Welcome, one and all. Grab a glass of beverage. Have a snack of food. Pull up a furniture. And join me as we reminisce on the Indigo League and prepare for our adventures in the Orange Islands.<\/p>\n Fewer things are as nostalgic to my generation as the first season of Pok\u00e9mon<\/i>. One of the best dubbed theme songs ever. Such a unique premise. Exciting battles. Amazing creatures. Not to mention playing the games as you watched the show. It was an entirely new experience for kids across the world, and it was the start of a media juggernaut.<\/p>\n It was so great and unique that most people didn\u2019t realize at the time what an utter mess the first season was. Being fair, it\u2019s not as bad as you might think. My list of episodes to put as potential entries into the worst list was actually shorter than the one for the best list. But, man, when this season was bad, it was damn bad.<\/p>\n There is so much to love about the first season despite its pratfalls. And the evolution (hehe) it went through was interesting to look back on.<\/p>\n How Pok\u00e9mon Changed from the Early Days<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n The Characters<\/i>: Pok\u00e9mon<\/i>, somewhat ironically, takes a bit of time to actually evolve throughout the years. Changes are made, no doubt, but when it comes to big shake ups that aren\u2019t just adding a new gen of Pok\u00e9mon, it\u2019ll take another few years before we get any that substantial. That doesn\u2019t mean that Pok\u00e9mon didn\u2019t change at all over its first outing.<\/p>\n I like seeing Misty and Brock change over the episodes. Misty became less abrasive (in some episodes, not as much) and Brock became goofier and much less stoic.<\/p>\n Ash didn\u2019t change so much. I can\u2019t even say he changed at all. He went from a naive overly cocky rookie to a naive overly cocky slightly more experienced amateur. He has his moments where he shows he\u2019s learned some stuff and has matured a little, but they\u2019re few and far between. Pikachu evolved more than he did, shifting from a brat who wouldn\u2019t do a thing Ash said to Ash\u2019s best friend.<\/p>\n Ash, Misty, and Brock becoming a great group of friends was very natural. It\u2019s always been a bit odd that Brock and Misty being Gym Leaders barely ever comes up, though. You\u2019d think that\u2019d be a bigger thing and that some people would recognize them. Some Gym Leaders are practically celebrities, but no one ever notices Brock and Misty.<\/p>\n Speaking of them being Gym Leaders, it did irk me that Ash never takes advantage of that. He does get useful advice from them, and they do coach him in the Indigo League tournament, but the training they could have done with him and the knowledge they could have imparted could have been invaluable.<\/p>\n It\u2019s kinda funny (read: sad) that I\u2019m now realizing that Ash never would have made it anywhere near as far as he got if it weren\u2019t for their advice and Brock taking care of his food needs and Pok\u00e9mon. I do rag on them for never getting anything to do in most episodes, but imagine where Ash would be without them.<\/p>\n These three melded into being a tight-knit group of friends extremely naturally. They barely make it into double-digit episodes when I start to feel like they\u2019ve known each other a lot longer than they have. That\u2019s a pretty impressive feat. Much most impressive given that the characters have no relation whatsoever to each other in the games, so their relationship was made from scratch.<\/p>\n It was interesting that Team Rocket had a moment where they were more of a serious threat, and I\u2019m not sure how much I\u2019m irritated by the fact that they became almost pure comic relief. The show might have been more boring if it stayed with them being more serious threats.<\/p>\n Their backstories are a mess, mostly in regard to Jessie and James as Meowth\u2019s is pretty consistent. It doesn\u2019t really affect anything, but it\u2019s sloppy.<\/p>\n Gary\u2026..*sigh* What a waste. In this season anyway.<\/p>\n Gary will continue to come back once Johto starts, but it\u2019s just a travesty to set up a rival for Ash and never once have him actually battle him.<\/p>\n Gary\u2019s only purpose in this season was to insult Ash and leave. Oh, and get absolutely curbstomped by Mewtwo and have him forget about that entire incident forever.