SPOILERS! General Pokémon Anime Discussion

meanwhile in the upcoming series
from serebii said:
Some further details have been released for the next series of the Pokémon anime. This series follows the adventures of new trainers Liko and Roy and it has now been confirmed that it will begin airing on April 14th 2023. The news also focuses on a special pendant that Liko has, questioning what it is for, and states Liko is from Paldea. More information is said to come next week. We'll bring further details as they come
 
Squirtle ep was a heartwarming reunion ep, shows how far the Squirtle Squad has come when they were introduced as delinquents terrorizing a town, then became firefighters over the series, and now they're famous in Vermilion City and Ash's Squirtle has a statue dedicated to him. Some nice scenes of them recreating Squirtle hugging Ash from the first opening. I'll put some of these tweets under spoilers:


Overall for what is likely to be the last Kanto starter reunion ep of the series, it was a nice ep for longtime fans. Squirtle's reason to get sad/mad at Ash because it thought he didn't want to come over to say hello (since TR stopped them in disguise) made sense, and Squirtle's sadness behind its eyeglasses and acting stubborn around Bulbasaur/Charizard was nice too.

Also this is the first ep where random kids/people recognized Ash as world champion on the street, this hadn't happened since Ash beat Leon so glad to see that recognized. With Ash being televised on TV he should be world famous now but we haven't seen that till the end of this ep.
 
Am I the only one upset when seeing Venonat and knew that Misty was going to get scared of it? I recall that back when they were traveling with Tracy, Venonat was one of few Bug Pokemon she wasn't scared off. But I should not blame the writers considering the show has over 1000 episodes and most on the cast won't recall every episode with Misty. Usually Orange Islands are "forbidden territory" for them. A shame, I liked that arc.

It was a fine episode. As much as I complain seeing these Pokemon over and over again, there was enough time away from them being together. Hope we could get to see Primeape and Pidgeot at some point but I doubt.

Seems like Latias is still stalking.

Next episode seems to be another Meowth and Pikachu episode. How long has it been we saw the last one? It might be a decade ago.
 
I wonder if the next episode will be the one with the Butterfree reunion; considering the Caterpie callback present (the moon and also, a caterpie) it'd be about as good a time as any for that reunion.

It was a fine episode. As much as I complain seeing these Pokemon over and over again, there was enough time away from them being together. Hope we could get to see Primeape and Pidgeot at some point but I doubt.
Yeah I can see Butterfree & Lapras being the only proper reunion we get, which is as always, a little exhausting for Pidgeot who by all counts should be the easiest reunion. Easy "pokemon of the day" throw back right there, having Ash help out some forest bird with its help or something.

Ah well. At least it got recurring cameos in flashbacks and "everyone is here" openings.
 

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The absolute funniest part of today's episode is this:


What would happen if Misty and Croagunk stopped Brock's falling for beautiful women at the same time? Talk about doubling down and Brock getting twice the pain for absolute peak hilarity. Brock gets both an ear pull and a Poison Jab to break him out of simp mode and to get pulled away from the beautiful women he falls madly in love with at first sight.

This is Brock's gag at its absolute best. Both Misty and Croagunk, who have historically stopped his simping over the years, jump in at the same time and double down to give Brock twice the pain.

Absolutely priceless and utterly hilarious.
 
This episode actually had a lot of little details and easter eggs only long time fans would notice:

- As I mentioned above, the Squirtle Squad are introduced as delinquents stealing food from a town and using spray paint on walls in the original Kanto episode. Then they became official firefighters into that Johto episode Squirtle left in, and now they're famous and Ash's Squirtle has an official statue in Vermilion recognizing it. Squirtle and his Squad have come a long way. Also the original Officer Jenny from Squirtle's first episode also returned at the end of this ep when they went off with her again.

- Bulbasaur and Charizard naturally wanted to meet Squirtle again (they haven't seen each other since Battle Frontier), but them acting all stubborn with each other because Squirtle thought Ash left without wanting to say hello was actually in character. Then they all get mad at each other ending with Pikachu shocking everyone including Ash like it did in the original series.

