Top darkest Pokemon Anime episodes

I am a longtime viewer and fan of the Pokemon Anime (which was the starting point of Pokemon for me). The series is often marketed for kids though every now and then, some of the episodes can get dark and disturbing. Here are some of the episodes or moments that fit the bills. Note that I may count an arc as a whole, count two epsiodes as one if they linked together and discounting movies and side series (though some can get dark too). And be warned that there will be spoilers.

12) Pokemon I choose you/Pallet Party Panic

 Even the very first episode has its moments with the Ash and Pikachu being chased by a huge flock of Spearows after mistakenly throwing a rock at it (due to Ash trying to catch a Pidgey and Pikachu refused to cooperate). It shows how vicious the relentless flock can get with them chasing Ash and Pikachu. It gets worst in the later episode Pallet Party Panic when the Fearow that evolved from the same Spearow Ash have hit have turned up and remembered Ash, coming back for revenge. If that wasn’t bad enough, it’s a larger one and has bullied some Pidgey and Pidgeottos.  This shows that being face to face with a large predatory bird with a grudge against you is terrifying.

11) Abra and the Psychic Showdown/Haunter versus Kadabra 

I feel that a lot of Gym Leaders have more character and bigger screen time than their gaming counterparts (especially those that are his travelling companions). Sabrina stands out for having a rather darker backstory and character. She started off as a young, lonely girl who became obsessed using her Psychic powers, becoming destructive using them. This have caused her to have a split personality with Sabrina’s mind focus on her cool, callous, power hungry half and her childlike half manifested into her doll. But the disturbing part is when she transported Ash and his friends into a doll house after losing to her Gym battle, trying to crush them with her giant ball. Worst still, she have the ability to turn people into dolls including her Mother (implied that she stuck as one for years) along with Brock and Misty when Ash’s Haunter didn’t turn up to battle. If Haunter didn’t help Sabrina’s personalities to merge, then they would have remained as dolls for a very long time.

10) Do I hear a Ralts?

Whilst not the darkest episode itself, the episode is definitely mature and serious.  It’s about Max finding a sick Ralts and have to rush to the Pokemon centre, bumping into many obstacles along the way including Team Rocket who were trying to capture it (they may or may not have been aware of Ralts having pneumonia but it was rather petty of them regardless). There was even one time when Max emotionally breaks down when he tried to get Ralts to eat but it was too weak as if it’s given up.  Thank goodness that Max has made it to the Pokemon Centre in time. Have he been too late, then the series would have taken to a darker turn. Having said that, I find this one of the best, if not the best episode of the Hoenn saga.

9) Paul and Chimchar

A lot of darker episodes are from the Diamond and Pearl series. During Ash’s journey in Sinnoh, he meets a cruel trainer named Paul who is well known for mistreating his Chimchar every time it loses. It gets rather dark as it shows psychological abuse which could be relatable in real life for those have gone through abusive relationships and the effects it have. The two episodes ‘Glory Blaze!’ and ‘Tears for Fears’ shows the effects of PTSD with Chimchar’s reactions fighting Zangoose. Thank goodness Ash offered Chimchar to join his team, giving the love it needs and making Paul’s defeat in the Sinnoh League as its fully evolved form Infernape rewarding. It also makes one of the well written character developments by the standards of the show.

8) Ghoul Daze!

Here’s an episode that features ghosts. During Ash’s time in Pokemon Summer Academy, there was a sinister Ghost Girl who who tries to lure people coming into the Spirit World including Conway (who almost lures him off a cliff), Meowth, Ash, Pikachu, Angie and Shinx. She would have succeeded if it weren’t for Professor Rowan and Dusknoir rescuing them. The way she gets disintegrated into the portal is also chilling. Conway’s reaction when he finds out that his partner was a ghost summaries this episode.

 7) Scare at the Litwick Mansion!

The Litwick evolution line are always known to have one of the most disturbing Pokedex entries and this episode shows this as the Litwick uses their ability to drain their life energy. Team Rocket were the victims. You can tell that they became lethargic as their life force becomes drained as they stayed in the mansion. This has lead the Litwicks to open the portal to the Ghost world and tried to suck them in. Jessie and Cilan have nearly suffered this fate but luckily, they were rescued by Ash and James respectively. This make this episode quite a scare.

6) The Battle Finale of Legend

Cyrus from Team Galatic is more ruthless and less redeeming than his gaming counterpart, harming anyone who gets in the way of creating a new world as shown in earlier episodes when he orders Commander Mars to blow up Iron Island with Ash and the others in it. But what makes this episode on the list is how frighteningly close he is to succeeding his goals as he uses the Red Chain to control Dialga and Palkia, torturing them which nearly cause the entire Sinnoh region to be destroyed by a black hole. Even though his plans have failed, Cyrus enters into the portal himself which disappears, much to Mars’ dismay. Whilst Ash and the others have saved the world, one would wonder what happened to Cyrus’ fate.

5) Pokemon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu

Hunter J is one of the few Pokemon villains who is a Complete Monster. All of her appearances turns the episode to a more serious and darker toning. She is a ruthless mercencry who petrifies Pokemon to capture and sell them for the black market and have little concern for her own men working for her. Pokemon Ranger and the Kidnapped Riolu shows the full extennt of her pure evilness as she tries to murder Ash for getting in her way by using her Salamence to set the forest on fire with Ash and his friends in it, orders her Drapion to crush Ash and ejected him from her ship to his doom. If it wasn’t for Ash’s ability to read Riolu’s aura, then she would have got away with kidnapping Riolu. All of this have lead to Hunter J’s demise who’s ship got struck down into the lake by the Lake Trio.

Her other appearance Pillar of Friendship also gets a mention which shows her wanting to capture Regigigias without caring for the consequences and petrifies the Regis and The Pyramid Kind Brandon as they sacrifice themselves. 

4) One Journey Ends, Another Begins/Memories in the Mist!

The Sun and Moon series have two episodes that covers death without saying the word death but the implication are definitely there.

The first one ‘One Journey Ends, Another Begins’ features Litten’s mentor Scoutland whose condition is deteriorated due to old age as explained by Nurse Joy when Ash takes it to the Pokemon Centre. Even though we don’t get to hear what Nurse Joy is saying, its obvious that Scoutland is at the end of its life but nevertheless, heartbreaking as we watch the characters grieve. This can hit hard for anyone, especially if they have gone through a loss of a pet themselves. Even the staff were affected as explained by Ash’s voice actress Sarah Natochenny whose cat have passed away before recording the episode.

