that it never gets into battles makes it worse despite being a Mythical especially in [[spoiler the triple Guzzlord threat episode]] was arguably bad as people see it more as TheLoad.
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** For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
to:
** For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], care, especially after the buildup in its mini side parts before the capture]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That fact that other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
help. Then there's also that [[RuleofThree this is the third time]] a female protagonist got an Eevee got more divisive as many people think its gotten stale for female companions to own an Eevee despite the Pokemon being a BreakoutCharacter.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. The mere fact that it never gets into battles makes it worse despite being a Mythical especially in [[spoiler the triple Guzzlord threat episode]] was arguably bad as people see it more as TheLoad.
** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Others complain about Shaymin not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon. The mere fact that it never gets into battles makes it worse despite being a Mythical especially in [[spoiler the triple Guzzlord threat episode]] was arguably bad as people see it more as TheLoad.
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Edited repeated line.
Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. By ''Ultra Legends'' their reputation calmed mildly due to an improvement in limelight episodes and breakthroughs as trainers, though some still regard them as more stagnant and less interesting characters than the other three protagonists.
to:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. By ''Ultra Legends'' their reputation calmed mildly due to an improvement in limelight episodes and breakthroughs as trainers, though some still regard them as more stagnant dead weight and less interesting characters than the other three protagonists.
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Changed line(s) 15 (click to see context) from:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticized for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
to:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good By ''Ultra Legends'' their reputation calmed mildly due to an improvement in limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit breakthroughs as trainers, though some still regard them as more to Lana stagnant and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticized for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter less interesting characters than the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.other three protagonists.
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!Anime
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** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
to:
** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; this; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is was at its best, some also feel that it makes made him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's he was too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries tried to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains remained very divisive as his character appears appeared to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems deemed it and DependingOnTheWriter.
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** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
* Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
* Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
to:
** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. Their portrayal from ''XY'' seems to be trying onward has tried hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
regard.
* Brockis was a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is was either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
* Brock
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** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
to:
** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets makes her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And In addition, did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
**May, she's May. She's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However However, the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] subsided]] once Misty appears appeared with her and they become friends.
**
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** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
to:
** Iris has received an especially lot a substantial amount of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's She was also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find found her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
** Serenahas been a pretty is probably the most divisive character. female companion after Misty. Her ShipTease with Ash is was popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received backlash from [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship shipped Ash with anyone else, else]], as well as accusations that her she and Ash are were being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of to Ash's backstory to include her is was also controversial, as is was her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
**Lillie in two different ways. Lillie. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is was removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] Girl]] of the group. The fanbase is was further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people,we now have ''Sun and Moon'' has a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised criticized for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised criticized for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Serena
**
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people,
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** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
to:
** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As overdone[[note]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], earlier[[/note]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
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** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
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* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
* Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
%%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
* For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
* Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow, which some love for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Some also complain about Shaymin sporadically doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
* Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
* Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
%%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
* For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
* Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow, which some love for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Some also complain about Shaymin sporadically doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
to:
* Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange AdaptationalHeroism, [[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken took her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we we'd already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
character.
* Pokemon:
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's otherteammates?
*teammates?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
* Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
*** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. \n %%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
* ** For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
* ** Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow, which some Mallow. Some love it for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Some also Others complain about Shaymin sporadically not really doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
* Pokemon:
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other
*
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon is either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy taken from several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
*
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Ash has now won the Alola League.
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** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
to:
** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod [[YankTheDogsChain beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
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You know with the series almost over there's probably little to lose with waiting just a bit longer to add it. If anything Poipole returning could still have base breaking ramifications but even then it would need to be reworded. I'll just comment my entry out for now.
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. [[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
to:
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. [[spoiler:
%%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
%%[[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
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Prior to Base Breaking Character getting its own page my entry was removed on the idea that Poipole still had a shot returning in time to help with the league. Seeing how little foreshadowing there was to Goodra's return, I could humor this possiblity. But since then, not only has there been no indication of a Poipole having a chance at returning whatsoever but Alolan League Conference is now concluded. Guzzlord will springing back from Ultra Wormwholes next episode but based on the preview there's little reason to think Poipole will appear to help, much less rejoin Ash's party. And even if it did somehow come back, the league is now over with not much left for Ash to do besides have his exhibition match with Masked Royale which I highly doubt Poipole would partake in even if Ash still had it. Don't see much reason to hold off on this entry any longer.