<\/p>\n It\u2019s such a shame. Even Gary\u2019s off-screen duties as being a measuring stick for Ash so he\u2019d get off his ass to actually train and capture some Pok\u00e9mon don\u2019t amount to anything. The most that happens as a result of that is Ash catching Krabby.<\/p>\n Charizard<\/i>: Yeah, Charizard gets a whole section to himself. Charmander literally and figuratively evolved in the opposite direction as Pikachu, going from a loyal sweetheart to a fire-breathing jerk after evolving to Charmeleon and then Charizard. That\u2019s one character change I definitely didn\u2019t enjoy.<\/p>\n I am all for Ash struggling with trying to control a powerful Pok\u00e9mon. That, in my opinion, is a very interesting and realistic recurring storyline to pursue. But why they chose Charmander\/eleon\/izard is, in my opinion, one of their worse decisions in Kanto.<\/p>\n All to no end, as I explained in the finale. Oak calls him out on not training Charizard being a deciding factor in why he lost, and that\u2019s it. Ash doesn\u2019t reflect on his failings with Charizard, he doesn\u2019t vow to properly train Charizard in the future \u2013 nothing. I would have been so much more understanding of this storyline if Ash did either of those things. He\u2019s still a kid, so I can understand him reaching this point, but you need to have the consequences sink in. I don\u2019t need a big to-do. Just an acknowledgement by Ash and a promise to do better would have sufficed. But no.<\/p>\n And, like I mentioned, it will take another 25 episodes before Charizard finally chills (*wink*) and starts obeying him. I would have been understanding of that too since stuff like this takes time, but he never once tries to train Charizard in those 25 episodes. It was such a good storyline idea completely wasted.<\/p>\n Then you have to return to the problem of why Charmander\u2019s attitude problem even started. He immediately became a problem child after evolving into Charmeleon and only got worse when he evolved into Charizard.<\/p>\n It\u2019s weird that Charmander was originally so loyal to Damian, a Trainer who treated him like shit. He nearly died in his efforts to be loyal to him. But when it comes to Ash, a Trainer who treats him well, he suddenly starts disobeying him, even though he had obeyed just fine before he evolved.<\/p>\n I guess that does happen with children. Like if they were abused and followed rules with their parents, and then they were adopted out or sent to foster care they might rebel or develop behavioral problems due to that abuse. But if that was the intent with Charmander they really didn\u2019t convey that well at all.<\/p>\n They state a couple of times in the series that evolution changes Pok\u00e9mon with some implications that personality changes come with evolution, but this really doesn\u2019t seem like a tried and true rule. Most Pok\u00e9mon who evolve keep their personalities intact, like Caterpie\/Metapod\/Butterfree and even Mankey\/Primeape. Maybe they get a little more confident because they\u2019re bigger and stronger, but they don\u2019t completely change who they are most of the time. Why was Charmander an outlier?<\/p>\n Well, in my opinion, I believe they originally wrote this storyline for Primeape, but switched to Charmander\/eleon\/izard because it\u2019s the cooler choice as Ash\u2019s go-to powerhouse, and it\u2019s more of a face of the franchise given that it\u2019s a starter and displayed on Pok\u00e9mon Red\u2019s packaging and cartridge.<\/p>\n Primeape was already uncontrollable from the instant Ash met him as a Mankey, and the one time he considered using Primeape in a battle, he opted against it because he was so crazy. It would make perfect sense for Ash to have to slowly build up the courage to let out Primeape and figure out a way to make him calmer and more of a team player.<\/p>\n Instead, they chuck him off the show almost immediately after capture and then evolve Charmander and have him be the rowdy disobeying teenager without caring whether it made sense.<\/p>\n And like I\u2019ve said before, I don\u2019t buy that Ash commanding Charmeleon to take a dive against Paras is what set him off. One of the first things he did after evolving was blow fire in Ash\u2019s ear with a smile. Charmander would never do such a thing. Not on purpose. If he ever did it on accident, he\u2019d be extremely remorseful.