Unpopular opinions about Pokemon manga

[e9310103838]

Pokemon SP unlike Digimon 02.

Digimon 02 split up the original paired,

and set up an illogical 25 years after the outcome......

And I think Yamamoto just way too liked Crystal so much (I can see why he didn't put Lyra, He is Crystal Old Fan. Don't believe me? See it at Yamamoto's Twitter thread). And who thinks that HGSS chapter is way too rushed in Magazine because I hope that it would be as epic as FRLG did. God that chapter was way too epic

Crys whether replaced Lyra is decision by Kusaka......

[Weedy Spyze]

I agree with everyone else that GSC arc sucked. It had some good ideas in them, but all those ideas are horribly written and mashed together (I'm guessing due to the lack of time). It's like Digimon Adventure 02.

That actually makes me more interested in N. We don't have enough actually creepy characters that aren't completely "evil". But, I'll withhold judgement until I read how he's written.

That may be one of the only things we will ever completely agree with. I can't fathom how that pairing will ever be interesting. I would be pretty pissed if it became canon. (Calling it: she'll be the important piece to defeat Saque and it'll bring her out of retirement.)

As for Mitsuru, I can see why he didn't become a Dexholder (he was created before Emerald was released, I think?), but it's still a dang shame. He's one of the less than five best written characters Kusaka has done and I was way more interested in seeing him grow than hear Emerald's woes.

Oh my god, yes. It's exactly like Digimon Adventure 02. Silver and Ken were also almost completely the same character. :|

I don't think it makes him more interesting--on the contrary, I think it makes him less interesting. In the games, N was somewhat of a unique character (as far as Pokemon goes anyway). He was a strange little fellow who talked super fast, claimed he could understand Pokemon's words, disliked battling, and even wanted to be friends with the protagonist. In the manga, I feel like they got rid of most of that uniqueness and just turned him into another card-carrying villain. I just...don't like it. Like I said, the manga's free to change characterizations or whatever as they see fit, but N is just someone I think they should've left alone.

Oh, I can't either. Yellow should've just stayed a boy if you ask me. Every time I see that ponytail, for some reason she just becomes even less interesting to me.

Yeah he was, but apparently the original plan was to make him the dexholder, but at some point it was decided he wouldn't "fit" as the dexholder or whatever so Emerald was created. Even though Wally fit perfectly as the third Hoenn dexholder and Emerald stands out like an unwanted stepchild. I don't understand their logic, especially after already giving Wally so much foreshadowing and development during the Sky Pillar mini arc, but eh. And yeah Emerald's problems weren't interesting to me, either. Actually, they made him seem like even more of a brat.

My reasons for hating the Ruby & Sapphire chapter only grow after seeing that damn popular vote thing.

Me: It sucked. It tried to turn Adventures into something it's not: a violent brawl full of death. And that goddamn Celebi. Ruined it. Ruined everything about it.

Internet: But Ruby and Sapphire are in wuv! So that makes it OK!

Me: ............................

GOD, I hate shipping.

Well, that's a pretty ignorant generalization. I personally couldn't care less if Ruby and Sapphire are in "luv," yet R/S is one of my favorite arcs. U mad?

I will agree though that the battling did seem to be a bit much during the climax, but at the same time I liked it, because it added to the extremity of the situation and made it more exciting.

4.Why didnt gold battle gyms

Something else I agree with. It bugged me how nobody challenged the gyms in the GSC arc. You could say that Suicune was meant as a replacement for them...except Suicune's story was uninteresting, so it was a bad replacement.

Couldn't agree more xD. But about N he is really great written character there. Kusaka written him as an Pure Idealist being serious about it and try to make him as awesome as possible according to him. It is just I can't see why people hate him / disgusted with him. And Who thinks that it isa way too weird that Crystal is Prof Oak Assistant. She is better with Prof Elm if you ask me.

I don't HATE N, in fact in the games he's one of my favorite characters. I just don't like the way he's being portrayed in the manga. It just seems like a step backwards from his game personality to me.