Changed line(s) 27 (click to see context) from:
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
to:
* Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it. [[spoiler: And now that Ash has [[PutOnABus left it behind in its homeland]] in a manner similar to Goodra and Greninja ''before'' it could truly contribute anything notable to his SM campaign, these debates have only heated further.]]
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None
Changed line(s) 14 (click to see context) from:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
to:
* Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, over and unofficially capturing Shaymin, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
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Ummm Cilan can't be a Creators Pet because he's a main character.
Changed line(s) 6 (click to see context) from:
* Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
to:
* Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet spotlight hogger for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
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Needs 6 months and more than one side.
Deleted line(s) 30 (click to see context) :
* Ilima is very popular InUniverse, but many fans see him as a bland, hypercompetent GaryStu. [[spoiler:This may have been intentional however, as he suffers TheWorfEffect to Guzma early in the Alola League.]]
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None
Added DiffLines:
* For very similar reasons, Lana's Eevee, Sandy. Many love it for its {{Keet}} personality and giving Lana her long needed second Pokemon, others complain about Sandy [[TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter doing too little under Lana's care]], and would have better suited filling the missing slot in Ash's Alola team rather than being regulated to comic relief. That other more relevant water-type Pokemon such as Dewpider appeared beforehand that Lana could have caught doesn't help.
* Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow, which some love for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Some also complain about Shaymin sporadically doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
* Also similarly, the Shaymin adopted by Mallow, which some love for its cuteness and NiceGuy personality (compared to the BrattyHalfPint Shaymin of ''Giratina and the Sky Warrior'') and acting as one of the more stagnant companions de-facto secondary. Some also complain about Shaymin sporadically doing anything besides acting as TheBabyOfTheBunch and feel that Mallow is undeserving of possessing a mythical Pokemon.
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None
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* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
*** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
*** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
*** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
** Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
** Ash's female companions:
*** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
*** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
*** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
*** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
*** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
*** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Ash's rivals:
*** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
*** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
*** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
*** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
*** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
*** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
*** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
** Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
** Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
*** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
*** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
*** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
** Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
** Ash's female companions:
*** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
*** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
*** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
*** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
*** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
*** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Ash's rivals:
*** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
*** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
*** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
*** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
*** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
*** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
*** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
** Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
to:
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
**Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
*** ** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
*** ** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
*** ** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** * Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
** * Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
** * Ash's female companions:
*** ** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
*** ** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
*** ** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
*** ** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
*** ** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
*** ** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** * Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** * Ash's rivals:
*** ** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
*** ** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
*** ** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
*** ** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
*** ** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
*** ** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
*** ** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
** * Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
** * Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** * Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** * Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** * Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
**
Is there an issue? Send a MessageReason:
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Added DiffLines:
* BaseBreakingCharacter:
** Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
*** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
*** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
*** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
** Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
** Ash's female companions:
*** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
*** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
*** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
*** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
*** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
*** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Ash's rivals:
*** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
*** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
*** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
*** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
*** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
*** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
*** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
** Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
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** Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket. Because they are the most prominent characters in the show, they do have a following among regular watchers of the anime, and their depictions in early seasons tend to be quite popular. However, it's very common for fans to label them as annoying, ineffectual and seemingly tailor-made to entertain young children and nobody else, with {{Flanderization}} and AdaptationDisplacement not helping matters.
*** Ash's skill as a trainer and characterization has constantly been in flux throughout the history of the anime. The fans have been critical of this, citing that they can easily use the game characters to both avoid the predictable, [[ArcFatigue drawn-out nature]] of Ash's journey where he [[TookALevelInBadass goes from being incompetent to skilled]] over the course of the series. Those who don't see him as TheArtifact say that Ash is far too iconic to be replaced. The only thing fans can agree upon is that Ash is a VanillaProtagonist. In particular, Ash's ''XY'' incarnation is a strong example of this trope; while most fans agree that his battling record during the Kalos saga is at its best, some also feel that it makes him a strong and likable character in the first place while others feel that he's too [[FlatCharacter dull, bland and uninteresting]] as a person. ''Sun and Moon'' tries to form a balance, giving him a more expressive personality while maintaining his battle competence for the large part, but the depiction remains very divisive as his character appears to change each episode (ranging from TheAce to ButtMonkey) whenever a situation deems it and DependingOnTheWriter.