The other episode that covers death is ‘Memories in the Mist!’, focusing on Mallow’s Mother have died of illness when Mallow was young. Mallow’s last words were her outburst of her anger and frustration, saying that she hated her for always apologising for being sick and not being there for her. We can tell in the present that Mallow has regretted saying those words since then. Luckily, it gets better when Mallow gets to meet her Mother’s spirit in Tapu Fini’s Mist, allowing her to spill out her bottled feelings to make amends and focus on being thankful for being there in her life which make it just as emotional to watch.

It’s great that we have the Pokemon Anime to break out their shell as they cover death in a kid orientated show, showing that going through the loss of a loved one is ok as it’s a part of life that everyone experiences, making those two episodes well received.

3) Team Flare Arc (Pokemon XYZ)

The later arc of X and Y were praised for pushing the series into a darker and edger territory. It all got started during the last act of the Mega Evolution special when Alain pushed his travelling companion Mairin away, leading her Chespin named Chespie to be exposed to high levels of energy from the Zygarde 10% forms, falling it into a coma, much to Mairin’s distress and Alain’s anguish and regret which was hard to watch. Fast forward to Lumoise Conference, the leader of Team Flare Lysandre have successfully controlled Zygarde, leading it to its destruction throughout Kalos in order to create a new world with Alain being his unwitting pawn as he collected Mega Evolution energy to not revive Chespie but to contribute to Lysandre’s goals. Alain may have won his biggest battle against Ash but he suffered from the greatest lost upon finding out that he was being used. A whole lot have happened throughout Team Flare’s destruction including Ash being captured by Team Flare, Squishy being under control of Team Flare with Bonnie desperately trying to free it, the tragic sacrifice of Clembot and everyone stopping the Giant Rock that have Chespie in it from reaching the Anistar City’s Sundial. All of this makes it an enjoyable arc to watch throughout (although 'The Right Hero for the Right Job!' had me dangerously close to tears) with it’s again, darker and edger toning which makes it one of the best, if not the best arc.

2) Lillie &Nihilego arc

The Sun and Moon season have a light hearted and wackier tone. That if you don’t count the two aforementioned episodes that covers death or anything that focus on Lillie and Nihilego. Since the start of the series, Lillie is shown to be afraid of touching Pokemon. We learned that it was due to a traumatic incident when she was attacked by a Nihilego. It gets worse in Faba’s Revenge (and the episode before that when Faba tried to erase her memory of the incident) when he kidnapped Nebby in order to open a wormhole for Nihilego to enter the real world. The episode ends when Lusamine allowed herself for Nihilego to abduct her to save her kids, leaving Lillie crying out for her. Even though they all went to rescue her in later episodes, it doesn’t change the fact that the episodes ends in one of the most disturbing cliffhanger. It doesn’t get any better when they do try to rescue her as unlike in the games when Lusamine willingly takes control of Nihilego, it’s Nihilego who takes control of her as shown when she acts like a child throwing a tantrum for ‘taking away her precious Nihilego’. It takes Ash and Pikachu using their Z Move and Lillie’s courage to free her. I like on how this arc differs from the games, giving a darker and edger aspect for this season.

Honourable Mentions:

Tentacool and Tentacruel have its moments with a Dynamax er I mean giant Tentacruel destroying the city out of revenge for its home being destroyed by people. 

Jessie’s Mimikyu is a disturbing character with its grudge on Pikachu though its moments are usually played for laughs. That said, it does have its moments as shown on its debut episode ‘The Guardian’s Challenge!’ when Meowth looks underneath its costume which have almost caused his death. When he got round, he implies that he have been sent to Hell and refused to translate what Mimikyu have said because it was so disturbing. That is certainly an impression for Mimikyu’s debut.

At this time of writing, I have yet to watch ‘A Scare to Remember’ but the plot about Pikachu having Amnesia with Meowth convincing him that he’s a member of Team Rocket and turning against Ash sounds quite dark.

There are some episodes involving Pokemon being mind controlled ‘Pikachu Re-Volts’ and the Team Plasma arc also earns a mention as they turn against their trainers. Ash had it bad with Pikachu in ‘Ash and N: A Clash of Ideas!’ when he couldn’t snap out Pikachu being controlled by Team Plasma, forcing N to give them the Light Stone. Then there was a time when Ash became processed by an ancient evil king in ‘Battling the Enemy Within’.

There was one time in the Alola League when Guzma orders his Golisopod to take down Lana’s Primarina in a rather brutal way including choking her with Throat Chop to stop her using Sparking Aria and taking her down with Poison Jab. And this was apparently legal in the League! It’s a good thing that Guzma lost to Ash in the following episodes.

In the same season, there was a two part episode when Ash was sent to a parallel world where a Guzzlord have showed up and devoured everything in Alola, staying true on what Guzzlord can do.

1 ) Evolution by fire

During Tepig’s first appearance in the Unova series, we see the affects of it being abused and abandoned as it was shown its mouth being tied up, causing it to stave which is something that is unfortunately happens in real life caused by animal abusers. Since it joined Ash’s team, it was known to become sad every time it loses. But it wasn’t until we were shown why in Evolution by fire. It meets up with its sociopathic trainer Shamus, thinking that he has the best intentions for it, only for Shamus to reject him again as he grabs it and tosses him. Worst still, it revealed that he pretended to be sad when he abandons his Pokemon to stop them from following him, implying that he have done this before to several other Pokemon just because he finds them weak. This have psychology break Tepig during their battle. No wonder Iris was so angry with Shamus and Ash takes it personal to beat him. This makes him one of the cruelest trainers, worst than Paul. Even Shamus himself looks shady and unnerving when he does various expressions. It all makes it satisfying when Tepig evolves into Pignite, not only defeating Shamus but uses Flamethrower right into his face.

So there you have it, whilst the Pokemon Anime have its lighthearted, humorous, idealistic and emotional moments, it does have its darker moments too which makes these episodes stand out and think twice if the Anime is really for kids. Reguardless, I’ll keep on watching the series as they are a part of my childhood that again gets me into Pokemon.

