There were a lot of things it did well that just weren't for me. But I kind of knew that would be true as soon as I saw the trailers for it when it first came out all those years ago. Everyone kept telling me I would get used to the art style. I still hate it. It looks fine on all the new characters, but it looks awful on Ash and Team Rocket and all the old faces. And that may sound like a really insignificant, don't-judge-a-book-by-its-cover sort of complaint, but the art style can say a lot about a show. Especially when it's changing from season to season like Pokémon does. Sun and Moon's designs were a little goofier. In line with the season as a whole being a lot more lighthearted. And that's fine for a kids' show, and it could be perfectly enjoyable at times...
(I liked all the characters. In fact, as a whole, I think this season has the most likable cast of characters of any Pokémon season I've watched. And the final episode was really heartfelt. Watching Kukui and Burnet hug him goodbye actually made me tear up a bit. Ash's mom has had some good moments over the years, but we've never really gotten to see Ash have a real family dynamic with anyone, and that aspect of it here was really great.)
But Pokémon really hit its current peak with XY&Z for me. I loved that it got a little more serious. Anything toned down from that was going to be lesser in my eyes. Just a matter of preferences, I guess.
Storywise, it was just weaker overall in my eyes. It really brought me back to the early seasons of Pokémon, where we went so long in between gym battles that it barely felt like there was a story at all. The island trial episodes were cool... but they really didn't feel like they held any significance over anything, especially because you didn't even end up needing ANY sort of qualifications to enter the region's first Pokémon League.
The Ultra Guardians aspect of the story... watching these kids form their own sort of pseudo-Power Rangers team was cool. (I love me a good magical girl-esque transformation sequence.) But suffered from the same problem. Everything just felt so disjointed here. The Ultra Beasts could show up on a whim... whenever the writers ran through enough of their other episode ideas, I guess. They posed enough of an actual threat to the region that I feel like the kids could have at least been looking for some way to keep the portal closed... I just really needed an overarching story for this season, and never quite found it. Like, once we got into the story with Lillie's family and amnesia in season one, things got really good for a while. Gave me hope. And then it all kind of just fell apart again.
But ultimately... all the real complaints I have about this season... come down to me starting to believe that the writers and I must have very different opinions on what makes up the fundamentals of Ash as a character. Yes, he's easily excitable and has this unrivaled love for all things Pokémon... but I just can't see him ever being happy settling down in a place like Alola to go to school. Not even with great friends. Not even if the school offers new Pokémon-related experiences each class. It's just... not Ash. It felt too stagnant for him. I can't see the extremely spaced-out island trials scratching his competitive itch. At least when he's on the road, it feels like he's actively working towards the next challenge.
I guess it's fitting but... This whole 'journey' through Alola feels like a vacation for Ash. In general, it's just not the place for him. Everything's just a little TOO laid-back. As a whole, it didn't really feel like a region for a serious battler like Ash. And in general, it feels like the writers handicapped his battling skills a bit, especially as the series went on. Like, yes, Ash is known for being the guy who can get out of a tight spot with sheer willpower and crazy ideas... but sometimes it feels like the writers forget that he IS capable of actual type-based strategizing too.
There are a few exceptions throughout. Gladion and Kukui...(Hau could have been an example, but we barely see him.) Kiawe takes it seriously, and Lana also had a competitive edge, though the series (unfortunately) never seemed to take her as seriously as Ash and Kiawe. I don't think there's any better example than the few episodes where the class visits Kanto and Ash gets to really shine-- back in his element-- sparring with the gym leaders of old... while it quickly became clear that his new friends had really only understood battling in theory up to this point. Hell, Mallow doesn't have her moment where she realizes she shouldn't ever just give up mid-battle until the MIDDLE OF HER POKEMON LEAGUE MATCH... That whole League was a joke and actually really annoyed me, but... Deep breaths.
Anyway. Sun and Moon was fun and cute and lighthearted and I DID enjoy a lot of it. I mean, Rowlet's the most adorable thing this franchise has ever created, so I have to give it points for that. It's just... not what I want Pokémon to be. We got to see it at its best in Kalos, and a story like this one just couldn't live up to my expectations after that. I know practically nothing about the next region... (I've literally only seen the starters and this sheep Pokémon and that's it.) But I'm hoping it picks back up again with the next season, and we get to see more of Ash as he was meant to be.
