Why was the XYZ Series so popular?
Vložit
- čas přidán 13. 01. 2024
- The XYZ Series popularity has never been truly thought out, and everyone is wondering why the series were so popular? and why is it still talked about today? That is the question we will be answering in today's video!
#pokemon #pokemonxyz #pokemoncommunity
music used in this video:
Undertale OSTS - By Toby Fox
Buisness Email: bryantantunez5@gmail.com
PLEASE READ: Everyone... I want to say thank you so much for the support on this video... it means so much to me that people can band together and help one another like this... your comments are so fun to read, and I apologize if I haven't gone through all of them! I didn't think I would one day have passionate fans like you guys ever. I just want to say thank you from the bottom of my heart, I've been going through a lot lately, and this all just puts a smile on my face. I'm not asking you guys to subscribe, and you don't have to at all... so if this is our last time meeting, then friends, I thank you for helping me... I love you all 😭💙
No probs, still can't believe pokemon xy is a decade old
Bro your commentary is godly and all the passion u put has reached us. Stand proud brother
@KaitouKiara422 thank you for the kind words... almost had me tearing up bruh 😭
@@Pokiiii62 no prob Man U deserve a sub :D
You gotta sub ᕦʕ •ᴥ•ʔᕤ
What makes XYZ standout is its well thought out plot, great development for characters (specifically Ash and Greninja), and its lack of filler episodes unlike the previous 2 seasons of XY.
Exactly my point!
It was also the most engaging sending new iideas, revelations and endings
Absolutely. I'd say that one of X & Y's biggest weak points is the filler episodes. Very disappointing how there's so many, especially since each ones of those episodes had potential to be a lot more interesting.
Ngl I loved some of the filler episodes. It might just be nostalgia but there were some bangers in there. The mirror cave, the pokeball factory, the gadget festival/escape room, and the Malamar hypnosis episode are all great. I think a big part of this is just how fun it was for me to see the cast interact as it always made me smile. Definitely need to rewatch these sometime soon.
Yeah
I just realized that Pokémon xyz is probably the last time where we see trainers doing gym battles to enter the league. 💀
Wait.... oh my gosh your right 💀
The Alola League being open invitation did cheapen the experience
@@VolticWind yeah, that's why I don't feel the hyped when ash won alola. To me it was just another orange island thing (but with better story and animation).
I also didn't notice this
I also didn't notice this
I think it helps that the XY series was the last traditional journey Ash went on before things became a lot more episodic and goofy. It was truly the last time that you could take him seriously.
Yeah...too true
Yeah
I liked Alola. It was fun and a nice changeup of the formula. Made it seem like Ash really was 10
@@jepoyburner alla was made for younger audience but xyz was still made for the older one
Well that sucks
Ash’s story arc was peak. He felt older, more matured. He failed, but got depressed. You saw how he was affected by his failures. He grew a bond with his Pokémon strong enough to rival mega Pokémon. He fought in the battle with his Pokémon, feeling the damage and having complete understanding between them. It’s sad to see Ash go now, but honestly, he probably should’ve left sooner, sun and moon just made him feel like an inexperienced child again. Watching the two shows back to back is jarring, making you appreciate XYZ even more. It truly was beautiful and how I choose to remember Ash in the end.
Truly well said! 👏👏👏
I will forever be mad that sun and moon ash won but xyz ash lost
Just pretend Alain's mega X charzard got washed by Ash Greninja. Happy now?
That whole arc when he trained in the snowy forest cuz he lost to Wulfric was..mannn
That was Deep! Ash gets back up and "came back stronger"@@markanine562
*Why I think XY(&Z) was so popular:*
1. Ash was portrayed like a teenager with experience instead of a 10 year old boy that knew nothing of pokémon.
2. The animation was at it's best, every battle, scene, moment & detail was outstandingly done. It really felt like an anime.
3. There wasn't a lot of filler, and if there was, most had character development or were funny episodes in-between.
4. Amourshipping was a big thing and even the writers of the series later on confirmed that Ash & Serena would get married.
5. Ash's team was really great and all of them had at least some episodes where they really shine.
6. All of the gym battles were amazing, even better than Diamond & Pearl and Black & White.
7. Mega Evolution is such a great concept and the X & Y games were amazing as well. Most designs were really nice.
8. Greninja became more & more popular through the series with SSB4. Olympia's vision & Ash-Greninja later on only helped.
9. The music of both in-game and of the series were outstanding, next to Black & White the best we ever gotten.
10. All side-characters were explored and had a role. Even smaller side-characters like Shauna, Tierno & Trevor got explained.
11. Team Flare wasn't anything like Team Rocket, Magma, Aqua, Galactic or Plasma, they really wanted to destroy the world.
12. Everyone was hyped in the battle between Ash & Sawyer & Ash vs Alain. If Ash won the Kalos League, the world would've known it.
_“even the writers of the series later on confirmed that Ash & Serena would get married.”_
Umm…what?
@@EWOODJit's not real news
@@EWOODJ Look on the internet for Tetsu Yajima interview, you'll find out. Also Satoshi Tajiri himself said 'might' so for him it's a possibility, depending on the writers, Tajiri is only the director, not the writer.
The games suck ngl
Serena ❤
XY felt like a love letter to longtime fans because of how Ash here really felt like he had matured as a person and trainer due to his journeys so far. And the attitude of other characters towards him reflects this, most notably that of Clemont, Sawyer and Serena who saw him as a role model and that helped in their own growth as characters. And Ash's battles here also reflected his maturity due to how clever and strategic he was throughout the series.
Exactly, it developed ash's character so well
Yeah
@@Pokiiii62 and it felt quite natural too given Ash's journey so far.
in alola ash kinda became stupider but it was still good just not as good
@@MyNameIsThis15 yeah
The popularity was also due to the art style and how it made ash look older
The art style debate never really came up until Sun and Moon was revealed with a radically different style and more animation friendly character designs
@@crestofhonor2349 No one on the internet is gonna bring up Pokemon's art style without something to compare it to. While the ones before XY/Z weren't that bad at the time of their inception that it didn't really warrant a comparison that would get tons of people to discuss it, the Sun/Moon art style was such a step away from the usual art style that people instantly took notice of it. If it was a good art style in the general public's opinion, then you wouldn't be hearing people talk about it or XY/Z's as much; but the general public opinion from what I'm always hearing around the internet is that the art style is a total turn off for most people. Once you have something you think is bad, you'll start to compare it to something similar that you think is good or the best.
i think the art style helps, but this is also clearly veteran ash now, from his first interaction in kalos he already knows so much more then his other series counterparts where he regressed back to basics
I like this art style SO MUCH better then what we had today I wish we could get this old art style back.