- Bulbasaur was shown to be a peacemaker in the episode trying to stop the fight, which is what it did back then. Charizard burning everyone by accident by the end of the episode was always a nod.

- Misty and Croagunk both pulling Brock away from Jenny at the same time.

- Psyduck actually using water gun (properly) to help put out the fire at the end of the ep. People forgot this but in the original series Psyduck could never use normal water attacks at all, it couldn't even battle properly without the psychic powers. Ever since SM, Psyduck can now battle normally. Misty actually trained Psyduck to be useful and be a proper battler, showing how far its come.

- Squirtle's goodbye scene to Ash taking off the glasses and running to hug it was of course a re-creation of the scene from the first opening.

- Finally as said, normal kids/people recognized Ash as the champion and ran toward him to sign their autographs, this is the first time this happened post-Leon. Also they recognized Misty/Brock too, which as Gym leaders, makes sense as well.
 

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This is Brock's gag at its absolute best. Both Misty and Croagunk, who have historically stopped his simping over the years, jump in at the same time and double down to give Brock twice the pain.
This is pretty good, but it's not perfect. There's TWO more we need to make it perfect:

(Granted, Bonsly is now a Sudowoodo, but that doesn't mean it can't join Croagunk in a side jabbing)

Easy "pokemon of the day" throw back right there, having Ash help out some forest bird with its help or something.
Well you see, they couldn't have Ash have a reunion with Pidgeot and help it with a problem (maybe also do some other cool stuff like Ash finding a Pidgeotite to Mega Evolving Pidgeot and also finally catch that darn Fearow), they had this random Beartic that we'll never see again they needed to help.

Anyway, surprised no one has mentioned it yet, so I guess I'll bring it up. (EDIT: Forgot R_N mentioned it, sorry! Though there was some other stuff I wanted to say/point out). A few more bits of info about the new protags have been released:
  • First episode is April 14th.
  • Liko (the girl) is from Paldea and has a special pendant with some mysterious use.

Here's a closer look at the pendant, along with someone pointing out that it looks like the crystal inside the Tera Orb:
https://www.tumblr.com/jadeazora/708881726916755456/looks-like-rikolikos-pendant-is-a-tera-crystal
 
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Anyway, surprised no one has mentioned it yet, so I guess I'll bring it up. A few more bits of info about the new protags have been released:
  • First episode is April 14th.
  • Liko (the girl) is from Paldea and has a special pendant with some mysterious use.

Here's a closer look at the pendant, along with someone pointing out that it looks like the crystal inside the Tera Orb:
https://www.tumblr.com/jadeazora/708881726916755456/looks-like-rikolikos-pendant-is-a-tera-crystal
i mentioned this earlier on the page
 
- Squirtle's goodbye scene to Ash taking off the glasses and running to hug it was of course a re-creation of the scene from the first opening.
It's a reference to the ending of Squirtle's debut episode. The Japanese version of the original intro uses all unique footage with no episode scenes spliced between like with the English dub(With the exception of the hat-turning, ball-throwing stock animation seen throughout the early anime).


As you can see here, there is no such scene in the Japanese intro.
 

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Some more bits of info. First we get some more about Roy (the boy):
  • He's from the Kanto region.
  • He's in possession of a mysterious Poke Ball.


Second, they wouldn't be Pokemon anime protags if they weren't visited by a Legendary on the first day of their journey, right? But instead of a Ho-Oh, it'll be a Shiny Rayquaza!


So, obviously there's some similarities between the Shiny Rayquaza and the Mystery Ball, mainly the color scheme. But I'm going to say any connection between the two is a red herring, or at least its an indirect connection (like it's not the Mystery Ball which is connected to Rayquaza but possibly a Pokemon that's inside it). Despite the similar colors, I feel the Mystery Ball's design is too ornate to be referencing Rayquaza's.