And well, Professor Oak was the one who gave Crystal the Pokedex and the capturing job, so it makes more sense for her to be his assitant rather than Elm, whom she never really associated with at all. Besides, Elm already had an assitant--Joey.

Um, yeah. They BATTLED the Pokemon they CAPTURED.

Battling and capturing wild pokemon is not the same as battling trainers. In a straight up brawl with another trainer who focuses on battling, Crystal would lose. She just wasn't a battler. She was a capture specialist and apparently now a researcher.

[matt0044]

^ Yeah, but what he meant was they were trained to capture other Pokémon not to beat them in battle. The techniques and strategies Crystal trained them are to capture Pokémon, not to beat them.

So she's not a good battler? Even if she wasn't capturing Pokemon, I don't believe she's bad at Trainer battles. At least, nothing indicates that.

[e9310103838]

So she's not a good battler? Even if she wasn't capturing Pokemon, I don't believe she's bad at Trainer battles. At least, nothing indicates that.

Yes, she has a spot reaction.

She even confront Victreebel (I think Red......)

[Weedy Spyze]

So she's not a good battler? Even if she wasn't capturing Pokemon, I don't believe she's bad at Trainer battles. At least, nothing indicates that.

She lost in the first round of the dex holder tournament. I would give more examples, but I can't recall any other time Crystal fought another trainer. Except when she and Gold held off Archie so the Hoenn trio could learn the quote "ultimate moves," where they both were defeated pretty easily while Emerald was wasting time babbling about his "tragic" backstory. Crystal's just not interested that much in battling, and why should she be? Catching and researching Pokemon is what she does.

[TomNamikaze]

^ Well, Emerald won that tournament. So, that competition doesn't fit as good judging material. I mean, how could Emerald win against Red or Green? They're the strongest trainers around, if Emerald managed to reach the final (which means that he didn't encounter them in the way) he would be trashed by either Red or Green (their power seemed to be even in FRLG, as they had a draw in their fight for the Ultimate Moves).

Anyway, that doesn't change the fact that Crystal isn't cut out for battling. She trained her Pokémon for capture during her whole life, it's pretty safe to assume they wouldn't be fit for battling.

[Weedy Spyze]

Lol the whole "Red and Blue are unbeatable!" crap is bs. People over-glorify those two way too much. Oh, I guess that counts as an unpopular opinion. I mean Emerald, as much as I don't like him, was always shown to be an extremely competent battler. He did manage to complete three of the Battle Frontier facilities' complete challenges, after all. Are you telling me there's no way he could've taken Red or Blue on in the finals and won with all of the battle skills he demonstrated? Bull. Red and Blue aren't untouchable battle gods, I think there's definitely a couple other Pokedex owners who could hold their on in a battle with them. Not to mention Red/Blue had just gotten over being petrified for two/three months, they obviously couldn't have been on their a-game anyway.

Wow, I just defended how my most disliked character could've beaten my favorite character in a battle. That feels strange.

[Orbis]

OOH, ooo, mimimimi!
-That the FRLG arc is awesome. I'm sorry, but in my opinion, it is. Most people say it was bland and that it was not needed. Granted, I did feel that it was not needed, but it still kicked ***. It had a perfect blend of dark stuff, action and plot. In the RS arc, the darkness ruled all. It got a bit hard to read sometimes. Darker than GlaDOS... Anyway, I thought the chemistry between Red and Blue (gal) was the best part of the story. They kick butt together :33333333 But still I thought it was epic as hell.

-Yellow sucks donkey balls. She's a Mary Sue, she's bland, and she's paired with Red. And her arc equally sucked donkey balls. Nuff said.

[Weedy Spyze]

I just got done reading the FRLG arc, actually. I don't think it was bland or anything (well maybe a little bit), and it was enjoyable. And it also gave my favorite character, Red, some very nice development. I absolutely loved watching him have that little episode where he was easily defeated, his spirit was crushed, and he doesn't want to fight on. It made me feel all giddy inside.