How some Gen 8 Pokemon could be improved? (For the Metagame)

It’s almost been a month with the release of Pokemon Sword and Shield and already, competitive players have been discussing on how the new Pokemon could be used and which ones could be viable for competitive battling including on Smogon. As I may have said, there are lots of newly introduced Pokemon that I really liked in this gen though there are some Pokemon that are already hyped for the metagame with them having various traits that could make them viable. Others have a lukewarm reception who are either mediocre or are outcasted by veteran Pokemon. If you remembered from this other article, I have come up with ways on how some unviable Pokemon could be improved. Whilst it’s still early days for the metagame with anything can be changed later on, I’ve thought of ways on how some 8^th gen Pokemon could be improved by looking at the stats, movepool and abilities they have and see on how they could shine better in the metagame.

Inteleon

Ineleon is my favourite 8th gen stater alongside Cinderace on par with the likes of Greninja, Blaziken and Decuideye. That said, Inteleon could have more moves to provide more attacking options and coverage including Focus Blast, Dark Pulse and Dragon Pulse and Nasty Plot for sweeping options. Sniper and Snipe Shot would be interesting to try once Sniper is released though maybe Swift Swim could make it more deadlier under the Rain or even give it a Special Attacking version of Moxie.

Thievul

Thievul is quite cool but stats wise, Thievul is a disaster with mediocre stats throughout even by con mons standards with it having a wider physical movepool but a poor Attack stat and better (but still mediocre) Special Attack stat but a small special movepool to make use of it. Its only decent stat is its Special Defense and Speed but its questionable on how it’ll make good use of it. The only best thing it could do is to hit hard with Nasty Plot with its minimal coverage and maybe Baton Pass the boosts though its likely to be banned by the Baton Pass clause.

If Gen 8 Pokemon were hypothetically get Mega Evolutions sometime in the future, Thievul could be the candidate that could save it, gaining a much needed boost to its stats including Special Attack and Speed. To make it stand out more, it could gain a Fire typing and have Fire type moves added for its barren movepool, sharing Houndoom’s typing to give it better coverage options. Add Adaptability as its ability and it’ll give Thievul more sweeping potential.

 

Dubwool

Even with Dubwool evolving from the cute Wooloo, I’m not sure what kind of role should Dubwool should really go for. Its stats suggest going for a defensive wall with Cotton Guard but defensive booting sets aren’t really utilised in the metagame. It also doesn’t have access to Toxic with it no longer being a TM, it lacks a recovery move and Normal type is not an ideal defensive typing unless you’re Chansey, Blissey or Snorlax (reguardless if they’re available in the Galar Dex or not). Offensive wise, it’s movepool is somewhat small and its Attack is so so at best. Perhaps it could have more supporting moves to make its defensive capabilities stand out more including Heal Bell to cure its team mates’ stats, Taunt to stall defensive threats and maybe even its own entry hazard moves that could be be used by its wool; Wool Bomb. Another signature move it could have is Wool Growth (just like on how Sheep’s wool regrows) which could be its recovery move, making Dubwool a durable wall.

Flapple

Flapple is an interesting Pokemon being part of the split evolution of Applin and having Hustle Dragon Dance sets to hit hard. Unfortunately, Flapple is head back by a lot of factors including its barren movepool outside its STABs (though amusingly, it has Heavy Slam despite being lightweight) and unimpressive stats at best with middling speed and frail defensives. To have more potential offensively, it could have higher Attack and Speed stats to make it a frail fast sweeper and more coverage moves including Sludge Bomb (since its Pokedex entry suggest that it spits out powerful acid) for Fairy types and even Flamethrower for Steel types.

Galarian Stunfisk

Stunfisk is one of the Pokemon to gain a regional form with an equally amusing design with it resembling a bear trap. That said, things doesn’t look good for its Galarian Stunfisk (probably worst than its regular counterpart) with more exploitable weakness, no Steel STAB (Iron Head would have been realistic), worse offensive capabilities and gimmicky ability. One of the main changes I have come up with which could help to make it better is to change its ability which could be Arena Trap, considering that Galarian Stunfisk is meant to be based on an animal trap although trapping abilities are polarising in the metagame and often gets banned. Its other abilities could be a contact based ability which deals damage to the opponent upon direct contact (similar to Iron Barbs and Rough Skin) or even Prankster.  Other improvements I can come up with includes making Snap Trap a Steel type move for a STAB move, Iron Head as mentioned before and a better recovery move outside of Pain Split.

Grapploct

Grapploct seems to be made to trap its opponents with its interesrting signature move Octo-Lock though its questionable on if its capable using this specific role with its middling defensives, low speed, typing and small offensive movepool. Grapploct could have more defensives to handle more hits and perhaps an additional typing to give it more resistances for it to switch into for it to trap its foes (along with the added Water Absorb ability for an immunity). Realistically, Water would be its added typing. Whilst gaining weakness to Electric and Grass types wouldn’t be a good trade off, it would at least gain more resistances including Fire, Ice and Steel and more coverage options. It could have other offensive moves including Knock Off to handle Ghost types better (since they can play around with Sucker Punch and Payback isn’t the most reliable option), Stone Edge and Poison Jab for coverage. Maybe even a recoverly move (not including Rest) to beat defensive Pokemon that it aims to trap one on one.  Other moves that could make use of its gimmick includes Sword Dance, Thunder Wave or even Confuse Ray.

Frosmoth

It’s interesting, elegant design and unique typing (even if it’s one of the worst) makes Frosmoth an interesting favourite upon its reveal. That said, I wish Frosmoth could have been better with it having a higher Speed stat which could help it to out run foes better while Quiver Dancing. It’s movepool is one of its other mayor problem with minimal type coverage. What it would need would be Freeze Dry for Water types, Psychic for Toxapex and Shadow Ball for at least neutral type coverage for Steel types (and most other Moth or Butterfly like Pokemon learn the latter two moves). Hidden Power is, at this time of writing unavailable but should it come back, Frosmoth is one of the Pokemon who really needs it to fill that missing coverage including Hidden Power Ground for Steel, Fire and Rock types.

