The review must go on!
Keldeo reared up on his hind legs, his expression serious and his Secret Sword raised and glowing brightly.
Keldeo the Critic
Editorial 2- Why Weren't the Shadow Triad in the Anime?
It's me! Keldeo The Critic! I review Pokemon FanFiction when I'm not training with the other Swords of Justice!
Okay, so before we go any further, let me make something perfectly clear. The Team Plasam arc is over. Ash will never see Team Plasma again. Ghetsis will not be breaking out of prison any time soon. Team Plasma is officially dead in the Anime storyline. Ash is headed back to Kanto, and the Pokemon XY Anime already has trailers on YouTube.
So, with that out of the way, I must ask, why weren't the Shadow Triad in the Anime?
I mean, they were a really important part of Team Plasma in the games, showing up at just the right time to foil the player and rescue Gehtsis. They were the elite guard of Team Plasma, and they just couldn't be stopped. So, why keep in all the other Team Plasma member but leave out three of the most iconic ones?
Now, before you say that they didn't have Zinzolin or the Seven Sages in the Anime either, don't. Because when people say that, I get really angry.
First of all, Zinzolin and Ghetsis are Sages, sow what you mean to say is "Zinzolin and the other five Sages."
Second of all, they actually were in the Anime.
In BW118 : Secrets From Out of the Fog!, we get a flashback of N as a child, where Team Plasma is performing a ceremony in their castle involving N and Reshiram. Present at the ceremony are Ghetsis and the six other Sages. So yeah, they're in the Anime.
But now we have another question. If they're in the Anime, where did they go? Where were they during the final showdown at the White Ruins? Well, this is kind of a gruesome headcannon, but hear me out. In the flashback, we see Reshiram burning down the castle, completely destroying it.
Yeah, that's right. My headcannon is that the other six Sages were killed by Reshiram.
It actually makes sense. The writers didn't want too many villain characters, so they had to axe a bunch of them. Black 2 White 2 had already cut out four of the Sages by putting them in jail, and since the Anime didn't have a prequel to take care of that, they decided to use an angry Reshiram to not only cut out those four, but Zinzolin and Rood too. I mean, think about all those times we see Ghetsis giving orders. If the other Sages were alive, shouldn't they have a say in what's going on too? And also, if they were at the ceremony at the castle, you'd think they'd be at the ceremony at the White Ruins too. If it's important enough for Ghetsis to be there, then it's important enough for the other Sages to be there too. So, the only explanation is that they're all dead.
Now, by this logic, you'd assume that I believe that the Shadow Triad died in the fire as well. Well. . . no. I don't think that. I mean, the Shadow Tried can apparently disappear and teleport like ninjas. These guys are elite. So, I don't like the idea of them dying in a burning building. It really doesn't make sense that they'd let themselves get killed like that.
So, back to our original question. Why weren't the Shadow Triad in the Anime? Well, the answer is quite simple. The writers didn't know what to do with them. In fact, the game designers didn't know what to do with them! What do I mean? Well, let's take a look at what they do in the games. Of course, this means major spoilers for Black and White 1 and 2, so beware.
In the games, the Shadow Triad were the Diablos Ex Machina. You battle with them, they taunt you and disappear. You beat Ghetsis, they come in a take him away. You battle them on a ship, they grab you and throw you bodily off the ship. You beat the game, they just appear in Icirrus City and challenge you every season while spouting nonsense.
What do the Shadow Triad have that would make them suitable for the Anime? These guys are unbeatable. Maybe if the Anime were more hardcore, like if Ash had Pikachu slashing Team Plasma Grunts with Iron Tail, the Shadow Triad could work. But Ash being, well, Ash, the Shadow Triad would not be plausible villains. Sure, lots of anime villains would just battle Ash and then run away, but in that case, why even bother putting in the Shadow Triad if it would just be the same old thing only with different characters?
Here's what their scene would be like: Ash and friends fight Plasma Grunts, Triad appears, mocks them, they disappear. What's the point?
The Shadow Triad, in the Anime, would be nothing but a group of very strong escape artists. As far as I can tell, adding the Triad in would probably end up allowing Ghetsis to escape after the showdown at White Ruins. This would've either made the Team Plasma arc longer, or they could've done what they did in Black 2 White 2 and have Ghetsis go insane in a secret room some where. I'm sure the writers wanted to wrap up the Plasma arc quickly, and they figured that the Shadow Triad would only end up making it too long, unless they wanted everyone to say, "Hey! How come the Shadow Triad didn't teleport away! Why did they let themselves be caught by Officer Jenny!"
As for the going insane route, then there would have to be a scene like in the games where the Shadow Triad come to Ash and tell him what has become of Ghetsis. Now there are a couple reasons why this would be a bad idea as well. First of all, how would Ash cope with the knowledge that he drove a man insane? Sure, Ghetsis was evil, but still, this is Ash we're talking about. Second, where exactly would this scene go? I guess Ash and his friends could defeat them, but then what? They could just disappear like in the games, but in the Anime it doesn't work. The Anime needs to have all its plots resolved nicely to satisfy the audience, otherwise they'll all be complaining about how Ghetsis and the Shadow Triad are still at large, even though they can't really do anything anymore. The alternative is for Ash and the gang to restrain the Triad with their Pokemon until Officer Jenny arrives to take them away, but then you'll get people complaining that they should've been able to easily escape.
Well, now do you see why cutting the Shadow Triad out of the Anime was a smart move? The Shadow Triad open up such a can of worms for the restricted Anime universe that putting them in just isn't worth it. They're overpowered and are unable to receive any just punishment. The Shadow Triad can get away with anything, and that's not the kind of characters the writers want in the Anime. So, in the Anime universe, the Shadow Triad never existed to begin with.
(Keldeo sighed)
Oh well, but look on the bright side! Team Flare is coming!
*chirp*. . . *chirp*. . .*chirp*
(Keldeo frowned)
Okay. . .um. . .how about. . .Jessie's Wobbuffet is coming back in the XY Anime?
(There was a huge roaring cheer that nearly knocked Keldeo over. Keldeo looked shocked at first, then he smiled and laughed out loud.)
Well, okay then! That's more like it! I'm Keldeo the Critic and I review Pokemon Fanfiction!
THE END
Performed by Keldeo of the Swords of Justice
Credits
Pokemon Black/White
Pokemon Black 2/White 2
Special Thanks
Bulbapedia
The comments expressed in this review are written in such a way so that negative aspects are used to create jokes. There will NOT be any bashing or ranting. Also, good things in a FanFic will be praised. Particularly bad FanFictions WON'T be totally thrashed, but expect to see major grievances addressed.
(This was a parody of the Nostalgia Critic by Doug Walker on That Guy With The Glasses)
"Wobbuffet!"