<\/p>\n Even analyzing the circumstances of Charmander\u2019s evolution doesn\u2019t help, because the last things that happen between Ash and Charmander before he evolves is showing deep concern for Charmander overexerting himself with too many Flamethrowers, being encouraging, and being proud that he helped save a town from a bomb. It was one of those rare moments in the early days when Ash was being a good Trainer.<\/p>\n The other thing that was brought up was Ash just not having the experience to handle Charmeleon\/izard, which reflects an issue from the games where you have to have a certain amount of Badges to handle higher level Pok\u00e9mon. That would be understandable if it actually followed game logic, but he had more than enough Badges to handle a Charmeleon by that point. He\u2019s already gone through the Indigo League, and Charizard still won\u2019t obey.<\/p>\n If you just mean general experience without Badges\u2026.that still doesn\u2019t make sense. Because he handled Charmander just fine. He also handles Kingler and Muk just fine. It\u2019s like saying that it\u2019s understandable that a dog doesn\u2019t obey you when you trained it perfectly fine as a puppy. That\u2019s not how that works.<\/p>\n I dunno. We\u2019ll never learn what happened there from a story standpoint. I doubt even the writers knew.<\/p>\n The Format<\/i>: The first handful of episodes of Pok\u00e9mon<\/i> were much more linear than they eventually became. Once they clear the Cascade Badge, it becomes more episodic. There are a few two and three-parters to keep linear consistency across several episodes, and one confusing instance of Todd just existing in three episodes in a row making a strange kinda-three-parter, but it\u2019s mostly just contained stories outside of capture, Badge, and League episodes.<\/p>\n Still, you have to wonder how the show would have been had it maintained its more linear style all the way through. I imagine it would have been\u2026.bad.<\/p>\n Or maybe more to the point just not as beneficial to Pok\u00e9mon<\/i> as a whole as opposed to a more episodic style.<\/p>\n Episodic shows are easier to keep in syndication. You don\u2019t need to be following the overall story all that closely when you catch a rerun out of nowhere, which is especially beneficial in kids\u2019 show syndication.<\/p>\n You also get more freedom with storytelling in episodic shows than you do with linear storylines, which is very much necessary when you\u2019re trying to showcase essentially every Pok\u00e9mon in existence. I really like the episodic style. I like episodic shows in general. They can be very chill. All I ask for is, if there\u2019s still an overarching storyline, that said overarching storyline doesn\u2019t suffer because the writers care more about the little fun weekly adventures than the plot.<\/p>\n Which seems to be exactly what the problem was with Indigo.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s be real. It\u2019s a good thing that the show wasn\u2019t linear. Because it wasn\u2019t just that the writers cared more about a grab bag of stories rooted in Pok\u00e9mon lore and showcasing the Pok\u00e9mon of the week. It was that they tended to not give a Rattata\u2019s ass about that stuff when they did get around to having episodes centered on them.<\/p>\n Sure, there are some really good Gym matches. Sure, there are some decent captures. Sure, there\u2019s a good League episode. Sure, training\u2026.uhh\u2026..Okay, training was a total wash, but there was some workable stuff in that regard.<\/p>\n The three-parters are some of the best episodes of the season, and those are mostly linear. But those episodes also tend to have a lot of difficulty either sticking the landing or fitting into the overall story. Remember when Delia just didn\u2019t remember that her son was declared dead in a shipwreck for several days and didn\u2019t react at all upon seeing him immediately after?<\/p>\n They could handle linear two and three-parters, but they wouldn\u2019t be able to handle a linear-styled show from start to finish.<\/p>\n I know that the series eventually does become more linear, way way way further into the future. But at this point? No way. I just don\u2019t think it would have worked.