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As dull as "handsome" Ash is in XY, SM Ash is probably my least favorite version, and it speaks to the overall likeability of the rest of the cast that I still enjoy SM so much to this point. In this episode, Rotom gets a major role on his favorite TV show which would have him leave for six months or so to travel overseas. Ash gets oddly bent out of shape about this, and has a slapfight with Rotom, until Rotom decides his dream is really to stick around with Ash because Ash meets neat Pokemon. Fuck Ash for making me take Rotom's side on anything. Whatever tone they were going for really missed the mark, and it's probably the first major time that I've felt the reset in between XY and SM actually hurt the show.
Here's a list of Pokemon Ash releases, temporarily or otherwise, off the top of my head:
>Butterfree (traded for a Raticate)
>Raticate (traded back for his Butterfree)
>Butterfree again (Butterfree was in love)
>Primeape (Primeape won a tournament, and Ash was jealous)
>Pikachu (thinking he'd be better off with other Pikachu)
>Lapras (no longer needed it to sail the Orange Islands)
>Charizard (to get stronger)
>Squirtle (to fight fires)
>Aipom (traded to Dawn)
>Gliscor (to get stronger)
>Goodra (to fight in a gang war)
>Goodra again (he lost the Kalos League and didn't need it anymore)
>Greninja (actually mostly Alain's fault)
>Nebby (it became legendary and Ash doesn't have the badges to train it)
>Poipole (it wanted to stay in the Ultra Dimension, probably to escape Ash)
In none of those situations does Ash act like a toddler and stomp around. Most of the time, the releases are given the emotional weight they warrant. Even Team Rocket's releases are surprisingly poignant. For some reason though, 22(I think) seasons in, Ash reverts to a less emotionally mature version of his original persona and gets shitty with his goddamn Pokedex, something none of the Alola gang have and make do without?
