Sableye's Anime History: Ash's BIGGEST Missed Opportunity

Hi, I’m Professor Silver, and today, I’ll  explore Sableye’s legacy in the Pokemon anime, expanding upon its battles, major  storylines & potential as an ace. While I personally reviewed over 40 of  Sableye’s distinct appearances throughout the series to put together today’s video,  I’ll only be discussing its most notable moments because many of its minor ones  were little more than background filler. When it comes to Pokemon that Ash should’ve  captured, Sableye is at the top of my list. It wo

uld’ve been the perfect wild  card addition to his Hoenn team. I appreciate that Ash got Glalie that saga, but  I firmly believe that Sableye would have been the superior choice. As a huge horror fan, I  love the Darkness Pokemon’s razor-sharp teeth, gem-like eyes & gremlin appearance. Beyond its  looks, its combination of Ghost and Dark typing would’ve leant itself to stellar battles. And, it  would’ve offered Ash two types he had yet to own, at that point in his journey. Alas,  despite various

Sableye bonding with Ash, none of them joined his team. In order to truly  grasp the potential of these missed opportunities, let’s review how Sableye was  first portrayed in the series. Technically-speaking, Sableye debuted in  Pokemon Chronicles, a spin-off series that revolved around the supporting characters that  Ash met in his journey. Sableye appeared three times throughout Chronicles, each time as the ace  of Team Rocket’s Cassidy. Cassidy used Sableye, alongside her partner Butch’s Mig

htyena, much like  how Jessie & James regularly paired together their Arbok & Weezing. Sableye & Mightyena were  similar to the poisonous duo in that they were almost always doomed for failure. Their  position as villains meant they had to lose. Move-wise, Cassidy’s Sableye knew the attacks  Scratch, Fury Swipes, Focus Punch & Shadow Ball. While it never won a battle, it was easily  as powerful as the average gym-level Pokkemon. During Sableye’s debut, in the episode Oaknapped,  it scratched Rit

chie’s Pikachu Sparky & Focus Punched his Taillow Rose. Due to its villainous  destiny, however, it then fell to Ritchie’s Charmeleon Zippo's flames & Sparky’s electricity.  Sableye’s second Chronicles appearance ended in pretty much the same way. Alongside Mightyena,  in the episode A Date with Delcatty, it lost to Misty’s Corsola & Casey’s Meganium. It put up  a great effort with Fury Swipes & Shadow Ball, but missed both attacks, and fell to Spike Cannon,  Tackle & Solar Beam. In Sableye’s fi

nal appearance in Chronicles, during the episode, Luvdisc is  a Many Splendored Thing, it covered Cassidy’s escape with Shadow Ball, revealed it couldn’t  swim & lost to Misty & her sis’s Luvdisc. All in all, Sableye’s stint  in Chronicles was a memorable, but flawed presentation of its abilities.  Since Cassidy was a minor villain, Sableye got almost no character development.  Rather than strengthen its legacy, its losses to Ritchie, Casey & Misty’s Pokemon  reinforced the power of its opponent

s rather than itself. The losses highlighted how Sableye  would’ve been better served with someone like Ash. As the hero’s Pokemon, it would’ve  received ample storylines & many battles. Sableeye’s main series debut, in the episode  "Ready, Willing & Sableye," presented what could have been an excellent origin story for  its capture by Ash. Much like with Squirtle, the writers portrayed Sableye as a mischievous  trickster who loved pulling pranks. Furthermore, like with Squirtle, it only liked 

to scare people, not actually hurt them. When Team Rocket happened upon  Sableye’s cave home on Dewford Island, for instance, it took great delight  in frightening them. That said, it ultimately let Jessie & James go free after  it had its fill of meanspirited ridicule. After Jessie & James ran away, Sableye  requested Meowth help in its pranks. It did so because it rarely got any company, or  made any friends. Unfortunately for Sableye, Meowth took advantage of the Pokemon’s  loneliness. He man

ipulated it into catching Max, May & Torchic, Licking Ash & Brock & getting  Pikachu to fight Corphish. Eventually, Sableye doubted its friendship with Meowth  after May claimed Meowth was just pretending to be its friend. It ultimately ended  the relationship after Team Rocket’s destruction of its cave revealed the truth of  Meowth’s deception. Thanks to the revelation, Sableye changed sides, helped Ash escape the  cave-in & assisted in blasting off the trio. By saving Ash, & standing by his si

de, it  appeared Sableye would go on to join his team. Its following of Ash’s orders to free Pikachu  & Corphish, made it look like the two would make for an excellent battling duo. After Sableye  blasted off Team Rocket with Night Shade, however, Ash bid it farewell, without considering whether  it wanted to join his team. Ash’s rebuke was a strange one as the crux of the story was that  Sableye only acted out because it wanted friends, similar to Haunter. Joining Ash would have  alleviated all

its problems, forever more. Sableye’s not joining Ash’s team, left  its potential for narrative growth forever untapped. Had it followed Ash, I think it  would’ve made for a great recurring Pokemon, similar to Sandile. I would have loved  to see it follow Ash to the Dewford Gym, and join him in his gym battle against Brawly’s  fighting-types. Since Sableye is immune to fighting-type attacks, it could’ve dominated  both Machop & Hariyama. Thereafter, I would’ve enjoyed seeing Sableye prank Ash’s

