Okay, so, this is kind of random, but i'm in a random mood, so, the two questions for this thread is
1) Do you want/do you think they should, reveal the gender of most or all of Ash's Pokemon, and If so, how should they go about doing it?
2) Additionally if so, which Pokemon do you think are (or should be, if applicable) which gender, and why?
I'm going to put down a few ground rules for this thread, first of all, if we want to discuss whether the Pokemon Anime's current portrayal of gendered Pokemon is sexist or not, somebody start a new thread for that, avoid bringing it up here, particularly if that is all your post is going to be about.
Second and most important rule: This is not about whether or not feminism is right or necessary. This thread is about how gender can be used to bring aesthetic depth to characters and to the show as a whole. Try to keep the conversation focused on the creative, artistic, and personal aspects of giving Pokemon gender. You can talk about positive representations, since giving positive representations does give an aesthetic depth to the Anime world (I think so anyways), just don't go overboard. And inclusion of a variety of characters is also fair game as a method of bringing depth to an anime. You may discuss the validity of these points if you feel you must, but try to keep it civil. Generally, keep it focused on Pokemon, not feminism as a whole. If you have any doubts on whether your post would be stepping out of the line, just refer to the underlined parts of this paragraph, so long as you are not violating that point, and your post is relatively civil, you are most likely fine, don't worry too much, some shit's bound to hit the fan, I'm just trying to limit the amount of unnecessary stuff.
btw, just so that I don't have to clarify later, yes I am a feminist.
Alright, now that we have that stuff out of the way...
So, I can see the revealing of Ash's Pokemons genders going three ways.
1) Most Pokemon that are currently unconfirmed will stay unconfirmed, many Pokemon's Gender will remain ambiguous.
2) in light of how the genders of all of Ash's Pokemon in Unova were confirmed, Ash's older Pokemon will be confirmed one by one, generating suspense and hype in the fandom ("Oooh, I wonder what gender __ is")
3) A third way which I will explain in the big paragraph just below
Personally, I like option 1 the most, and think option 2 would be just dumb.
But if all of the Pokemon's genders are confirmed, this is how I want it handled. Let's say Ash is in a big tournament, or a Pokemon league perhapps, and his next opponent is somebody who is known for using the move attract. This opponent's ways of using attract almost never fail and all of the Pokemon are girl's. Therefore, Ash needs to put together a team of 6 female Pokemon. Of course, Ash would be like, "well, I have Snivy and Unfezant I guess, actually come to think of it I don't know all of my Pokemon's genders do I?" and so, Ash would give professor Oak a call and ask him which of his Pokemon are girls and Prof.Oak would tell him (because any researcher worth his/her salt would know the gender of the Pokemon that they are collecting data on).
At first, just dumping that information on the audience like that would not seem like a good idea, but I think that it would be a good idea because 1) it's casual, 2) there is a good and interesting reason for it to take place, and 3) the alternative is dumb.
I Imagine that the battle would be pretty awesome too. Think of it as the Princess festival episode for Ash's Pokemon.
Now, the obvious question is, which Pokemon would participate in this battle, besides the obvious, Bayleaf, Snivy, and Unfeazent?
First of all, here are the Pokemon whose genders have been confirmed without a shadow of a doubt:
Pikachu: Male
Tauros: Male
Butterfree: Male
Buizel: Male (based off of the spots on his back)
Snivy: Female
Unfeazent: Female
Emboar: Male
Oshawott: Male
Scraggy: Male
Palpitoad: Male
Leavanny: Male
These are the Pokemon whose sexual orientation have been confirmed, but not necessarily their gender (aka 99% chance or more of being right). I may move some of these back up to the without a shadow of a doubt area after reviewing the episodes looking for gendered pronouns being used to refer to these Pokemon, as I generally consider this to be confirmation)
Bayleaf: Female
Sceptile: Male
Corphish: Male
Starapter: Male
Questionable: (I need to review episodes)
Charizard
Bulbasaur
Anyways enough of the technicalities. Here is my initial thoughts though they are flexible unless otherwise stated.
1) Kingler: Female. No particular reason other than it would give us a reason to bring back Kingler, and would widen how she could be used in the story.