It’s so perfect mann
This is the only one I like. I just get the feeling he is like 3 years younger in the later ones. Feels a little wrong
It was a let down for me when I saw Sun and Moon
@@alexfrostwalker 100% agree I git hooked by pokmeon because I watched the black and white anime and continued to XY and XYZ, seeing sun and moon made me stop watching pokemon because the artsyle seems too different and it doesn't attract me to watch ut so I just skipped and continued to the journeys instead
This style is the best, but I think people don’t realize how hard it becomes to animate with more complex character designs. The simplistic style of SM allowed for much more fluid animation than XYZ did
i will never ever forget my 12 year old selfs extreme hype for alola anime after this, and i remember the intro getting leaked, and being super confused why they were singing about having fun in the sun after having the most badass pokemon intro in the season before that
Yeah... it was disappointing to say the least
I’ve bean disappointed with Pokémon’s anime starting Alola
not watched it since so i have no clue what its like, hearing that ash won the league annoyed me so much, he could of just won in XYZ lol@@5k1fr05t_chknsndwch
even though its been years and years, the immeasurable disappointment kid-me felt seeing the new alolan ash design compared to his x and y design is something i'll never forget
I honestly lost interest in Pokémon after Alola it's like they just peaked for no reason.
I'm actually really glad that I grew up with this specific Pokemon series! The storyline was peak at this series
For real man, I agree
Yeah
Same, but after I saw sun and moon I was extremely disappointed because my expectations were so high
@@ilysm_pookie000 same. After sun & moon, I stopped watching Pokemon animes completely
@@GreenKirby808 really ?
Can’t believe it’s over a decade since XY was out! It’s still my favorite series forever! 💙❤️
SAME!! - won't change either
no way
YEAH ME TOO. HOWEVER, TO ME, XY still is THE BEST! because of the reasons mentioned by @BoyFromBelgium99 which I agree with.
Many people’s favorite
It's been 10 years _💀_
XY and XYZ will always be peak Pokemon for me because not only was the story engaging but the animation and art was also appealing to look at.
xy and xyz was my first time seeing pokemon on tv when it was being aired and i agree with all this. ash looked like he had matured and the transition from black and white to xy with ash being on the plane to fly over to kalos really made me feel like all of the series beinf one complete timeline was being acknowledged by pokemon (the company).
SAME FOR ME TOO!
I will never forget the sheer disappointment I felt when I saw the trailer for sun and moon!!! I actually thought it was fanmade until I realized it was real. Everything I liked about XYZ was removed in Sun and Moon, the animation felt like a downgrade despite still being fairly good, in XY Ash finally felt like a mature character and they threw it down the drain in every way, with not only character design, but just his entire personality. I had a lot of hope for the final pokemon series with Ash to be like XY, but I was still disappointed :(
XY was just so cool, and nothing they did after that lived up to the sheer hype I felt waiting weekly for each episode back then.
Did u even watch sun and moon? There were some moments in the series that are double xy’s maturity, i won’t spoil it, please give it a chance. I too was turned off by its art style and the first 20 episodes were horrible but it became really good in the later series.
@oscarzhan1435 I watched all of it, but it felt really episodic at times, like things they did didn't matter half the time. it was decent overall and was pretty good sometimes but in my opinion didn't hit the spot xy did, or maybe I was just older and didn't appreciate it for what it was idk
@@oscarzhan1435 The darker and more "mature themes" of Sun and Moon felt entirely overshadowed by how silly and childish the rest of the series felt. If they wanted to drive home deep and touching points, it would have done better in a series like XYZ that was more mature overall. I see the argument all the time of Sun and Moon supporters defending the series with their life and while we're all entitled to our opinions, half the time SM supporters feel like they can't respect people who disliked the series. Their argument is always "But it had mature themes in it!" but neglect to consider how those themes are overshadowed by how unserious the rest of the series became. I have no issue with people liking the series, but I wish SM fans would learn to respect other fans as well when we say we didn't like it.
@@dinosaur8682First off I wanted to say that I was definitely respecting him and I was by no means hurting his feelings. Yes if they wanted maturity overall, they should watch xy but the maturity was more in general rather than the extra deep and touching moments in Sun and Moon. Even though it didn’t have overall maturity, some episodes had double the maturity of an average xy episode. And our arguement is most definitely not “But it had mature themes in it!”, but I have to admit it is more of “Nah you just didn’t watch the series because of the artstyle”. Why do we think this? Well it’s really because it is partially true, many people are put off by the series because of the art style and its goofiness and then proceed to put hate about it. Even tho I do prefer XY over Sun and Moon, I have to say that the amount of bashing Sun and Moon fans got from XY stans was really unnecessary, because like you said, some fans really need to learn to respect other fans when they said that they don’t like it. I could go on and on about the tonal backlash and how the audience for Sun and Moon where all XY fans rather than the audience that they were targeted at (10 year olds lol), which all really hurt its ratings. Anyways I just wanted to make sure that he actually watched it, which is like the first step to getting your opinion valid.
It actually felt like an anime instead of a kids show
Exactly how I felt
Also Serena's popularity should probably at least have a shout out. That definitely mattered at the time it was coming out when I was following the anime.
she was peak, she wasnt useless she had her personality and the ash serena dynamic was SO GOOD i actually miss that a lot from xy that ash serena dynamic is so incredible it pushed me to rewatch it.
and the fact that she had a talent and dream doesnt make her just like any other ash companion.
@@Omega-X Fully agreed!
@@Omega-XSerena is probably second favorite female companion. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life but we went on that journey with her. Her growth as a performer and as a character felt natural with all the ups and downs that she went through. Her failure at her first performance was heart breaking but she didn’t whine or complain. She picked herself up and showed that she wanted to learn and grow from it to become better.
XY is what got me into pokemon. The writing of the human characters was what caught my eye, which is why I pay more attention to the people than the pokemon. Clemont is my favorite pokemon anime character just because I relate to him so much as an older sibling myself.
I'm glad you felt that way, clemont is also my favorite character in the xy anime as well... I heavily agree my friend 💙
Agreed
@@Pokiiii62Clemont stans unite! ^^
Same here mate, Clemont is my favourite character as well!
The XYZ Anime will forever be the peak of Pokemon for me. Ash Greninja was just fire and the characters were all insanely good like Korrina and her Lucario Ragdolling pikachu in his mega evolved form, that was cool asf.
Yeah
XY was my first ever Pokemon anime series back when I was about six or seven, and it holds a special place in my heart for that. I always loved watching Ash just generally be so cool even when he wasn’t battling. It’s because of this series that Kalos always has and will be my favourite region, and it’s why I just love Pokemon so much ❤️❤️
ITS AMAZING
I had the same experience, I also watched it with my sister, so yeah, this video holds a ton of nostalgia for me
I remember, around I was 5-7, in 2015-2018 I watched the anime, AND LOVED IT
Same!
The fight scenes alone carried the series for me. Every fight reminded me of typical Shonen anime with how well animated it was. And as soon as either battle bond/ mega evolution came up it was a whole new level with how powerful each attack was.