Also, the Mystery Ball's structural design looks to be a mix between a modern Poke Ball and a Hisuian Poke Ball. It has the general smooth round texture of a modern ball (aside from the lock on front of it), but at the top there looks to be a spout piece like the ones Hisuian balls have to shoot out a firework when you catch a Pokemon. This would suggest the Poke Ball is old, maybe not as old as Hisuian Balls, but by the time it was made the Poke Ball possibly hadn't fully reached its modern version which didn't require a firework spout.

And of course there's the lock on it. Only thing at the moment I can point out is the two colored bolts/gems(?) on it: red and blue. Now, before you go thinking it's a Gen I reference, I don't think so: in Japan the first Pokemon games were Red & Green. So them choosing red and blue has to mean something else, possibly something relating to our protags who are colored coded red (Roy) and blue (Liko)? I guess I should also mention red and blue do have a connection with Rayqauza, red representing Groudon and blue for Kyogre. An intended connection or another red herring? Other notable instances of red and blue I can think of is being the colors for Kalos and Galar (or at least a shade of them). All speculation at this point.

Oh, and let's not forget Roy is from Kanto. Roy's appearance is meant to call back to Red which obviously also means Ash. If the new anime takes place a few years in the future, with Ash's status as the World Champion and other accomplishments he would have done since then, maybe Ash has become a hero/legend in the Kanto region and many young trainers from Kanto now dress in a similar style to his. Would be a neat way to connect the new series to the old without needing a direct relation to Ash. Let's not make this a Star Wars thing where every major thing has to revolve around one family, let Roy and Liko be their own thing with Ash at most being an inspiration to Roy.
 
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So I guess Rayquaza will be to Liko, what Ho-oh was to Ash, or Mew was to Go, the mysterious legendary pokemon they see on the first day of their journey.

Weird they chose an old Gen 3 rep like Rayquaza though, even if it's a shiny version. I know Rayquaza is one of the most popular legendaries, but you'd think they would use something a little more recent from Paldea or Galar to inspire her.
 

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Rayquaza works as the legendary Liko meets early on because it's one of those legendaries who is effectively a deity with an air of mystery to it like Ho-oh is. It's very elusive, it's revered in some cultures in-universe as a deity, especially in Hoenn, with that air of reverence to it, and yet is very rarely seen by people in-universe. That latter part is important, and something it shares in common with Ho-oh: few people have seen it, meaning the prospect of Liko seeing it and having an indirect connection to it really highlights her as someone special given she's the new main character of the show.

There aren't any legendaries from Galar or Paldea who can fit that bill. Zacian/Zamazenta and Koraidon/Miraidon are tied to their respective regions and the latter two aren't considered all that special in-universe and have no real legends or myths surrounding them, and then there's Eternatus and that mysterious "disk Pokemon" who don't really have the same vibes that Rayquaza or Ho-oh do. Paldea only really has Koraidon and Miraidon and Galar doesn't have many special legendaries either, the minor ones are not deities by any stretch of the imagination.
 
Then couldn't Calyrex work as a sub-Legendary, if it weren't explicitly stated to be a Special Legendary? It's only a local royalty, rather than an Arceus-level world-ending threat. The steeds are sublegendaries as well.
 
Rayquaza is still a bit of an odd choice given that it isn't in the Paldean Pokédex. Still, having a third generation Pokémon after having had Mew and Ho-Oh from the first two is a sensible continuation. At the end of the day it comes down to execution, and for the time being we can only speculate.

As for the most recent episode, glad to see Caterpie being the hard carry it deserves to be.
 
So I watched the latest episode of the current anime and it was decent too. But wish Ash would catch a little bit more Pokemon especially after I started rewatching the original with subtitles. Oak made a big fuss of Ash not catching more Pokemon to the point I felt he would get more proactive. It would have been neat if the last few episodes would have him befriend some new ones and obtain them.
Guess catching is now associated with Go.

Interesting that this episode had no focus on both Pikachu and Caterpie looking at the same moon or more Pikachu and Meowth moments. So it wasn't a total nostalgia episode. But there are some references like Rattata stealing from Ash's bag or Spearow getting mad and calling allies.
Really makes me want to see Ash that Fearow he failed to catch last time but I guess it won't fit current Ash's personality to catch anyone and befriend them.