2) Snorlax: Female. Mostly for lols but also so that Ash could have a powerhouse in the battle mentioned above. Plus, it has been repeatedly mentioned that Ash's Snorlax is pretty fast, despite Snorlax being really slow in the games, technically, girls are supposed to be more dexterous than guys... so... It'd make a little bit of sense when you go back to re-watch the old episodes... xD She played a big role in one of the most legendary battles in the Pokemon Anime: Ash vs Gary, so that's a good thing too.
3) Charizard and/or Sceptile: Male. Since Snorlax is a girl, the guys still need at least one of the bad-ass three to relate to.
4) Donphan: Female. The size of her horns make it believable. Plus, the writers wrote more about Phanpy's early social skills development than most other eggs hatched in the anime, supposedly a human girl baby is supposed to develop their social skills faster and/or better than a boy, or something like that I've heard. No idea how truthful it is but until I thoroughly research it in the far future I'll just go with it.
5) Glicecor or Quilava: Female. One or the other but not both. Preferably Glicecor in my opinion. Just because it's stereotypical to have girls be weak/scared/whatever doesn't mean you can't have a moderate female character once in a while. Most of Ash's female Pokemon so far are super tough, honestly, tough girls are good and all, but a meaningfully flawed character would make the representation and therefore the atmosphere of the anime more holistic and honest feeling. Both Quilava and Glicecor would fit the bill for slightly different reasons. Glicecor because it vastly improved, Quilava because it was never portrayed to be quite as weak as Gligar was. However, only one should be female, for the same reason a meaningfully flawed character is good for the female half.
I thought that Glicecor's character development was really well done and liked how she aspired to be a better flyer and battler despite her weaknesses, and best of all, she did improve, a lot, and played a big role in the battle against Paul.
6) Torkoal: Male. Because we like emotional tough guys. xD seriously though that is what the writers seemed to be going for when they originally wrote him, so it'd feel wrong if they changed that now.
If you think it's a girl why so? Seriously I'm curious, cuz I heard someone else say that it's a girl, but I really think it's a guy for some reason.
So, how would you want gender handled in the Pokemon Anime, and which Pokemon belong to which gender?
1) Do you want/do you think they should, reveal the gender of most or all of Ash's Pokemon, and If so, how should they go about doing it?
2) Additionally if so, which Pokemon do you think are (or should be, if applicable) which gender, and why?
I'm going to put down a few ground rules for this thread, first of all, if we want to discuss whether the Pokemon Anime's current portrayal of gendered Pokemon is sexist or not, somebody start a new thread for that, avoid bringing it up here, particularly if that is all your post is going to be about.
Second and most important rule: This is not about whether or not feminism is right or necessary. This thread is about how gender can be used to bring aesthetic depth to characters and to the show as a whole. Try to keep the conversation focused on the creative, artistic, and personal aspects of giving Pokemon gender. You can talk about positive representations, since giving positive representations does give an aesthetic depth to the Anime world (I think so anyways), just don't go overboard. And inclusion of a variety of characters is also fair game as a method of bringing depth to an anime. You may discuss the validity of these points if you feel you must, but try to keep it civil. Generally, keep it focused on Pokemon, not feminism as a whole. If you have any doubts on whether your post would be stepping out of the line, just refer to the underlined parts of this paragraph, so long as you are not violating that point, and your post is relatively civil, you are most likely fine, don't worry too much, some shit's bound to hit the fan, I'm just trying to limit the amount of unnecessary stuff.
btw, just so that I don't have to clarify later, yes I am a feminist.
Alright, now that we have that stuff out of the way...
So, I can see the revealing of Ash's Pokemons genders going three ways.
1) Most Pokemon that are currently unconfirmed will stay unconfirmed, many Pokemon's Gender will remain ambiguous.
2) in light of how the genders of all of Ash's Pokemon in Unova were confirmed, Ash's older Pokemon will be confirmed one by one, generating suspense and hype in the fandom ("Oooh, I wonder what gender __ is")
3) A third way which I will explain in the big paragraph just below
Personally, I like option 1 the most, and think option 2 would be just dumb.
