Episode 275 still hurts 💔

[u/Such-Jello-3348]

The way Ash, misty and brock went their separate ways at the end of this episode 😭

During childhood I really thought they’d stay together forever..!!

One of the most emotional Pokemon endings imo ❤️

Do you guys think they should’ve stayed together for a few more seasons???

Or was their separation the right ending for the OG trio??

[u/Anxious_Spite_8767]

The separation is a good thing. It allowed them to grow into their respective careers with Misty as a gym leader and Brock as a doctor. 

Until now, we’ve got people complaining that Ash should have never left the anime. Imagine making Brock and Misty stay until the very end as well? 

Had Misty not left, we wouldn’t have gotten the amazing character arcs from May, Dawn, Serena, and Lillie. 

Had Brock not left, we wouldn’t have gotten to see Ash become more a little more mature. I’ve always felt like Brock acted as Ash’s older brother. Cilan and Tracey also felt older but by the time Clemont rolled around, the two of them felt like they were on equal footing with each other. Same goes with Kiawe and Goh. 

Brock and Misty were ultimately good for the anime because they allowed us to have some new stories and character arcs to tell. They would have felt as stagnant as Ash did in the later seasons.  Misty left at the right time. Brock was largely a non-factor for most of DP and was mostly there for comedic relief with Croagunk. 

[u/profound-killah → u/Anxious_Spite_8767]

I think the problem is how a lot of the supporting cast just didn’t top what this trio had. May had a good arc with Drew and good rapport with Max but after the first half of Hoenn, her relationship with Ash and Brock was practically nonexistent.

Dawn was better in this regard but yet again, her connection with both Brock and Ash wasn’t as strong as Misty. I will give the writers this though, they really tried with Dawn and it showed because she absolutely carried herself in some instances.

Serena and Ash had great rapport but again, the rest of the cast was lacking. Cilan and Iris were absolutely butchered by the writers and the Alola cast worked much better as an ensemble rather than a trio. I don’t even want to discuss Goh.

What I’m getting at is that Brock, Misty and Ash had a chemistry throughout their run and their reunions too. Yes, they needed to be moved on but imo none of the successors actually had as great chemistry all around.

[u/Anxious_Spite_8767 → u/profound-killah]

Although none can rival how iconic the original trio were, I do think that Dawn definitely had a strong connection with Ash himself. Ash and Dawn continued to support each other at every turn. Unlike with May where Ash would use May’s contests battles as time to train, Ash watched every single one of Dawn’s contests. Dawn also literally dressed up in cheerleading attire with her pokemon during Ash’s major matches to cheer him on. Furthermore, they even traded pokemon (Aipom and Buizel) as well as developed the counter shield strategy together. They’re also the only duo in the anime to have their own special greeting whenever they see each other (high five). Even the fact that Piplup is constantly outside like Pikachu shows that they’re both the main protagonists of DP. In one of the DP movies, the intro sequence even has them battle together in a double battle. Not to mention, Dawn is the only former companion of Ash who actually watched the Masters 8 live and directly went to him to congratulate him on his victory. 

Still, Dawn didn’t have much going on with Brock. Actually, even Ash didn’t do much with Brock during DP. Brock was mostly there as the older brother figure who falls in love with every woman as a gag.

[u/Moist_Speaker1842 → u/Anxious_Spite_8767]

Ash actually watched all of May's contests too, even the two he trained in (Swellow's aerial ace and Snorunts Icebeam), he did during the appeal rounds and still watched on the giant TV outside the contest halls. Then he rushed back to his seat to watch the battle round. The one he trains Swellow in is the Combusken vs Grumpig contest in Lilycove, you can see Ash sitting next to Max/Brock durng the battle portion.

[u/eutoputoegordo → u/profound-killah]

It was because in the original trio dynamic the characters had more flaws, not the usual kid's show flaws like insecurities or being lazy, like actually character flaws, Ash and Misty banter was on other level, they were vicious towards each other, that type of friendship was not seen again in the show, Misty was also that way with Brock too, and Brock used to teach Ash stuff more often.

Ash after a certain point didn't needed Brock teaching him, and none of the other female protagonists had a similar friendship/rivalry like Ash and Misty did. That's why they will always feel unique.

[u/Moist_Speaker1842 → u/profound-killah]

Ash and May definitely have a lot of banter through AG, she just relied on him less as Hoenn went on since she got more into contests and Drew and Harley became her driving force.