And I have to say, I thought the ending was perfect. I don't really care for Sird's current schemes in the manga, but the way she showed up at the very end where everyone thought the day was saved and turned all of our heroes into STONE was amazing. I loved it. Yay for downer endings!

(I would've loved it even more if Wally had been the one to save them, but oh well.)

[Orbis]

Don't you agree though, that the RS arc was very, wery dark at times. The FRLG arc had the perfect amount of dark, and that's what i love about it :333
And yeah, romance linked from childhood trauma: Not a fan. *Koff koff*Choosenshipping*koffkoff*FranticShipping*koff koffkoff*

[Weedy Spyze]

Yeah RS did get a little darker than Adventures normally gets, whether it was "too" dark or not I guess is opinion. I didn't mind it personally, actually I think it helps it stand out a little more from the other arcs. It felt like there was more at stake during that final battle.

FranticShipping I don't really mind, but I don't really care for ChosenShipping either. To me, Silver and Green are brother and sister. It suits their relationship a lot more than being a couple does. But I don't really care about shipping anyway though, so eh.

[Orbis]

Everyone who died had a comic book death thanks to ****ing Celebi. That's why I don't really like it. It never had any really lasting effects. Have Norman stay dead. He was a dick.

[Weedy Spyze]

Well it is a comic book, you know. But whatever, anyone who doesn't like the Celebi thing is free to do so I guess. Personally it didn't bug me at all.

[Evilchibi_pichu]

Oh my god, yes. It's exactly like Digimon Adventure 02. Silver and Ken were also almost completely the same character. :|

What makes it worse is that, at least, Ken was a bit interesting (until he became a good guy, then he was just annoying). Silver didn't really even that. I think Silver was a mixture of good!Ken and Iori/Cody; they're there, but at the same time we barely enough their character or/and are boring to really care. I think Gold was really the only thing that made Silver a little bit interesting. (Sorta like Daisuke/Davis, only a lot better.)

I don't think it makes him more interesting--on the contrary, I think it makes him less interesting. In the games, N was somewhat of a unique character (as far as Pokemon goes anyway). He was a strange little fellow who talked super fast, claimed he could understand Pokemon's words, disliked battling, and even wanted to be friends with the protagonist. In the manga, I feel like they got rid of most of that uniqueness and just turned him into another card-carrying villain. I just...don't like it. Like I said, the manga's free to change characterizations or whatever as they see fit, but N is just someone I think they should've left alone.

Perhaps. I have to wait until I see how he's written. I tend to like sociopathic characters, that's why I thought it to be interesting. Considering the way he's eyes are drawn, Kusaka maybe wanted to give him a more creepy feel before he learned the error of his ways (or something like that).

Oh, I can't either. Yellow should've just stayed a boy if you ask me. Every time I see that ponytail, for some reason she just becomes even less interesting to me.

I don't mind Yellow being a girl, I just didn't like how big of a role she had gotten because of her powers. If Kusaka really wanted a character with ~powers~, Yellow would of been better as a supporting character like a Guardian or something. Her powers and personality makes her come across off as a Mary Sue to me. Add that the whole Yellow arc made her out to be a severe underdog who can't do anything (lies, I say) and it's painful to read in the Yellow arc. And as you said, she does to have contrived moments (increasing pokemon levels, lol) which makes her character worse each time I see her.

Yellow must be Kusaka's waifu or something. No other non-villain character is as special as her.

Yeah he was, but apparently the original plan was to make him the dexholder, but at some point it was decided he wouldn't "fit" as the dexholder or whatever so Emerald was created. Even though Wally fit perfectly as the third Hoenn dexholder and Emerald stands out like an unwanted stepchild. I don't understand their logic, especially after already giving Wally so much foreshadowing and development during the Sky Pillar mini arc, but eh. And yeah Emerald's problems weren't interesting to me, either. Actually, they made him seem like even more of a brat.