*** Pikachu splits the base in almost the exact same fashion as his trainer, being inconsistent in both character and power. Some abhor Pikachu for being a SpotlightStealingSquad in and of himself, being slapped on every piece of merchandise, and/or refusing to evolve. Others praise and respect Pikachu as the Japanese equivalent to WesternAnimation/MickeyMouse while finding him genuinely cute and entertaining.
*** For Team Rocket, depending on who you ask, they are iconic as comical {{Harmless Villain}}s who are more entertaining than Ash himself, or their incompetence and sideplots in an episode are overdone and just plain annoying. In addition, the fanbase is also left divided over whether Team Rocket was improved as characters after they TookALevelInBadass and start becoming serious villains. There's also [[http://dogasu.bulbagarden.net/comparisons/isshu/bw048.html another group]] who remains unconvinced that they've taken any such level at all. ''XY'' seems to be trying hard to appeal to all sides of the argument, though alas they're so divisive, it's impossible to please everyone in this regard.
** Brock is a generally well-regarded character in the earlier parts of the anime, but the persistent RunningGag of him falling in love with every young woman he sees is either funny or tiresome, particularly by Diamond and Pearl.
** Cilan. Either he is a better character than Brock and his strong personality is refreshing, or he's getting too much focus, has gotten as stale as Brock was as a result, and is a CreatorsPet for those who find him and his antics "forced" or "overexposed".
** Ash's female companions:
*** Misty's {{tsundere}} personality is either considered to be entertaining and hilarious, or her HairTriggerTemper gets her labeled as an annoying, whiny {{jerkass}} who won't leave Ash alone. And did her CharacterDevelopment with Togepi make her a better person or [[WeWantOurJerkBack is her old personality better]]?
*** May, she's either an improved version of Misty with more focus on her nicer aspects, or the attempts to replicate her tomboyish nature get her viewed as inferior to the original. However the negativity surrounding her replacing Misty [[RescuedFromTheScrappyHeap largely subsides]] once Misty appears with her and they become friends.
*** Dawn is either loved for being the likable NiceGirl, or viewed as a generic SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute to May due to their contest plots. Some even called her out for being too different from May.
*** Iris has received an especially lot of flak for her constant habit of [[HypocriticalHumor referring to Ash as a "kid"]]. She's also been criticized for bucking the trend of a female protagonist as a traveling companion. Others find her unique quirks and CharacterDevelopment interesting, and like the fact that she was another attempt at a female companion trying to master a Pokémon type. Then there are those who see her as a case of TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter.
*** Serena has been a pretty divisive character. Her ShipTease with Ash is popular enough to make it to the FanPreferredCouple page, but she has also received [[DieForOurShip backlash]] from people who ship Ash with anyone else, as well as accusations that her and Ash are being StrangledByTheRedString. The {{retcon}} of Ash's backstory to include her is also controversial, as is her perceived [[SatelliteLoveInterest lack of character aside from her crush on Ash]].
*** Lillie in two different ways. On one hand, there are those who don't like how her well-loved character arc (and all things attached to it) from the games is removed, while others enjoy the fact that the anime is taking its own liberties with her character, such as her character arc regarding her phobia of touching Pokemon and many episodes punctuating her role as the {{Adorkable}} [[TheSmartGuy Smart Guy]] of the group. The fanbase is further split by her treatment in the Aether arc for [[spoiler:losing all her progress and gaining it back with no work of her own and calling out her [[AdaptationalHeroism well-meaning]] mother for no reason]]. That she got ''more'' focus after that while her fellow cast members struggled to get any made her seem somewhat of a CreatorsFavorite as well.
** Mallow, Lana, and Sophocles all get this to some extent. This is mainly due to the fact that in contrast to previous series, which would just have a main cast of 3-4 people, we now have a cast of ''six'' to take care of. Some find this refreshing, enjoy all of the different characters' quirks and dreams, and feel that it allows for a much more diverse and varied cast. Others, however, [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters dislike the uneven limelight]], with the three in particular criticised for [[StaticCharacter their stagnancy]], and sometimes considered less interesting characters than the more dynamic trio of Ash, Kiawe and Lillie who have whittled focus as a result of their presence. While some good limelight episodes and comic relief roles warmed the fan base a bit more to Lana and Sophocles, Mallow has been increasingly criticised for being OutOfFocus (even in her own focus episodes) and not making any significant contributions or progressions besides her Bounsweet evolving twice over, along with generally being [[StaticCharacter the least flawed member]] of the main group and [[ImmuneToSlapstick taking part in by far the least amount of comedy and slapstick]], leading her to often get associated with the more boring elements of the ''Sun and Moon'' series.