You and me both brother, the fight scenes were a spectacle
XYZ had things that made it feel like a true anime, there’s so many things that make it the best series. Great vid my friend
U appreciate the kind words, ym. I'm glad for your comment 💙
FACTS, STRAIGHT FACTS
@@springtrap9038what u on about ‘facts’ he didn’t name a single thing about it😂😭
I agree as well. It honestly felt like a Shonen anime back when I first watched it
@@AnonymouslyPoignant yeah
Coming from gen 5 being the first pokemon series I watched it was refreshing seeing ash be a more competent trainer
Same, ash honed his skils well in xyz
same here! Gen 5 was the first i watched, and the iris ash thing was always a bit annoying. Then ash becomes like an ACTUAL teen.
@@xsxenofacts
3 reasons as to why I think it was popular was:
1. The animation style
2. Introduction to the first pokemon gimmick - Mega Evolutions
and finally....
*ahem... *clears throat, *applies mouth spray, *wears a suit
SERENAAAA !!
And also, the best villain arc ever... like ever... ever ever...
Looking back, villain arc in BW and XY were so cool, and now we beat up random kids and call them villain, they really went downhill huh?
Edits:
1. Oh yeah, greninja, how could I forget about it as a competitive battler (probably because it's ability was nerfed to oblivion)
2. I subscribed, now where is my hug?
I miss XYZ! It's on my rewatch list for 2024.
Cool
Awesome!
Thx for reminding me of the PEAK Pokémon days of ash greninja, Sereana and ash’s relationship, ash’s maturity, and just an all around good anime. Xy and XYZ will forever be PEAK I love it and it’s movies ❤
YESS!! - ITS AMAZING
If we ever get an x and y remake they should make battle bond forms for the other starters or at least mega evolution. because the other starters are completely overshadowed
REALL
HOLY SHIT I HAD THE SAME IDEA, they could also even add the hoopa ring thingy so we could get all the legendaries, a diancie or volcanion post game, new places to explore, an actually story focused on zygarde (they could completely revamp the story), maybe a bit new pokemon, and more mega evolutions, thats all i could ever want, xy was my firts ever pokemon game it will always have a special place in my heart ❤
@@aaryaaswadhati5525The Pokémon company can introduce the Pokémon Z version likewise there were third versions in other generations. They can add more mega evolutions like sinnoh starters. And that game can actually focus on fractions between two legendaries and Zygarde too. Actually the post game of xy really sucks. Back in those days I actually was hoping for the Pokémon Z version.
true@@life_w_anime
And Pokemon Z. It was supposed to be a thing, but...
Pokémon XY&Z was what truly got me into Pokémon. It was my first experience with the anime, and was ultimately what got me hooked. I feel weird saying that Pokémon changed my life, but that’s the honest truth.
Sorry for getting a little emotional there, but thank you for making this. It’s crazy to see how one series impacted so many different people. You got yourself a sub with this one.
You don't have to apologize for anything shows like these are so good that left you simple but strong message like never give up that could help anyone who is going through many problems or any sort of thing in life and I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees XY as a show that changed many peoples lives.
Xyz was awesome for so many reasons. Amorshipping is still pretty big, the animetors even brought serena back in journeys and made a great Gaspy ref. The only thing I think fans are disappointed with is the fact that ash didn’t become a champion in that end of that region. But it’s so obvious they weren’t done with ash 😊
Ash WAS going to win the Kalos League, but the official writing team went on a seasonal recess to enjoy personal time and to come up with possible ideas for the upcoming Sun and Moon anime. Something to note; every generation of the Pokemon anime is led by different staff of writers. The XY/Z writing staff would become the first recurring staff due to how well written, produced, choreographed, and directed the anime was. However, the anime would see great demand for the XYZ anime during the recess, so to meet that demand, the Pokemon Company brought back experienced writers from Black and White to continue the Kalos league until the recess was over. The original writers hadn't shared with this new team of writers what they had in mind for the Kalos League finale. It wasn't until afterwards that they came and said Ash was going to win the league in the original script. Once Ash lost, the Pokemon company was receiving massive threats, mostly amongst the Japanese community, for their dumb decision. The anime saw a drastic decline after the league which sucks because the Zygarde/Team Flare arc was really good.
@@tylerkloever4442 💀
I think what made these series standout most is Ash. we all wanted to see our boy Ash become this mature pokemon trainer and we got that. He was brave, fierce and he knew how to handle himself when it came to the battles and the whole Ash-Greninja was awsome to see. Also i think the characters around Ash also helped a lot, we had Serena who was just in complete awe of Ash and Clemont who I belive was the best male companion since Brock and don't get me wrong I love Brock but I feel brock acted like an older brother to ash whereas with Ash and Clemont it was like a bromance. Also another character that I thought had good development is Sawyer, watching Sawyer battle ash in the league was amazing in fact it was like watching two Ash's battle against each other.. I still think to this day the xyz series should have been Ash's first league win or better yet I wouldn't have mind if Sawyer would have won.
And the animation was fantastic I remember watching the trailer and I was like woah is this pokemon
"Never a good written rival"
Paul would like to have a word with you
Idk man Paul was like an emo character put in the series only to push Ash to surpass him or make his emo side go away. Bro acted that way only because his brother lost and gave up whom he admired a lot. He was strong and rude, but nothing more than that. He was more like an anti-hero/villain than a rival to Ash.
@@user-cr1pi4tq7u That's exactly what they were going for with paul. To push ash to his limits and get stronger and open his eyes.
If you look online you would see that paul is the favorite rival by miles. And some explain better why paul is so popular.
@@Doggof2p can't argue with that, at least Paul had an ambition and a reason for the way he acted not like Trip from Unova who had 0 reasons for the way he acted 😭😭.
The Kalos series brought me back to Pokemon. To this day its still my favorite take on the Pokemon league formula for Ash.
Why XY&Z is best & so popluar in my view:
1) Portrayal of Ash, he looked so matured and acted very intelligent. Finally he would look a bit aged, not anymore 10 year older boy stories.
2) Definitely the Artstyle and Animation would be the important pillars of this series. This kinda Animation we'd only seen in Pokemon movies or in some important battles, but here they used for every single episodes.
3) The entire Story, Battles, Animation, Art Style, BGMs.. everything, literally everything good. Title tracks were bit famous, especially the Japanese versions.
4) Seriously this entire series took care by none other than Kalos gang. There would be no mentions or appearances of Ash's previous companions, pokemons and even his experiences. Only Steven's appearances, Delia and Oak at last episode, only one time were Dawn and Piplup were mentioned indirectly.
5) Every single battles would be a high intense battles, especially engaging with Sawyer and Alain. Every single Gym battles, almost at its best. In every battle Ash would impress everyone with his unique strategies. For me, Santalune, Lumiose, Anistar and Snowbell were best.
6) Main pillar of this series was Character development, definitely the characters in this series were the best (atleast most of them). From how Clemont improve his character by travelling with Ash, how Serena became a Independent & Strong girl from a shy one. How Alain understands himself and found his redemption. How a 8-Year girl Bonnie taking care of the legendary Zygarde, her love snapped him out of Team Flare's control and even she would be the one who commands the last attack. And many more too..