Bulbapedia says something different, but yours is also a possibility. If what Bulbapedia says is right, then I wouldn't be surprised if Kusaka brought him back simply to deal with the third Dexholder situation and then do something with Mitsuru. Same here, especially when he knocked away pokemon just because of some bullies rather than using them. His whole backstory and the reason for his special ability felt forced.

So she's not a good battler? Even if she wasn't capturing Pokemon, I don't believe she's bad at Trainer battles. At least, nothing indicates that.

The problem with Crystal is that she has battling skills simply because she needs some to capture pokemon. If she were to go against a good trainer and not a newbie, she'll most likely lose. She doesn't have enough person-vs-person battling experience to be a good at trainer battles because she wasn't written that way. Her skills are more used for figuring out how to overcome pokemon instincts and to use her knowledge on different pokemon. These skills don't/won't always work against strong/creative trainers like the other Dexholders.

And as TomNamikaze said, her pokemon weren't made for battling. The Emerald arc shows this when Emerald uses them and they get own'd pretty quickly. Emerald was the only reason her pokemon managed to win and if it was Crystal instead, she would of lost quickly.

I like Crystal and all, but she just isn't a good battler.

And on that note, I dislike how Kusaka wrote Crystal. She developed way too quickly and made to be a pro way too soon. There's basically nothing he can do with her now (except become a spy for the Professor) other than help fight with the other two boys. Another reason why I hate the GSC arc.

I guess I can list some others of mine now:

- I dislike FRLG/E(/HGSS too, no doubt) as well. I used to like FRLG/E solely because of Saque, but after reading DP, I don't all that much anymore. I dislike all 3 of them for the similar reasons, their pointless plots. The plots tend to take up so much time and have to be contained in such a short space that we barely learn anything about the characters. And if we do, it feels out of nowhere or forced. The plot feels like a reason to have action than rather tell a story. I don't mind action, but the whole arc doesn't need it and for weak reasons.

- I think Jupiter is the best villain character. She is 10x more interesting than most of the other characters. It's too bad we'll probably never learn anything about her.

- E arc's reunion sucked and I much rather it not being there if nothing important was going to be done with it.

- I miss how Pika was portrayed in the RGB. In FRLG, he seemed too happy and more like every other pokemon. It would of been better if he shocked Masaki/Bill because the guy picked him up rather than to tell the human who he was. His look to Red when Red was bemoaning his existence will forever creep me out.

- I dislike most of the Dexholders simply because the way they are written and/or how they never get a chance to develop into actual interesting characters.

- The way some of the legendaries are portrayed; they seemed less like legends and more like regular and common pokemon. It kinda kills their "status" if it's so easy to get and control them.

[matt0044]

- I dislike most of the Dexholders simply because the way they are written and/or how they never get a chance to develop into actual interesting characters.

- The way some of the legendaries are portrayed; they seemed less like legends and more like regular and common pokemon. It kinda kills their "status" if it's so easy to get and control them.

Well, for some, they already are interesting characters and get better or worse. But hey, you're millage may vary.

For legendaries, I think Ghetsis put it best if you ask me:

A Pokémon, even if it's revered as a deity, is still just a Pokémon.

In other words, they may be revered as Gods but I wouldn't take the Pastor's word for it. They still have their limits like any other Pokemon even if they're amazing. The legendary moniker comes from how they're rarely ever seen. Of course, it's not like you can just waltz up to any of them and catch one unless you have a Master Ball which are rare themselves. It depends on how the battles are written.

[TomNamikaze]

Lol the whole "Red and Blue are unbeatable!" crap is bs. People over-glorify those two way too much. Oh, I guess that counts as an unpopular opinion. I mean Emerald, as much as I don't like him, was always shown to be an extremely competent battler. He did manage to complete three of the Battle Frontier facilities' complete challenges, after all. Are you telling me there's no way he could've taken Red or Blue on in the finals and won with all of the battle skills he demonstrated? Bull. Red and Blue aren't untouchable battle gods, I think there's definitely a couple other Pokedex owners who could hold their on in a battle with them. Not to mention Red/Blue had just gotten over being petrified for two/three months, they obviously couldn't have been on their a-game anyway.

