Pokémon - The Hoenn League (06,07,08)

[Blazing Charmander]

I found this saga really refreshing, and it was just what the anime needed after its loss of popularity due to the Johto saga. At its beginning, I was distraught that the original trio of Ash, Misty and Brock were being split up and threatened to lose interest in the show as a result. However, I found the introduction of May to be an interesting prospect, and I soon grew to really like her and her Pokemon. Her character development over the saga was really well done. As for Max, I found him really interesting in at the start and liked his interactions with his fellow travelers. But as the saga wore on he became less and less interesting, and soon became a nuisance.

The decision to give Ash a fresh start was an inspired one. Letting him take his Kanto team along to Johto was the first and final nail in the coffin for the underdeveloped Johto captures. This fresh start in Hoenn gave Ash a chance to give all of his acquisitions room to show their potential, and the pace of his team's development was very steady. Taillow, Treecko, Corphish, Torkoal (well...) and Snorunt (eventually!) were all given an equal chance to shine alongside Pikachu, and we saw a fair share of evolutions, unlike in seasons' past. It's a shame that Brock never delivered the potential that his 'explosive' reintroduction to the cast promised! Mudkip was wasted on his side, while Forretress may as well have never existed (the poor thing). Ludicolo was the only redeeming feature for Brock i'm afraid.

Overall, I would rate the Hoenn saga as up there with the best. However, it was definitely not without its faults (occasional boring fillers and poorly written episodes, deux ex machina Gym battles). 8/10

[Charmed]

Probably my least favorite saga. AG was good at the beginning, but after Slateport, it got really Filler-y for some reason. It must've been the lack of writing. Yes, new Pokemon and events appeared but the episodes themselves were unnecessary at certain points and only seemed to have been created to make the saga longer. Pokemon debuted in the same way as always, with a COTD appearing as their owner. I stopped watching most episodes after Lilycove at one point, and had to rewatch the ones I missed at later times. 6/10 for the whole AG saga.

[Ash-kid]

Great saga, but not my favorite.

The gap between every gym battle and contest was great. not too long and not too short.

8/10

[G50]

I really liked the Hoenn Region seasons. Ash started over almost completely, and was only using Pokemon he caught in Hoenn + Pikachu even during the Pokemon League. In the beginning however, it caused major problems when TR was stealing his Pikachu. The 1 thing I didn't like about this region was the massive amount of non-Contest and Gym battles compared to the earlier seasons. Hoenn Pokemon for me were my 2nd favorite as whole. The gym battles were much cooler than the earlier seasons. It took time to get used to seasons without Brock and Misty, but after several episodes it really all came together.

60/100

[Aquarelle]

I really like the Hoenn saga. It introduced me to the Hoenn region (since I didn't get Ruby version until 2004), which began one of my favourite regions in Pokemon. I liked how there was a change in the main cast with the addition of May and Max, since I was getting a little tired of the Ash-Misty-Brock trio. And although I prefer Gym Battles, I did like how this saga introduced Contests into the anime because it actually gave one of Ash's friends something to do. xD

The way Team Aqua and Magma were handled at the end was pretty bad though...I mean, what was Lance doing there?!

[Caseydia]

The best saga after DP. It just would have been good for them to give Ash a rival and Brock something to do. Max was okay and I liked that Jessie was doing Contests but I didn't like that James wasn't doing anything.

[Vern]

I'm too lazy to have a huge write up so I will make a list:

• Team Magma/Aqua were handled well all the way until the climax episodes
• Ash having no rival for the majority of the region was stupid
• I didn't care for his two rivals that he finally did get during the Hoenn League
• May's contest journey wasn't very exciting
• The Grand Festival was handled more poorly than the Magma/Aqua climax
• Max was terrible
• Brock was just there

Better than Johto and the Orange Islands but worse than Kanto but only barely worse.

[Chimchar15]

This is by far my favorite saga of the series but I'll start off with what I didn't like,

Rivals- While Morrison and Tyson were cool it sucked how they didn't show up until the very end of Hoenn. Ash should've gotten a proper rival from the start with could've cut into a lot of the filler episodes.

Fillers- I didn't hate them but I really couldn't care for most of them.

Team Magma/Aqua- they were handle great at the beginning but lost their appeal towards the finale.

Now on to what I liked about this saga

Gym Battles- The main reason for me watching the anime the hoenn gym battles were by far the best gym battles I've seen in the anime. Ash had some great strategies and always gave an interesting gym battle. Ash vs Juan being the highlight demonstrating what the final gym battle of the region should be like.

Hoenn League- Really liked the setup for the league and had some great battles. the battle between Ash and the girl in the top 32 was amazing, vs. Morrison wasn't too bad either and his battle with Tyson was great as well. Although I do wish he at least made it to the top 4 it was still a great league.

Battle Frontier- The best filler saga of the anime. Really intense battles that pushed Ash to the edge. Charizard vs. Articuno, Swellow and Corphish vs. Arcanine and Swampert, and Ash's ace team vs. Brandon in that final epic frontier battle.

Characters- I was skeptical about May at first especially after seeing Misty go but I grew to love May. She went from a girl who disliked Pokemon to loving them and becoming a really great coordinator. Max was the little kid with a lot of knowledge. While annoying at first I really started to like him and his interactions with Ash and Brock. I really hope we get to see that battle between Ash and him one day. Brock was great to see and hear. They could've done more with his goals but he was active and never felt like he blended into the background. Ash and Pikachu were awesome. Ash had this whole experienced trainer feel about him. I remember him giving May some pointers in the beginning of the saga about type advantages and other things with showed his progress well. It was also nice to see him come up with great strategies without having to rely and his friends as much as he did in the past sagas. Pikachu learned Iron Tail and Volt Tackle which were both awesome moves with really expanded Pikachu's range of attacks and what he could do.

Music- The opening themes and battle music were the best of any region. Heroes of Hoenn, the remixed elite four theme, and the remixed regi theme were my favorites.

All in all this was a great and fun series to watch with it's only unique flair that no other saga has yet to capture.