Stonjourner

Its physically bulky, hits hard and have Stealth Rock but that’s all Stonjourner have to offer in the metagame with mono Rock typing is an ironically bad defensive typing with little much else to make it stand out. Its ability is only useful in Double Battles but I don’t think Stonjourner is made for Double Battles with its typing making it exposed to Earthquake and Surf. So what could make Stonjourner more competitively viable? Well I’ve noticed in its Pokemon Sword dex entry that it’s capable of delivering strong kicks so maybe it could have Fighting type, sharing Terrakion’s typing. It may give it more weakness but it’ll give it more offensive capabilities. Next, its new ability could boost the power of kicking moves and it could have a Rock STAB move to make use of it, along with Hi Jump Kick and even Blaze Kick which would make Stonjourner stand out more (and dare I might say, give Hitmonlee a run for money in the kicking department).

Now I’ll give some quick fire honorable mentions:

Orbeetle could have more abilities that gives it more practical use including Magic Guard to give it immunity to Stealth Rock and Life Orb recoil or Magic Bounce for more game changing potential.

Boltund could have more special attacking moves including Signal Beam (though it alongside Hidden Power are at this time of writing are unavailable) and Flamethrower since Electric types are tend to be specially based. Maybe it could have a signature move which could be a stronger version of Thunder Fang to make better use of Strong Jaw (especially since most of its physical moves are middling at best).

Centiskorch would benefit having more attacking options to fill some missing type coverage including Earthquake, Stone Edge/Rock Slide and Sucker Punch for priority. More Speed would help it too.

Sirfetch'd is certinaly an improvement over Farfetch'd all things considered. But perhaps it could either be more bulkier or have more speed to make it a glass cannon. Having a STAB priority move could also help with its low Speed stat too. 

Eiscue does have the potential to become a potent sweeper with Ice Face and Belly Drum though its mono Ice typing would hold it back a lot. It could gain an additional typing including Water type (as a realistic pick). Whilst it may not be the most ideal typing, it would at least give it a STAB Liquidation, neutralise its weakness to Fire and Steel types and maybe a STAB Aqua Jet to make it harder to revenge kill.

I would give Duraludon Mega Launcher with Aura Sphere, Dark Pulse and signature moves to make use of it, giving it more Special Attacking options to use.

Pokemon is full of possibilities and who knows if these changes would allow these Pokemon to shine more or even if they can still shine in their respective tiers as the Metagame develops. Or maybe they’ll gain more buffs in later games. Only time will tell with whatever this generation happened to have set in store.

Top Cartoon Network Shows

I remembered during my childhood (often during the times when I’m in Primary School to early High School Days) when I used to sit down and watch Cartoon Network with my Brother, checking out many weird and wonderful shows. Now or days, I don’t watch TV as often and spend more time playing video games or watching Youtube (and no longer have access to the network) but I still have fond memories of many shows from Cartoon Network and sometimes search those shows online. Here are my top Cartoon Network shows that happen to be my favourite. Note that this is my personal list based on personal experience and does not necessary reflect a whole audience.

10) Adventure Time

At this time of writing, I’ve only had a few experiences with Adventure Time but I am aware that it’s one of Cartoon Network’s beloved shows with many bizarre yet fun adventures with zany characters including Finn the Human, Jake the Dog and Marceline. I’ve only seen a few episodes from this DVD that was given to my Brother but the ones I’ve seen were entertaining in a weird way which is part of the appeal.  I wouldn’t mind checking out more episodes for me to have exposure with the fun that never ends.

9) Time Squad

A zany series featuring a trio known as the titular Time Squad going back in time to famous historical events to set things right. The historical events however are parodied and does not show the accurate representation which is what makes Time Squad entertaining to watch and more enjoyable than actual history lessons.

8) Cubix

A colourful computer animated show featuring humans co-existing with robots with a catchy theme song and fast paced action, if only there were more seasons as it certainly needs more recognition.

7) Courage the Cowardly Dog

I’m a wuss when it comes to horror but thankfully, this show parodies the theme that makes it enjoyable to watch in its bizarre way as you root for Courage as he outwits any horrors that comes to his way. It’s the show that I’m aren’t getting off my chair for.

6) The Powerpuff Girls (original series)

The Powerpuff Girls is a series about three super powered girls who fight crime before bedtime, combined a mixture of action, comedy and drama makes it an engaging show to watch. Even the villains themselves are entertaining. It shows that even girls can kick ass.

5) Mucha Lucha

One of the more obscure entries in this list, it involves young masked wrestlers attending a mask wresting school. It have a lot of humurious episodes, exciting fighting scenes and colourful cast; it needs more love as mentioned in this other article (along with Cubix).

4) Ed, Edd N Eddy

Another classic which features the misadventures of Ed Boys who tries to come up with ways to scam the neighbourhood kids for jawbreakers, often with hilarious results. A lot of episodes are enjoyable to watch with a lot of slapstick and the characters are entertaining (even dislikeable ones are hard to outright hate), making it a top tier Cartoon Network shows.

3) Dexter’s Laboratory

One of the oldest Cartoon Network and among the first I’ve watched which is still one of the best today.  I still find a lot of the episodes very funny (especially A Parrot Trap which is one of the best, if not the best episodes) as I watch boy genius Dexter’s experiments going hilariously wrong, making it a timeless classic.

2) Pokemon

I wasn’t too sure whenever to count this one as it’s no longer on Cartoon Network and not really an original Cartoon Network show unlike most examples on this list but as I long time fan of Pokemon (games and Anime), I thought I might as well. As I may have said before, I have always enjoyed the Pokemon Anime which is what have got me into Pokemon and I am thankful for Cartoon Network for airing the series, especially the XYZ arc which is one of the best, if not the best arc.

1)  Steven Universe

I’ve first heard about this coming of age series from Youtuber Thomas Sanders’ Cartoon Therapy video and read about the Some Avails Needs to be Dropped page on TV Tropes. With its idealistic setting and LGBTQ representation, I thought it would be the kind of show I would like and I was right. It has a lot of likeable cast who are flawed yet complex and relatable along with many lessons that inspires me a lot. As mentioned before, it’s one of the few kid shows that have LGBTQ characters which is very progressive and something that more kid show needs. Throughout the show, Steven Universe has a mixture of humorous and serious episodes and arcs that’ll get you hooked. All of this makes Steven Universe one of the top quality shows that everyone needs to watch. At this time of writing, a continuation of the series Steven Universe: Future is due to air and I hope it’ll continue to live up for the series.

