>>36676614Nah. The Hoenn saga felt like the writers knew the original fans were becoming teenagers around this time. With May’s body and boobs constantly being flaunted as viewers, Ash looking older and being a bit more mature than Johto, and more focus on battling, it seemed a lot more focused on Johto.
Once May’s contest arc starts and the eps Drew and Harley are in, it’s also obvious they were trying to attract more girls to Pokémon given her story feels like it’s from shoujo manga. Drew and Harley were clearly aimed at female viewers.
As for the tone, Hoenn’s humor is most similar to the original seasons than any following saga. Once you get to DP onward even in Japanese the show gets more serious.
