[spoiler] yeah, there were a few things in there that really didn't seem to serve a purpose. the torterra scene was a bit weird, and i swear there was no real point to the reporter chick. they could've easily removed her and found a different route with expanding the plot. [/spoiler]

[spoiler]I didn’t mind her being there. It still followed the general Pokémon movie formula, where the main character goes to a new place, meets someone there, who then joins them on an adventure. Off the top of my head I can only think of Melody from Pokémon: The Power of One (or Pokémon 2000), and I forget her name, but the girl Latias shapeshifts into in Pokémon Heroes.[/spoiler]

[spoiler] it's not that i minded her being there, it's that she was a very poorly written character. she shows up for 5 minutes at a time for some cringey humor, a tiny bit of plot progression, and that's it, she goes off-screen again. if she had stuck with him the entire time, especially thru more plot-heavy parts, she would've actually mattered. i liked the actress, cringey humor i can get around, but ultimately she felt pretty useless. [/spoiler]