Lurker > FalconPain

There's actually a neat explanation for the dissonance.

Movies based on TV shows often feel a need to increase the stakes. (After all, if it's the same as watching episodes, watching episodes is a lot cheaper and more convenient.) Thus, they tend to go into overly dramatic situations, where everything is arranged to increase the tension as much as possible.

One thing I've learned from way too much tropes is that a lot of stuff that's dramatic requires impractical setups, illogical character decisions, and the like. If everyone was logical and things were done efficiently, it would be much less eyecatching and the plot would be resolved before anything exciting could even happen.

The trope name is RuleOfDrama. (And often RuleOfCool.) If the result is dramatic or cool, viewers can forgive the contrivances that caused it to happen.

But this doesn't always work, especially with Pokemon. In most shonen shows, people consider it awesome when a character who has found himself unable to defeat an antagonist head-on is able to devise a strategy that takes advantages of a non-obvious weakness, or pools together multiple characters' talents to create something much greater than what they could do separately. In Pokemon, these are called "aiming for the horn" and "thunder armor", respectively. (It doesn't help that it's an anime based on a game series that bases its battle engine on very distinct rules that have very few exceptions, such as "electric will never hurt ground".)

And then we come to Anagram, who has made ten successful topics based on watching the episodes and making fun of all the poor character decisions, contradictions and plot holes in the series. When the movies go overboard with them in an effort to make things exciting, he's less likely to accept the result.

Neither approach is wrong, but they don't mix well.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

"Giratina vs. Shaymin" anagrams to "shiny Anagram visit".

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Little Growly howled all night. The topic creator was found frozen solid.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Piplup is almost immediately paralyzed by secret power, so it jumps into the water and gets over its paralysis. That's not actually how paralysis works, but okay.

It was back when Ash challenged the Cerulean Gym.

I think the logic behind the criticism is "if you're covered in spores/powder that paralyzes you, water can wash it off. Hidden Power isn't soluble!"

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I strongly suspect that it's because of the belief that "on the ropes" battle endings are automatically more dramatic (wasn't there an official rule about writing Yu-Gi-Oh! that stated that Yugi could never be allowed to win with more than 1000 life points left?), while the central theme of this battle was less about determination and more about teamwork. Thus, team members need to outlast the battle together.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Damn, they named Kyle? I was so sure you'd be amused that Ash actually lost to Unnamed Trainer #X...

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Wow, you did a writeup of The Bells Are Singing and didn't make a single mention of three-part harmony?
That's doing it a disservice, both on the good end (Team Rocket and a suspicious decoy) and the bad end (holy crap that song gets old fast).

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I will be forced to relay the bad news.

After three or so years, evidence strongly points to the possibility that the episode was the last appearance of Cassidy and Blanche in the series.
Between the Chronicles subseries and that episode, I think we can safely say that they ended on a weak note.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Well, since you didn't mention it in the writeup...

When was the last time Pikachu went up against both a Rhydon and Magmar?
And what was his famous strategy to battle one of them?
And what strategy explicitly would not work during this battle, why, and how would it look?

That's what I meant when I said there'd be an example of the Pokémon world having changed around Ash.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

This will definitely be proven in about three or so episodes (if my count's right). I won't say how; I want to see if Anagram notices.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Oh dear.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

They spent the whole movie acting like reporters and palling around with Alberto.
It has been quite some time since they've been relevant to the plot of a movie in the slightest.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

The next day, the heroes buy a Lunar Wing from a random vendor, which "makes nightmares a thing of the past." Because a piece of jewelry you buy from some dude will really defeat the nightmare powers of Darkrai.

It will when it is made of Cresselia fedders. Cresselia fedders do that.
...no, she doesn't get to appear in the Darkrai movie. She has to wait. And that's still not the biggest insult to her.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Compare with Butch, who (at least before Chronicles) had the name gag approximately once per episode starting with his second, and his appearances were spaced out.
Actually, Stephan pulled the name gag three times in his first appearance. It didn't bother me until his next appearance, where they went even more utterly crazy with it.

Other than that annoying detail, I don't mind him so much, if only because I like his choices of Pokemon and it's nice to see a recurring character with his body type that doesn't play it for laughs. (Yup, we're definitely in PokeAmerica.)

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Score!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Patience, people. I've had at least three good reasons to hint at events that will be happening at a certain "cup", and have yet to do so.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

At this point, I'd like to make "that Officer Jenny who said that Pokemon can't understand humans was an utter incompetent and was summarily sacked after the episode" personal fanon just so we don't have to allow our memories of one stupid character to infect the rest of the series, in which Pokemon routinely understand humans even if they don't always listen.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I've run two anniversary revivals... except that the anniversary was April 1 both times. The first one ran for a few weeks; the second one was a single topic due to a popular nomination (MvC3) that was too early to be relevant.

Really, the big thing that caused its collapse on my end was Strife2's webhost changing policies such that I couldn't log in. For those who haven't seen the evidence firsthand on Stickam (my main contribution to this community lately), I utterly fail at computer-related stuff, and that especially goes for things that involve knowledge of servers, like owning a website.
Then there's the lesser stuff like burning out, dealing with complaints, nomination issues, nomation issues...