7) For each and every characters, there would be a purpose for them. None of them were just a passers-by. Every single were used very well and showed their importance.
8) For me, XY&Z was the best Pokemon story (and DP too). Yeah, it was a slow start but also steady. Fillers were very lesser ones, each and every episodes were interesting with combination of both fun and serious parts. Gym battles, Showcase, Bond Phenomenon, Mega evolution, League battles were shown brilliantly. Especially the Villan Arc, atleast for me the first time they killed the villan and entire climax would be at whole different level. Definitely the peak moments were Courmarine and Snowbell part.
9) The famous Ash-Greninja, the whole new different level of Ash's battling. The moments between them and the very moment Frogadier evolves into Greninja, XY&Z just powered up.
10) For me atleast, the group of Ash, Serena, Clemont and Bonnie were the best group of Pokemon Anime history. How Ash led them, how they help and support each other to reach their goals. Literally they're lived up like a Family.
11) Ash improved as character, the one who inspires everyone. Even further Ash would became a light version of Chocoboy. The Rivalry between Serena and Miette for Ash were just interesting and fun too. The way Serena supported him, the way Ash supported her, the way she worried about him, the Blue ribbon and Snowbell part. Finally, Pokemon decides to give Ash a potential Girlfriend situation. They made Amourshipping as a Canon. The stunt pulled by Serena at the end, no one would expected that was coming while at the first time.. the way Serena vowed to Ash, the Kiss everything blowed our mind (and internet too) Afterall, that Serena girl stepped out for her journey to find Ash and she was the very first girl who invited by none other Ash himself.
12) Biggest ever disappointment was seeing him as the runner-up, after that hard fought battle he just lost in that final move. The one and only flaw for me in XY&Z. Goodness knows, if he would have won that battle.
Afterall, XY&Z deserves more Love and respect. Some people were hating this just because of their pure jealous. Deep down, without XY&Z, Alola & Journeys would have never been succeeded. After XY&Z game and Unova series, seriously pokemon went down and lost so many fans and viewers, at that time XY&Z came for rescue and brought the people back. I swear if XY&Z came right after DP, this would have been celebrated by everyone as the best one without any hate. (They haven't made the justice by brought XY&Z after DP, afterall in DP Ash was bit matured, but in Unova he'd behave more dumb than what we seen in OG)
And to Our Way! ❤️
When you rewatch x and y 10 or 11 years old you can’t deny the hype for the show still is there especially with the public which is crazy and I was age 14 years old
Oh man, this makes me want to watch XY&Z all over again.
Honestly go for it man
Tbh I just wanna know where to watch it ;-;
Edit: Turns out XY-XYZ is on Prime Video and Hulu... I'm 100% watching it.
@@BloonPlays you again!????
@@TheBloon bro are you following my comments 😭
similar name tho 🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔🤔
@@BloonPlays uhhh dont question it
My main reason was definitely the animation because it was the last one before the alola anime redesigns
Yup same
honestly as a writer it felt surprisingly seeing how much growth all the characters had in xyz it was a very fun serious to watch :) (also great vid pokee!)
Thanks so much friend! - it means a lot
What made me watch XY&Z after not having watched the Pokemon anime in many years was that amazing opening. It's incredible how energetic that song is and because of how much I was working out in my late teens i listened to it at an almost daily basis
The Japanese opening was the most hype and it’s a reason to actually look into the sub rather than dub
Fennekin is just so cute and I love the character development of Serena in the anime
SAMEEE!! i love the little cute fox, too
@@Pokiiii62 I ❤Fennekin
Here's a tip maybe put a butt-ton of tags or keywords in your description and your videos might get a boost in viewership
Great video by the way
Thanks for the tip! - and thanks for the compliment as well friend : )
One of the main reasons I think is that it came after the Black and White/Best Wishes anime which most people hate so yeah
I grew up with the original series. During the lockdowns, I binged Pokémon XY/XYZ. Since that time, I’ve casually watched all the other seasons. XY/XYZ is truly the best the Pokémon anime every has been and has the best English dub.
The fact people still making videos about XY and its greatness already shows how good and popular this show is a show that mean a then and now from pokemon and its anime ❤️💙❤️💙💛💛🌅🌀.
It's everything to me as well 💙
As a person who watched XYZ 22 times I think it was popular cuz the plot was flowing and amazing and the animation was mind blowing for its time imo
XY and XYZ is so nostalgic to me. I wanna go back to those times
SAME MAN WE ALL DO
@@Pokiiii62I remember my brother tried so hard to get me into Pokemon and then one day I just randomly decided to ask for Pokemon X for Christmas and absolutely loved it.
Then I discovered the anime and watched it constantly
I had a xyz fanacc, 2016 was such a peak experience the community and friends I made are memories I'll never forget I literally remember everyone watching the last eps around the same time during its release and crying together, good times and good video man
Thanks for the compliment, friend... I'm glad to hear it
Everyone here in the comments is point more a more details and points but I just like to say one of the best things about XYZ was the OTS, e.g. that fucking intro with the drums and the electric guitar is just... Beautiful.
def agree
xyz was such a good show for multiple reasons.
Serena is one reason. But Ash is the real reason. It was the first time the Anime portrayed Ash in a way that seemed like a coming of age, mature, almost master-level character where it seemed actually possible for the first time that Ash would finally accomplish his goal of becoming a Pokemon master. Unfortunately they reversed this in Sun and Moon and made him even more childish than he was before. But in XYZ, it was like a culmination of everything he had learned thus far was actually going into his character development and applying to the plot. Ash was finally forming an actual relationship with a girl. Ash and Pikachu felt like experienced Pokemon/trainers approaching the master-level with Ash-Greninja, mega evolution, and overall expertise in comparison to new trainers like Serena and others, that really showed how much Ash had truly grown, and people liked the fact that they could see how Ash had finally grown as a trainer after all these years.
I really think that Ash should've won the Kalos League. It's the best region where Ash developed the most and him winning the league would make more sense. Everyone around the world would've celebrated it more than him winning in the World Tournament.
I'm planning to make a video about that bit I agree yeah
Alan was fighting legendary pokemons before Ash Even got his 4th-3th medal, it would hace been cool seeing him win but Alan had more challenges in his way
ok but can we talk about the scene where bonnie saved squishy with her song bro I was on the floor crying
THAT SO WAS AN AMAZING SCENE AND SAD..