<\/p>\n Not to mention that I don\u2019t think they had the material at this point to really make a fully linear show and still have 80 episodes. It needed to have a better balance, no doubt. But that\u2019s what first seasons are for. This is basically the training wheels year of Pok\u00e9mon<\/i>.<\/p>\n How 4Kids Evolved<\/i>: Speaking of training wheel years, this is also the case for good ol\u2019 4Kids. It\u2019s somewhat endearing to see 4Kids in their dubbing infancy. You can see them trying to feel out how they should change the soundtrack, how they should change the characters, what voices fit best in their view of how they want the show to be, what should be censored and Americanized, what should be changed or left alone, how they want to deal with the Japanese text on screen, etc.<\/p>\n Even hearing the voice actors change and either get more comfortable or make conscious decisions to sound different based on what they\u2019re learning about the characters is intriguing. Considering most of the 4Kids regular cast members were more or less newbies themselves to voice acting at the time, they did a very admirable job.<\/p>\n Meowth and James eventually changing voice actors was fairly seamless, even though you could tell there was a different spin being added to the character when they did change. Since the characters themselves changed, that probably helped with the transition.<\/p>\n 4Kids didn\u2019t take much time at all settling into their trademark style. The first handful of episodes are fairly loyal, and it really seemed like they made more of an effort to meet FCC standards, have their own style, and be loyal to the Japanese version at once when they were just starting out. Like\u2026first ten or fifteen episodes. After that, pfft. It\u2019s the wild west. Just do what we want and see what sticks.<\/p>\n It obviously worked for them because the Pok\u00e9mon anime was insanely popular in America for many years, but one has to wonder what could have been if 4Kids skewed more towards being more loyal than doing their own thing. Obviously, they still have to meet western broadcast standards, that\u2019s fine, but that doesn\u2019t account for a huge chunk of what they changed or removed, so a more loyal Pok\u00e9mon<\/i> could have been on the table. Would that have been for the better or the worse overall? Hard to determine.<\/p>\n But let\u2019s loop back around to the stuff about the main storyline of Pok\u00e9mon<\/i> since I want to address another big issue with the Indigo League episodes.<\/p>\n Pity Badges<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n One of the biggest gripes I have with the Indigo League\u2019s Badge progression is the fact that half or more of Ash\u2019s Badges weren\u2019t earned through battle. These Badges have been nicknamed \u201cPity Badges\u201d though maybe it\u2019s more apt to call them \u201cGolly, Ash, you saved my Gym and\/or Pok\u00e9mon. Here\u2019s a Badge! Badges\u201d but that\u2019s a little long.<\/p>\n As far as I know, Indigo is the only season with Pity Badges. Why is that? Well, I suspect it circles back around to how the focus of the show has evolved through the years. When they were first starting out, it was clear that the writers were more interested in stories about exploring individual Pok\u00e9mon, playing around with various one-off characters, and being very laid back rather than focusing on battles. Maybe they weren\u2019t confident in their abilities to have a battle take up a majority of an episode and have it be interesting.<\/p>\n It\u2019s quite possible that it was also a budgetary reason. Battles are obviously very movement-heavy on the Pok\u00e9mon\u2019s part and include a wide variety of other moving parts like fire, water, electricity etc. So having battles be a bigger part of the series is a more expensive option.<\/p>\n That\u2019s very understandable, especially back in the 90s.<\/p>\n But, still, even if you\u2019re dialing the battling back for the sake of saving money in the long run, you\u2019d think you\u2019d splurge on the Gym Battle episodes. Like how in many action-oriented anime you\u2019ll notice that there are episodes where the budget is clearly low, but then later it\u2019s apparent that they saved the budget for important big battle episodes.