Next Episode is Lapras returning. Probably won't join Ash but nice to see. Also did Brock bring his Mudkip evolution with him. The only person who didn't fully evolve his Gen 3 Starter. Hoenn really made him a Water Type trainer pretty much... Hoenn moment = Too much water
 

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Then couldn't Calyrex work as a sub-Legendary, if it weren't explicitly stated to be a Special Legendary? It's only a local royalty, rather than an Arceus-level world-ending threat. The steeds are sublegendaries as well.
Hm, not sure. Like, the only story I could think they could have done using Calyrex was a retelling of it's storyline in the games.

After having battled Eternatus 20 thousand years ago and sealing it away, Calyrex would have drained all its power to do so. Instead of ending up in the Crowned Tundra, Calyrex would instead have ended up in Paldea (in a flashback they would show a Dynamax Calyrex (remember, Calyrex uses its own power to Dynamax, glowing blue instead of red) face off an Eternamax Eternatus high in the sky. Calyrex would unleash all its power to knock Eternatus back to Galar where it gets sealed, but Calyrex now without power floats down to wherever the winds take it which in this case would be Paldea).

The ancient Paldeans would nurse it back to health and in return would use what's left of its power to help establish the first civilizations in Paldea, including taming a powerful wild steed which had power to control and vitalize the ground. However, Calyrex power continued to fade, eventually the steed breaking free of its confines and ran far away (but, having been tamed for so long, was unable to take care of itself and ended up perishing in the Crown Tundra, its body freezing and soul released both becoming their own Pokemon: Glastrier and Spectrier; thus why they're considered Galarian Pokemon though they aren't restricted to the Galar region), and soon after Calyrex went into hiding and its reign falling into legend.

It would watch empires rise and fall, unable to do anything (except maybe the one time four dangerous artifacts caused the destruction of a kingdom, Calyrex providing guidance to the remaining people to how to seal away the dark powers). It could only wait until the time was right, when both Glastrier and Spectrier would find their way back in Paldea at the same time. And when they do, find someone to help it gain control over them once again.


Otherwise Calyrex's time would have been during Gen VIII's time in the spotlight. Infact I'm surprised the anime didn't have Ash & Goh do the Calyrex story when they had them go to the Crown Tundra. Didn't need to be the first visit (though maybe have a sneak peek of Calyrex watching what was happening), but when Goh went to capture the new Regi they could have Ash had come along but get roped into helping Calyrex (oh, and another little crazy idea, maybe also include Peony and Peonia; have Peonia be a member of Project Mew to get away from her father, meanwhile Peony ends up helping Ash & Calyrex after his help gets rejected by his daughter).

Aside from Rayquaza, the only other Legendary I could think would be appropriate would either be Celebi or Jirachi. Celebi is a time traveler which would fit in with the Paradox Pokemon being Pokemon from the past & future. Jirachi is a wish granting Pokemon which, in addition to be a good general Pokemon to have the protags see and make a wish upon to accomplish their dreams, could also be connected to the theorized reality bending that is occurring in Area Zero. I guess another candidate could be Diancie to have a connection between it and the Terastal Phenemenon, but Diancie doesn't have the power to fly so they would need to get creative with how it makes it cameo and vanish afterwards.

We all need to get more galaxy brained about the shiny rayquaza: it's clearly the same shiny rayquaza summoned by hoopa from another world in the hoopa movie, signifying this is an AU
I saw some theories that the Shiny Rayquaza may not actually be real but rather a result of either Roy and/or Liko imagining seeing it and somehow the "Disk" Pokemon senses this and creates the Shiny Rayquaza. BTW, I removed that anime "shot" of Rayquaza, apparently it was fake.
 
A part-summary for the Rocket episode has been released (Well there's actually 2, both very similar);

"The Pokémon the Rocket Gang got in all kinds of places have been sent to Musashi and the others. And the Rocket Gang, overjoyed at seeing their old companions again, launch a plan for getting Pikachu that puts absolutely everything on the line."