@@Pokiiii62 love it too
Kinda sad we never see squishy again
@@watchforever1724 he said that when Bonnie became a trainer they’ll find each other again
There's 5 main reasons. First of all, the storytelling is on point and doesn't feel rushed or drawn out. From the first episode, it takes it slow in the best way possible by bringing us through the story and giving us everything at the correct time without over and underwhelming us. Second is the character development of not only humans but also pokemon. Ash and his friends grew so much in this show and bonded over even the smallest things. And the way the pokemon even grew was amazing. Third was the animation. Every attack carries weight behind it and feels real. Fourth is that the rival and villains are extremely well written. Alan wasn't a total douche bag like everyone else and actually encouraged Ash to fight him without coming off as pretentious, cocky, or arrogent. And team Flare is a group where you can understand their motivations and at times can side with them. And fifth and finally. That goated as hell intro song for XYZ. 🎵I stand tall 'cause I know I'm a winner. Knock me down. I'll just get up again. You've met your match, ya. I'm no beginner. Pokemon. Pokemon. Gotta catch 'em all.🎵 God damn. Every time that song comes on, my heart just starts pumping with excitement.
Sinnoh was Pokémon’s peak
Valid opinion
Agree XYZ right behind it tho
For me I fckn love serena performance and the whole kalos queen arc. It feels so magical when I watch it as a kid
She was a boss
@@Pokiiii62 YES SIRR
Megaevolutions, son... They appear in response to cool plot twists.
(And fairy type)
Animation/artstyle, Mega evolutions, Serena and the shipping with Ash but actually having a foundation to stand on within the lore and throughout the series, Greninja, good rival, Ash getting to the finals, etc
You forgot to mention that XYZ Ash is the BEST Ash PERIOD
XYZ had Mega Evolution which was the best ever mechanism that Pokemon introduced + I will never forget the iconic battle of Ash Greninja vs Mega Charizard. It was Pokemon at its finest.
FOR REAL THOUGH, also W miku pfp, best girl 🔥
@@Pokiiii62 MEGAS ARE BACK
@@godtiermiku YESSSSSSS I SAWWWW
Xyz took up the whole budget for the next 10 years😂
For real, though 😭
Yep
One thing I could have some critique of Pokémon XY is the first movie Cocoon of destruction got my hopes up of the battle between the two Kalos Legends that was seen in the trailer and Kalos Gang being in the center of chaos. However those scenes from the trailer were never shown in the actual movie unfortunately. To this day I don’t know why they didn’t included those scenes.
Ahhh I see
I would say another big reason would be that there was a jump in birth rates in 2007 so they would just start getting into Pokémon around the time X and Y were released and just like how a lot of people’s favorite Pokémon is their starter. Their favorite show was the first one they watched.
pokemon legends z-a we are so back
YESSIRRRR
The gen 6 seasons of the anime got me into Pokémon in the first place, and thats part of the reason why i love it, but it was also just great for all the reasons you mentioned.
I think mega evolutions just went hand in hand with the quality and intensity of the battles. The battle quality and animation was really the main reason in my opinion. Mega evolutions helped amplify it. Ash-Greninja was the coolest Pokemon to watch as well. The mature ash catered to an older audience as well as the female companion being infatuated with him. It made viewers wonder if this series was the one he will finally win a league. The story felt like it had way more direction than most series and even the filler episodes for the most part had interesting concepts like the mirror world. The rival was cool, having his own series and was legitimately the only one that could stop ash from winning the tournament due to how strong Ash was portrayed. Only someone like Alain made sense without using another Tobias like character to ruin it. Even after everything I just stated the list goes on. Things were just different with this show compared to others.
I have so much nostalgia for this series, from watching these episodes airing on YTV, to always dealing Pokemon cards in Grade 1, to re-binging the series when it was on Netflix as a 10 year old, this series is why I got into Pokémon in the first place. This makes me want to rewatch the series again as a broke teenager lol
havent watched the vid yet but its popular because it targets young teens. the animation was on par with other big animes that it got the recognition it deserved.
Exactly what I said in the video
the only bad thing about xyz that i can think of is that ash didn't win the pokémon league
even though i was a kid when xy came out i was still very much a diehard fan of the pokemon series and watched every single episode ever released at that time. as i progressed through all the series, i noticed how mature and emotional xy was compared the earlier ones, like how they didn’t pussy out on the romance, animation style, and the depressing or sad scenes that were actually taken seriously. i think a big appeal of why it became so popular was because it was the closest we got to an “non kids” version of pokemon, like it truly felt like the target audience was teens rather than children, which was perfect for the og fans who grew up with the show and were now older, not to mention how popular action and shonen anime were popping off at the time so people who never even played pokemon were watching the series. it truly felt like i was watching the same quality as the pokemon movies every episode and i was HOOKED. sadly, i never got back into the pokemon anime after xyz since everything felt “pg” again (also im still to this day salty about ash vs alan lol)
It wasn't "mature". It was an immature person's idea of what maturity is like.
the reason i love xy and xyz so much is because it’s so nostalgic to me, i have very fond memories of coming back from school and watching it, i think i rewatched it about 14 times? lol
SAMEEE I've rewatched it so many times
I didnt watch this series till lockdown. Back in 2013 I was just at the age where Pokemon was losing me. I didnt enjoy gen 5 as much as gen 4, the BW anime was unwatchable and I just lost interest. During lockdown, I binged the whole series, and man did I regret not watching this back then. I felt like a kid again. Greninja was one of my favourites back when I played XY (I had no prescence in the community at the time, so i didnt know he was hated when leaked, then loved after release etc.) So cool to see
What I think the XY and Z Anime is the chu and the story. The story Ash and Pikachu in a new adventure is nothing like I’ve seen before! It’s got great battles, new world, and new Pokemon of course. Just like Misty and Brock these three new friends are unforgettable with their stories and characteristics like Serina and her journey to become a fashion icon at the Poke-fashion contest and going against Team Rocket with Jessie, Clemot who makes these gadgets and does his best to solve the problem but ends up spontaneously explode when things go wrong, and his sister Bonnie who likes to ask other girls who will take care of his “big brother”. And the humor in this show is also very fun to watch! After watching the Indigo series and coming back to it years later with this show, this has been both me and my brother’s favorite show! And don’t get me started with the battles! They get SUPER HEATED! And as someone who never played any of the games back then (besides Pokemon let’s go Eevee and Scarlet) this is a huge improvement with everything I knew about Pokemon and how the fights work! They introduced Mega evolution so well that it’s super cool and I get super excited to see what their mega evolution looks like! And the movies are also super cool too!
I freaking LOVE XYZ!! I remember watching it and talking to my friend about it. His favorite pokèmon was Greninja BECAUSE of this anime! I love the story, the characters, the pokemon, the animation, and the music.. all of it is just *perfection..* ✨
I physically remember the first time I bought a Netflix subscription I immediately started watching XYZ..
I love everything about it.. Mega Evolution is by far the best gimmick in Pokèmon!!
The concept of special bond forms is just so awesome to me. They to me feel like a perfect blend of what makes Pokemon, well, Pokemon: trainers bonding along a grand journey, intense battles that scratch the same itch that Ash Greninja does, and a way of making the star of your team that bit more special and personal. I know that having bond forms for all fully evolved pokemon that can change in loads of ways would be awful game balance and require a lot of work, but at least in concept it just sounds so cool.
