Schizoanalysis Omake #1

Schizoanalysis Omake #1 - Pokemon appearance choices (requested by >>53133456) {also more flower autism}

(Note, because I'm hyperfocusing on one facet in particular, this will necessitate more reaching/schizophrenia and does not necessarily represent my actual interpretation of the episodes)

Pikachu:
-A given, of course. Pikachu is the icon of the franchise and will appear no matter what. Of note is Pikachu's slightly more mischievous side making an appearance, Pikachu is the first indication that this season will dabble into a bit of an OS edge, something constantly reinforced from here on.
-Pikachu has always represented a crucial part of Ash and Misty's relationship, a being loved by the both of them (Pikachu often found itself in "mommy and daddy are fighting again..." moments).
-Pikachu is often used as the child of a married couple going through a rough patch, when Ash gets mad at Misty, he will beckon Pikachu to choose him over Misty, but Pikachu shows love/loyalty for the both of them and doesn't like to choose.
-For Misty's side, Pikachu represents something safely Ash-adjacent that she can show her unfiltered love towards, and is often used as a counterbalance to her tsundere routine with Ash. In that sense, Pikachu is the part of Ash that Misty can safely show affection for (plausible deniability)
-This of course plays out as expected, Pikachu is shown to be over the moon about seeing Misty (moreso than any other companion thusfar), Misty is really lovey on Pikachu (while bantering with Ash) and Ash tries to rope Pikachu into his teasing of Misty, but Pikachu chooses to be loyal to the both of them (end of Episode 2).

Episode 1:
-As stated before, I believe that the Pokemon presented in the opening of this episode were a deliberate commentary that we're going towards Gen 1. The Phantump and Sawsbuck look on as Ash passes them by, and we see a Rattata steal a nut from a Skwovet.
-After this, we see an easy transition (nut to nut) of a Seedot (gen III) and a hopip (Gen II), Ash is going back to the past.
-This is followed by a Cherrim in its sunshine form, setting the scene, flanked by two Plumeria flowers, which symbolize birth, love and new beginnings.
-In the next shot, Ash spots a Dewpider, the yin/yang of Misty's two opposing personalities (as pointed out directly in Episode 3). The flower that represents love and new beginnings is juxtaposed with the Pokemon that is directly tied to Misty later, curious.
-A Starly flies past Ash, and he's distracted by it and it causes him to fall into the water and get attacked by Magikarp. A hyper-schizo reading could take this to mean a Dawn/Misty parallel, but I'm not doing that. I just think this reinforces the importance of Gen 1.

Kakuna/Beedrill:
-This is important enough to get it's own blurb. The wild Kakuna Ash finds in Episode 1 not only is the key to the theme of the entire arc, but would be the key to a Misty resolution if they go that way.
-Kakuna has its ties to gen 1, and represents a danger from that time in Ash's life. Disturbing one and causing Beedrill to evolve is something to fear.
-Ash saves the falling Kakuna, risk be damned, and it evolves in his arms. Beedrill appears to threaten him, and despite his fear, he decides to interpret this (correctly) as a sign of thanks, and touches his fingers to the tips of its drills. It thanks him and flies off.
-This is VERY thematically relevant if my Pokemon Master theory is correct, because this is the peak example of Ash "understanding the hearts of Pokemon".
-This would also tie into a Misty end, because it shows that Ash is able to interpret something that seems scary on the outside but is loving on the inside, or rather something that shows its love in a scary way (Misty).
-Ash is over the moon about this, showing that he enjoys the challenge of "love through adversity".