Honourable Mentions:  Grim and Evil, Cow and Chicken, Johnny Bravo, Looney Tunes, Animaniacs, Pinky and The Brain.

I would also like to mention some shows that I have not yet seen but would like to try them out someday:

Teen Titians (original series) – I’ve never really got into DC comparing to Marvel (and even then, I’m more of a casual fan) though I have seen a few Justice League episodes. Teen Titians however sounds like my kind of DC show which involves a younger super hero cast who could be relatable. From what I can gather, it has a balance of light hearted and humorous episodes along with some serious and darker episodes, making the super hero based show that I wouldn’t mind checking out.

Freakazord! – I’ve seen a handful of clips on Youtube which are very hilarious. This would strive me to check out the whole episodes.

Infinity Train – I’ve watched Saberspark’s video about the series and it sounds like an interesting, mature cartoon show mixed with fantasy. I wouldn’t mind giving this show a go as I would watch Tulip’s journey of growth.

There are many Cartoon Network shows to remember and inspire by whenever you’re a regular viewer or a veteran viewer. I hope Cartoon Network will continue to air many good quality shows for people to enjoy.

 

Favourite Gen 8 Pokemon

As I've been playing Pokemon Shield, I have a lot of new Pokemon that I really like which are as follows:

Updated: 29/07/2021

Cinderace
Intelon (I've choose Sobble as my stater)
Corviknight
Orbeetle
Flapple
Appletun
Sandaconda

Barraskewda
Toxtricity
Centiskorch
Grapploct
Polteageist
Hatterene
Grimmsnarl
Obstagoon

Cursola
Sirfetch'd
Mr Rime
Alcremie
Falinks
Pincurchin
Frosmoth
Stonjourner
Eiscue
Dragapult

You can find out more with my updated database on my Pokemon tier ranking (which also includes Smogon's CAP Pokemon) here.

My Top Jacqueline Wilson books, main character, supporting character and worst character

I’ve been reading a couple of children’s books and still do now. Jacqueline Wilson has been among them during my high school days. I was taking a look at a TV Tropes page of her books and I’ve come up with an idea of sharing my top list for her books. It’s been ages since I’ve last read her books (even if some of her books may or may not have aged well) but here are the ones that remain my top favourite books of hers to this day (and I like to give a mention the the illustrator Nick Sharrat for his colourful art). Bear in mind that my memory is somewhat rusty as again, it’s been ages since I’ve read her book and there are some that I don’t have any more. And as a heads up, there will be some spoilers.

Top 10 Jacqueline Wilson books 

10) The Mum Minder – Probably an underrated one but its set as a school diary written by Sadie who writes about the misadventures involving taking care of the babies while her Mom is ill. Its simplistic style makes it easy to get into.

9) The Diamond Girls – The name of the book would suggest a girl pop group but that’s far from the truth as it’s about four sisters who have to learn to work together to help their Mom settle in a new neighbour while pregnant with another member of the family on the way. It even has a reference to Busted one time!

8) Best Friends – Featuring best friends Gemma and Alice who have to deal with the burden of becoming split about. I like on how it have many references to some of the older Jacqueline Wilson books including the appearance of Biscuit from Cliffhanger.

7) Candyfloss – Focusing on Floss who choose to stay with her father while going through several changes of her own. You will be rooting for her as she endures it all. The ending even have other Jacqueline Wilson characters as cameos which is probably the closest thing to a crossover to her books (hint hint).

6) Cliffhanger – One of my earliest Jacqueline Wilson books that still remains a favourite today and one of the few to have a male protagonist including Tim who have to face the trails of summer camp.

5) The Cat Mummy – This book have almost single handily made me got into the pet hobby and as someone who have lost some pets, I can relate to Varity.

4) Sleepovers – It focus on five friends going to five sleepovers for their birthday which varies the plot. It’s also great for it to have a disabled character for representation.

3) The Worry Website – It’s among my top favourite that motivated me to read more of her books. It’s about students who uses the school’s worry website to type down their problems and how they were able to deal with them with the help from their teacher Mr Speed.

2) Starting Tracy Beaker – Tracy Beaker is one of her main series set as a midquel between The Story of Tracy Beaker and The Dare Game where Tracy gets a star role in a Christmas Carol. It’s my best Tracy Beaker series.

1) Little Darlings – It stars two children who are related to a celebrity who happened to meet each other. It’s personally my best Jacqueline Wilson book.

Honourable Mentions: The Illustrated Mom, Secrets, The Lottle Project

Jacqueline Wilson has written many characters who are often relatable as they go through real life issues. There are some that you would sympathise too, others that you would dislike or some that could have more potential and development by today’s standards. But regardless, here are my top main characters:

Top 12 Main Jacqueline Wilson Character 

12) Pearl (My Sister Jodie) – The younger sister to the titular Jodie who have to go through several hardships at her new boarding school and the tragic loss of Jodie. You definitely want to give her a hug as she has gone through her grieving.

11) Varity (The Cat Mummy) – As someone who have kept pets themselves, I find her hardship  losing her beloved cat Mabel relatable. She also struggles to keep everything a secret despite the meaning of her name (meaning truth) but with help from the others, she was able to accept the lost which is a good lesson for those losing a pet too.

10) Garnet (Double Act) – Garnet is the younger twin like me. She is the shyer one but is always loyal to those who she loves including her older twin sister Ruby. She also honest (as shown when she one times mentions about Rose caring for them despite her resentment) and always vows to stick together with Ruby. Also, who would have thought that the names Ruby, Garnet and Rose would become names for characters in Steven Universe?

9) India (Secrets) - One of the two protagonists in Secrets who is a huge fan of Annie Frank. She may have to put up with others giving her a hard time including her alcoholic father, her mother who mocks her for her weight and the other students who are jealous of her yet is proved to be smart, willing to stand up for herself when pushed too far and cares about those she is close to including her father and her new friend Treasure who helps her to hide from Terry.

8) Treasure (Secrets) – The other protagonist from Secrets who has a tough facade as she endures her step Father Terry yet have a compassionate side to those she trusts. You will be rooting for her when she reveals the truth about Terry and her desire to live with her Nan Rita. I liked the parts when she and India meets each other and become close friends, having each other’s backs.

