I learned this back in the early 2010s when I watched PBG's videos on The Many Deaths of Link. But it is still frightening to know that this is the most dangerous foe in the game. Even though its sole purpose in the game is to dig you up a Piece of Heart.

Also, couldn't have said it better myself with the statement about how Wind Waker is your favorite even if other Zelda's do things objectively better.

Twilight Princess has better combat.

BotW/TotK has better exploration.

Ocarina of Time has the best overall story.

Majora's Mask has the better or just overall more concentrated tone.

And Skyward Sword has the best music.

But Wind Waker is the one I always come back to most because it just does some things for me that most other Zeldas don't. Mainly just due to the fact that unlike BotW/TotK, there's more penalties for those who try to beat the game in the linear style. Between the Triforce Hunt and the Fishman mapping your Sea Chart, I never had any trouble sinking (pun definitely intended) hours upon hours 100% this game over and over and over.

Galaxy 1 definitely had some of the more gimmicky controls. 9/10 times the only thing that 64 and Sunshine do wrong has nothing to do with controls but just that depth perception of certain angles plus the camera positions make the game very heavy on trial-and-error.

However, I'd rather play either than deal with the gimmicky pointer controls on either Galaxy title.

Personally don't care about Galaxy 2, but that's because I found Galaxy 1 to be a disappointment gameplay-wise. Sunshine is my favorite followed by 64 and then Odyssey, and while all 3 have gotten their fair share of attention either due to ports or references, none have had the opportunity to have or even remotely tease a sequel.

64 has a bunch of fan games and mods, Sunshine has probably one of the best modded games in the series in Eclipse, and Odyssey is the most recent title. But again, no sequel. The Galaxy series fans should be happy they have what they have at this point.

Can't say I thought she was any better or worse than Crusher was but I do think the dynamic between Pulaski and Data is very lost. Data doesn't really seem to fight back in the same way that Spock and McCoy banter. Probably my biggest issue with Dr. Crusher is that she doesn't seem as assertive as a doctor. Probably comes from the fact she's a mother and a woman, but that's still a big reason why she's not remotely close to being my favorite TNG character like Worf, Riker, or even her son Wesley.

As much as I don't like Alain, there's no way he's only the 7th strongest (now sure, by the Masters' 8 standards, he'd probably the lowest ranked considering he got almost swept by Leon and the only one he did win against was a double advantage ko). By anime standards, even without taking the Mega specials into , he's easily top 4, and well above Diantha at this point.

The bottom 2 is likely up for debate between Lance and Iris, though it's still likely Iris. Losing to an untrained Dracovish and not having a personal gimmick doesn't help your record. Lance has also been training for longer.

6 & 5 are between Diantha and Steven. They use the same gimmick and have fought on equal . Edgewise Steven is likely better since he beat Alain in a 1v1, who beat Ash, who nearly took out Diantha in a 1v1.

The top 4 is in contention since it could go any way.

Leon is the reigning World Champion but he doesn't have many feats to go off of like the others besides his 100 win streak. He also has no Elite 4 to fight either.

Alain, although I think he has plot armor like Ash does, has managed to duke it out with legendaries. His main issue comes from his team as MCX is likely where most of the exp goes into and the rest are just there to keep it caged until he needs it.

Cynthia has managed to stay the champion despite the threats of the other Elite 4 to take her title. And just to be particular, one of these Elite 4 was able to sweep Ash's entire team in a 3v3 no sweat.

Finally, Ash, who has access to the Alola Championship, as well as every gimmick up to that point in the anime. He might have plot armor out the wazoo, but he does have his advantages. Only Cynthia ever bothered to use more than one gimmick.

Look I love Roscoe as much as the next watcher, but she had one good season. Bringing her back to be a love interest for Reacher would kinda defeat the whole purpose of who Reacher is.

That being said, I do prefer her over the other two female leads we had, so I'm at least glad that the female leads (not called Neagley) only get one season.

I've given Horizons a chance but it just doesn't sit with me. And I'm not saying I want Ash back, but in reality I'd prefer they actually take the Origins approach and give us more of an adventure utilizing characters shown from the actual games, rather than making up their own MCs.

Liko, Roy, and Dot are just not that interesting as characters to me. The storyline of Horizons also felt like a giant fetch quest instead of a grand odyssey. The story constantly hands itself off to plot devices that are meant to enhance the story but it doesn't. It also doesn't help that Liko, Roy, and Dot don't have developed teams. Granted, this is likely just their base team for now and they will get more pokemon as the seasons progress, but having two pokemon over the span of two seasons makes every battle feel incredibly bland. The gym battles that they engaged in were also just tests by their specific trainers to gauge whether they or fail, and sometimes they even though they lost terribly just because they terrastallized one turn after pulling off some strategic maneuver.

This is something even Journeys had a problem with, since Pikachu and Riolu/Lucario dominated most of Ash's battles in the PWC. And most of his wins felt either undeserved or pulled out of someone's rear.

Do I think Pokemon has found it's footing?

I'll say yes when its protagonists feel like protagonizing.

Hopefully this second arc will help give them some actual development.

I'd say Dawn is his best ing partner since they play off each other a lot, have plenty of good story integration, and obviously, did you see Serena or Misty in a cheering outfit when Ash was doing his gym battles? No I didn't think so.

My list:

8. AU Ash - Only watched the movies like once just to see them, and Ash just felt watered down compared to his other versions. Only real thing they did well was the animation and pokemon movies always do well in that.

7. Unova Ash - Had some solid moments but just kinda felt overtly dumb in others.

6. Hoenn Ash - Had a terrible start up until Badge 6ish, then he actually got a lot better, especially in the Battle Frontier arc.

5. Journeys Ash - Definitely one of the better battle-tested Ashs but his character is a lot more bland. Would rather have better battle results and a bland character than the alternative.

4. Kalos Ash - I'll keep it real, Kalos Ash isn't in the top half because I think he is good, it's rather that the 4 behind him are just not great. Overhyped version that gets carried by a great final season and good animation and obvious shipping partner that he doesn't end up with anyway.

3. OG Ash - Kanto had a rough start, but luckily sealed the deal with the Orange Islands arc, the Johto Conference run, and especially the movies during this part (Mewtwo Strikes Back, The Power of One, and Enter The Unown are peak).

2. Alola Ash - Had a lot more charm to his character and even his team. Won the Alola League and became the first ever Champion of Alola.

1. Sinnoh Ash - By far some of the better character development for Ash, mainly through his rivalry with Paul. One of his better teams in the series, despite their major losing streak, and never really had a dead tier moment in the lineup.