Worst Pokemon Anime Cliches

I don't care as much as other people do, and I wouldn't like it if Ash won every League because it would be predictable. But losing every League is just as predictable.

Kanto's loss was alright, because it did subvert expectations of main character always wins, and it was the first time, but some others were exaggerated. Seeing him lose constantly is not better than seeing him win constantly. He could've won some and lost some others. It would've been better and less predictable.

I'm not as big on Ash winning as other people, but Jesus, at least let him win the League once in a while. The whole "it's okay to lose" message is getting stale, and it doesn't translate well anymore because Ash loses every single League. And no, I don't count the Orange Island League. Or him winning the Battle Frontier (the Battle Frontier allows you to retry battling it).

I'm so glad Bewear removed this running gag, for the most part. But I have a feeling it's going to return after the SM anime is over and we move on to Gen 8.

You mean Pikachu's broken power level? No, actually, it's the overall messed-up power scaling in the anime that makes Dragon Ball Super's scaling look accurate.

This is true and untrue at the same time. I don't know if I should upload an image (I did for nearly all of these).

I'm not just talking about the girls who have a crush on Ash. (Serena isn't the only one.) There were other characters who had romantic subplots, whether they were one-sided or not.

I also hate the fact that romantic subplots are included in the Pokémon anime at all. The show isn't about romance and never goes anywhere with it, so what's the point of having it?

Most of the images were approved. And sorry, but for this item, you have to deal with Serena blushing during that gross scene where Ash was sick. I want to emphasize how much this cliché annoys me, and I want you all to feel it too.

This slightly bugs me. Not that I hate the fact that the characters have starters, but I don't usually like it when Ash gets more than one starter on his team. It limits the various ways to make his team diverse and less predictable.

And the only reason why the main characters get starters to begin with is to feature them for marketing. Same with the next one I'm going to bring up.

Come to think of it, I just realized this now. I don't know when they will ever stop with this. It's frustrating to see that they keep doing it. I haven't watched any series other than BW, but after seeing flashbacks from the original series, I realized this is one of those things that should stop.

If a non-Fire starter has a dark past (like Snivy or Froakie), it may never be explored in detail because that trope is reserved for Fire types.

I don't mind Pokémon having a dark past. In fact, I think it makes them interesting. But why is it always the poor Fire types?

The only times this didn't happen were in Johto and Hoenn. This annoyed me the most when it came to Iris. She's supposed to be a Dragon trainer, so why would you give her an electric flying squirrel? Like seriously.

I love the cute mythical/legendary creatures in the anime. They're kind of the same thing. It doesn't bother me, although I wish not every single one of them - except for Mew in Mewtwo Strikes Back and Marshadow in I Choose You - was portrayed as a helpless baby in distress that needs protection.

Celebi did it, which was okay because it was the first one. Jirachi did it too, which I can understand. But then we got Mew in movie 8, Manaphy, Shaymin (it had a different kind of personality, but it was insufferable from what I recall), Celebi again, Victini, Diancie, Hoopa, and Magearna. They were all just the baby in distress. I'll let Meloetta slide since it doesn't happen as often outside of movies.

These are super rare, mythical legendaries with unique powers, and they get saved by some kids. I understand that some people would be after their rare powers, but it seems like every single one of them is portrayed as a helpless baby in distress except for two. It's like a random Lanturn or Poliwag would be stronger than them.

I know it's for marketing purposes. A cute, innocent baby who can do no harm will sell more plushies, but I still think they should explore other storylines with them. I'm not saying they have to murder Ash or make horrific noises. However, from what I've seen, Marshadow seems more loved than over half of the innocent babies. On the other hand, Manaphy, for example, isn't really well-liked. I doubt something like Mew in the first movie was that bad. It was kind of a jerk in the original (most legendaries/mythicals are jerks if you look closely), but at least it did something.

Thank you! This is so irritating. Iris was the only one who didn't enjoy shopping. I understand why Dawn, Lillie, or Serena do because it fits their characters, but Lana, for example, doesn't strike me as the type who would enjoy it. Also, shopping scenes are kind of useless in the anime. We could do without them.

Okay, I know this is normalized when it comes to girls, but why do the majority of them have to love shopping? Lana supposedly loves to go shopping, which doesn't even fit her character, but she does... because she's a girl.