-Moving on, a Ninjask flies overhead as Ash thinks of Beedrill, of note is the fact that Ninjask debuted in the anime in the Ruby and Sapphire episode "Enter Kasumi! Togepi and the Mirage Kingdom!!" Misty's return episode of that season. This is again, another way to tie Misty to what just happened.
-Cutting to Delia's, I have to retract an earlier point I made in my first post. She's actually not watering Orchids (Fertility) she's watering Pansies (Thoughts and Memories). She's clearly thinking of her son, and cares for her pleasant memories of him, and his memories of home (so that they may live when he returns).
-Another flower autism point, the flower flanking Oak while he's imparting his wisdom to Delia is the Murasaki-Tsuyukusa flower. This symbolizes "Respect, but not love" which is fitting for Professor Oak and Delia's relationship.
-The subtext of this scene is very interesting. Clearly Mr. Mime being jealous of Oak is supposed to point us in the direction of considering this interaction as a subtle romantic attempt, Oak asks Delia if Ash is "up to anything" and when she says she isn't sure, Oaks says "It's nice to not have a particular goal every now and then" and "I used to be like that when I was young".
I believe the intention here is for Oak to imply that Ash will grow up to be like him someday, to which Delia kindly disagrees, pointing out that he values friends (unlike Oak, who values his research and has become an eternal bachelor). Oak takes the opportunity to attempt to impart some of his autistic wisdom, and he's flanked by "respect but not love" flowers, and Delia humors him as a friend rather than a potential love target.
Finally, to close it out, Mr. Mime cuts their interaction short and Oak is made to be the buttmonkey of the moment. I believe this fundamentally ties into why Ash is different than Oak, and could very well be a green flag for romance in his future. Despite being a fellow Poke-tist, Ash isn't destined to end up like Oak.
-Back to Ash, him and Pikachu admire the Pokemon around him, living in the moment. Kricketot and Patrat make an appearance, followed by Diglett. If you squint really hard, you could see that Kricketot debuted along with Dawn and Patrat along with Iris/XY and Diglett along with Arbok and Weezing (Team Rocket appear right after this) but I wouldn't go that far. I think they're more to represent the joy of observing Pokemon.

Meowth:
-Another obligatory character, has very little to do with subtext. Thought it was cool that he pretended to be wild when he walked up to Ash.
-Wobuffet and Rotem show up too, hardly worth mentioning.

Noivern:
-Ash's first non-Pikachu Pokemon he uses is Noivern. Noivern and Ash have an interesting history, where Ash is basically his adoptive parent (like Misty and Togepi {which Ash also held when it hatched, by the way}). Ash literally used his body heat to help Noibat hatch, and trained it up from a baby that could barely function into a strong fighter.
-Notably, Serena was not "the mother", when Noibat was hatched, the only other person involved was Bonnie.
-Later on, Noibat was infatuated by a Floette with an Orange Flower (her debut) who ended up drifting away... remind you of someone?
-Noibat evolved into Noivern when it had to save Hawlucha after it got attacked by a Zapdos, and it beats Zapdos tying the story full circle (paying back the Pokemon that found his egg/becoming great at flying).
-In short, Noivern is the symbol of Ash's capability to become a parent, something that would tie into a romantic end.

Donphan:
-Next up is Donphan, another Pokemon with an interesting history. Like Noivern, Ash raised this Pokemon from an egg. Interestingly enough, Misty's Togepi saved the egg from Team Rocket, so her contributions to the birth are at least tangential.
-As a Phanpy, Donphan was less dependant than Noibat, but fell into similar troubles growing up. Most interestingly when it was scared of Ash and found Team Rocket to be more safe. Team Rocket betrayed its trust and put it in a situation where it could have died. Ash saving it changed its mind and it became loyal forever.
-Phanphy, moreso than most Pokemon, have a reverse-connection to Team Rocket and regularly beat them. Even evolving mid-Team Rocket fight due to a mecha they had.
-Phanphy made close friends with a Cleffa, and Ash had to comfort it by telling him he would see her again someday (sound familiar?)
-Phanphy was instrumental in Ash's battle with Macy, a comedic "love rival" for Misty back in Johto.
-After returning from the Hoenn League, Phanphy rejoins Ash's team for a time (A Misty returns episode).
-In short, Donphan/Phanphy is a silly Pokemon with a strong moral compass and personal history with team rocket.

Sceptile:
-Ash's Sceptile was a bit of an adopted bad boy of the group when he was picked up as a Treeko. Standoffish, Sasuke-esque if you will.
-Over time, Treeko became a strong fighter, and one of Ash's best Aces.
-Notably, as a Grovile, Sceptile fell in love with a Meganium. Battling for her affection against a Tropius was the impetus for him to evolve, but despite the fact that he won the battle, Meganium chose Tropius instead.
-This is a major part of early-Sceptile's story, as his heartbreak causes him to forget how to use moves. Over time he overcomes his limits and cements himself as really strong (beating a Darkrai!).