7) Dolphin (The Illustrated Mom) – One of the daughters of Marigold. She’s been given a hard time at school by other pupils and teachers yet is not afraid to stand up for herself. Even so, she truly cares about Marigold and always believes the best in her.

6) Dixie (The Diamond Girls) – The Diamond sisters are an interesting bunch yet you may have divided opinions on them including Jude who is the nicest to Dixie but can be sexist at times, Rochelle can be a jerk to Dixie but have become closer to her and Martine’s opinions about her own Mother would be up to debate. Dixie is probably the most likable out of The Diamonds Sisters who was born prematurely and a fan of birds yet truly cares about her family and tries to keep them together. She also made friends with Mary with a dark secret and despite her skinny size and being the youngest of the sisters, she is shown to have great courage as she saves Mary from her fall.

5) Daisy (Sleepovers) – The founder of the Alphabet Girls. I find her character arc enjoyable to read including her frustration and concerns about her disabled sister Lily yet truly loves her especially near the end as well as her becoming best friends with Emily for which she have truly earns.

4) Floss (Candyfloss) – You would definitely want to be rooting for her as she goes through the struggles of her decision to remain with her good natured Father while her other family moves to Australia, helping her Father who’s in a massive debt and falling out with her so called best friend Rhiannon yet is able to endure it all.

3) Tim (Cliff Hanger/Buried Alive!) – One of the few male protagonists who have to endure summer camp and a holiday that involves several mishaps but have learned to stand up for himself which leads his team to victory in Cliff Hanger and remain loyal to his friends even with their differences in Buried Alive. He is also shown to be worthy of being Super Tim as he saved the life of his bully. All of this shows that he can be a badass when he strives to be.

2)  Destiny (Little Darlings) – As one of the protagonist from Little Darlings, Destiny is known to be fearless and talented, knowing the lyrics of her father yet is compassionate and not let caught into fame as shown for her caring about her ill Mother. You would also feel sorry for her as she was placed second to last for the penultimate performance yet it all pays off for the evening final show.

1) Sunset (Little Darlings) – The other protagonist from Little Darlings who you would also feel sorry for as she been treated harshly by her parents (especially her Mother), her unhappy celebrity lifestyle and being dragged down by her parent’s marriage problem. Yet despite it all, she truly cares about her family as she tries to help her siblings to go through it all. Thank goodness that she have found a friend in Destiny.

Honourable Mentions: Tracy Beaker, Gemma (Best Friends), Marty (The Worst Thing About my Sister), Lily (Lily Alone), Elsa (The Bed and Breakfast Star),  Ellie (Girls Series), Ruby (Double Act)

In addition, Jacqueline Wilson have introduced many supporting characters that I happen to like a lot so here are a few supporting characters that are my top picks (which would be described as TV Tropes term Ensemble Darkhorse):

Top 15 Supporting Jacqueline Wilson Character 

15) Davie (Little Darlings) - Starting with a minor character who only had a brief appearance. I guess it's something to do with me liking boy bands including Mcfly and Busted. In this case, Davie is from a fictional young boy band The Milky Star Boys who is protayed to be clumsy which makes him amusing to Sunset yet he is shown to be kind as he was legitimately concerned about Destiny's Mom when he spotted them at the film primer, offering to help them out, making him an Ensemble Darkhorse to me. 

14) Callum (Best Friends) – One of Gemma’s older Brother who is good looking and is generally nice to Gemma and Alice, just as long as they don’t go through the way of his relationship. If Jacqueline Wilson happens to write another book with a male protagonist, maybe Callum could be one of them.

13) Jack Johnson (Kiss) – One of my best siblings who is one of the many characters who is supportive of Carl’s sexuality (it would be great to have more LGBTQ+ characters with that in mind).

12) Harley (My Sister Jodie) – Harley happens to be tall for his age yet is a nice guy who is friends with Pearl and likes to watches badgers. It’s good for him to be one of the few characters who stays in touch with Pearl after the tragic death of Jodie.

11) Rhona (Cookie) – One of Cookie’s class mates from her school and wanted to be best friends with her and who can blame her with her being cool yet nice to her with one of the few students who accepted her for who she is. I would have liked her to have more appearances during half way of the book (even if she may have to find out about what happened to Birthday, the rabbit that she brought for Cookie for her Birthday).

10) Joseph (The Longest Whale Song) – When Ella’s Mom became ill during childbirth, Joseph is one of the few characters who is the most supportive to Ella and one of the more likeable characters than most other characters I find. The Guinea Pig that Ella has brought Butterscoth also gets a mention as a lover of Guinea Pigs myself. It may not have been mentioned as much but thank goodness it didn’t have the same fate as Birthday from Cookie.

9) Barbara (Lola Rose) – She definitely earns a spot on the list for how she helps with Jayni and Kenny with their Mother at the hospital, her kindness towards the family and how she stood up to Jayni’s abusive father. Steven and Andy also have an honourable mention (well mainly Andy as the nicest one out of the two) for hints of them being a gay couple (which is something that was oblivious to me back then long before I came out).

8) Jack Myers (Little Darlings) – A lot of friendly male supporting characters tends to be on this list and Jack Myers gets a mention for his kindness for Destiny during halfway of the book including during the school concert. The ending implies that they maybe a couple too.

7) Rita (Secrets) – Treasures’ cool yet compassionate Nan. She always fights for what she believes in and is willing to risk herself to help her loved ones. All of this makes a better parental figure for Treasure than her own parents.

6) Ms Smith (The Cat Mummy) - Jacqueline Wilson has written a lot of supportive teachers including Keith ‘Rex’ Raxberry (Love Lessons), Mr Abbott (Lily Alone – even though he was the one who called the social services but it helps that he regretted it), Mr Hill (The Illustrated Mom), Mr Harrison (The Illustrated Mom) and Mrs Horsefield (Candyfloss). Even stricter ones like Mrs Harrison from the Girls series and Miss Marion Bean from Dustbin Baby have their moments of support.  Ms Smith happens to be one of the best who is kind and gentle to her pupils with Verity being her special favourite, helping her to get through her problems even if Verity wasn’t willing to tell the whole truth about her situation. I like her design which makes her resemble an Egyptian Princess. It would be great if we have more teachers like her.

5) Emily (Sleepovers) – One of the Alphabet Girls who is the nicest to Daisy who stands up to her ex-best friend Chloe and accepts her disabled sister Lily. It’s no wonder that Daisy desires to become Emily’s best friends and it’s rewarding to see how it pays off. 