Wow, I just defended how my most disliked character could've beaten my favorite character in a battle. That feels strange.

Ok, so they aren't umbeatable, whatever. They're still better than Emerald in my eyes. I'm sorry, I just fail to see how Emerald could beat them. I just can't conceive that in my mind. Maybe I'm being too much of a hater here, but yeah... And you did kinda prove my point, they had been petrified for two/three months, they weren't at their best. That's another reason to believe that tournament isn't a good judging tool.

You did! You totally did!... Who are you? Are you sure you're Weedy Spyze? You're not sick, are you?

[Weedy Spyze]

What makes it worse is that, at least, Ken was a bit interesting (until he became a good guy, then he was just annoying). Silver didn't really even that. I think Silver was a mixture of good!Ken and Iori/Cody; they're there, but at the same time we barely enough their character or/and are boring to really care. I think Gold was really the only thing that made Silver a little bit interesting. (Sorta like Daisuke/Davis, only a lot better.)

Lmao @ the bold. You're completely right. And yeah Gold did seem to be a lot like Davis done right, so that's another similarity. If you have the time I'd love to talk more Digimon with you, send me a message or something.

I don't mind Yellow being a girl, I just didn't like how big of a role she had gotten because of her powers. If Kusaka really wanted a character with ~powers~, Yellow would of been better as a supporting character like a Guardian or something. Her powers and personality makes her come across off as a Mary Sue to me. Add that the whole Yellow arc made her out to be a severe underdog who can't do anything (lies, I say) and it's painful to read in the Yellow arc. And as you said, she does to have contrived moments (increasing pokemon levels, lol) which makes her character worse each time I see her.

Yellow must be Kusaka's waifu or something. No other non-villain character is as special as her.

I don't know, it's just the ponytail really. Once the hat came off, a million sappy shipping fics were born. :| Or that's what it seems like at least. And yeah, I cannot say I really care for her "powers" and it's definitely a Mary Sue-ish trait. Superhuman powers aren't a good fit for Pokemon, that's what the monsters are for. And lol ugh, don't even mention the levels thing. I cringed when I read that part earlier.

For the record I like Yellow to some degree, I mean I did really like her story arc. She just becomes increasingly annoying to me every time she appears, which is part of the reason why I said she should just be retired earlier. With all of the new characters that we have now, she really is not needed anymore. FRLG would've been completely fine without her.

Bulbapedia says something different, but yours is also a possibility. If what Bulbapedia says is right, then I wouldn't be surprised if Kusaka brought him back simply to deal with the third Dexholder situation and then do something with Mitsuru. Same here, especially when he knocked away pokemon just because of some bullies rather than using them. His whole backstory and the reason for his special ability felt forced.

Oh well then go with what Bulbapedia says. All I know is that Wally registered himself as the owner of the Pokedex in the magazine run, but that was edited in the volumes (UGH WHY). And I agree that Emerald's whole trauma with being short did feel forced. If I liked him more, I might've cared for his development, but my disdain was so extreme that I don't even care that he got "better."

The problem with Crystal is that she has battling skills simply because she needs some to capture pokemon. If she were to go against a good trainer and not a newbie, she'll most likely lose. She doesn't have enough person-vs-person battling experience to be a good at trainer battles because she wasn't written that way. Her skills are more used for figuring out how to overcome pokemon instincts and to use her knowledge on different pokemon. These skills don't/won't always work against strong/creative trainers like the other Dexholders.

And as TomNamikaze said, her pokemon weren't made for battling. The Emerald arc shows this when Emerald uses them and they get own'd pretty quickly. Emerald was the only reason her pokemon managed to win and if it was Crystal instead, she would of lost quickly.

I like Crystal and all, but she just isn't a good battler.

And on that note, I dislike how Kusaka wrote Crystal. She developed way too quickly and made to be a pro way too soon. There's basically nothing he can do with her now (except become a spy for the Professor) other than help fight with the other two boys. Another reason why I hate the GSC arc.