Corphish  as a running sight gag. At the Hoenn League, it would’ve been a dream of mine to see Sableye  fight a Gengar. By having it defeat its Gen 1 predecessor, the writers would have established  Sableye as the best ghost in the franchise. Unfortunately, the Dewford Island Sableye  never appeared again. As a result, its species did little else of narrative note  during the Hoenn & Battle Frontier sagas. In terms of major appearances, all Sableye did  was cameo at the Lilycove Contest in Less

ons in Lilycove, & get a brief appearance  at the Gardenia Contest in What I did For Love. Even though nothing ultimately  happened with the Dewford Island Pokemon, Ash became great friends with a different Sableye  in the Black & White film, Genesect & The Legend Awakened. This Unovan Sableye, unlike its Dewford  counterpart, was shy rather than brash. It bonded with Ash all throughout the film, but didn’t  join his team at movie’s end. Had it done so, it would’ve been the first one of Ash’s Po

kemon  to be caught in a movie. If it had joined Ash, it could’ve ventured with him to Kalos, and  become the first of his Pokemon to gain a mega form. As a Mega Sableye, I think it  would’ve made for an awesome competitor to Korrina’s Mega Lucario. Their mega battle  would’ve been epic one of mega proportions.. Honestly, at the time of the Genesect’s film’s  debut, I thought that Sableye’s inclusion meant that Ash would at least catch one in Kalos. I came  to this conclusion because Pokemon fil

m writers often hinted at future captures by including the  Pokemon in prominent movie roles. Sadly, though, my hopes never came to fruition. Instead of being  a main cast member in Kalos, all Sableye did was cameo in the Mega Evolution special, partake in  the Pokemon summer camp competition, appear in a Hoopa short & fight in a battle in the episode  Cloudy Fate, Bright Future. It fought under the control of a girl named Carrie, alongside her  Sigilyph. They fought Ash’s Pikachu & Frogadier be

cause their trainer Carrie believed that Ash  represented a threat to Kalos. Seeing Sableye use Shadow Claw & Power Gem, but lose to Aerial  Ace, was certainly cool, ‌but it wasn’t exactly the showdown I wanted. I would’ve much rather  preferred Ash use one at the Kalos League. My dreams of Ash’s having a Mega Sableye never  came to fruition, but it’s worth noting that a Mega Sableye did appear on the cover for the  Kalos film, Volcanion & the Mechanical Marvel. Regrettably, though, it didn’t ap

pear in the movie  itself. It’s a shame as it would’ve made a great addition to Alva’s army of Mega Pokemon. For many  of the other megas that appeared, they got an epic battle, a great showcase of their abilities &  a chance to experience movie-level animation. All that said, In Sun & Moon, Sableye went on to  make many appearances. Besides chilling in the background as animation filler, it trained  at Clawmark Hill in Rocking Clawmark Hill, partook in a quick fantasy in First Catch  in Alola K

etchum Style, appeared as a doll in one of the Alolan Detective Laki’s TV  broadcast, in Crystal Clear Sleuthing, played ping pong in Smashing with Sketch and  battled Ash’s Lycanroc during Ash’s Ula’ula Grand trial with Nanu in Guiding an Awakening. As one of  the Kahuna’s three dark-type Pokemon, Sableye was tasked with eliminating Lycanroc before it could  complete Ash’s trial. Admittedly, Sableye fought at a major advantage as Ash was only allowed to  use one Pokemon against Nanu’s three. Th

at said, the gem-eyed Pokemon still put up a great showing  of its abilities. It tried its best to win with Shadow Ball, Shadow Sneak, Mean Look & Shadow  Claw but ultimately succumbed to the might of Lycannroc’s Stone Edge. What I loved most about  Sableye’s role in the battle is that it showcased the Pokemon’s unique fighting style. It used  Shadow Ball to attack from a far, Shadow Sneak to put its opponent on edge, Mean Look to immobilize  Lycanroc & Shadow Claw to emit major damage. Journeys

offered Sableye a few more appearances,  but they were mostly minor. Of note, It partook in a raid battle against Lugia in the episode Legend?  Go Friends Go!, battled Ash’s team off-screen in the World Coronation Series, as shown in Trials  of a Budding Master, led Ash to think that its eyes were mega stones in An Adventure of Mega  Proportions & ate crystals in The Spectral Express. Sadly, none of the appearances hinted  Ash would one day catch a Sableye of his own. Outside of the Ash era ani

me, Sableye  has featured in both the Mystery Dungeon Explorers of Sky special, & the Omega Ruby & Alpha  Sapphire animation. During the former, it fought Team Pokepals, and in the latter, it fought a  hilarious mega battle against a Lopunny that ended in hilarity. Additionally, Sableye also appeared  in the Ghost Carnival Pikachu Short. During the special, it scared the gang’s Pokemon, befriended  them by cutting watermelon & spooked Meowth. So far in Horizons, Sableye has done little but  came

o. Given that the anime is still ongoing, however, it’s possible Sableye will again  step into the limelight. At the moment, though, its anime history is fraught with  missed opportunities. Its appearances, from Chronicles to Journeys, underscored its  true potential. Each encounter, whether it was with Cassidy or Ash, himself, underlined the  possibility of a deeper storyline. In conclusion, the unfulfilled prospect of Sableye joining  Ash's team is a vivid reminder of all the great stories tha

t could’ve been told & all the  entertaining battles we might have seen. For now, & perhaps forever more, Sableye is a symbol  of untapped potential in the Pokemon series. On that note, class is adjourned. I’m Professor  Silver. Until next time, catch you later!