Worst Pokemon Anime Cliches

I know I just made a list about cliches but this one popped up on my mind recently. I might as well get it off my mind now.
The Top Ten
1 Ash loses the league

I don't care as much as 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 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)

2 "We are blasting off agaaain!!"

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 to gen 8.

3 Pikachu beats everybody

You mean Pikachu's broken power level?. No. Make that the overall messed up power scaling in the anime that made 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)

4 Romantic subplots

I'm not just talking about the girls who has as crush on Ash. (Serena isn't the only one.) There were other characters who had romantic subplots, regardless if it was one sided or not.

Also I hate the fact that subplot romance is in the Pokemon anime to begin with? The show itself isn't about romance and doesn't go anywhere with it, so what's the point of having it?

Most of the images were approved. And sorry, for this item you have to deal with Serena blushing during that gross scene where Ash was sick. I want to empathize how much I get annoyed by this cliche and I want you all to feel it.

5 Every main character has a starter Pokemon

This slightly bugs me, not that I hate the fact that the characters have starters, I don't usually like it when Ash gets more than 1 Starter on his team...It limits 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.

6 Fire starters that Ash gets have been mistreated/ have a dark story/past revolved around them

Come to think of it, I have realized this just about now. I don't know when will they ever stop with this. I mean, it's stupid to see that they keep it up. I haven't seen any of the anime series other than BW series, but having to see the flashback of the original series, I realized that this is one of the things that should stop.

If a non-Fire starter has a dark past (Snivy or Froakie) may it never be explored in detail because it's exclusive to Fire types.

I don't mind Pokemon having a dark past, in fact I think it does make them interesting. But why always the poor Fire types?

7 Ash is stupid in this season!
8 One of the main characters gets a Pikachu clone

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

9 Beach episodes

It makes sense to do them in Alola, since it's literally based off Hawaii..but I really don't like how common beach episodes are in Pokemon. These characters are like 10-11 years old. I don't want to see them in bikinis just so the older fans of the anime can be perverted about it. Which I theorize that's the only reason they exist to begin with...fan service.

And speaking of beach episodes, there are people who are salty about Serena not having one even though the majority of her character already gives enough fan service as it is.

10 Main characters has an absent father

This also happens in the games. May and Brock were the only characters that didn't have a father that was absent or missing until the Sun and Moon anime, where literally 3 characters have a father that is present.

True. Do these kids have parents that just let them run around catching flaming bunnies all day or what?

The Contenders
11 Ash and co befriend a cute mythical/legendary Pokemon

I love the cute mythical/legendary creatures in 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, mythic 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 Lantern 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 douchebag in the original (most legendaries/mythicals are douchebags if you look closely), but at least it did something.

12 Ash never catches a legendary Pokemon

Well, to be fair, legendaries in the anime are portrayed as powerful and to maintain balance of the universe. Beats me on how Tobias got them, but then again, he only existed to stop Ash from winning the league.

He did technically catch an ultra beast and a mythical.

Fire ash from being a pokemon trainer he's to stupid to catch a legendary

13 No beach episode for Serena
14 Female leads/companions love to shop

Dear, thank you. This is sorta irritating. Iris was the only one that didn't enjoy shopping. I understand why Dawn, Lillie or Serena do because it's in line with their characters, but Lana for example doesn't strike me as a type that would enjoy it. Also, shopping scenes are kind of useless in the anime. We could do without.

Okay I know this is normalized when it comes to girls, but why do the majority of them have to like shopping? Lana loves to go shopping...which you wouldn't even picture her enjoying in the first place, but she does... because she's a girl.

15 We’re off with a new blast
16 Always a stupid girl protagonist

What are you talking about, they aren't stupid. Some are annoying, but saying all of them are stupid is too harsh in my opinion.

Not saying their not good, but sometimes their straight up dumb

17 Female companion based on girl protagonist; male companion based on a gym leader of some sort
18 Contest related goals

Didn't care about it until Showcases came along. Which I can go on a full fledged rant of how much they suck... and I'm not saying that because of Serena.

Contests were okay, but Showcases are pointless and stupid.

..Am I the only one that actually likes pokemon showcases?

19 "It's Team Rocket!"

Ah yes, the characters who only exist to pad out the episode for 20 minutes.

20 Team Rocket constantly showing up and wasting Ash's time and the episode time.

So, *spoilers* Meowth developed a crush on Koharu/Chloe in the latest episode...mainly because she was so nice to him. And shockingly enough, he actually wanted to be caught by her! This is pretty big...he's never wanted to be caught by anyone...EVER (afaik). But by the end of the episode, status quo cruelly puts him back with his toxic 'friends.' I've finally become effin' tired of TRio. They have NO heart left. Jessie used to have somewhat of a caring side, but now she's so cold. And James isn't even that kind anymore either, and he used to always be the nicest member! Not to mention, they all stopped being funny LONG ago (BW, for me, barring a few episodes here and there). They really should have finished their arc in DP, with TRio finally leaving their life of crime in the past. But NO! They bring in money (I assume), so there's no way the writers will ever let them leave the show gracefully. God, I feel so bad for Meowth after today's episode. Ugh.

21 Some Pokémon get hardly any screen time over other Pokémon like Charizard and Greninja

Agreed with that. All Pokemon should have their shining moment, not be invisible like that poor Noivern.

22 Ash is always 10

I don't even know what to say. It's that bad.

23 Ash doesn't kiss Dawn
24 Team Rocket Taking Over Pokemon Social Media Accounts
25 Subplots that get brought up and then abandoned
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