But if all of the Pokemon's genders are confirmed, this is how I want it handled. Let's say Ash is in a big tournament, or a Pokemon league perhapps, and his next opponent is somebody who is known for using the move attract. This opponent's ways of using attract almost never fail and all of the Pokemon are girl's. Therefore, Ash needs to put together a team of 6 female Pokemon. Of course, Ash would be like, "well, I have Snivy and Unfezant I guess, actually come to think of it I don't know all of my Pokemon's genders do I?" and so, Ash would give professor Oak a call and ask him which of his Pokemon are girls and Prof.Oak would tell him (because any researcher worth his/her salt would know the gender of the Pokemon that they are collecting data on).
At first, just dumping that information on the audience like that would not seem like a good idea, but I think that it would be a good idea because 1) it's casual, 2) there is a good and interesting reason for it to take place, and 3) the alternative is dumb.
I Imagine that the battle would be pretty awesome too. Think of it as the Princess festival episode for Ash's Pokemon.
Now, the obvious question is, which Pokemon would participate in this battle, besides the obvious, Bayleaf, Snivy, and Unfeazent?
First of all, here are the Pokemon whose genders have been confirmed without a shadow of a doubt:
Pikachu: Male
Tauros: Male
Butterfree: Male
Buizel: Male (based off of the spots on his back)
Snivy: Female
Unfeazent: Female
Emboar: Male
Oshawott: Male
Scraggy: Male
Palpitoad: Male
Leavanny: Male
These are the Pokemon whose sexual orientation have been confirmed, but not necessarily their gender (aka 99% chance or more of being right). I may move some of these back up to the without a shadow of a doubt area after reviewing the episodes looking for gendered pronouns being used to refer to these Pokemon, as I generally consider this to be confirmation)
Bayleaf: Female
Sceptile: Male
Corphish: Male
Starapter: Male
Questionable: (I need to review episodes)
Charizard
Bulbasaur
Anyways enough of the technicalities. Here is my initial thoughts though they are flexible unless otherwise stated.
1) Kingler: Female. No particular reason other than it would give us a reason to bring back Kingler, and would widen how she could be used in the story.
2) Snorlax: Female. Mostly for lols but also so that Ash could have a powerhouse in the battle mentioned above. Plus, it has been repeatedly mentioned that Ash's Snorlax is pretty fast, despite Snorlax being really slow in the games, technically, girls are supposed to be more dexterous than guys... so... It'd make a little bit of sense when you go back to re-watch the old episodes... xD She played a big role in one of the most legendary battles in the Pokemon Anime: Ash vs Gary, so that's a good thing too.
3) Charizard and/or Sceptile: Male. Since Snorlax is a girl, the guys still need at least one of the bad-ass three to relate to.
4) Donphan: Female. The size of her horns make it believable. Plus, the writers wrote more about Phanpy's early social skills development than most other eggs hatched in the anime, supposedly a human girl baby is supposed to develop their social skills faster and/or better than a boy, or something like that I've heard. No idea how truthful it is but until I thoroughly research it in the far future I'll just go with it.
5) Glicecor or Quilava: Female. One or the other but not both. Preferably Glicecor in my opinion. Just because it's stereotypical to have girls be weak/scared/whatever doesn't mean you can't have a moderate female character once in a while. Most of Ash's female Pokemon so far are super tough, honestly, tough girls are good and all, but a meaningfully flawed character would make the representation and therefore the atmosphere of the anime more holistic and honest feeling. Both Quilava and Glicecor would fit the bill for slightly different reasons. Glicecor because it vastly improved, Quilava because it was never portrayed to be quite as weak as Gligar was. However, only one should be female, for the same reason a meaningfully flawed character is good for the female half.
I thought that Glicecor's character development was really well done and liked how she aspired to be a better flyer and battler despite her weaknesses, and best of all, she did improve, a lot, and played a big role in the battle against Paul.
6) Torkoal: Male. Because we like emotional tough guys. xD seriously though that is what the writers seemed to be going for when they originally wrote him, so it'd feel wrong if they changed that now.
If you think it's a girl why so? Seriously I'm curious, cuz I heard someone else say that it's a girl, but I really think it's a guy for some reason.So, how would you want gender handled in the Pokemon Anime, and which Pokemon belong to which gender?