In Pokémon, the Sword and Shield anime offer both the same-old-same-old and a breath of fresh air with taking on new show elements and characters. Compared to the Sun and Moon anime, this one is heavily travel-based, never staying in one region for too long.
It also goes back to basics with bringing back a character who actually wants to, “Catch ’em all.” This combination brings in new energy to what was a stagnating franchise that had lost its direction in the last series and handles answers to issues that have been there for many years. So here are 10 great things about the Pokémon Sword and Shield anime.
10 Pikachu’s Backstory
It took about 20 seasons but the beginnings of Pikachu were finally revealed. As a season starter, it kicks off in a good way by showing Pokémon’s most beloved character in his own story. When it comes to the Pokémon series, some answers were always thought to be never answered or picked up on, and one of those was the answer to where Pikachu came from. While not delving into the plot of the season, it does start it off by letting you know that they are going to try to thread everything together this time around.
9 Ash’s Dragonite
It seemed for a while that Ash’s only dragon-like Pokémon was going to be Charizard as he pretty much gave up every season whatever fully evolved 3-stage Pokémon he got in, much like Goodra and Greninja. Dragonite has a good personality and gimmick that adds nice energy to the series, the best part is that it doesn’t feel forced like many aspects in the Sun and Moon anime. In the anime, it seems that Ash and Team Rocket have reversed roles with their Pokémon with Ash getting head hugged by his Pokémon, which is something different, that it’s a surprise it wasn’t included sooner.
8 Return of Adventure
Sun and Moon tried to be different, but in the wrong way with the series, by being stationary it took away Pokémon’s most important aspect: adventure. It is true that the formula of sticking to one region and traveling around for badges was getting stagnant, but it’s a truth of the world they live in and consistent with the games, however, something new was needed. For this season the freedom of traveling to each region for an episode or two for projects for the professor is the inclusion the show needed.
It adds a sense unpredictability to the series such as “Where are they going next; what Pokémon are they catching next; when are they coming back to this region?” It’s that feeling that made kids want to be Pokémon trainers in the first place while giving a viable reason for traveling to different places.
7 Battling and Catching Focused
This was completely lost in the Sun and Moon anime, in a way it no longer felt like a Pokémon anime without it. It’s a fact that the main basis of Pokémon in its appeal is battling and catching. Catching was lost long ago in Pokémon already in its second season, Ash had given up on catching them all to become a Pokémon master and instead of building relationships and it created a disparity between the way people play the games and how the show moralizes its world.
In many seasons it demonized trainers such as Paul in the Diamond and Pearlseries for training Pokémon like the player of the games would. However, Pokémon has taken a step back from that now and it feels exactly like it always should have with matching the games, it’s easy to tell that the writer knew they were backed into a corner with Ash’s personality and had to use a new character in order to embody that. Enter Go.
6 Good Chemistry
While Ash is much more battle based now with taking on more fights with trainers and mini battling tournaments alike, you have Go who acts like someone playing the Pokémon games and catching each one he can find, but Go can’t battle worth of anything. The two butt heads very often in different training strategies, Go isn’t a happy-go-lucky person, like most of the cast for Pokémon side characters from day 1.
He’s stubborn like Ash was and acts as a good balance to Ash’s happy and eccentric personality, which was what the series needed for a while compared to other overly happy eccentric people like in Sun and Moon. His role is that of a normal person reacting and anchoring the series to the crazy antics going on so they don’t become unbelievable.
5 Raised Stakes
The Sword and Shield anime finally feel like the next step that was supposed to be taken after X and Y. Instead of the goal being regional championships you have the ultimate world championship as Ash’s goal, with a rival to go head to head against.
It gave a goal to the series and to Ash to take this title as a way to become the Pokémon master, much like Leon is aired as being. Since the championship works based on battles and not gym leaders it raises the stakes for each battle and makes regular battles against strong trainers, which the series severely lacked, the main goal of the series.
4 Ash Has A Competitive Team Immediately
In al the other seasons it’s rare that you see ash with fully evolved Pokémon, especially a team full of them right off the bat. Within 20 episodes Ash already has a near championship line up with Mr. Mime, Gengar, Dragonite, and even Pikachu. He already has ahold of 3 fully evolved Pokémon.
Many times in the series you could always tell the writer were timid to evolving Pokémon because it would get rid of the personality and cute-factor fan-favorite factor they would have, but the fully evolved Pokémon in this season aren’t lacking in personality, so hats off.
3 Fixes Left Over Questions About the World
There have been many leftover questions that have been glossed over with how many times the series has been rebooted with each region. While this would be another reboot, they are still handling things that happened in Ash’s past rather than pretending it didn’t happen. Once again Go’s character acts as a counterbalance to answer things about their world by doing things Ash wouldn’t do.
2 Pokémon With Meaning
In honesty, many of Ash’s Pokémon in the past couple of seasons have lacked an interesting backstory that made them characters in their own right. This season has given Ash’s Pokémon more interesting backstories which really gives a reason for Ash to befriend and catch that Pokémon, such as the troubled Gengar. Many of the Pokémon that should have had meaning in the past like it was intended to, lacked any meaning and just hurt Ash’s character making him look inconsistent.
1 Teams Rocket’s Pokémon
Team Rocket are given new gags too with a return to form of the series of them blasting off. Team Rocket has been quite stale for a number of years as far as battling with them, only getting one Pokémon each and never looking for more or taking the opportunity to catch available Pokémon. They would be formidable foes had they done that, but the writers have taken their characters in every direction to excuse them not doing it, to even saying they are too good of people to do that.
Now they are given random wild Pokémon from Team Rocket which can be strong, weak, and/or defiant. It once again fixes issues the series had but with a fun twist to it.
NEXT: 15 Quickest Ways To Make A Pokémon Overpowered
