Pokémon Horizons: The Series

After Ash Ketchum's victory over Leon and finally obtaining his dream of becoming a "Pokémon Master," fans wondered what was next for the perpetually 10-year old protagonist and where the Pokémon anime would go next. I doubt few realized that Ash's adventure was truly over and his time as the main protagonist had come to an end, but the reveal of Pokémon Horizons made it abundantly clear that Ash was out and Liko was in.

Much like Ash, Liko began her journey by getting a new Start Pokémon (Sprigatito) and setting out on an adventure all her own. As a fan of the Pokémon franchise in all its various forms, I was excited to see what this new era of the Pokémon anime could be and how it could, hopefully, revitalize what had become a stale formula over the past 20 years worth of episodes.

Liko was much different than Ash. She wasn't confidence, wasn't all that great at battling, and didn't really know all that much about Pokémon or how to be a trainer. Instead of defeating the same group of enemies every week (looking at you Team Rocket), Liko befriended enemies and gained allies through empathy and understanding instead of battle. Instead of going from town to town facing Gym Leaders, Liko traveled to the various regions of the Pokémon world on the Brave Olivine airship. Instead of a close knit trio of friends who were more caricatures than characters, Liko had an entire crew of friends who had dynamic personalities and quirks. This is not to say that the original Pokémon anime was bad, but Pokémon Horizons was something new, complex, and exciting to watch.

Unfortunately, Horizons did not stay this way. What started out as refreshing and interesting in the first 89 episodes, devolved into more of the same as the series reached its conclusion. Liko was more or less sidelined for Roy, her male friend and basic Ash Ketchum stand-in. The crew of the Brave Olivine was basically forgotten and their leader, Professor Friede, had his character all but assassinated by poor writing. The empathy Liko showed was replaced with battle after battle fought by Roy, his new pal Ult, and their Mega Evolved Pokémon Lucario and Sableye. It was just more of the same old Pokémon anime we had seen for the past 20 years just with a new coat of paint. So, while there was much to love in the early part of this new series, Pokémon Horizons ultimately lost its identity, sidelined its main protagonist, meandered toward an anticlimactic conclusion, and left me feeling sad for what could have been.