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Shouldn't that last one be GARAMAN or something like that? Take the time to occasionally live up to your name!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Anagram posted...
I did not! Just goes to show that I instinctively am the ultimate Pokemon reviewer.

NOOOO!
While your summary was otherwise spot on, your refusal to call attention to one of the most amusing verbal tics to be exhibited by a recurring character has made you look foolish and negligent! Where is your reviewing power?

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

The only interesting thing here is that because of the weird editing of this scene, Ash yells "Squirtle, NOOOO!" twice.

I don't know if you did this on purpose or not.
Emphasizing Ash's repeated use of the word "NOOOO!" during this battle.
Which happens to be a battle with Brandon.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

There are two kinds of episodes in this series!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Well, add that to the list...

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Madam.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I think Iris's Emolga stole them and fled.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

People who have steeds shouldn't play the yiff card.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I shouldn't need to say this, but every time I hear complaints about it, I have to point it out.

In contrast to the Kanto season, we are expected to care about the lives and careers of the people who are traveling with Ash.

Okay, it was limited back then, with a few Misty-centric episodes. And even up through Sinnoh, it was hard to pay much attention to Brock.
But that's not the case now.
It's kinda pointless to complain that an entire year passed between gym 7 and gym 8 in Sinnoh, because that ignores two very important things: everything concerning Team Galactic's plans and everything concerning Dawn's contest career. Which, believe it or not, were two very large elements of the Sinnoh seasons.
As for Unova, Iris seems to be less plot-centric than May or Dawn, but Cilan's become more important than Brock or Max, so it'll probably come out to the same amount of filler and side character plots overall.

I can think of few easier ways to induce myself to hate the anime and decide to stop watching it than to think that the only thing that matters is whether or not Ash gets his badges and/or wins the tournament. Especially after every season to date has resoundingly established that the answers will be "eventually" and "not quite".
...I hope I'm not the only one who noticed that recent theme songs have been less about "I wanna be the very best" and "do you have the skills to be number one" and more about "it's about never giving up" and "it's not about win or lose; it's the path you choose".

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I think Ariados does end up replacing Beedrill in Sinnoh. At least if Dawn and Piplup have anything to say about it.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Sorry, guys, but people don't meet their lovers on roller coasters. They meet them on ferris wheels.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

It's weak precedent, considering the guy's out and the charges have been dropped.

If the guy had been put away for a lengthy time, or if there had been an official statement promising similar fates for anyone else caught singing the song, there would be a solid argument.
As it is, it's precedent for how arrests can happen for stupid reasons.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Let him get through at least the Pokemon cosplay episode in Sinnoh before he makes his final judgment.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Indeed. Even your most recent post.
Meowth and Scraggy have done nothing of the sort. At least, not yet.
I'm simply not paying attention to what Nyase and Zuruggu might be doing...

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Preventing anticlimactic purge.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Wow. Anagram slogs through the endless filler, visual edits, game discrepancies, and the like, getting closer and closer to the episodes I've recently cared about...

...and the one thing that threatens to end the topic is... U8?

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

This is not the height of the storm in DC. It's not even expected to make landfall in Virginia until after midnight.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

So... it's attracted to thunderstorms, and those lightning strikes do the whole LightningRod/MotorDrive/whatever thing?
And it doesn't like this?

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I'll be honest.
If he hadn't brought it up, I was going to.

The more you bump this, the less you look like a victim and the more you look like you're playing the victim card.
You're looking less like someone who has reason to be upset and more like you want to play but are holding out for a better deal.
(Especially after the good topic dropped.)

Besides, you're back to schoolnorn and worknorn, right?. Othernorns just don't matter right now.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

I consider Apollo Justice to be a competent and particularly apt deconstruction of the Phoenix Wright games.
The thing is that people like the games perfectly fine when they're played straight.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Contra: Shattered Soldier.

How to take no fewer than four enjoyable shoot-em-ups and retroactively make their plots utterly pointless for the sake of a single "corrupt government" twist that literally affects nothing of consequence in its own game except the identity of one of the villains.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

You heard it here, folks. Giovanni is old!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Indeed. The great debate of whether his name is pronounced Ste-FAWN or STEFF-in has been chronicled.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

All-vital tag post.
Don't mind me. I only tend to talk about episodes once I've seen them in dub form.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

There will be at least one point in the series where Ash will have three of his six Pokemon equipped with moves that do recoil to the user, plus one who has the similar but not identical "has to recover after doing the move".

This is a surprisingly sound strategy in the anime, considering one of the criteria for a true shonen protagonist is the ability to do a move that hurts, tires, or can potentially kill the user, and yet never suffer any significant consequences. Stupid Heroic Willpower.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Butz testimony starting now!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

The trial begins...

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Tragedy strikes! What will happen next?
Find out at 2 PM PDT tomorrow!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

Casual bump to keep topic alive.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

3-5 is starting! 3-5 IS STARTING!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

The lack of access to the website also hurt. Piczo did bizarre things and Strife2 didn't keep me updated on them.

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin

3-3 is ended.
Will 3-4 go smoothly tomorrow? Stay tuned!

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You should get at least one alt in the event you get warned or put into Purgatory. - Luster
It's probably easier to just not break the rules. - SmartMuffin