Pokémon Journeys: The Series Episodes 1-48 – Review

After becoming the first official champion of the Alola region, Ash Ketchum returns to Pallet Town and is ready to start a new adventure. However, right from the jump, Pokémon: Journeys seems to be just as interested in the franchise’s history as it is interested in advancing the series forward. The first official episode starts off as a prequel to introduce our new main cast and give some backstory to Pikachu, which the franchise never really did before this point. Pokémon has never been particularly deep or overly complicated with its storytelling, but this idea of celebrating the past and bringing it back to make the world feel larger than it probably ever has been before can be considered an overarching theme of this installment.

Now that we’ve officially reached a definitive turning point in the Pokémon anime, it’s time to look at the beginning of what could arguably be…