Agreed with all of this. I never thought of that last paragraph before, but you're right. There wasn't really any development at all when it came to Crystal. She was already a pro capturer before she was even revealed. I guess you could do a story arc where she becomes more of a battler/trainer...but that could be done just as easily with a new and more interesting character. Like what they're doing with White right now.

I don't really have anything to add to the rest of what you said.

Ok, so they aren't umbeatable, whatever. They're still better than Emerald in my eyes. I'm sorry, I just fail to see how Emerald could beat them. I just can't conceive that in my mind. Maybe I'm being too much of a hater here, but yeah... And you did kinda prove my point, they had been petrified for two/three months, they weren't at their best. That's another reason to believe that tournament isn't a good judging tool.

You did! You totally did!... Who are you? Are you sure you're Weedy Spyze? You're not sick, are you?

Lol I'm not sick, I just kind of like to look at things as objectively as I can. Red and Blue don't stand on their own as completely unbeatable, and if the manga has ever done anything that implies that then you can add that as another point I dislike. It's the same reason I don't like the popular vision of Games!Red being the legendary unbeatable stoic god trainer that nobody could ever compare to. It's just boring. Not to mention invalid since I've beaten him with Gold/Ethan plenty of times and will beat him again with Kyouhei when the new games hit American shores.

[pika09]

My reasons for hating the Ruby & Sapphire chapter only grow after seeing that damn popular vote thing.

Me: It sucked. It tried to turn Adventures into something it's not: a violent brawl full of death. And that goddamn Celebi. Ruined it. Ruined everything about it.

Internet: But Ruby and Sapphire are in wuv! So that makes it OK!

Me: ............................

GOD, I hate shipping.

Hehe, I may be a shipper but even I agree that the RS arc was terrible.

1.I hate Ruby absolutely hate Ruby but love sapphire wild girls are my type

This.

#3: I say give it time for the volumes to come out. May I ask why you don't like it?

The characters, mostly. I like White, but not Black. Part of my dislike of the BW arc stems from the fact that I didn't play the games, and I don't plan to either.

[Izanagi]

I can see where what most fans see Red but he was meant to surpassed it was never meant to be some legendary unbeatable stoic hermit of a Pokemon trainer they people are all to fond of. Off-topic, I know but just had to get it off my chest.

[Evilchibi_pichu]

Well, for some, they already are interesting characters and get better or worse. But hey, you're millage may vary.

In other words, they may be revered as Gods but I wouldn't take the Pastor's word for it. They still have their limits like any other Pokemon even if they're amazing. The legendary moniker comes from how they're rarely ever seen. Of course, it's not like you can just waltz up to any of them and catch one unless you have a Master Ball which are rare themselves. It depends on how the battles are written.

For me, it's mostly the latter. I've found that most characters tend to be a little interesting at first only to get worse. For example, Ruby is one that gets worse, but for a few others they just don't go anywhere, weren't interesting, and stay boring like Silver.

Good Ghetsis quote, it fits how the villains think quite well. Though, I don't really believe they're gods but rather very powerful pokemon that are one-of-a-kind. The problem is that we don't always see how they're captured and they just appear with barely a comment. For instance, Lila/Anabel suddenly appears with Raikou and there's barely a comment on it. Another example is that Latio/as are working and friends with Emerald for almost no reason. No resistance, no struggle to control them, nothing. I can understand limits, but such things were just recently shown. Before then, they really did come off as regular pokemon like the common pikachuu. Heck, Pika resisted Red more than half of the legendaries shown. The best and my favorite was how Kyogre and Groudon were written, with Giratina as the runner-up. Rather than have two puny humans controlled them or being completely mindless, they control the humans and talk using them showing they aren't just mindless fighting beasts. Sure it could of been a bit better, but it really gave a sense that the legendaries are a force to be reckoned with if you take that risk. I like when the legendaries aren't push-overs and have minds of their own so they can rebel if they so wanted.