Imagine battling someone online and both people use powered up bond form favourites in a final standoff. So cool.
Now, to anyone who sees this, what would your bond form be? Mine would be a Steel/Ice Glaceon.
SAME FRIEND, I AGREE HEAVILY
Steel/Ice Glaceon sounds awesome! Mine would be a Water/Flying Blastoise who would shoot air out of his chest and use the air to fly and attack
@@amedhi4881 The possibilities for a water/flying blastoise are endless. Imagine a more nimble, lighter frame blastoise with the ability to rocket jump from the front and back to reach enemies from the skies or directly tackle them? Man, I love this sort of stuff
i have one word to describe as to why. Creative. the X and Y forms are truly, creative and shaped the future of pokemon games in the future as we stand. not only did the X and Y forms make a big entrance as the concept was extremely awesome, but it also started a chain for pokemon to keep trying to make something as revolutionary as the X and Y forms. obviously, they failed. even up to this day, i'm looking forward for the X and Y forms to come back.
i love love LOVE XYZ. sometimes my brain feels sour on it (mainly because of toxic shippers and because a lot of XY fans hated the SM series) but i do really love XY and XYZ.
Same, I love it so much man... I even remember being a kid and watching the league it was PEAK
Ash's development at the eighth gym where he loses confidence after losing is just amazing. Then serena searching for him and convincing him to continue his journey is great.
From what I remember from the XY series, is that it was the first time since Sinnoh where Ash was completely shown to be an experienced Battler aswell as a an Experienced Travel conpanion.
He was also more mature, and had his goals set, showing himself as the leader of the group while the mentor of the group (Clemont in this case) also looked up to him.
Not to mention the not so hidden romantic feelings Serena felt for Ash, aswell as her amazing character development that led to her being an amazing Pokemon performer
Why was it so popular? Well, to put it simply, it was just overall really high quality. The animation was great, the plot was great, the characters were great. It was just _really good._
The dialogue was so bad though
@@the_ejumper_0804 Bruh that's true of every Pokemon series, and most anime dubs in general.
XYZ and Sun and Moon have to be my favorites of the Pokémon series.
Very valid my friend
Sun & Moon is so underappreciated due to people being scared of change in the artstyle. Animation only improved throughout and there were so many memorable characters, honestly the best show to watch during summer break or something.
Definitely my favorite pokemon seasons... so many great memories with that group in kalos... times that don't come back 🥹
As someone who was introduced to the franchise from Indigo League, but grew up watching XYZ premiere every weekend on Cartoon Network, it was my absolute favorite show and I still adore it till this day. It’s still so unique even compared to alot of the newer ideas in the pokemon franchise. Amazing stuff, definitely plan on rewatching it since the announcement of Z-A today !
I watched the intro after this and got shivers.
Man nostalgia hits so hard this was peak childhood 😢
Literally
I think 2 big reasons.... maybe 3 big reasons is why this anime was so good and hit so well with fans
1 ) It Understood and Hyped up why Ash is a Hero: what makes Ash stand out as a anime protagonist? As a character? Is he just a blank slate for fans to self insert on to? Well no. He's admired by his friends and allies because he is willing to go to extremes putting himself in harms way for pokemon. Leaping into volcanos, talking down a raging Garchomp on a tall tower, throwing his body into a vacuum, Ash has never looked braver than he did in this series, or cooler.
2 ) Serena: Serena was awesome and her role can't be undetated. It felt like something more than standard "lovers bickering" would actually develop between then. She was the first female intrest who didn't bicker with Ash at all really and who showed real signs of a pure self aware crush. And she voiced in ways that helped add to hyping up why Ash is cool. He never gets up until it over and Serena drew inspiration from that across her arc as she found a dream to chase
3 ) this anime felt like progess: for the first time in a while, Ash felt like he was legitimately getting better as a trainer in the scope of all his pokemon adventures. He was thinking through battle training more seriously with interesting rock climbing techniques, he was discovering new forms of evolution, he was putting together a competitive team with TWO Dragons on it. And for 2/3ds of the series his only rival he had his sights set on as a goal was Champion Diantha.
4 ) also while I'm at it Clemont and Bonnie were just an adorable and fun dynamic they added to the group. Way better than the "horny Brock" and "ear pulling" gag that was overplayed , there gimmicks were Ash being taken in by Clemonts inventions, and Bonnie embarrassing Clemont asking girls to date him all the time, occasionally giving just enough of a pause before she does it to make you laugh harder knowing it's coming.
I mean 2 dragons in gen 6
great video!
you went very in-depth and explained everything very well, as well as bringing up actual resources and statistics.
you have a great voice for content creation.
xyz was definitely my favorite season and now that ash is gone, i dont think thats gonna change lol
new sub here :) keep it up!
Yeah
Watching this video brings me so much nostalgia, i remember loving XYZ when i was a kid, singing the opening songs in the car with my siblings, gushing over ash greeninja vs charzard for hours with my friends... Black and white was my introduction to pokemon, but the only pokemon series that really stuck with me was XYZ, i'm so glad other people also have the same amount of appreciation as i have for it... it really brings me back to my childhood days
When life was peak 😭
XYZ had the best writing, best cast, best battles. Too bad Ash was hosed out of winning the Kalos League. He should have won it. The writing went downhill after XYZ ended. Plus I felt Ash was at his most mature in Kalos.
I don't know if I think it's funny or sad that this is easily more popular than the actual X/Y games. The games were good but needed a third version. (RIP Pokémon Z)
Yep, 100% agree
It's quite unfortunate, actually! It stings me every time when Pokemon generation discussions happen between me and some of my friends and peers that I am essentially forced to say that the best way to experience the Kalos region isn't the games, but rather the anime. It's the outlier for all Pokemon generations, even generation 8! I wasn't the biggest fan of generation 8, but that's a whole other opinion not related to Kalos. However, Galar and Paldea both could've easily been connected to Kalos, but GF just loves to disregard Kalos. They honestly owe us justice for X&Y.
Its the only games to get nothing(I think) Like Gen1 had a remake even had the lets go games, Gen2 had a remake, Gen3 had a Third version and a remake from gen6, Gen4 had a 3rd version and a legends games, Gen5 had a continuation game and potentially a legends game(Rumors by People), Gen7 had a Extended/Continuation game, Gen 8 had DLC's, and same with Gen9 also had DLC see the Pattern here? It was in need of either a remake/3rd version/ or a Continuation game and it got none😂😭
@@itsme558 Let's hope the X/Y remakes aren't ILCA faithful style.