<\/p>\n That theory doesn\u2019t even make sense in some Pity Badge episodes, like \u201cPok\u00e9mon Scent-Sation\u201d where there\u2019s a giant fire involved, meaning a lot of constant animation for a long time.<\/p>\n Or maybe they wanted to keep driving home the idea that Ash is just such a goshdarn swell guy that he deserves a lot of accomplishments he didn\u2019t technically earn.<\/p>\n I was thinking back on this, and, man, it really doesn\u2019t help Ash\u2019s image as a lazy Trainer at all to have a bulk of this season not centered on battling and giving him so many Pity Badges from the start. I\u2019m so glad that will be changing\u2026\u2026In Johto.<\/p>\n Yeah, even though he doesn\u2019t get Pity Badges in Orange, this general less-focused-on-battles trend doesn\u2019t really change in Orange. From what I recall, it\u2019s very much the same vibes with just as much training and capturing. It may actually be MORE laid back given the tropical aesthetic and the fact that most of the Badges are won via competitions instead of battles.<\/p>\n Being completely fair, even though Ash does get increasingly entitled to getting Badges without battling for them as the season goes on, the show does eventually address this. Thank God for Blaine not putting up with that shit.<\/p>\n However, it really doesn\u2019t help that, following him being called out for his expecting Pity Badges\u2026..the next and final Gym Match is basically a Pity Badge episode. Yeah, he battled for it\u2026.but he battled Jessie and James, and they once again bullshitted a matchup with Pikachu against a Ground Type for it\u2026.Again, immediately following a Badge battle where they did that same thing\u2026.<\/p>\n The Tragedy of the Indigo League Tournament<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Hot damn, where do I even begin?<\/p>\n Look, I\u2019ve already said my piece on this pretty thoroughly so I won\u2019t talk your ear off (err\u2026type your\u2026.eyes\u2026out?) but let\u2019s sum things up.<\/p>\n Let me just start by saying, if you know me, you know I LOVE Tournament arcs. They\u2019re the best. They\u2019re some of my favorite things in anime. They\u2019re awesome. How the Indigo League conference did not spoil my love of tournaments before I even became a full-fledged anime fan, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n This was the series\u2019 first foray into Pok\u00e9mon League Tournaments, and to say it went badly would be a horrific understatement. Skipping matches, completely bullshitting some of the matches they did show full out, and that final match was one of the most humiliating scenes in Pok\u00e9mon<\/i> ever.<\/p>\n I just think about other shows with tournaments and how the protagonists are typically gung ho about training their asses off before a tournament. They\u2019re even obsessed with training during them sometimes because they\u2019re that<\/i> determined to win or the game means that much to them. And then I look to Ash who just seems to coast a lot on \u201cI\u2019m friends with my Pok\u00e9mon, and that means I win I guess!\u201d<\/p>\n It just sucks so much for his lack of training to matter so little in the long run. So he was humiliated in round five. Gary couldn\u2019t get through round four \u2013 no, I\u2019m not going to let that go! It\u2019s an absolute miracle upon miracles (*coughcoughImeanbullshitcough*) that he made it beyond round two. And Ash will brag about getting in the top 16 far more often than he\u2019ll be shamed for his ridiculous lack of training his Charizard causing him to lose his fifth match. And, like we already know, even this giant heaping helping of humble pie, with fucking whipped cream and a cherry on top didn\u2019t teach him a thing.<\/p>\n If someone knows of a worse Pok\u00e9mon League Tournament arc, please warn me because I only got through Johto back when I was watching regularly, and I barely remember the Johto tournament (Probably because it took so long to get there.)<\/p>\n Just such a waste. Such a damn shame.<\/p>\n The Other Two Pallet Trainers<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n I didn\u2019t know where else to put this, and I feel like I\u2019ll never have a chance to bring this up again, so as a final note for Indigo, what happened to the other two Trainers who left Pallet Town? I know we\u2019re told near the end of the season that they gave up on their journeys because they just didn\u2019t have what it took or whatever, but who were they? Pallet is a small town. You\u2019d think they\u2019d at least name-drop them.