With that said…it is with a heavy heart that I bring you this bad news: Pokémon got the Game of Thrones treatment. If you’ve never watched Game of Thrones or read up on the angry fan backlash that ensued after the final season was over, I’ll get straight to the point.
Ash’s final season was a pile of rotting, stinking dogshit
If you expect any questions to be answered, don’t bother.
If you expect Ash’s father to be revealed, don’t bother.
If you expect a showdown with Giovanni, don’t bother.
If you expect any shipping resolutions, don’t bother.
If you expect ANYTHING to happen, don’t bother.
Before the season aired, I was optimistic upon reading that Misty and Brock would return for Ash’s final season. Misty left the show permanently after Johto in one of Pokémon’s most emotional episodes, ‘Gotta Catch Ya Later!’. She went on to make multiple cameos over the years, but Mezase Pokémon Master (referred to as MPM from now on) was going to be the first season in 20 years in which the original trio would be reunited for a full season. My shrivelled boomer heart grew three sizes at the news. Fans celebrated, Pokeshippers blew their load, Serenabros were in shambles. My optimism only grew after I finished watching episode two which was (objectively) the best episode out of the lot. It featured an engaging battle, great humor, and fun interactions between Ash and Misty. Surprisingly, the ending of the episode seemed to imply that Ash wasn’t as dense as the bottom of the Mariana Trench when it came to girls like the past two decades made us believe. Promo material also suggested that most of Ash’s reserve Pokémon were going to be used for his grand send-off. The future looked bright.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. The next several episodes consisted of bland Pokémon-of-the-day filler that didn’t even capitalize on showcasing the original trio’s bond. Hell, Misty barely spoke or did anything in episode 10. It’s almost impressive how badly they dropped the ball after episode two, because she and Brock basically became cardboard cut-outs. Ash has turned into a less interesting character over the last 26 years, so his plain characterization here was par-for-the-course. Team Rocket was…present. They had some forced drama by the end, but, like everything else in this series, it didn’t go anywhere. Don’t expect them to turn a new leaf. The status quo must remain supreme.
Had this been any other run-of-the-mill season, I would have given it a below average rating due to the tepid, disjointed storylines, the misuse of side characters, and the general lack of excitement (even my cat looks more animated about me writing this review than I am, and she’s napping). But as the epilogue season of Ash’s journey which has spanned more than 1000 episodes? Crime against humanity. Send it to the Hague.
That’s not to say MPM didn’t do anything right. Asides from episode two, episode eight was the only other that I found had any creative merit. Without spoiling anything, read Banette’s Emerald Pokedex entry: “An abandoned plush doll became this Pokémon. They are said to live in garbage dumps and wander about in search of the children that threw them away.” Trying to find out who was Banette’s original owner and why they abandoned their doll made for an effective children’s show tearjerker.
Another positive were the sparse moments of nostalgia that were executed well. Seeing Squirtle, Bulbasaur, Charizard, and friends reunited might elicit some smiles from 90’s kids. There were also call-backs to the earliest episodes of the franchise that were a nice touch from the creative director and his team (like Misty ‘catching’ Ash with her fishing rod again.) Also, if you’re a fan of Gary and/or Tracey, you might get a kick out of them being given a speaking role after years of silence.
Music was also a notable highlight. The absolute banger 1st OP ‘Mezase Pokémon Master’ is still as fantastic as ever; Ash’s story highlights were interspersed as the song played. While ‘One Hundred Fifty-One’ was the ED that played for most episodes, MPM used old favorites like ‘Face Forward Team Rocket!’, ‘Riding on Lapras’, ‘Takeshi's Paradise’, and the catchy ‘Type: Wild.’ Call me nit-picky all you want, but I think it was a miss from MPM’s director not to use ‘Meowth’s Song’ in the episode that heavily focused on him. Another solid aspect of the show was the BGM, which consisted of remixes of old songs from the first season; the songs themselves had enough subtlety not to completely overtake the *cough* story, but delicately accentuate key scenes.
MPM used a vivid color palette, with unassuming human character designs. Now, I did not expect Ash, Misty and Brock to look the same as their Indigo days, but their new designs are nothing to write home about either. This could have been easily overlooked if there was great cinematography, engaging camera shots, and awe-inducing battle choreography but…it doesn’t have that either. When Misty and Brock made their Sun and Moon cameos, they didn’t look any better, but their personalities shone through amusing facial reactions and cute banter with Ash. Frankly, animation-wise, it was a step back. Even more jarring, the final villain, who came out of nowhere, was dressed as a My Chemical Romance reject who somehow stumbled into stealing Pokémon for a living. Backgrounds were fine. Pokémon designs were stellar but they’re the same ‘mons that we grew up with.
Frankly speaking, the safe, open-ended nature of the ending was most likely planned just in case the new Pokémon series that airs next month (April 2023) bombs, and they can bring up Ash for a Brand New Journey! (all rights reserved). I’ll always be a Pokémon fan, even when I’m an old lady who’ll scare kids off her lawn with Cannibal Corpse blasting from her speakers, but this was still a massive disappointment. We fans deserved better.
So, what exactly did it mean to be a Pokémon Master? It was, unironically, the friends we made along the way.
Recommended to anyone with a desire to see the last innocent vestiges of their childhood crumble one by one.
…
Gotta Catch Em’ All!