4) Oliver (The Illustrated Mom) – Almost every student at Dolphin’s class gives her a hard time. Oliver is the exception who is the nicest to Dolphin and has a few problems of his own. He was the one who was there for Dolphin when she needed it and single handily helped Dolphin to find her biological father.

3) Susan (Candyfloss) – A smart yet quiet girl who proved to be a better friend for Floss, being there for her when Floss became bullied by her so called best friend and remain supportive with Floss’ circumstances like good friends should.

2) Mr Speed (The Worry Website) –Mr Speed is my other favourite teacher and the best bar none. He is a witty, wacky teacher like Ms Frizzle from the Magic School Bus series yet is compassionate to his students and does a lot to help out his students going through their dilemmas no matter how complicated they are. He would certainly earned a spot for best fictional teachers (along with Ms Smith).

1) Biscuit (Cliff Hanger/Buried Alive!/Best Friends) -  Biscuit is one of Jacqueline Wilson’s favourite character and is certainly one of my best supporting character. He is always thinking about food yet is a nice guy who is there for his best friend Tim during his summer camp. He appears again in the sequel to Cliff Hanger Buried Alive, expanding his friendship with Tim and focusing on his own flaws. His appearance in Best Friends was a wonderful surprise and is shown to be nice and supportive to Gemma even if she resented him until near the end. No matter the circumstances, Biscuit is always compassionate to his friends. Maybe it’s about time that he appears in another book as the main character.

Honourable Mentions: Alice (Best Friends), Magda & Nadine (Girls series), Star (The Illustrated Mom), Bruce (The Diamond Girls), Sakura (My Sister Jodie), Jack (Best Friends), Peter (Tracy Beaker series), Amy & Bella (Sleepovers), Jake (Cliff Hanger), Melissa (The Worst Thing About my Sister), Mike (Cookie), Sam & Lily (Cookie)

However, not every character from her books are as likable. There are some who are dislikable or even despicable whenever they are bullies or abusive. Here are my worst Jacqueline Wilson characters:

Top 15 Worst Jacqueline Wilson Character 

15) Richard (Double Act)

Whilst not the worst character, I would like to start off by mentioning someone (as I look back to the story) who I find unintentionally unsympathetic; Richard from Double Act. Whilst it’s sad that his wife have passed away and he may have the right to be angry with the twins Ruby and Garnet with their behavior at times yet there was not one part where he takes any responsibility himself. He should have acknowledge their feelings of moving away from their friends at school, their resentment of Rose (whilst I give credit to her to trying to be nice to the twins and does stand up for them at times but him paying more attention to her than the twins and her invading the twin's lives all of a sudden certainly doesn't help matters) and considered to have a heart to heart talk to them which could have helped them to settle since children may have a hard time  coping with changes in their lives. During the part when he had an argument with his Gran, he may not be completely wrong about meeting Rose but his Gran does have a valid point on not being consulted about inviting Rose and not to rush into the relationship. His outcry at Gran makes him look like he’s throwing a hissy fit. Then there’s the part when he said to Garnet that they’re better off being separated when she had the scholarship and not Ruby which only adds more salt to the wound. He may not be the worst father but frankly, he could have been more responsible helping with the twins' circumstances which doesn't make him worth rooting for. 

14) Justice Littlewoods (Tracy Beaker) – Justice is an obnoxious bully who always winds up Tracy Beaker and often gets away with it. I say that she deserves Tracy lashing out on her for provoking her, especially in Starring Tracy Beaker when she bullies Peter and Tracy standing up to her

13) Chloe (Sleepovers) – Chloe is one of the members of the Alphabet Club who happens to bully Daisy and always have opportunities to belittle her, especially during her sleepover birthday which shows her at her worst and was no better at Daisy’s own sleepover birthday including pushing Daisy over, adding anchovies to her pizza and giving a scary movie to Daisy as her birthday present. It was satisfying to see her being humiliated near the end of the story.

12) Ingrid, Katie, Alisha (The Worst Thing about my Sister) – While opinions on Marty and Melissa would be up to debate, it’s those three who are the gruesome trio who bullies Marty for little or no reason including calling Marty names. While Marty’s action involving getting her revenge on them may seem questionable to some, the worst part is that they virtually get away with their bullying with Marty getting punished harshly and them never been punished. If anything, they deserved having eggs thrown at them.

On the subject on The Worst Thing about my Sister, the mother Jan gets a mention here. Whilst she’s not as bad as other parents and maybe at times she does have some valid points as the only sane woman in the family,  I don’t find her very likeable with her strictness, especially to Marty who she punishes harshly (without acknowledging that the above gruesome trio are in the wrong) and her favourism to Melissa. I feel that she makes little responsibility to Marty and Melissa’s fights which would make her unintentionally unsympathetic at times

11) Riannon (Candyfloss) – Rhiannon is a petty so called best friend to Floss who joins in Margot and Judy’s bullying to Floss and never admits that she’s in the wrong. It doesn’t help that she spreads exaggerated rumors including Floss’ mother walking out on her which is something that a true friend wouldn’t do. It all makes it satisfying to see Floss standing up to her and one time being humiliated.

10) Mrs Maddie (Girls series) – There have been a fair amount of strict and cruel teachers throughout her books. Mrs Maddie stands out for always being mad and is practically cruel to Ellie, belittling her and not caring about her circumstances, especially during Girls in Tears when she angrily orders Ellie to put down the note about Magda’s apology which is like a kick the dog moment. 

9) Karen (Best Friends) – Not the worst parent comparing to the others on the list but certainly dislikable. She was the one who split Gemma and Alice apart with her husband having a new job and being spoilt and selfish without considering their feelings. While she still cares about her daughter Alice, I don’t find her sympathetic and I pretty much agree with Gemma when she lashed out on her about taking Alice away from her.