<\/p>\n I just wanna know why they quit, and what became of them. Did they change career paths to other Pok\u00e9mon-related ventures like Gary will much later down the line? What hardships did they face that made them quit when they were so far ahead of Ash and keeping pace with Gary? What became of the Pok\u00e9mon they captured? It\u2019s just something that\u2019s really nagged me over the years. Seems like wasted potential for at least a brief storyline.<\/p>\n Conclusion (Part 1)<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Indigo has a lot of problems. Like, a lot. But I can\u2019t deny that it\u2019s a classic and a nostalgia bomb that, if I felt I had time, I would go back and rewatch yet again<\/i> at some point. I probably still would rewatch an episode here and there, especially those on my favorites list, but for now we have to move on to more orange pastures.<\/p>\n Before we do that, though. I want to crown my top ten and pbbbt my bottom ten episodes of the Indigo League.<\/p>\n Top Ten Indigo League Episodes (In My Opinion)<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n 10 \u2013 Holy Matrimony<\/a><\/p>\n 9 \u2013 The Path to the Pok\u00e9mon League<\/a><\/p>\n 8 \u2013 Friends to the End<\/a><\/p>\n 7 \u2013 Bye Bye Butterfree<\/a><\/p>\n 6 \u2013 Island of the Giant Pok\u00e9mon<\/a><\/p>\n 5 \u2013 Riddle Me This<\/a><\/p>\n 4 \u2013 Volcanic Panic<\/a><\/p>\n 3 \u2013 Pok\u00e9mon Shipwreck<\/a><\/p>\n 2 \u2013 Pok\u00e9mon Fashion Flash<\/a><\/p>\n 1 \u2013 The Ghost of Maiden\u2019s Peak<\/a><\/p>\n Honorable Mentions: Bulbasaur\u2019s Mysterious Garden<\/a>, The Fourth Round Rumble<\/a>, Ash Catches a Pokemon!<\/a>, Clefairy and the Moon Stone<\/a>, Who Gets to Keep Togepi?<\/a>, The Electric Shock Showdown<\/a>, The Bridge Bike Gang<\/a>, The Legend of Miniryu\/Dratini<\/a>, Here Comes the Squirtle Squad<\/a>.<\/p>\n Bottom Ten Indigo League Episodes (In My Opinion)<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n 10 \u2013 Fire and Ice<\/a><\/p>\n 9 \u2013 The Battle for the Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 8 \u2013 So Near, Yet So Farfetch\u2019d<\/a><\/p>\n 7 \u2014 The Punchy Pok\u00e9mon<\/a><\/p>\n 6 \u2013 The Pewter City Showdown!<\/a><\/p>\n 5 \u2013 The Purr-Fect Hero<\/a><\/p>\n 4 \u2013 The Kangaskhan Kid<\/a><\/p>\n 3 \u2013 The March of the Exeggutor Squad<\/a><\/p>\n 2 \u2013 The Problem with Paras<\/a><\/p>\n 1 \u2014 Friend and Foe Alike<\/a><\/p>\n Dishonorable Mentions: Bad to the Bone<\/a>, All Fired Up!<\/a>, Sparks Fly for Magnemite<\/a>, Beauty and the Beach\/Holiday at Aupulco<\/a>.<\/p>\n Badge Episode Rankings (Based purely on the match itself, not the episode)<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n 10 \u2013 Earth Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 9 \u2013 Marsh Badge (Attempts three and four)<\/a><\/p>\n 8 \u2013 Cascade Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 7 \u2013 Soul Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 6 \u2013 Rainbow Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 5 \u2013 Boulder Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 4 \u2013 Marsh Badge (Attempts one and two)<\/a><\/p>\n 3 \u2013 Thunder Badge<\/a><\/p>\n 2 \u2013 Volcano Badge (Attempt one)<\/a><\/p>\n 1 \u2013 Volcano Badge (Attempt two)<\/a><\/p>\n Orange League Preamble<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Despite being the first (And only?) \u2018filler\u2019 season of the Pok\u00e9mon anime franchise, I\u2019ve always really loved the Orange League episodes, and I\u2019m so happy I\u2019ve reached this arc in my review series. There are a lot of things to look forward to, such as:<\/p>\n A New Setting<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n The island and ocean setting is a nice change of pace from the endless forest that was Kanto. I love that they don\u2019t travel by boat, usually, and instead they travel on one of the best Pok\u00e9mon ever \u2013 Lapras.<\/p>\n Lapras being here is also a huge plus. I can\u2019t emphasize enough how much I love Lapras. It\u2019s adorable, beautiful, I want one so badly, why is reality a disappointment?