Pokemon XY have exceeded my expectations when someone persuades me to watch this series after I did a review on how bad Decolora Adventure was due to content within the episodes.
Story - 8
The beginning of Ash's (Satoshi) new adventure starts when he arrives at Lumiose City since he continues his dream to be a Pokemon Master throughout the regions he explores with old/new friends he makes along the way. First, he meets the gym leader, Clemont (Citron) and his little sister, Bonnie (Eureka); however, Team Rocket follows him like every other regions he went to with his buddy, Pikachu. Thus, there are times when he has to battle them with either Pikachu or the new pokemon that he captures during his journey. Also, a new female protagonist named Serena, was introduced for a short time during the first couple episodes till she finally meets Ash and his friends, Clemont and Bonnie.
The main part of the series for every region that Ash goes to is getting badges, catching new pokemon and meeting new people who have dreams of their own and desires to fulfill it. That does sound predictable for the most part; however, there is a new concept that was not included in the game version of XY which is the concept of becoming Kalos Queen that is only for girls but its kind of similar to Pokemon contests in the 3rd and 4th generation games.
Art - 8
The art is similar to Black and White; however, its more unique and special when it introduces an old/new pokemon and the battle animations look much cooler than it was in the previous series. It shows how much the makers are dedicated in making the series as interesting as they possibly can toward the audience, mostly to the kids.
Sound - 8
The soundtrack remains good as it always been within this series since it changes vary depending on which episode it is but does reused them if it needed for that specific scene. The voice actors did a great job with the roles they have.
Character - 9
Ash: He still have his positive attitude toward his friends and the pokemon that he meets or captures. Yet, he does do dangerous stunts that surprises his new friends since it shows he cares about his pokemon even if they are needed help in their abilities. Also, he supports his friends' dream as well as his. Likewise, his abilities to predict what would happen next within the battles show he is a step closer in fulfilling his dream from Kanto to now. As long he is with Pikachu and his other pokemon, he believes he can do anything that seems to be useful in his potential and the potential within his pokemon.
Serena: She has a lot of character development throughout this series when there are episodes that focuses on her and what kind of dream she wants to become rather than following her mother's footsteps. When she figures out what she wants to do, she decides to stick with her dream in becoming Kalos Queen by first becoming a Pokemon performer because she wants to show how elegant her pokemon can be as well her abilities in making Poke Puffs and etc. Although, she wants to achieve her dream if she notices there are pokemon who have dreams that are similar to hers.
Bonnie: There are episodes that focuses on her development on how she cares about Pokemon; even though, she couldn't become a Pokemon trainer due to her age. She does have a Dedenne which she kept inside her bag; but, her brother keeps its Pokeball in case something happens to Dedenne. In addition, she does show varies facial expressions depending what is happening like she does not get scared when something scary happens unlike her brother and her friends. On the other hand, she does something unrealistic that her brother doesn't want her to do is she proposes to girl for her brother's sake which is similar to Brock since she wants Clemont to have a happy life with someone who he loves dearly; but, fails to realize that he does not a girlfriend.
Clemont: He is a gym leader in Lumiose City which temporary lets Clembot take over the gym till he returns from being a better gym leader. He does do similar aspects like cooking meals for his friends and pokemon and provides information for them to understand like Brock and Dent does in previous series. Moreover, he believes in the power of science will solve the problem; yet, he seems to fail when his inventions malfunction or breaks down for some reason. Similarly, he does have to take care of Bonnie like every brother would do.
Additionally, there are times that focuses on the development of the pokemon and their bond to its trainer and other pokemon.
Enjoyment - 8
I quite enjoyed most of the episodes for this series so far because the development within Ash and his friends and how they overcome the obstacles that they have to face like Team Rocket and their rivals which they promise to meet and battle against in the future. Also, the content within each episodes seem interesting for that specific character or pokemon but sometimes keeps its predictable aspects and does not at the same.
Overall - 8.5/9
This series is way better than Black & White because of how it is set up in the beginning and continues to get better as Ash and his friends continues their journey to fulfill their dreams with their pokemon. Well, this review went long enough since its only the XY series and it continues with the first episode of XYZ along with another episode of Mega Evolution Arc next week.
