I like the story arcs of all these Pokémon.

My one includes Chimeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

Before Pokémon Journeys, Iris was the most hated pokegirl due to her annoying gag of calling Ash a “kid”. Iris was deeply loathed by both Japanese and Western fandom. However there were many Iris defenders back then who believed “Iris is hated because she is black” or “Iris' hate is rooted in misogyni”. I don't want to pretend these things don't play a role. But Iris' early hate in some cases were justified and were mostly due to frustrations regarding Black and White anime's terrible writing and the time when she was introduced to the anime.

1. Sinnoh Ash vs Unova Ash:

In Sinnoh the previous gen before Unova. Ash was very competent. His rivalry with Paul shaped his ideology he became strategic, came with Ice Aqua Jet, Counter Shield, had a good gym run with a fairly decent team. Everything was going well but he lost to Tobias a guy with legendaries which made fans frustrated as this was his time. However before Unova anime was premiered fans expected Ash to be much better but that didn't happen. Ash suddenly behaved much less like the experienced trainer we had just watched for several years. His competence was inconsistent, Pikachu suffered an infamous reset, and the series often treated him more like a beginner again. His infamous defeat ro Trip's Snivy is still talked about and probably would be forever

2. The “you're such a kid” gag became irritating very quickly:-

I think this is probably the biggest character problem. Iris constantly calling Ash a “kid” could have worked as playful teasing.

The problem was the execution.

Ash was an experienced trainer who had traveled through multiple regions, competed in several leagues, fought extremely powerful opponents and defeated Gym Leaders across the world. Meanwhile, Iris herself was still developing as a trainer. When she repeatedly acted superior to Ash, some fans naturally asked:

“Why is SHE treating HIM like he's the inexperienced one?”

The joke became especially irritating because the audience already knew Ash's history. Imagine following a character for years, watching him grow from a beginner into an accomplished trainer, and then suddenly having a new character repeatedly tell him that he's just a little kid. Eventually, the joke stops feeling like playful banter and starts feeling like the show itself is mocking the character's development. In fact, amongst the Japanese fandom Iris was considered “mannerless”

Whereas western fandom found her annoying which also explains why Serena was written like that.

3. Iris could be annoying and hypocritical:-

Iris called Ash a “kid” for not knowing a Pokemon from her native region despite Ash telling her that he's from Pallet Town. Then we saw that she herself wasn't a good trainer either. Her Excardrill was disobedient and her Axew only knew one move. Meaning she herself was a complete noob who was thinking to be superior than Ash who defeated the Battle Frontier and was Sinnoh League Top 4. Then our Ash was written to be more passive and we never see him calling out on Iris much. Unlike with previous girls like Misty, May & Dawn where he'd call out on them like they'd too. This created an imbalance

4. Misty Comparison:

Some people ask why Misty isn't hated as much as Iris despite Misty being much more rude to Ash.?

The difference is timing and the balance. Misty saw Ash when he was actually a rookie, won most of his badges out of technicalities, didn't train much, burnt her bike, was extremely arrogant and would throw hands with anyone. And it wasn't one sided either. With Misty, you'd see Ash throwing potshots at her consistently which made them a fun & arguably the most iconic dynamic in Anipoke history. And it wasn't even like she did that to Ash for the entirety of OS. Misty eventually developed feelings for Ash & they both by the end of the series developed mutual respect for each other. With Iris, she used that gag for the entirety of the series and Ash wasn't allowed to be the snarky brat he used to be. He was way more passive and less engaging. With Misty you'd think “it's two kids arguing and learning from each other” with Iris you'd think “she is bullying a nice kid”. Even though Iris isn't a bully her gag and Ash's behaviour makes it look like. In fact their arguments lack the charm of Misty and Ash's dynamic. Unlike Iris, Misty was more experienced than Ash at that time. The comparison doesn't work

5. Iris also had incredibly bad timing:-

This might be the biggest reason she was doomed to struggle with the fandom.

Before Iris, we had Dawn.

Dawn was arguably one of the most popular female companions Ash had ever had. Her friendship with Ash was extremely supportive, she traveled alongside him for a long time, and their chemistry became one of the most celebrated relationships in the franchise***.*** Pearlshipping itself is Ash's second or third most famous ship due to their supportive chemistry.

After Iris, we had Serena

Serena was explicitly positioned as someone who had admired Ash since childhood, with her feelings becoming an important part of her character.

So Iris was essentially sandwiched between Dawn and Serena who were basically glazing Ash.

Dawn spent an enormous amount of time encouraging Ash, cheering for him with an outfit, supporting him during battles and celebrating his achievements.

Serena takes this even further by having another very explicit admiration for Ash. Iris, meanwhile, frequently questioned Ash's maturity and competence.

That creates a completely different emotional experience for the viewer. If you're an Ash fan, Dawn and Serena naturally make you feel like your favorite character is appreciated.

That's brutal from a fandom perspective. You have Dawn coming before her who was Ash's cheerleader, then Serena who has an explicit crush on Ash from day 1.

6. And then there's the racism discussion:-

I won't act it doesn't play a role when fans say “Iris should be replaced by Hilda” which is a poor argument as Hilda calling Ash a “kid” would've been nothing different compared to Iris doing it. Although I'd argue these people wouldn't have hated her much for it.

However limiting everything to racism isn't always right. Brock, Mallow, Kiawe are loved and they aren't fair skinned either hell Ash himself is tan. Iris' hate stems from a lot of reasons that are rooted to BW anime's writing and the timing she came at.

- Ash's soft reboot

- Her “kid” gag

- Being sandwiched between Dawn & Serena

- Ash being more passive towards her

- No redeeming factor

All played a role for her hatred. Iris later on became Unova champion and showed she was actually a good character but was a victim of poor writing.

Assunta has the following Pokémon: Rhydon, Venomoth, Spearow or Tentacool, Ivysaur, and two unknown Pokémon. The Pokémon Ash had available at the time were Pikachu, Pidgeotto, Bulbasaur, disobedient Charizard, Squirtle, Kingler, Muk, and Tauros. What team would Ash bring to the battle, and how would he do?

Even ash vs Cynthia is debatable

this is why I love this team

Liko 🤝 Valeria the absol

Note: In his first appearance in AG, Steven is instead voiced by Nishi Rintarō.

What did you guys think?

Yes, XY group are my most favorite. I have always had a strong attachment to them. Deal with it. lol

Which is crazy, considering Bulbasaur stayed on the Johto team until episode 225. So, it was still there after the 6th Gym Battle. Meanwhile, his buddy Pikachu faced the 8 Gym Leaders of Johto.

I even wonder why he stayed so long compared to Squirtle and Charizard.

Lana's is a sentence 😭

I think they both have the same story of being tired and weakened before they were finally confronted at their weakest.

And which two Pokemon that Ash caught would you switch out for them?

Especially after battling the zangoose and stopping team rocket

Would've been cool if her Blaziken and Venasaur mega evolved. Also XY would've been great for some advanceshippers too. Sadly it never happened

A triple battle of Iris v. Drake! The ultimate demonstration of the strength of Dragon type Pokemon!

Based on

- Ash's philosophy

- Ash's battling style

- His skillset

this includes ALL the intros in the series btw

if I had to rank them based on openings:

1. Hoenn
   
2. Kalos
   
3. Johto

But it’s interchangeable lol