#xy liveblog 23

[wild-battlebond]

#im catching up on my xy posts again i watched a ton while working on heropartner illustrations 👍 #pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy023 #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23 #gif #pokegraphic

[emmareadsmdzs]

Did Jin Guangyao just murder a bunch of civilians basically on screen, after saying that he’d send them to a prison? I get that he’s supposed to be evil now and all, but who could this possibly benefit? Or is he just supposed to like murders???

#this isn't xy he wouldn't just kill someone for no reason #or were those supposed to be symbolic rivers of blood #he can't possibly murder everyone because there are in fact prisoners in the Qiongqi Path in a couple of episodes #untamed liveblog #episode 23

[wild-battlebond]

#pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy025 #fiftytenpost #gif #xy liveblog 23 #pokegraphic

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[wild-battlebond]

the thing with Serena, to me, is that she’s the kind of character who has various threads of characterization that could be interesting if they were explored, but none of them actually get explored. LIKE i mentioned several times that she’s both depicted early on and said by her mother to be an impulsive person, making big decisions (like leaving on a journey) on a whim. she can’t keep a goal, she starts projects without finishing them… for a trainer, who usually has a single concrete goal throughout the series, that’s pretty interesting!

but instead of showing her doing this, trying out different things before realizing she has a passion for performing, she just… doesn’t do anything for 40 episodes besides a PokéVision video. she doesn’t even battle, she just stands on the sidelines of a battle and says “wow! so this is what trainers do!”. she even expresses interest in the Furfrou stylist early on — so why not have her pick up styling for a few days, get really into it for a bit, then drop it? literally anything like that. and then performances are just something that combines all of her other interests that she tried and quit (which she is shown to have several of - dancing, fashion design, etc) instead of just being an Event for The Girl. so ultimately the only real way this is utilized by having her impulsively cut her hair cutely. ultimately, this is the thing that bugged me the most…

Similarly, there’s traits shown later in the series that aren’t really explored, like how she’ll apparently ignore injuries to reach her goal, or the fact that she has a tendency to snap when overwhelmed… as well as her dream to make everyone smile, but that gets a pass since that was decided in her last focus episode (though… even then that only really came about because they did Literally Nothing with her as soon as the master class ended). Like, they could have explored her pushing her Pokémon as far as she’d push herself, even with an injury, and things like that. There are a lot of interesting traits of Serena’s to have explored, but that just doesn’t really happen, and so she does wind up kind of a flat character.

As for her crush on Ash… the best way I have to describe it is that it “worsens” as the series goes on? It’s a relatively small thing at the start of the series… sure, she blushes when he’s around, but she doesn’t hang on his every word. The vast majority of her actions are completely independent of Ash and what he thinks for the XY segment of the series. It’s more of just a silly crush. But by XYZ… she’s somehow gotten to the point where Ash will say “eating food gives you energy” and then later she’ll give her Pokémon a snack and say “Ash says eating food gives you energy!” (<- REALLY HAPPENED & I FORGOT TO EVER MENTION IT BUT IT’S BUGGED ME SO BAD FOR LIKE THREE WEEKS NOW.). this kind of ties into the issue of other characters just generally idolizing Ash after a certain point but it’s just so much worse with Serena. she just literally gets to the point her main motivation is “wanting to be similar to Ash” (but specifically the idealized Ash she’s built up in her head, who is “full of energy” and “always positive”) (so i guess it would be more accurate to say, her main motivation is to embody ash’s best traits. which is still a lack of her own motivation outside of him existing).

(and there’s also other asides… like how she’s ultimately shown actually training for performances maybe 2 or 3 times? and that’s out of about a hundred episodes.)

…well, that was mostly about “what could have been” with regards to Serena. but that’s because the “what could have beens” are what’s most interesting about her…

#this is in answer to the anon from friday whose ask i accidentally deleted. i hope this answers what you were wondering #about my thoughts on serena. #pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy liveblog 23 #<- i’ll still sort this under this tag since it’s related enough #fiftytenpost

[wild-battlebond]

THIS STILL GETS ME… the unconventional evolution that acts as an example of eevee’s unstable DNA… the fact that a single ribbon evolves before anything else just to reassure serena… the fact that sylveon is an affection/friendship evolution in the first place… the power of holding hands (basically)… aaaghghg

#pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy105 #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23

[wild-battlebond]

anyways. the pokémon talking is the most fun/iconic part of this episode and this scene is probably the best way to show it (in any language) since… it’s the one where they talk the longest.

#today’s ‘post starting with anyways’ brought to you by me having to go take care of something that chewed up most of my morning 👍 #<- rare sarcastic thumbs up - i had plans for this morning and now they’re chewed up #pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy098 #video #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23

[wild-battlebond]

anyways. i liked this scene because it’s a really good example of the exact role a trainer plays in a battle — essentially, they’re a second set of eyes for their pokémon. trainers keep their distance on the battlefield, confined to their areas but able to see far more of their surroundings than their pokémon can in the heat of battle. it’s the trainer’s job to keep an eye out for incoming attacks, openings to strike back, and so forth. and that’s what Korrina is doing here, keeping an eye out for what Lucario can’t see and guiding it through.

#pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy034 #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23

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[wild-battlebond]

violence

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[wild-battlebond]

also there’s not a ton to say about it but the robon episode was nice. i think the concept of a robot & a pokémon working together to carry on the dream of a dead human is very interesting.

#pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy108 #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23

[wild-battlebond]

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[wild-battlebond]

what’s up with this sassy pose…

#pokémon #pokéani #x&y #xy131 #fiftytenpost #xy liveblog 23