"After receiving the Pokémon got in all kinds of regions from the Rocket Gang HQ, Musashi and the others prepare to start a plan for getting Pikachu that puts absolutely everything on the line."

Essentially the Rocket episode airing March 10th seems to be a a reunion of all of their Rocket HQ Pokémon (Jessie has Wobbuffet, Seviper, Woobat, Gourgeist, Yanmega, Frillish and James has Mime Jr., Carnivine, Inkay, Amoonguss, Yamask and Morpeko - so 6 each) against Ash in order to catch Pikachu.

Now it's important to note that it does state sent to Rocket HQ/Giovanni which means released 'mons like Weezing, Arbok, Dustox etc are not included in that.

What's even more exciting is that according to Leakers (with shaky reputations - some have been right, some have been wrong) is that;
Episode 9 and 10 are a two-parter Vs. Team Rocket episode - some people have speculated it is where Jessie and James will finally give up and leave Team Rocket after failing to catch Pikachu, or maybe finally catching it - realising what Giovanni would do to it and letting it go, making it TRio vs Team Rocket

Apparently Mewtwo has been slated to return too.

All of this is speculation / potentially incorrect leaks but the synopsis is very much leading towards that)
 

Preview for next week. Looks to be only Gengar appearing from Ash's roster. Let's hope that the two-parter all-out brawl against Team Rocket is true otherwise it's impossible for all of Ash's Pokémon to reappear outside of Oaks.

EDIT - Looks like a two part Rocket Episode is not happening as the final episode titles have just been released;

Episode 10: Ash & Latias!
Episode 11: Rainbow & Pokémon Master!

EDIT AGAIN - Some pre-release pictures have been released for Episode 9, 10 and 11
9
1677235312685.png

10
1677235335598.png

11
1677235342354.png
 
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While I dont have much to say about Ep 5, I really liked Ep 6. Episodes in which Ash and Pikachu show how strong their bond is and how far they've got are some of my faves. Yeah, Pikachu getting separated is stuff we've seen before (plus Meowth being a tsundere ally) but sth that differenciates it from prev chances is how experienced Ash and Pikachu are at this point. And bc this already happened them plenty of times they know exactly what to do: don't panic, feel each other presence, get help from the wild mons while taking care for them as well, etc. The flashback montage was kinda funny bc it showed like 3-4 different artstyles and no one freakin questions how Ash and Pikachu "floated from the cliff", but all in all this is fav Mezase ep so far.

As for the final 3 episodes, we got summaries.

-WOOOO YEAH ROCKET TEAM REUNION. Some people might be disappointed some are missing but makes sense considering the mons on the screen were 'given to the Rocket HQ' and never seen again. Arbok, Weezing, Chimecho, Cacnea and Dustox got a proper goodbye. My only worry is if this is the TR goodbye episode or will it be for later.

-Oh so this is what the Latias following Ash was building up to? Ok. This nameless hunter is prob ending up as the final villain Ash has to face and I dunno what to feel about it.

-It's Ho-Oh, no surprise there. Movie AU already faced it but it's main Ash turn to do so. They really made us wait for the Gary reunion, or someone questioning what is even a Pokemon Master, literally the final episode of the show...of a series with "Pokemon Master" in the title...

Edit: the more I think about it, this premise looks hella similar to the Orange League and the Battle Frontier finale, both being about meeting Gary, questioning his journey and motivating Ash to go to a new region...
 
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Meanwhile, a new character for the next series have been revealed. And for those who have been worried about there being no sign of Pikachu, don't worry, the Pokemon Company hadn't forgotten about their mascot:

  • The new character is named Friede and he's known as the battling Pokemon Professor as he's proficient in Pokemon battles.
  • His partner is Captain Pikachu.
I'm assuming by "Professor" they don't mean like Professor Oak but rather a teacher, possibly an anime exclusive instructor for the Paldea Academy?

Will Friede be part of the main cast or a recurring character? How does he relate to Liko and Roy? And most importantly, where did Pikachu earn its "Captain" title?
 

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