-The commonality between all Pokemon used in episode 1: All three saw tremendous growth from childhood with Ash (who is almost father-like to them), and all three have a form of lost/near miss love. This could very easily be a mirror of Ash's own journey as it comes to a close.

Latias:
-After rewatching Pokemon Heroes (Japanese) it's clear that Latias has a special place in this series. Besides being one of the most popular Pokefilms in Japan, and having the anniversary premiere (with a sweet kiss Latias distribution), this is one of, if not the MOST romantic the Pokemon anime ever got (Serena is number 2 and Pokemon 2000 is a distant 3rd.) It's VEEERY interesting to me that Latias of all Pokemon is the "legendary of the arc" and a Pokemon Ash will (ostensibly) catch.
-I do however, believe that it is highly unlikely that this Latias is Alto Latias. If they want to go that way, explaining her memory loss would take up a lot of screentime and seems like too much for what they would want to accomplish.
-While Alto Latias was more of an innocent Genki/Little sister character, this Latias is a classic tsundere (as much as a Pokemon can be, anyway). There's an easy connection to make between Latias and Misty, since they're both redheaded tsunderes that follow Ash. In the "Misty End" timeline, this choice could make a lot of sense.
-The music in Latias's scene does not match her theme in Heroes (I checked) but it certainly evokes a similar vibe (very european).

Buizel:
-Buizel has a shared history between Dawn and Ash. A powerhouse in the wild, when caught he presented a major challenge to her because he wanted to fight in his own way. Over time, Buizel and Dawn began to understand each other better, but ultimately could not find compatibility.
-Because Dawn was more interested in contests, and Buizel was more interested in battles, Buizel drifted towards Ash more and more until Dawn decided trading him over would be what's best.
-Buizel represents Ash's independent spirit and battle autism. In addition, it could also be taken to represent the incompatibility of Pearlshipping, it's interesting to me that the strong willed redheaded water type has a higher compatibility with Ash than Dawn.

-A Hoot-Hoot appears, to establish nighttime ambiance
-Two Fletchling mirror the Hoot-Hoot in the morning. Part of me wonders if this is meant to evoke Latios and Latias.
-The sleeping arrangements spell it out. The two Chads (Sceptile and Noivern) keep watch, while Buizel sleeps independently, Donphan lays on its side goofily and Ash/Pikachu fall asleep on Latias (her wellbeing is on their mind).
-Latias shippers are definitely being (safely) teased when Ash falls on her back and she makes a face, or while to two hug. Ash asks if she understands, so in my mind he doesn't believe this to be the same Latias.
-More cute moments between them that signify fandom awareness, Latias' face during Ash's shonen moment, the handholding midair rescue, and the gentle landing at the lake as they gaze into eachother's eyes. So interesting that they're pandering in this way.
-Ash "wonders if he'll ever see her again" and then looks at his hands in the classic "remembering the feeling of her hands" gesture.
-Once again I do not believe Pokeani has the balls for a Latias end, but I do believe he will catch her. The awareness of the romantic subtext here really shows that they are fandom aware and do think about these things, lending perhaps a pitch more credence to my schizophrenia.
-Pidgey, Butterfree and Snorlax while classic Pokemusic plays, a promise that we're home.
-No, I have no fucking idea why Bunnery is there, Pearlfags? Response?
-Ash stares off into the distance, looking for Latias, as the Daises (A love hidden in your heart) take center stage. We then pan up to see Latias watching.

Episode 2:
-At the beach Ash reveals a whole roster of Pokemon at once.

Corphish:
-Viewing this episode from the Pokeshipping lens, Corphish is meant to represent Misty herself (as Clauncher is Ash). Corphish is a Pokemon that's prone to jealousy and lacks social grace, but makes up for it in tenacity and relative battle prowess.
-Corphish is another in the chain of Pokemon with a failed relationship in his past, once attracted to a Mawhile but losing her attention to another Pokemon (gen III) that's trying less hard. It's funny to see the parallels between Corphish and Misty here.
-Low hanging fruit, but red, prickly and a water type.
-Corphish's relationship to Clauncher and how that ties into a Pokeshipping interpretation was already covered at length in my episode synopsis so I won't rehash my thoughts here (which remain the same.)