Lmao @ the bold. You're completely right. And yeah Gold did seem to be a lot like Davis done right, so that's another similarity. If you have the time I'd love to talk more Digimon with you, send me a message or something.

Somehow that just makes me love Gold more. Sure, I would love to talk!

I don't know, it's just the ponytail really. Once the hat came off, a million sappy shipping fics were born. :| Or that's what it seems like at least. And yeah, I cannot say I really care for her "powers" and it's definitely a Mary Sue-ish trait. Superhuman powers aren't a good fit for Pokemon, that's what the monsters are for. And lol ugh, don't even mention the levels thing. I cringed when I read that part earlier.

For the record I like Yellow to some degree, I mean I did really like her story arc. She just becomes increasingly annoying to me every time she appears, which is part of the reason why I said she should just be retired earlier. With all of the new characters that we have now, she really is not needed anymore. FRLG would've been completely fine without her.

And I can really believe that happening with lots of holy music in the background. Uggh. Agreed; I don't mind the humans having super skills and abilities, but the powers were pretty out of place and overall pointless. I see, well, it's okay if you like her. I do like the whole "E4 being evil, but not really" and the focus on Pika and his issues aspects, I just don't like her as character. I feel that other characters like Green would of been better for the arc. I certainly wouldn't mind her retiring forever. It would be nice, actually. Heh, I would even say that GSC could of been fine without her with a little rewriting.

Oh well then go with what Bulbapedia says. All I know is that Wally registered himself as the owner of the Pokedex in the magazine run, but that was edited in the volumes (UGH WHY). And I agree that Emerald's whole trauma with being short did feel forced. If I liked him more, I might've cared for his development, but my disdain was so extreme that I don't even care that he got "better."

Oh really? That's news to me! I had no idea he was ever a owner, but I'm not surprised. I mean, it's not like the Pokedexes can't be restored to their default, pffft. Man, Mitsuru always gets the short of the stick. Maybe, but I had actually liked him a bit before his whole backstory popped up and I still couldn't bring myself to care. It's just too forced and bad. Frankly, I see Emerald as a lost cause, haha.

Agreed with all of this. I never thought of that last paragraph before, but you're right. There wasn't really any development at all when it came to Crystal. She was already a pro capturer before she was even revealed. I guess you could do a story arc where she becomes more of a battler/trainer...but that could be done just as easily with a new and more interesting character. Like what they're doing with White right now.

Yeah, I much rather have White become one. I want Crystal to stay as a capturer since it's unique, I just wish there would one day be a GSC rewrite/remake (PokeSpe, not the games). That way Kusaka can actually have her learn to capture and slowly become a pro.

Lol I'm not sick, I just kind of like to look at things as objectively as I can. Red and Blue don't stand on their own as completely unbeatable, and if the manga has ever done anything that implies that then you can add that as another point I dislike. It's the same reason I don't like the popular vision of Games!Red being the legendary unbeatable stoic god trainer that nobody could ever compare to. It's just boring. Not to mention invalid since I've beaten him with Gold/Ethan plenty of times and will beat him again with Kyouhei when the new games hit American shores.

I like that vision of game!Red because he can be pretty interesting when he does loses. That and I like stoic characters since they can be fun to mess with with characters like game!Green and Hibiki and tend to be darn cool. Though, he would be hard to make likeable if it wasn't for these characters, I'll admit.

On that note, I hate how Red and Green's rivalry was handled in PokeSpe. I like rivalries as they not make the characters more fun to watch/read, it also helps in the development. It would of helped those two be a lot better characters and, at least, the bickering would make up for the rest of their lackluster personalities. Their friendship (if you can call it that), as shown in FRLG and GSC, is just meh. Below average.

The characters, mostly. I like White, but not Black. Part of my dislike of the BW arc stems from the fact that I didn't play the games, and I don't plan to either.

I see, I see. From the little I've seen, I don't like Black (or White yet) too much either. You may not be alone yet.