1) First they make the game. Everyone plays game. Then competitions.
2) Then they make the cards. Everyone buys cards. Plays cards. Then competitions.
3) Then cartoon follows. Everyone watches cartoon and goes to special events which are just movies.
Most kids start with cartoon. Then game. Then cards. Then the addicts buy plushies, toys, figures, etc.
Right now we are coming to the 4 year end of cycle which currently is XY. In cards, we started with XY Base Set up to XY13 (which is the next/last set of cards after Steam Siege for XY).
Then XY goes bye-bye and new cycle begins.
So Sun & Moon are the LAST XY games.
So how would you end an epic run of Pokemon which started with XY>ORAS>S&M??? It's Pokebeach party time! (we've done this before)
The cartoon has pretty much released all the XY movies, and the series is still finishing up what the games covered.
Games are cannon. Cartoon is cannon. Cards are just cards... (but they have their own complexities, like right now all the EX pokemon are going from main focus to supporter focus while we are now going back to 3-stage evolutions which we nickname "LV. X Cards" or in this case, "Break Cards" )
Games are player inclusive (hence being able to choose your avatar) cannon, while cartoons are viewer exclusive (hence, Ash never gets old and Pikachu is a pokemon time lord) cannon.
At no point in time does Game Cannon = Cartoon Cannon. However, they do share plot/character similarities, and even some details like 'shipping. The pokemon get released to all. The NPC characters and gym leaders get used in all. Game. Cards. Cartoon. Manga... everything.
Then there's Manga. OMG, the manga... The Manga basically fills in all the plot holes (or makes them worse) and even run on their own cannon and sometimes do wish fulfillment. Like Jesse & James 'shippers, or how many GFs Ash/Red has had.
So right now, we're coming to the "end" of this cycle. So why the Island Theme? It's the cycle-end-party-time part of the story. Everyone gets high on punch and runs around in swimsuits chasing pokemon in the sand and burying their regrets. Then PokeGod (Arceus) comes down and kills everyone/thing and brings it all back to life and everyone goes on like nothing ever happened (Especially the beach party).
One thing you may have not noticed is how sexualized the XY cartoon has become. Older viewers are like, "Uh, Ash, shouldn't you be like 30? And why are the MILFs always hitting on you?" while Nintendo tried to gear more towards girls with Serena and the whole beauty pageant thing. This also got used in the games (sadly). And then there's the infamous shippings. Ash, hit dat Serena bootay... Uh, where's Oak and Ash's mom? Why is Sycamore tapping what's-her-name? Or is he just gay for Pokemon? What about that one girl who keeps hitting on Ash in front of Serena? Threesome?
There's even Pokemon shipping (don't ask).
And occasionally the cards get special releases like Ash's Greninja which has the attacks and HP of the Cartoon version. Sadly, it sucked. Most do.
The games get monthly releases or special movie event pokemon that get sent to you, etc.
And rinse, wash, repeat. That's Pokemon. 20 years strong (or annoying, depends on how you see it)
The next cycle will begin when Nintendo puts out NX and FORCES us to buy it to play new Pokemon. Sadly, I'm concerned for NX being able to hold up to 3DS.
I really blame Reggi. I just don't think he knows what to do anymore but try and print money. Nintendo is in a bad shape right now... and Pokemon GO didn't really help. In no way is GO actually a part of Pokemon. It was licensed out to NIANTECH(?) and a fad. Nintendo just "testing their waters with Pokemon-bait".
You know what they screwed up? Pokemon TCG Online only on Apple iPad 3. If they had released that on Android, Pokemon GO would have been unnecessary.
Again, Nintendo =/= Game Freak which makes Pokemon. But at the same time, Nintendo does have license ownership.
Oh, and uh, Mother (NES) will never come to US market, even under eShop VC. Has to do with music copyrights. Yeah, Nintendo's dirty secret is, they're dirty and secret about it. So never have pity on Nintendo. Or they send the Yakuza to get you.
Hoped this helped...
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