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They still make Pokémon episodes. I know this probably will come to a shock to many of you, if you ever watched it at all, the chances are you only saw the first season, then the fad died out. Some of you, perhaps, will have stuck through the second (this is where I stopped originally). That was season 2. What debuted on CITV yesterday morning (incidentally the 15th Anniversary of franchise) was season 14 - and it's quite different to anything that's gone before it.
What this new season (dubbed “Best Wishes,” with the initials BW tying into the latest games, Black and White, which are to be released on Friday) represents is arguably the largest change to the Pokémon format since its inception. Indeed, I find it apt to refer to it more as a reboot than a new season. While Ash, Pikachu and Team Rocket remain, both Misty and Brock have now been left behind, though Misty actually departed several years ago. The series takes place in the Unova region, an area based on New York City and its surroundings, as opposed to previous seasons which have taken place in areas based on Japan. Right from the beginning we can see the series physically distancing itself from its predecessors. There are none of the Pokémon you recognise and love here, it's all new ones. Which really does set the tone for the subsequent episode.
There is very much a “new” feeling about this series, one which was decidedly absent from prior ones. The entire cast of the show have been given new designs and outfits, and Ash seems to have regressed from being a powerful trainer who almost won the Pokémon League in season 13 to a naïve youngster with only his Pikachu for company, and it certainly strains belief a little that a Pokémon able to defeat high-powered legendary Pokémon now struggles to beat what is effectively a baby Snivy. Perhaps more startlingly, the usually bumbling Team Rocket, the general antagonists, have been given a hearty dose of competence and common sense. This is rather a shame, as I, and many more adult viewers enjoyed the “sillier” actions of Jessie, James and Meowth. Perhaps most noticeably, they don't “blast off,” which is rather a shame for those of you who remember them. There's virtually nothing in the way of a touchstone to previous series, outside of early appearances from Ash's mum and Professor Oak. But perhaps that's why this series might be the most accessible yet.
I know the chances of me turning anyone on to watching Pokémon are very slim, and that's really not what I'm intending here. The show isn't really particularly amazing, and yes, it is a kid's show. But if anyone was wanting to get back into an integral piece of their childhood as an adult, perhaps this may be an ideal time. There's little back-story to remember of the new character, Iris, introduced as the female travelling companion, and also the show's first non-white character, and Ash's only new Pokémon so far is a typical low-level flying type called Pidove, though there are hints that he will be obtaining one of the new starter Pokémon, Oshawott.
Overall, the series so far feels “weird,” but I think that could simply be that we've only seen a couple of episodes. I'm sure as Ash gains more Pokémon and another travelling partner in Cillan, the token Gym Leader, the series will start to shape up into one which could rival the previous one in terms of plot scope.
Pokémon Best Wishes airs on Saturdays at 10.25am on CITV
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