‘Pokémon Horizons’ Has Reinvented the Pokémon Anime

After numerous delays, Pokémon’s reinvented anime series, Pokémon Horizons, has finally arrived on Netflix. For the first time since the show originally premiered, the Pokémon anime isn’t focused on Ash Ketchum (or Team Rocket), and, as a result, the new series offers a very different viewing experience.

Of course, on the whole, Pokémon Horizons: The Series is still about young Trainers learning and growing alongside their Pokémon, meeting new friends, and having adventures in the franchise’s sprawling world. Horizons’ two new protagonists, Liko and Roy, learn about their Pokémon’s strengths and weaknesses as well as their own and become better Trainers and people along the way. This will all undoubtedly sound familiar to anyone who has watched the Pokémon anime in the past, and yet, Horizons has a very distinct feel to it. The Pokémon Company set out to reinvent their flagship show, and they delivered. Even the narrator’s familiar voice has changed.

A new formula for a new era

Historically, with each new Pokémon generation, the Pokémon anime has taken viewers on a journey to the Pokémon world’s newest region and explored all that region has to offer, including dozens of new Pokémon species. That began to change with the Pokémon anime’s previous series, however—instead of being set solely in Pokémon Sword and Shield’s Galar region, Pokémon Journeys and its sequel series changed up the formula and had Ash and his newest friend Goh travel between regions while pursuing their goals. Ash, of course, was still intent on becoming a Pokémon Master, while Goh wanted to “catch ’em all.” It is this region-hopping formula that Pokémon Horizons has embraced and made its own.

Ash, famously, had a goal in mind from the very first day he was allowed to become a Pokémon trainer: he wanted to be a Pokémon Master. Most, if not all, of his companions had set dreams and aspirations of their own, too. Misty wanted to become an expert Water-type Pokémon Trainer, Brock wanted to become the world’s best Pokémon Breeder, May and Dawn wanted to be world-class Pokémon Coordinators, Iris wanted to be the greatest Dragon Master, and the list goes on. Almost all of the Pokémon anime’s main characters knew who they wanted to be the minute they stepped foot outside their front doors—Liko and Roy, however, do not. That’s part of what makes this series so fresh and exciting.

Liko, first and foremost, is intent on discovering who she is and who she wants to be. Unlike previous Pokémon characters, she doesn’t actually know what her true purpose is yet. Her journey in Pokémon Horizons is about figuring out who she wants to become rather than working toward a set goal. Yes, she’s got a Pokémon partner, the wonderfully cute Paldea region Grass-type starter Pokémon Sprigatito, but her and Sprigatito’s adventures aren’t helping them work toward a specific aspiration. Her Pokémon journey is about finding that aspiration, and at all times, we get to hear her innermost thoughts, giving us a better idea of who she is as a character.

Liko’s current lack of a goal has actually given the story more freedom; Pokémon Horizons feels more serialized than previous installments, as a new mystery unfolds concerning an old family heirloom, an unknown Legendary Pokémon, and a cryptic organization chasing Liko around the world. Soon, she’s protected by a group of Pokémon Trainers and adventurers who call themselves the Rising Volt Tacklers, a group who also has a deep connection with her mom. Everything unfolds slowly, assuredly—the anime can take its time with its storytelling because Liko is taking the time to find herself.

In this case, it’s Liko’s new friend Roy who’s most adamant about becoming a great Pokémon Trainer, but even his story doesn’t solely revolve around that goal. His family heirloom provides the series with an exciting new mystery, too, one with intriguing implications for the anime’s lore. He’s interested in battling, of course, especially when matched up against a certain new Pikachu and Charizard duo, but it’s not his only personality trait. These two friends provide a different kind of introduction to the Pokémon world.

When the Pokémon anime originally began in 1997, Ash was a stand-in for audiences who were being introduced to the Pokémon franchise for the first time, learning about its creatures, its mechanics, and its philosophies. Ash, much like Pokémon gamers, visited every Pokémon Gym a region had to offer and then entered the Pokémon League. Now, however, people know and understand Pokémon. Horizons has the freedom to explore an ongoing narrative and develop its secondary characters further because it doesn’t need to establish itself as a franchise.

I’ve seen almost every episode of the Pokémon anime. Ash was a major part of my childhood, and I happily admit that I became emotional when he won the World Championship. I won’t deny that it took me a while to get used to Pokémon Horizons, but the Pokémon world is rich and varied. This new anime can explore all it has to offer, and it does so with undeniable charm and grace—with a few cool battle sequences thrown in for good measure.

(featured image: The Pokémon Company/OLM)