Was Misty a minor sidekick character in Pokemon?

She was only in the series for less than half its run. She was only in 5 movies, and there are now 13+ movies of Pokemon. She was a main for 275 episodes, yet there are now over 650+ episodes of Pokemon.

As a female protagonist, she had no on-going plot/story, no rivals, and very little battle screentime. Her Pokemon also did the least of any female protagonists Pokemon. She hardly ever battled in any official tournaments, the Whirl Cup being a rare exception. She was showcased to be the worst on-screen battler of the main girls, with very little to no impressive battles in the show.

It seems like the writers never cared much for Misty's character, as she seemed to be ignored and neglected throughout her entire run. They've even gone as far as to stop her cameo/guest appearances, which is why DP is ending and she got no cameo arc like May did with the Wallace Cup.

Does it feel as if Misty got the worst treatment of all the female leads in Pokemon?

While she may not have had as much to do with Ash, obviously her role as a Gym Leader is quite important and why she left the show. She definitely has more personality than Dawn or May did. It is unfortunate that they didn't give her as much to do plot wise as Dawn or May had doing the contests but Misty's constant berating of Ash never gets old.

Hopefully we get to see Misty in a cameo scene at sometime as she has only been seen in the intro's for DP.

I don't believe Misty has appeared in an episode since the beginning of Battle Frontier back in 2005. That was a very long time ago.

It feels as if she's been phased out of the series entirely, and with the DP series coming to a close, I can't see any reason she would appear in any future arc as she was ignored/neglected throughout DP.

I just get the feeling the writers gave up on Misty altogether, or as I've believed for a long time, they've never particularly cared for her. I honestly can't see her ever appearing in the show again at this point, or she will only appear at Pallet Town from now on like Tracey does.

I guess the writers just don't care for the character.

i'd say she was important! she totally toughed out ash and brock in a way no one else could! GO MISTY:)

Yep, yet Ash improved tremendously as a trainer after Misty left. Look at how much stronger Ash has become in AG and DP. His teams are powerful and fully evolved, and Ash is no longer that clueless newbie he was in the earlier arcs.

It seems like Misty didn't have as much influence on Ash at all, or else he wouldn't have been a so much better trainer in Hoenn and Sinnoh than he was before. Misty's been gone so long really makes it seem like she was such a minor part of his journey. Ash has now been traveling far longer without her, than when she was around.

I just wish we got to see her battle more or compete in tournaments, instead of always treating her like a lousy battler.

Ash did seem to improve a lot because May and Dawn were brought in to be the "beginners" that didn't know anything. Back then Ash was the beginner that didn't know anything so Misty and Brock, as more experienced trainers, had to explain to him and the viewers the basics of Pokemon.

I feel like they only wrote Misty out because they needed to introduce Pokemon Contests. She was already a well established battler, not a coordinator and to suddenly introduce her to contests would not seem right. She has said before that she loves water Pokemon because they are beautiful and contest battles are about beauty and appearances.

With all the new elements introduced to Pokemon and everything that has happened Misty does seem like the least important female character. I hope we get to see some of her before Ash sets off to Isshu.

DP 191 airs next week and no Misty.

DP was the first generation she didn't appear at all, besides in one of the openings. The writers have basically ignored her character ever since the end of the Hoenn league, where she last appeared around 5 years ago.

At this point you have to wonder if she'll ever be seen again. I doubt she'll appear in Best Wishes if she didn't in DP, and barely appeared in AG before that.

R.I.P. Misty.

1998-2005.

It was fun.

At least she made it into the opening. It will be interesting to see if she does make a cameo when Satoshi returns to Masara Town though.

I am starting to get the feeling that Misty (and to a lesser extent Tracey and other original characters) are being phased out from the series entirely.

Misty and Dawn never did meet, and Misty did not appear at all in the 191 DP episodes. Prior to that, she didn't appear at all in the Battle Frontier arc besides the initial Pallet Town episodes.

With the games moving away from Kanto yet again, it seems like Misty will remain further and further into the past as the series has now gone on almost an entire decade without her.

The amount of favortism the writers have given to May and Dawn's characters over Misty has really gotten noticeable, which makes you start to wonder if the writers themselves simply don't care for Misty's character anymore. Aspects of the series that were water-related are given to May, (Manaphy movie and the Wallace Cup), whereas Dawn promoted the water-type Piplup and got a Togekiss, which was once Misty's signature line pokemon.

It really does seem like the series has been turned against Misty in almost every way possible. With both May and Dawn off the show as well, I would imagine Dawn is next in line for a cameo in the BW series, and once again Misty will not appear at all.

With both May and Dawn off the show as well, I would imagine Dawn is next in line for a cameo in the BW series, and once again Misty will not appear at all.
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There was a rumor somewhere that Dawn will not appear at all in BW (If you throw a party because of it I'll ****ing kill you)

But only time tells if Misty returns.