** Ash's rivals:
*** Gary is typically a MemeticBadass, but you will often find people who view his tormenting of Ash as extremely overdone[[labelnote:]]As an example, in ''Beauty and the Beach'', despite having not even run into Ash once since the first episode - [[TurnTheOtherCheek in which Ash was very cordial with him despite Gary's snide comments]] - he proceeds to get on stage and publicly mock Ash, even getting his cheerleaders to sing about how he'll trash him; plus his famous sign vandalizing to declare "Ash is a loser" even earlier[[/labelnote]], especially if they've dealt with similar bullying experiences themselves. After he TookALevelInKindness, people either found him now boring without his AwesomeEgo, or much more tolerable.
*** Ritchie either serves as a good {{Foil}} to Ash, or is a blatant shallow sue.
*** Paul. Some fans hate him, feeling like he got too much love from the writers and was an accurate representation for StopHavingFunGuys and {{Munchkin}}s, and [[KarmaHoudini never received any proper karma]] for his massive {{jerkass}}ery. Others took a liking to him because he is a {{Strawman}} so {{Anvilicious}} that it's hard to seriously see him as such an accurate representation of competitive players, or are sympathetic to Paul because of the few things that are accurate to said players and his criticisms of Ash (usually considered an IdiotHero). He's also a popular candidate for {{shipping}}, particularly with Dawn.
*** Barry is seen either funny or annoying.
*** Tierno and Trevor are seen as TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodCharacter. Many want to know if they would be or would not be written better than their game counterparts. While Tierno still got some focus in the first part of the XY series, Trevor is universally agreed to really get the short end of the stick.
*** Sawyer is seen as having rushed development by some. Others say his development was paced just fine because he doesn't have Team Rocket following him and all the Filler episode characters, and had Ash as a mentor. There are also those who wish Sawyer would have developed more evenly, but are happy with how he was given time constraints.
*** Good lord, ''Alain.'' Specifically, his involvement with the league is either seen as perfectly natural CharacterDevelopment or a massive AssPull. [[spoiler:After he [[StatusQuoIsGod beat Ash in the league]], the base divided even more, all of it concerning if Ash should of won thanks to the buildup.]]
** Lusamine, again based upon comparisons to the games. Some people [[spoiler: love her AdaptationalHeroism,[[AdaptationPersonalityChange quirkier personality]] and the bond she has with her family, while others who feel it downplays the games' first female BigBad and one of the most twisted villains the series has ever had. Basically, the division comes down to how the anime handles Lusamine as a character as a whole vs. Lusamine as a villain.]] The fact that that [[spoiler:Faba]] has taken her place as main antagonist is also a point of contention for some, citing that we already seen the manipulative schemers like him before with Cyrus, Colress and Lysandre. Then there are fans who are outright angry that [[spoiler: the first female main antagonist of the games]] was the only one shafted in favor of another character.
** Ash's Infernape. Great character and CharacterDevelopment, or SpotlightStealingSquad who stole glory from Ash's other teammates?
** Iris' Dragonite. Legitimate Badass, or a poor clone of Charizard's story that gave Iris undeserved victory?
** Ash's Oshawott. His AttentionWhore nature and tendency to form rivalries with other Pokémon are either deemed cute and funny, or he's yet another annoying SpotlightStealingSquad with an unoriginal personality [[ReplacementScrappy takenfrom several of Ash's previous Pokémon]], namely Bayleef and Aipom, who won't evolve out of his weak "adorable" form.
** Ash's Poipole. One half of the fanbase finds it [[RidiculouslyCuteCritter positively adorable]] and love his antics, his budding friendship with Pikachu, and his teased plot relevance [[spoiler:with a possible connection to Necrozma]], with many hoping Ash will get to keep it at the end of the series. The other half hates him for his bratty behavior and for not having done much since its debut, with perceived [[SuspiciouslySimilarSubstitute similarities to Nebby]] and being one of Ash's main team members without contributing to battles being used as accusations against it.
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