Totodile:
-An obvious choice for the episode, Totodile's origin episode is the sister episode to this one. Totadile was desired by both Ash and Misty, and they had to battle over him. Ash won with type advantage (something he specifically DOESN'T do this time).
-Similar to Corphish, Totodile also had an failed love experience with an Azumaril in "Love, Totodile style"

Leavanny:
-An interesting choice, Leavanny (despite being male {why the fuck is that thing a guy?}) developed from a stubborn Sewaddle that wouldn't admit he liked Ash right away (hmmm...) into a very caring, wifely character that likes to make clothes.
-Basically, it's history is a "taming of the tsundere" anyway, just... it happens to be a guy.

Rowlett:
-Rowlett is a naive and childlike Pokemon, adopted by a Toucannon and Trumbeak, it's a very "go with the flow" kind of character (fitting for Sun and Moon).
-Rowlett lives for comfy, it likes resting in good spots and the smell of sweets. In the episode it finds comfort with Misty, which I could go all schizo about, but honestly I think it's because her hair is a little Nest-y.

-The commonalities this time: These Pokemon, with the exception of Leavanny, are all very childish. This sets the tone for a more laid back and fun episode, and also highlights Ash's more paternalistic side when Misty appears.

Clauncher:
-I've already spoken at length at how a Pokeshipping interpretation of Clauncher would entail him to be a representative of Ash (Misty's try and try again attitude, the lure, "that's how he shows his love", his eyes and Ash's eyes at the end, etc) so I will not restate what's been said.

-Psyduck is always the clown, expecting the warm return from Pikachu is a funny way to give him a gag while strengthening the reunion moment between Misty and Pikachu (Leavanny comforts him).
-Azurill has very little to go on. I believe it's replaced Togapi as Misty's surragate child for her to express her maternal side, but it does very little of that here.
-Of note is Team Rocket's willingness to eat Clauncher's claw, throwback vibes to that OS edge.
-In a shot underwater a Huntail and a Gorebyss are seen. The last time a Gorebyss was relevant was when it was an object of affection (Goh's Dewgong) but ultimately it fell for Huntail. Interesting that the two of them would appear as Team Rocket watch Misty and Ash.

Politoad:
-Misty's "steady", Politoad is a great choice for the battle because as a Poliwag it was the one that fought and lost in the battle for Totodile. Misty remarked that while she thought she wanted Totodile, she was more happy to have the Poliwhirl who cared enough for her to evolve.
-Again, when Misty was really gunning for a Poliwrath, Poliwhirl accidentally evolved into Politoad.
-Politoad represents for Misty the power of the unexpected surprise. What you think you value vs what you really need might surprise you (good lesson for a tsundere).
-During the battle, Pikachu acts as the judge. Considering Pikachu is often an intermediate between the two, this makes sense in this overly symbolic episode.

Episode 3:
-Very few Pokemon appeared in this episode.
-There's a background slowpoke after Cilan took a while to understand what was wrong with Brock, but I doubt it was intentional because in the next shot it becomes a Quagsire.
-The flower garden has a disproportionate amount of Anemones, which signify "forsaken in love" or "abandonment". Makes sense, considering Brock.
-Already typed at length about Hatenna and Hatterene and the significance there. Only thing I have to add are all three Pokemon in the line have some relation to Misty (First evo likes Ash and "is a perfect marriage with calmness", second evo is the physical side of the tsundere and the third type is the emotional side of the tsundere.
-Joltik was chosen for being the cutest, smallest bug type for Misty to freak out over
-Misty's delusional Pokemon don't appear to have a connection to eachother, just a combination of some very desirable and iconic water types followed by reasonably creepy bug types for the gag.
-Brock's starter vs Cilan's starter + Ash's starter. Doesn't really mean much, just kind of obligatory fanservice.


(Note: While this was nice to do for fun, I'd like to continue only reporting schizo connections that I actually consider likely to be purposeful, but hey if they're playing 11D chess here's some fun food for thought.
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