In Japan, Pokemon fans had to wait a year after the games debuted for the TV show. But, in North America, the games, cards, and anime all debuted together in 1998 in one solid stream of marketing. It was more than parents could handle, but the kids were over the moon to collect the cards, watch the anime, and play the games.
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Every episode brought Ash and his friends closer together, between winning battles, catching Pokemon, and having a good old laugh. For anime protagonists, Ash seemed like he was all there. He struggled to be a Pokemon Master so much so that savvy video game players probably thought they could beat Ash in a duel. So, how bad would Ash do if he had to play by the rules of the Pokemon games instead of the anime?
No Party To Fall Back On
Misty And Brock Are Rivals
In the anime, Ash quickly befriends Misty, followed by Brock after proving himself at his Gym. Thanks to their help, Ash learns a lot about how to treat people and gets to fall back on them if he needs help in battle. Brock is also a great cook who feeds the others and the Pokemon. The party changes between seasons, but for many fans, Misty and Brock are the classic characters that complete the trio.
In the games, players are by themselves. In the later games, sometimes a rival or random character will join the player for a certain area of the game. For the most part, this means Ash cannot rely on a party to carry him like in other turn-based RPG systems. How far can he actually get alone?
Gym Leaders Mean Business
No Sympathy Badges
Gym battles in the Pokemon games are serious business. Players will have to face underlings before they get to the master, and if they plan well, they can outmatch them. For example, Blaine in Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue likes Fire-type Pokemon, so a good party of Water-type Pokemon would do the trick.
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Ash isn’t really a strategist when it comes to Gym battles. If he sees a certain Pokemon type emerge, he may be smart enough to use the effective element against them. Then again, his roster isn’t as well-crafted. Also, sometimes, just for trying, Leaders basically give Ash a consolation badge like the Sabrina arc in Saffron City. To win, Ash would need to become the very best, and his lackluster hunger towards training wouldn’t net him many badges.
His Reliance On Pikachu Is Not Going To Work Out
Electricity Is Not A Versatile Element
Another problem of Ash’s is his friendship with Pikachu. It’s honestly one of the most charming things about the anime as the two get along swimmingly. Pikachu tries hard for Ash, even in impossible setups like going against Rock-types and Ground-types against Brock, even though Pikachu is weak to those elements.
By the grace of the Pokemon gods somehow water from sprinkler systems allowed Pikachu to electrocute Onix. It doesn’t work like that in the games, as there are no environmental ways to get an advantage. Also, Electric-type Pokemon aren’t that versatile compared to something like a Water-type Pokemon. In the games, Pikachu would have to sit by the sidelines more often for Ash or else he would lose a lot more frequently.
Ash Doesn’t Have The Structure To Train His Pokemon Evenly
Or The Knowhow To Catch Pokemon
Players who bought the original Pokemon Red and Pokemon Blue and watched the anime must have been incredibly frustrated. As players, they learned fast to try and catch every new Pokemon that came their way. While Ash sometimes did that, a lot of the time he failed. The writers must have thought that if Ash actually tried to “catch ‘em all,” he would become too OP. Beyond catching Pokemon, Ash wasn’t very good at diversifying his party.
Technically, he could have battled in-between episodes to rack up EXP for his Pokemon, but it’s doubtful. They barely ever evolved, which is another bad form of training. Worst of all, there were episodes wherein Ash set his Pokemon go, like Butterfree. The episodes it happened in were touching, but it’s not a good idea to do that in the games unless players have amassed a bunch of one type of Pokemon.
Losing A Trainer Battle Means Forfeiting Money
That’s One Broke Kid
There are a lot of differences between the Pokemon games and anime. When it comes to Pokemon trainers, there’s a big gap. In the anime, when Ash loses to a trainer, he doesn’t have to hand over money, and vice versa.
In the games, losing to another Trainer will force players to hand over a portion of their money. This is the best way for players to earn money in return, which is very precious in the Pokemon games as opposed to other RPGs wherein monsters carry money. Given that Ash lost a lot in the anime, he would be broke in the games since there is this money factor to consider.
Team Rocket Isn’t As Funny
These Goons Mean Business
Beyond wild Pokemon, Trainers, and Gym Leaders, Ash had to deal with Team Rocket. Thankfully for Ash, the team members that followed them, comprised of Jesse, Meowth, and James, were even more incompetent when it came to training Pokemon than Ash. Try as they might, they could never catch Pikachu.
There were other members that faced him in the anime too, but overall, they weren’t that menacing. The games are a bit different, as Team Rocket members pop up more frequently. There are other gangster teams in the game series too, like Team Galactic and Team Aqua. It’s another example of how bad it would be for Ash to be alone in these frequent encounters.
- Release Date
- 1997 - 2023
- Network
- TV Tokyo, TV Osaka, TV Aichi, TVh, TVQ, TSC
- Directors
- Shigeru Omachi, Koji Ogawa, Fumihiro Ueno, Hideki Hiroshima, Maki Kodaira, Makoto Ooga, Ayumi Moriyama, Keitaro Motonaga, Shigeru Ueda, Fumihiro Yoshimura, Minoru Ohara, Yoshitaka Makino, Kiyoshi Egami, Makoto Sokuza, Bjarne Heuser, Naoki Murata, Kenichi Nishida, Tomoe Makino, Masahiko Watanabe, Hiroaki Takagi, Tazumi Mukaiyama, Ryohei Horiuchi, Yoshihiro Oda, Hiromichi Matano
Cast
-
Rica MatsumotoSatoshi (voice) -
Ikue OtaniPikachu (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Seasons
- 25
- Studio
- OLM
- Creator(s)
- Naoko Takeuchi