Man I love Pokémon Xy & Xyz, I love Indigo league but I really grew up on this one, and Sun and moon! Each have their own special charms that I love, Pokémon Xy and xyz has a great story And great characters and sun and moon is fun and goofy and I love the idea of Ash being a regular kid in school. My favourites 💕
Great context for XY and XYZ, but I think there's a major point missing from this that Needs to be addressed: Pokemon Had Evolved
Pokemon always had a sense of childishness to it from its starting roots, but this made sense. Kanto was the beginning, which had Ash learning to really be a Pokemon Trainer and the importance of that. The Orange Islands was Ash truly applying his creative thinking style that was never an aspect of his approach to battling and life nearly as much of prior. Johto is about improving upon this idea and focusing on his team building while not just focusing solely on Pikachu nearly as much. Then Hoenn is where he gains his arrogant streak, believing he has come so far he that he grows overconfident, especially in the face of a new trainer like May where he begins to learn how to mentor others with his experience.
All of this leads up to the culmination of him applying all these lessons in Sinnoh where he has still this child-like mentality as he grows stronger, trains harder, and has to persevere through his toughest challenges, and lose alot of the time. His rivalry with Paul leads to a moral dilemma that is explored, because Ash might have lost a fight here or there, but Paul, whose ideology utterly contradicts Ash's continues to beat him down at every turn. And those losses get to Ash, he questions his morals wondering if what he is doing is the best way, but ultimately learns his morals Are right. Sinnoh is about Ash applying his everything, standing by his morals and beliefs even when challenged And beaten, allowing him to rise to his greatest position to date.
And this leads into Unova, which up until that point was the hardest fall from grace for the franchise. Ash in Unova feels like Ash in Kanto, but even more childish in how they approach many of the things. For a kid watching who barely had prior exposure, this might feel off, but the teens and adults watching who grew up with the franchise saw what was being done to a character who had truly deserved better, had achieved far greater heights, and was ultimately robbed of all sanity and critical thinking. Ash was never the best or most thoughtful thinker in battles, often going off gut instinct or emotion, but this was taken to a degree in which is felt there was no sense to it.
But from this, I believe is why XY and XYZ ultimately rose to its biggest proportions with the fan base. Kalos is the point in which Ash not only applies his knowledge like Sinnoh, and mentors like he did in Hoenn and Sinnoh to May and Dawn, but there is an air of maturity to him. He FEELS seasoned. He feels strong, confident, powerful, but his actions and disposition Earn those feelings. The animation and artstyle both compliment this, feeling like the show has also evolved and grown with Ash's progression, adding to this feeling that he's earned to be taken this seriously, earned the right to look This good on screen after all the years. And when its backed by how poorly Unova handles him, it stands out all the more on how well handled he is, how strong he approaches challenges.
Mega Evolution adds to these feelings with the intensity of the show, made even better by its artstyle and animation. Ash-Greninja feels like the ultimate step up in terms of power for Ash, and it feels even better because its not Pikachu. Ash-Greninja is the Charizard of this part of the series. And the rest of his team (regardless that half of them are flying) feels like he deserved his powerhouse build. To imagine Ash with a Dragon prior to this point sounds laughable, which is why Gible was never treated properly in the first place, just being a goofball. All his Pokemon feel rightfully trained, and he earned his Pseudo-Legendary in Goodra and Second Dragon type in Noivern, unlike prior generations where some Pokemon got most of the attention, while others remained unevolved and undertrained due to just not being focused on or properly trained in comparison (Hi Bayleef, Quilava, Totodile, Corphish, Aipom, Buizel, Gible, Oshowatt, Pignite, Snivy, Scraggy, Palpitoad, and Boldore) (Bulbasaur and Squirtle dont count given it didn't want to evolve, nor does Rowlet later even though we arent there yet *And We'll Get To Alola Soon*)
All this adds together to the peak of what the show is, The Best Ash has ever been. When he wins, you don't feel like he is cheating out a win out of luck like he has prior. His incompetence is gone and he feels rightfully as powerful as he is, and he continues to earn that. And his relationship with Serena also feels earned as its Actually explored, rather than just hinted at momentarily here and there. That last moment with Serena feels invested, earned, and right even. Sorry to all Misty, May or Dawn fans, but Serena truly earns any love and attention given in a romantic direction, and by the end we are all cheering it on and screaming as she runs back to kiss him.
For all these reasons, but the Build Up most of all tied in With the style, I believe, is what truly brings to light what it is Pokemon XY and XYZ are: The best Ash has been on this journey, and Earned.
Which I think also leads to the last point of why it sticks harder: Alola
Sun and Moon got its backlash out the gate for the artstyle being so jarring, and that is not an unwarranted criticism. It would have happened if the show had been coming off the first 5 generations, but it might not have been nearly as extreme given the show still had its goofy feeling to it. But given how serious XY and XYZ had been, how the style evolved into a far greater, artistically crafted piece of work with its fluid animation style and breathtaking visuals. For these things to suddenly go so jarringly cartoonish, so animated in absurdity, and once again bringing back that awful feeling of childishness, its worse than when Unova did it because we saw his utter heights and watch that fall even harder. And this is made far harder to witness when you realize He Wins The Championship Like This. The idea Ash-Greninja, the culmination of all the work over 2 decades at this point, could be defeated in such a great fight, only to be back to relying on half baked team compositions, is painful to recognize.
Journeys does a better job and reeling this back slightly with its style, but much of the damage is done and the childish feeling never leaves, which is where older fans I believe have become disappointed. These wins dont feel nearly as proper and satisfying as XY and XYZ had been, and often can feel cheated unless you're in the later half of Journey. And still rookie, childish mistakes are happening, which wouldnt be so bad if we hadn't been witness to his peak in maturity and growth.
The following after XY and XYZ I think lends as to why they were so good: The future wasn't as bright as we'd hoped, and we cling to the world we started up in, a standing point in which we got to witness years upon years of media build up the greatest franchise in the World to the Peak of its potential. All this to only drop it in favor of regressing back to something far removed from where its been going over the course of its journey all these years, is why I truly think XY and XYZ are the the best of Pokemon, the most popular (potentially outside of Generation 1 for nostalgia reasons) the show has been, and the best it potentially will ever be. It feels obvious with the direction that they wont exactly pursue this path again, which feels like a real shame given we continue to get spinoffs and they could do another show like this in this style, maybe with Ash again, and continue that journey through the experience the franchise earned and the fans want.
My personal headcanon is that the whole story of XYZ was originally going to be for Pokemon Z. Also I find it unique that Ash-Greninja has the letters XYZ in his body! I guess XYZ literally was the "Ash-Greninja Show" and this one of the reasons for my only criticism of this show two of Ash's team members for Kalos suffered a lot because of it like Goodra and Noivern despite the fact that Noivern was the first baby Pokemon on Ash's arsenal to ACTUALLY evolve.