8) Kate Green (Lily Alone) – Like with Richard, Karen and to an extent Jan (and others), Kate isn’t as bad as the other abusive parents (brace yourself as there’s going to be more of them for this list) and does care about her children. I do get that she is sympathetic with her owing a lot of debt, falling into depression after Paul died and losing her canteen job. However, I can’t help but to feel that the entire plot was entirely her fault with her irresponsibility throughout.  Her depending on her ex-husband Mikey to look after the kids while she goes on holiday with Gordon was far from a smart move when she should have consulted him first before leaving. And Mikey was an abusive father which would not have worked out anyway. Then there was the fact that she used a stolen credit card which Lily have tried to warn her at one point for which she mocked her for which later comes back to bite her. All of this makes Kate indirectly responsible for Lily being sent to a care home, separated from her siblings, making her unintentionally unsympathetic for being an irresponsible parent.

7) Mrs Luft (The Illustrated Mom) – Mrs Luft is an obnoxious fiend who shares the same flat as Marigold and have a bad temper to takes it out on Marigold’s family for trivial reasons. Even if her reasons are somewhat justified at times including disturbance, it does not excuse her for her foul temper and rude behavior which makes her no better. I say that she was indirectly responsible for Marigold’s breakdown towards the end of the book (the part when she forced Marigold to put down her phone when Star contacted her and saying those hateful things to pour more salt in the wound) and never really received any proper karma for it (asides when the ambulance woman have asked her to look after Dolphin when they took Marigold to the hospital).

6) Terry/Tammy (Secrets) – Terry is an abusive stepfather who whips Treasure at the start of the book just for discovering Treasure’s Terry Torture Manual. If that wasn’t bad enough, he masks his emotions to manipulate people including the press when he claims that he misses Treasure and feels sorry for his violent ways. Neither of which are the case. It’s no wonder that Rita has decided to take Treasure away from the house and who can blame her?

Let’s not get Tammy off the hook who is an accomplice to Terry, taking a blind eye that Terry have wiped Treasure and have even told Treasure at one time that she didn’t wanted Treasure to be born. Are we meant to be rooting for her, wanting her daughter back when it’s clear that Terry won’t change his ways?

Whilst not as bad as those two, India’s Mom Moya Upton also deserves a dishonerable mention for the way she belittles India about her weight. She may have redeemed herself in the ending but she does deserve India’s The Reason You Suck speech to her.

5) Mary’s Mom (The Diamond Girls) – You may have divided opinions on the Diamonds and their Mother but none are as hateful as the Mother of the young girl Mary that Dixie made friends with. Her actions towards her daughter are shocking including cutting her nails too short, slapping her just for making friends with Dixie, threatened to cut Mary’s tongue for telling another friend that she hurt her and force feeding Mary to eat the sandwich crusts in front of Dixie (which was a terrifying scene). This makes her one of the darkest characters that Jacqueline Wilson has ever written and not even her PSN gets her off the hook. You would definitely want to give Mary a hug for all the psychological and physical abuse she has to endure from her Mother.

4) Sharon (My Sister Jodie) – Sharon is one of the worst Mothers who is always unfairly harsh and strict to Jodie. I especially hated the part when she refuses to listen to Pearl and Jodie about the badger incident and takes the blame on Jodie while explaining her back story which expects you to be pity for her yet I say it makes her a hypocrite when  Pearl said that Jodie was given a hard time by the others but Sharon herself said that she was bullied while again not listening to Pearl, making her less likable. 

3) Jay (Lola Rose) – There’s no surprise that he would end up in the list as one of the worst fathers with such despicable acts including emotionally and physically abusing his ex-wife Nikki for trivial reasons, telling Nikki that it was her fault that her mother have died from cancer, calling Barbara names and threatening her for being with another man just after she recovered from her breast cancer surgery. Not even his kids were safe from his wrath including Jayni. I don’t understand why some partners are so abusive to their own partners. No matter the reason, Jay is definitely a hate sink and thank god that Barbara has given him what for.

2) Gerry (Cookie) – The other abusive father who spends most of the story being verbally abusive to Cookie and Dilly, trying to control them and hostile to others including near the end when he punches their friend Mike who tries to reason to him when he finds them at Rabbit Cove. But the worst part was when he deliberately released Cookie’s pet rabbit Birthday which caused it to get eaten by a fox. As an animal lover, I was upset and angry with this horrific act. This, along with all the crap he gives to Cookie and Dilly placed him very high on the list.

1) Suzy Kilman (Little Darlings) – Suzy is one of my most hated character who is unfairly abusive to her daughter Sunset, belitting and bullying her throughout for trivial reasons. Her cruelty also extends to Destiny and her Mother when they had a chance to meet her father (even if they have trespassed their property). TV Tropes have suggested that she is a Jerkass Woobie for her backstory involving her being poor and had to fend for herself prior to being a model (as well as her husband Danny cheating on her obviously – someone who is also dislikable) but I can’t get pass her Jerkass attitude so I am not convinced that I am meant to be sympathetic to her and just because someone have a hard life, it doesn’t always justify treating others like crap. While she may care about her children to some extent (as shown when she and Danny got separated), it doesn’t change the fact that she never really apologise for her abuse, nor see herself in the wrong.  This makes this cow my worst Jacqueline Wilson (next to Jay and Gerry) and I’m glad that Sunset stood up to her, giving her the reason you suck speech she deserved.

Dishonerable Mentions: Giles (Cliffhanger), Mack (The Bed and Breakfast Star), Gran (Clean Break), Liz (Best Friends), Kim (Bad Girls), Pearl (Dustbin Baby)

There have been some annoying younger siblings (Kenny from Lola Rose, Eggs from the Girls series and Baxter Green from Lily Alone comes to mind) but they’re generally tolerable and more redeeming than the above characters (abusive parents and bullies alike) though I would want them to have some character development and depth including the reason for their childish behavior and realization that they have to grow up, rather than being genetic brats (although the TV Tropes page for Lola Rose have suggested that Kenny does have some depths).

I would also like to mention someone who I don’t outright dislike but I considered my least favourite protagonist; Ella from The Longest Whale Song. Don’t get me wrong, I do feel sorry about her Mother being put into a coma during childhood but I don’t like her hostile attitude to most other characters including her stepfather Jack who’s not a bad guy, just strict at best and does cares about her (at least they have got closer together). Whilst it’s understandable that she’s going through a hard time, her attitude to again other characters (justified or not) doesn’t make her any better, making her character unenjoyable to read.

So I hope you enjoy reading my top lists for Jacqueline Wilson’s books which have been part of my childhood and have helped me to get into reading. I hope to read more of her newer books to rediscover her works someday.