What are your thoughts on modern Pokemon? I think it's the most corporate and soulless slop to ever exist.
I've never given attention to (most of) the games and anime until a few years ago, and now that I better understand what Pokémon is about.. I think the series enjoyed very shortlived improvement. This franchise is a retcon Hell. I sense this comfortable indifference coming from the direction and it irritates me, because sometimes I want to be lore accurate as a fanartist, but it's impossible with Pokémon. It's impossible with Nintendo productions in general. I'm pissed and shitted by the franchise's decision to erase Team Rocket's Meowth's struggle of trying to walk on two legs by making every Meowth rise up. That cat went through bodily pain for the mere prospect of getting his love interest's approval, it was a good backstory, but now, the anime only acknowledges he learned the human language for her. Great, very sacrificial. Some say Meowth's in-game sprite already had the animal stand up, but if the Meowth is based on Japanese lucky cat statues, it makes more sense they were sitting down and striking a pose, not standing on their actual back paws, legs stretched. Maybe it never was Sugimori's intention to make Meowth quadruped and the anime made a mistake no one cared to rectify at that moment, but Nintendo obviously doesn't shy away from flipping everything on its head, a recent example being Rosalina from the Super Mario franchise. She was thousands (?) of years old and said to have had a little brother, but now that the Mario Galaxy movie came out, she's suddenly dubbed Peach's sister and Miyamoto expressed wanting to make this narrative canon in future games. Absolute shit, like, genuinely. The above instance gives a good example of what's plagued Pokémon since forever, and that's the true "slop" here. You can see a sliver of a motivated staff member in every Pokémon product, but big franchises all share the same problem: Even those who care are controlled by people with a "money first"-mentality, and when your passion is making money, story and consistency end up on second or even last place.
Concerning the games, I've played Pokémon Red, Pokémon Stadium, PokéPark Wii, Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team (and DX), Pokémon Diamond, White, Moon, X, Legends: Arceus, and Violet -and out of all of these, Mystery Dungeon was the only game that presented me a cool story and some challenge. Bless this game, but curse its flaws. White presented an interesting moral question, but I don't recall getting wowed by anything else. The main games are known for their mechanics, but there's no real strategy needed besides raising your Pokémon's level. When maxed out, you'll win, always. Level-capped battles and PVP matches require more skill, but the unfortunate thing here is that most people will never be able to fight and win with their favourite Pokémon. Only a handful of these beasts are truly useful, the rest is just there to be cute. I know this is a cruel world that will never acknowledge physical equality, I wouldn't expect my dog to take on a tiger, but I'd love to experience an implausible win the anime tells me should be possible. I want a Pokémon game littered with restrictions, that can't be brute-forced, that require you to think and try out Pokémon you'd normally never give a chance. I want Celia's Stupid Romhack.
Speaking of the anime, I think I stopped watching somewhere around the 5th season. It started to feel like a show for very little children. Not saying it was ever for adults, but I remember being so bored. I already didn't like the anime's habit of giving Ash new "friends" every now and then, the different art style(s) starting Black & White, and I'm also not sold on their latest decision to retire Ash and Team Rocket entirely. Regardless, I understand and respect these attempts to keep the show fresh. Does my ancient ass even have the right to complain, I didn't even finish the original show. When talking about the card game, I have to be honest, most of the artwork I've seen pass me by doesn't impress me. The way people go turbo mad over these cards you know barely costs Nintendo any money to barf out is sad to see, because it's thanks to their obsession and desperation that card touts are able to make a living. The only real victims here are children. Everyone should take a seat and punish scalpers by putting their hobby on a pause, leave them stuck with thousands of products no one shows interest for, until they're forced to lower the price. But, that'll never happen. Nintendo could also kill the business in one swoop by cheaply selling packets that exclusively contain these rare pulls, for an entire year, instantly dropkicking the value, which would be super funny, but again, that'll never happen. I doubt they're genuinely concerned about this issue. They might say or do certain things to seem like it, but why would they actively stop something that's filling their wallet.