<\/p>\n The New Gyms Present Unique Challenges<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n As stated before, instead of basic battling, most of the Orange Island Gyms have a series of different competitions and challenges that the Trainer and their Pok\u00e9mon must be able to overcome in order to earn the Badges. While I did feel a bit disappointed that the Gyms in the Orange Islands didn\u2019t have actual Gym battles, with some exceptions, the idea of challenges and competitions instead of battles is fun and interesting. And, in the end, I was actually disappointed that the last Gym Leader did just work on the basic Pok\u00e9mon battle structure after all that.<\/p>\n A Trainer who actually trains their Pok\u00e9mon should be able to meet these challenges\u2026..Well\u2026okay, one of the challenges is kinda bullshit. We\u2019ll cross that bridge later.<\/p>\n Some challenges are more understandable, focusing on accuracy or teamwork, while others can be classified as silly, but at least they\u2019re creative and fun.<\/p>\n The Gym Leaders are called the Orange Crew in this season, which I thought was cute.<\/p>\n The Badges are also unique in that they\u2019re all made from seashells, which is pretty cool.<\/p>\n The Orange League \u201cTournament\u201d<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Okay\u2026.so\u2026.the Orange League Tournament\u2026..isn\u2019t a tournament. And, BEING COMPLETELY FAIR\u2026.they never say it is (I don\u2019t think they do, anyway. If they slip up, I\u2019ll catch it). We have to get that out of the way. I spent a while as a kid being salty because I was expecting a tournament in the Orange League just because I figured League=tournament, but it\u2019s not. It\u2019s just a single six-on-six battle with the leader of the Orange Crew, the Supreme Gym Leader, Drake.<\/p>\n However, despite being a little miffed back then about there not being a tournament, I was, in no way, disappointed by the outcome, because the final battle against Drake is, by far, in my opinion, the best battle of the series to that point and one of my absolute favorites of the franchise. I\u2019ll go more into detail when we get there, but I am very much looking forward to the Orange League finale.<\/p>\n Tracey<\/b><\/u><\/span><\/p>\n Ahhh\u2026..hmmmm\u2026<\/p>\n Am I looking forward to Tracey\u2019s introduction? Not really. But I\u2019m also not dreading it or anything. I don\u2019t have anything against Not-Brock. Honestly. I never did. I like that he draws a lot, I like that he\u2019s into Pok\u00e9mon research, I like his small assortment of Pok\u00e9mon.<\/p>\n One could argue he\u2019s blander than Brock, and\u2026yeah, there\u2019s a grain of truth in that, but it\u2019s not that bad. He\u2019s just, ya know\u2026.Not Brock. My opinion may change on the rewatch. We\u2019ll have to see.<\/p>\n As a kid, I never liked major cast changes in regard to people leaving. I still don\u2019t, to be honest, but I\u2019ve gotten a little better about it\u2026..Just a little. I\u2019m a grump stuck in my ways. It\u2019s hard to accept major changes in something you love.<\/p>\n Back when Tracey was introduced, we had no idea Brock would ever return. That\u2019s one of the major reasons why Tracey got such shit when he was introduced. It wasn\u2019t just that he was bland or replaced Brock, it was that we felt like we\u2019d never see Brock again, and we blamed Tracey for it. Up until this point, no character, Pok\u00e9mon or human, who has departed the show had ever returned.<\/p>\n Plus, there is that slightly iffy part we\u2019d only understand as adults where Tracey\/Kenji was created purely to have more of a white guy representation since someone somewhere considered Brock\/Takeshi\u2019s design to be too stereotypical of Japanese people, and the show was going global.<\/p>\n But Tracey\u2019s fine. Really, he\u2019s fine. I will miss Brock when we say goodbye to him, but now we know it\u2019s temporary (At least until the next time he leaves which will be hundreds of episodes later), so we can cut Tracey some slack and enjoy his company.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/fiddletwix.wordpress.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/s-l1200-e1763413081535.jpg\")
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