6:05 WOAH, I agree that he's a good rival, but Trip easily takes the cake for me, he's a genuinly really good written and thought out rival that actually had a good reason to be rude and backed up his trash talk and talk, unlike 90% of rivals in the series and talk trash and then just lose easily
You literally cannot just say "trip easily takes the cake" when Paul also exists lol
Xy and sun and moon will always be peak for me. Sun and moon being my top one
Yup. Two best series. Although I think you'll like the newest series. Been watching it in JP and it's great so far
Your growing fast! This will be worth it soon
its popular and just got the Z game we've been talking about for years kalos fans are up 🔥🔥
WE ARE GOING ALL THE WAY UP
X&Y was good, but not the best, in my opinion. The Diamond and Pearl anime and Hoenn/Battle Frontier are, in my opinion, superior. X&Y undoubtedly has better animation and combat choreography, but I believe the battles in DP and H/BF are better. The fights had higher stakes and greater tension. Obviously, it doesn't matter if Ash loses a fight, but the fights felt like they were always coming down to the wire. Those fights were major nail-biters, and this may be my bias because I grew up with the anime during the BF-DP era and binge-watched the original seasons as a kid, but the excitement of seeing one of Ash's Pokemon evolve or learn a new technique in the middle of a fight was SO HYPE. It felt like I was rooting for an underdog.
X&Y Ash felt like a continuation of DP Ash, which was refreshing after the Unova saga downgraded his character, but around the halfway point of X&Y, Ash started feeling more like a power fantasy kind of Protagonist. I think when the writers started focusing heavily on Ash Greninja, they contributed to that feeling. I'm not gonna lie in retrospect the hype of Ash Greninja felt very artificial, especially compared to Ash's other ace, Pokemon. Charizard, Sceptile, and Infernape. Ngl Greninja kinda robbed Ash's Kalos team of personality with the exception of Hawlucha. They all had significantly less spotlight compared to Greninja. Even Pikachu took a hit. Compared to Hoenn/Battle Frontier and DP where all of Ash's Pokemon felt like the all had their own personalities and well even screen time. With Torkoal, Glalie, and Gible being slight exceptions, although the latter two put in major work during their respective leagues, knocking out some major threats.
Whenever I hear about Ash's Kalos team, it's always in regard to it being his "Ultimate Team," and it's not hard to see why. Ash had a Greninja with a special ability that no other Pokemon has that's similar to and rival's Mega Evolution, two Dragon types one of whom was a Pseudo Legenday who prior to the league has never loss a battle and the other one battle and maybe (its been a while) defeated a Zapdos. Also, a regional bird who also battled a legendary bird being Moltres. As for Hawlucha, I don't remember any of his feats at the top of my head, sorry. But I don't hear talk about their personalities. It seems like they focused more on their strengths rather than personalities, but I could be wrong. I personally didn't connect with anyone other than Greninja and Hawlucha.
On to the characters and honestly, DP takes the crown for this one. Ash, Brock, and Dawn are objectively the best traveling group. There's nothing beating those 3. They encouraged each, teased each other every now and then and were definitely the most supportive. When Dawn was on a major contest, losing streak to the point of nearly quitting Ash and Brock helped her develop new techniques and gave her words of encouragement. With the additional help from Zoey and May as well. Or when Ash loss to Paul at Lake acuity, Brock helped treat Ash's Pokemon and gave him words of encouragement while Dawn put on a mini Circus for Ash and his Pokemon to help pull them out of there depression.
Those felt more natural to me than when Serena failed her first showcase, cried, cut her hair, and then suddenly grew as a character, apparently, who never loss a single showcase until the finale. Or when Ash lost to Wulfric and wanted to be left alone, but Serena somehow thought, throwing snowballs and going on a hissy fit about "You're not the Ash I know" even though the two barely interacted with each other was a good way to cheer him up. I'll touch on why I hate Serena later on. Even the side characters and rivals were memorable and had their own personalities. Paul, Zoey, Ursula, Conway, Nando, Barry, Kenny, and side character like Reggie, Cynthia, and Flint. X&Y's side characters were forgettable. The X&Y rivals in the anime were pretty bland, just like their game counterparts, Serena's rival with the Blue hair was more interesting than Serena was, but the major side characters were Alain and Sawyer. Sawyer was cool, but I wish he was introduced earlier on in the series. Maybe give him a few more battles and interactions with Ash. But Alain is great but suffers from the same problem of not having as many interactions with Ash until later in the series. On to the main crew, Ash and Clement have a brotherly bond that lowkey rivals that of Ash and Brock. He's awesome, and Bonnie is a MUCH BETTER version of Max. She's the most adorable cinnamon role. I wish X&Y was just these 3, but Serena exists.
Serena, to me, is easily Ash's worst traveling companion. I mean that with a hundred percent, with a thousand percent. I don't like her. She's a forced character retconed into Ash's Journey and is only carried by shipping. Serena's whole character revolves around Ash, and I hate it. She starts out on her journey just to meet Ash because she saw him on TV and then wants to give him back a handkerchief from when they were kids, which is creepy and weird and not quirky or cute. She wants to impress Ash in one episode at Ryhorn racing even though she hates doing it and is bad at it, but because of "plot" is suddenly good at it, or how she started during showcase to appear more feminine in front of Ash to impress him. I'm sorry, but I hate this character SO MUCH!!! and her toxic fandom does help either. Overall, X&Y is a great (not perfect) season of the anime, and while I would improve a few things, it definitely was a hype season for sure. Although I wish the kids who grew up watching the XY&Z seasons as their first anime would tone it down a bit. I get it. You love XY&Z, but don't hold it out as the absolute best season and be respectful to those who like the other seasons more. Ehh, who am I kidding? Nobody's gonna read my post.
I read your post to talk about the xyz team spotlight issue. I have heavily disagreed, goodra had an entire character arc dedicated to him in xyz. Pikachu had a major spotlight in the pokemon League. He took down a bunch of alains pokemon and took down aegislash, pikachu was always with ash, too. I believe noivern and talonflame are the only ones you can say anything about, but even then, they still got spotlight, especially with noivern and hawluchas amazing dynamic
About Serena, At first i was mid with her, but when Toxic appearance, I started to hate her, and when i rewatch XYZ, is so creepy af that Serena want to go with my boi, Only to make Ash love with her.
I watched plenty of Pokemon as a kid but the xy series was the one I remembered most and stood out to me
dude what the hell ive been binging your videos nonstop and u have like 700 subs. u deserve more!!!
awww... it means a lot, friend... I appreciate the kind words 😭💙
The first three episodes literally has Ash jump off a tower obviously the rest of the series would be peak
xy and xyz are the best pokemon series ever even the new region and pokemon were super good and the additional mega evolution made it perfect
REAL
I think another reason why XY and XYZ are so popular is because of Ash himself, it's something I have encountered when talking to other Pokemon fans. XY and XYZ made Ash more mature, they didn't erase his childishness and his charm, but they made him more mature and more experienced. In the previous Pokemon series Ash felt more like an actual child that haven't gone through multiple leagues, met multiple legendaries and mythicals and fought many evil organisations. Ash doesn't want to brag? Ok, fine, but still.
This was definitely peak pokemon and XYZ has only gotten better and more nostalgic since its release